Jaya Jaya Shankara !

Namastripurasundaryai !
Namo Chandramouleeshwaraaya !
Namo Naarasimhaaya !
In Vedic times, mother goddess was worshipped as Usha and
Aranyani in Rgeda and as Sri !ayathri in "a#ureda and $urga in
other Vedas and in Upanishads as Uma, %ymaathi, Narasimhi and
&ripura' &he epic Ramayana o( Valmiki has said to )e em)edded in it
Sri !ayathri o( twenty*(our letters in the twenty*(our thousand
erses o( the epic' In +uranas, Samhitas, Agamas and &antras, she is
worshipped as Sri ,ahakali, Sri ,ahatripurasundari and as Sri
Ra#ara#eshwari' &hus (rom the prehistoric times -./// 0C1 upto date
there is an un)roken tradition o( the !odhead )eing worshipped as
,other' 2en today it is rare to (ind a %indu home where she is not
worshipped as ,other Sri $urga, 3akshmi, 4ali, Saraswathi or at least
as !ramadeatha i'e a small illage deity' In this long line o(
Shakti worship, two aspects o( the goddess can )e clearly discerned'
5' &he (ierce (orm o( the deity that is dreaded'
.' &he )enign aspect o( her loe and kindness'
&hese two )road aspects are common in the concept o( !od in other
religions also' &he (irst one is more primitie and is an actie an
iolent (orm 6 Ra#asic or &amasic personi(ication o( Shakti' 7ear is
the predominant emotion o( the Sadhaka in worshipping this aspect,
(ear o( natural calamities, ill*health, death, enemies, poerty and
een ignorance' 2en her (orm is imagined with many heads and hands
each carrying deadly weapons like sword and mace, riding on wild
animals like tiger, lion and een corpse' She usually resides in wild
places, lonely (orests, hilltops and cremation grounds'
She is generally represented with a gesture o( allaying (ear 6
A)hayamudra' She is o((ered sacri(ices o( liing things such as
(owls, goats, )u((aloes and pro)a)ly een human )eings' 8ine is
o((ered in many cases' She is (re9uently worshipped to gain limited
personal o)#ecties, sometimes een o( an eil nature' It is this
(ierce aspect o( Shakti which Ar#una sees at the end o( Vishwaroopa
$arshana and gets (rightened'
&he second (orm o( Shakti is the Satic one, a latter and
su)limer concept that is the product o( Upanishadic thought' %ere the
sadhaka, through greater knowledge and practice largely sheds the
(ear o( the deity and loes her as his own mother' She is generally
imagined as seated on a lotus and surrounded )y )eauti(ul lakes and
gardens' She is worshipped with the o)#ect o( reaching and reali:ing
higher and higher leels o( consciousness and knowledge'
0ut in the arious (orms o( ,urtis that are )eing worshipped
as Shakti these two aspects are intermingled to a more or less degree
as can )e gathered (rom the (orm o( Sri !ayathri e;tolled )y the
Vedas' She is contemplated as haing (ie heads, three eyes, and also
haing in her hands a mace, a goad, a skull, two lotuses and
A)hayamudra'
&he sadhaka, as he adances in his discipline, as his
practice )ecomes Satic and su)limer, (inds himsel( drawn
irresisti)ly drawn towards the second or the Satic (orm' &his is the
(orm in which +arashakti is worshipped in $akshinachara or
Samayachara'
2ach one o( the &antras is an ela)orate compendium or a
system o( philosophy, worship, ritual and a code o( conduct suited
and prescri)ed to arious indiiduals and groups, o( arious
capacities'
$uring the +uranic period, 0uddhism and Jainism were liing
religions' Naturally, there was mutual enrichment )etween the arious
systems o( discipline'
&he &antras and Agamas are held in the same high esteem as
the Vedas and Upanishads' Upanishads include te;ts like 0rhaca,
Nrisimhatapini, 4ena, 0rhadaranyaka, &ripuaratapini, &ripura,
0haaana, Srichakra and other Upanishads' &here are Samhitas like Sri
$akshinamurthy Samhita and 0huaneshwari Samhita which are almost o(
