Durga Saptashati

From the teachings of Shree Avdhoot Baba Shivanand ji (Babaji)

London was blessed by our beloved Shivanand Babaji between the 14^th and the 25th of Oct when baba conducted Durga shaptashati paath and also blessed all the sadhaks with Srividya level 1 and Srividya Level 2

We Londoners were blessed by the presence of Babaji, Gurumai, Ishanji and his Shakti swaroop Kavitaji

This was the second shivir at London and it has a great significance as this is the last shivir conducted by Babaji before the ascension day of the 21st of December

It was also a divine coincidence as Baba mentioned that the whole Shakti sadhana was during the auspicious Navratri time. Hence baba constantly mentioned that this was a divine plan and that the divine mother and father of the universe (shiv Shiva) had planned this Shivir and all of shadhaks felt extremely grateful to God and the Siddhas for blessing us with the divine nectar of Durga Shaptashati Beej mantras and Srividya sadhana

Durga Saptashati (Day 1-3)

It was a 3 hrs. Session every day with more than 1600 sadhaks attending the Shivir

The moment babaji entered the hall, it was an exhilarating experience, the darshan and grace of a divine master is something that cannot be described but only experienced

Babaji was all his smiling self and it felt like as though we were together for ever , not for once did it feel like I was seeing baba after a long time , it was as though we have been together always . What a grace to be blessed with a Baba like him

I am sure all the sadhaks would agree with me

Babaji said that it has been his mission to spread the knowledge of the nectar of Durga Shaptashati to as many people as possible before the ascension of 21^st Dec 2012 when this earth will evolve into a higher dimension, He wants all the sadhaks to raise their vibration in sync with that of mother earth so that we can evolve to a higher dimension with her

The only method in order to do this as per Baba is doing Durga shaptashati paath on a daily basis and doing Srividya sadhana twice a day

He explained how Durga shaptashati has always been done by inviting a pundit and doing a Havan or Homa reciting all the shlokas in detail which would normally take about two to three hours

However Baba by his intense sadhana has managed to condense the entire Shaptashati into beej mantras . He mentioned how after years of research and Sadhana he has finally managed to compile  the entire Durga shapatashathi Beej mantras ready to be initiated to all his sadhaks . The Love with which babaji initiated us into Durga shaptashati could only be compared to that of a father’s pure unconditional love for the growth and well-being of his children

He then went on to explain the details of the shaptashati , which is written in a coded language and the true essence has been locked away by the great maharishis so that its power cannot be mis used if it were to fall into wrong hands

However babaji has decoded it and has made all the beej mantras jagrit ( alive ) with his meditation and also by including the shaap vimachan mantra which opens the true power of the mantras to anyone who reads it with complete devotion and surrender

It is said that it not only cleanses the person who reads it but also everyone else In the family so much so that it even cleanses the entire city we live in. Such is the power and grace of our great divine mother . Jai maa Durga!!

The shaptashati is a story told to a king who has lost his kingdom and wants to avenge his enemies and get his kingdom back and a business man ( a vaishya ) who has been kicked out of his house by his very own sons and wife

Both these two men reach the ashram of Rishi Sumedh and  ask him for advice and guidance on why they are still in a mental turmoil over the painful things that have happened to them in their own individual lives , the rishi then gives them the shaptashati and initiates them into Srividya so that each can then go ahead and achieve his desires by Sadhana Shakti

The Shaptashati itself is encoded as a story , not just any story but a detailed description of the wars fought by the great mother . It speaks of bloodshed after bloodshed of all the great demons of the ancient times . It at times becomes so bloody that it becomes difficult to see the divine beloved mother on a battle field surrounded by all these dangerous disgusting demons

But that’s where the beauty of the Shaptashati lies as described by Babaji

Babaji described how each demon is a quality within us , how each one lives inside every one of us and how by invoking the vibrations of the beej mantras all these demons are vanquished by the power of the supreme mother

The story begins with Mahakali being the cause for the destruction of two demons Madhu Kaitab at the hands of lord Narayana

Baba explained the symbolism of Madhu Kaithab , how Madhu is when we start saying nice things about others , i.e. praise others superficially for our own gains , like praising the boss so that we may get a promotion or a pay raise . In other words madhu is a human’s tendency to butter someone for personal gain . Kaithab on the other hand is the way we react when we know someone has been saying bad things about us or is criticising us . Kaithab is when we get agitated and can’t handle criticism so much that we can get verbally or even in extreme cases physically abusive towards that person .

