From ‘If Truth be Told. A Monk's Memoir’ by Om Swami

A siyar singhi is a little lump that grows on a jackal’s body. After it becomes the size of a betel nut, it sheds on its own. There are many tantric applications of a singhi, provided a good tantric knows how to consecrate it well. It is used to fulfil material goals, cure diseases and hypnotize or mesmerize people. It can also be used in black magic to inflict harm or injury.

….couplet by Kabir:

Guru jaka aandhara, chela hai jaachandh,

Andha andhe theliye, dono koop parant.

(The guru is blind and so is the disciple. The blind is

leading the blind and both will end up in the well.)

Suffering results in two types of people: those who become soft and gentle and do everything they can to ensure no one else has to suffer; and those who become hard and bitter, subjecting others to what they went through.

The tantric path is about the inner worship of Krishna. A tantric does not find union after death attractive; he wants to unite with the Supreme Soul while in the body. This requires complete annihilation of one’s societal conditioning of good and bad because a tantric will engage in rituals that may be completely unacceptable to society. But tantra says that in order to experience and see God in everything, you must not be afraid of anything, you must face and experience all circumstances with complete equanimity.

One of the side effects of meditation is that your sleep becomes light. This is because you learn to maintain a state of consciousness, of awareness.,

….Himalayas, for inexplicable reasons, remain the ultimate place for meditation. The Hindu tradition says that over the course of thousands of years, some of the greatest saints have meditated in the Himalayas, and you can still feel their divine energy there. I don’t have any proof…. But, having been around the world, I can say without the slightest hesitation that when it comes to spiritual vibrations and a certain purity, there is no other place in the world like the Himalayas. …the help you get on your spiritual journey from the indescribable and unseen forces of the Himalayas, you cannot get elsewhere.

In the rituals of tantra, the lunar calendar plays a crucial role…..some sadhanas can only be started on certain days. This information is never fully documented in the scriptures to prevent abuse or misuse of the powers a seeker gains by way of mantra siddhi; it is usually communicated through an oral tradition.

Meditation is predominantly of two types: concentrative and contemplative. In the first kind, you build your concentration. In the second, you use it to reflect on the nature of reality and your own existence. Contemplative meditation gives birth to insight, and it is this insight that changes how you see and interpret the world around you. Deep concentration leads to Samadhi, and deep contemplation allows you to maintain that state while dealing with the challenges of the world.

Bodily movements are highly detrimental to good meditation because they make you aware of the body. Therefore, its absolutely essential to sit still in meditation because a still mind lives in a still body and a still body helps in stilling the mind

Perfecting the gaze is one of the subtle but promising signs of progress in meditation because when you are meditating deeply, even a slight movement of the eyeball is enough to bring your awareness back to the body, and it breaks the concentration.

My quiet and concentrated mind gave birth to an unusual phenomenon. I realized I could shut down my heartbeat at will.

….a seeker practicing sadhana develops a sensitivity to energy beyond what the average person can feel. An adept then uses this energy to help others.