the same status as Vedas in authority' &here are &antras like
,ahanirana and Vamakeshwara e;tolling the cult o( Sakti' &here are
some &antras like Rudra"amala which are said to )e older een than
Vedas' It may )e mentioned here that there is an impression among the
common people that &antra is some (orm o( )lack magic associated with
immoral practices with se; and drink, condemned )y Vedas' &here
appears to )e some ground (or such an impression' &he Vamachara or
the le(tist path is pro)a)ly an echo o( the primitie ritual with
which the terri)le aspect o( the mother goddess was worshipped in pre*
historic times' 3atterly it (ound sanction in some &antras, which are
)anned )y Vedas' In Vamachara, Rishi is 0hairaa and 0hairaa*
0hairai are the deities' &he worship o( the Shakti component o( the
Shia*Shakti one +ara)rahman, si stressed more here' Vamachara
generally uses the +anchamakaras' &he origin o( these can )e traced
to the eolution o( the Saakta path itsel(' &he (ierce tri)al goddess
o( Saakta cult was o((ered meat and toddy or whateer the worshipper
wanted to eat and drink such as (ish and wine' %oweer, the capacity
o( these ingredients to coarsen the intellectual (aculties especially
in spiritual pursuit was soon discoered' 0ut i( one cannot escape
the lure o( them they were permitted as an article o( worship )y
certain classes o( people who were used to nothing )ut this' &his is
pro)a)ly how this has crept into Saakta mode o( worship'
Some like Vimalanda and others #usti(y Vamachara on the
ground that it seeks to su)limate the grosser nature o( man through
satiation o( senses' 0ut this is a ery strange argument' 0ecause
human nature grosser and grosser as the senses are satis(ied (urther
and (urther' &here are some who e;tol Vamachara as haing )een
practiced )y great ones like Sri Ramakrishna' &his argument is
actually against Vamachara' It is only highly eoled souls like
those mentioned a)oe that can withstand its temptations and
pit(alls' It is not (or ordinary Sadhakas and the eoled souls do
not need it'
8hateer might )e the origin o( this Vamachara, it was
eoled as a part o( Sadhana (or certain classes o( %indus and has a
place in their spiritual growth, at any rate in the )eginning' &he
&antras themseles gie ade9uate warning a)out the pit(alls and
prescri)e (or sadhakas with +ashu0haa'
<n an e;amination o( the historical eolution o( the &antras,
se; as an article o( worship seems to hae )een introduced (or the
(irst time in the !uhyasama#a &antra o( 0uddhistic origin' In this
&antra, in its 5= th chapter mention was made o( +ra#na)hisheka or
initiation o( a disciple with a woman' &here it was said that the
!uru takes the hand o( a )eauti(ul woman agrrea)le to the disciple
and a(ter citing the &athagatas as witnesses, places it in the hand
o( the disciple' &herea(ter placing his own and on the head o( the
disciple, he will say ,> Since 0uddhahood is impossi)le o( ttainment
to you, you should accept this Shakti >' &hus it looks as though this
was the result o( a reaction to the high moral and monastic ideals o(
0uddhism and %induism' 7rom the name o( &antra itsel(, it is eident
that it adocated secret societies where this cult was practiced'
&his is the )eginning o( what is known as Va#rayana 0uddhism'
Incidentally these secret societies where in the name o( religion
orgies o( se;, drink and gluttony were practiced, were mainly held to
)e responsi)le in )ringing 0uddhism into contempt amongst the %indus
and driing it away (rom the land o( its )irth'
&he credit goes to Sri 0hagaatpada Shankaracharya (or
rescuing these arious schools o( %indu religious worship, more
especially the Saakta path, (orm these odious practices and
esta)lishing it in its
pristine Vedantic purity as Samayamata or $akshinachara' &his
