महामनुस्तवः

Mahamanustava

आर्या मातरमाद्यां त्रिभुवनसन्तानयोगसौभाग्याम् ।
आदिपुरेश्वरमहिषीं ललितां श्रीत्रिपुरसुन्दरी वन्दे ॥१॥

I bow down to Arya, the Primordial Mother, who has the good fortune of having the denizens of the triple world as her children, to the Queen of the Lord of Adipura, to Lalita, Tripurasundari.

Arya is a Vedic word. It denotes the incessant toil of the ardent aspirant, the traveller on the Path, the relentless fighter against the powers of darkness. The Divine Mother as Arya is the Goddess of human journey carrying it forward against all attacks of the hostile forces and she leads the aspirant to the shore beyond darkness. The metre of the verses is also · Arya.’ As Sri Vidya is the sound-body of the Goddess, the verses are treated as not different from the Divine Mother.

Santana means extension and so offspring. The Divine takes delight in extending itself as the triple world. The Goddess owes her motherhood to the denizens of the triple world, for if the latter were not in existence, she would not be the Mother. So it is her saubhagya, good fortune. The poet also hints that he has been worshipping the Mother as Saubhagya Vidya.

Adi Pura is the City of Tiruvottiyur (near Madras) -the native place of the author, Sri Kapali Sastriar. The presiding Deity in the temple there is Lalita Tri-purasundari with her consort Adipureshwara.

या शैशवात् प्रभृति नः : सङ्कटबहुलेषु संशयपदेषु ।
अविदितमथवा विदितं पातात् पाति स्म गन्तुमिह गम्यम् ॥२ ॥

Irrespective of whether we were aware or unaware, right from childhood in various difficulties and places of doubt, she guarded us from the fall so that we might reach here the Goal.

The Guiding Grace can act even when the person is unware of its working. At its touch, difficulties are turned into opportunities and tottering doubt into a bedrock of faith.

One who has undergone the necessary preparations in the previous births and is destined to follow the path of Sri Vidya in this birth, he alone gets initiated in the lore of Sri Vidya. So the Goddess nurtures such a person from his very childhood. Because before he has chosen her, she has chosen him to be her devotee.

By the Goal here, Sastriar means his participation in the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, the consummation of all his aspirations and yearnings, the culmination of his dedicated journey on the path of the soul’s progress.

मूर्तिमपश्यममूर्ते-रपि यद्देव्याः पुरा शिलाशिल्पे ।
चेतन्त्यथ चेतयन्ती कृपा हि सेति स्मरामि सुन्दर्याः ॥३॥

I recollect that it is the grace of Tripurasundari that in olden days I saw in sculptured stone the form of the Goddess, though formless, fully conscious and infusing consciousness in me.

Formerly, when Sastriar was in Tiruvottiyur, he used to visit the temple daily and stand for a while before the Deity doing the japa of the Mantra. To Sastriar the idol in the temple was no sculptured stone. It was the living form of the Mother fully conscious. And the Murti infused the appropriate consciousness in him. Sastriar recollects how at such an early age he was able to perceive concretely the form of the formless Divine and experience its working in him. He gratefully attributes this to the grace of Tripurasundari.

अच्छलजीवनविधये तुच्छमनोवासकच्छतो हृत्वा ।
विच्छन्दकनिजपदभू- सेविनमेनं व्यधत्त या सदया ॥४॥

Extricating from the mire of mean mental living for a mode of life without deceit, she with compassion made this being without its volition the servitor of her feet.

Mental living is called mean and is compared to a mire because the mind has its own ideas, preferences, prejudices and preconceived notions. If one has to lead a life of sincerity in thought, word and deed, one has to get out of the mental inhibitions. There is a play on the word ’jivana’ which means life as well as water. The Goddess extricates the aspirant from the mire and leads him to clean water. As he was extricated out of mental living, Sastriar says he had no mental will or volition, chanda. Without his volition, the Mother by her grace and compassion made him her servitor.

जीवग्राहमुदना निजपदजाले निधाय मां यस्याः ।
जागति स्वीकर्तुं दृष्टि: कालेऽत्र तन्तुनाभनिभा ॥५॥

Capturing me alive and keeping me in the web of her feet, her gaze from high, like a spider, is vigilant to claim me as her own at the appropriate time.

