Saraswati Publications, LLC

Saraswati Publications Newsletter       (sanskritmantra.com) 

May 2010
The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and CeremonyHello again Divine Brothers and Sisters -

This month I guess I go on a rant.  I just finally reached a point where I could not stand what I have read in many Hindu scriptures about women.  As you read below, you will see what I mean.

In all of us the Great Mother lives in Compassion and Love.  She is our mother, lover, friend, confident, and support.  She empowers all of what we do.  She blesses and teaches and always stands ready to help our sincere efforts toward the good, the true and the noble. I pray that She bestow every blessing upon you all.  Many of you have been laboring for a long time in your spiritual pursuits, for your family, for your community and your own evolution.  May She smile radiantly upon your efforts and heap blessings of every imaginable kind upon you.   May you receive great blessings that never even occurred to you. May this be "your time."  May all your efforts bear the choicest fruit.

May the great mantra, Om Parama Prema Rupaya Namaha, become a reality in your spiritual and material experience.  And may Divine Love inform all of your activities and states of mind.

Happy Mothers Day!

Pranams,
Namadeva Acharya

Note from Satyabhama:  We are getting a lot of bounces of this newsletter for people who have changed their email addresses. If you change your email address, please click on "Customer Mailing List" at sanskritmantra.com and follow the instructions to update.  Thanks.
 
Blasphemous Alteration of Scripture
 
Some of you may know that prior to a couple of years ago I was troubled by what I found in the Devi Bhagavatam.  The scripture praises the Great Feminine in wondrous phrases and images, healing great quality after great quality upon Her.  Then, there is a paragraph that disparages women in the most horrendous language.  I could not fathom why a scripture would be recorded in such a way.  Why would the sages of old place such divergent sentiments and ideas in the same few pages. Then one day I was given the information that these were spurious verses INTENTIONALLY INSERTED into the scripture.  This was first revealed to me in the book The True History And Religion Of India, by Swami Prakashananda Saraswati.  It seems that the East India Trading Company was worried that the Hindu religion might appear superior to Christianity.  To head off this potential view, the company hired British scholars who knew Sanskrit to insert spurious verses into various scriptures.  The book referenced above contains copies of these letters.
 
The result was that before the great growth of the Indian Higher education system in the 20th Century, these verses were assumed to be authentic and thus included in the masters and doctoral programs of major universities. Even today, these counterfeit verses are still in the scriptures and taught as authentic.  It is ingrained in the fabric of their higher education, and there is not much anyone can do about it.  Those who have the reputation to raise the issue of scriptural integrity don't believe it or are unaware of the origin of these spurious verses. Just like the scientific community, the scholastic community is very resistant to change, sometimes even in the face of strong evidence.  Seems to be almost human nature as we become invested in a certain set of what are believed to be facts, we resist any attempt to change our views.  Too many egos are invested in the prevailing "facts" to even consider the possibility that something is wrong.
 
This distortion of the Great Feminine has disturbed me agonizingly ever since.  Then a few days ago, I was re-reading the Tripura Rahasya, referred to as being recorded and thus written (taught by) Sadguru Dattatreya as a teaching to the Avatar Parasurama.  As I was re-reading the first section, I was struck by the same old trashing of the women.  The evils of women, as it were. Then Dattatreya refers to the Great Feminine as Absolute Intelligence, and the praises of Her begin.  Disgusted by the references to women in the earlier part of the text, I observed that nowhere do you see notations about the evils of men- with their tendencies toward conflict, war, ego-based competitive superiority, lust motivated activity and other obvious tendencies usually found in men.  Any gender based stereotypes aimed at men simply do not appear in the scriptures . . translated and often written, of course, by men.
 
I went into meditation and asked Sadguru Dattatreya if he had, in fact, used such language describing women, or if it was another case of false verses inserted into the document.  I got an answer.  The answer was that the artificial verses were inserted a long, long time ago.  To me this means thousands of years ago.  Priests and rulers wanted to control women, to force them through scriptural authority to submit to stereotypes and spurious conclusions about women, while the Great Feminine Herself was considered wonderful.
 
So the intentional distortion of the role of women has continued for centuries.  It is character assassination of the worst kind and has become nearly impossible to defeat.  By this short newsletter, I am trying to do a small part of correcting this ancient and insidious falsity about the nature of women.
 
So when you encounter verses in a scripture that decry or put down women, know for certain that the verse or verses have been added, usually by men, to keep women in a spiritually inferior position - falsely.
 
There are exceptions, thankfully.  Sri Aurobindo referred to Her as "She to whom all of nature dumbly calls," and he had the greatest respect for women.  His wife became The Mother in his organization.  In the Lakshmi Tantra, Lakshmi speaks in the first person and says, "When you look out at the universe, it is really Me looking through your eyes at Myself.  So why not identify with Me and become . . . everything."  Satguru Rama Mata is recognized, at least in this country, as an incarnation of divine love.  As she should be everywhere.  Even she had problems as a widow in India, where widows are scorned.  It's a long story, but suffice it to say, it is not wise to disrespect Rukmini.

