The Primordial One.
The Ancient One.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"Who
is Devi?
The
Great Goddess, known in India as Devi (literally
"goddess"), has many guises. She is "Ma"
the gentle and approachable mother. As Jagatmata, or Mother
of the universe, she assumes cosmic proportions, destroying
evil and addressing herself to the creation and dissolution
of the worlds. She is worshiped by thousands of names that
often reflect local customs and legends. She is one and she
is many. She is celebrated in songs and poems.
"Always Blissful Mother," by Kamlalakanta
Chakrabarti
Mother,
you're always blissful.
You charmed destructive Shiva, you dance in your own joy,
and clap your hands to keep time.
O Elemental, Eternal One!
Your form is empty space, yet the moon adorns your brow.
Where did you get your garland of severed heads, before the
universe came into being?
You are the operator, and we nothing but machines that run
by your rule.
We stay where you put us, and say what you make us say.
Cursing you, O Destructive One, restless Kamlalakanta says:
With the sword in your hand you've slaughtered my faith
together with my disbelief.
Devi
is all-important in the Hindu tradition, but there are also
forms of female divinity in the Buddhist and Jain religions.
Today millions of Hindu men and women conduct regular pujas
to Devi through one of her many manifestations. For some she
is their primary deity while for others she is part of a
greater pantheon. All Hindu goddesses can be seen as
different manifestations of Devi. In some forms she is
benign and gentle, while in other forms she is dynamic and
ferocious, but in all forms she is helpful to her devotees.
[DEFINITION:
Hinduism is a fusion of many religious beliefs and
philosophical schools Its origins are mixed and complex: one
strand is traced to the Vedas, the sacred literature written
around 1100 BC by the Aryans, a people who trickled steadily
into the Indian subcontinent between 1800 and 1200 BC; the
other strand drew upon the beliefs of the indigenous people
of India especially their faith in the efficacy of fertility
symbols and faith in the power of the Mother Goddess.]
[DEFINITION: Buddhism, a faith that originated in India
about 2,500 years ago, embodies the teachings of the Buddha.
He devised a code of actions and thoughts to free humankind
from a continual state of desire and egotism. Jainism is a
faith that originated in India in the fifth century B.C.
which considered knowledge to be the ultimate way to
salvation.]"
Smithsonian
Institution, 1999
806) Sri
Param-jyotih
The Ultimate Light.
"There (in the Great Lotus Forest) the sun, moon and stars do not
shine because
She illumines the mind that illumine all of them."
Kathopanisad 5.15
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
Allah
is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a
niche wherein is a lamp.
The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star.
(This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East
nor of the West,
Whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it.
Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will.
And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things.
surah
24:35 Al Nur
(M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Quran)
Whatever
is seen shall perish.
Contemplate the One who is unseen.
When the key is inserted in the Tenth Gate, then the Blessed
Vision of the Merciful Lord's Darshan is seen.
When one ascends from the lower realms of the earth to the
higher realms of the heavens, then everything is resolved.
The Lord dwells in both the lower and higher worlds.
Leaving the earth, the soul ascends to the heavens; Then, the
lower and higher join together, and peace is obtained.
The days and nights go by; I am looking for the Lord.
Looking for Him, my eyes have become blood-shot.
After looking and looking, when She is finally found, then the
one who was looking merges into the One who was looked for.
He is limitless; Her limits cannot be found.
I have attuned myself to the Supreme Light.
Sri
Guru Granth Sahib (Raag Gauree Poorbee, p. 340.)
Your
eye is the lamp of your body; When your eye is sound, your whole
body is full of light;
But when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness.
Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark,
it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you
light.
Luke
11.34-36
15.
If one sees God face to face as the atman, as Lord of what has
been and what shall be, one shrinks not from him.
16.
That in the wake of which the year revolves together with its
days that the Gods worship as Light of lights, as life
immortal.
17.
On whom are established the five times five beings, and space
him I believe to be the atman, knowing him, the deathless,
as the deathless Brahman.
18.
