THE SRICHAKRA SERIES (Part 1)

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INTRODUCTION

 

Shakti Sadhana is about to embark on an experiment unlike anything

we've ever attempted before. Over the next 108 weeks, we will travel

together to the center of SriYantra, the mystical schematic diagram

of the Cosmos, which is Devi. It is a rare and unique opportunity

for all of us, made possible by the generous assistance of Sri

Amritananda Natha Saraswati, a great, accomplished, living Shakta.

 

In 1983, the Devi, in her aspect as Kamakhya, showed him in

meditation the 108 goddesses of Sri Chakra (to be described further

in future posts), enabling him in turn to describe each Devi to the

sculptor. Never before had these deities been made manifest in

sculptural form. They are housed in an equally unique structure -

the first Pyramidal Sri Chakra Meru anyone can actually walk into.

It measures 108 ft square on the ground, then soars majestically to

54 ft high in 3 stories.

 

"Visitors can sit in front of each of the Devis around and inside

the Sri Chakra to meditate, do archana (floral offering), or even

homa (fire sacrifise)," Amritananda Natha Saraswati says. "The Meru

housing them is of King of Yantras, offering unbelievable benefits

to sincere aspirants who visit the place. Devipuram is a place with

extreme potential."

 

An official history of the temple states, "The goddess of

creativity, Kamakhya Devi, showed Amrita all the forms of deities

who receive pooja in Sri Chakra. He recorded the Yoginis and deities

in the visual medium of sculpture. She guided him at every step of

building the present temple. He struggled in this wilderness for 11

years to make this temple. It has become a great resource for

quenching the thirst of serious Sri Vidya Upasakas who marvel at the

vision behind it."

 

WHAT IS SRIVIDYA?

 

Srividya is an ancient and influential school of Goddess-centered

Shakta Tantrism. Centering on the goddess's three manifestations -

the beneficent deity Lalita Tripurasundari; her mantra; and the

yantra known as Sri Chakra - Srividya creates a systematic, esoteric

discipline combining elements of the yogas of knowledge, of

devotion, and of ritual.

 

In the Shakta form of worship, Srividyopasana (i.e., the pursuit of

enlightenment via Srividya) is considered the pinnacle of

achievement. If the aspirant is initiated properly, it is the

ultimate path, because it gives you the experience of union with the

Universe, the Cosmos - or whatever name you prefer to call IT by. It

is said you must, in past lives, have done thousands of years of

sadhana of all the devatas such as Vishnu, Shiva, etc. to reach this

point. It is said that one can obtain initiation into Srividya only

if one is in his/her or his final birth - or is verily Shiva

Himself.

 

And within Srividyopasana there are stages of practice - from simple

recitation of mantras to long and ritually complex mediations, all

of which are followed progressively until suddenly you are THERE. In

this context it is said that even if you are not really competent,

some past meritorious karma can still you get initiated into

Srividya, and you will become a yogabhrashta (an outcast in

spiritual practice) – then in the next birth you will start where

you stopped and will attain the union faster.

 

WHAT IS SRICHAKRA?

 

Sri Chakra is, in its two-dimensional form, a geometric diagram also

called SriYantra (http://devipuram.info/SriChakra.jpg); in its three-

dimensional form, it is a pyramidal structure also called Sri Meru

(http://www.astrognosis.com/images/srichakra.jpg) ; the temple at

Devipuram is, as can be seen in this aerial photo, essentially a

giant Sri Meru (http://gurujiamrita.tripod.com/dpa.jpg).

 

In whatever form, Sri Chakra is at the center of Srividyopasana. It

IS the Universe that IS Devi. (It is also called the "Chariot of

Devi," in which she went to battle Bhandasura; Bhandasura being a

personification of the negative side of desire.) The yantra, in its

two-dimensional form, contains 108 junctions where lines meet - each

of these is a power point (to think of each point as a "circuit" and

the entire yantra as a million-volt machine would not be entirely

inaccurate). Each point is ruled by a Devi. When we do the SriYantra

Pooja as a ritualistic part of Srividya practice, what we are doing

is worshiping all 108 Devis.

 

(To Be Continued ...)