Samayachara is the main ritual in the monastic institutions
esta)lished )y Sri Shankara and prescri)ed to %indus since his time'
&he discipline o( Samayamata is called Swatantra &antra )y Acharya
in Saundaryalahari' &his samayamata is a system integrating within
itsel( the "ogas o( ,antra, 3aya, 0hakti,4arma and ultimately the
desired Jnana' &his path harnesses )esides our intellect, other
(aculties o( mind such as (aith and emotion in our e((orts' &he
Samayachara condemns Vamachara and the worship o( Shakti is according
to sacred te;ts called Shu)agama +anchaka' %ere the Rishi is
$akshinamurthy? 4ameshwara*4ameshwari are the deities' &he sadhaka
has to completely identi(y himsel( with Sriidya*Srimata*!uru and
Srichakra'the
pu#a prescri)ed here is called Antaryaga'
$epending on the Samskara, capacity, tradition etc o( the
sadhaka, &antra Shastra prescri)es si; ways o( worship o( the same
+ara)rahman' &hese are Shaia, Vaishnaa, 4oumara, !anapatya, Soura
and Shaakta' &he most e;pansie o( these is undou)tedly Shaakta' &he
great +ara)rahman is here known as 3alitha, +araa or Ahamta etc' the
main Upaasya@s or deities worshipped are A 4ali, &ara, Shodashi,
0huaneshwari, Chinnamasta, 0hairai, 0agalamukhi, ,atangi and 4amala
with their respectie Shia@s or ,ithuna@s )eing ,ahakala,
Aksho)hya, +anchaaktra 4ameshwara, &ryam)aka, 4a)andha,
$akshinamurthy, ,aharudra, ,atanga and Sadashia or ,ahaishnu'
$humaathi is a widow without a +urusha ,ithuna' <ther than these
,ahaidya !oddesses, Naadurgas, 4aamakhya and others in the (i(ty*
one Shakti*+eethas, ,ahalakshmi*,ahasaraswath*,ahakali are all indeed
(orms o( the same great mother ,ahatripurasundari' 2ach Vidya has its
own $eatha, meditation (orm, mantra, "antra, Aaarana, Sadhana,
4aacha, %ridaya, Sahasranama etc' I hae told in a preious post,
the arious deities worshipped in Srichakra as tutelary deities to
,ahatripurasundari' &here is not a single !od or !oddess that is not
worshipped in the Srichakra as a part o( Sriidya' Sriidya includes
+ratimaa pu#a, 3inga poo#a, "antra poo#a, Saligrama pu#a, Nyasa,
4undalini yoga, ,udra paddhati, Shodasha Samskara, %oma, 0ali,
4amakala $hyana and what not B
Upasana is possi)le in three ways, namely A
5' 4aadi idya 6 4ali krama or Samayamata or 4undalini yoga'
.' %aadi Vidya 6 Sundari krama or %amsaidya or 4aulamata'
C' Saadi Vidya 6 &ara krama or Samaarodhini idya or ,ishra marga'
&he (irst one is what is also called $akshinachara' %ere Shia is
called Samaya and Shankari as Samayaa' &his is the path o( pure
consciousness leading to sure success in spiritual staircase' the
)est and the knowledgea)le, who are (ree (orm most ,alas or the
impurities e;cept (or the most su)tle one and also at the same time
)elonging to the (irst three Varnas among the (our Varnas -which are
diided according to Varnashrama $harma )y ,anu1 are eligi)le (or
this path which is unanimously declared to )e supreme not only )y
Samaya &antras and Agamas )ut also )y VamaShaakha &antras' &he
worship here is in the $aharakasha and only internal' 7or those
sadhakas who are not capa)le o( complete internal worship in the
initial stages may )egin with worship in the 0ahyakasha as laid out
in the 4alpasutras' &hough Saundaryalahari has )een interpreted to )e
the source &antra (or )oth Vama and $akshina &antric concepts )y
enera)le commentators, there is no dou)t that Acharya has clearly
e;plained Samayachara practice to )e adopted rather than its
counterpart' 8ith eery erse dealing with Vaama concepts, there is
also a hidden warning a)out its arious pit(alls, which are much
greater than the )ene(its it o((ers, i( at all any' Saundaryalahari
is surely inspired )y Su)hagodaya and Sriidyaratnasutras o( Sri
Srimadgoudapaadaacharya, +aramaguru o( Srimadacharya which are
classic te;ts o( Samayamata'
