Hi Visitor,
Welcome to my new blog post on Sakthi Worship, also known as, "Saaktham". I shall be posting this topic in several parts, considering the vastness of the subject. Each posting will deal with specific topics as follows:
1. Janani & the Genesis (Introduction to Saaktham and how creation began)
2. A peep into Sri Vidhya Concepts
3. Mantra Swaroopam
4. Yantra Swaroopam (Sri Chakram- The Sacred Geometry)
5. Tantra Swaroopam ( Body Chakras)
6. Significance of Lalitha Sahasranamam- with meanings
7. Soundarya Lahari - Flow of Beauty- with meanings
8. Esoterics of Eshwari - concluding remarks.
This blog is prepared as a compendium and is a collection from various books (about 100 of them) and social media posts that I have read and liked, over the last several years. Time for me to share with you. I am appending the part 1 herewith. Take your time to go through all the pages. These pages are arranged in sequence for you to learn in stages, so that you will fully appreciate the contents. I wish you really get benefited from the information shared and get enlightened on Sakthi worship.
Part 1
Janani & the Genesis
Prayer
I pray to Lord Ganesha for succeess in this endeavour
Please click the link below to join me in this prayer:
Mother worship is primordial in the world with different religions competing to promote it. With due reverence and belief, let us treat all women folk on earth as Mother Deity Herself, be it mother, sister, wife, daughter or just a friend.
I dedicate this book to all feminine forms on earth. Let us get started with adorations of the female principle. Please click the link below and enjoy the music:
I endorse the following message of Saint Adi Shankara in praise of motherhood:
And another one from Chinmaya Mission as follows:
An equivalent song from western world:
"No other religion in the world developed goddess worship so elaborately as did India." – Encyclopedia of Religion - Goddess Worship - Iconoclasm - Macmillan Reference US
The Science of Absolute
Goddess-worship has been practiced in mythologies around the world, be it Jewish Virgin Mary, Egyptian Isis, Roman Diana, Italian Ma-donna, Buddhist Tara, Chinese Quan Yin, Vientnamese Dao Mau or the Hindu Maya. The worship of God as Mother dates to the beginning of civilization, when people started worship of Nature as feminine force and related it to agriculture and fertility.
I am fortunate to be able to share with you in this blog, my thoughts and experiences on one of the complex topics on earth, “the Maya”, the Indian Goddess and the concept of illusory perception.
This is a world so different, a thought so pure, and powers that are beyond our understanding. This is the world of Hinduism, of Shiva and Shakti, where temples, architectures, iconography, literatures, scriptures, arts and music bring home the value of living…
(Ref: Ms. Kavitha indiatemple.blogspot.com/2009/10/mysticism-in-sri-chakra-puja.html)
Even as a school boy, I was interested in performing daily rituals as per Hindu tradition and recite the most powerful Shakti mantra, “Gayathri” Mantra. I used to make frequent visits to a Shakti temple nearby. I was thus drawn towards Her during my early years. I have been reciting Lalitha Sahasranama (1000 holy names of Goddess) for decades.
My quest for Shakti worship made me dwelve further into Devi Upanishads and then I moved on to understand the concepts of Sri Chakra and how it explained the evolution of universe. Soon I realized Saaktham to be the ultimate to aim for. I went on with further readings, stepping up on its intensity. I drew inspiration from several authors far and wide, who have dealt in depth with the sacred science of Shakti. In this text, I share the essence of Devi worship with you.
John Woodroff, (aka Arthur Avalon) one of my favourite personalities, in his famous work, “The Garland of Letters”, (page 292) mentioned: “…….for me, their greatest importance just lies in the fact, that the latest scientific inferences corroborate the intuitively derived teachings of the ancient sages. Thus, present scientific conceptions of the constitution of matter, and notably the breakdown of the Atomic Theory, support the notions of Māyā, a single material basis of the Universe, and the existence of Ether which, as Ākāśa, was accepted in India, when Europe had not passed beyond the so-called “four elements
Contorvertial American Indologist, Ms. Wendy Doniger, Professor in Divinity School, University of Chicago and a doctorate in Sanskrit, said: “Hinduism of the future will continue to be light years ahead of the fundamentalists of all religions in its breadth of vision, depth of spiritual understanding and spell binding stories”.
Hinduism is not to be mistaken as a religion; it is but an ancient philosophy, a way of life. It has no single founder nor the Sages who propounded the astounding theories of cosmic existence with remarkable accuracy, have ever tried to earn for themselves any name or fame.
In fact, no one knows the names of many of these sages. Even the Upanishads, which are part of the Vedas, do not mention their identity in bold letters but subtly bring out the truth as conversations between teacher (Guru) and his disciples (shishya). In fact, the word “Hindu” was attached to the people much later by the Europeans, since they found this region beyond the Indus civilisation.
Westerners recognised long back that Hinduism is a philosophy pronounced by highly evolved souls, supported not just through mere advisory and regulatory words of wisdom, but through incarnations by God at various annals, setting precise standards of living, called “Sanatana Dharma”.
These incarnations, put in a proper sequence, explain the human evolution from the animal basics to an evolved human race, starting from from a fish (Matsya, lives only in water), tortoise (Kurma, lives mostly in water but also can survive in land)), boar (Varaha, moved to land but still loves water), Lion headed human (Narasimha, evolution of human, the missing link?) to the fully evolved human forms (Rama & Krishna).
