22 - Discourses on Tantra Volume Two

Chapter 3

Tantra and Sádhaná (8)

The Lessons of Tantra (2)

In Tantra the system of diikśá [initiation] is highly scientific. Initiation has two important aspects: diipanii and mantra caetanya. Diipanii(11) means “torchlight”; mantra caetanya means “conceptual understanding of and psychic association with a mantra”. Regarding the interpretation of diikśá, the Vishvasára Tantra says,

Diipa jiṋánaḿ yato dadyát kuryát pápakśayam tatah; Tasmátdiikśeti sá proktá sarvatantrasya sammatá.

“The process which produces the capacity to realize the inner import of mantra and which expedites the requital of the saḿskáras, or reactive momenta, is called diikśá.”

You may have noticed that some people become extremely sad or extremely happy after being initiated. This is a good sign because it shows that the saḿskáras are being exhausted very quickly. But this sort of reaction does not occur merely by hearing the mantra or repeating it parrot-like. One must be initiated according to the prescribed system. Only then will the mantra be effective. This will be clear to those practising Ananda Marga meditation.

Andhakáragrhe yadvanna kincat pratibhásate; Diipaniirahito’mantrastathaeva parikiirttitá.

–Sárasvata Tantra

You must know that both diipanii and mantra caetanya must precede the repetition of a mantra. “One cannot see even the most valuable objects in a dark room. Similarly, a valuable mantra cannot be used properly without the help of diipanii.”

Mantra caetanya: Unless the kulakuńd́alinii is raised upwards in the process of spiritual practice, repetition of mantra becomes meaningless. The system of raising the kulakuńd́alinii upwards is called purashcarańa kriyá. Mantra caetanya literally means to imbibe the proper spirit of a mantra. If a mantra is repeated with the understanding of the inner spirit, mantra caetanya will be an easier task. To repeat the mantra without understanding its spirit is a waste of time. In this connection Sadáshiva said in the Rudrayámala Tantra,

Caetanya rahitáh mantráh proktavarńástu kevaláh; Phalaḿ naeva prayacchanti lakśa kot́i prajapati.

[Mantras without their corresponding ideation are merely a couple of letters mechanically uttered. They will not bear any fruit even if repeated a billion times.]

Dhyána: Diipanii and mantra caetanya are not necessary in the process of dhyána,(12) but they are necessary in japakriyá [auto- or outer-suggestion through repetition of mantra]. Those who are unsuccessful in japakriyá find it very difficult to master the practice of dhyána.(13) In the process of dhyána, mantra, diipanii, and mantra caetanya – all three – are associated with the dhyeya Puruśa [Puruśa as the object of ideation]. So from a subtle perspective, japa is a composite of a number of processes, but dhyána kriyá is complete in itself, and this is the reason that beginners find it difficult to become established in dhyána.(14) For those who can establish themselves in dhyána, however, samádhi is a certainty.

Vinányásaeh viná pújáḿ viná japaeh puraskriyaḿ; Dhyánayogád bhavetsiddhirnányathá khalu Párvatii.

–Shrii Krama Tantra

[Said Shiva to Párvatii, “Through dhyána one can attain the highest spiritual success, even without nyása, pújá, japa and purashcarańa (other practices). You can take this for a fact.”]

Only after one is established in dhyána can one attain nirvikalpa samádhi. If one is established in samádhi, liberation or salvation will come as a matter of course.