On Sep 30, 2009, at 1:18 PM, yifuxero wrote:
--thx for sending the correlation (re: Buddhist cosmology to Norbu's information, excellent!); and the previous information on the 30's Amida initiation in Nanking. (I'm "meditating" on that one to evaluate it further). Vaj, I don't know why you're quibbling about the TM mantras as not being Sri Vidya. They are definitely Sri Vidya since one can pick up Sri Vidya texts and find the same mantras. What I'm concerned about is MMY. He's definitely NOT Sri Vidya even though Guru Dev is. The question is WHY? (did MMY have some ulterior motives that were dishonest, disingenuous, perhaps even evil in disconnecting the Tradition from Sri Vidya)?
MANY Hindu tantras contain the same mantras, not just the Sri Vidya tantras. So it's not necessary or accurate to make a connection between Sri Vidya and the practice of TM.
Sri Vidya diksha was likely only given to advanced sannyasis in Guru Dev's circle, if at all. Samaya Sri Vidya was quite rare at the time, although external worship of the Sri Chakra was common (and still is common) in the Shankaracharya piths. Guru Dev had a temple outside of the Shankaracharaya where he was sending people for instruction in samaya or inner Sri Vidya. It should NOT be of concern that MMY was not a Sri Vidya practitioner, as he was simply giving out bija or seed mantras of ishta-devatas. What should be of concern is that MMY's shakti was awakened, which it most certainly was IMO. And MMY was giving out the mantras properly, i.e. by puja, so that's not an issue. The only issue with MMY (possibly, for some) was SBS gave out mantras based on what aspect of deity they were attracted to, love of a certain deity being the criteria and MMY gave them based on the persons chronological age, which may or may not be an issue either, as he was probably considering the various stages of life we all go through and which devatas would be more supportive for the life circumstances for each stage of life. The only real issue with MMY is that he concealed that they were the mantras of devatas. But of course, if you have no problem with the devata you were given (I, personally, did not), then it's possible there could be no issues at all for some people.
One other issue some devout Hindus might have is whether or not MMY was authorized to teach by SBS.
It's really just a matter of informed consent. People should know that they're given a mantra of a devata and that the puja is religious in nature. I heard recently of an old TTC were some of the Jewish students became aware of the religious nature of the puja and refused to bow. They were told to either bow or leave. So at some point, a decision was made to conceal certain information, which should be given openly and honestly so people can make an informed decision.