The spider with its magnetic gaze draws the prey to the web it has built round it. Once in the web, the prey cannot extricate itself. The spider keeps the prey alive as long as it wishes and then swallows it. The gaze of the Goddess is compared to the action of the spider. Caught in her enthralling gaze, the devotee is helplessly drawn towards her. Sastriar had been drawn like-wise. The Goddess has given him the privilege of her proximity, samipya, and she is watching the appropriate time to give him her sayujya, the state of absolute oneness with her.

The culmination of worship is that the devotee is swallowed up in the deity. The devotee has no separate existence. He is one with the deity.

अविचिन्वन् देवपथं यदयं नीतो यदृच्छयेव यया ।
जनमिममज्ञमवन्ती विज्ञा सा त्रिपुरसुन्दरी विद्या ॥६॥

The fact that without any seeking on his part, he has been led to the Divine Path as if by accident shows that Tripurasundari as the all-knowing knowledge has been protecting this person who knows nothing.

Tripurasundari as Sri Vidya, the knowledge, is vijna one who has the special knowledge. Sastriar calls himself in humility as ajna, one who does not know. He did not know at that time that he was destined to tread the Divine Path and so he had no seeking for it.

“As if by accident.” It was no accident at all. It was the deliberate design of the Divine Mother that he should tread on the Divine Path.

दुर्गममन्तर्ध्वान्त-प्राकारं विहसितेन भिन्दन्ती ।
मुखमण्डलभा यस्याः कुरुते स्वच्छान्तरानिमानस्मान् ॥७ ॥

Demolishing the impenetrable rampart of inner darkness by her smile, the lustre of her orb-like face makes us here pure of heart.

Ignorance which is signified by darkness raises a wall between man and God. This wall is like the rampart of an impenetrable fortress. This can be demolished only by the mighty light of the smile of the Goddess.

The gaze penetrates and initiates action. The smile spreads light and assists unfoldment.

The thought of the smile of the Goddess dispels the ignorance inside and the light of her face fills the whole being and makes it clear and clean.

अद्भुतगगनशरीरा-मेकाक्षरनादसंयतसमीराम् ।सकलान्तरनिणिमिषां निस्तिमिरामन्तरे परां वन्दे ॥८ ॥

I bow down in my heart to the Supreme who is vigilant in all hearts without a tinge of darkness, to the one whose body is the marvellous sky and whose breath is regulated by the one immutable Nada.

The marvellous Akasa is the body of the Goddess and primordial Nada vibrating as the one immutable, akshara, Hrim is her life-breath. And in the microcosm, her body is the Dahara akasa, the heart-space of the beings and her life-breath is the Hrllekha, Hrim, the streak rising from the heart of every being.

The vast marvel of macrocosmic proportions can be held by man in his little heart, in the space occupying not more than the size of a thumb.

Nirnimisha, unwinking, that is vigilant, wakeful.

परितो मां विसरन्ती-मूर्ध्व मूर्भोऽवतीर्य विलसन्तीम् ।
निध्यायन्नध्यात्म भासं पदयोः स्मरामि सुन्दर्याः ॥९॥

Meditating on the Light Spiritual which streams forth all around me and has its play descending from high above my head, I remember the feet of Tripurasundari.

Here Sastriar relates his constant personal experience. The Light is no ordinary light. It is spiritual. From high above the head it descends down and wraps the being on all its sides. Wherever there is an ascent of one’s being in steady aspiration, love or prayer, there is immediately in response a descent of the Divine taking the form of Peace, Force, Light or Delight according to the need of the aspirant. This can be concretely felt as something descending and pouring over the head from high above and enveloping one in its streams.

गुरुचरणैः सङ्क्रमितां वर्णमयीमम्बिकामनुध्यायन् ।
गुरुवरसम्पदमलभे यदहं सा त्रिपुरसुन्दरीकरुणा ॥१० ॥

Contemplating on the Mother composed of letters duly transmitted to me by my revered father, I got a wealth of great Masters. This was verily the grace of Tripurasundari.

Sastriar got initiated into Sri Vidya Mantra from his revered father. He used to perform the japa of the Mantra daily in the temple at Tiruvottiyur where one day he met Kavyakantha Vasishta Ganapati Muni who accepted him as his own. Through him he was the recipient of the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi at Arunachala. From there Sastriar was drawn to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother wherein finally he took refuge. Thus, he got a wealth of great Masters by the grace of the Sri Vidya Mantra initiated by his father, his first Guru.

Varnamayi Ambika, the Mother is composed of the letters of the Sri Vidya Mantra. Her body and the Mantra are not different.

