7. BHUKTI: The Khadgamala Devis Series

[Guest guest]

The seventh Devi of the Khadgamala is called BHUKTI. "Bhukti Siddhe"

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

(i.e. what Guruji identifies as the power of ENJOYMENT). She is the

seventh stop on our journey to the center of Srichakra.

 

[To catch up on the Khadgamala Devis Series, or to find the resources

to begin, simply click on the photo of BHUKTI! Our archives is a work

in progress, in which we are compiling all Khadgamala Devis Series

posts for easy reference. Please contribute your thoughts,

experiences, impressions, knowledge and questions on the series to

enhance its usefulness to others!]

 

Again, the power represented by BHUKTI is ENJOYMENT. Here is should be

explained that Shakti Sadhana is said to be the only spiritual path by

which the aspirant gains both mukhti (spiritual liberation) and bhukti

(earthly enjoyment). However, this is not to be understood as a kind

of spiritul hedonism. Like all of the Siddhis, BHUKTI can act as

either a noose (tying you to the world) or a goad (propelling you to

further spiritual progress). BHUKTI will indeed provide you with

worldly comfort, abundance and enjoyment; but if you become attached

to those things, your spiritual progress will come to a shuddering halt.

 

As stated many times before in this series, each Siddhi represents

only one preliminary component of Devi's infinite totality. And so we

must not fall in love with BHUKTI, or with any Siddhi, as an object

outside ourselves. Instead we must absorb Her; we must become Her.

That way we become infused ourselves with Devi's own innate abundance,

enjoyment and pleasure; and BHUKTI ceases to be an attractive snare in

the path of our sadhana. Instead, She becomes our internal guide,

leading us yet another step closer to Devi's essence at the center of

Srichakra.

 

The sadhak who becomes enmeshed in the pleasures of the world, holding

and hoarding and coveting them, has essentially allowed her- or

himself to become ensnared by BHUKTI, and will advance no further

until they manage to wriggle free from that most difficult of nets.

However, the sadhak who surrenders to Devi's will shall absorb BHUKTI

with the other siddhis and shall use the resultant power only to

fulfill Her will.

 

As noted in previous posts of this series, each Devi of the Khadgamala

-- each Devi of the Srichakra -- merges into the next as we progress

toward the center. Each Devi is internalized from Her place, and

carried with us to the next Devi, and merged with Her. So when we

reach BHUKTI, we are actually worshiping Her together with the powers

of Her predecessors, Anima, Laghima and Mahima, Isitva, Vasitva and

Prakamya.

 

Thus we have, in essence, destroyed or overcome these six siddhis by

merging Them into BHUKTI; and it will continue thus, through the

Siddhis and other Devis of the Khadgamala. Now let us review the

locations of the Khadgamala Devis as we continue to circumambulate the

SriChakra:

 

1. ANIMA - Looking at Srichakra, Anima sits to the right side of the

gate closest to you on the square, outermost enclosure wall (i.e., the

white line).

 

2. LAGHIMA - As you circumambulate counterclockwise around the

outermost square enclosure, Laghima sits to the right side of the gate

on the next wall.

 

3. MAHIMA - Continuing to circumambulate counterclockwise around the

corner, Mahima sits to the right side of the gate on the next wall.

 

4. ISITVA - Continuing to circumambulate counterclockwise around the

corner, Isitva sits to the right side of the gate on the next wall.

 

5. VASITVA - Continuing to circumambulate counterclockwise around the

corner, you return to the first wall (the one closest to you), move

past the gate, and find Vasitva sitting at the next corner (on a flat

yantra, the lower left corner of the outer enclosing wall).

 

6. PRAKAMYA - Continuing to circumambulate counterclockwise around the

corner, you move past the next gate, and find Prakamya sitting at the

next corner (on a flat yantra, the upper left corner of the

outer enclosing wall).

 

7. BHUKTI - Continuing to circumambulate counterclockwise around the

corner, you move past the next gate, and find Bhukti sitting at the

next corner (on a flat yantra, the upper right corner of the

outer enclosing wall).

 

BHUKTI's mantra is:

 

aIM hrIM shrIM BHUKTI 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

 

OTHER NOTES:

 

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).

 

[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