The code of conduct was developed encompassing lasting peace and prosperity on earth. Hindu sanathana dharma is known for its flexibility, so long as one does not affect the environment around. It has thus branched off into several sub-sects, allowing newer thoughts to creep in as time goes by, keeping the essence of vedas intact, at the same time.
This explains why there are numerous religious divides in India, developed over the years, by many masters and followers, who worship Gods & Goddesses of their choice. All these groups, though divided by geography and language, remain united and stood the test of time over thousands of years and agree on one thing in common: supremacy of the Holy Text, the Veda, which forms the very foundation of Hindu belief.
Apart from the ten incarnations (Dasavataram) of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi have their own. The divine purpose of such incarnations was explained in depth by sages, who could, by their severe penance and opening of their third eye, decipher the wisdom.
Treatise on Hinduism are elaborated in many texts:
- The Vedas,
- Upanishads (or Vedantas), the end part of Vedas.
- Brahmanas, commentaries on Vedas (Shathapatha, Pingani Rhasya, Aitereya, Chandogya).
- Aranyakas, the end part of Brahmanas (like Narayaniyam of Taitteriya Aranyaka),
- Itihasa & Puranas, sacred texts on Hindu Mythology (like Markandeya, Vayu, Shiva, Vishnu, Garuda, Skanda purana),
- Dharma Shastras, rules and regulations (Manu Smriti, Apasthamba and other sutras),
- Darsanas, orthodox schools (Nyaya – the logical system of Gauthama Rishi, Vaisheshika of Kanada, Sankhilya of Sage Kapila, Yoga school of Patanjali, Mimamsa school of Jaimini, for bashyas or explanations),
- Agama Shastras (prayoga shastras or prescribed practices for sacrificial rituals, use of vedic mantras, construction of temples etc),
- Tantra Shastras (the real technology or an established system of knowledge of the process (vidhi) in controlling body and mind)
- Ayurveda – the science of medicine. And many more….
I can’t resist from sharing the following video with you at this stage. Just take a look on how Hinduism is viewed by others:
In Hinduism, there are no religious dictums, which morally force men to follow the commandments from the heavens above, lest they reach hell; Rather, these were wise sayings, which allow freedom of thought and action for the recipients. Complete freedom to accept or reject all or part of it – with no strings attached - no threat of punishment for the dissenter, what so ever. If it does not affect the fellow beings, men are free to choose their path and only on extreme cases, where it entails hardships to the fellow human beings, there were stringent corrective and coercive actions imposed on them to establish Dharma.
Hindusim allowed adequate time for men to experience life in full, both good and bad, by understanding what is required of him to evolve. The focus was more on the goal of evolving the soul over many a life times, rather than on the methodology. Rebirth elevates a soul from its learnings in the previous births. Rebirths are like a student undergoing several classes over the years to graduate. Each “janma”, or repetitive births and deaths, are like class rooms, where students undergo the drudgery of the lessons imposed on them, learns and gets promoted to the next higher classes. Soul has thus evolved from lesser intelligent beings, like trees and animals, to be a human and keeps evolving to higher planes of intelligence, until finally it merges with the most intelligent Universal Consciousness.
Veda represents True and Eternal words of wisdom from Super-Consciousness. Among other things, Vedas contain the doctrine of the Brahman, the unified force and its opposite, the Maya or Mithya, the divisive force. The Veda guides the follower to attain salvation through any of the four paths (Marg):
"Gnana Marg” - the path of knowledge,
“Yoga Marg” – the path of transcendental meditaion, unifying body and mind,
“Karma Marg” – the path of service and duty and
“Bhakthi Marg”- the path of devotion to God.
Lord Krishna has elaborated in Bhagavad Gita, details on these four Margs.
The one thing that needs to be appreciated is that Lord Krishna never recommended one Marg over the other and left it to the individuals to decide and choose the path which they want to follow. Krishna further emphasised that all these paths lead to the same goal and it requires equally strong efforts and will power in all these paths to achieve the desired results. For example, a Saint, who follows Gnana Marg, is in no way superior to a butcher, who follows Karma Marg, when he is duty bound to support his aged parents through his actions.
Sri Adi Sankara, believed to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva and a beacon among the great teachers of Advaida philosophy, had his own reasons when, on the one hand, he criticised and strongly advised to negate Maya as She tries to create a veil around the True status of Brahman, he still proceeded to recite the famous “Soundharya Lahari” in praise of the same Goddess, describing Her flow of Beauty and praising Her as a power greater than even the Triad (Hindu Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) in granting boons. It is likely to create conflict in our minds as to what ultimately Adi Sankara recommends.
-Does he want us not to be distracted by Maya and understand that Brahman, the God Supreme, can be realised only upon renunciation of worldly desires?
Or
-Does he recommend that they should pray and praise the Maya Shakti, so that they can be blessed and thus enjoy all worldly enjoyments?
This puts everyone in the thick of contradictions until and unless one understands the logic behind these two principles.
One of his declarations on the Advaida philosophy pronounces thus:
“Brahma sathyam Jagan mithya
Jeevo Brahmaiva naapasah”
(Brahman, the masculine God, is the Truth. World is Maya, the illusory feminine concept. The soul in none other than Brahman Itself.)