क इति त्रिजगज्जननी-मादिकलां भुवनशिल्पनिर्मातुः ।
कमलोद्भवस्य कान्ता-मादौ विद्यारताः प्रभाषन्ते ॥११॥

The votaries of Sri Vidya at the outset speak of as ’ka’ the beloved of the lotus-born Brahma, the mother of the triple worlds, the prime piece of art of the creator of the world-sculpture.

From this verse onwards till the twenty-fifth verse, the successive letters of the fifteen-lettered pancadasi are the first letters of the successive stanzas. The pancadasi begins with the letter ka which is the seed-sound of Brahma and Saraswati who create the world. The world is spoken of as a sculpture, Brahma as the sculptor and his beloved as his first piece of art.

ए मातरखिलबोधन-दक्षे रक्षेति नः समाहूय ।
स्वात्मानमर्पयन्ति प्राज्ञायै तन्त्रवेदिनो विबुधाः ॥१२ ॥

“O Mother, skilled in all understandings, protect us." Invoking thus, the wise men the knowers of the act surrender themselves to the Great Knower.

E is the second letter of the Mantra. It also serves as a vocative interjection to call the Mother.

The real Tantra, act, is to invoke the divine protection and surrender oneself to it. Only the wise men know this act. They are wise but she is skilled in all knowings and Prajna the Great Knower.

ईश्वरि मायिकमखिलं प्रावरणं चक्षुषोऽपहर मातः ।
येनामायिकमखिलं प्रेक्षेय तवेति याचते विद्वान् ॥१३ ॥

“Sovereign Mother, remove all the veils of illusion over my eyes so that I may perceive all of thine devoid of delusion.” Thus prays the learned man.

Her verities have no maya, illusion. But a thick veil of illusion is drawn over men’s eyes preventing right perception. By her grace the veil is removed and one is enabled to have the right perspective.

Verse 7 referred to a wall of ignorance between man and God. This verse speaks of a veil of illusion. The world is no illusion; but it is not able to perceive God because of the intervening illusion.

ललिते भगवति भवती-मुपगच्छामस्तदत्र कुरु दयितम् ।
अन्तस्सन्तमसं नो हरेंति देवीमुपासते विज्ञाः ॥१४ ॥

O Lalita, Divine, we have come close to you; so make us dear to you. Remove the darkness inside us.” So adore the knowers.

Upasana, upasthana and upavasa, the terms used for denoting worship literally mean sitting close,” standing close’ and ’ living close.’ The worship brings one close to the Deiiy. Then in that proximity one becomes near and dear to the Deity.

Transformation takes time and the secret of worship is to learn to wait on the Deity in adoration. He who knows how to wait becomes the master of circumstances and time.

ह्रीमिति मातुस्त्रिजगत्-सङ्कोचविकासतन्त्रदीक्षायाः ।
अक्षरमेकं ध्यायन् जगदज्ञानस्य जयति ना जेता ॥१५॥

Man, the victor, conquers the ignorance about the world by meditating on the one immutable letter Hrim of the Mother who has taken a vow as it were to be doing the act of withdrawing and unfolding the triple world.

Man is essentially a conqueror. The Hrim of the first kuta makes him conquer the ignorance about the world. The world is known but not in relation to the Goddess who goes on withdrawing and unfolding the world. One should know that the Goddess has become the world. As long as one does not know that, any knowledge about the world is partial knowledge and the mistaking of it to be the total knowledge is ignorance.

हसिताकुरस्य गर्ने विश्वोद्भवमूलसंमदं दधती ।
सर्वज्ञहृदयरमणी कामाक्षी जयति परमवामाक्षी ॥१६ ॥

Bearing the basic bliss that brings forth the universe in the womb of her sprouting smile, she who sports in the heart of the Omniscient, the Consort of the Supreme, Kamakshi reigns victorious.

The source of the universe is Ananda, bliss. When the Mother smiles, worlds unfold and come into being. Smile is an expression of felicity, happiness. So it is said that the Mother carries in her smile the bliss that produces the worlds.

“So’ kamayata. He desired, the world came about. Tadaikshata. That saw, the creation started.”-so says the Upanishad. The prime perception, the prime desire, produces the worlds. So the primordial Goddess is spoken of as one who has desireful eyes, Kamakshi. She is the consort of the Supreme and the all-knower carries her in his heart.

सङ्करमक्षममाणा धर्माणां सर्वलोकहितकामा ।
सारांशमुद्धरन्ती सर्वस्माज्जयति सर्वभूतसमा ॥१७ ॥

Not brooking the confusion amongst Dharmas, the well-wisher of the whole world, equal to all beings, uplifts the essentials from every thing and reigns victorious.

