The great Goddess (Lalita) abides in everyone and can be realized only in meditation.

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Lalitaa trishati (300 names of Goddess Lalita)

Three hundred names of Goddess Lalita

 

Among the 18 puraaNas, brahmANDa-purANa is well known for the

extolling of Lalita . It explains in detail the appearance of the

Goddess Lalita to save the world from the clutches of the demon

bhaNDAsura. There are three important sub-texts in this purANa.

 

The first of these texts is Lalitopaakhyaana, consisting of 45

chapters and is found in the last section of the purANa . The last

five chapters are especially well known . They extol the Divine

Mother, explain the significance of the mantra of the goddess

(shoDashAksharii-vidyA), the various mudras and postures to be

practiced, meditations, initiations etc., and the mystical placement

of the deities involved in Shri Chakra.

 

The next text is the celebrated Lalitaa sahasranaama, which consists

of 320 verses in three chapters.

 

The third text is the Lalitaa trishati in which 300 names of the

Goddess is featured. There is a well known commentary on this work

attributed to Adi Shankaraachaarya.

 

Lalita trishati and Lalitaa sahasranaama are dialogues between the

sage Agastya and the god Hayagriva. Hayagriva is the incarnation of

VishhNu who assumed the form of a horse to kill a demon by the same

name. Agastya was a sage of great renown, who is immortalized as a

star in the celestial heavens (one of the seven Rishi-s, saptarshhi

or Ursa Major).

 

He is the patron saint of Tamilnadu being a founder of a system of

medicine called Siddha, and also having drunk the whole ocean in his

kamaNDalum . According to yAska's Nirukta, Agastya is the half-

brother of the great sage, VasishTha.

 

The story of the meeting of Agastya and Hayagriva is given in the

lalitopaakhyaana and is quite interesting. Agastyawas visiting

several places of pilgrimage and was sad to see many people steeped

in ignorance and involved in only sensual pleasures. He came to

kAJNchi and worshiped kAmAkshI and sought a solution for the masses .

Pleased with the devotion and his caring for the society, Lord

VishhNu appeared before Agastya and provided the sage Agastya with

the solution of `curing' the worldly folk from ignorance. He

explained that He is the primordial principle, and the source and the

end of everything. Though He is above forms and guNas, He involves

himself in them. He goes on to explain that a person should recognize

that He is the pradhhAna (primordial) transformed into the universe,

and that He is also the purushha (conscious spirit) who is

transcendental and beyond all qualities (guNa-s) and forms. However

to recognize this, one has to perform severe penance, self-discipline

etc. If (since) this is difficult, Lord VishhNu advises that the

worship of the goddess will achieve the purpose of life, given as

liberation from bondage, very easily. He points out that even other

Gods like Shiva and Brahma have worshiped the goddess Tripuraa.

VishhNu concludes his discourse saying that this was revealed to

Agastya so that he (Agastya) can spread the message to gods, sages,

and humans. VishhNu requests Agastya to approach his incarnation,

Hayagriva and disappears from Agastya's sight.

 

Agastya approaches Hayagriva with devotion and reverence. Hayagriva

reveals to Agastya that the great Goddess, Lalitaa, is without

beginning or end and is the foundation of the entire universe. The

great goddess abides in everyone and can be realized only in

meditation. The worship of goddess is done with the Lalitaa

sahasranamaa (1000 names) and Hayagriva teaches him this great

sahasranaamaa.

 

After this Agastya thanks Hayagriva and tells him that though he has

heard about Sri Chakra upaasana and the sahasranaama he lacks the

satisfaction of knowing all the secrets and catches hold of

Hayagriva's feet. Hayagriva is taken aback and keeps quiet. At this

time Goddess Lalita appears to Hayagrivaand tells him that both

Agastya and his wife Lopamudra are very dear to her, and that Agastya

is worthy of receiving the secret Lalita trishati and then

disappears. Hayagriva lifts up Agastya and tells him that he is

indeed a great man since Lalita herself had commanded him to impart

the trishathi to Agastya. He also tells him that he is fortunate to

have Agastya as a disciple since he had the vision of Lalita due to

Agastya. He then gives him the following trishathi.