Those who know the breath of breath, the eye of the eye, the ear
of the ear, and the mind of the mind they have realized
Brahman, ancient and primeval.
19. Only by the mind is it to be seen. In it there is no
plurality. The man who perceives what seems to be plurality here
proceeds from death to death.
20.
Only in oneness is it to be seen, the stable atman,
immeasurable. Free from blemish is it, beyond space, unborn,
great, unwavering.
21. Let the wise, the knowers of Brahman, realizing Him,
practice their wisdom. Let them not ponder many words, for in
speech is mere weariness.
Brahadaranyaka
Upanisad IV, 4, 15-21
"The
Light of lights: jyotisham jyotih the source of all other
luminaries."
(Cf.
KathU V, 15 (§ V 5); SU VI, 14 (practically the same text); and
also BG XV, 6.)
Professor
Raimundo Panikkar, The Vedic Experience
The
Atman is the light: The light is covered by darkness:
This
darkness is delusion: That is why we dream.
When
the light of Atman drives out our darkness that light shines
forth from us, a sun in splendor, the revealed Brahman.
Bhagavad
Gita 5.15-16
"The
enlightenment consists of a mysterious light which the shaman
suddenly feels in his body, inside his head, within the brain,
an inexplicable searchlight, a luminous fire... for he can now,
even with closed eyes, see through darkness and perceive things
and coming events which are hidden from others: thus they look
into the future and into the secrets of others.
The
candidate obtains this mystical light after long hours of
waiting, sitting on a bench in his hut and invoking the spirits.
When he experiences it for the first time, it is as if the house
in which he is suddenly rises, he sees far ahead of him, through
mountains, exactly as if the earth were one great plain, and his
eyes could reach to the end of the earth. Nothing is hidden from
him any longer; not only can he see things far, far away, but he
can also discover souls, stolen souls, which are either kept
concealed in far, strange lands or have been taken up or down to
the Land of the Dead."
Iglulik
Eskimo Shaman Initiation
(Cf:
Yanomami Shamans Instruction, p. 376.)
807) Sri
Param-dhama
The
Ultimate Light.
The
Ultimate Status
'Yadgatva na nivartante taddhama paramam
mama'
"The State of
Consciousness from which there is no return is My
Ultimate
State." (Bha. Gi.
16-6)
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
The
sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor these
lightnings, and much less this fire.
When
He shines, everything shines after Him; by His light all this is
lighted.
Mundaka
Upanishad 2. 2. 10
808) Sri
Paramanuh
The Ultimate Atom.
The Minutest Atom.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"In
contrast to the mystic, the physicist begins his inquiry into
the essential nature of things by studying the material world.
Penetrating into ever-deeper realms of matter, he has become
aware of the essential unity of all things and events. More than
that, he has also learnt that he himself and his consciousness
are an integral part of this unity. Thus the mystic and the
physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the
inner realm, the other from the outer world. Their harmony
between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman,
the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the
reality within."
Fritjof
Capra, The Tao of Physics
(F. Capra, Tao
of Physics, Bantam Books, 1977, p. 296.)
809) Sri
Parat-para
The Ultimate of the Ultimate.
The Ultimate beyond the Trimurti Sri Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
Aadays, tisai
aadays.
Aad
aneel anaad anaahat, jug jug ayko vays.
Aykaa
maa-ee, jugat viaaee, tin chalay parvaan.
Ik sansaaree, ik bhandaaree, ik laa-ay deeban.
Jiv tis bhaavai, tivai chalaavai, jiv havai phurmaan.
Oh vaykahi, onaa nadar na aavai, buhutaa ayho vidaan.
Obeisance, obeisance to Her,
the Primal, the Immaculate, without beginning, without end, constant
through all ages
The One Mother existed Alone in some mysterious way and She
created the Three deities.
One was the Creator (Brahma), one the Sustainer (Vishnu) and one the Destroyer
(Shiva).
The world moves as She ordains and as She pleases.
