Bija mantra-s are the phonemes of oral, chanted Sanskrit. Each of these phonemes has the appropriate anusvara added to it (which if chanted like Brahmana-s do in the appropriate manner) turns it into a bija-mantra. If you had the time/place in the past to learn and chant the bija akshara-s of Sanskrit, then you would know this already.
I don't have much Sanskrit language training but what I have is based upon the same tradition that Sanskrit pandits use, which is the transmission of the oral/aural spoken language. Chanting Patanjalayogasutra is a whole different experience from just reading it. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "richardjwilliamstexas" <willytex@...> wrote: > emptybill: > > It's a mental midget's attempt to define > > the "real" nature of mantra, Mahayana, > > meditation, transcending, and "reality > > itself"... > > > So, where does the tradition of meditation > on 'bija' mantras come from? > > We know that 'mantras' are used in the Vedas, > but there are no bija mantras in the Rig > Veda or in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras or in the > writings of Shankaracharya. > > So, the tradition of meditating on bija > mantras must have come later, perhaps during > the Gupta age of Indian tantrism, and the > period of the Nath siddhas. > > Apparently the practice of 'mantrayana' was > introduced into Tibet by Shenrab, who came > over from the Swat Valley almost 100 years > before the arrival of Guru Padmasambhava in > Tibet. > > In a strange 'reverse Tibet' effect, the > Mantrayana Buddhism that Shenrab established > in Shang Shung came to be called 'Bon', > while the same practice established by Guru > Rinpoche came to called 'Chos'. Go figure. > > According to Snellgrove, the siddha Naropa > journeyed to Kashmir in order to obtain the > bija mantras from Tilopa. > > So, from the Swat Valley and Kashmir we get > the bija mantras via the Nath Siddhas, to the > Indian and Buddhist Tantric Tradition, and > thus, according to White and Brooks, to the > Sri Vidya sect down in Karnataka, of which > SBS was an initiate member. > > So, now it has been established where the > 'TM' bija mantras came from, since these same > bijas are enumerated in Shankara's Shakti > work, the Saundarylahari. > > Not for nothing do we find the TM bijas > inscribed on the Sri Yantra which was placed > on the mandir at Sringeri by the Adi > Shankaracharya himself. Correct me if I am > mistaken about this, Bill. > > Works cited: > > 'Indo-Tibetan Buddhism' > Indian Buddhists & Their Tibetan Successors > By David Snellgrove > Shambhala, 2003 > > 'The Secret of the Three Cities' > An Introduction to Hindu Sakta Tantrism > by Douglas Renfrew Brooks > University Of Chicago Press, 1998 > > 'The Alchemical Body' > Siddha Traditions in Medieval India > David Gordon White > University Of Chicago Press, 1998 > > Read more: > > Subject: Its Not What You Think! > Author: Willytex > Newsgroups: alt.meditation.transcendental, > alt.yoga, alt.meditation > Date: August 26, 2003 > http://tinyurl.com/n4xa63 >
