Sri Chakra Yantra - From Sri Nagar to Ujjain

The secrets of Tantra, the rituals, the powers, the sadhana, and the left path that was once followed in the devi cult apart from that followed by Aghoris towards Lord Shiva Kala Bhairava, leave us wondering about the enigmatic world that governs ancient Hinduism into the realm of higher knowledge.

Devi cult, steeped in enigmatic history and esoteric cult practices with popular followers like Adi Shankaracharya and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa completing their sadhana in this cult, and yet not recommending it to the masses leave me very curious about what is it that was taboo and was not meant for any lesser mortal?

This cult has brought to light, the art of love, the act of sex in ritual and the worship of the woman as the very incarnate of the Goddess and the man as that of Lord Shiva himself... its a silent ritualistic faith very secretive and yet very intriguing. The offering of creative juices, the practice of yogic poses and mudras to raise the self to higher spiritual level involving intimacy leave the layman blinking over what the depths of Hinduism can lead us into when the thick moral over of society is quite something else!

And all this goes back to the most powerful form of worshiping the Goddess - Sri Chakra.

It would be interesting to note that the Shankara matt are great followers of Kamakshi Amman, the Goddess of love, the consort of Lord Shiva. The principles of Advaita teach renunciation of desire towards flesh and lust and the Goddess is envisioned as the Mother rather than a divine consort. These great saints turn towards Shakti as their primordial source of energy and in the ancient times there were scattered across all Shakti Sthals, tantric peethas that were great centers of learning. Its unfortunate that what remains in the mind of the average learner is a fear, and respect for great Tantriks who are better known these days as great performer of magic, magic that we would love to stay away from. These powers invoked the goddess, raw Shakti to descend into the world of mortals and beat the unwitting who trespass into the way of these great sages. Tantriks were not that bad, they were phenomenal alchemists who knew astrology and the art of architecture and were most sort after to erect great temples assisting Kings who poured in their patronage toward religious propagation of faith.

At the pinnacle of this growth curve in the religious history of India, one man made a difference. Adi Shankaracharya brought these dangerous blood thirsty practices to halt and converted most of the bali peethas alias Shakti sthals into civilized centers of worship. And yet, deep mystery lies in two places, both of which were great Tantrik centers of learning, which once encouraged sacrifices of both human and animal to the Cult practice of Sri Vidya and also were great seats of learning in astronomy. And yet there is something strange in both of them!

Sri Nagar - On the banks of the river Alaknanda.

Here is no shrine covered by a man made temple! Here is a boulder that rests face down in the Alaknanda river. What makes this boulder so important, so eerie and so powerful? It is believed that this boulder has on its surface the very form of the Sri Chakra that demanded worship, signifying an ughra form of the Goddess that took the lives of any human who curiously set their glance on it without devotion. The Goddess claimed lives, by death and by bloody sacrifice that left an unsettling feeling in the minds of the masses. Sri Nagar, or the land of Sri Vidhya was a great center of tantrik practices of the left hand path and it took the Great Shankara to come and worship the Mother here in the 8th cen A.D. He is known to have performed a great ritual, one that appeased the Goddess and in the bargain turned the great boulder carrying her emblem face down into the river, hiding her very form from the world ever since. The pure waters continue to flow, the sacred rock rests in silence and all peace reigns again in this region, yet the form of the Goddess was mysteriously hidden from view. This sacred boulder is still worshiped, but the mother has hidden her divine Ughra form for ever.

