> What we're more likely seeing IMO is an attempt > by the Brahmin overlords to connect tantric ideas > to their scriptures through tricks of exegesis... > There's no trick involved, Vaj.
The TM bija mantras are derived from the tantric Sri Vidya tradition of Karnataka. Swami Brahmananda Saraswati belonged to the Saraswati sampradaya which is headquartered at Sringeri. Swamiji's guru was Swami Krishananda Saraswati. All the Saraswati gurus follow the Sri Vidya tradition. The TM bija mantras are enumerated in the main scripture of Sri Vidya, the 'Saundaryalahari' which was composed by the Adi Shankara. Read more: Auspicious Wisdom: http://www.rwilliams.us/archives/srividya.htm Excerpt from 'Auspicious Wisdom": "Like the other Sankara texts, it is possible that SL was composed either in the Sankara matha of Srinigeri or Kanchipuram. The attribution of these four works to Sankara solidifies connections between smarta brahmans, who identify with one of the southern Sankara pithas, and Sakta and Srividya traditionalists." Work cited: "Auspicious Wisdom" by Douglas Renfrew Brooks State University of New York Press, 1992 (page 47-48)
