Divine Initiation Author:Shanmukha Anantha Natha Divine Initiation If one reads this book once, cover to cover, one will understand the meaning of the Veda and attain the keys to interpret the hymns in the Veda. After this, if one reads this book backwards, one will understand the inner details of the Tantras, especially the specific language of the Tantras. This is as ... more »good as initiation into either the Tantras or the Veda. The Veda and the Tantras carry the same technicalities. Today, it is unknown, even in India, that the Divinities make up the fabric of Vedic metaphysics. In fact scholars, not understanding the relevance of these Divinities and their representations, had only a vague understanding of the Veda and therefore the remaining branches of Indic science, for instance, the Agamas and Tantras. This lacuna has been filled by two foremost scholars and practitioners of the science of the Veda and therefore the Tantras, Bhagavan Shri Shanmukha and Shri Ma Kristina Baird. They are offering the world another approach to that of the contemporary Indian orthodoxy and the academicians. The Veda itself has a structure, a currently unknown facet, which makes it possible to understand the Vedic science precisely and not fall for wild speculations. This is important for even Orientalists who are embarking on the pursuit of fresh enquiry (away from the early Orientology based on Max Muller?s ideas) or a neophyte, who wants to not only explore but also understand the science of spiritualism or the Veda. It is important to understand the Veda, as it is it the Veda that holds the technical wisdom of the Agamas, Tantras and Yoga. Apart from this, it is important to understand the Veda if one is to understand the history, culture and politics of a larger society of beings. Without knowing the Veda, one will not understand India and its spiritual science or practices. The Veda is also a common link common between humankind. The Greek works of Homer, the "Odyssey" and "Iliad," have their closest kinship only in the Veda. This is also true of the Chinese work the "Book of Odes" or Shi Jing in Chinese. The ancient Iranian work known as the "Avesta" too is almost exactly the same as the Veda. Indeed, the Veda seemed to be the legacy of all humanity in the past as how numbers are common to all today. Without understanding the Divinities one will not understand the Veda. India?s Divinities and indeed all ancient Divinities had unusual attributes. These attributes are meaningless to one who is new to this ancient science of spiritualism. However, the Divinities were deliberately presented graphically in the ancient world. Universally, the Divinities of the world were presented as icons to convey specific aspects of the science of spiritualism. For example, the Greek God Zeus holds a scepter with an eagle on top in his left hand and the winged goddess of Victory (Nike) in his right hand. Zeus is equivalent to the Indic God Dyaus, the father of Agni in the Rg Veda. After writing became a norm and the printing industry became an everyday phenomenon, we forgot that the ancient world too had its own system of education and therefore communication. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we adhered to Darwinism. In adhering to Darwinism, we also lost the relevance of the spiritual icons. Surprisingly, it took two practitioners (not orthodox representatives of spirituality or academicians of the institution of Orientology) to come up with the answers. The Divinities are not to be confused with Carl Jung?s idea of symbolism. The Divinities denote aspects of metaphysics that are unique to the thought system of the ancient world. The Veda boasts of 33,000 Divinities. Homer?s "Iliad" and "Odyssey" each contain a myriad of Divinities. The Qabbalists (who believe in an esoteric interpretation of the Hebrew Torah) present millions of Angels. The Chinese civilization, inclusive of the Buddhists, too has hundreds of Divinities. The same is also true of the Egyptian pantheon of Divinities. In fact, the presentation of these icons, anywhere from Greece to China, is analogous. On understanding this book, one can understand the parallel presentations in the various civilizations. If one reads this book, which is presented in its Vedic format from front to back, one can understand not only the spiritual science as presented by the Veda but also the metaphysics of ancient Greece and China. If one reads this book backwards, one will certainly understand the esoteric sense of Tantra. However, it is important to read this work forwards at least once. After reading this work front to back, and if one reads only the chapters on the Divinity Shiva and his related icons, his wife Parvati and his sons, Ganesha and Skandha, one will understand the Shaiva Agamas. Similarly, if one reads only the chapters on Vishnu and family, Narayana and Krishna, one will understand the Vaishnava or Vishnu Agamas. By reading the chapters on the Goddesses, one will attain an understanding of the Tantras. This is important if one wants to practice the spiritual science of either the Veda or the Tantras.« less