She see all, but no one sees Her; this is a great wonder.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib (Jap
Jee Sahib)
"Brahma,
Vishnu, and Siva were worshipped as gods; they were known as
Trinity. They represented three processes of life going as in
nature: creation, preservation and destruction, respectively. . . .
they represent certain natural powers that ensue from God.
"Brahma,
Vishnu and Siva, too are contained in Him, the One." (3.
Adi Granth, p. 908)
"O
God, Thou art my Father, my Mother, Thou art my kin, my brother,
When Thou art my Protector everywhere, why should I fear, O,
Dear." (2. Adi Granth, p. 104) "
Pritam
Singh Gill, The
Trinity of Sikhism
(P.
Singh Gill, The Trinity of Sikhism, 1990, p. 64-5.)
814) Sri
Amurta
Beyond sense perception.
Formless.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
816)
Sri Muni-manasa-hamsika
Ever dwelling in the minds of Yogis.
The Female Swan in the
Lake of the Great Lotus Forest.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
The
energy channels of the Ida, Pingala and Shushmanaa: these three
dwell in one place.
This
is the true place of confluence of the three sacred rivers: This
is where my mind takes its cleansing bath.
O
Saints, the Immaculate Lord dwells there; how rare are those who
go to the Guru, and understand this.
The
all-pervading immaculate Lord is there. What is the insignia of
the Divine Lords dwelling?
The
unstruck sound current of the Shabad vibrates there. There is no
moon or sun, no air or water there.
The
Gurmukh becomes aware, and knows the Teachings. Spiritual wisdom
wells up, and evil-mindedness departs;
The
nucleus of the mind sky is drenched with Ambrosial Nectar.
One
who knows the secret of this device, meets the Supreme Divine
Guru.
The
Tenth Gate is the home of the inaccessible, infinite Supreme
Lord.
Above
the store is a niche, and within this niche is the commodity.
Sri
Guru Granth Sahih
(Raamkalee, the Word of Baynee Jee, p. 974.)
817) Sri
Satya-vrata
Dedicated to the Food of Truth.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
819) Sri
Sarvantaryamini
The Spirit
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
They
ask thee concerning the Spirit.
Say:
"The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: Of knowledge it
is only a little that is communicated to you."
If
it were Our Will, We could take away that which We have sent
thee by inspiration:
Then
wouldst thou find none to plead thy affair in that matter
against Us.
surah
17:85-86 Al Isra (The Night Journey)
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
We
gave Moses the Book, and followed him up with a succession of
Messengers;
We
gave Jesus, the son of Mary, Clear (Signs), and strengthened him
with the Holy Spirit.
surah
2.87 Al Baqarah (The Heifer)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
Those
Messengers we endowned with gifts, some above others:
To
one of them Allah spoke; Others He raised to degrees (of honour);
To
Jesus, the son of Mary, we gave Clear (Signs), and strengthened
him with the Holy Spirit.
surah
2.253 Al Baqarah (The Heifer)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
O
People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say
of Allah aught but the truth.
Christ
Jesus the son of Mary was a Messenger of Allah, and His Word,
which He bestowed on Mary,
And
a Spirit proceeding from Him.
surah
4.171 Al Nisa (The Women)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
Then
will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour
to thee and to thy mother.
Behold!
I strengthened thee with the Holy Spirit, so that thou didst
speak to the people in childhood, and in maturity.
surah
5.110 Al Maidah (The Repast)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
When
I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him
of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him.
surah
15.29 Al Hijr (The Rock)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
Say:
The Holy Spirit has brought the revelation, from thy Lord in
Truth,
In
order to strengthen those who believe, and as a Guide and Glad
Tidings to Muslims.
surah
16.102 Al Nahl (The Bee)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
Verily
this is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: With it came
down the Spirit of Faith and truth
To
thy heart and mind, that thou mayest admonish in the perspicuous
Arabic tongue,
Without
doubt it is (announced) in the Revealed Books of the former
peoples.
surah
26.192-96 Al Shuara (The Poets)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
But
he fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him
something of His spirit.