Ujjain - Harasiddhis temple of Goddess Annapurni

This is the uncanny reality of the Sri Chakra, buried into a river bed in one place and displayed in all her flamboyance in another place. This is in the great city of Ujjain, one of the greatest Shakti Sthals that hosts the sacred shrine of Harasiddha Gauri, another form of Annapurni Mata. Though the exterior of this temple reeks of modernism of the times, the inner walls and ceiling speak of spectacular concepts in tantra. The sacred shrine within hosts the divine smiling Mother who decorates a sacred stone in vermillion and chandan. This is her form here, quite simple and yet powerful. Ujjain was a great seat of tantrik worship, and the original prototype of the Hindu Panchang(calendar) took its root here. It is believed that the Bhumadhya rekha [possibly the prime meridian] passes through here and thus makes this town the seat of all astronomical learning and calculations [this information may not be authentic]. Here is where the link between the celestial world and human world is defined through the science of tantric astrology. The walls and ceiling of the Harasiddhi temple are a living library of astrological significance. Here the Sri Chakra has been described on the ceiling, with hundreds of deities in their personified forms within this elaborate diagram, quite the opposite of what hides deep and buried in the waters of the Alaknanda.

This contradiction to thought, this display of apparent difference between two shrines, of which both are great power centers and both were great seats of tantricism at some point in India history, now appear to be cloaked in divine innocence that one echoed a language of death sacrifice. Makes me want to ask, what is the Sri Chakra, what is the essence of the Goddess and what is her power that makes her so great, so deep, so unattainable and so potent that no mortal stands a chance except be her humble devotee!

Reference and image:
Tantra Unveiled: Seducing the Forces of Matter & Spirit
By Rajmani Tigunait

Shiva Bhikshatana and Mata Annapurni at Varanasi

"Bhikshaan Dehi... Bhikshaan Dehi"

This echo at the door brings every lady of the house, every grihasta to offering annam, or rice as food for the mendicants who come by. These mendicants were intellects of a superior kind and society considered it an honor to serve them. One such story has been previously mentioned in the life of Kaaraikkal Ammaiyar who fed a mendicant a mango, a Shiva Yogi who came to her door step.

This is one of many instances where Shiva Bhikshatana has walked into the lives of people and blessed them by coming to their doorstep or by holding a dialog with them questioning the practise of the very knowledge they have been enlightened with. This was in the case of Adi Shankaracharya, who seemed to have a slight touch of arrogance?! about his status as an enlightened soul. The Manishapanchakam is the enlightening dialog between an untouchable sweeper surrounded by dogs who met this great saint in the streets of Varanasi near the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

As Shankara walked by, he signalled for the untouchable to move as he walked to the main temple. The sweeper, surrounded by dogs with a stick in the hand asked Shankara whether the sun made a difference between the Ganges and the water by the homes of the untouchables where its reflection fell? How then is the atman of a sweeper any different from the atman within him, an enlightened soul? Even the greatest of enlightened souls was questioned over his pride of being knowledgable.

Here are two instances, where Shiva Bhikshatana has made a mark in the lives of two people in recorded history, one a lady serving him at her doorstep, and another was an enlightened saint of his time.

This very same form that Adi Shankara saw and recognized as Lord Shiva is the same form that is seen within the walls of the Kashi Vishwananth temple within the shrine chamber of Swarna Annapurni.
Annapurni Mata, an incarnation of Goddess Parvati resides here at Varanasi, promising all mortals that there is food and prosperity promised to all. Shiva Bhikshatana resides here as a naked mendicant to whom she serves food with her own hands.

Lord Bhikshatana and Mata Annapurni do not represent abundance of food in the literal sense. The divine couple have the same message to give to the mortal world be it Kaaraikkal Ammaiyar who fed a mendicant food, or to Adi Shankara who was given enough food for thought despite being a superior soul with intellect.

Bhiksha, can be food for sustenance, bhiksha can be food of enlightenment. The mother is resourceful, a provider of knowledge as well as one who wipes out hunger. She is the life force, the energy that drives one to want, to be passionate to know, to realize the truth of their divine existence. It is Shiva Bhikshatana who enlightens even the enlightened, and makes them realize that the truth of his form as Bhikshatana, as the teacher, is beyond the arrogance of written knowledge. In his world, Bhiksha is the need for divine knowledge, to fulfill the purpose of realizing oneself, and therefore even the most superior intellects walk with a bowl, the brahma kapala, that which is the humble request to the Lord to grant divine knowledge and kill the hunger of the bhakta.