The Goddess is the Mother of all, of the knower as well as of the ignorant, of the Gods as well as of the Asuras. She is equal to all beings. Each has his own Dharma. She does not allow confusion. She leads each one according to his own Dharma, uplifting the essentials from everything.

The Vidya of the Goddess, Sri Vidya, is for all who aspire and is catholic in that it shows the way to the aspirant according to his own law of being. :

कमलभुवो भवकार्ये कमलाक्षस्यापि रक्षणे जगताम् ।
विलयेऽप्युभयोर्धात्री कामकला जयति सर्वदेवकला ॥१८॥

Sustaining the lotus-born Brahma in the act of creation, the lotus-eyed Vishnu in the protection of the worlds, and sustaining them both in dissolution, Kamakala, the Digit of Desire, the portion in every God, reigns victorious.

The Goddess as the Primordial Desire, Kamakala, creates through Brahma and protects through Vishnu. At the time of dissolution, she sustains both these Gods. Every God owes his godhood to the portion of her that is present in him.

हरहृदयपीठनिष्ठा शिवपदसाम्राज्यसिद्धिभूयिष्ठा ।
भुवनत्रयनाथगुप्त-श्रीविद्याप्रथनलासिनी जयति ।।१९।।

Stabilised in the heart-pedestal of Siva, opulent with the accomplishments of the sovereign Siva-states, the One whose play is promulgated by Sri Vidya, guarded by the Lord of the three worlds, reigns supreme.

The Goddess is inseparable from Siva and her worshippers get all the Siddhis of the realms of Siva. One understands her manifold play only through Sri Vidya. But it is the secret of secrets guarded by no less a person than Siva himself, the Lord of the three worlds.

लज्जाबीजाद् विश्वं विततं निर्लज्जमम्बरे दधती ।
कामकला ब्रह्माण्डे पिण्डाण्डे जयति सैव नित्यकला ॥२० ॥

Holding out openly through the seed-sound Hrim the expansive universe in the sky, she reigns as Kamakala, the Digit of Desire, in the macrocosm. It is she again who reigns as the eternal portion in the microcosm.

Hrim is called lajja bija, because the Sanskrit word for lajja, shyness, is hri. It denotes a shyness, sankoca, a reserve and indicates a progressive unfoldment.

Nirlajjam, unabashed. It is an open fact that the expansive universe is held in space by the Goddess. There is no secret about it.

She who is Kamakala becomes the eternal portion in each being. Life is worth-living because each has in him a portion of the eternal Divine.

हरीमिति हृदयाभ्युदयां रेखां बृहदूर्ध्वमूलकामकलाम् ।
हृल्लेखां भुवनेश्वर-सम्पदमेकाग्रसंमदां चिनुमः ॥२१ ॥

We gather in ourselves the wealth of the Lord of the worlds, the concentrated Bliss, Hrim, the hrllekha, the streak of line rising from the heart, the kamakala having its root above in the Vast.

The prime Desire is born in the Vast that is Truth, Satyam Brhat. Having its root there, it spreads its branches below in creation. In response the desire towards the Divine rises as a streak from the heart of creation. This is Hrllekha.

समये समया परमं साक्षादुपजीव्यमध्वनीक्षयते ।
चरिते तु कुलाचारे प्रथयति चित्राणि परमशक्तिकला ॥२२ ॥

The Goddess who is unified with her Lord shows, on the path, the Supreme to be directly experienced at the appropriate time. When kulacara is practised, the portion of the Supreme Force manifests marvellous things.

There are two paths famous as kulacara and samayacara. In kulacara, external worship and the personal exertion of the sadhaka find an important place. The sadhaka exerts himself and tries to uplift his soul through the very things that degrade it. By his personal effort of tapasya, he raises the Kundalini Sakti coiled up in his Muladhara and leads her to meet her consort Parasiva in the thousand-petalled head-lotus Sahasrara. When this takes place, the Kundalini who is the ansa, portion, of the Supreme Force, manifests miraculous siddhis in the sadhaka. There is a danger that the sadhaka may rest content with those things and not proceed further.

In samayacara, the emphasis is on inner worship and complete surrender to the Divine Sakti. The sadhaka does not worry about the result. He relies completely on the Divine Mother. At the appropriate time she reveals to him the Supreme of her own accord. Till then the sadhaka waits on her in adoration.

Samaye means “in samayacara as well as in time?’ Samaya, the Goddess who is equal with Siva.

कन्दर्पदर्पजीवन-सौन्दर्यबलाऽन्तरङ्गशक्तिकला ।
I पदजलजातप्रभवा प्रभवति मयेऽमरत्वमाधातुम् ॥२३ ।।

The Digit of the inner Force arising from the foot-lotus, vivifying the pride of Kama by the strength of its beauty is capable of establishing immortality in the mortal.

The inner Force is the Kundalini rising from the foot-lotus, Muladhara. When the Kundalini’ is awakened, the Serpent-Power goes up and joins with Siva in the head-lotus, Sahasrara, drenching the whole being of the sadhaka with immortal Bliss. By this process can immortality be established in the mortal being

Kundalini is the force of Lalita who gave life to the pride of Kama when vanquished by Siva. She brought to life Kama who was reduced to ashes by Siva. As Kundalini is the Goddess in the form of Serpent Power it is possible for her to establish immortality in the mortal as she did in the case of Kama.

लभ्या वाणी विष्णो-दयितापि चरा स्थिरा च यत्लेन ।
परमार्थबद्धदीक्षैः परस्य शक्तिस्तु तत्प्रसादेन ॥२४॥

Saraswati can be obtained; and Vishnu’s beloved, ever on the move can be fixed by effort but the force of the Supreme can be attained by those who are resolved to obtain the supreme purpose only by her grace.

By her worship, knowledge is got and even the fickle wealth can be made to stay permanently with a little effort. But if one is intent on getting the Supreme Purpose one gets it only by her grace. Sri Vidya grants knowledge and wealth to its devotees; that is normal. But if the seeker aspires for the Supreme Goal, that too is made possible by her Grace. Her Grace effects what is beyond the reach of human effort.

हरीङ्कारत्रितयशिर-स्त्रिकूटमुखमध्यपादवर्णमयीम् ।
ज्ञानत्रयशक्तिगी निर्भरसौभाग्यसुन्दरी वन्दे ॥२५ ॥

I bow down to the reliable Saubhagya Sundari impregnated with the force of the triple knowledge made up of the letters of the three kutas which are headed by the triple Hrim and which are her face, middle and feet.

With the first letter of this verse, the Panchadasi Mantra becomes complete.

The Mantra is ka e i la hrim ha sa ka ha la hrim sa ka la hrim.

कएईलहरी हसकहलहीं सकलही

The Saubhagya Vidya Mantra is Aim ka e i la hrim klim ha sa ka ha la hrim sauh sa ka la hrim.

ऐं कएईलह्रीं क्लीं हसकहलही सौ: सकलहरी

Ka e i la hrim is the first kuta and is the face of the Goddess. Ha sa ka ha la hrim is the second kuta and is the middle portion of the Goddess. Sa ka la hrim is the third and last kuta and is her feet.

The three Hrims crowning the three kutas represent the triple knowledge which is explained in subsequent verses.

पञ्चदशाक्षरवपुष गावविभागेन पङ्क्तिशखितयीम् ।
वन्दे ललितां विद्या मुनिजनसाम्राज्यमौनगुरुदृष्टाम् ॥२६॥

I bow down to Lalita, the Vidya, the body of fifteen letters, threefold on account of the division of the body in a sequence, perceived by the Silent Master of the sovereign realm of sages.

The fifteen letters of Panchadasi form the body of the Goddess. The Mantra is three-fold on account of the three kutas identified with the divisions of the Mother’s body. The Rishi, seer of the Mantra is Dakshinamurti, the Master of all sages, the Supreme Silent One. The Chandas, metre, is Panktih. The Devata, deity, is Lalita Tripurasundari.

हाद्यां केचन काद्या-मन्ये प्रणमन्ति मन्त्रवर्णमयीम् ।
पञ्चाक्षर्यामिव सा सप्ताक्षर्यां च जयति नादकला ॥२७ ॥

Some bow down to her constituted of the letters of the Mantra by means of Hadi; others by means of Kadi. The vibrant Nada-kala is supreme in the seven letters just in the same way as in the five letters.

Hadi is the Mantra beginning with ha, worshipped and promulgated by Agastya. The Mantra is Ha sa ka la hrim ha sa ka ha la hrim sa ka la hrim.

हसकलहरी हसकहलही सकलहरी

If we do not count the letters that are repeated, ha sa ka la hrim are the five letters in the Mantra.