And
He gave you (the facilities of) hearing and sight, and feeling
(and understanding):
Little thanks do ye give!
surah
32.9 Al Sadjah (The Prostration)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
When
I fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My
spirit,
Fall ye down in obeisance unto him.
surah
38.72 Sad (Sad)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
The
angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him, in a day the measure
whereof is (as) fifty thousand years.
surah
70.4 Al Ma arij (The Ways of Ascent)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
The
day that the Spirit and the angels will stand in ranks;
None
shall not speak, except any whom is permitted by (Allah) Most
Gracious.
surah
78.38 Al Naba (The Great Event)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)
"It
has been almost twenty years since I wrote Spectrum, and
the intervening two decades have convinced me more than ever of
the correctness of its essential message: being and
consciousness exist as a spectrum, reaching from matter to body
to mind to soul to Spirit. And although Spirit is, in a certain
sense, the highest dimension or level of the spectrum of
existence, it is also the ground or condition of the entire
spectrum. It is as if Spirit were both the highest rung on the
ladder of existence and the wood out of which the entire
ladder is made Spirit is both totally and completely
immanent (as the wood) and totally and completely transcendent
(as the highest rung.) Spirit is both Ground and Goal . . . The
realization of our Supreme Identity with Spirit dawns only after
much growth, much development, much evolution, and much inner
work . . . only then do we understand that the Supreme Identity
was there, from the beginning, perfectly given in its fullness."
Ken
Wilber, The Spectrum of Consciousnes
(K.
Wilber, The Spectrum of Consciousness, Quest Books, 1993, p.
xvi.)
"
"That Self (atman) is not this, not that (neti,
neti.) It is unseizable, for it cannot be seized;
indestructible, for it cannot be destroyed; unattached, for it
does not attach itself; it is unbound, it does not tremble, it
is not injured."1
The
Self is not easily known. It cannot be realized except by the
greatest effort. Every vestige of the normal waking attitude,
which is appropriate and necessary for the daily struggle for
existence (artha), pleasure (kama), and the
attainment of righteousness (dharma), must be abandoned.
The really serious seeker of the Self has to become an
introvert, disinterested absolutely in the pursuits of the world
disinterested even in the continuance of his individual
existence; for the Self is beyond the sphere of the senses and
the intellect, beyond even the profundity of intuitive awareness
(buddhi), which is the source of dreams and the
fundamental support of the phenomenal personality. "The
Creator, the divine Being who is self-existent (svayam-bhu),
drilled the apertures of the senses, so that they should go
outwards in various directions; that is why man perceives the
external world and not the Inner Self (antar-atman.) The
wise man, however, desirous of the state of immortality, turning
his eyes inward and backward (pratyag, 'into the
interior'), beholds the Self."2 "
(1. Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 4. 5. 15. (Hume, op. Cit.,
p. 147) 2. Katha Upanishad 4. 1.)
Heinrich
Zimmer, Philosophies of India
(H.
Zimmer, Philosophies of India, Princeton University
Press, 1974, p. 463.)
822) Sri
Brahma-janani
The Ultimate Mother of All.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
The
world had a beginning which we call the Great Mother.
Once
we have found the Mother, we begin to know what Her children
should be.
When
we know we are the Mothers child, we begin to guard the
qualities of the Mother in us.
She
will protect us from all danger even if we lose our life.
Keep
your mouth closed and embrace a simple life, and you will live
care-free until the end of your days.
Tao
Te Ching 52 (Lao-Tzu)
(Translated by J.H. McDonald, Public Domain, 1996.)
824)
Sri Bahu-rupa
Of Multiform Manifestations.
"There are many forms of Her: the divine, human, animal,
static and mobile. Hence She is known as Bahurupa."
Devi-Purana
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"In
Tantric art Devi appears in varying body configurations, and has
many skin colors, facial expressions and symbolic gestures. She may
have two, four, or as many as ten arms, and wear a profusion of
costumes and ornaments. She may stand with attending figures who
express her reflected power, or stand or sit alone. She may be
benign and nurturing or a furious protector. The spectrum of images
makes the point: while the Goddess is one, she is worshiped as many.
