3. MAHIMA: The Khadgamala Devis Series

[Guest guest]

The third Devi of the Khadgamala is called Mahima. Mahima Siddhe

(the recitation in the Khadgamala) means, "O Siddhi named Mahima"

(literally, the power of GREATNESS or MAGNITUDE). She is the third

stop on our journey to the center of Srichakra.

 

[To review our presentation on the first two Siddhis, Anima and

Laghima, simply click on "Up Thread" above. There also you will find

an explanation of the Srichakra, within which the Khadgamala Stotram

is visualized during recitation. We will soon begin compiling these

entries on the homepage for easy reference.]

 

The power represented by Mahima is GREATNESS or MAGNITUDE. She

denotes the power to expand one's consciousness, thus entering into

the greater cosmic whole rather than existing only as a lesser part.

Mahima is the power to mentally make oneself large enough to

encompass or comprehend the Universe.

 

Mahima's mantra is:

 

aIM hrIM shrIM mahimA siddhi shrI pAdukAM poojayaami

 

But again, please note that the beauty of the Khadgamala Stotram is

that NOTHING is required for its recitation except for your time,

attention and concentration: You need simply sit and recite the

Stotram. (The mantra given just above is not part of the stotram; it

is offered merely for informational purposes. The entire stotram is

self-contained, as explained in earlier posts. The full text is

located here: http://www.chinmudra.com/SKS.htm ).

 

Again, the full pooja of these Devis takes hours, because at each

point we pause and do smaller, detailed poojas. Hence the sages of

yore created an ALTERNATIVE, SHORT-FORM recitation known as the

Khadgamala Stotram more suitable for the demands of modern life.

 

According to Sri Bhasurananda Natha, an accomplished Srividya upasak

as well as a member of and advisor to this group: "All of the

sadhana of Srividya can be achieved by the recitation of the

Khadgamala. Hours of long ritual compressed to less than half an

hour of intense meditation that will give you a ticket on the same

plane as the great Srividya Upasakas. Whatever your developmental

stage, this is IT." Even those who have not been initiated into

Srividya can benefit from the Khadgamala, which is why we chose to

offer it to our members here.

 

Once again, it is important to note that the Devis representing the

Siddhis are *outside* the Sriyantra proper (i.e. the RED area in

this graphic: http://www.chinmudra.com/s9.gif ). Metaphorically,

this teaches that we must get past the Siddhis (powerful and/or

attractive side effects of Srividya sadhana) before we can enter the

Sriyantra (the higher benefits of sadhana) and reach Devi (the goal

of Sadhana; even though each of these Siddhis are themselves aspects

of Devi).

 

It's important to note that, when we first do the pooja of Mahima,

we do not simply complete the pooja and move on to the next Devi,

Isitva. When we are doing the pooja we are standing in front of Her,

facing Her. After completing Her pooja, She is internalized from

that spot, carried with us to the next Devi, and merged with Her. So

when we reach Mahima, we are actually worshiping Her together with

the powers of Her predecessors, Anima and Laghima . Thus we have, in

essence, destroyed or overcome Anima and Laghima merging Them with

Mahima; and it will continue thus, through the Siddhis and other

Devis of the Khadgamala.

 

That's why, when we start the pooja from the outer enclosure, it is

called samhara karma, or the dissolution method. In samhara karma,

each Devi is worshiped and is absorbed into the next Devi, and it

continues until we reach Lalita, in whom, by that time, all the

Devis will be absorbed. (In srishti karma, or the creation method)

Lalita is worshipped first, and from her the next Devi is extracted,

and from her the next one, and onward until all the Devis are in

their rightful places.)

 

[With sincere thanks and appreciation to Sri Amritananda Natha and

Sri Bhasurananda Natha, who kindly provided detailed and substantive

content for this commentary.]

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe