Dattatreya and Navnaths- Completion of a sadhana

About five years back we had gone to Gulbarga to celebrate Holi with our cousin. During dinner time a friend told that there is a famous Dattatreya temple and he would arrange for us to visit. I didn't know much about Dattatreya then, so learned about the story of how he was born as the son of sage Atri and Anasuya with the blessings of Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He has three heads representing the Tri-murtis.

Dattatreya temple in Ganagapura

Ganagapura is a village in Afzalpur taluk of Gulbarga district on Karnataka. The village is noted for its temple of Lord Dattatreya, who is said to have attained realization on the confluence (sangam) of the banks of the rivers Bhima-Amarja.

The Shri Dattatreya temple of Ganagapura is a ‘kshetra’(pilgrim place) for second incarnation of Dattatreya, Shri Narashimha Swami. 

It was a very divine temple and I got a large picture of Lord Dattatreya from there, which I kept on top of our book shelf. When I do dusting of the house, I would dust this picture and pay obeisance to him.

Ek-mukhi Dattatreya

In March 2018, a friend told us that he visited a new Dattatreya temple in Belgaum and he felt nice. Same day we went to this temple and came to know that the person who built the temple used to dream of Dattatreya with one instead of the usual three heads, and the idol in the temple is therefore Ek-mukhi (with one face) Dattatreya. The temple was finished only a few days back.

When I looked at the idol, my whole being was filled with bhakti. I sat there, kept looking at the divine face, which was so graceful and the eyes were overflowing with compassion:

 I could have sat there for hours together!

Navnath mantra

Two days after visiting the temple in Belgaum, a friend who propagates Agnihotra mentioned the benefits of chanting Navnath mantra during agnihotra. I was convinced and learned the mantra. In April we went for a road trip for a month and I was chanting this mantra continuously during the travel time.

Navnaths

The Navnaths are the nine saints, Masters or Naths on whom the Navnath Sampradaya, the lineage of nine gurus is based. Some members of the Nath Sampradaya believe Rishi Dattatreya was its first teacher. These nine saints are actually nine super-super human beings, who, with their honesty, selflessness, austerity, devotion for their teacher, Lord Dattatreya, and the mantra power, defeated deities like Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Hanuman, Virbhadra, Indra, Goddess Chamunda, Vetal (King of ghosts), ashtabhairava and others according to the book ‘Navnath Bhaktisar’. They had a weapon called ‘Vatakarshan Astra’, which was invincible even for Gods.

The coming of the Navnath - or nine prophets - is mentioned in the Mahabharata. Krishna called a meeting of all demi-gods, angels and saints to give his message of how he would continue his message of spreading good after his mission was over on earth. Krishna said he would send his own light in the form of nine saints or prophets, who will go to different parts of earth and throughout the universe where life exists. Lord Krishna also mentions that these prophets or saints will spread the message of Love, overcoming obstacles in order to unite with Mahavishnu or Shiva or Shakti. 

The culminatíon

During our drive back, on 29th evening, suddenly I saw the picture of Dattatreya and Navnaths on the back side glass of the bus in front of us. I took a photograph, but didn't get it clear:

I searched the net for a similar picture and this was the one:

The Navnath mantra was going on in my mind even at that time. I got goose flesh all over my body. This was an indication for me that I have finished chanting the mantra for the critical number of time!

It is not common to see this picture, like that of Hanumanji, Lord Shiva, or others on vehicle. In fact, I have never seen one before.

Reaching the pinnacle after all the grounding

How high a building can be built depends on how deep the foundation is. This principle is very relevant in one's spiritual growth too. When the limbs of Ashtanga yoga are followed in succession, by the time one comes to the seventh step or dhyana (meditation), he/she is well stabilized and can go to higher planes easily.

In the present times, everyone is directly into meditation and it is really messing up many lives. From childhood I have been doing rigorous spiritual practice, with timely guidance from the Universe in every step of my journey. In spite of this, I was surprised at the amount of grounding I needed to have. An acceleration in the grounding process started during our visit to Sri Lanka in 2017 September.  When we visited the Dambana Veddha village, it started happening in a more intensive way.

Starting from Dambana

Dambana is a remote jungle village of indigenous people renowned for its eco-tourism prospects, situated about 300km from Colombo, Sri Lanka. We were fascinated by the huge trees and their roots which were spreading far. 

I could become one with the roots and experienced a very strong grounding. In the same way the roots hold on to the soil and stabilise it, I could feel the essence of my practices over decades settling into my body and Being to facilitate further growth.

Angkor Wat temple takes it to the next level

Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. It was built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150, encompassing an area of about 500 acres (200 hectars). Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork.

When Angkor was rediscovered in the early 20th century by French archaeologists, all of the temples had become overgrown–but none so spectacularly as Ta Prohm. While Ta Prohm lay forgotten and neglected by men, the Cambodian jungle wasted no time in devouring it. Silk-cotton and strangler fig trees took root in the loosened stones of the temple, which was built entirely without mortar. Their roots wound through the structure, creating an astonishing merger of nature and architecture.

As I stood there mesmerized by this Nature's marvel, the lesson sunk in me, 'You can take the meaning of 'grounding' to a new level. Stay rooted around your values, encompassing and protecting them.' 