So let us all remember that She is the energy that creates us all, and honor her through the women in this world.
Mantras of the Month
 
Lalita:                                                   
Om Eim Klim Sau Sau Klim Eim

Lakshmi:                                                Sahasrara Im
Bringing the energy through the crown chakra to earth
 
Lakshmi as a Power of Shiva:              
Om Shrim Klim Namah Shivaya

Certified Priests and Pujari
 
Sri Savitri Devi and Maheshwara,
Sanatana Dharma Satsang Certified Priests, are available for pujas and fire ceremonies in absentia.  Please click here for further details:  Pujas in absentia.

Bharata/Bill Barry, who lives in Massachusetts, has recently been certified as a Priest.  Please contact him for pujas at [email protected] 

Mahavir has been certified by Sanatana Dharma Satsang as a Pujari for 9 years.  He is available to do puja in Brooklyn or at your location in New York City area on a donation basis.  He can be reached at [email protected]

The works of Thomas Ashley-Farrand (Namadeva Acharya) give unprecedented, detailed instruction in how to empower yourself using the techniques of the ancient sages and rishis.  He and Satyabhama have been given the mission by their Gurus Sadguru Sant Keshavadas and Guru Rama Mata to bring these teachings to everyone. 

To that end, he has written and recorded a number of works, and he travels to North America and the UK to teach workshops.  Bi-annually, we lead a Pilgrimage Tour of India's Holy Places, visiting with the Shankaracharayas at Kanchi Math, Guru Mata at Vishwa Shanti Ashram, and doing fire ceremonies in the Himalayas, among the highlights of the trip.
 
We have founded a religious organization, Sanatana Dharma Satsang, which has opened a Gayatri Temple in Beaverton, Oregon.   Plans are in the works to found temples with residential communities in Oregon, New Mexico, and other locations.  The link to it is in the right column.
 
These works are offered in a spirit of service.  We sincerely hope that they will further you on your path.
 
Prem & Shanti,
Satyabhama (Margalo Ashley-Farrand)
Saraswati Publications, LLC
In This Issue
Blasphemous Alteration of Scripture
Mantras of the Month
Certified Priests & Pujari
CDs of Ancient Power Volumes
Video Quick Links
Visit with SatGuru Mata at Vishwa Shanti Ashram and Pujas
India Video
India Video HD
The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony
Visit Sanskritmantra.com 
 
Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony, Volumes I, II & III CDs now available
 
Piercing the Knots-Granthis CD
- A Mantra
& Visualization Meditation to release the Kundalini
 
Mantra Therapy for Prosperity CD - Help with blocks to prosperity and mantras to bring it in

Mantra, Path to Spiritual & Material Attainment - a 15-hour workshop on 14 CDs

True Stories of Spiritual Power
 
COMING SOON:
Rama & Sita Workshop, Co-Starring Hanuman - approx. 15 CDs.
Quick Links
Online Store
 
Preview of Ganesha Puja from DVD
2010 Schedule of Workshops

We will be doing workshops in the following places:

May - 2 weekends in Kansas City, MO

June - Portland, OR: workshop 6/11-13; CANADA: Maple Ridge, BC; Portland, OR: Satguru Rama Mata at end of month

July - CANADA: Red Deer, Alberta; St. Louis, MO; Far Horizons, Sierra Mtns, CA
 
August-Charleston, SC; Ontario, Canada
 
September-Lansing, MI, Chicago, IL; MA: Boston & Kripalu
 
October-Keene, NH; Asheville, NC; CANADA: Calgary, Red Deer
 
November-Sherman, TX 
 
December-Austin, TX; INDIA
 
2010 information:  http://sanskritmantra.com/schedule.shtml

Gayatri

CHANTING GROUPS

Portland, OR
Gayatri Temple
Gayatri Temple Meetup
 
New Group: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Contact Helen at [email protected] 
 
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada 
Contact [email protected]  
 
Los Angeles, CA
Atma Jyoti Chanting Group, Contact Jagadamba,  Certified Mantra Instructor: [email protected]
 
Centennial, CO
Contact Maheshwara, Certified Priest: [email protected]

 
Kilauea, HI

Contact Anandra George, Certified Mantra Instructor:
[email protected]

Chicago, IL
Contact Mary Huddleston, Certified Mantra Instructor, at
 [email protected]

St. Louis, MO
Contact Nita Turnage and Craig Hamby,
Certified Mantra Instructors, at [email protected]


Western  MA
Contact Rev. Bharata/Bill Barry, Certified Priest, at
[email protected]

New Hampshire
Contact Don Campbell and Chris Walsh, Certified Mantra Instructors:
[email protected]
 
Ashland, OR
Monthly Puja and Chanting
Contact Sri Savitri Devi, Certified Priest, at
[email protected] 
 
Austin, TX
Contact Sara Minnis:
[email protected]
 
New Braunfels, TX
Contact Roger Hays at
[email protected]
 
Sherman, TX
Listed at Dr. Jennifer Laing's website:
Join Our Mailing List 
 The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony Recordings
The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony
 The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony, 2nd. Ed., is now being revised to simplify pronunciation.
 
As promised some time ago, material to be chanted is being recorded by Namadeva
to be sold in CD sets of 7 or more CDs.
 
Volume I and Volume II 7-CD sets are now for sale at our online store for $65 each 
Volume III, A 20-CD set, is NOW FOR SALE. $150