The Prescribed Procedure for the Ascetic’s Praṇava (यतिप्रणवकल्पः)
Having duly offered kindling, sacrificial porridge, and ghee in accordance with the Puruṣasūkta, and having granted all beings freedom from fear, he should, free from attachment, set forth toward Hari. (1)
After hearing the pure Bhāgavata, one should take refuge in a teacher and say, “Venerable sir, teach me Brahman.” The guru should then reveal the Supreme to him. (2)
The wise teacher should then recite the Tāra three times into the disciple’s right ear and identify, in order, its seer, meter, and deity. (3)
Antaryāmin is its seer, Gāyatrī its meter, and Paramātman its deity. Viśva, Taijasa, Prājña, and Turya are the deities of its syllables. (4)
Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, Nṛsiṃha, Varāha, Viṣṇu himself, the Supreme Light, the Supreme Brahman, and Vāsudeva are, respectively, the corresponding deities of the series beginning with akāra and ending with śānta and atiśānta. After explaining this, the true teacher should teach the disciple the meditation on it. (5–6)
At the center of the eight-petaled lotus of the heart is a seat formed by the sun, moon, and fire. In the center of that lotus is Nārāyaṇa, free from affliction. (7)
He resembles the rising sun and always possesses incomparable splendor, surpassing even a thousand suns; his nature is cognition and bliss. (8)
The Lord has deep-red soles and is adorned with a host of radiant nails. His shanks and knees are rounded, and his thighs resemble elephants’ trunks. (9)
A girdle fastened around his broad waist and a yellow garment make him resplendent. He has a deeply recessed navel, three abdominal folds, and a well-rounded abdomen. (10)
He is broad-chested, and his neck is adorned with the radiant Kaustubha. He wears a forest garland, a necklace, the Vaijayantī, and other ornaments. (11)
His four arms are broad and long, and he bears a conch, discus, mace, and lotus. His eyes resemble fully opened lotuses, and his makara-shaped earrings gleam. (12)
His lotus-like face shines more brightly than ten thousand full moons. He has beautiful brows and temples, and his hair is held in place by a crown. (13)
He completely subdues all suffering and has a pure smile of eternal bliss. Viśva and those beginning with him, as well as Kṛṣṇa and those beginning with him, are likewise of this nature and are eternal, always non-different from that Viṣṇu, the Supreme Self. Their hands are raised to grant boons and freedom from fear, and their sole nature is eternal bliss. (14–15)
After saying this, the teacher should have the disciple meditate and then take the following oath three times: “May I never abandon Viṣṇu or the Vaiṣṇavas.” (16)
“Even in death, may I never regard Hari as equal to or identical with other deities. May I never associate with proponents of oneness or equality, with those who revile him, or with those who revile his devotees, O great sage.” (17–18)
Once the oath has been taken, the teacher should place his lotus-like hand on the disciple’s head and say, “Cross beyond saṃsāra, and be happy and dear to Hari.” (19)
Freed from all suffering and the like, may you attain proximity to Viṣṇu, whose sole nature is eternal bliss. Even there, may you remain devoted to Hari and also to the other deities, while keeping the hierarchy in mind and remembering Viṣṇu’s supremacy over all. May you always be happy. (20–21)
“In liberation, you should conceive neither identity with Viṣṇu nor equality among the liberated.” Having said this, he should then teach the prescribed observances. (22)
Dear child, you must continually worship Hari, recite, meditate, and make offerings; your recitation should number three thousand repetitions. (23)
Three thousand repetitions of the praṇava are said to constitute the intermediate japa; one thousand is the lower practice, while more than three thousand is considered the highest. (24)
Contemplate yourself as a reflection and Janārdana as the original; meditate on him constantly, dear child, and worship him every day, either with flowers imagined in the mind or with actual flowers. With your mind focused through the praṇava, you should also recite other Vaiṣṇava mantras with devotion. (25–26)
Always listen to Vaiṣṇava scripture, intent on the meaning of the Vedas. Listen at all times to the Vedas and mantras together with the Upaniṣads, as well as the Itihāsa, Purāṇa, and Pañcarātra. Having correctly ascertained their true meaning by means of the Brahma-sūtras, always expound Viṣṇu’s supremacy over all. (27–28)
Thus the Yatipraṇavakalpa, composed by the venerable Ānandatīrtha Bhagavatpādācārya, is concluded.
