Shakti Worship, Gayatri, and Abiding Dharma

     India has diverse culture and religious faiths based on the level of understanding of the followers or devotees. There is a tradition (parampara) of Guru-shishya (teacher-student) that has come from times immemorial! The guru dictates certain dos and don'ts and the students follow it devotedly. There are certain cults that are prohibited in Vedic culture (veda bahira). The scriptures prescribe certain conditions, methodology, shastra, achara samhita, rules and regulations. All these have faded out in modern days and the youngsters question the validity of these! It is difficult to explain these to young minds that question rationality in everything. How else can the subtle forces that operate on our mind, thoughts, and ideas be explained to illiterate? But one thing is certain. The youngsters these days have no time for all these scriptural studies and have no patience to carefully think and understand them. it is also certain that the consequence is frightening!

   Shakti cult has spread along the coastal India from Kerala to Assam. Here Kali, Durga, Kamakhya and other Shakti devata are worshiped, some as vamachara taking recourse to sex, animal sacrifice,  alcoholic drinks and other indulgences prohibited by the Scriptures. There are practices approved by the Scriptures such as worship of Kamakshi, Meenakshi, Padmavati, Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Durga during Nava Ratri and Deepavali. The daily rituals include Gayatri japa and Pranayama together, in a set order (Gayatri pranayame viniyogah). Gayatri Mantra is only a mantra set to the Metre of its name of four line of 23, 23 and a half, or 24 letters! Little do we know that the actual mantra is only tat savitru varenyam bhargo devasys dhee mahi dhee yo yonah prachodayat. This is the third line, pada. The first line is 'Om' and it stands for A U M -the first alphabet of Rk, Yajus, and Saman Veda. The second line is that of Seven Realms (sapta vyahruti) indicating the level of existence from 'Bhu' or earth to heavens, the 'Svar'! The last line, pada is a prayer requesting the devi to activate these powers that are already within us! The 23 or 24 letters of the Gayatri stand for 12 mantra devata- each with its own shakti, yantrakshara, bijakshara, and adhyatma and loukika nature and phalaprapti and phalashruti. The first twelve devata are of mantra devata- adhya, brahmi, vaishnavi, shambhavi, vedamata, devamata, vishvamata, rutambhara, mandakini, ajapa, ruddhi and siddhi. These are vaidiki devata. and each has a mandala. and a mantra to propitiate the devata. then, the twelve other tantriki devata are savitri, saraswati, lakshmi, duega, kundalini, pranagni, bhavani, bhuvaneshwari, annapurne, mahamaya, payasvini and tripura. These devata have their own bijakshara, mantra and `loukiki' and 'paramarthiki shalkti' giving bhukti and mukti. When practiced with breath control chanting the mantra in the ratio of 1:2:1  or 2:4:2 or 4:8:4 - puraka, kumbhaka and rechaka will give the desired results. These are to be chanted 108 times with total concentration and keeping the meaning and purpose in mind. The minimum is eleven and mere chant is of no use!
  Thus, these are for different types of japa and tapas. letters However, there is no proper explanation given for these in order to convince the younger generation. Actually, these worship of devi and devata is symbolic expression of our obeisance to the powers that control our thoughts and actions. It is re-affirming our faith in ourselves and nothing else! Each devi is shown with a number of hands and armaments and mudra as symbol of power. There is need for proper understanding of the evolution of mankind here. 

   The present day generation suffer due to ignorance of this basic knowledge. There are numerous problems in society today due to negligence of dharma! There is influx of large population from other non-Hindu countries that has complicated the problems further. These immigrants do not respect, rather hate the Hindu faith and belief system. This has added to the problem, further. Our young minds fall prey to the teachings detrimental to Hindu culture and civilization.

   The result of neglect of Hindu dharma  has  brought large scale promiscuity and sex offences, children and young girls are exploited and sexually abused. There are births of mentally retarded and physically ill-developed organs. There is growing poverty due to greed, avarice, and selfishness. a strict way of Hindu dharma world have solved many of these! In fact, children and women are respected almost as Gods in Hindu culture. 

   This dharmic way of life, god-fearing, abiding dharma, and righteous living are given up today, even by the Hindus, due to the influence of Western culture. The consequences are there to see. There is no solution to this problem unless the Hindu society is well organized and boycott and shun Western culture.