Yet again, in the very first verse of Soundarya Lahari, he states:
“Shivah shaktya yukto yadi bhavati shaktha prabhavitum
Na ched evam devo na khalu kusalah spanditum api”
United with (feminine) Shakti, (masculine) Shiva is endowed with the power to create the universe. Otherwise He is incapable of even a simple movement.
Here Sankara treats Shakti as different from Shiva, which is a total tilt from his Advaida teachings (wherein he declared Shiva as the one and only, devoid of dualism).
He also elaborats, in further verses of Soundarya Lahari text, the secret doctrines of Shakti worship in the form of Sri Chakra, the most sacred and intriguing geometrical representation of how Shakti imposes Herself upon Shiva. He also wrote the “Shivananda Lahari” on Lord Shiva as different from the “Soundarya Lahari” on Goddess Lalitha.
Sankara, no doubt, was very much aware of the different levels or gradations into which men could be classified based on their degrees of evolution.
A highly-evolved soul can easily understand, decipher and appreciate his complex logic and explanations on the uniqueness of the Brahman. Such an enlightened soul would continuously strive to achieve eternal bliss and union through renunciation (Gnana marg). This is an extremely difficult path and is compared with walking on a double-edged weapon.
The less evolved souls, who are driven to worship out of moral fear, yet desirous of enjoying the earthly pleasures, can be guided safely to the same end, through constant and steady practice of Bhakthi.
He therefore promoted "Shanmarga", the six-fold path of worship. Based on this method, he intended to evolve the not-so-developed souls. He formulated and streamlined the various beliefs into worship of the six Hindu Gods, namely, Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shanmuga, Shakti and Shiva, not for differentiating the Gods from Absolute Brahman, but with a view to initiate the trainee-devotees into the art of Bhakthi. We will see in the following pages, the nature of Sakthi worship, approved by Sri Adi Sankara.
Lalitha Sahasranama text pronounces that Shakti stands unseparated from Shiva as “Shiva-Shakthyaika-Rupini”, which very much falls in line with Sankara’s Advaidic concepts.
Saktham is that concept which deals with Shakti worship and perhaps the most powerful of all the Hindu doctrines. While the worship of Brahman or Shiva demands complete renunciation of all earthly desires, the Shakti worship, in complete contrast, bestows all benefits to the devotees and makes the devotees enjoy their life fully, not allowing any room for escape from the earthly enjoyment. Blessed are those mortals who surrender themselves to the Mother to get profusely favoured by Her and safely cross the ocean of life with Her life-support devices. She, being the supreme universal dynamic force, superior even to Shiva, has the unique power to relieve Her devotees from the miserable walk of life and instead, surprisingly, turn their journey into a pleasure trip on earth.
Followers of Saaktham would largely agree with Galileo Galilei’s opinion on renunciation of life to seek God, when he said:
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God, who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect, has intended us to forgo their use.”
Adi Sankara has subtly explained this aspect of the Divine Mother, who takes complete control of Her devotees and blesses them with earthly benefits more than what they ever wanted.
In Verse 22 of Soundarya Lahari, Sri Sankara elucidates thus:
“Bhavani tvam dase mayi vitaradristim sakaunam
Mother is so gracious that no sooner the devotee starts his prayer by spelling out Her name as “Bhavani” and even before the devotee could complete his prayers, She not only grants him much more than his wishes, She also elevates him to Her status and grants him complete oneness with Her. Here one would perhaps perceive how Sankara subtly tries to drive in his concept of Advaidha, where the Jeeva finally becomes one with the Ultimate.
When it comes to Saaktham, the saying goes as follows:
“Yatraastibhogo na tatra mokshah yatraasti mokshah na tu tatra bhogah
Shrisundari saadhakapumgavaanaam bhogashcha mokshashcha karastha eva”
Normally, it is believed that when you want earthly enjoyments, you should forgo heaven and when you want heaven, you must forgo enjoyment. But when you are with Sri Mata, you get the heaven on earth.
Shakti worship is not without controversies and prejudices surrounding it due to the secret practices, known as Vamachara Marg (left-handed practices) resorted to by certain extremists, who believed in secret worship to attain special powers. Sankara strongly denounced such practices and set clear procedures for an approved method of Shakti worship, known as Samayachara or Dhakshina Marg, the right-handed practices. Thus, the left-handed practices waned away.
Among the great teachers of Saaktham are sage Durvasa, Lopāmudrā, Sage Agastya, Dattātreya and Paraśurāma. There are several treaties in praise of Shakti passed on to us by these sages, the most important ones being:
There are also set of Upanishads, which specifically deal with the Shakti worship, namely, Bhavanopanishad, Tripuropanishad, Bruhuschopanishad, Devyupanishad, Srichakropanishad and Bahvricha Upanishad, etc.
Creation Continuum
Vedas and Upanishads explain how Shakti created this universe through various elements (building blocks, called Tatva). They commendably explain the concept on how matter emanated from energy, a remarkable anterior to Einstein’s theory of relativity, which upholds that atomic particles of matter are in fact a form of energy waves. What we perceive as gross material in the macroscopic world are made up of immaterial nothingness in the form of void or dark space in the micro-atomic configuration in which pockets of energy fields, quarks and photons, dance their way in all directions. Pure nothingness seen by us as impure materials.
