In the
Tantras
The conception of God as Divine Mother attained its
fullest flowering at the hands of the Shakta followers of Hinduism. They not
only developed the elaborate forms and rituals connected with Shakti-worship,
but also gave a profound philosophical basis to their faith and practice. The
vast Tantra literature represents not only the various cults and ritualistic
practices of Shaktism but also its religious ideology and philosophy. It would
not be incorrect to say that in Shaktism Mother-worship attained its
culmination.
According to Shakta philosophy enshrined in the
Tantras, the ultimate Reality as pure unchanging Consciousness is called Shiva,
and its power appearing as the flux of mind and matter in Creation is known as
Shakti—the Cosmic Power or Primordial energy. Shiva is pure Being, devoid of
all relativity. Shakti is the active Personal Being and includes all individual
souls. The opening verse of Saundaryalahari
reads: “Shiva, when he is united with Shakti, is able to create; otherwise he
is unable even to move.” Shiva and Shakti have been described as prakāśa, light, and vimaraşa, reflection. The first semblance of relationship appearing
within the Absolute is Shiva termed Vimarsa; this is the source of the world of
distinctions. Vimarsa or Shakti is the power latent in the Absolute, the pure
Consciousness.
Shakti is the Absolute personified, Consciousness that
becomes a subject and also passes over into its opposite the non-self or the
object. If Shiva is cit,
consciousness, Shakti is cit-śakti,
the formative energy of consciousness. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva perform their
respective functions of creation, preservation, and destruction in obedience to
Shakti. In the perfect experience of Ananda, Shiva and Shakti are
indistinguishable; the two coalesce into one Being. Shiva answers to the
indeterminate Brahman in a state of quiescence; Shakti is determinate Brahman—endowed
with icchā, will, jnāna, knowledge, and kriyā, action—that projects the whole
objective universe. Shiva and Shakti are one, since power is inherent in
existence. But though they are identical, there is an apparent difference
between them from the phenomenal standpoint. Brahman in its transcendental
aspect does not change, but as Shakti, it does. This Shakti or Primordial
Energy goes forth in a series of emanations which the Tantras term Tattvas, of
which thirty-six are described.
The Tantras also speak of three states of the Divine
Mother: (i) parā, the transcendental,
which is beyond mental categories; (ii) sūkşma,
the subtle, which is embodied in the mantra; and (iii) sthūla, or gross, which is the form she takes to guide and help
devotees who worship her and meditate upon her. The Divine Mother can assume
various forms to meet the spiritual needs of devotees. The Mahavidyas, Occult
Lore, are ten such forms, each with distinctive attributes.
The Ten
Mahavidyas
• Kali, also called Shyama, is three-eyed,
dark-complexioned, fierce, and irascible. She sports a garland of decapitated
human heads and a girdle of severed hands, and holds a decapitated head and a
bloodied cleaver in two of her hands, while the other two arms gesture bestowal
of boons and fearlessness. She is given many other epithets according to the
predominance of certain attributes: Smashana-Kali dwells in cremation grounds,
Raksha-Kali guards against famine and epidemics, Bhadra-Kali is her benign form
that can be worshipped in homes, Guhya-Kali and Siddha-Kali are objects of
adoration for advanced practitioners of Tantric disciplines and Maha-Kali is
the cosmic form of the deity.
•
• Shodashi is the benign form of the Devi—a beautiful girl of sixteen with
a ruddy complexion, worshipped from
• Bhuvaneshwari is another benign form of the
Devi. Her sāttvic nature is reflected
in her bright complexion. Her control of the elements is represented by the
noose and goad that she holds, and her grace by the fruit in her hand.
• Bhairavi has a red complexion, sports a garland
of severed heads, and holds a rosary and a book in two of her four hands, the
other two bestowing boons and fearlessness. Siddha-bhairavi, Tripura-bhairavi,
and Bhuvaneshwara-bhairavi are some of the other names of this deity. She is
associated with Batuk-bhairava as her consort.
