The BalaBālā Upasana of Siddhas

Sri Sakthi Sumanan

Siddha Vidya Vignana Society, Sri Lanka

The one, who in the causal world showers bliss on me in the form of Shri Kameshwariyamba
Sahitha Kameshwarananda, who in the subtle world bestows blessings on me in the form of Shri
Agastiya Maharishi, and who is present as Sri Annapoornamba Sahitha Amidhanandha - I bow
to His lofty lotus feet.

After giving Poorna Dhiksha, Guruji blessed me with the following words “Devi will guide you
from within”. Inspired and encouraged by this blessing, I started studying the texts on Yogic
wisdom inherited from my ancestors belonging to the Tamil Siddha tradition. These scriptures
contain intricate, codified verses whose jargon, general linguistic scholars find it difficult to de-
codify. I was familiar with these texts since childhood thanks to my ancestry. Nevertheless only
after obtaining Poorna Dhiksha was I able to grasp and appreciate the deep meanings of these
verses. When I meditated up on each verse, their meaning began to manifest in the form of
thoughts and visuals. As a result, a book in Tamil titled ‘Key to Agastiya’s Yogic Wisdom’
containing meditative commentaries written with insight obtained through the above said process
was published in Chennai with the blessings of our Guruji. The book was well received by
seekers on the path of Siddha wisdom who found it very helpful for their spiritual progress. I
realized that it was the lotus feet of the Guru that provided guidance for writing the book. I saw
beyond doubt that my Guru Sri Annapoornamba Sahitha Amidhanandha was none other than
Shri Lobamutramba Sahitha Agastiya Maharishi whom my family has been worshiping for
generations.

After that, studying the Yogic secrets of Sri Vidya contained in Tamil Siddha songs/verses
became a regular practice for me. Found below are truths of wisdom revealed by Konganavar
Siddhar about BalaBālā in one of these texts.

In verses composed in praise of his Upasana deity BalaBālā in the form of ‘Kummi’, a peculiar
prosodic pattern widely used by Siddhas, Konganavar Siddhar reveals about the Sadhana
procedure he followed and how BalaBālā helped him attain merits. In total there are 111 verses
in this text.
In keeping with the tradition, Konganavar’s text begins with verses in praise of God almighty in
which he describes the 10 qualities of BalaBālā. They are as follows:

1. The one who bestows all knowledge

2. The Shakti who resides in all six chakras
3. The Goddess of Siddhas
4. The one who is omnipresent
5. The sovereign of all wisdom
6. She who is the splendid flame of the universe
7. The one who is the origin of all creations
8. The one who incarnated as Meenakshi in the Pandiya kingdom
9. The one who is unique
10. The one who is extremely beautiful

In order to obtain the mercy of BalaBālā who has the above-said qualities, he begins the text by
worshiping and seeking the blessings of Guru’s feet, Siddhi Vinayaga, Saraswati, Shiva,
Subramanya, Vishnu and Nandeesa.

In the ninth verse he elaborates how this universe was created. Noting that the universe
originated from sound – the cosmic NādaNada, he reveals the important secret of Sri Vidya in
the 12th verse which speaks of the significance of the akṣara akshara (letter) of the Nādanada
that caused the beginning of universe.

Arikku muntiṉa tavveḻuttām piṉṉum

arikkuḷ niṉṟatum añceḻuttām
tarikkum muntiṉa tañceḻuttām vāci
parikkuḷ niṉṟatu mañceḻuttām

அரிக்கு முந்தின தவ்வெழுத்தாம் பின்னும் 

     அரிக்குள் நின்றதும் அஞ்செழுத்தாம்

தரிக்கும் முந்தின தஞ்செழுத்தாம் வாசி 

     பரிக்குள் நின்றது மஞ்செழுத்தாம்.
In the ordinary sense, the word Ari denotes Hari – Lord Vishnu. Since there is no letter to
represent the sound ‘ha’ in Tamil, it has been customary to say ‘Ari’ to refer to
Mahavishnu. This verse states that the NadaNāda that caused the creation of physical
universe is the five lettered NadaNāda which preceded Hari; lies within Hari, takes the form
of man’s regulated, upward breath (ūrdhva śvāsaUrdhva Swasa) and is the Vāsi (Tamil
word)Vasi, the technique combining breath with NadaNāda to attract the omnipresent divine
power into human body. According to the Siddha tradition, this five letteredfive-lettered sound is
“Na-Mma-Ssi-Vva-Yya”. Stating that these five letters are the source of everything for the
physical universe, he goes on to mention in the next verse that it was BalaBālā that took the form
of these five letters at the beginning of and to form the universe.
ஆதியி லைத்தெழுத் தாயினாள் வாலைப்பெண்

ஐந்தெழுத் துமென்று பேரானாள்

நாதியி னூமை யெழுத்திவள் தானல்ல

ஞான வகையிவள் தானானாள்.

Ātiyi laitteḻut tāyiṉāḷ vālaippeṇ

ainteḻut tumeṉṟu pērāṉāḷ
nātiyi ṉūmai yeḻuttivaḷ tāṉalla
ñāṉa vakaiyivaḷ tāṉāṉāḷ.

Ūmai yeḻuttē yuṭalāccu maṟṟum

ōmeṉ ṟeḻuttē yuyirāccu
āmin teḻuttai yaṟintukoṇ ṭuviḷai
yāṭik kum'mi yaṭiyuṅkaṭi.

ஊமை யெழுத்தே யுடலாச்சு மற்றும்

ஓமென் றெழுத்தே யுயிராச்சு

ஆமிந் தெழுத்தை யறிந்துகொண் டுவிளை

யாடிக் கும்மி யடியுங்கடி.

