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Years ago we embarked on a great
adventure, in search of a long lost secret, a hidden treasure, a sacred art
buried in the distant past and all but forgotten.
It has been known since the dawn of man that when natural substances such as
flowers, bark, wood, roots, seeds and herbs are burned, they emit a rich variety
of different and often very beautiful fragrances. Over the course of time a
systematic search of nature was carried out and bountiful aromatic treasures
were found concealed within the delicate petals of a jasmine blossom, a tiny
ambrette seed, a resinous droplet of sap from the spicewood tree and countless
others of nature's unsuspected hiding places.
The use of incense was common to many ancient cultures - usually as a part of
religious worship or as a luxury of the rich. Often it consisted of little more
than the sweetly scented sap of a particular tree which was burned over coals -
such as the frankincense and myrrh of Biblical renown.
In ancient India this science of fragrances matured into a sacred art. Many
thousands of years ago, Vedic rishis discovered that each fragrance -- like each
color and sound -- possesses a particular quality of its own with a power to
induce an uplifting state of consciousness. Burning incense became a means to
create a peaceful atmosphere, to prevent illness, as a support for happy and
harmonious living, and as an aid to meditation and the quest for spiritual
enlightenment. The art of the rishis involved the careful combination and
delicate blending of many aromatic substances to produce beautiful and uplifting
fragrances.
The technique used was known as the "masala" method - meaning mixture. A variety
of scented flowers, herbs, leaves, essential oils, resins, and wood powders were
blended with water to form a dough. A tree resin with adhesive properties was
added as a binding agent. Then the dough was gently rolled onto a thin sliver of
bamboo and allowed to dry in the shade.
The real secret to this technique lay in the "spices" which were added to bring
out the full-bodied richness of each scent. Orris root was added to impart
sweetness. Saffron, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, sage, sweetbriar and thyme provided
an enchanting variety of accents. Ambrette seeds gave a musk-like fragrance, and
so on.
Wood powders formed the base and bulk of the dough. For deep rich fragrances
like musk and amber, precious sandalwood powder was added. For delicate floral
fragrances like jasmine and lotus, charred coconut husk was used, because it
burns almost without any scent of its own.
To these powders were added the distilled essence of rose, jasmine, champaca, or
lotus blossoms. The resinous extract of various tree gums such as benzoin,
labdanum or olibanum were added as natural fixatives to preserve the scent.
Like most ancient traditions, this sacred art gradually faded with the coming of
our modern age of science, secularism and materialism. Incense became another
product to be manufactured as cheaply as possible and marketed as a commercial
commodity, devoid of inner feeling or higher value.
The old masala method of specially blending a different mixture of scented
powders for each fragrance was replaced by a far easier and less expensive
technique called dipping, in which unscented sawdust or charcoal sticks are
dipped into a solution of scented oil diluted with a chemical solvent and
synthetic fixative.
Even in India the ancient art has changed into an industry. The old masala
formulas were forgotten. Dipping and dilution with solvents became the standard
technology. More and lower priced synthetics replaced natural ingredients. Only
the practise of handrolling sticks is maintained, but these are unscented sticks
used only for dipping.
Our quest was begun to revive a lost art, not just to imitate what was done of
old, but to recast it to suit the tastes of our times. After a prolonged search
and countless experiments, we have rediscovered the masala method and the
secrets of nature's spices.
The Mother's Fragrances is made in the spirit of that ancient tradition by the
age-old masala method--no dipping--to produce soft, light and subtle fragrances
which emit only a little smoke, making them highly suitable for burning indoors.
We invite you to try all of our floral and woody fragrances
Fragrance |
Sanskrit Name |
Quality |
Amber |
Shanti |
Peace |
| Ananda NagChampa | ||
Autumn Leaves |
Dhyana |
Meditation |
Cedarwood |
Prana |
Vitality |
| Church Incense | ||
Cinnamon & Spice |
Rasi |
Positive Influences |
| Champa | ||
Frankincense |
Shraddha |
Faith |
Gardenia |
Lavanya |
Beauty |
Honeysuckle |
Amrita |
Delight |
Jasmine |
Pavitra |
Purity |
Lakshmi NagChampa |
|
|
| Lavender |
Arjava |
Sincerity |
Lotus |
Aditi |
The Divine Mother |
Musk |
Agni |
Aspiration |
Myrrh |
Hansa |
The Human Soul |
Orange Blossom |
Sattwa |
Harmony |
Passion Flower |
Mauna |
Spiritual Silence |
Patchouli |
Samata |
Equanimity |
Rose |
Bhakti |
Devotion |
Roses & Violets |
Sukham |
Happiness |
Spicewood |
Jyoti |
Light |
Spring Flowers |
Sachchidananda |
Existence-Consciousness-Bliss |
| Tuberose |
|
The New Creation |
| Vanilla | Yajna | Consecration |
| Vishnu NagChampa | ||
| Wild Flower |
The spiritual significance of the
Sanskrit terms is explained in the text which follows.
The Rig
Veda, meaning Knowledge, is the oldest known spiritual text. In
ancient India it was revered as a sacred book of wisdom, the
words of rishis, seers and sages who veiled their spiritual and
occult knowledge in the form of sacrificial hymns to heavenly
deities. Only the initiates knew the esoteric and true
significance of these hymns as a seeking after Truth, Light, and
Immortality.
The symbolism of the Veda depends upon the image of the life of
humanity as a sacrifice, a battle, a journey inward and upward
for a Divine Realization. The gods are the forces of Light and
Truth (powers and personalities of the Divine Consciousness),
which aid each person in their ascent. These godheads are
worshipped as aspects of the Supreme and their aid invoked along
the way, but the goal is to rise beyond them all and achieve
union, YOGA, with the Transcendent Divine and have the powers of
the Divine Consciousness descend into oneself for
self-perfection, SIDDHI.
The hymns center around the image of the sacrificial fire, the
god AGNI, symbol of the soul's aspiration to reach divinity. The
sacrifice, YAJNA, is each individual's consecration of all they
are to the Divine. The seeker invokes Agni to grant the vitality,
PRANA, faith, SHRADDHA, courage, SAHASAM, sincerity, ARJAVA, and
meditative concentration, DHYANA, necessary for the journey and
realisation.
The journey involves a purification of one's being, symbolised by
the strainer, PAVITRA, through which all thoughts, feelings and
impulses are offered to the Divine to be purified and uplifted.
The seeker attains to an inner state of harmony, SATTWA, and calm
equanimity, SAMATA. Through adoration and devotion, BHAKTI, the
human soul offers itself in surrender to the Divine Mother,
ADITI, and feels the touch of the Divine Consciousness coming as
peace, SHANTI, light, JYOTI, spiritual silence, MAUNA, and
happiness, SUKHAM. Having passed through the strainer, one's
offering becomes the wine of immortality, AMRITA, symbol of
Divine Bliss. The world around reveals the splendourous beauty,
LAVANYA, of the Universal Divine, and the seeker finds the
beneficient influence and touch of the Divine, RASI, coming in
all aspects of life.
The liberated human soul, symbolised by the swan, HANSA, ascends
the path of the Truth and arrives at the goal of the journey, the
world of light, SWAR, in which one becomes conscious of the
Transcendent Divine in its triune aspect of
Existence-Consciousness- Bliss, SACHCHIDANANDA.
A Perfect Path Of The Truth Has Come Into Being For
Our Journey To The Other Shore Beyond The Darkness. --
Rig Veda
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