• Chhinnamasta stands naked in the cremation
ground with a blood-stained scimitar in one hand and her own severed head—drinking
the warm blood gushing from her headless trunk—in the other.
• Dhumavati is visualized as a pale, tall elderly,
edentulous, querulous widow, with disheveled hair and dirty clothes. Afflicted
with hunger, she holds a winnowing basket in her hand and is seen astride a
crow.
• Bagala is golden hued with the head of a crane.
Seated on a lotus she has a noose and a thunderbolt in two of her hands. She
holds an enemy by the tongue while chastising him with a club. According to the
Sammohana Tantra she manifested
herself near the
• Matangi or Sumukhi, manifested on earth when the
Devi was propitiated by Rishi Matanga, according to the Brahma Yamala. Dark colored, she is seen seated on an ornamented
throne has the crescent moon on her forehead and wields a noose a goad, a sword,
and a shield in each of her four arms.
• Kamala is the goddess of prosperity—and is thus
a manifestation of Lakshmi. She is golden-hued and exquisitely beautiful and is
described as seated on a red lotus, holding lotuses in her hands, and attended
by elephants pouring out pitcherfuls of water over her.
The worship of Shakti is classified under two main
heads: pasvācāra and virācāra. Different spiritual exercises are
prescribed by the Tantras for different groups of aspirants. Pasvacara is the
code of conduct for aspirants with marked inertia and ignorance and Viracara
for comparatively advanced votaries with significant ambition and energy.
The Kularnava
Tantra gives a more elaborate classification of Tantric practice: (i) vedācāra, (ii) vaişnāvacāra, (iii) śaivācāra,
(iv) dakşinācāra, (v) vāmācāra, (vi) siddhāntacāra, (vii) kauācāra.
Each successive stage represents a more advanced practice—the kaulācāra being
the culmination of Tantric discipline. The first three stages comprise pasvācāra, the two next virācāra while the two final stages
represent divyācāra, the state of the
siddha or adept.
Vedacara lays stress on the cultivation of cleanliness
of body and mind. Aspirants in this stage are to rise early in the morning—two
hours before with prostrationsctice meditation and prayer. They should honour
the spiritual guide with prostrations, practice Japa of the Divine Mother’s Mantra,
meditate on her as seated on the thousand-pillared [-petalled] lotus in the
crown of the head, worship her with the prescribed accessories, and contemplate
the Supreme Power with undivided attention. Purity is the watchword of
Vaisnavacara. It lays stress on cultivation of devotion and vigilance in
performance of one’s duties. Aspirants in this stage are to practise continence
in thought, word, and deed and give up jealousy and hypocrisy. Saivacara
emphasizes cultivation of Jnana, besides the primary disciplines of the earlier
stages.
Dakşinacara aims at consolidating the gains of the
three preceding stages. In this stage the sadhaka practises worship of the
Divine Mother with offerings and meditation on her divine form in the dead of
night. With Vamacara begins the more difficult practice of renunciation in the
midst of objects of enjoyment. In this stage the guru introduces the sadhaka to
esoteric practices involving flesh, wine, and women as objects of veneration.
Siddhantacara involves devoted worship of the Divine Mother at night with
offerings purified by the mystic power of mantras. By this means even objects
previously considered impure may now be offered to the Divine Mother. It is in
this stage that the aspirant arrives at a definitive understanding of the
relative merits of the paths of the paths of enjoyment and renunciation.
Kaulacara is the stage when the Divine Mother or
Brahman becomes a reality to the aspirant. The Kaula, as the aspirant is now
called, can worship the Divine Mother without consideration of time, place, or
ritualistic details. Kaulas often behave in peculiar ways. At times they may
appear insane, at other times ghoulish—their diverse divine moods manifesting
through weeping, laughter, singing, and dancing. Established in
same-sightedness, they view clay and sandal paste, friend and enemy, palaces
and burning ghats, money and grass as being the same. They are so immersed in
the thought of the Divine Mother that other objects and thoughts have no place
in their minds.
Shakta theory and practice are closely associated with
the mystical dimensions of yoga. The deep study of the power of sound as manifest
in sacred syllables and mantras is an important contribution of the Shakta
system. Sabda, the eternal word, is none other than Shakti. It manifests the
objective world through its primal creative moment termed nāda, bindu, and bīja. Every letter of the alphabet is
imbued with the power of Shakti; and mantras—words or phrases framed from these
letters in accordance with their inner powers—are important means for accessing
Shakti. Every mantra is a divine creation, and the whole body of mantras is
identical with Shakti.
Tantra also tells us that within the human frame there
are numerous subtle channels of power called nādis. The most important of these is the suśumņa, spanning the spinal column from the sacral plexus to the
crown of the head. Along the suśumņa
are important centres of power called cakras,
represented by mystical lotuses. The first of these, the mulādhāra, is at the base of the spine. It houses the dormant
Shakti called kundaliņi, coiled round
the primordial linga representing
Brahman, like a serpent. Shakta yogic practices activate the kundaliņi and induce it to ascend
through the suśumņa. As the kundaliņi passes through each of the cakras it provides the sadhaka with
unique spiritual experiences and powers.
The Shaktas have also developed the use of mystical
diagrams—yantras or mandalas, often engraved on metal plates—ritual
gestures or mudrās, and ritual
procedures for sacralization of the human body, nyāsa, using mystic syllables called bīja. Each of the deities worshipped by the Shaktas has an
associated yantra, which is usually placed in the centre of a lotus-diagram
with the bīja of the particular goddess
inscribed a certain number of times on each peral. The Sri-cakra is one such
yantra representing the orbit of the earth, the nine triangles within it
denoting the nine continents. In the centre is the dot or bindu representing Shakti as presiding over the cakra. These
yantras are as efficacious in manifesting the deities as mantras. To the
Tantric, the consecrated yantra is none other than the deity itself.
Great
Worshippers of the Divine Mother
From its very beginnings Hindu civilization has given birth
to great men and women devoted to the Divine Mother. Sri Rama worshipped Devi
Durga on the eve of his fight with Ravana. Rukmini worshipped Durga and sought
her blessings for her marriage with Sri Krishna. Shankaracharya, the great
Advaitic philosopher-saint, is well known not only for his commentaries on
Advaitic texts, but also for his soul-stirring devotional hymns to the various
gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. He composed several hymns in praise
of the Divine Mother and also installed the images of the goddesses. Kamakshi
and Sarada at Kanchipuram and Sringeri. His lucid exposition of the concept of
Shakti is manifest in his hymns:
Sivah sakya
yukto yadi bhavati
Saktah
prabhavitum
Na cedevam
devo na khalu kusalah
Spanditum-ap;
Atas-tvam-aradhyam
hari-hara-
Virincadibhir-api
Pranantum
stotum va
Katham-akrta-punyah
prabhavati
Shiva is able to project this universe only if he is
united with Shakti, otherwise the Deva is not even capable of moving.
Therefore, how can those who have done no meritorious deeds ever strive either
to worshipped even by Hari, Hara, Brahma, and others?
Bhavani tvam
dase
Mayi vitara
drstim sakarunam
Iti stotum
vanchan
Disasi
nija-sayujya-padavim
Mukunda-brahmendra-
Sphuta-mukuta-nirajita-padam.
To the devotee desirous of thus praying to you: “O
Bhavani, please cast your compassionate glance on me, your servant,” even as he
begins saying “O Bhavani you bestow on him sāyujya,
union with your feet”—the sāyujya
that is illumined by the crowns of Vishnu, Brahma, and Indra.
In modern times Shakti worship has especially
flourished in east
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