57.CINTAMANIGRHANTASHTHA
She who resides in a house built of Cintamani jewels.
She who resides in a house built of Cintamani jewels.
Cintamani is the jewel which yields all objects of desire, on this the house of Devi is built.
The cintamani house is the origin of all the mantras which yields all objects of desire, which gets rid of the 'cinta'.
By saying that devi resides in such a place, it also means that she is one who fulfills all desires.One should understand, that she fulfills all your desires only for you to renounce it later.It is said that the path to renunication is a path filled with desires.One should always understand that by taking the PATH we are expected to get rid of the desires.Let me explain how renunication can come about. Renunication is nothing but total surrender to the goddess.how does this come about. can it be acheived in a day?or can we achieve it by telling ourselves and the people around us that we will do anything she commands.or does it come about by announcing to the whole world that you are her ardent follower and that she is the only one capable of guiding you to enlightment.The answer is NO. Here i would like to state that enlightment or renunciation has to come from you ,so the amount of work that one has to do is enormous.Now let us see the methods to be adopted to enter into the path of total surrender.
1.Is the softening of the heart:
The yoga of pure devotion is found at the beginning, the middle and the end of the path. Merging with devi is more and more a deeply felt experiential reality when the soul gives of itself to her inwardly and outwardly in unabashed devotion. Prapatti truly is the key that unlocks the love needed as merger increases as the years pass by and, as Satguru Yogaswami said, "Love pours forth to melt the very stones." Bhakti yoga is not an intellectual study. It is a practice. It is also not an emotional experience. It is a devotional experience. There is a difference, which we will come to understand. Bhakti yoga is not a cure-all, nor a means to fast enlightenment. Rather, it is the foundation for enlightenment. It is not a technique. Nor is it a magic mantra. It is a way of life. The transformation that comes from living in the state of bhakti yoga is the softening of the heart.
2.Bhakthi :
Bhakti is a state of mind, an arrival at an inner state of consciousness. People who become angry, people who become jealous, people who are fearful, people who get confused are living in the asura loka. They are the ones who upset others and experience revenge. They have yet to come up even to the anava marga and attain a little appreciation of themselves. They have yet to experience being secure in their own identity.
They have yet to "be their own person," "find their own space." They must first close the door on channeling asuric entities. Once firmly planted on the anava marga, they begin feeling that they are God's gift to the world and may seek out a spiritual teacher. If the teacher does teach them karma yoga and bhakti yoga, they begin to realize that there are forces in the universe, souls in the universe, who are much greater than they are now or will ever be for a long time. Once this happens, the die is cast. They are on the spiritual path to their own eventual enlightenment.
They have yet to "be their own person," "find their own space." They must first close the door on channeling asuric entities. Once firmly planted on the anava marga, they begin feeling that they are God's gift to the world and may seek out a spiritual teacher. If the teacher does teach them karma yoga and bhakti yoga, they begin to realize that there are forces in the universe, souls in the universe, who are much greater than they are now or will ever be for a long time. Once this happens, the die is cast. They are on the spiritual path to their own eventual enlightenment.
On occasion we observe devotees pilgrimaging to a temple, prostrating so devotedly. But after leaving the temple, they slap one of their children. We know that upon entering the house they argue with their spouse and complain about their in-laws. Where is the true bhakti here? This is what bhakti is not. Unfortunately, the children who observe this hypocrisy remember it for a long, long time. A child might think, "You love Lord Ganesha, Mom, but you can't love me." When you love a baby, you will not hit it when it cries, even if the crying disturbs you.
Wise gurus will not initiate anyone into raja yoga techniques who does not have a sweet nature and a natural outpouring of bhakti. No one auditions for the symphony orchestra until he has mastered all that his first, second and third music teachers have taught him.
Suppose a devotee who is not virtuous is taught an intense raja yoga meditation and practices it ardently over a long period of time until a burst of light is seen. Then the devotee, now feeling quite above others, argues with his parents, or flashes out in anger when talking to a friend. At that moment, all the good merit and benefits of the raja yoga awakening are erased. This is because the prana of higher consciousness has been dissipated by the angry words, which now burn deeper into the mind of others than they would have before. No, a kindly, gentle nature must precede raja yoga sadhanas. That is for sure.
Bhakti is the base and the bedrock of spiritual unfoldment. A devotee who has an amiable nature, who is a good, considerate and giving person, is obviously a bhaktar. The disciplines of bhakti yoga make one a devotee, and a devotee is a very selfless type of person. These disciplines can take many forms, but the fruit of bhakti yoga, which is a loving disposition, must be attained before one can go further on the path with security. The proof is in the actions and attitudes of the individual. If he really sees God in and through all things, how can he not be a bhaktar? If he truly understands the law of karma, he cannot possibly resent any happening. He knows that the experiences of today were created in the past. He truly knows that today's actions mold the experiences of a future time. Yes, bhakti yoga is the bedrock of all minor and major enlightenments. Devotees who are very kind people, devotional, obedient, intelligent, will fulfill whatever assignments their guru gives -- be it a pure advaitic path, the raja yogas or the path of karma yoga.
