Guruji's teachings
Guruji explains why the last vowel bija is "aham", and how this one word points to the idea of zero as the only truth.
From the teachings of Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati (Guruji). Post title: "Aham and Kāma-kalā: The Secret of the Final Bīja". Posted on Guruji's blog by Vira Chandra on 25 April 2016. Originally published at amritananda-natha-saraswati.blogspot.com.
Guruji: The preference is “aḥ, aḥm,” because adding the sound “m” to “aṃ” makes it “aḥ”; to “aḥ” makes it “aḥm.” Every bīja ends with an “m,” which connects with Mother to get its power. The last two vowels (śakti bījas) are “aṃ” and “aḥ.” When we add “m” (which is another bindu) to “aṃ,” it becomes “aḥ”; similarly “aḥ” becomes “aḥm” (pronounced aham). Thus the last two vowel bījas get differentiated from the first two.
Aham is a great mantra called kāma-kalā. This has many shades of meanings. A is negation, stands for zero. Ha is visarga, two zeros. M ends everything into silence; it is also a zero. Aham can be read vertical down as a circle for face, two circles for breasts, and one more for a zero, the source (womb) of all zeros. This is called kāma-kalā.
Elaborated by Ādi Śaṅkarā in his śloka:
mukhaṃ binduṃ kṛtvā kuca-yugam adhas tasya tad-adho
harārdhaṃ dhyāyed yo hara-mahiṣi te manmatha-kalām.It means: Make a circle for face, two circles below for breasts, an oval for womb, and meditate on this kāma-kalā.
It is the pañcadaśī (Manmatha is the ṛṣi). Kāma-kalā is brahmavidyā. Top (circle) zero is an illusion. Creation of triads whose sum is zero, like for example: 1, 0, -1; π, 0, -π; x, 0, -x; t, 0, -t; good, 0, bad; all triads are illusions. The whole drama of the world is an illusion. The only truth is śūnya, the zero, which contains all of cosmos, which is itself śūnya. Thus Buddhists call this śūnya, Hindus call it pūrṇa.
Meditation on kāma-kalā leads to this realization. Me, world, Śivā, Śakti are all illusions. This is the greatest vidyā. I don’t exist. So I cannot be created, nor destroyed. Time, space, matter, knowledge, action don’t exist. This has been called Mokṣa—the final release.
Akṣaras (letters) “a” to “kṣa” aren’t just akṣaras—it is a Sarasvatī mantra in itself. When I give the mantra during Dīkṣā to a disciple, it becomes bījākṣaras; else it remains only as akṣaras. Grace is matched by effort. Effort nil, grace nil.
Guruji, as posted on Guruji's blog by Vira Chandra on 25 April 2016. The verse is attributed in the post to Ādi Śaṅkarā. A photograph of Guruji that appears on the original post is not copied here.
In Kaula practice, a bija is not just a sound. It is a seed that carries the power of the Mother. This teaching explains why the last bija is spoken as "aham" and why its sound ends in "m", which Guruji says connects the bija with Mother.
The kama-kala meditation is a deep, inner practice. Here it is read as a teaching about emptiness and fullness, and we leave the details of the meditation to the Guru. The post itself says that the letters become bija letters when the mantra is given in diksha.
The closing line is a good one to keep: grace is matched by effort. The teaching points to the same place as the rest of the lineage, which is the direct experience of the Goddess within. Guruji attained mahasamadhi in October 2015. Guru Amma Annapurnamba teaches today.
Guruji calls aham a great mantra named kama-kala. He reads A as a zero, Ha as two zeros and M as silence and a zero.
Guruji says adding "m" to "am" gives "ah", and adding "m" to "ah" gives "aham". This sets the last two vowel bijas apart from the first two.
It is the name Guruji gives to aham. He says it is the Panchadashi, that Manmatha is its rishi, and that it is brahmavidya, the knowledge of Brahman.
He says pairs such as plus and minus, or good and bad, add up to zero, so they are an illusion. The only truth is shunya, the zero, which holds the whole cosmos.
Guruji says the letters A to Ksha are a Sarasvati mantra in themselves. They become bija letters when the Guru gives them in diksha.
Read the original: Aham and Kāma-kalā: The Secret of the Final Bīja, on Guruji's blog.
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