Title: Session 22 Dated: [Not Provided] Speaker: h4

1. Tantric Worship vs. devī khaḍgamālā

  • The Simplified Approach: h4 contrasts pure tantric worship of the śrī cakra with worship using the devī khaḍgamālā. In the tantric method, a whole series of elaborate preliminary rituals and pūjās must be performed long before the main śrī cakra pūjā begins. In contrast, using the khaḍgamālā allows a jnani to go straight into the pūjā.
  • Integrating the Preliminaries: Because the khaḍgamālā skips the separate preliminary rituals, the worship of the 15 tithi nityās and the 19 gurus (guru maṇḍala) is seamlessly integrated into the very beginning of the text (making up the first 40 names) before entering the actual enclosures (āvaraṇas) of the śrī cakra.

2. The Placement of tithi nityās and guru maṇḍala

  • Locating the Lunar Deities: In the geometric structure of the śrī cakra, there are no explicit, delineated external locations for the tithi nityās or the gurus.
    • The 15 tithi nityās are placed directly onto the innermost triangle (the 8th āvaraṇa). They are positioned at the rate of five on each of the three sides.
    • The sequence must flow in an anticlockwise direction, starting from the tip of the inverted triangle facing downward.
    • The Rule of the Day: The starting position shifts depending on the specific lunar day (tithi). For example, on the third day (tṛtīyā), the jīva starts by offering the first salutation to the 3rd nityā at its designated spot and then continues anticlockwise. (h4 notes that for home worship on a small yantra, delineating these exact spots is impossible, so devotees simply offer all flowers to the central bindu).
  • The Imaginary Lines of the Gurus (bhāvanā): The 19 distinct gurus of the guru maṇḍala are placed entirely through bhāvanā (mental visualization). The jnani imagines three concentric lines just outside the central bindu. The innermost line represents the parameṣṭhi guru, the middle is the paramaguru, and the outermost is the immediate guru. The 19 gurus are sequentially worshipped across these three imaginary lines.

3. Navigating the First Enclosure

  • The Three Outer Squares: The first āvaraṇa of the śrī cakra consists of three concentric squares with four entry gates.
    • The Outer Square (siddhi devatās): Contains 10 deities (starting with aṇimā siddhi). Because a square only has 8 primary points (4 corners + 4 middle points), the remaining 2 are placed at the entry gate. Worship moves in an anticlockwise direction.
    • The Middle Square (mātṛkās): Contains 8 fierce warrior forces (like brāhmī, māheśvarī, gaurī, vaiṣṇavī, māhendrī, cāmuṇḍā, and mahālakṣmī).
      • The Commander: The 5th mātṛkā is vārāhī (also called daṇḍanāthā). She is the supreme commander-in-chief of all armies, granting massive benefits for both this world and the next.
    • The Inner Square (mudrā devatās): Contains 10 deities represented by specific hand gestures (mudrās).
  • The Passport to the Next Level: To cross into the subsequent āvaraṇas, the jīva must systematically salute these 10 mudrā devatās. The physical mudrā acts as a divine passport or stamp of approval. Once shown, the deities bless the jīva and grant permission to journey deeper into the śrī cakra.

Sloka or Mantra in Sanskrit. ऐं क्लीं सौः

Same sloka or mantra in IAST English. aiṃ klīṃ sauḥ

Explanation by the speaker. h4 identifies this as the foundational bālā mantra. Advanced seekers integrate this powerful bīja mantra with the names in the khaḍgamālā to immensely increase the cosmic power of the pūjā.

4. The Anatomy of the Spoken Word (nādam)

  • The Four Stages of Speech: h4 provides a profound explanation of how human speech originates and travels through the body’s energy centers:
    1. parā: The absolute origin of sound starting at the mūlādhāra (base). At this stage, it has no sound, shape, or energy—it is merely a raw “intent” or gas-like bubble blessed by gaṇapati.
    2. paśyantī: As the bubble rises to the maṇipūra chakra, the intent begins looking for a specific “content” or sound bite.
    3. madhyamā: Traveling up to the anāhata (heart) and viśuddhi (throat), it attains an intermediate state. It has picked up the appropriate nādam (sound) but is neither fully audible nor entirely silent. It is assembling the form.
    4. vaikharī: The fully assembled, decipherable sound finally exits the mouth and enters the listener’s ear.
  • The Divine Dam of 32 Teeth: A mechanical sound generated through these four steps is completely devoid of divinity. To make the word powerful and pure (satyam), it must be blessed. This happens as the sound passes through the 32 teeth. h4 explains that the teeth are arranged in two rows of 16. These 16 teeth perfectly represent the 16 syllables of the ṣoḍaśī mantra. They act as a divine filter, ensuring that the spoken word acquires immense sanctity and power.
  • Speech as tapas: Because of this divine anatomical design, a jnani must treat their speech as a strict tapas (penance). They must ensure their words are always satyam (true) and hitam (soft and comforting). When a jnani maintains this purity, whatever they speak automatically becomes reality.

