The following is an English Translation of Transcendental Meditation's Initiatory Puja.
Invocation
Whether pure or impure, whether purity or impurity is permeating everywhere,
whoever opens himself to the expanded vision of unbounded awareness gains inner
and outer purity.
Invocation
To Lord Narayana, to lotus born Brahma the Creator,
to Vashishtha, to Shakti and his son Parashar,
To Vyasa, to Shukadeva, to the
great Gaudapada, to Govinda, ruler among the yogis, to his disciple,
Shri Shankaracharya, to his disciples Padma Pada and Hasta Malaka
And Trotakacarya and Vartika-Kara, to others, to the tradition of our Masters, I
bow down.
To the abode of the wisdom or the Shrutis, Smritis and Puranas, to the abode or kindness,
1tothe personified glory or the Lord, to Shankara, emancipator of the world, I
bow down.
To Shankaracharya the redeemer, hailed
as Krishna and Badarayana, to the commentator of the Brahma Sutras, I bow
down.
To the glory of the Lord I bow down again and again, at whose door the
whole galaxy of gods pray for perfection day and night.
Adorned with
immeasurable glory, preceptor of the whole world, having bowed down to him we
gain fulfillment.
Skilled in dispelling the cloud of ignorance of the people, the
gentle emancipator, Brahmananda Sarasvati, the supreme teacher, full of
brilliance, Him I bring to my awareness.
Offering the invocation to the lotus
feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering a seat to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering an ablution to the lotus feel of Shri Guru Dev, I
bow down.
Offering cloth to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering sandal paste to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I how down.
Offering
full rice to the lotus feet or Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering a flower to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering incense to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering light to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering water to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering fruit to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering water to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering a betel leaf to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering a coconut to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering camphor light
White as camphor, kindness incarnate, the essence of creation garlanded with
Brahman. Ever dwelling in the lotus of my heart, the creative impulse of cosmic
life, to that, in the form of Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering light to to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering water to
the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I bow down.
Offering a handful of flowers
Guru in the glory of Brahma, Guru in the glory of Vishnu, Guru in the glory
of the great Lord Shiva, Guru in the glory of the personified transcendental fullness
of Brahman, to Him, to Shri Guru Dev adorned with glory, I bow down.
The Unbounded, like the endless canopy of the sky, the omnipresent in all
creation, by whom the sign of That has been revealed, to Him, to Shri Guru Dev,
I bow down.
Guru Dev, Shri Brahmananda, bliss of the Absolute, transcendental joy, the
Self-Sufficient, the embodiment of pure knowledge which is beyond and above the
universe like the sky, the aim of "Thou art That" and other such
expressions which unfold eternal truth, the One, the Eternal, the Pure, the Immoveable,
the Witness of all intellects, whose status transcends thought. The Transcendent
along with the three gunas, the true preceptor ,to Shri guru Dev, I bow
down.
The blinding darkness of ignorance has been removed by applying the balm
or knowledge. The eye of knowledge has been opened by Him and therefore, to Him,
Shri Guru Dev, I how down.
Offering a handful of flowers to the lotus feet of Shri Guru Dev, I how down.
Commentary
The ritual of initiation is the most important stage in the process of
learning and practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM). The heart of the
initiation ritual, in turn, is the "puja," a Sanskrit hymn of worship
which the initiator recites as a prelude to imparting the initiate's Mantra,
the secret Sanskrit word upon which he is to meditate. All TM instructors learn
the puja by rote and recite it if1 Sanskrit without deviating from the
prescribed pattern. Even the physical movements which accompany the recitation
are choreographed in detail and carefully memorized.
English Translation of the Puja
The English translation of the puja is never revealed to the ordinary
initiate--even if he asks. I t is only available to those who are in training to
become teachers and initiators themselves. It is considered vital that all
prospective teachers of TM be personally trained by Maharishi. At the end of a
teacher-training session, those whom the Maharishi has qualified receive a
secret, anonymously authored and uncopyrighted handbook on the puja entitled The
Holy Tradition. This little booklet of less than thirty pages contains the
puja in both Sanskrit and English, as well as extensive verse-by-verse
commentary on its significance. It is this English translation of the puia, the
"official" TM version, as printed on page 5 of The Holy Tradition,
that we have reproduced in this publication (see above).
The Form of the Puja
The content of the puja indicates that there are three distinct phases of the
ceremony. The first phase consists of a recitation of the names of those beings
of legend and history who are believed to represent the line of "apostolic
succession" through which the "holy knowledge" of the TM mantras
has been passed. Beginning with the creator-gods of sacred legend, the list
progresses through a sequence of historical and semi-historical personages; it
concludes with several verses of praise to the most recently deceased
representative of the tradition, Maharishi's own spiritual master Brahmananda
Sarasvati (Guru Dev). It is important to realize that each person named in this
phase of the puja is regarded not as a merely human being, but as a fully
realized expression of divinity. Thus, they are exalted as deities in themselves
who are worthy of worship. The Holy Tradition plainly attributes deity to
Shankara in portraying him "in the status of the Absolute" (p. 16).