It was Einstein who convinced everyone that matter, and energy are inter-twined as unseparables. Vedas propounded the same in a different fashion that Sakthi, the pure energy aspect of Brahman, popularly known as Maya, dubiously appears as matter in our minds. Scientists are still wondering whether what they see is really a physical mass of gross matter or a convergence of energy wavelenths.
According to Quantum Physics, Theory of Uncertainity prevails over Newtonian Physics. Modern Biologists are taking a fresh look at their belief that there is no relationship between physical Body over Mind, especially after the onset of quantum physics, which emphasises that body (Material) and Mind (Energy) are inter-connected. Programmed to believe you need. Medicine is tending to believe now that curing the body through sub-conscious mind (Psycology) is possible. According to Dr. Bruce H Lipton, “The fact is that harnessing the power your mind can be more effective than the drugs you need…. Energy is a more efficient means of affecting matter than chemicals.”
Rig Veda (10:129) explains the process of creation in its “Nasadiya Suktham”, in the 129th hymn of the 10th Mandala. It talks about what existed before and after creation in seven verses. There was no matter or any activity before creation began. Satva, Rajas and Tamas, the three basic gunas, were absent. There was no space (vyoma) or time at the beginning. There was only Brahman, exiting on its own. There was pure darkness (dark matter and dark energy), everything hiden by the ocean of darkness and nothingness (sunya or void). Then the Divine desire arose in the form of a movement in the universal mind to form the warp and weft of the universe. No one knows the source or the reasons for the creation. This is exactly what the Nasadiya Suktha says.
It is supplemented in the Rig Veda further by Hiranyagharba Suktham as well as Sakti Suktham. These explain how pure cosmic consciousness transforms through a cascade of 36 tattvas, the elements of evolutionary process, which came into existence from the time of creation, to lesser forms of consciousness, in stages, culminating into gross matter.
As per Hindu beliefs, cosmos is continuously created and destroyed. Each cycle of time takes 8.64 billion years, being the life span of one day or Kalpa (4.32) and one night (4.32) of Brahma. Again, one day of Brahma, i.e., 4.32 Billion years, is divided into four Yugas, Krita or Satya Yuga of 1.728 billion years, Tretha yuga of 1.296 billion years, Dwapara Yuga of 0.864 billion years and Kali Yuga of 0.432 billion years. (It may be noted that all are in multiples of 432,000 years). The end of Kali Yuga means the onset of dissolution and the beginning of Satya yuga again. Currently we are in Kali Yuga, having spent about 5000 plus years. Another 427,000 years to go for the next Grand Dissolution. Not to worry about dissolution as of now.
The universe undergoes dissolution after one day of Brahma and goes into hibernation for one night of Brahma. This day and night cycle thus continues for 100 years of Brahma, after which a new Brahma is created. It is also believed that we are in the 51st year of the current Brahma.
Many scientific texts describe the universe as oscillating (expanding and collapsing), cyclical and of perpetual and eternal existance. They also support the theory that there are several such universes (multiverse) in parallel existence. Time differs in each loka or plane, as per Hinduism. One day of Deva Loka (Heaven where demi gods exist) is thus equal to one year on Earth. In the same way, we find that our one day consist of 43,200 seconds and one night again of the same quantum. Thus, 24 hours consist of 86,400 seconds for us on earth, while for Brahma one day and night is 8.64 billion years (look at number 864). We can’t but admire the similarity of Einstein’s postulate on space-time relationship.
Vedas explain the unit of time in stunning detail, right from the smallest unit of time to the largest, as explained below:
Unit
|
Definition
|
Relation to SI units
|
Paramāṇu
|
Base unit
|
≈ 26.3 µs
|
Aṇu
|
2 Paramāṇu
|
≈ 52.67 µs
|
Trasareṇu
|
3 Aṇu
|
≈ 158 µs
|
Truṭi
|
3 Trasareṇu
|
≈ 474 µs
|
Vedha
|
100 Truṭi
|
≈ 47.4 ms
|
Lava
|
3 Vedha
|
≈ 0.14 s
|
Nimeṣa
|
3 Lava
|
≈ 0.43 s
|
Kṣaṇa
|
3 Nimesha
|
≈ 1.28 s
|
Kāṣṭhā
|
5 Kṣaṇa
|
≈ 6.4 s
|
Laghu
|
15 Kāṣṭhā
|
≈ 1.6 min
|
Danda
|
15 Laghu
|
≈ 24 min
|
Muhūrta
|
2 Danda
|
≈ 48 min
|
Ahorātram (Day)
|
30 Muhūrta
|
≈ 24 h
|
Masa (Month)
|
30 Ahorātram
|
≈ 30 days
|
Ritu (Season)
|
2 Masa
|
≈ 2 months
|
Ayana
|
3 Ritu
|
≈ 6 months
|
Samvatsara (Year)
|
2 Ayana
|
≈ 365 days
|
Ahorātram of Deva
|
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_time#/media/File:HinduMeasurements.svg)
In the beginning, there existed only the Brahman, non-dual, cosmic consciousness, describable only by negation, “Neti-Neti” (This is not this; This is not that). It had no name or form. Saints could not describe the exact nature of Brahman, since it is beyond their comprehension. They, therefore, tried to describe by negation.
Saint Adi Shankara, who lived in 4th Century B.C., has written a hymn called “Nirvana Shatkam”, in which he tries this method of negation.
Nirvana Shatkam, also known as Atma Shatkam is a composition consisting of 6 slokas written by Adi Shankara summarizing the basic teachings of Advaita Vedanta or the teachings of non-dualism. It is often said by realized Gurus that these few verses can be of tremendous value for progressing on the path of self realization.
This is one of the rare hymns by Adi Sankara identifying himself with Lord Shiva and clearly explaining his theory of non-dualism. It is mellifluous and has remarkable tempo.
Please click on to the following link to enjoy this lovely song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW2nQzDPXng
Two more versions of this song is shared in the following links:
https://youtu.be/dpUv0rQhPeQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjri_iFjUzc
And if you want it in Tamil script, follow this link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br29S_GBBjQ
Sankara has written this hymn as if Shiva Himself explains who He is and who He is not. The true meaning of this hymn is given below:
1) I am not mind, nor intellect, nor ego, nor the reflections of inner self (citta). I am not the five senses. I am beyond that. I am not the ether, nor the earth, nor the fire, nor the wind (the five elements). I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), love and pure consciousness.
2) Neither can I be termed as energy (prāṇa), nor five types of breath (vāyus), nor the seven material essences, nor the five (body) sheaths (pañca-kośa). Neither am I the organ of Speech, nor the organs for Holding (Hand), Movement (Feet) or Excretion. I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), love and pure consciousness.
3) I have no hatred or dislike, nor affiliation or liking, nor greed, nor delusion, nor pride or haughtiness, nor feelings of envy or jealousy. I have no duty (dharma), nor any money, nor any desire (kāma), nor even liberation (mokṣa). I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), love and pure consciousness.
4) I have neither merit (virtue), nor demerit (vice). I do not commit sins or good deeds, nor have happiness or sorrow, pain or pleasure. I do not need mantras, holy places, scriptures (Vedas), rituals or sacrifices (yajñas). I am none of the triad of the observer or one who experiences, the process of observing or experiencing, or any object being observed or experienced. I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), love and pure consciousness.
5) I do not fear death, as I do not have death. I have no separation from my true self, no doubt about my existence, nor have I discrimination based on birth. I have no father or mother, nor did I have a birth. I am not the relative, nor the friend, nor the guru, nor the disciple. I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), love and pure consciousness.
6) I am all pervasive. I am without any attributes, and without any form. I have neither attachment to the world, nor to liberation (mukti). I have no wishes for anything because I am everything, everywhere, every time, always in equilibrium. I am indeed eternal knowledge and bliss, the auspicious (Śivam), love and pure consciousness.
(Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atma_Shatkam)
Brahman is pure consciousness, devoid of any activity. From Brahman, Shakti or primeaval matter (Moola Prakruti), came out with a desire to multiply. She broke the silence through “Omkara” (AUM) sound, performed Ananda Tandava (Dance of Delight) and started Bramha Shrishti (creation), thus waking up the sleeping souls. You can have a glimpse of such a graceful dance in the following link:
“Life is nothing but "ohm" kaaram. Our body is the beauty of creation. Our relatives are the various dance forms. We are given eyes to admire the creations. This art of dance is the abode of Lord Shiva, the Kailasam. Happiness is shiva natham, pure love. All that is created can be expressed in shiva natyam (Dance of Shiva). World is created by Bhramhan with varieties of living and non-living beings, each having its own characteristics and for all the creations, this form of dance is made for peace and harmony. One should find truth within one-selves to attain "athma shanthi" (peace), which is vital in every minute of life. One should deprive selfish thoughts. Athma is deathless and emerges forth with the almighty. Knowledge is permanent. Athma shanthi is permanent. Love and divine is permanent. Atma is permanent. And mukthi is permanent”.
During the various cycles of creations and dissolutions, due to balance of Karma, the souls entrapped in the previous dissolution, are held captive in a capsule of a Golden Egg called Hyranya Gharba. Whatever is left over (remnants) is called “sesham” in Sanskrit language. The souls that were left out from the previous creation are therefore called “Adi Sesha”, the balance from the erstwhile life. The Brahman is said to rest on this Adi Sesha till next creation begins.
Goddess Mother is Brahman in a different form. If Brahman is pure Consciousness, Shakti is pure Energy turned into Matter. Both are inseparables. Indirectly this supports Albert Einstein’s theory that energy can be converted to mass and vice-versa.
Devi's Pranava Swaroopam
Moola Prakruti initially caused disturbance to the equilibrium by causing the sound vibrations called Nadha (cosmic murmurs), resulting in the activation of “AUM” sound. AUM is the primary mantra or the holy uttering and is considered sacrosanct, representing the Brahman. Before creation occurred, there was total silence, except a humming sound of cosmic existence.
AUM occurred without the striking of any two objects and is primal in nature. It is therefore called Anahata, a sound created out of nowhere. The entire creation came out of this silent vibration and the “things” so created shall dissolve into it at the end. Hence AUM is said to depict the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who take care of creation, protection and destruction. After all, these three functions are inter-related and are integral parts of one continuum. AUM is used extensively in meditation to reach a state of stillness. AUM, which is first to emanate, is considered the root syllable (Moola Mantra) and is written in Sanskrit Language as: ॐ.
Mandukya Upanishad, a part of Atharva Veda, explains elaborately on this AUM mantra. Let us see some more facts on “AUM” before we proceed with further aspects of creation process.
