Hindu Deities-Lalitha

[Guest guest]

Om Gurave Namah

------------------------

 

Shri Sanjay, Solai and friends,

 

Namaste. As per Solai’s request, I started writing

about my Istadevata, Lalitha Parameshwari, and had to

stop time and again because I was feeling overwhelmed

so often. Guruji, you all know what I feel about

“Mother”. So, what follows is perhaps a very inane

attempt to verbalize the exquisiteness of the

Rainbow…to capture the subtle aura of the Moonlight…

 

“Srividyaa Siva vaamabhaaga nilayaa

Hreemkaara mantrojwalaa….”

 

She’s the "Aatmavidyaa, mahaa vidya"…the Essence and

Culmination of all education. Gracing the left side of

Shiva, She is the shining embodiment of “Hreem”

beejakshara…

 

At the beginning of creation, there were just the

Prakruti (the female principle)and Purusha (the male

principle). All creation is cyclic and originated from

Them, and they were Indivisible at this stage, like

“vaak” and “artha”, i.e., word and meaning (SUN). Then

the Divine Mother took on the role of the sustainer

(Moon), and Shiva became the destroyer(Agni). Thus,

Shiva and Shakti, both are described as with Three

eyes, signifying this inseparable trinal function.

 

The Mother initially incarnated as Sathi/Daakshayani,

the daughter of Daksha Prajapathi, and married Shiva

against her father’s wishes. Once, She went uninvited

to a “yagna” (sacrifice) performed by her father,

despite the counsel of Shiva to the contrary. During

the yagna, unable to bear the tirade against Shiva and

the mounting humiliation, She hurled herself into the

sacrificial fire. The news reached Shiva, who was now

totally heart broken and in terrible anger He (Rudra)

destroyed Daksha. Disconsolate with grief, He carried

the inert body of Sathi on his shoulder to "Kailasa"

and enroute, parts of Mother’s body fell at 18 places

and there sprung up “Ashtaadasa Shakti Peethas” or the

18 “zones of power”.

 

Mother later on took another birth as Parvathi, the

daughter of Himavantha. She won over Shiva through

great penance (Aparna) and ultimately married Him.

 

The Divine Mother is variously worshipped as Lalitha,

Parvathi, Tripura Sundari, Raja Rajeshwari, and the

numerous “grama-devatas”(village deities) who govern

the welfare of the world. For Saattwika upaasana

( normal worship), she is Lalitha (lalathi…vilasathi

ithi Lalithaa…invoking an incredibly graceful and

benevolent form of the Mother, the eternal “smitha

mukhi” or the “Smiling One”, Who is manifest in many

forms).

 

Though basically a Yogini (Renunciate) herself, when

the very existence of her beloved creation is

threatened by the dark forces, She takes on the

terrible forms of Durga, Kali and Chandika, to trounce

Evil and to restore tranquility. Perhaps in this

mission of protection/sustenance of the world, She is

like Vishnu and is also called “Narayana Sodari”

(sister of Narayana).

 

Whether it is Kalidasa or Shankara Bhagavatpada, She

uniformly inspired rapturous outpouring of devotion

and the “Syaamala Dandakam”, “Soundarya Lahari” or

“Mahishaasura Mardini stotram”, are unmatched for

their lyrical/metrical beauty.

 

In Hindu mythology, The Female Principle is revered as

Shakti, the innate driving force behind all thought

/knowledge /action, while The Male Principle is the

overt/outward manifestation. Thus Mother is also

adored as Lakshmi, the Iccha Shakti, (as Lakshmi is

the “heart”, the seat of desire, of Narayana) and

Saraswathi, the Vaak / gyana Shakti

( Saraswathi resides on the tongue, the expression of

all knowledge, of Brahma), while as Durga, she is the

Kriyaa shakti, the Victory of good Karma.

 

The “Para Devata”, as Mother is often referred to, is

ritually worshipped through “ Sri Chakram”, a

diagrammatic representation of/pointer to Mother.

 

“Bindu Trikona vasukona dasaarayugma

Manvasra naagadala shodasa padmayuktam

Vritta trayam cha dharaneesadana trayam cha

Sri Chakramethaduditham Paradevataayaah”

 

In “Lalithaa Hridayam”, Sri Chakram is described

beautifully and each detail carries a deep

philosophical meaning.

 

It suffices to say that the “Upaasaka”/Bhakta should

deem his body to be Sri Chakra, and from the centre of

his heart, through subtle wisdom (very different from

gross intellect), and piercing through the filter of

senses, (s)he should approach Mother, the Hamsi, Who

is seated at the center of “Sahasrara Kamala”

(multihued thousand petalled lotus) and contains

within Her the “Brahma Randhra”, the tiny escape route

to “moksha”.

 

In short, what it means is that “Sridevi” is within

all of us, and it is upto us to recognize, value and

properly utilize this stupendous “aatma shakti”….and

praying to the

“Avyaaja karunaamurthih agyaanadhwantha deepikaa…”

(the Embodiment of Unlimited Compassion & the Light

that destroys darkness of ignorance) greatly helps.

 

Regards,

Lakshmi

 

 

--- Solai Kannan <solai wrote:

> OHM SHRI RAGAVENDRAYA NAMAH

> JAYA JAGANNATHA

>

> Namaste Alexandra,

>

> Gurudeva Pt.Sanjay does not want to collect any

> money for the service

> rendered in SJVC. The service is totally free. The

> fund should come as

> donation and not as fee for service. However, it

> will not stop your idea.

> Now, only Durga and Shiva are covered. Mrs.Lakshmi

> Ramesh also working on

> this. Let others also contribute. Once we cover all

> the deities, we will

> organize them with pictures and we will upload them

> in PDF format.

>

> Thanks

> Solai Kannan

>

>

> Alexandra Solomon

> [songsoftarot]

> Monday, November 19, 2001 3:10 AM

> Beginners Vedic Class

> [sjvc] Hindu Dieties

>

>

> Namaste Solaiji

>

> I wonder if someone would like to put together a

> set of cards with

> pictures of Hindu Dieties ( I know some beautiful

> colorful ones are

> available in India) on one side and with

> descriptions, information and

> stories on the other. Perhaps they could be set up

> in groups of 4 to an 8

> 1/2 x 11" page and students can download them and

> print them onto cardstock

> paper for a fee. This would generate funds for SJVC

> and be very useful to

> us beginners. It would also avoid printing costs,

> although a set of printed

> cards could be beautiful. I do not have enough

> knowledge to contribute but

> I hope you like my idea.

>

> Alexandra

>

> Sponsor

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Terms of Service.

>

>

 

 

 

 

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