Wise gurus will not initiate anyone into raja yoga techniques who does not have a sweet nature and a natural outpouring of bhakti. No one auditions for the symphony orchestra until he has mastered all that his first, second and third music teachers have taught him.
Suppose a devotee who is not virtuous is taught an intense raja yoga meditation and practices it ardently over a long period of time until a burst of light is seen. Then the devotee, now feeling quite above others, argues with his parents, or flashes out in anger when talking to a friend. At that moment, all the good merit and benefits of the raja yoga awakening are erased. This is because the prana of higher consciousness has been dissipated by the angry words, which now burn deeper into the mind of others than they would have before. No, a kindly, gentle nature must precede raja yoga sadhanas. That is for sure.
Bhakti is the base and the bedrock of spiritual unfoldment. A devotee who has an amiable nature, who is a good, considerate and giving person, is obviously a bhaktar. The disciplines of bhakti yoga make one a devotee, and a devotee is a very selfless type of person. These disciplines can take many forms, but the fruit of bhakti yoga, which is a loving disposition, must be attained before one can go further on the path with security. The proof is in the actions and attitudes of the individual. If he really sees God in and through all things, how can he not be a bhaktar? If he truly understands the law of karma, he cannot possibly resent any happening. He knows that the experiences of today were created in the past. He truly knows that today's actions mold the experiences of a future time. Yes, bhakti yoga is the bedrock of all minor and major enlightenments. Devotees who are very kind people, devotional, obedient, intelligent, will fulfill whatever assignments their guru gives -- be it a pure advaitic path, the raja yogas or the path of karma yoga.
3. Surrender:
Those of you who think of various other things when you perform pooja at home or in the temple often wonder why such things come to your mind when you are praying. You think of filling in gas at the petrol station or cooking dinner or think of the upcoming exams for your children,here is what you can do.To internalize worship, after the puja is over sit before the Deity and draw into yourself all the pranas you feel around your body. Then draw those energies up the spine into the head. This is done with the mind and with the breath. It is very easy to do. It is especially easy when one is at the end of a major karmic cycle. The bhakti of uncompromising surrender, prapatti, to the God during a temple puja awakens the amrita. The amrita is the sweet essence from the sahasrara chakra. It is the binding yoke to the Divine. Bind yourself in the lotus posture after temple worship and simply internalize all the feeling that you had for the God during the worship. That's all there is to it.
What is my advice for those who find such uncompromising surrender hard to imagine but realize it is their next step on the path? Go on a pilgrimage once a year, read scriptures daily, perform puja daily, go to the temple at least once a week, if not more often -- fulfill these disciplines, known as the pancha nitya karmas.
Individual practices to advance spiritual unfoldment include prostrating before God, Gods and guru, full body, face down, arms and hands outstretched, and in that act, total giving up, giving up, giving up, giving up. In Sanskrit it is called pranipata, "falling down in obeisance." What are these devoted ones giving up? By this act they are giving the lower energies to the higher energies. It is a merger, a blending. When one is performing this traditional devotional act, awakening true prapatti, it is easy to see the lower energies from the base of the spine, the muladhara chakra, rising, rising, rising up the spine through all six chakras above it and out through the top of the head. It is transmuting, changing the form of, the base energies which breed conflict and resistance, "mine and yours" and "you and me," division, insecurity and separateness, into the spiritual energies of "us and we," amalgamation, security, togetherness.
Once the giving up of the lower is total -- body and face on the ground, hands outstretched before the image of God, Gods or guru -- those energies are surrendered into the higher chakras within the devotee, and it is a blissful moment, into the consciousness of "us and ours," "we and oneness," and inseparable love, thus claiming their individuality, not as a separate thing, but as a shared oneness with all. Thereafter, these devoted ones, having been transformed, are able to uplift others, to harmonize forces around them that they work with day after day after day, year after year after year. This total surrender, prapatti, is the meaning of Siddhanta. This is the true meaning of Vedanta. The combination of both, and the pure practice of prapatti as just described, brings out from within the deeper meanings of Vedanta, the Vedic philosophy, without having to depend on the path of words, lectures and debates.
Let me tell you something.The total surrender is not in the books it is in your mind and heart.
So symbolically it is stated that she lives in the house of chitamani indicates her stay to bring about enlightment and total surrender in You and Me.