As the Shree Annapoornaashtakam goes...

Annapoorna Sadaa Poorne Shankarapraana Vallabhe| Gyaanavairagya Siddhayartam Bhikshaan Dehi Cha Paarvati|| Maataa Cha Paarvati Devi Pitaa Devo Maheshwara| Baandavaa Shivabhaktaakshcha Swadesho Bhuvanatrayam||
Annapoorne – the wife of Lord Shiva;
Sadapoorne – who is always full of resources; She who is full of food;
Sankara – of Lord Sankara(Shiva);
Prana – the life-force; energy;
Vallabhe – the beloved;
Jnana – knowledge;
Vairagya – attitude of renunciation;
Siddhyartham – to fulfill the purpose of;
Bhiksham – alms, food;
Dehi – give us;
Namostute – we bow down to You

In the mortal world to Goddess Annapurni I pray:

Bhikshaam dehi kripaa valambanakaree maataannapoornesvaree||

In the intellectual world of realizing one self and surrendering to Lord Maheshwara I pray:

Shivaya Nama Om Shiva Lingaya Nama Om| Atmaya Nama Om Atma Lingaya Nama Om||

Related topics:
Shiva Bhikshatana - the enchanting mendicant.
He presents Himself
Shiva Bhairava - The naked mendicant
Jyotirlinga - Kasi Vishwanath, Varanasi
Enlightenment on the streets of Varanasi

Photo courtesy:
Chennaionline.com
tamilnation.org

Enlightenment on the streets of Varanasi

Varanasi, the land of lights, and host of one of Shiva’s Jyothir lingas has been celebrated through centuries as a place of high spiritualism. These crowded lanes leading to the temple give a feeling of purpose, of just one goal – a visit to the Lord hoping a million unfulfilled desires be granted or just an aspiration of attaining salvation from the high stress, low good will lives we lead.

In this desperate hurry, to squeeze out every bit of spiritualism this city offers for the time and money spent, most of us miss out on the inherent depth of knowledge that was once a dialog between two profound souls right here.

Amidst the lush green paths that lead to the slivery cool waters of the Ganges, dotted with saffron clad men taking a holy dip in her waters, the sounds in the air were at one point in history, a mixture of nature and profound dialogs on philosophy between men of high intelligence! In this back drop of a river sweeping away the very ashes of life that burn away in the fiery flames of death, an ancient saint was stopped by a sweeper of low caste.

What came forth is a dialog of profound wisdom, which would render us truly enlightened souls if we ever lived by it; this is called the Manishapanchakam. 5 verses of beauty and rhythm, 5 pearls of profound wisdom have brought a different meaning into the lives of mere mortals. This was a dialog sparked between Adi Shankaracharya and a low caste sweeper, when the sweeper refused to move despite Adi Shankara asking him to clear the way as he headed to Kashi Vishwanath temple.

The sweeper just asked one question: Oh Great Saint, what do you mean when you say move, do you want one physical body to move away from another physical body or do you want consciousness to move away from consciousness?

Is there a difference between the reflection of the Sun in the holy Ganges or in the water flowing by the house of an outcaste? What is this illusion of difference between two forms that have the same atman within, that of a Brahman and that of an outcaste? Atman is pure consciousness, a part of a ripple free ocean of bliss.

Shankaracharya, surprised with this question, realized this was no ordinary man and replied:

If the wisdom of consciousness is realized, a person ceases to be an object of perception, and becomes a pure stream of consciousness which shines is deep sleep, dreams and when awake. He who has this consciousness, dwells in all be it Brahma or even an ant, he is my Guru, irrespective of whether he is an outcaste or a Brahman. This is my conviction.

