Day Three Navaratri, April 2016: Lalita Devi, Mother of Eternal Bliss

Homage to the Absolute Reality, the source and the embodiment of bliss, the supreme consciousness, here termed as She, the Mother, who is both the magnificent image of the universe and the mirror in which this dazzling reflection appears. (from Tripura Rahasya II, I, 1)

Tripura-sundari_yantra_colorDay Three of Das Mahavidya Navaratri sadhana is devoted to Shri Lalita Devi, known also as Tripura Sundari, Shodashi (Vermillion Hued), and Sri Vidya, Goddess of Wisdom). Lalita means “She who Plays,” and She is thus called “Maha Maya,” as She plays with us and through us in Her lila or divine play.

Tripura means the “Three Cities” of Heaven, Earth and the Netherworld. “Sundari” means “Beautiful Woman,” so Her name means “Beautiful Goddess of the Three Cities.” She is the Supreme Goddess who embodies and transcends the holy trinity and five-fold aspect of the Divinity. According to Vedic astrology, Lalita Devi is related to Mercury (Budha) in the horoscope; we can propitiate Her to strengthen or balance Mercury in the horoscope.

Just as Lalita is the absolute universal power, Mercury’s essence is also to contain and unify. This idea is represented by Mercury’s symbol in the Caduceus (Staff of Hermes), an alchemical emblem of two serpents wrapped around a center rod, representing the union of opposites in the human energetic system when it transcends the illusory world of duality. Mercury is also tri-doshic in Ayurveda, and Mercury is the graha that relates to play which is Lalita’s essence as Maha Maya.

caduceusThe whole universe is always encompassed by light within and without. Such light is transcendental and is called the supreme Tripura, the supreme goddess. Knowers of the Vedas call her Brahman and Vaisnaivites call her Vishnu. According to Saivites, she is Siva; according to Shaktas, she is Shakti.

Lalita Tripura Sundari seated over Brahma Vishnu Shiva Maheswara and SadashivaAs the image is pervaded by the mirror, this world is pervaded by the power of consciousness. All the objects in this universe are illuminated by that light. As the image of a city is not part of the mirror, similarly the universe is not part of consciousness. As an image cannot be separated from the mirror, the universe cannot be separated from consciousness. This is the glory if the real self.

Tripura Sundari says, “Sages, listen to me…This whole universe, like an image in the mirror, is born, it is there, and it annihilates itself. That which is seen by the ignorant as the world is realized by the yogis as pure knowledge. I am called Tripura. Far beyond the world there is an ocean of eternal bliss. In the center of that ocean there is an island of gems, and the midst of that island there is a temple with brilliant illumination. In the inner chamber of that temple is a throne on which is seated Mahatripurasundari, the great Mother Divine, with her five aspects. O highest of seers, that is myself.

By my own primal Shakti, it seems that I am born and will die in the world. In this way my faces are multifarious. I am beyond and above all, Sri Vidya. That which is pure, beyond all the phenomenal world, is the knowledge of the absolute, and to contemplate on that is freedom from duality. When the mind and its modifications flow towards the eternal center, atman, O seers, pure atman is realized. Therefore those practitioners who identify pure consciousness, through which all objects are illumined, alone remove all impurities. Those purified ones remain absorbed in that realization.”

(The above is extracted from Tripura Rahasya: The Mystery Behind the Trinity, translated by Swami Sri Ramanananda Saraswathi (Munagala S. Venkataramaiah).

One of my favorite chants to the Devi is 108 Sacred Names of Mother Divine: Sacred Chants of Devi by Craig Pruess and Ananda which you can preview and download here (#2 “Devi Prayer”): Maa Amba Lalitha Devi~Parashakti Sundari~Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah

Happy Chaitra Navaratri 2016

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).