The Upanishads are among the noblest and most inspired books in the world; in them, the whole of the Indian wisdom is already contained; later teachers could but expand and comment on them, but in no way departed from this original treasure of wisdom."—Charles Johnston.
A little bit of science here might help. The word AUM, when pronounced properly, is said to vibrate at 432 Hz, the frequency with which everything vibrates on earth. It is a brain stabilizer. The study of effect of sound vibrations on loose particles is called Cymatics. It is experimentally proved that the particle form a Sri Chakram, when the sound of AUM is recited properly in a tonoscope.
Following mantra mentions that AUM contains the essence of creation:
“Omkaaram srushti saaram vidhi vidhi likitham moksha daksham subiksham.
Gangangam divya lingam gaja mukha vinutham saarna poorna samaksham.
Vedhartham vyasa peetham sura muni sahitham santhi datham sukantham.
Visvesham chitprakasam srutha jana varadham Kasi Natham namaami”
Lord Shiva, as Nataraja, the master of dance, has the fire in His left hand signifying the destruction of the universe and the drum (Damaru) in His right hand, signifying creation through the AUM sound principle. It is also said that the fire denotes that creation first started with light and then through sound. It is recorded that initially the Hyranya Garbha, the Golden Egg, was glowing very bright like thousands of Sun, denoting inherent light energy in it, from which, AUM sound emanated. When dance of evolution takes place, He shifts His left leg denoting emanation of light first and then sound; but during dissolution He shifts His right leg towards left, denoting going back into the Egg in the form of light.
The following link gives a representation of the dance (Thandav) of Shiva during creation and destruction. Shakti is but a force ejected from within Shiva, the Brahman, to complete these activities.
Sub-quantum kinetics and Markov chain process talk about the vibrating ether extending throughout the universe and the destruction of one state resulting in the birth of a new state as a continuum.
Thus, we find that the AUM is closely associated with the mystics, physics of sound, vibrations and resonance and no wonder AUM is considered the paramount of all syllables.
World over, most cultures believed, it is the cosmic sound vibrations that initiated creation. If it was Aum in India, it was Amun or Amen in Egypt. Greek God of wisdom, Hermes, is supposed to have created the world through his voice. Christianity believed that “in the beginning there was word and the word was with God and the word was God.” Per the Gospel of John, “the word became flesh”. The ancient Mayan scriptures also belived the first real men are given life by the sole power of word. Kari, the ancient Norse Wind God (Scandinavia) is said to have created everything through his word. It is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word, that comes from the mouth of God."
Back to the process of creation. We saw that the first Tattva is Brahman or pure consciousness which split into Shakti, being the second Tattva, during which process the sound principle emanated as AUM.
Shakti went on to transform this sound principle into other tattvas and created various Gods, “Sadashiva” (third tattva) to begin with, who assumes the power to liberate the soul (Anugraha shakti). Sadashiva is said to have five faces, (Ishana, Satyojata, Vamadeva, Agora and Tatpurusha), representing the five elements Akash, Air, Fire, Water and Earth, of which, all creations are made of. Agama texts declare that there is a sixth face, which relates to Aum mantra, called Adho Mukha, facing downwards. This six faced Lord is called Skanda, who is an embodiment of (Pranava) Aum.
Shakti then created “Ishvara” or Maheswara (fourth tattva) to carry out the tirodhana (in Sanskrit “tiras” means to hide and in Tamil “tirai” means screen) functions, creating a veil of imagination (Maya) limiting our awareness of first principles. Ishvara allows scope for the embodied soul to evolve beyond Maya and reach Sadashiva, who liberates the soul.
It is explained that Prakriti (Shakti), the primordial matter, is comprised of three gunas (characteristics or state of existence), namely, sattva, rajas and tamas. From these three gunas, Shakti created the trinities of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to take care of creation, protection and destructive functions respectively. These are the fifth, sixth and seventh tattvas to evolve from Shakti.
Brahma, creator of all beings is four headed, from each of which the four vedas emanated. He is not worshiped as much as Vishnu and Shiva. Puranas have stories on this.
For further details on Brahma, readers may refer the following link:
Vishnu, one of the Trinity Gods created by Devi, is yet another powerful and most sought after deity, being the consort of the Goddess of wealth, Maha Lakshmi. Lord Rama and Lord Krishna are two of His ten incarnations. He is the protector of all creations. Click and enjoy the link below for a lovely song on Lord Vishnu:
Vishnu resides in Vaikuntha in the ocean of milk, lying on the thousand-headed snake, Adi Sesha. His main functions are to preserve and sustain life and uphold dharma (establishment of righteousness). Incidentally, Vishnu holds a conch through which he announces the onset of time.
Vishnu undertook different incarnations (avatars) time and again during various stages in support of human evolution, ten of which are prominent. He adored different names accordingly.
