Mantra Yoga and Initiation

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The mantra is extremely important in all initiatic traditions as it is the primary means of conveying diksha or ‘initiation’ within the Orders or groups. Various meanings of the Sanskrit term also include ‘consecration’, ‘preparation’ and most interestingly, ‘new vision’, as seeing and knowledge often have the same meaning.

Mantra Yoga Sanskrit Om or AumWhen the guru gives a mantra to a sadhaka, it is called japa as that implies continuous repetition. While that is not the only use of the mantra, japa is valuable as a means of controlling the mind and stabilising the knowledge, and can be very efficacious as a support to meditation. The word or phrase can itself be the object of meditation. The whole question of diksha is contentious and some prefer not to discuss the subject at all, which is understandable. One should certainly not discuss one’s personal mantra. Very often the same mantra will be given to a group; it is still ‘personal’ when it has been conferred, even if used by all the followers of a particular guru.

This article is from the forthcoming book, Advaita Vedanta—Question of the Real.

Why is diksha contentious? Very often novices will pester us for japa or diksha when they have read or heard about it somewhere and sense its importance. However, that feeling does not take account of their readiness to receive it, especially in the real initiatic sense. Impatience is a clear indication of unworthiness, although there is no reason at all why it should not be requested. In so far as it really can transmit initiation then once received it is permanent, and this is why it has been said that no member of an Order can ever leave it, since it is an integral part of being. Those who do leave an Order, as of course happens frequently, especially in the volatile times we live in today, were never truly members so their departure is no different than someone dissociating from any profane club, association or society. Even if initiation were given, they would not have received it.

Mantra in Initiation

This brings up a very important question regarding initiation, in whatever way it is given. We will not discuss here the absurdity of ‘self-initiation’, which is very popular in neo-spiritualism, and will only state here that it is an oxymoron arising from sheer ignorance. Initiation must be transmitted from one who has knowledge of more than a theoretical order, or if not, then at least from one that has received authorisation to initiate from within an Order. Initiation, as we have said, may be given sometimes but not received. Likewise a seed may be cast upon stony ground and so will not flourish.

At the highest level diksha is no less than what is called guru darshana, where the samadhi of the guru is transferred to the practitioner at least temporarily—in which case they have to work on it of course. There are other cases where the person may receive a spiritual influence but owing to their lack of preparedness, its effect is detrimental—although this is usually temporary and it is known that sometimes the power has been subsequently removed by the guru. In such a case, they were not able to withstand the direct transference from the mind of a Brahma-jnanin. It will then become apparent that the giving of a mantra or diksha is far more than the practice within the Order of the Golden Dawn where a seasonal ‘password’ is given, or in some later derivatives of that, where the Neophyte has to figure out a ‘secret word’ from a code given in the ritual.[1]

A real mantra is never merely invented or made up. The word or phrase will often be one well known from the Gita or Upanishads, for example, in which case the question arises as to how then can it be in any way ‘secret’ or indeed personal? It is special because it has been given in the way we have indicated. It is not merely a word, there is power behind it, which is the power of transmission. The guru will also give personal instruction in how to pronounce it and how to use it, which may be different according to the individual.

The secret then is not in a word itself, as is the case with shruti (‘direct’) texts. This is further explained by the bija mantra, where not only a word is given but also a deity, called Ishta Devata, the ‘chosen deity’. The mantra in this case is linked to the deity and usually a name of the deity is included, as with the much celebrated Om Nama Shiva-ya. There are countless examples in scripture and in hymns of praise. The most important of all of them is Om or AUM as it is a name of Brahma and much else besides.[2]

Mantra yoga: Sanskrit Om or AumThe three letters A, U, M are merged into one figure. The chandra-bija is at the top, which literally means ‘moon and dot (or point)’. All mantras include what is also called the bija-nada, which is indicative of subtle sound, not uttered physically. The bija ‘point’ is placed over the mantric word to indicate this. It is for the same reason—of the very subtle nature of this sound—that AUM is referred to in the Vedas indirectly, as Pranava, which is AUM or Brahma Nirguna.[3] This can be taken to mean, ‘a boat that carries us away from world illusion and to the Real’. This is further  indicated by the moon and point.

It is often said in books or literature that mantras are to be sounded aloud with the voice. While this is sometimes done, it is not the way to enter the mystery of the bija-nada. It is therefore best to utter the word silently. In the highest form of the nada, it is not uttered at all, not even mentally, but is heard though not with the ears or even the inward sense of hearing. In this case, what is actually experienced is completely indescribable. There are lesser degrees of this, which amount to more indirect forms of knowledge.