 

www.hindunet.org/stotras/lalitha/Lalita300.PDF

 

 

Devi: The Great Goddess

 

Kash and his family meditated on different photographs of the Great

Devi who incarnated Herself on Earth as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

Meditation was done either in the living room or the children’s

bedroom. There were considerable age differences between the

different photos.

 

One particular day the father became curious again and began

pondering which particular image of the Great Adi Shakti manifested

in Kash's Sahasrara. Logically only one image of the physical Shri

Mataji should manifest in his Thousand-Petal Lotus. But which one

would it be and why that particular one? Or did She keep appearing

sometimes youthful, at other times middle-aged, or even old.

 

Kash replied that normally the Great Divine Mother assumes the image

that is being normally meditated on i.e., sari color, garland of

flowers. However, if the photograph is changed and replaced, or

meditation done in a different room with a different photograph, then

She sometimes assumes that form.

 

Nevertheless, one fact is constant at all times: The Great Adi Shakti

Shri Nirmala Devi always appears considerably younger in the

Sahasrara, between 30-35-years-old, than Her physical being on Earth.

Put simply, She always appears youthful and this feature remains

constant. She is eternally ever young. (Arwinder and Lalita have

confirmed this fact many times.)

 

There are other observations that he made:

 

1. According to him the Great Devi always wears a different sari

every day. She does not wear any other type of attire, a fact

subsequently corroborated by his younger brother, Arwinder. Sometimes

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi wears the exact sari as that in the

photograph he meditates on.

 

(On September 1998, at 9.05 a.m. Kash was asked if Shri Mataji wore a

particular sari again at other times. He replied that She did wear

the same sari again.)

 

2. Her hair is normally always parted in the middle and flowing down

to at least the waist. Sometimes they are held back loosely in a bun.

Shri Mataji has a bindi on Her forehead at all times.

 

3. She never wears earrings but has a koka in Her nose. He is not

sure about any necklace as the folds of Her sari are always draped

across and over Her chest and shoulders.

 

4. The Great Goddess has five thin golden bangles on each wrist, and

golden rings on Her left Vishuddhi and Agnya fingers. The right hand

fingers do not have any rings.

 

5. The Great Adi Shakti always has a swastika on both Lotus Feet and

there are golden rings on all toes, except the big toes.

 

6. She is always barefooted and has never been seen wearing any type

of footwear. This fact was also confirmed by his siblings Arwinder

and Lalita.

 

Note: On September 18, 1998 Lalita was asked if Shri Mataji wore

shoes and the reply was She did. Her father told her to be sure and

the reply was affirmative. He knew that she had made a mistake and

probably had not observed Her Feet properly.

 

The next day at 9.10 a.m. Lalita, just after meditation, told her

father that Shri Mataji did not have any shoes. This time she

confirmed that the Great Adi Shakti was barefooted in her Sahasrara.

(Lalita was never even asked to find out). Her brother Arwinder, who

had also finished meditating, casually added, “Shri Mataji has no

shoes.” Their father, solely for the sake of positive proof, asked

her why was she sure this time and the reply was, “When I meditate

with Her I can see She has no shoes.” In other words Lalita had just

found out this fact after going into Nirvikalpa Samadhi a few minutes

earlier. Her father asked, “You looked at Her Feet?” Lalita replied

that she did.

 

http://adishakti.org/adi_shaktis_descend/devi_the_great_goddess.htm

 

 

“The saints were respected, I am telling you in India, real saints

were respected and they made different observations. Now when I read,

say Adi Shankaracharya, I am amazed how he knows so many things about

Me. He knows how My knee looks like, he knows how many lines I have

on My back, how many. I mean it is very amazing how this man knows

everything about Me. That means through his meditative power he could

envisage Me. He never saw Me. The description and everything is so

clear cut.

 

Now if you say the Thousand Names of the Goddess, thousand names of

the Goddess are so precise, I mean you can verify them in Me. I am

just like that. Whatever it is good or bad, whatever is said about Me

is there, is a fact; and it is the Knowledge of these people is most

remarkable. How did they know that a Goddess is like that? Certain of

My things which I also don't know but they are there, and they have

described. Very surprising. So their meditative power in India was

great. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi