Tag Archives: Dhumavati

Day Ten Navaratri Parana, April 2016: Kamala, Lotus Goddess of Delight

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Om Shrim Shrim Kamalatmika Shrim Swaha!

Om Shrim Shrim Kamalatmika Shrim Swaha!

Om Shrim Shrim Kamalatmika Shrim Swaha!

kamla-yantraThe tenth day of Navaratri is called Navarati Parana which means the end of the Navaratri celebration and fast. It is the 10th dashami tithi, 10 days after the New Moon and a day of victory. What a great time to embrace this sweet power rising out of the Devi’s victory over darkness just as Mars, planet of war and conflict, is slowing down to his intense retrograde station on Sunday morning, He will retrograde until late June in sidereal Scorpio, where Saturn is already retrograde. Retrograde malefics like Mars and Saturn become more difficult than usual. That means it’s time to be focused and vigilant and hold fast to our highest principles and practices. Everything that challenges us is teaching us to open our hearts and be in a state of unconditional love no matter what! If we can remain truly heart centered kings and queens of love, we are home free.

231839-bigthumbnailAnd, speaking of love, the 10th Mahavidya Goddess to whom I am dedicating my last day’s Navaratri contemplation is Shri Kamala Devi, also known as “Kamalatmika, She of the Lotus.” Kamala is the ultimate manifestation of the Devi in the world. When you are in the immense and often mind-blowing, heart-bursting beauty of nature, that is Kamala in action. She is goddess of not only love and beauty but also comfort, safety, wealth, happiness, and the bliss that comes in knowing one’s own true being (ananda swaroopa). Kamala’s other name is Shree (Shri) which means “Auspicious.”

“With a smiling face, her beautiful lily-white hands hold two lotuses, and show the mudras of giving and dispelling fear. She is bathed in nectar by four white elephants and stands upon a beautiful lotus.” (Todala Tantra) The lotus represents purity and divinity; and the elephants symbolize the four directions, elements, and purusharthas (dharma, artha, kama, and moksha) which are all brought forth and supported by Shri Kamala Devi. 

the_ten_mahavidyas__kamala_wi84Kamala is the consort of Sada-Shiva, the protector of the world who is much like Lord Vishnu who upholds the Earth. She is associated with the lunar mansion called Rohini in Taurus constellation, which is the Moon’s favorite wife (nakshatra). Rohini symbolizes sensuality, grace, and beauty. She is the youngest sister of oldest sister Dhumavati who lives in Jyestha/Scorpio which is directly opposite Rohini/Taurus. Kamala is like the highest frequency of Lakshmi. She came out of the great churning of the ocean known as Samudra Manthan, and she is the source of Satva Guna or spiritual essence.I feel that Kamala is the Alpha and Omega of the Devi, for everything comes from love. We propitiate Her to enhance and strengthen Venus, symbol of vitality-love-comfort-wealth in the Vedic horoscope.

Jai Maa Kamala Devi! We bow before you on this tenth day of Navaratri Parana and give great thanks for all Your blessings and boons that have come through our Divine Mother devotions, and for those which are still yet to come. We open to receive ever more of your Supreme Comfort as it flows like nectar onto our Earth and all sentient beings. May we fully know and experience Your peace, wisdom, and divine love in this Earthly realm. Jai Maa!

kamala

 

Day Seven Navaratri, April 2016: Dhumavati, Goddess of Letting Go

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Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha

Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha

Dhum Dhum Dhumavati Svaha

220px-Dhumavati_yantra_color“Perceived as the void, as the dissolved form of consciousness, when all beings are dissolved in sleep in the supreme Brahman, having swallowed the entire universe, the seer-poets call her the most glorious and the eldest, Dhumavati. She exists in the forms of sleep, lack of memory, illusion, and dullness in the creatures immersed in the illusion of the world, but among the yogis she becomes the power that destroys all thoughts, indeed Samadhi (death and liberation) itself.” ~ Ganapati Muni

Dhumavati (or Dhoomavati) is the seventh of the Mahavidya goddesses. She signifies a formidable aspect of the Divine Mother and can be quite intimidating to those who don’t understand Her emblem as the personification of the wounds of the earth, known as ksataviksata-privthi (Alain Danielou, The Myths and Gods of India, p 282). Portrayed as a haggardly ugly widow, Dhumavati is often depicted riding a crow or on a horseless chariot, but also usually she is shown offering blessings. She is the only Mahavidya without a consort, so widows often propitiate Her. As Sati, she was actually married to Shiva, but he could not satisfy her and she ate him, and later disengorged him and She became Dhumavati. Part of the legend of Sati and Shiva speaks to Dhumavati’s core principle as the destroyer of the “body of the world” (Danielou).