$akshinachara aims at reaching )eyond the three !unas
)eginning with Satwa' Vaama is &amasic where as ,ishra is Ra#asic'
&hough most commentators on Saundaryalahari hae critici:ed
3akshmidharacharya (or degrading Vamachara, he is correct in most o(
the places i( not all' As he says, most o( the Vama &antras deal only
with ,ooladhara Chakra and awakening 4undalini' +anchamakara practice
is literal in Uttarakaulas whereas sym)olic su)stitutes are used )y
the +ura 4aulas' +ura kaulas actually hae some concept o( ,ithuna
o) 0hairai and 0hairaa )ut in the pose o( +radhana and Apradhana'
%oweer, the Uttarakaulas do not recogni:e Shia tatwa at all' &hen
where comes the 9uestion o( the great Shia*Shakti communion in the
SahasraraB %ere only Shakti is said to )e Upadana 4arana and sadhana
inoles #ust the waking up o( kundalini with "oni pu#a, Chakra pu#a
etc' the siddhi o)tained in this path is called 4shana mukti' &his
is )ecause #ust awakening 4undalini is said to )e ,oksha here' &her
are arious sects under Vamachara' 4apalikas (ollow Chandra#nana,
%rid)heda, 0hairaashtaka, +anchamrita, Sara#nanottara,
,ahakalimata, Arunesha, ,edinisha, Vikuntakeshaa and other &antras'
Vamacharis, in the strict sense (ollow Vama#ushta, ,ahadea, Veena,
4alasana, Sam)hoga "akhsini, 4u)#ika and other &antras' 4shapanikas
and $igam)aras (ollow +uraa*$aksha*Uttara*niruttara*imala*
imalottara*deimata and other &antras' &hese &antras e;pound some
practices which are o)scene, degenerating and are condemned )y the
Vedas'
Saadi Vidya, also called ,ishra Vidya, mainly relies on concepts o(
Samayamata, though some )ene(icial practices and some deities are
)orrowed here (rom %aadi krama' &he &antra (ollowed here is mainly
Chandrakalashtaka'
As (ar as Sriidya is concerned, the three traditions are
$akshinamurthy 6 %ayagria 6 Ananda)hairaa' &hese respectiely
relate to 4ai 6 %adi 6 Sadi karmas' $attatreya sampradaya actually is
a mi;ture o( these three main sampradayas and as such the &antras do
not recogni:e it as a primary tradition o( Sriidya' &hese
Sampradayas are not contradictory to each other )ut instead are
complimentary' &he main di((erences are in the construction o(
Srichakra, !uru ,andala, +atra Sthapana in Srikrama etc' Sriidya is
the com)ination or essence o( si;ty*crore mantras' Again this credit
is not gien to any other ,antra )y any o( the &antras'
Some important te;ts o( Sriidya are A Vamakeshwara &antra,
Chatuhshatee, Rudrayamala &antra, Shu)hagama +anchaka,
Chandrakalashtaka &antra, &antrara#a &antra, Sriidyarnaa,
Jnanarnaa, &ripurarnaa, &ripurasarasarasa, +rapanchasara,
4ularnaa, "ogini %ridaya, Nithya shodashikarnaa, Sanatkumara
Samhita, $aksinamurthy Samhita, +arashurarama 4alpasutras,
Su)hagodaya, Sriidyaratnasutras, Anandalahari, agamakalpadruma,
&antrachudamani, &ripuurasarasamuchaya, trikandasaratha)odhini,
$akshinamurthykalpa, +araapanchaashika, Shatchakranirupana,
Sharadatilaka, 0rihat shreekrama, 3alitha Rahsya, 3alitopakhyana,
,alamantras, Shaktanandatarangini, Shreekrama, Shreemata,
Shreetatwachintamani, Shreetatwanidhi - 0y the late ,ahara#a o(
,ysore1, Shreeidyaratnakara, Sanketapadddhati, Swacchandasamgraha,
4amakalailasa, 4alika purana and other +uranas, Variaysa Rahasya,
Sau)hagya)haskaar, Sau)hagyasetu, Sau)hagyaratnakara, 4undalini
kalpataru, $eyupanishad which are around .D in num)er,
Nrisimhatapini, +rayogasara, 0hairaayamala, ,atrika)heda,
Rahsayagama, $eiyamala, ,ahaniraana &antra, )alailasa &antra,
kulachudamani &antra, todala &antra , ishwasara &antra, parananda
&antra, kankalamalini, ,alinii#ayottara &antra, !andhara &antra,
!authameeya &antra, 3alita &antra, sammohana &antra, etc' to name a
(ew'
A )rie( idea o( Samaya worship is as )elow A
&he power o( will, the great +arashakti o( the (orm o( deoted mind?