Mahakali’s beej mantras therefore help us in destroying the Madhu Kaithab within us so that we can be more honest to our own selves

Then is the mahatmya of Maha Lakshmi who then comes down upon the request of Indra and other Devatas to destroy Mahishashur , who is a mayavi ( an illusionist ) who can take any form and confuse his enemies

Baba then went on to explain how Mahishasur is nothing by our own EGO , just like how the ego can take many forms and confuse us so does Mahishasur

Just when we think that we have overcome our ego , it manages to come back as something else

Like some sadhaks would say oh I have great experiences , the I here is the Ego and not the real I

Or someone would say oh I am so generous , just like that babaji explained that we think we have rid our ego but it always manages to change form and come back later to haunt us

So the beej mantras of the Madhyama charitra or that of the Mahalakshami will remove the ego and help us towards our ultimate goal

The final part is when the goddess as Maha Saraswati comes down to kill not one but 6 demons

Chanda – Munda, Dhoomralochan , Raktabeej , Shumbh and Nishumbh

Baba explained mainly the symbolism of Raktabeej ,Shumbh and Nishumbh

Raktabeej is said to be regenerative . His blood is so potent that everytime a drop of his blood falls down on the earth a new Raaktabeej is created . Hence therefore no one can ever win against him on the battle field

The description is how the mother drinks his blood so that not a single drop is left in his body before slaying him dead

Babaji said that Raktabeej is nothing but our karmas . Just like one karma leads to another leads to another leads to another and we puny humans are forever stuck in this cycle of life and death

The sadhana of Maha Saraswati’s beej mantras finally liberates us from all our karmas and releases us from the cycle of life and death

Shumbh Nishumbh as explained by baba is our Kama – our desires

How we humans are never satisfied and are always desiring for something all the time

Even The enlightened master, Buddha said that that the reason for all sorrow is Desire

These desires which never die and keep many of us constantly dissatisfied is Shumbh and Nishumbh

I personally think that it is not bad to have desires , so long that they are things we badly want

Like desiring for a bigger house for the benefit of the family , or to earn a lot so that we can retire early and spend a lot of time with our family and also be able to devote our lives to Sadhana and make realisation the ultimate goal of our lives

However if we want a certain thing just to show off or to impress others , that desire can definitely be called the demonic quality of Shumbh Nishumbh

If we want a particular car just to impress our friends , or a lady might want a certain diamond necklace because someone in her social circle has it and so she constantly keeps pestering her husband is definitely under the influence of Shumbh Nishumbh

Therefore the constant recitation of the Beej mantras of Maha saraswati gives us riddance from the above 6 demons and frees our souls so that we can then go deeper into srividya Sadhana and achieve the ultimate goal of self-realisation

The story then concludes with the king and vaishya being blessed by the divine mother herself whereby the King goes back and fights and gets back his kingdom and rules it justly

While on the other hand the old Vaishya is content with the life he has lived and requests the mother to bless him with self-realisation

Therefore Babaji said that Durga shaptashati has the power to help us achieve 200 per cent from life

100 per cent material gains and 100 per cent spiritual growth

Only a great master like babaji has the power and the love to not just share the wealth of this knowledge but  to relentlessly travel around the world to spread this divine nectar

We are all so grateful for this blessing Babaji , tumhari Jai ho ! Hail to you Babaji