Apart from uttering His 1000 names, which is considered auspicious, there are specific mantras of Vishnu, which dispel sorrow and bring in prosperity and happiness, such as the one given below:
A melodious music on Lord Krishna follows:
Krishna was the one who cared for women’s welfare. He declared war against Gouravas just to revenge the injustice met out by Droupathi, wife of Pandavas. It is apt to mention here that the same Lord would protect all women on earth for times to come. Click on the following link and enjoy yet another music praying for Krishna’s protection:
Vishnu uses a Disc as one of his weapons, which is known as Sudarshan Chakra, gifted to Him by Lord Shiva. See how nature reproduces this Sudarshan Chakra even now, by clicking the following link: Amazing perfection:
The third of the trinities is “Shiva”, considered an incarnation of Brahman (Universal Consciousness) by the Saivites. He is bestowed with the acts of dissolution of the Universe only to create it back again in the next cycle of evolution. His mantra is “AUM Na Ma Shi Va Ya”, which is a six-lettered word in Indian language. His mantra can be viewed in the following link:
Text of the above link with “Om Na Ma Shi Va Ya” letters as starting letters is given below:
Omkaram, Bindu Samyuktham,
Nithyam, dyayanthi yoginaha,
Kamadam, mokshadam chaiva,
Omkaraya Namo nama., 1
Nithyam, dyayanthi yoginaha,
Kamadam, mokshadam chaiva,
Omkaraya Namo nama., 1
Salutations and salutations to letter om,
Which is meditated as a letter Om with a dot,
Daily by great sages,
And leads them to fulfillment of desires,
And attainment of salvation.
Namanthi Rishayo deva,
Namanthyapsara saganaha,
Nara namanthi, devesam,
Nakaraya namo nama., 2
Which is meditated as a letter Om with a dot,
Daily by great sages,
And leads them to fulfillment of desires,
And attainment of salvation.
Namanthi Rishayo deva,
Namanthyapsara saganaha,
Nara namanthi, devesam,
Nakaraya namo nama., 2
Salutations and salutations to letter na,
Which is saluted by great sages,
Which is saluted by groups of divine maidens,
And which is saluted by men and the king of devas.Mahadevam, Mahathmanam,
Mahadyanam parayanam,
Maha papa haram devam,
Makaraya namonama., 3
Which is saluted by great sages,
Which is saluted by groups of divine maidens,
And which is saluted by men and the king of devas.Mahadevam, Mahathmanam,
Mahadyanam parayanam,
Maha papa haram devam,
Makaraya namonama., 3
Salutations and salutations to letter ma,
Which is saluted as greatest god,
Which is saluted by great souls,
Which is greatly meditated and read,
And which is the stealer of all sins.
Shivam Shantham jagnannatham,
Lokanugraha karakam,
Shivame kapadam nithyam,
Shikaraya namo nama., 4
Which is saluted as greatest god,
Which is saluted by great souls,
Which is greatly meditated and read,
And which is the stealer of all sins.
Shivam Shantham jagnannatham,
Lokanugraha karakam,
Shivame kapadam nithyam,
Shikaraya namo nama., 4
Salutations and salutations to letter Shi,
Which is Lord Shiva,
Who is the abode of peace,
Who is the lord of the universe,
Who is the one who blesses the world,
And which is the one word that is eternal.
Vahanam Vrushabho yasya,
Vasuki Kanda Bhooshanam,
Vame Shakthi daram devam,
Vakaraya namo namo., 5
Which is Lord Shiva,
Who is the abode of peace,
Who is the lord of the universe,
Who is the one who blesses the world,
And which is the one word that is eternal.
Vahanam Vrushabho yasya,
Vasuki Kanda Bhooshanam,
Vame Shakthi daram devam,
Vakaraya namo namo., 5
Salutations and salutations to letter va,
Which the God who holds in his left Goddess Shakthi,
And who rides on a bull,
And wears on his neck the snake Vasuki.
Yathra yathra sthitho deva,
Sarva vyapi maheswara,
Yo guru sarva devanam,
Yakaraya namo nama., 6
Which the God who holds in his left Goddess Shakthi,
And who rides on a bull,
And wears on his neck the snake Vasuki.
Yathra yathra sthitho deva,
Sarva vyapi maheswara,
Yo guru sarva devanam,
Yakaraya namo nama., 6
Salutations and salutations to letter ya,
Which is the teacher of all the devas,
Who exists wherever gods exist,
And who is the great God spread everywhere
Which is the teacher of all the devas,
Who exists wherever gods exist,
And who is the great God spread everywhere
Shivashtakam, the 108 names of Lord Shiva, which is supposed to bring in protection, destroying all evil deeds, can be viewed in the following link:
Shakti, thus, created in succession these five Gods - Sadashiva, Ishvara, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and their respective feminine Goddesses. These five-fold functions are known as “Panch-krithyam”. Shakti is considered the doer of all these five functions through these respective gods. Since Devi controls these five functions, one of Her 1000 holy names is ‘Pancha -krithya - parayana”.
The Devi Upanishads explain in detail how Devi further created various lower tatva to finally culminate in our planet Earth and its inhabitants.
These further creation happenned out of the three gunas. Sattva is pure (white) denoting peaceful coexistence, rajas is dynamic (red) denoting aggressive action, and the tamas is static (black), associated with ignorance and inaction.
For further reading on this subject, the following link may be referred to:
These three gunas are also known as three prakruthi forms. The following link compares Vedic theory with Unified field theory of science:
The next to evolve, after the five Gods, were the cosmic intellectual powers (Antahkarana). Of this, “Mahat” (Bhuddhi), the intelligence, which helps one in discriminating & Judgment, evolved first when Sattva guna was predominant. This was followed by Ahamkara or Ego as well as Manas or mind, the organ of thought and Chitta, the repository of all thoughts, good and bad. These were the cosmic aspects at macro level.