The yantra, ‘image’, is also used extensively, and there are countless examples even within Hinduism, let alone neo-spiritualism where symbols are invented as often as they are drawn from a valid tradition. Apart from these—some of which can be effective—the best are no doubt to be found within the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Some of the most effective within the Tantras, and which are also very well known, also happen to be the simplest, for example the point within a triangle:

Mantra and yantra: tantrik yantraThe purpose of this is to meditate, using the bindu in the centre as the focal point. Such a yantra should preferably be hand drawn and painted by the sadhaka. While it can be meditated on externally, as with the mantra it is best when it is transferred to the subtle sense of vision in the first instance. After that, depending on the skill of the operator, the image itself is lost and the real knowledge of the symbol is known directly.

Another form of yantra is the image of the Ishta Devata. This is used in combination with the bija mantra. Traditionally, the idea is to build the image of the deity imaginatively in as much detail as possible. In practice, some are better at this than others, and in fact it is not really essential, especially as the idea is not to stay with the imagination; ideally, the created ‘picture’ is replaced by the vision of the deity, which is not at all the same thing as imagining it. Although it is not in any way a supreme realisation or something of that order, there are ‘degrees’ or levels of reality and the vision is of a higher order generally than mere visualisation. This practice is also part of what is called Ishvara Pranidhāna in the Yoga-Sutras.

Mantras and Chakras

Finally, a word should be said regarding the use of bija mantra images and sounds associated with the chakras. There is much of this written about in popular books and elsewhere, and that removes such practices entirely from their traditional use, so we will not give here a list of them. One might gain the impression, even from what might appear to be authoritative sources that the use of mantras extends no further than a means of helping with bodily health or psychological problems. In fact, using them ignorantly in the ways often suggested can be harmful—often the best thing that can happen is that nothing happens at all. Why is this? The methods are ancient and while the main use of these was spiritual, that does not mean that a spiritual influence will have a beneficial effect on one that uses them without knowledge and without a guru to guide them.

Even in tradition, mantras can be used for material purposes and this is not necessarily illegitimate but obviously there is ignorance prevailing in the person using them in this way, exactly as in the case of magical talismans. Our recommendation is to use the mantra and yantra for spiritual purposes, which means knowing the Real as the ultimate goal.

Notes

1. For example, using the Western colour correspondences to the paths of the Tree of Life in the King Scale: blue, yellow, orange-yellow, emerald green, blue-black: MABYN, a transliteration from Hebrew, sometimes rendered without the yod.
2. One should refer, in the first instance, to the Mandukya Upanishad, which is the authoritative treatise on AUM.
3. Thus repetition of the sacred AUM is called Pranava Japa.

© Oliver St. John 2024

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Sagittarius: Egyptian Tarot Neith XIV

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The Egyptian Tarot trump for the twenty-fifth path of Sagittarius is Neïth XIV. Jupiter, the Sapphire Star, is the ruler of Sagittarius. Neptune is also figured as infernal governor of the mutable signs.

Egyptian Tarot Neith XIVNeïth is depicted here as a young woman clothed in blue, with yellow ornaments and trim. She bears a green ankh of life in her left hand and priestly was sceptre or phoenix wand in her right hand. She wears a fillet armed with a serpent. Neïth’s hieroglyphic name is shown at the top right of the Tarot picture. The first letter is net, the ‘shuttle’ determinative. Next comes the hieroglyph for the ‘sky’, identical to that of Nuit. The name completes with the phonetic ‘t’.[1]

Behind Neïth stands a composite symbol formed from the djed pillar, the shuttle, which spells her name (net), and the Arrow of Sagittarius. The Egyptian djed is possibly a precursor of the Hebrew and Arabic letter samekh, which defines the path of Sagittarius. The djed pillar is comparable with the spinal column, which is in turn analogous with the subtle channel for the special fire (sushumna) of Kundalini Yoga. It also signifies spiritual strength and endurance. Further comparison may be made with an alchemical retort for the transmutation of iron, the metal of Mars, into gold, the metal of the Sun and invisible radiance of spirit.[2]

Neïth was one of the earliest creatrix deities, the weaver of the web of the worlds, and comparable to the Hindu Maya. She was a personification of the waters of the primordial nun, the abyss from which all life issues forth, and which existed even before the birth of Gods such as Ra.[3] ‘Before’ is not meant here in the sense of time, which is a common confusion when the word ‘creation’ is used in relation to the cosmos. As with the biblical ‘in the beginning’, the real sense of this is in principio, ‘with the principle’, which is to say, the supreme ineffable, which is without beginning or cessation, without birth or death; in Itself it is eternal, changeless, indestructible and infinite.