The puja itself describes the same status to Guru Dev (whose Image adorns the
altar of the initiation ritual) and The Holy Tradition affirms that
"...He was worshipped by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the
Indian Union" (p. 25). The second phase of the puja concerns the actual
offerings placed before the image of Guru Dev. A succession of 17 different
items are offered in turn, to the accompaniment of a repeated verbal formula
which concludes with the words "I bow down." It is during this phase
that the candidate's participation in the ritual is most obvious, as the
handkerchief, flowers and fruit which he has been instructed to bring to his
initiation are individually presented upon the altar during the prescribed
course of the ceremony. The third and last phase of the puja is literally a hymn
of praise and adoration to Guru Dev in his status as deity. This section of the
puja is unabashedly religious in character and worshipful in intent. In the
opening stanza of this section, Guru Dev is successively identified with the
three major deities recognized by classical Hinduism (i.e., Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva). Homage is then offered to all three in the person of the guru. At the
end of the puja, the teacher actually bows before the altar, thus physically
affirming his repeated declaration "...I bow down." Simultaneously,
the teacher makes a carefully rehearsed gesture toward the candidate which
invites him to bow down beside his initiator . Following this climactic act of
reverence to Guru Dev, the teacher verbally imparts a mantra to the initiate,
making certain that he understands how to pronounce it properly.
The initiate is then allowed to actually meditate for the first time. I n all
three of these phases, the content of the puja illustrates TM's inseparable
connection with the ceremonial practices of classical Hinduism. A comparison of
TM's puja with Hindu religious pujas of traditional format reveals a striking
parallelism. One prominent scholar observes that:
The major change in religious practice from Vedic to late Puranic and modern times was the gradual replacement of yajna ("sacrifice") by puja as the principal form of worship. ..Though the specific acts vary with the circumstances of the ritual or the ritual tradition being followed, the usual complete sequence includes invocation of the deity , offering him a seat, offering water for washing his feet, water for washing his hands, and water for sipping, bathing the image, offering a fresh garment. offering a sacred thread, anointing the image with unguents or sandalwood paste, offering flowers, offering incense, offering a lighted lamp, offering food or a gift, making obeisance to the deity. ., verses of praise, and bidding the deity farewell. .., Worship of a deity in the form of an image by means of puja is a direct expression of popular theistic religion, At its most basic level, its meaning is summed up in Krishna's statement to Arjuna in the Gita: "He who offers me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, that devout offering of a pure minded one I accept..." The image in puja is treated as one would treat the god himself in person, for the image is the god in person: it is his murti, his "form" made manifest for his worshippers. This sense of the deity as a person and the image as his representative form is fundamental to the meaning of puja and is always preserved in puja rituals. (Thomas I. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition, Dickenson Publishing Co., 1971; pp. 110-112).
The Function of the Puja
A major function of the puja is to establish and preserve the link between
the individual mediator and Maharishi's tradition of Hinduism by formalizing the
transmission of the Mantras. The religious significance of this link
becomes clear in Maharishi's own statement that "the holy tradition of
great masters which is responsible for reviving the teaching, after every lapse
has captured the minds and hearts of lovers of Truth in every age. It is not
merely held in high regard, but has come to be actually worshipped by seekers of
Truth and knowers of Reality. A verse recording the names of the greatest and
most highly revered masters has not only inspired seekers, but has been a joy
even to the fulfilled hearts of realized souls passing through the long corridor
of time" (Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita, p. 2571 emphasis
added). The verse referred to is, of course, the verse that the initiator sings
in phase I of the puja ritual.
In fact, it is in the initiation ceremony that the 'worshipful response" of
subjective attitude manifests itself in terms of concrete and formalized action;
it is here that the religious substrate of TM "crops out" in its most
obvious form.
Despite the bold and repeated disclaimers of TM propagandists,* it is clear that
the candidate for initiation is involved in the initiation liturgy both actively
and passively. He involves himself actively by bringing his offering of
handkerchief, flowers and fruit (as he is instructed to do) for use in the
ritual. He is also invited by his teacher to participate actively by: (a)
removing his shoes before entering the initiation room, (b) bowing alongside his
instructor at the end of the puja. He involves himself in a passive way merely
by being present and hearing the puja. The Sanskrit hymn is a lengthy mantra in
its own right which is specifically intended to produce an altered state of
consciousness in both the instructor who recites it and the candidate who hears
it. Although the candidate is never warned that his state of mind is being
manipulated in such ways, a commentary in The Holy Tradition expresses
this intent in unmistakable terms:
The details of the procedure for invoking the Holy Tradition are so perfect, that the whole personality of the teacher becomes one-pointedly centered on the dignity and greatness of the Masters. Ego, mind, heart, senses, body and atmosphere having thus become permeated with the essence of divine wisdom, the teacher begins to teach. The purpose of this Invocation is to attune the active mind by directing it toward the great Masters, to the essential nature of their knowledge of Absolute being. From that level the Mantra is picked up and passed on to the new initiate, thereby leading his consciousness to that same field of transcendental Being.
By this means, the initiator's awareness is taken to the level of inner Being, then brought out to the relative in order to instruct the initiate. Through this instruction the initiate's awareness is led to the Absolute several times so that more and more of Its abundance is incorporated into his life. (The Holy Tradition, p. 6, emphasis added).
The Centrality of the Puja
It is significant that the prospective mediator commences his involvement
with TM in this way; not until the ceremony is completed does the initiate
receive his Mantra , the secret Sanskrit word used in meditation. That the
religious Quality of the liturgy is not mere extraneous ornamentation, but is of
the essence of TM is shown by the fact that no one is initiated except through
performance of the ceremony and participation in the obeisance described in the
puja. If the candidate, for reasons of conscience, declines to bow or remove his
shoes, it will be no barrier to receiving his Mantra; but if he refuses to bring
an offering or if he totally objects to the enactment of the ritual, he will not
be initiated.
*For example: "First of all the person learning the TM technique doesn't involve himself in the ceremony at all, he merely witnesses it. Secondly, as any teacher of the TM technique will tell you, it is not a religious ceremony at all. In no way does it involve religious belief, or even any belief at all" Jonathan Shear, professor of philosophy at Maharishi International University, in an article headlined "MIU Prof Tells Views on Religious Controversy," Fairfield (Iowa) Daily Ledger, June 26, 1975.
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