And then there evolved the five cosmic elements, the first being Space (Aakaash or Ether), which, though appears to be inactive, vacant and beyond our five senses, is in fact the most active and is the birth place of all elements and is the source of all creations. This concept is now supported by the declarations of Stephen Hawkins, that black holes or dark matter are the most active ones in space.
From Space was created Air, which has the sense of “touch”. From Air came Fire, which has both “touch and shape”. From Fire, emanated Water, which has “taste” in addition to “shape and touch” and finally from Water, Earth evolved, which additionally has “smell” and therefore contains all the five senses (Pancha bootha). Note: Water here refers to the liquid state rather than the waters that we know of.
Having created these, Shakti went on to create in living beings, at micro level, the five Gnanendriyas or the organs of senses (the eyes, ear, nose, tongue and skin) to make us enjoy these senses. She created the five tanmatras or the archetypes, the subtle rudiments of matter, namely, light, sound, taste, smell and consciousness. She also bestowed us with five Karmendriya or the organs of actions – mouth, feet, hands, anus and genitals to perform our karmas or duties.
Shakti ensured that human body consisted of many invisible naadi or nerve centres, connected by seven chakra junctions, seven “dhathus” or constituents (serum, blood, semen, bone marrow, flesh, bone and skin) and ten vayu or vital airs (Prana, apaana, samaana, vyaana, udhaana, naaga, korma, krikara, devadatta and dhananjaya). Somemore details can be found on the Nadi system in the link:
Further, She provided us with five ‘kosa’ or bodies, namely, Annamaya kosa (that which is maintained by food), Pranamaya kosa (maintained by vital pranic forces, holding the body and the mind), Manomaya kosa (composed of mind), Vijnanamaya kosa (composed of Bhuddhior intellect) and Anandamaya kosa (composed of pure bliss.
All these operate under different states of consciousness, such as waking, dreaming, deep sleep and state of supreme bliss. The last two states could be reached only through yogic practices.
The whole of creation thus started from space and ended up with Earth, in increasing order of density, gathering mass all the way, becoming grosser, such as gaseous (Air) and liquid (Water) to solid (Earth) forms. This process is akin to, condensation, crystallisation or solidification.
“Vedas provide the ultimate knowledge of creation; they are as scientific and rational as they are old and traditional. Vedic philosophy did not discriminate based on religion, geography, birth, colour of skin or status in society... these are later developments. Vedic masters classified men into civilised (daivik) and uncivilised (asurik), and these could be found across cultures and religions, even in the same individual at different times and stages of life”.
We have explained that creation began from “triguna”, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Based on the predominance of one or the other of the three Gunas, the mankind was differentiated. For example, when Sattva predominates, the person becomes saatvic or lover of peace, truth and honesty. When Rajas predominates, the person becomes aggressive and likes to dominate. When Rajas combines with Tamas, the person likes to dominate in the material sphere. When Tamas dominates, the person becomes ignorant.
What was meant for classifying an individual based on his guna, was extended wrongly to mean his caste. It is wrong to say that a person becomes a Brahmana or Kshariya by birth, if his parents are Brahmana or Kshatriyas respectively. No one can be classified even before he is borne, without knowing his Guna or qualities. All are considered equal before the Lord. This fact has been expressed by many saints and scholars, such as Annamacharya, Sri Adi Sankara and others. Listen to the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLQqWQW4S4s by Annamacharya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geIrGfvSID8&t=2s by Adi Sankara
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec3HP0Ajpr0 by Adi Sankara – Part 2
Cosmologists worldwide are busy, trying to figure out the true origin of this universe and to single out the ‘unified force’ which governs the laws of the universe, a single force which explains gravity, nuclear, electromagnetic, weak and the strong forces. Perhaps they might find a hint from Saaktham.
Like the Big Bang theory, Shaktham agrees that the universe started from the central dot, called Bindhu (in the Sri Chakram of Devi). The Bindhu or the central dot is said to contain the seed of the entire universe, which when disturbed by subtle internal vibrations, produced the Pranava sound of “AUM” (Anahata Nada) and finally exploded, spilling out cosmic fluids all around.
The concept of this mystic sound is explained in various texts. It is also dealt extensively by Dr. Guy Beck, an Assistant Professor at the Louisiana State University, in his book: “Sonic Theology- Hinduism and Sacred Sound”.
Rig Veda describes in its ‘Nasadiya Suktha’ that the Nada and the Bindhu form a kind of subtle grid and holds the entire seeds of the universe as also the forces both micro and macro in nature. If only someone can undo this mystery to understand the unique force of law…
Immediately after this explosion from central dot, the Universe started expanding in the form of triangles, sending down 4 Shiva triangles and sending up 5 Shakti triangles, thus creating the whole universe. While expanding, the gases gradually solidified to form graha or planets and the nakshatra or the stars, through Akash, Vayu, Theyu, Appu and Prithvi, meaning Space, Air, Fire, Water and the Earth, in that order.
All the substances in the universe, having emerged from the first principles of the Bindhu, have common origin and therefore belong to the same family and must therefore obey the same laws of nature.
May be we will, one day, get some relevance to the String Theory and the tatva and guna concepts. The theory of an oscillating universe is reflected in Saaktham, which says that the world gets destroyed by Shiva and gets tightly packed back into the Bindhu, only to be created again and again through big bangs.
I am giving below, a link to a TEDx talk on this topic of creation in Hindu texts:
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