DATTATREYA YOGA CENTER

To achieve that yogam in the presence of divine

Dattatreya.

THE SHIKARA
The human body is considered a temple and energy flows in this
temple through the 16,000 nerves. Above the head is the energy
center where the divinity resides and through which the divine
energy enters the body. The temple design is of a similar nature
with the shikara or crown of each shrine being the focal point of the
flow of energy which is directed into the different forms. Thus,
direct benefits can be felt by sitting and meditating at the various

DATTATREYA & ANAGHA

DEVI
Dattatreya represents the trinity:
Brahma - the creator
Vishnu the sustainer and
Shiva the power of dissolution
Anagha Devi emanated from the
meditative energy of Lord Dattatreya
and represents the female power
within the universe
Lord Datta
In His Hands
The sankha (conch) produces the
Omkara sound which pervades
the entire universe
DATTATREYA

ANAGHA DEVI

The
heart
beating
is
the
melodoous
sound
of
His
auspicious
bell awakening the
devotees
The sound of His drum destroys
anger and brings control of the
mind and senses
The wave sound in His water pot
reminds one of His existence,
removes perversion and leads
one on the path of righteousness
His sharp edged disc will destroy
ones ego
The trident establishes He is
beyond the trigunas (passion,
delusion and purity)

Dattatreya represents the trinity:

Brahma - the creator
Vishnu the sustainer and
Shiva the power of dissolution
Hinduism can be broadly divided into three main groups: the Shaivites, the
Shaktas and the Vaishnavites who worship Shiva, the Shakti (Goddess) and
Vishnu respectively. Another important hindu deity is Brahma. Ccreation,
sustenance and dissolution of the universe is a perpetual cycle and is controlled
by the three aspects of the deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Brahma the creator is referred to as Hiryanyagarbha, the ball of fire from which
the universe proceeded. Brahma was born out of the golden egg produced in the
casual water. Saraswati emanated from Him and from their union all creatures
were born. The great sages were their mind born children and Manu or Adam of
the Aryan race is his great grandson. Brahma represents the vedas (knowledge)
and Saraswati the meaning hence, all spiritual and secular knowledge proceeded
from them.
Vishnu
When the lotus of wisdom blossoms, good and noble qualities develop and
Lakshmis blessings abound.
Anagha Devi emanated from the meditative energy of Lord Dattatreya and
represents the female power within the universe

GANESH
Gajanana: The elephants
symbolic of intelligence.

head

is

Lambodhara: The fire energy is found in

the big belly and initiates physical and
mental activities. The big belly signifies
the exhalation of that energy.
Ekadanta: Single tusk. The loss of a tusk
represent the removal of duality and
experience of non-duality. Only a pure
intellect can experience non-duality. The
broken tusk is the destruction of the ego.
The feeling of doership is removed. The
remaining tusk signifies the strength of
divinity.

The mouse is Ganapatis vehicle. The

mouse signifies Maya or Delusion, having a
mouse as a vehicle signifies absolute
control over delusion.
Ganapati is known as a brahmachari (a
realised soul). To a realised soul Siddhi
(accomplishment by strength of will) and
Buddhi
(accomplishment
through
the

SRI RAJARAJESWARI

Shereveals the countenance of Devi Para

Shakti (the Supreme Energy) in all its
beauty. The Mother is Absolute
Existence, Absolute Consciousness and
Absolute Bliss.
She has created galaxies, the universe
and the cosmos.
She is indivisible and absolutely One.
She is pervasive inside and outside
everything.
She is the silent witness to all actions that
is being done by every being.
Mother Rajarajeswari is Swamijis
personal deity. Daily, Swamiji worships
Her through Sri Chakra puja.

In
order
to
understand
the
significance of the Mighty Mothers
workings we should not identify
ourselves with the body but realise
ourselves as the soul, then Divine
Wisdom will dawn.

SHIVA LINGAM

He is the formless energy in the

universe. In order to understand this
He appeared as a pillar of light
without a beginning or end.
The Hindu Scriptures say you must
worship Shiva in the Lingakara (Linga)
form.
For the welfare of the community a
Shiva temple must be present. In
Trinidad and India you will find Shiva
Lingas established in all Hindu
communities.
Shiva is ever ready to protect His
devotees. He is very compassionate
thus He is called Bhola Shankara.

NAVAGRAHAS

During a persons life he performs many

actions. The actions may be good, mixed
or bad. The Navagrahas are nine stars or
celestial bodies. They are responsible for
dispensing to each person the results of
those actions. In addition, Hindus
believe that at birth we also bring with us
impressions of past actions and these
must be accounted for in the present and
future births.
The Navagrahas are like teachers to men.
When the social and material life leads
man away from righteousness they will
present situations (even problems) to
bring him onto the spiritual path and
help his growth and development.
NAVAGRAHA & THE INDIVIDUAL
At the particular point and time of birth the
planets, stars and other celestial bodies are in an
exact alignment for that period. The celestial body
closest to the earth will have a dominating effect
on the person at birth and thus becomes the main
graha (teacher) of that individual.
As time progresses and according to ones past
and present actions the main graha may approach
with one or more grahas. If all these grahas are
friends the time will be auspicious for the
individual. If they are enemies it will be
inauspicious. Pundits (priests) are consulted to
determine auspicious dates for undertaking
important ventures.