4ameshwara, the complete solidi(ied sate o( truth and )liss, these in
union is the deity o( meditation and worship in Samayachara'
&he truth that )rings (orth peace is o((ered as o)lation to
the deity'
&he power o( discrimination )etween good and eil is o((ered
as serice to her'
&he unity )etween the e;istent and the non*e;istent is
o((ered as arious items o( serice to her'
&he capacity o( the arious instruments o( 4nowledge, )oth
internal and e;ternal, to perceie the )e(ore*said unity in
eerything is o((ered as Aahana or inocation to %er'
&he perception o( such unity outside, inside and eerywhere,
is o((ered as Asana or seat to %er'
&he unity o( Shia -+rakasha 1 ans Shakti -Vimarsha 1 is
o((ered as +adya or water to wash her loely (eet'
&he )rilliant e;perience o( )liss (rom the )e(ore said union
is o((ered as Achamana to her, to %er hands and (ace'
&he e;perience o( the crystal clear state o( reality i'e
4ameshwara@s Sat aspect is o((ered as Snana or water to )athe %er'
&he descent o( the great 0rahma or +aramashia consciousness
i'e' the Chit aspect o( 4ameshwara to each and eery organ is o((ered
as +anchamrita (or %er )eauty )ath'
&he power o( ultimate )liss appearing as (ire o( i'e' the
Ananda aspect o( 4ameshwara is o((ered as Vastra or raiment to
0hagaati'
A sacred thread, Upaeetha is o((ered to %er consisting o( .E
indiidual strands representing )liss, wealth, knowledge, action etc'
this signi(ies 0rahamnadi or the spinal cord'
Non*inolement in one@s own and others worldly a((airs is
o((ered as ornaments to %er'
7irmness o( mind and complete control o( mind in eery act
is o((ered as (lowers to %er'
&he continuous e;perience o( all those preiously said acts
and their resulting state o( high consciousness is o((ered as $hupa
or incense to %er'
&he control o( )reath and the conse9uent perception o(
(lashes o( light in the (ield o( consciousness is o((ered as light to
%er'
&he stoppage o( incoming and outgoing )reath is o((ered as
(ood or Naiedya to %er'
&he unitary e;perience o( the three states o( Jagrat, Swapna
and Sushupti o( the consciousness is o((ered as 0etel or &am)ula to
%er'
&he moement o( +rana (rom 0rahmarandhra to ,uladhara and
)ack is o((ered as going round or +radakshina to %er'
&he (ourth state )eyond the three states o( consciousness is o((ered
as salutation or Namaskar to %er'
&he complete immersion in the sel( with notion that the
e;ternal )ody is non*e;istent is o((ered as Sacri(ice or 0ali to %er'
Always presenting to the ultimate that truth alone e;ists and
)eing unconcerned a)out any act to )e done or not to )e done is
o((ered as sacri(icial (ire or %oma'
3osing onesel( in her sacred (eet is o((ered as $hyana or
meditation'
&his method o( worship, called Antaryaga as prescri)ed )y
0hanopanishad , when per(ormed (or three muhurtha, grants complete
li)eration to the sadhaka and he )ecomes +aramashia or
,ahatripurasundari'
Antaryaga as prescri)ed in Vamakeshwara &antra, Rudrayamala
and other te;ts actually inole 4undalini "oga and the di((erent
identi(ication procedures with Srimata*Sriidya*Srichakra and the
deities o( the nine Aaranas' It also inoles internal chakra
$harana in the light o( the aaranas o( the Srichakra and the ascent
o( 4undalini to Sahasrara and )ack -the descent is not necessary, and
is possi)le only )y ,other@s grace and some diine gameplan as also
)y techni9ues taught )y a sampradayait !uru well ersed in Vi#nana 1'