8. ICCHA: The Khadgamala Devis Series

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The eighth Devi of the Khadgamala is called ICCHA. "Iccha Siddhe"

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

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

eighth 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 ICCHA! 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 ICCHA is WILLPOWER. Now, in everyday

life, we usually associate with that term with the human ability to

accomplish a seemingly overwhelming task or overcome a difficult

obstacle with grit, hard work and preserverence. However, this quality

is only a tiny, micro-fractional manifestation of Iccha Siddhi, which

is a universal cosmic power of Devi. It is so powerful and elemental

that even ordinary human beings (i.e., those who have as yet made no

systematic effort to acquire Iccha Siddhi) can sometimes instinctively

draw upon it in a high-pressure situation, enabling them to accomplish

seemingly extraordinary feats.

 

In the absolute sense, however, ICCHA SIDDHI refers to an accomplished

upasak's ability to consciously access the power of DEVI'S WILL. This

ability is very concrete and very dramatic: If the Iccha Siddha wills

something to happen, it literally happens. If the Iccha Siddha wills

something does *not* to happen, it does not.

 

However, the use of this power -- as of all Siddhis -- must be

governed by DEVI'S will and not the upasak's personal desires and

preferences. But what does this mean? Well, there is a story telling

of a great guru and a young shishya who had acquired Iccha Siddhi.

Once while walking together, the two came upon a forest fire

threatening a poor shantytown. Filled with compassion, the shishya

used iccha siddhi to stop the blaze. Afterward, however, his guru

warned him to exercise the greatest discrimination when changing the

course of Nature -- as such an act could easily violate the will of

the Divine.

 

Another story, however, describes an episode in which a shishya and

his guru were walking through a mountain pass when a huge avalanche of

rocks and boulders began tumbling toward them. There was no time to

escape, and the young shishya prepared to die. But his guru smiled

and said told him not to fear. Using iccha siddhi, he commanded the

landslide to stop and it did so. But when they crossed out of the

avalache's path, the guru used iccha siddhi to let the avalanche

resume -- thus saving their lives, but not subverting the course of

Nature.

 

In more practical terms, Iccha Siddhi is the power by which great

spiritual teachers impart initiation to their disciples. Take, for

instance, a situation in which a sadhak is chanting a given mantra

with persistence and devotion, but with no perceptible effect. With

the guru's diksha, however, that same mantra will bring great and

immediate benefits to the sadhak. Whenever we receive a mantra from a

spiritual guru, we are being touched by the Iccha Shakti of that

guru's lineage -- that is, a very strong dose of Divine Will. In

effect the guru is "changing the course of Nature," creating a

spiritual shortcut for the devoted shishya, where otherwise there

would be none. That is the essence of Iccha Siddhi.

 

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 ICCHA, we are actually worshiping Her together with the powers

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

Prakamya and Bhukti.

 

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

merging Them into ICCHA; 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).

 

8. ICCHA - 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 lower right corner of the

outer enclosing wall).

 

BHUKTI's mantra is:

 

aIM hrIM shrIM ich-CHA 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