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Haridas
28 October 2007, 11:20 AM
Namaskar.
There is a Durga mantra: "Om Dum Durgayei Namaha"

It translates to "Om. I bow to Durga and for which Dum is the seed"

What does "for which Dum is the seed" mean? What is "Dum", and what is "the seed"? Thanks in advance!

yajvan
28 October 2007, 12:33 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~~

Namaskar.
There is a Durga mantra: "Om Dum Durgayei Namaha"

It translates to "Om. I bow to Durga and for which Dum is the seed"

What does "for which Dum is the seed" mean? What is "Dum", and what is "the seed"? Thanks in advance!

Namaste Haridas,

the seed is the root sound, and called bija or seed. For Durgati it is Dum.
For Ganesha it is Gam, etc.These sounds are from mantra shastra. There are specific rules for them e.g. their creation and for stringing them to make longer mantras.


More if there is interest...


pranams

Haridas
28 October 2007, 03:00 PM
Namaste.
Thank you for your answer. I'm interested in more info, if you don't mind.

yajvan
28 October 2007, 07:42 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste.
Thank you for your answer. I'm interested in more info, if you don't mind.

Namaste Haridas,

There is bija and there is bijaksara... bija (seed) + aksara (some write akshara, akṣára (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ak%E1%B9%A3ara) is syllable). This aksara is part of Shiksha or science of phonetics for the proper pronunciation of sanskrit.

Aksara is also 'a' = not + 'ksi' = destroy or perish. So this akshara is another name for the Absolute, for Brahman.

The implication then is the seed or bija, it is a sound that (A) is imperishable and one that (B) is eternal i.e.Brahman. Hence associated with the Vedas that are eternal.

Bija (Seed) mantra is different then bijakasara (seed syllable). How so? So this is how I was taught.


■ A single syllable is classified s pinda
■ Two syllables is kartari
■ Three to ten syllables like your Durgati, is bija Om Dum Durgayei Namaha =8 phonenes, or syllbles
■ Eleven to twenty sylables is mantra ( yet we tend to use mantra with great flexibility as a genral name)
■ Mala mantra is more then 20 syllables
Hence om , ओंis a single syllable and pinda (or individual) as is Dum for Durgati. This Dum captures the same sound-shakti that is is found in Sri Durgati Herself, this sound form and Her are equal. This is the brilliance of the rishis.

So there is seed syllables for Ganesha - Gam some use Gang; then there are the full bija or om gam ganapataye namaha. This bija is 10 and still bija ( please count to see if you get 10). It is advised to use devangari script to cound the phones or akshara, yet english will do for this post.

A bija syllable for Kali is krim (kreem); for Sri Ram is Ram also Shrim (shreem)... and for Tripurasundari since you are considering Devi shakti is iam (some write eim or aim) klim sauh, these 3 sounds together.

Another favorite is that of Bhuvaneshwari, as She owns space, is hrim ( pronounced hreem). Bijakshara are also seen in other devata. Shreem is that of Lakshmi as is the root of shreem (hreem) is for Lakshmi. Saraswati also is the bija Aim.

I mention this because mantra shastra suggests mantras are created by stringing them, like a garland of flowers. ( see below for ideas on Surya graha bijaksara).

There are rules that are used, and one also needs to be aware of what sounds are favorable to the individual. Some people use the Akathaha chakra method, some us ones birth chart. The Guru needn't use any of this as he is self sufficient and knows the sound needed for the aspirant. The Akathaha chakra method we will not go into but it suggests if the mantra will be suitable and has the following levels: siddhi, sadhya, susiddha or ari. So from Siddhi or successful and bears fruit to ari or satru , an enemy for the user.

As mentioned in other posts there is a set of Bija/mantras that all can use called Pra-siddhi mantras irrespective of diksha from a guru; thus if guru can do this, called gurupadesatoh mantra, it is always considerd the proper way and will bear fruit.

