A budding lotus is shown by joining all your fingers but opening the index fingers. You can also spread out all the fingers to show this mudra.
लिङ्गम् (Liṅgam
)
Crisscross the fingers of both hands and stick out the right thumb.
निर्वाणम् (Nirvāṇam
)
This is also called samahara mudra and has been explained in the chapter on mudras.
28. Offer your chanting (Japa samarpana )
When your japa is complete, it should be offered to the deity of the mantra so its vibrations are released in the universe and it may be used for the welfare of all sentient beings. Offer your prayer in the left hand of Devi with the mantra below: Sanskrit (Devanagari) Sanskrit (IAST) अभिष्ट सिद्धिं मे देहि शरणागत वत्सले, भक्त्या समर्पय तुभ्यं जपमेवर्चनम् ॥ Abhiṣṭa siddhiṃ me dehi śaraṇāgata vatsale, bhaktyā samarpaye tubhyaṃ japamevarcanam॥ Translation Please grant me your benediction (the desired outcome) O Devi, refuge of the one who seeks you, your devotee here surrenders and offers all my japa and prayers to you.
You can chant the following mantra after offering your chanting to reinforce that you pray for the welfare of everyone around you. Sanskrit (Devanagari) Sanskrit (IAST) ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः । Oṃ sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥ । सर्वे भद्णि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिददुःखभाग्भवेत् । Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścidduḥkhabhāgbhavet । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ Oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ॥ Translation May all sentient beings at peace,
May no one suffer from illness,
May all see what is auspicious,
May no one suffer.
Om peace, peace, peace.
29. Free all energies (Visarjana)
In this step, thanking the energies of the deity who presented themselves while you propitiated the divine energy and chanted your mantra, we allow those energies to return to their abode. It can be done with any words you so wish to choose or you can chant the simple mantra below: If praying to the feminine energy (Devi) Sanskrit (Devanagari) Sanskrit (IAST) गच्छ गच्छ परं स्थानं स्वस्थानं परमेश्वरि । Gaccha gaccha paraṃ sthānaṃ svasthānaṃ parameśvari । पूजाराधनकाले च पुनरागमनाय च ॥ Pūjārādhanakāle ca punarāgamanāya ca ॥ तिष्ठ तिष्ठ परस्थाने स्वस्थाने परमेश्वरि । Tiṣṭha tiṣṭha parasthāne svasthāne parameśvari । यत्र बरहमादयो देवाः सर्वे तिष्ठन्ति मे हृदि ॥ Yatra brahmādayo devāḥ sarve tiṣṭhanti me hṛdi ॥ Translation May all energies return to their abode and I humbly request your presence again when I pray to you next.
May all energies take their seats in their respective abodes. May the Supreme Energy reside in my heart.
30. Seek forgiveness (Kshama prarthana )
Once again, you can seek forgiveness with any words you wish to use, for sentiment is more important than language or you can use the verses below to do this. Sanskrit (Devanagari) Sanskrit (IAST) अपराधसहस्त्राणि क्रियन्तेsहर्निशं मया । Aparādhasahastrāṇi kriyantesharniśaṃ mayā । दासोsयमिति मां मत्वा क्षमस्व परमेश्र्वरि ॥ Dāsosyamiti māṃ matvā kṣamasva parameśrvari ॥ आवाहनं न जानामि न जानामि विसर्जनम् । Āvāhanaṃ na jānāmi na jānāmi visarjanam । पूजां चैव न जानामि क्ष म्यतां परमेश्र्वरि ॥ Pūjāṃ caiva na jānāmi kṣamyatāṃ parameśrvari ॥ मन्त्रहीनं क्रियाहीनं भक्तिहीनं सुरेश्र्वरि । Mantrahīnaṃ kriyāhīnaṃ bhaktihīnaṃ sureśrvari । यत्पूजितं मया देवि परिपूर्ण तदस्त्तु मे ॥ Yatpūjitaṃ mayā devi paripūrṇa tadastu me ॥ Translation O Devi, I must have committed thousands of mistakes and errors in chanting Your names. Please forgive me for my errors like a good master forgives his servant.
I don’t know how to invite You nor do I know how to see You off. I don’t know how to pray to You, please forgive me for my ignorance.
I am without the knowledge of mantras, actions or devotion, O Goddess. And yet, I dare to pray to You. Please grant me Your grace.
31. Fire offerings (Yajna )
Fire offerings have been detailed in the next chapter in this appendix. The number of fire offerings should be one-tenth of your mantra chanting.
32. Libations (Tarpana )
Tarapana are water offerings or libations – as they are usually called – made to the deity of your mantra. One-tenth of your yajna is your libation count. Add “Om tarpyami” at the end of Gayatri mantra while chanting.
33. Coronation (Marjana or abhishekam )
The number of offerings done in marjana is one-tenth the number of libations. To do marjana, take vessel number two containing water. Joining your thumb and ring finger, dip it in water and sprinkle on your head with the same mudra.
In the end, you can either offer this water to the sun or pour it at the root of any tree. Both are equally effective.
34. Charity (Sadhak bhojan or Brahmin bhojan )
Sadhak bhojan is usually done not every day of your sadhana but on the last day when you complete your sadhana. The idea is to feed God present in living entities. It is also a moment of celebration to mark the successful completion of your intense routine spread over so many days. In the olden times, an aspirant would either be part of a gurukul where there would be other aspirants and feeding them would be enough. Or, an aspirant would gather a certain number of Brahmins. They would come together and with beautiful Vedic chants energize the whole environment. The aspirant would feed them.
Depending on where you live, it may be difficult to do either. So, you can do something else, which is equally effective. Simply set aside whatever you can every day, an amount of money that would buy at least one meal for a person or whatever you can reasonably afford. If you are really pressed financially and can’t set aside even Rs. 50 or a dollar a day, then simply set aside a handful of dry fruits every day. At the end of your sadhana, offer them to a fellow aspirant who is also walking the path. If you can’t find that, offer it to a Brahmin who serves in a temple or chants Vedic mantras daily. If you can’t find that Brahmin, then offer it to any orphanage. If there is no orphanage, you can give it to any old-age home. If you can’t find even that, feed it to the birds. If by some rare chance, you can’t do that either, then immerse the offerings in a stream, river or the ocean. The idea is that someone other than you or other than your own family should partake of your offerings so whatever you did tangibly also helps someone else.