220px-DhumavatiDhumavati means the “smoky one.” She is said to take the form of smoke which has a highly protective quality for her devotees who like to offer her cigarettes and incense. Dhumavati is said to hang around murky places like foggy bogs, dark forests, smoky fires, smoldering volcanos, and cremation grounds. Her aspect in the form of smoke conceals the world of illusion and reveals the truth of the mystery of life behind the façade of the divine play of the world.

The mythologist Joseph Campbell once said, “Where you stumble and fall, there you will find gold.”

That’s Dhumavati. I have called on Her during some of my darkest times, and She always gave the gold.

Dhumavati_molaramPer Vedic astrology, Dhumavati can be propitiated for all issues related to Rahu and Ketu. Her essence is of the crone, the great grandmother spirit, the dark Moon, and the deep waning cycle of the Sun. She is connected to Jyestha and Mula nakshatras, which are home to the ancient dark goddesses named Jyestha and Niritti (also known as A-Lakshmi, without radiance), in the tail of the Scorpio constellation and near the galactic center, a place of profound, shadowy, and sometimes even dangerous power.

scorpio-mwJai Maa Dhumavati. I bow before you on this night and let go into your deepest wisdom.

 

Happy Chaitra Navaratri 2016

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The One Truth is sensed in ten different facets; the Divine Mother is approached as ten cosmic personalities. (S. Shankarnarayanan).

Navratri (Navaratri) starts tomorrow April 7 in US/April 8 in the UK and India, Asia, and Australia! It is the festival dedicated to the worship of the Divine Feminine Creative Power of the Universe known as Shakti and Maha Devi. She is said to come down and walk among us at this time, to help cleanse, bless, and heal the Earth and its inhabitants.

There are five Navaratri celebrations every year. The one in springtime is Vasant or Chaitra Navaratri. It is customary for devotees to worship Durga the first three nights; Lakshmi the second three nights; and Saraswati the last three nights. Others propitiate nine forms of the goddess Durga, and some worship the Das Mahavidya or the Ten Mahavidyas.

Worshiping these Mahavidyas bestows many gifts and removes certain obstacles on the path of life. The Mahavidyas are considered Tantric in nature, and represent the “Great or Transcendental Wisdom (Maha-Vidya), and are aspects of inner transformation. They are usually identified as:

1. Kali—The power behind time, the energy of spiritual transformation with destruction of ego

2. Tara—The Guiding Star who delivers us from darkness and samsara,  the wheel of birth and death,

3. Tripura Sundari (Shodashi and Sri Vidya)—The 16-year old maiden who represents divine perfection of Adi Shakti, the female embodiment of creativity and fertility.  She is also Lalitha, She who Plays, also known as Maha Maya, as She plays with us and through us in Her lila or divine play.

4. Bhuvaneshvari—The Goddess as World Mother, who is the reflection of Divine Wisdom, whose body is the whole cosmos.

5. Bhairavi—the Power of Death. She is Fierce.

6. Chhinnamasta—The self-decapitated form of Maa who holds Her own severed head,  signifying the ultimate power of self-sacrifice.

7. Dhumavati—The Widow Goddess, also Goddess of Death as well as Renunciation.

8. Bagalamukhi—She is also Pitambaradevi or Brahmastra Roopini and she represents the knowledge of Duality. She is in the still point between dualities and helps us to master them. She also helps us destroy lies and evil.

9. Matangi—She is the outcaste form of Saraswati (Chandalini), who dwells outside normal society. She is the power of dominion which can dispel evil.

10. Kamala—She is often identified as Lakshmi who bestows great fortune.

Mahavidyas.jpg By The Calcutta Art Studio -(This Ten Mahavidyas print is from the Calcutta Art Studio).