04.11.91
Posted in Kapilji's Skull Chatter at 6:00 pm by Shri Kapilnath
Spring at last. A long cold winter here has given way to buds and blossoms, and with them, Volume 4, No. 1 of our Open Door. It’s so nice to enjoy the warming rays of the sun again and witness this shining miracle of Nature. As I sit before my electric word rambler on such a warm and friendly day, I’m given to wonder with delight as to what illuminations such a quarter may hold for us each and all. What colorful scenes and fresh enthusiasms will next assail our senses?
It may be in part our sense of wonder which keeps us stimulated and on our toes as we dance toward the Light. I suspect a reason, and perhaps a starry smile which crafted the element of surprise into the fabric of our lives. Could it have been the Great Cosmic Spirit who first intoned, in so many languages and dialects, “The show must go on!” Given the long run of our ancient Nath Order and its fluid flowering in foreign soil, this may be true. Speculations aside, what better overture prior to drawing back the curtain and revealing a few choice episodes of our recent past.
As many of you may recall, Maha Shiva Ratri rolled around and fell on February 12th this year. I’ll hoist my prayer flag for a moment to draw attention to the idea that Maha Shiva Ratri is not exclusively a Hindu or East Indian affair. Pagan people from all over the world celebrate this Great Night. This is not intended as an insult to any Asian people or creed, but we love Shiva too. Of course all people relate to and observe such an occasion in their own way and this is in keeping with the great diversity of the human race, its patterns, needs and understanding. Suffice to say that all reports which reached my attention were positive if not amusing.
Usually I spend this evening in the Kailash Zone, but this year I travelled to Vancouver, Canada to stop in on the Weirdglow clan of Lalita Mataji and enjoy the proceedings. Wreck Beach was the aptly named site of this year’s gathering. A mantric melee began at dusk and lasted until the midnight hour when people fell silent and communed with the star show in the sky. We were blessed with clear skies and a nice warm wind and fire which protected our skyclad bodies from what can be a chilly period in these areas. A fine time was had by all.
Our second printing of The Scrolls of Mahendranath will be completed by April 20th this year. This edition will be much the same as the first printing, except for a few touchups and corrections. Those of you who have ordered recently, please be patient. We are now out of stock but will send you your order soon after the 20th.
April 29th with be the date when we celebrate Shri Gurudev Mahendranath’s 80th birthday. Guru traditions, guidelines and Grace are important to our way of life. So it is with great love we will honor our Guru and human link to our timeless initiatic lineage.
For this issue of our Open Door, we are pleased to offer an article by Shri Jadu Garudanath for your perusal and enjoyment. I also wish to take this oportunity to encourage those of you who may want to write something for our newsletter—the door’s open. Stay glued to our pages, more when summer arrives. Until then, enjoy your Springtime, one and all!
Kapilnath
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Posted in Articles and Essays at 9:00 am by Shri Jadu Garudanath
Everyday we are employing a magickal tool: Words. The use of words is a form of common magick, yet few persons spend much time contemplating this mystery. One might think that most people would recognize this miracle for what it is and so acknowledge the possibility that even more subtle effects could be created by the use of words.
First, a distinction must be made between words as representative of ideas and objects, and the word as a spoken sound. Each quality has potential in magick. Certainly the ideas which words represent form a type of everyday telepathy. Say “rose” and an image of a flower comes to the minds of several persons hearing the word “rose” spoken. That verbal communication can produce this mental change is a mystery well worth analyzing.
At some level, all language is possible because we have a connection to other humans around us. They are a part of us, we are a part of others. Physical, social, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual connections form multiple levels of simultaneous relation. We are vessels of the cosmic spirit, and so directing our attention to the thread of this truth is one of the aims of magick.
The use of “attention tuning devices” allows the possible transmutation of experience from the word/concept, to the word/sound, to the sound/mind/body/vibration and onward beyond normal conceptualization, directly experiencing the subtle divine pulse of cosmic current. It so happens that some words are especially good as tuning devices, acting as remembrances of innate states of being which can aid us in recreating that experience. Some words can quiet our mind, others can drive us into great agitation. Few can deny that words can have potency. In spiritual practice, the use of words may involve considering words not so much as identifiers of worldly objects but as rough mapping devices to help us go to the essential “pre-lingual” thought-form or vibrational basis which the word represents.
It is helpful to mention here that some languages consider themselves “conscious” languages. Sanskrit, the mother of Indo-European languages, is reputed to be such an example. Each root sound of spoken Sanskrit is supposed to correspond to a spiritual vibrational status. Sanskrit mantras are such words, though magickal words exist in other languages. Although many Sanskrit mantras have a common worldly definition, such as the name of a particular god or goddess, this is merely the outer aspect. The sound formation of the mantra and its recitation induces a vibrational change in the psyche of the reciter, thereby offering an opportunity to transcend beyond the common concept of the word, culminating in the essential vibrational experience of the word.
Establishing steadiness of this vibrational experience may require thousands of recitations conducted over many hours, days or weeks. This practice is called japa. You might regard the spoken mantra/word as the seed, which if watered by recitation, both mental and verbal, may break open to reveal the living essence of inner vibration. Once mastery of steadiness through japa has been attained with a given magickal word, for you it is a “live mantra.” Even casual mention of the word from your lips has special importance because your link to its essence is strong and close to the surface. A person reading the same word from a book is unlikely to have this comprehension of the word. For you it is a tool.
At every level of this process, application of attention during japa/meditation may allow a linkage in the mind/spirit to other words and ideas, and thence to their vibrational essences. This split of attention allows the braiding of various vibrational flavors into new combinations and the creation of new effects. The experience of this attention is actually beyond description. It is neither thought, nor is it not thought. It is neither emotion, nor is it not emotion. Yet it is there. Words are the maps. Go travel. Experiment, don’t take my word for it!
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Posted in Gems from Mahendranath at 6:00 am by Adityanath
“We use mantras as sound vibrations but do not attempt to explain or define them. Thus it is with all Kaula knowledge and wisdom. It is sensory experience which is the greatest teacher. We hold that, in our in-being path, definitions, classifications, and explanations can only confuse, throw dust in our eyes, and even deposit grains of sand beneath the prepuce.”
—Shri Gurudev Mahendranath, Levogyrate Tantra
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