Sanjay Rath

Devaguru Bṛhaspati Center announces a new program on Mantra Śāstra titled “Mantra Śāstra Foundation” to be taught by Pt. Sanjay Rath.
Objectives
The Mantra Foundation program is to be taught in the tradition of Puri, India and includes spiritual instructions to develop the mind in order to grasp the entire subject. The student is to develop a strong foundation of mantra śāstra which includes a functional knowledge of Sanskrit alphabets and words that form the root sounds of mantras.

 In the Bhagavat Gita, Kṛṣṇa reveals His universal form (Viśvarūpa) to Arjuna which was so formidable for the great hero to even behold. Therefore, before jumping to worship Viśvarūpa, we need to see the teachings in the Śrīmad Bhagavataṁ. Bear in mind that the Viṣṇu avatāra are sustainer of things based on their specific forms.

There are at least three parts to the Nārāyaṇa Kavacha. The three principal parts are the

aṣṭākṣarī mantra ॐ नमो नारायणाय (om namo nārāyaṇāya). Aṣṭākṣarī means aṣṭa (eight) akṣara (syllable)
dvādasākṣarī mantra ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय (om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya).

Argalā
Argalā means planetary/sign intervention. I consider this the single greatest teaching of Maharishi Parāśara without which we cannot explain the hidden or subtle influence of a planet in the chart. The magnificent theory of Argalā stipulates the following: –

(a) Every planet has the power to influence the affairs of every other planet or house.

Thus for example, even if a planet has nothing to do with the second house by way of ownership, aspect, conjunction etc, it does not mean that the person shall stop eating food during the daśā of the said planet.

Tattva
There are five principal elements or states of existence of all material bodies called TATTVA. These are (1) the Solid state called Pṛthvi or Earth, (2) the Liquid state called Jala or Water, the Gaseous state called Vāyu, the Vacuum state called Ākāśa or the Energy state called Agni. Each sign is assigned one of the four principle elements of Agni (loosely called Fire), Vāyu (loosely called Air), Pṛthvi (loosely called Earth), and Jala (loosely called Water).

Of late I have found some of my new students to make blunders which none of my older students would ever do. It is something very basic, very foundational. It is the scope of vedic astrology – vedāñga jyotiṣa. While everyone quotes Ādi Śaṅkara in stating that vedic astrology is as vast as the ocean and one lifetime is not sufficient to master every aspect of it, we need to articulate this in a scientific manner and define the scope.