Lets stop here with another bija for Durgati. The dasakshari bija mantra ( I use mantra as a general term);
Om Aim Hrim Klim chamundaaayai vichchai


Surya bijaksara
Let say a native was interested in a bija mantra for a graha that one wanted to adore, strengthen. And this graha sat in the right place in ones chart. Each graha from Sun ( Surya) to Ketu has a sound associated with it, a vibration . These sounds are HAM, SA, KA, BA, GA, DA, PH, BHA. From these much can be distilled and are of great worth.

So I wish to give one energy or should I say discover it's energy as I have no say on this... it is the vibration, and I just follow the rules. So to give this energy, we need to add Agni, fire tattva, or tejas if you will.

To do this we add 'ra', this is the bija for Agni who we adore in Jyotish, the light of the Veda. And to insure its blossoming, we add one of the tri-murti. Brahma, Siva or Vsnu. We know their vibration as om, and as A-U-M, each letter assigned to each.

So to make the proper bijaakshara mantra for Surya we compose the vibration of HA+RA+M to get 'hram', and there are variations on the theme, but at the core the rules follow. We can see how others can be derived with this approach. We can also add some additional rules that get us to some bija mantra's that are known by a few... Hare, Hari, Hreem, Sreem, Kleem, etc.

All using some std. rules from mantra shastra and the sound phoneme, vibrations of thre graha's, tri-murti, Agni, and others of Vayu, etc.

A basic premise, one does not jump from one bija to the other. Siddhi does not come with just a few rounds of mantra's. As sivananda-ji says 'we only dig one well'. So , with the right jyotish/guru/swami they can build the right sound for the asperant that may take on several bija vibrations and link them together. Hence we various mantra's that stimulate certain houses (bhavas)... for moksha we look to the 8th, the 12th houses, some use the 4th house, and then multiples of this 4 and 8 and 12.

You will see Krsna's mantra as 16 phonenes ( 4X4 or 2X8); or our most valued Gayatri 24 phonemes (3 X 8 or 2 X12); Moksha as always is considered unless another interest is in place...and siva's , a 5 phoneme or 6 phoneme. All with specific purpose.


omnamasivaya

pranams

Haridas
28 October 2007, 08:55 PM
Namaste.
May Mother bless you. Thank you for taking your time and telling me about this.

sarabhanga
29 October 2007, 12:26 AM
Namaste,

bIja indicates “the seed”, “the primary cause or principle”, “the source or origin”, or “the truth (as the seed or cause of being)”. And a bIja is “the germ or origin of any composition”, or “anything serving as a receptacle or support”, and especially “a letter or syllable that forms the essential part of the mantra of any deity”.

A mantra is an “instrument of thought”, particularly “speech, sacred text, prayer or praise”, and especially “a vedic hymn or sacrificial formula” or “a sacred formula invoking any individual deity”. mantra also refers to “an incantation, charm, or spell”, and mantra can be “resolution, counsel, or advice”, “a plan or design”, or “a secret”.

akshara means “imperishable or unalterable”, aksharA is “word or speech”, and aksharam can indicate “a syllable (especially the syllable om), or a letter, a vowel, a sound, or a word”.

bIjAkshara particularly refers to “the first syllable of a mantra”, and bIjamantram indicates “a bIja in a mantra”.

A bIjamantra is a mantra that contains a bIja, and the bIja (generally) appears at the beginning of its mantra (as the primary cause or source). And so, bIjamantra simply refers to “mantra with bIjAkshara”.

shian
31 October 2007, 08:07 PM
Na thatho, na matha, na bandur na datha,
Na puthro, na puthri , na bruthyo , na bartha,
Na jayaa na Vidhya, na Vruthir mamaiva,
Gathisthwam, Gathisthwam Thwam ekaa Bhavani.

Neither the mother nor the father,
Neither the relation nor the friend,
Neither the son nor the daughter,
Neither the servant nor the husband,
Neither the wife nor the knowledge,
And neither my sole occupation,
Are my refuges that I can depend, Oh, Bhavani,
So you are my refuge and my only refuge, Bhavani.

what the meaning of that? are meaning is we dont want family etc?