Thus the next level of understanding reached me in 2018 February.

Living Root Bridge near Mawlynnong village in Shillong

On 20th April 2018 when I stood near the Living Root Bridge, I felt the finality of my lessons. 

While walking (one is not supposed to stand) through the bridge, which was made by intertwining the roots of trees on either side, my whole body was sensing something from beyond. 

Travelling through incarnations, with so many connecting roots, the importance of bridging filling my Being! It was a powerful experience.

Message at Basistha ashram

On 24th April we visited Basistha ashram and temple which is located in Beltola, at the outskirts of the Guwahati city. It has a Shiv mandir constructed by Ahom king Rajeswar Singhian in 1764. Basistha ( Vashishta) muni meditated here and got merged with Shiva. Lord Shiva's energy has been guiding me in my spiritual pursuits for many decades. 

As soon as I entered the area where sage Basistha meditated, I could feel my whole upper body (from hip upwards) vibrating. I was confused - why only the upper body?

Then the message dawned on me, 'I am allowed to do only this much, remaining you will get at the Kamakhya temple'. Now I was in high anticipation to reach Kamakhya temple.

Just a few feet away there was a huge rock inside of which Arundhati, wife of Basistha, had meditated: 

As I stood there with closed eyes, imbibing the tremendous energy, I was imparted the lesson of total surrender.

Dashamahavidyas and Kamakhya Devi

The Kamakhya temple, dedicated to the mother goddess Kamakhya, and one of the oldest of 51 Shakti Pithas, is situated on the Nilachal Hill in western part of Guwahati. It is the main temple in a complex of individual temples dedicated to the ten Mahavidyas : Kali, Tara, Tripurasundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamalatmika. Among these, Tripurasundari, Matangi and Kamala reside inside the main temple whereas the other seven reside in individual temples.

Since many years I have been doing Havan on Tuesdays and Fridays chanting the Dashamahavidya mantras. Just on the previous day of visiting Kamakhya temple, I got the mantra for Kamakhya Devi. We reached the temple at 6 am and had to wait till 9.15 for darshan and all of that time I was chanting the mantra. As we reached the sanctum sanctorum, I felt what cannot be described. It is a very personal experience and each one has to go through it to understand the full impact.

It was a very important turning point in my life. Along with all the divine forces that have been guiding me, I am also thankful to all living and non-living beings from whom I have received valuable messages at every step of my journey.

Sweets for Hanumanji

On April 17th (2018) evening we reached Kaziranga forest guest house and while we were taking our luggage to our room, a calf came and stood near the car. 

I remembered that there were some plantains with us and I wanted to give one to the calf. But by the time I brought it out, the calf had walked away. I felt a little disappointed.

On 23rd of April we were in Guwahati and visited Basistha temple, which is a Shiva temple constructed by Ahom king Rajeshwar Singha in 1764 along with the gift of 835 bighas of land for the ashram. 

According to the legend, the ashram was founded by the great saint Basistha (Vasishta). There is a waterfall here, and the cave in which sage Vasishta is believed to have meditated is located 5 km inside the ashram.

                                             Cave where  Sage Vasishta meditated 

Hanumanji demanding sweet

When we reached the temple and as I got out of the car, a calf came towards me. As I took out a plantain from the car to give to the calf, I felt somebody pulling my dress with nails. It was a monkey and I got shocked, put the plantain inside the car and closed the door. By then the calf moved to the other side of the car and I told my husband to open the other door, take out the plantain and give to the calf, which he did.

A man nearby was watching this and told me, 'Give a plantain to the monkey, it is expecting one too.' I was considering it, when I saw some more monkeys approaching. I knew I couldn't give to all of them, so dropped the idea and went to the temple. But I felt a bit bad because I chant Hanuman chalisa daily and I didn't give plantain to the monkey when it asked for it.

On the next day we went to the Kamakhya temple. 

                                                                                     Kamakhya temple

                                                                              Bhairavi temple

When I came out after darshan in the main temple and was in front of the Bhairavi temple, suddenly a monkey appeared out of nowhere and snatched the plastic bag of prasad, with coconut, a packet of sweets, and a box of kumkum (that was precious for me) and ran off. It climbed a parapet, opened the bag, took out the packet of sweets and dropped the remaining to the ground. I reached the spot immediately and picked up my valuables. I was happy at this symbolic sweet offering to Hanumanji.

Similar incidence with my daughter

In 2013, at the Pashupatinath temple in Nepal, she sat along with her friends in front of the Bhairava temple to meditate. Due to lack of space, she kept the rudrakshas and the prasadam behind her. Sometime later, a monkey came, grabbed the pack of rudrakshas and ran away. My daughter was sad to lose the Rudraksh.

A stranger helped out, as they watched the monkey sit at an elevation, and asked for the prasadam, which he threw up at the monkey. As the monkey reached out for the sweets, it dropped the packet of rudraksha. She ran and picked it up, heaving a sigh of relief.

Bhairav and Bhairavi.

It is interesting to note where the two incidents happened, the first one in front of Bhairav temple, and the second one in front of Bhairavi temple. In both cases, the monkeys took away things from us while we were on the left side facing the temple and got it back from the right side.

Hanumanji blessed the kumkum for me and the rudraksha for my daughter!