While
priests may reside in temples in order to care for the needs of the
gods and goddesses, the essential aspect of worship is not
congregational but an individual's connection to the deity. In
worshiping the goddess it is possible to arouse the divine power,
shakti, that lies dormant within individuals in order to make their
physical, mental, and psychic selves divine. One method of worship
aimed at integrating the physical and spiritual realms is Tantric
worship which has characterized much of goddess worship in India.
Tantra is a code of rites and practices. Both contemplating Tantric
images and creating these images are a form of darshan (seeing) the
Goddess."
Smithsonian
Institution, 1999
826) Sri
Prasavitri
Entire
Creation emanates from Her.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
827)
Sri Pracanda
Angry, Fearful.
"For fear of Her the wind blows." Taittiriya
Upanisad
2.8
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
828) Sri
Ajna
The Command.
"In the beginning from My Mouth, By My Command were
born." Linga Purana
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
By
Divine Law are all forms manifested; Inexpressible is the Law.
By Divine Law are beings created; By Law are some exalted.
By
Divine Law are beings marked with nobility or ignominy; By the
Law are they visited with bliss or bale.
On
some by Her Law falls grace; Others by Her Law are whirled
around in cycles of births and deaths.
All
by the Law are governed, None is exempt.
Says
Nanak, Should man realize the power of the Law, he would
certainly disclaim his ego.
Sri
Guru Granth Sahib (Japuji 2, M.1, p. 1.)
The
Tao has its reality and its signs but is without action or form.
You
can hand it down but you cannot receive it; You can get it but
you cannot see it.
It
is its own source, its own root. Before heaven and earth existed
it was there, firm from ancient times.
It
gave spirituality to the spirits and to God; it gave birth to
heaven and to earth.
It
exists beyond the highest point, and yet you cannot call it
lofty;
It
exists beneath the limit of the six directions, and yet you
cannot call it deep.
It
was born before heaven and earth, and yet you cannot say it has
been there for long;
It
is earlier than the earliest time, and yet you cannot call it
old.
Chuang
Tzu 6
831) Sri
Pranesvari
The
Ruler of All Forms of Life.
The
Life of Life.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
836) Sri
Vira-mata
The Mother of the Forces battling the forces of evil.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
839) Sri
Mukti-nilaya
The Abode of Liberation.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"The
word shrine in the text also means a holy place (thirta.)
The allusion is to the pilgrimage of pious devotees to a holy
place. There are certain disadvantages associated with holy
places. As they may be situated at a great distance, pilgrimage
may entail physical labour and suffering. The merit of a
pilgrimage may be slight because of the inauspiciousness of the
time. The comfort of the pilgrims may be disturbed by the
weather. Robbers, thieves, or unscrupulous priests often give
them trouble. Further, the merit accruing from a pilgrimage is
not everlasting. But the worshipper in the sacred shrine of
Atman is free from all these disadvantages and obstacles.
Communion with Atman bestows upon the soul Immortality and
Eternal Bliss.
The
Mahabharatai describes Atman as the real sacred river,
bathing in which the soul becomes free of impurities:
"The
river of Atman is filled with the water of self-control; truth
is its current, righteous conduct its banks, and compassion its
waves. O son of Pandu, bathe in its sacred water; ordinary water
does not purify the inmost soul."
By
worshipping a holy man who worships in the sacred shrine of
Atman, the seeker obtains the result of pilgrimage:
"A
visit to holy men bestows merit, because they may be regarded as
moving holy places. The Lord, dwelling in their hearts, renders
holy the place where they live."
"A
river filled with sacred water is no doubt sacred; an image of
stone or clay is no doubt a deity. After worshipping them a long
time, the aspirant becomes pure. But by a mere visit to a holy
man one attains purity."
