Vaj wrote: > Actually the style of Sri Vidya that SBS taught > is from Bengal. > There's no evidence that Swami Brahmananda taught a form of Sri Vidya from West Bengal. In fact, you've posted no evidence that there are any Sri Vidya sects in Bengal or that Swami Brahmananda ever went there until his untimely demise at Calcutta.
>From what I've read, Guru Dev practiced Sri Vidya in the Vindhya Mountains. Do you know where the Vindhya Mountains in India are, Vaj? Now, I ask you: Why would Guru Dev go all the way to Navadvip over in West Bengal, which is Vaisnava country, to learn about Sri Vidya, when he could have just walked down the mountain to Karnataka, where the Nambudris live, and to the Sringeri temple, the headquarters of the Saraswati Dasanamis and the main temple of the Sri Vidya sect? According to Swami Rama, "During our conversation he started talking to me about Sri Vidya, the highest of paths, followed only by accomplished Sanskrit scholars of India. It is a path which joins raja yoga, kundalini yoga, bhakti yoga, and advaita Vedanta." Newsgroups: alt.meditation.transcendental From: willytex Date: 16 Sep 2005 11:57:01 -0700 Subject: Maharishi and Himalayan Masters http://tinyurl.com/2e7sup According to Swami Sivananda Saraswati, "Sri-Vidya is the great Mantra of Tripurasundari or Bhuvanesvari or Mahamaya. It is also called the Panchadasi or the Panchadasakshari, for it is formed of fifteen letters. In its developed form it consists of sixteen letters and is called Shodasi or the Shodasakshari." Works cited: 'Living with the Himalayan Masters' Spiritual Experiences of Swami Rama by Swami Rama Himalayan Institute Press, 1999 'Japa Yoga' A Comprehensive Treatise on Mantra-Sastra by Swami Sivananda Divine Life Society Publishers, 1992 pp 94-99