Kadi is the Mantra beginning with ka, worshipped by Kama and is the regular Panchadasi Mantra. If we do not count the letters that are repeated, there are in the Mantra seven letters ka ei la hrim ha sa.

Hadi and Kadi are both in vogue amongst Sri Vidya worshippers. Both are held in high regard as the Nadakala reigns supreme in the five letters of the Hadi as well as in the seven letters of the Kadi Mantra.

वाग्भवमस्तकमाया जगदज्ञानान्तसिद्धये गेया ।
मुखपङ्कजाग्रकलया वाणीसिद्धिं बुधस्य कलयति या ॥२८॥

The Hrim at the head of the Vagbhava kuta has to be sung for putting an end to the ignorance about the world. It accomplishes for the wise man fulfilment in speech through the first part which is the face-lotus.

The first kuta or part of the Mantra is the face-lotus of the Goddess and is known as Vagbhava, born out of the primordial Vak. And so the first kuta grants Vak Siddhi, fulfilment in speech.

The knowledge about the world without knowing that it is a formulation of God is a partial knowledge. To mistake this partial knowledge as total knowledge is ignorance. The Hrim at the head of the first kuta puts an end to this ignorance.

जगदीश्वरविज्ञानो-ल्लासनचुञ्चु सदागमप्रणवम् ।
कामेशखण्डचूडा-लङ्कारं नौति तन्त्रविद् धन्य: ॥२९ ॥

The fortunate knower of the Tantra bows down to the crest-jewel of Kamaraja khanda, the Tantric Pranava, expert in manifesting the knowledge about world and God.

The second kuta of the Mantra is known as Kamaraja Khanda as it represents the original desire before creation.

The Tantric Pranava is Hrim. It occupies the same place as Aum in the Vedantic lore.

The Hrim at the head of the second kuta manifests the knowledge about World and God as distinct from the Hrim of the first kuta which puts an end to the ignorance about the world.

जीवेशसर्गसकल-ज्ञाननिधानं पराङ्घ्रिजलजातम् ।
सर्वज्ञपदमुपास्ते कूटत्रयमुकुटमायया मन्त्री ॥३० ॥

The possessor of Mantra adores the source of the Total knowledge of Soul World and God, the foot-lotus of the Supreme Sakti, the Omniscient status with the Hrim that crowns the three kutas.

The third kuta of the Mantra is the foot-lotus of the Goddess. It is the status of the all-knower as an integral knowledge is obtained by means of the Hrim in this kuta. This Hrim, the crowning letter in the whole Mantra, as distinct from the other two Hrims, confers on the sadhaka of the Mantra a total integral knowledge of World, God and Soul, how world-existence and soul-existence are formulations of God-existence.

गुरुजनगुणशतशोधितचित्तं गुरुवरकरुणावीक्षितसिक्तम् ।
गुरुचरणाम्बुजनित्यभुजिष्यं गुर्वी सिद्धिर्गच्छति शिष्यम् ॥३१॥

Accomplishment in a big way comes to the disciple whose mind is purified by the hundreds of qualities of the revered elders, who is drenched in the compassionate gaze of the great Master and who is a constant servitor at the lotus-feet of the Master.

The secret of great achievement is revealed in this The disciple should take lessons from the revered elders, emulate their good qualities and develop his mind accordingly. Nothing is possible without the compassionate gaze of the Guru. The disciple should so conduct himself that he is the recipient of the grace of the Guru. He in turn should be a faithful, loyal and constant servitor at the feet of the Guru.

मन्त्रगुरौ मनुशक्तिर्गुप्ता रोहति फलति च जप्तयुप्ता ।
पुस्तकमन्त्रैर्मस्तकभारं निवहनन्धो वेद न सारम् ॥३२॥

The force of the Mantra is hidden in the Guru who is accomplished in Mantra and when sown in the disciple, doing japa, it grows and bears fruit. Carrying a burden in his head with Mantras found in books, the blind does not know the essence.

When the Guru is a Mantra Siddha, accomplished in the Mantra, the force of the seed-sounds lies concealed in him. When these seed-sounds are sown in the disciple he should do the japa. Then they grow and bear fruit.

Mantras found in books have no life, as they do not carry the force of the Mantra and the tapasya-force of the Guru, the Mantra siddha. They merely become a burden in the head.

Andha, blind, one who does not perceive the truth of things.

The essence of Mantra Sadhana is that the Mantra should be obtained as a living force communicated from a Guru who is a powerhouse and a dynamo of the Mantra Sakti.