In order to reduce the effects of the past

actions pujas (prayers) are performed.
They serve two purposes:
The removal of the effects of the bad
actions
Assist persons to develop as devotees
Swamiji on the consecration of the
Navagraha temple gave instructions to
these Navagrahas to Discipline the
indisciplined.

NAVAGRAHAS

CHANDRA: Herbal plants get charged

with medicinal qualities by Chandra.
On full moon night these herbbs
become especially potent.
SURYA: Surya is the leader of the
Navagrahas (Graha Adipa). He is
responsible for Good Health

BRHASPATI: Brhaspati is the Guru or

spiritual teacher of the Gods (devatas).

KUJA/ANGAARAKAA/
MANGALAKAR:
He is a devotee of Lord
Shiva. When he comes
close to the earth he
creates
problems.
Praying to Lord Shiva
will help alleviate these
problems.

BUDDHA: Buddha
literally means a
great scholar. He is
the son of the Moon
God, Chandra and is
very
difficult
to
please.

SHUKRA: Shukra is the Guru of the demons or

raakshasas. Both Brhaspati and Shukra impart the
same teachings. However, the Gods use the lessons
learnt for the welfare of the world s but the demons
use it to acquire power and domination over others.

RAHU & KETU: During the churning of the ocean

the nectar of immortality emerged. Lord Vishnu
assumed the form of a beautiful maiden to prevent
the demons from drinking the nectar and becoming
immortal. One of the demons recognised the trick
played by Lord Vishnu and joined the Gods line
where the nectar was distributed. The nectar had
reached his throat when Lord Vishnu recognised the
mistake. He cut the demons head. However, the
demon was given the positions of grahas known as
Rahu and Ketu. Rahu represents the lower body from
the throat region and Ketu the head of the severed
demon. The entrance of these grahas portends
trouble for a person.

NAVAGRAHAS
SHANEESHWARA:
This name is
derived from Shanihi meaning slow and
charana meaning movement. When
Shani enters he stays for 11 to 12 years
causing problems. Prayers to Lord Shiva
should be performed.

YANTRA
God is formless still we worship that
formless god with form. The forms are
there to help us develop concentration,
focus our thought on God, develop
devotion and learn to respect God. The
worship with form is an easy path to
God remembrance. Each form has a
special day dedicated to worship so
everyday of the week, 365 days of the
year is dedicated to worship. The
devotee will be constantly engaged in
remembrance and perfoming good
service.
Associated with each form are
geometrical designs called yantras.
These yantras are like electrical circuit
diagrams in which the conscious energy
flows in a particular pattern. This
movement is equivalent to a map which
shows the path to God. Some of the
yantras closely resemble the structure of
an atom. Such a formless worship of
energy is a more difficult path to follow.
During the consecration of the murti
the yantra is placed at the base of the
form and energy flows through the
murti thus indirectly the energy reaches
the devotees. Beejas or seed sounds are
associated with each yantra. These
beejas help raise ones consciousness
when they are listened to or chanted.

AUDUMBARA TREE
Lord Dattatreya resides in the
audumbara tree.
If one goes around this tree
daily he will be protected by
Lord Datta.
In the lineage of Guru (Guru
parampara) one can undertake
audumbara deeksha (penance)
in order to control the indriyas
(senses) and to obtain spiritual
knowledge.

The leaves of the audumbara tree are used for medicinal purposes and the smoke of its
branches when burnt during homa/havan energizes the atmosphere.
A chip of wood from the audumbara tree is tied in a strip of cloth and given as raksa
(protection) afer puja.

UNIVERSAL PRAYER
HALL

The Universal Prayer Hall is a place of prayer for people of all walks of life. It
is there for meditation. It allows people to come and worship in any manner
with which they are familiar. Hindus, muslims, christians, sikhs, jains,
buddhist and all others are welcomed here. In Mysore the pillars of the
Universal Prayer Hall are decorated with the representations of the major
religions.

SWAMIJIS HOME IN TRINIDAD

This

COWS

SHELTER

Significance of the cow

Gift of the cow (Gow Dhaan in local parlance)

ANNA POORNA MANDIRAM

Giving the gift of food

LIBRARY FACILITIES

Library facilities with all the sacred scriptures.

ASHRAMS POLICIES

PUJA & HOMA FEES

Pujas are performed at the temple on a daily basis.
Fees have been fixed for the performance of pujas. This
system was designed to facilitate mass participation in pujas
on a regular basis. The average puja at a devotees home is
expensive. Small fees were established to cater for devotees
who cannot afford pujas at such high costs. Even those who
have no money will get similar benefits by just attending the
pujas.
Fees are used for purchasing puja materials and paying the
ashrams bills (lights, water and general maintenance).
When pujas are performed devotees are requested to bring
fruits and flowers only. All other puja materials are
provided by the Ashram including the services of the
pundit.