Goddess of the Week: Bhuvaneshvari

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Bhuvaneshvari, the Fourth Mahavidya, is the Supreme Goddess,

according to the "Devi Gita," Shaktism's closest approximation to the

famed Vaishnava scripture, the "Bhagavad Gita."

 

Her name means "Queen of the Universe" (Ishvari = Queen, Female

Ruler; Bhuvava = Universe, Realm of Being). All the Universe is Her

body, and all beings are Her ornaments.

 

Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley), a Mahavidya Sadhak in the lineage

of Ganapati Muni, writes of Her as follows:

 

"Bhuvaneshvari is known in the Vedas as Aditi, the infinite or

indivisible Mother, the great origin and cosmic womb, who is Space.

In Her genesis and origin, all light is born. (Hence She is the

Mother of the Sun, and all the Sun Gods who are named after Her --

the Adityas.) The Mother creates space in order to give birth to all

things. Similarly, She creates space within our own consciousness to

give birth to the Divine Nnature within us.

 

"Space has many levels of manifestation. There is not only the space

of the physical universe, but also the space of the mind. Just as the

outer or world space is infinite, so is the inner or mind space.

There are many additional layers of space in the higher levels of the

mind. Ultimately, there is the supreme space of pure consciousness

beyond all manifestation. All of these are aspects and functions of

Bhuvaneshvari.

 

"In the microcosm, our own body, the entire universe is contained in

the small space that dwells within the heart. The heart is where the

infinitespace hides within us, and is the real seat of the Divine

Mother.

 

"The Goddess represents space. Space is the Mother or matrix in which

all creatures come into being. She is the field in which all things

grow. She is the receptive spiritwho gives space to allow all things

their place.

 

"As Space, Bhuvaneshvari is complementary to Kali, who is Time; they

are the two main faces of the Goddess asboth the Infinite and the

Eternal. Bhuvaneshvari creates the spage upon which Kali performs Her

Dance of Life and Death. As the stage, Bhuvaneshvari is also the

witness, the observer and the enjoyer of the Dance."

 

Quoted material was excerpted from Frawley, Dr. David, "Tantric Yoga

and the Wisdom Goddesses," Passage Press, Salt Lake City, 1994. For

further information, see:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910261393/qid=1023828187/sr=8-

1/ref=sr_8_1/103-3065005-4984643