Communion
with Brahman is the most efficacious form of worship:
"By
virtue of even a moment's serenity, attained through knowledge
of the identity of Atman and Brahman, the seeker attains the
merit that one may obtain by bathing in the waters of all the
holy rivers, by giving away the entire world in an act of
charity, by performing a thousand sacrifices, by worshipping the
three hundred and thirty millions of gods, and by rescuing,
through after-death rites, one's ancestors from the suffering of
the nether world."
"By
the very birth of a man whose mind is absorbed in the Supreme
Brahman the immeasurable Ocean of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss
Absolute his family becomes sinless, his mother blessed, and
the earth sacred." "
Swami
Nikhilananda, Self-Knowledge
(Swami Nikhilananda, Self-Knowledge
[Atmabodha], 1989, p. 171-72.)
840) Sri
Mula-vigraha-rupini
The Primordial Power.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
841) Sri
Bhavajna
The Knower of All Thoughts.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
845) Sri
Sastra-sara
The Power behind all Scriptures.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
846) Sri
Mantra-sara
The Power behind All Mantras.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
848)
Sri Udara-kirtih
The Highest Fame.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
849) Sri
Uddama-vaibhava
Of Infinite Splendour.
Limitless Greatness.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
850)
Sri Varna-rupini
Of the Form of Letters.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
851)
Sri Janma-mrtyu-tapta-jana-visranti-dayini
Bestower of Peace and Solace on those consumed by evils of
life,
death and old age.
Endows True Knowledge of their Selves.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"Thus,
mysticism and philosophy relate to the One each in its own way.
But whereas philosophical theory can at best bring us
intellectual conviction, mysticism alone gives us the gift of
peace and happiness. For, in realizing the One through direct
experience, we step beyond the fragmented self and world that
are the cradle of our suffering. When we have recovered our
identity as the One, we are free. In mystical experience, this
recovery is only temporary. Therefore, is we want to not merely
suspend but completely eradicate our suffering, we must aspire
to permanent enlightenment as the final fruit of a life lived on
the basis of lucid waking . . .
As
long as we sleepwalk through life preoccupied with survival, we
merely squander the great opportunity of exercising our free
will and discovering our intrinsic freedom. We may not even
realize that none of the freedoms for which we struggle and even
sacrifice our lives truly set us free. Finally, at death,
unenlightened individuals realize or maybe not even then
that they have lived out their life in self-chosen bondage. Only
the sages, the adepts, who enter the death process consciously,
with utmost mindfulness, are masters of their own destiny both
here and now and in the great beyond."
Georg
Feuerstein, Lucid Waking
(Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking, Inner Traditions International,
1997, p. 162-63.)
852) Sri
Sarvopanisadadudghusta
Proclaimed by all the Upanisads.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
854)
Sri Gambhira
The Bottomless Lake.
"The Ultimate Mother is to be visualised as a great and
deep lake of Consciousness, uncomprehended by Space and
Time."
Siva Sutra 1.23
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
858) Sri
Kalpana-rahita
Pure Consciousness.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"Being
can be felt in the silence of the soul. When an inner surrender
of the self-conscious will takes place, there is great peace of
mind and body, and gradually the movements of the mind seem to
stop. There is no thinking, but there is a deep feeling of
Being, of a deeper reality than the reality of ordinary
consciousness. Faith in Being then becomes absolute: how could
one doubt the deepest experience of ones life. Amiel
describes glimpses of Being when he writes in his dairy:
"2nd
January, 1880. Here there is a sense of rest and quietness.
Silence is the house and outside. A tranquil fire gives a
feeling of comfort. The portrait of my mother seems to smile
upon me. Whatever pleasure we may get from our emotions I do not
think it can equal those moments of silent peace which are
glimpses of the joys of Paradise. Desire and fear, grief and
anxiety are no more. We live a moment of life in the supreme
region of our own being: pure consciousness. One feels an inner
harmony free from the slightest agitation or tension. In those
moments the state of the soul is solemn, perhaps akin to its
condition beyond the grave. It is happiness as the Orientals
understand it, the happiness of the hermit who is free from
desire and struggle, and who simply adores in fullness of joy.