As goddess of the crossed arrows (not shown on the card), Neïth is guardian of the Abyss and of all crossroads or thresholds of initiation. The ‘x’ symbol is the primal signature for any place or location. It marks the formless substance or radiance from which all life comes forth or is manifested.[4]

Sagittarius and the House of the Net

The foremost shrine of Neïth was called the ‘House of the Net’ (Net-Het) at Sàis in the Delta. It was here that a great annual festival was held in honour of Neïth and Isis. The festival resembled the rites of Candlemas or Imbolc, the crossquarter of the year between the winter solstice and spring equinox where cakes are made and eaten in honour of the Goddess. Lanterns are kept alight all night and carried in processions coinciding with the full Moon. According to Herodotus, some curious rites were performed in Sàis, near a row of ancient monoliths. A small shrine was hollowed out below ground level and covered with an ornately carved stone slab. The walls of the shrine were also decorated with fantastic carving. From the account given by Herodotus it is certain that the shrine was used for night-long vigils for the purpose of initiation. No one would be allowed to enter or leave until the morning, by which time the person thus prepared would have encountered their Daemon, or Neïth herself.[5]

Neïth was called the ‘House of the Net’ from earliest times. The root of the name ‘Net’ is phonetically identical to the name for any god or natural principle, neter; spinning or weaving is a traditional analogy for the emergence of worlds and creatures from the ground ‘substance’ (Sanskrit prakriti). According to the Hindu doctrines, Maya spins the worlds from her own essence. It must here be understood that essence and substance symbolise a self-polarisation of the eternal, non-dual principle, so that manifestation can come about and be known as existence.

Neïth and the Path of Sagittarius

Temperance is the traditional name of Tarot Atu XIV; Daughter of the Reconcilers: Bringer-forth of Life is the esoteric title. The Tarot of Marseille depicts an Angel pouring liquid between blue and red vases. The art of alchemy is shown there—Sagittarius is the mutable and so changeful fire sign of the Zodiac. The path connects the Moon, which always symbolises mind, with the Sun that symbolises spiritual ‘gold’, and the centre of intelligence. The silvery lunar water and golden solar fire is fused into the stone of the wise, lapis philosophorum, or the philosophic egg, in which cosmos is likened to embryo.[6] Fools attempt to apprehend the immortal stone through physical means—similarly, a child might seek to capture sunshine in a bottle. While the child may be rewarded with a faery song, the materialist will get nothing but pain and suffering in return for the soul, his birthright, that he has abandoned.

The twenty-fifth path crosses the veil called Paroketh, marking the division between the world of appearances and the invisible world of spirit. As such, the path is called the Intelligence of Probation or Trial. The mind’s intelligence has its foundation in Yesod, domain of the natural soul. It is only by dint of sacrifice of the labour of the work done that the harmony and beauty of Tiphereth or spirit can be fixed as a permanent reflection in Yesod, as the sphere of mind. To be a foundation for beauty, the psyche must undergo the purification of study, the organisation of the thoughts through concentration of the mind. Likewise, the body must submit to the beneficent astringent of the discipline, including rituals and practice. The aspirant practices indifference to phenomena, refusing to self-identify with the actions of the self and events that seem to be taking place. This must not be thought of as lack of attention; the level of observation is intensified through meditation practice. Neïth, the spinner of the worlds, fires the upward Arrow of Truth that spells dissolution of ego and entrance to higher states of being. World renunciation begins no sooner than a foot is placed on the path, for in control of body and mind there is already the shutting out of all that would otherwise obstruct the path. For that reason the Intelligence of Probation is likened in Christian mysticism to a Dark Night of the Soul.

The magical power of the twenty-fifth path is that of Transmutations. In yoga, this refers to subtle changes in the mental state that are only perceptible to the experienced yogin.

Notes

From the forthcoming book and Egyptian Tarot deck.

1. The name ‘Neïth’ may be pronounced approximately as nyet.

2. Mars is physical strength and so the corporeal state, whereas the Sun is light-intelligence and all that transcends the former. In alchemical texts it is sometime said to be the transmutation of lead into gold, lead being the metal of Saturn, which  symbolised time and death by classical times.

3. The term ‘abyss’ is often incorrectly identified with ‘chaos’ in the sense of confusion, disorder, which is in itself a profane misunderstanding of the original meaning of ‘chaos’. The primordial nun is the depth.

4. The formless light or radiance that clothes Neïth is the particular attribute of the Priestess of Atu II. The thirteenth path is an axial continuation of the twenty-fifth, so the same ideas are resumed on a higher arc. By comparison, the thirty-second path at the base of the Tree, Great One of the Night of Time, is usually imaged as anima mundi.

5. The comment by the ancient Greek traveller Herodotus proves that psychology was not the invention of Freud, for he drily dismisses the vigils conducted in honour of Neïth as mere fantasy: “Herein everyone encounters the shadows of his own affections and fantasies in the night season, which the Egyptians call Mysteries.” The commentator thus reveals his own lack of knowledge, unless he was simply pandering to his sceptical readers.

6. Cf. Hiranyagarbha, the ‘world egg’ of Hinduism, which is itself a symbol of Pure Being, Ishvara or the Lord of the Universe.

For the complete Qabalistic notes on Sagittarius and the twenty-fifth path, plus all other paths, see Thirty-two paths of Wisdom.

© Oliver St. John 2020, 2024

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