These two verses deal with the origination of BalaBālā mantra. The phrase ‘Nadhiyin Ūmai
Oomai EYeluththival’ means she belongs to the category of ‘Silent word’, which evolve from
Nāda, Ūmai Oomai being the Tamil wordequivalent forof ‘dumb person’ in Tamil. Taken
literally, one would interpret this as denoting silent syllables. However, those who know the
divine subtleties of Sri Vidya would understand the tacit and deep meaning lying buried in this
phrase. What the word ‘ŪmaiOomai’ signifies here is the letter ‘Ūoo’ (“ஊ”) and not a silent
syllable as interpreted by many Tamil scholars. This has important relevance to NavanadaNāda
Beeja Mantras – the nine letters in “hasakShamalavarayUMHaSaKshaMaLaVaRaYum’-
mentioned in the Gurupaduka which leads to Sadhaka’s liberation. It is with the help of these
NavanadaNāda Beeja Mantras, Sadhaka progresses on the path of liberation, clinging on to the
NadaNāda generating ākāśa Ahasa Bootha tatva, destroying ignorance and attaining Brahma
Gnana, the supreme wisdom. Sadhaka’s Atma, when immersed in illusory worldly pleasures,
gets entangled in the domains of the four elements, namely, pṛthvī Pritvi, Apah Appu, Agni and
Vāyu Vayu. As the Sadhaka evolves in his spiritual journey, he comes out of the realms of the
above said four elements and begins to progress on the path of Brahma-jñāna Brahma Gnana by
manipulating his breath with NavanadaNāda Beeja Mantra. The last NadaNāda in this journey
‘Ūum’ is jargoned as Ūmai Yeluthu Oomai eluththu in Konganavar’s verse. This gets confirmed
in the 13th verse where he states “She is the Ūmai Yeluthu, which is Ū Oomai letter when it
comes to NadaNāda and bestows wisdom”. In the 14th verse he talks about two mantras
fundamental to attaining wisdom:

ஊமை யெழுத்தே யுடலாச்சு மற்றும்

ஓமென் றெழுத்தே யுயிராச்சு

ஆமைந் தெழுத்தை யறிந்துகொண் டுவிளை

யாடிக் கும்மி யடியுங்கடி Ūmai yeḻuttē yuṭalāccu maṟṟum

ōmeṉ ṟeḻuttē yuyirāccu
āmain teḻuttai yaṟintukoṇ ṭuviḷai
yāṭik kum'mi yaṭiyuṅkaṭi.
On the path of wisdom, the letter ‘Ūmum’ is akin to the body and Om is akin to the soul, he says.
He goes on to say, ‘along with these two letters, know the pañcākṣara Pansadhshara, the five
letters’. In subsequent verses, he reveals that all divine powers lie within human body and
expounds the way to awaken them through inner sadhana.

Some so-called spiritual paths espouse devaluation of human body, dismissing it as being
corporeal, not realizing the fact that human body is the vehicle through which Sadhaka could
attain divine progress. Deviating from such traditions, Konganavar, in verse number 24,
emphasizes that human body is not to be thought of as ‘filthy corpse’ since it is in this very place
that BalaBālā resides. He goes on to point out the exact location where she resides in the body in
the next verse. She resides as Jothi – bright flame above uvula and below the crown of the head.
In modern anatomical term this location refers to pituitary gland which controls the whole
functions of the body. Next He goes on to talk about ‘six houses’ lying below this spot in the
body, referring to Six chakras (starting from Ājñā Akjna to Mūlādhāra Mooladhara) and says
they are always illumine without requiring any external fuel but from the inner light which reside
in the above said location. Which signifies Bālā.

For someone who is yet to progress on the path of Brahma-jñāna, a lay person the route of these
houses (Chakras and Nāḍī’s) appears twisted and not cleanedr, he Konganava Siddha says. And
the way to untangle this twisted rope is VasiVāsi yoga as indicated in verse 27. A special
technique used by the Siddhas, VasiVāsi Yoga concerns manipulation of breath with Mantra
shakti. When a Sadhaka starts to practice VasiVāsi yoga, he starts to rebuild the three Mandalas,
namely, Chandra, Sūrya Soorya and Agni. Konganavar states that these mandalas and chakras
will be awakened through VasiVāsi yoga. The VasiVāsi Yoga konganavar talks about in this
context refers to the practice of manuplating one’s breath with BalaBālā mantra. There are
different kinds of VasiVāsi Yoga practices in different Guru Siddha paramparas traditions
differing from one another in relation to the mantra used. From verse 32 to 36, he indicates the
deity of each chakras: Ājñā Agjna Chakra – Sadhasiva; ViśuddhaVisuddhi Chakra – Maheswara;
AnāhataAnagatha Chakra – Rudhra, MaṇipūraManipooraka – Mahavishnu. No deity is mentioned
in regard to Svādhiṣṭhāna Swathishtanam and he skips to MūlādhāraMooladhara where he says
Brahma resides.
This is a clear case thatclear case shows that one has to have the mercy of an enlightened Guru
for spiritual progression and such progression cannot be attained merely by studying the texts.
Because such deep truths are hidden and codified in these literatures.

One who has access to the wisdom behind Guruji’s Kalavahana practice would know what is in
play here. Guruji has mapped the route of the six chakras: Brahma is in MūlādhāraMooladhara,
Vishnu is in SvādhiṣṭhānaSwatishtana, Rudhra is in MaṇipūraManipooraha, Maheswara is in
Anāhata Anagata, Sadhasiva is in Viśuddha visuddhi, Devi is in Ājñā Agjna.