5. The Pure Mind and the Cosmic Swan

  • The Lake of the Mind (manas):
    • Anecdote of mānasa sarovara: brahmā wanted to create the purest possible water for the devatās to bathe in. At the foot of Mount Kailash, he created a spectacular lake called mānasa sarovara.
    • The Swan Analogy: This pure lake is flocked by swans (haṃsa). A swan is highly revered because if given a mixture of milk and water, it possesses the intrinsic ability to extract only the pure milk and discard the water.
  • Our human mind is called manas based on this exact lake. While our mind may wander aimlessly, true devotion acts like the swan, filtering out worldly impurities and returning the mind to its absolute, pristine state.

6. The Cosmic Desire of kāmeśvara

  • The Origin of Creation: kāmeśvara represents śiva‘s supreme desire (kāma) to create. When the universe was absolute void (śūnyam), devī pulled all elements—mountains, rivers, and the jīvas—out of her own body based entirely on this divine intent of kāmeśvara.
  • Surviving the Ultimate Poison:
    • Anecdote of śiva drinking hālāhala: During the churning of the ocean, śiva swallowed the deadly hālāhala poison. While other celestial beings died just from inhaling the fumes despite consuming amṛtam, śiva easily survived. Why? Because of his supreme, unfulfilled intent to unite with kāmeśvarī to procreate the universe. This powerful kāma, combined with the protective power of devī‘s ear ornament (tāṭaṅka), neutralized the ultimate poison.

7. The Sacrifice of the God of Love (manmatha)

  • The Bow of Flowers:
    • Anecdote of manmatha: Following the death of Sati, śiva was in deep, unshakeable meditation. The devatās desperately needed him to bear a son to defeat the Asuras. Knowing the terrifying consequences, manmatha (Kama, the god of love) took it upon himself to disturb śiva. He shot a flower arrow to evoke love in śiva‘s heart. Instantly, śiva opened his third eye and burnt manmatha to ashes.
  • The Compassionate Glance (kāmākṣī): devī was profoundly moved by manmatha‘s absolute sacrifice, as he gave up his life merely to help her get closer to śiva. Though śiva refused to physically resurrect him, manmatha was allowed to exist as a formless entity who creates love using only a flower arrow. In honor of his unparalleled devotion, she adopted all his weapons (the sugarcane bow and flower arrows) as her own ornaments and took the name kāmākṣī—the one whose eyes (akṣī) express the supreme intent of love (kāma).

8. Q&A Anecdotes: tāṭaṅka mahimā and Mudras

  • The Missing Earring:
    • Anecdote of Kanchi Paramacharya: h4 addresses a question regarding tāṭaṅka (the ear ornament). In a temple at Thiruvidaimarudur (or Akhilandeswari), priests who performed pūjā were inexplicably dying within a year. When consulted, the Kanchi Paramacharya revealed that the tāṭaṅka was missing from the deity. Because śiva is protected by devī‘s tāṭaṅka, missing this ornament disrupted the cosmic balance. Once a new tāṭaṅka was installed, the protection was restored.
  • The Secretive Mudras: While most mudrās can be performed by anyone to show surrender, the trikhaṇḍā mudrā (used in the 9th āvaraṇa for turyā / mahātripurasundarī) is highly secretive. h4 cautions that it must only be used by jnanis who have been properly initiated into the bālā, pañcadaśī, or ṣoḍaśī mantras by a guru.

9. List of Lalitha Names Mentioned

The following nāmas and divine titles of devī (as well as her specific manifestations/consorts and āvaraṇa deities) were mentioned either individually or in a cluster during this session:

  • kāmeśvarī
  • kāmeśvara
  • brāhmī
  • māheśvarī
  • gaurī
  • vaiṣṇavī
  • kumārī
  • daṇḍanāthā
  • vārāhī
  • cāmuṇḍā
  • māhendrī
  • mahālakṣmī
  • sarvasaṅkṣobhiṇī
  • parā
  • paśyantī
  • madhyamā
  • vaikharī
  • kāmākṣī
  • vidyā