We cannot find words to express this experience, because our
language can only describe particular and definite conditions of
life: they have no words to express this silent contemplation,
this heavenly quietness, this ocean of peace which both reflects
the heavens above and is master of its own depth. Things return
to their first principle, while memories becomes dreams of
memories. The soul is then pure being and no longer feels its
separation from the whole. It is conscious of the universal
life, and is at that moment is a centre of communion with God.
It has nothing and lacks nothing. Perhaps only the Yogis and the
Sufis have known in its depth this condition of simple happiness
which combines the joys of being and non-being, which is neither
reflection nor will, and which is beyond the moral and the
intellectual life: a return to oneness, to the fullness of
things, the vision of Plotinus and Proclus, the glad expectation
of Nirvana." "
Juan Mascaro,
The Bhagavad Gita
(Juan
Mascaro, The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin, 1962.)
859)
Sri Kastha
The Final Truth.
"She is the End and She is the Ultimate Path."
Kathopanisad
3.11
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"Vedanta
describes two kinds of mukti, or Liberation: jivanmukti, or
Liberation while one dwells in the body, and videhamukti, or
Liberation after the body is given up. Some Vedantists accept
jivanmukti as Supreme Liberation. According to them, Knowledge of
Atman attained while one is alive is the only condition for
liberation. Though a liberated soul dwells in a body as long as his
past karma operates, yet he remains undefiled by the effects of his
actions. He never deviates from the Knowledge of Atman. Though he
may behold the relative world, yet he is always aware of its
unreality. According to the other school, a jivanmukta retains a
trace of ignorance due to his association with the body. The very
fact that he lives in the relative world shows that he has come down
from the Knowledge of Brahman. Complete absorption in Brahman is
possible only when a knower of Brahman becomes free of the body. The
following scriptural passages are quoted to support this view:
"As
for him, the delay endures only so long as he is not liberated (from
the effects of the past karma that has given rise to his body);
after that (after death) he will reach perfection." (Chhandogya
Upanishad VI, xiv, 2.)
"For
him, at the end (after the dissolution of the body), there is a
cessation of all maya and its effects." (Svetasvatara
Upanishad I, 10.)
"As
the flowing river disappear in the ocean, losing their names and
form, so, likewise, an illuminated person, freed from name and form,
attains the Divine Purusha, who is greater than the great." (Mundaka
Upanishad III, ii, 8.)
There
is not much real difference between the two views, since the knower
of Brahman, both prior to and after death, enjoys Supreme Bliss,
Freedom, and Peace."
Swami
Nikhilananda, Self-Knowledge
(Swami Nikhilananda, Self-Knowledge
[Atmabodha], 1989, p. 161-62.)
861)
Sri Kantardha-vigraha
Having
half the form which is Female.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
There
is no Shiva without Shakti nor is there any Shakti without
Shiva.
There
is no distinction between them, just as there is none between
the moon and the shining.
Samaya
Mata
Victory
to Her the Primordial Power, the seed from which sprouts
hereafter the entire creation,
Static
and kinetic universes, the Eternal, the Incomparable, who is the
nature of Her own Bliss,
And
who manifests as a mirror to His Self.
Kama-Kalavilasa
866)
Sri Aja
The Unborn One.
The One without Birth.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
870)
Sri Antarmukha-samaradhya
Worshipped by those with Inner
Vision.
Worshipped by those with introspection.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"For
where dwell the gods to whom we can uplift our hands, send forth
our prayers, and make oblation? Beyond the Milky Way are only
island universes, galaxy beyond galaxy in the infinitudes of
space no realm of angels, no heavenly mansions, no choirs of
the blessed surrounding a divine throne of the Father, revolving
in beatific consciousness about the axial mystery of the
Trinity. Is there any region left in all these great reaches
where the soul on its quest might expect to arrive at the feet
of God, having become divested of its own material coil? Or must
we now turn rather inward, seek the divine internally, in the
deepest vault, beneath the floor; hearken within for the secret
voice that is both commanding and consoling; draw from inside
the grace which passeth all understanding?"
Heinrich
Zimmer, Philosophies of India
(H.
Zimmer, Philosophies of India, Princeton University
Press, 1974, p. 13.)
871)
Sri Bahirmukha-sudurlabha
To be sought within.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
"Just
as the colossal universe evolves from some transcendental secret
source the essence beyond name and form, which remains
unaffected by the process of torrential flowing forth so
likewise, the mysterious dream-ego, which in dreams evolves its
own landscapes and adventures as well as the visible, tangible
individual, who becomes conscious of himself when waking
these temporarily emerge from the innermost secret essence which
is called the Self, the bedrock of all human life and
experience. In other words, the macrocosmic Self (brahman)
and the microcosmic (atman) work parallel effects. They
are one and the same, only viewed under two aspects. So that
when the individual makes contact with the Self that he holds
within, he comes into possession of divine power and stands
centered beyond all anxiety, strife, and change. The attainment
of this goal is the one and only end of Vedic and Vedanta
thought."
Heinrich
Zimmer, Philosophies of India
(H.
Zimmer, Philosophies of India, Princeton University
Press, 1974, p. 454.)
879)
Sri Sudha-srutih
Ambrosial Stream of Bliss.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
880)
Sri Samsara-panka-nirmagna- samuddharana-pandita
Rescues those drowning in Samsara; cycle of births and
death.
"Just as the tusk of Sri Varahavatara rescued the
submerged earth, so also She rescues those drowned in the Sea of
Births." Saundarya-Lahari 3
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
889)
Sri Visvabhramanakarini
The Prime Mover of the Universe.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
891)
Sri Vidrumabha
The Tree of
Knowledge
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
Allah
is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The Parable of His
Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp:
The
Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star:
Lit
from a blessed
Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the
west,
Whose
oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it:
Light
upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light:
Allah
doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.
surah
24:35 Al Nur (The Light)
(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, The Holy Quran, 1989, p.
1687-88.)
And
he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb.
In
the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river
was there the Tree of
Life,
Which
bare twelve manner of fruit every month: And the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation
22:1-2
"The
Spirit says in Revelation: "To him that overcomes, I will give
to him to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of
God." (2: 7.) We understand from the previous paragraphs that
this was a matter of inner conquest . . .
Revelation
says later: "In the midst of its street, and of the river, on
this side and on that side, [the] tree of life, producing twelve
fruits, in each month yielding its fruits; and the leaves of the
tree for healing of the nations" 22: 2.) The first part is
geometrically impossible since a single tree cannot find itself both
in the middle and on both sides at the same time. We have to
understand this as a symbol. It actually refers to the three
channels: Sushumna (central), through which the Kundalini flows like
a river and the side channels (Ida and Pingala.) Kundalini was
worshiped as "water of life" by the Templars and the
Gnostics. However, as we are told at the end, the tree of life also
serves to cure the nations. Yogis agree that the Kundalini awakening
and the activation of the energetic system symbolised by the tree of
life brings about both the physical healing as well as the spiritual
one (supreme liberation, Moksha.)"
Dan
Costian, Bible Enlightened
(Dan
Costian, Bible Enlightened, Computex Graphics, 1995, p.
47-8.)
892) Sri
Vaisnavi
Female counterpart of Sri Vishnu bearing Sanka, Cakra
and Gada.
Sri Mahalaksmi, the Power of Sri Vishnu.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
893)
Sri Visnurupini
Sri Vishnu is one of Her Forms.
The Primordial Power of Sri Mahesha has four different
forms.
Sri
Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri
Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Assoc. Advertisers and
Printers, 1989.)
Sri
Bhavani in enjoyment, Sri Durga in battle, Sri Kalika
in anger; the fourth of them is the male form which is
Myself."
Sri
Vishnu, Brahmanda Purana
"O! Sri
Lalita, I bow to Your Form named Narayana lying in the
sea."
Sri
Vishnu, Kurma Purana
Kitab Al Munir (Book Of Enlightenment)