I am Brahman, pure consciousness. This illusion around me is a making of my own ignorance and perception of my mind, a result of my own gunas; satwik, rajasik and tamasik. Brahman, which is bliss, is my Guru, whether he is an outcaste or Brahman.

Having come to the conclusion that the universe is perishable, he who with a calm and pure state of mind constantly meditates on Brahman, he who has burnt his past and future sins into the flames of knowledge, he submits his present body to his praarabdha karma. This is my conviction.

The self is pure consciousness and is experienced clearly within as “I”. It is by the reflection of this consciousness that the mind, body and senses appear to be sentient, though they are insentient. The real self is concealed by the mind, and senses like the sun is covered by clouds. The yogi who always meditates on the self is my Guru, this is my conviction.

The self or atman is an eternal ocean of bliss, a minute fraction of which is enough to satisfy Indra. One who meditates on the self with a perfectly calm mind, experiences Brahman. Such a person is not a mere knower of Brahman, but is Brahman itself. Such a person will be worshipped by Indra, he attains Jivamukta. This is my conviction.

A profound spell of words rained down these very noisy alleys that lead to Kasi Vishwanath temple, long ago in ancient India. The Lord himself graced these streets to test enlightened souls. Such was the pulse of Varanasi.

Temple of a saint - Adi Shankaracharya

It was a run, from the world familiar, a fast run away from reality as we know it. A breathless run until Srinivasan chanced upon a wall, a strange wall with a narrow door. It was a strange landscape, walls without roofs, doors leading no where, steps leading to the skies and stone as ancient as the creation of man and no sign of the creators of these strange pieces of architecture, all on top of a hill. In all the daylight it still seemed to look so meaningless and yet they were after him. Srinivasan felt relief when he saw the wall as he ran. It looked familiar but there was nothing beyond it that made any sense. Just a flight of steps leading up to the sky and a strange bell that didn't seem to call anyone to his rescue when he rang it and yet he felt he wanted to run, and get away and escape for good and go... where, he didn't know.

Srinivasan got up, awake into his familiar world, yet the images of another world hung vividly in his mind as he didn't make any sense of the place he had just seen in his dream and yet, it was so familiar. It was close to reality, some place he had been to and had felt something drawing him so close, saving him from something he had no idea about yet felt its overpowering presence in his life.

View location of this temple - Photographed in 1911

Months passed and Srinivasan decided to go on a vacation. He had been working hard enough and deserved a break. Srinivasan stood at the hill and breathed in the fresh air. It was a perfect get away. The city was so far away from such purity and strangely wasn't it all a familiar man made world? He looked at the landscape, it was beautiful, and he wondered why he had not come to Srinagar all these days. He walked around the summit of Gopadhari hill looking at the greenery around deep down in the valley below wondering what else the Gods had blessed this earth with and why the cities were so devoid of such creation. As he drifted in his world the guide walked up to him and directed him to the temple ahead. Srinivasan gathered himself, quite forgetting he had company in this trip, company he suddenly didn't seem to want.

He walked on, coming up to a formidable wall. A wall that didn't seem to have anything around, and nothing beyond. It stood deserted lost in a realm of its own, yet an endless flight of steps seemed to lead to the skies above with a hint of stone beyond, ancient stone that belonged to another era unknown, just withered by time and belief. Srinivasan stood and gazed beyond as the bells ringing reverberated through the air. The chilling air settled in his mind as he stared up to ascend the steps to heaven. Srinivasan felt strange, not knowing what to expect. He just felt blank as he decided to see what really lay beyond. Every step up reminded Srinivasan that he had been here. The lanscape, the emptiness, the strange architecture that contradicted every book and every proven theory of art...nothing seemed to have value except this moment as he took to the steps. He touched the bell and rang it, the brass resonating the sound echoing within itself rang through his mind and senses. There was strange peace within his mind. He walked up, crossing this strange wall that housed a narrow door but led to no roof beyond but just a mammoth temple, made of ancient rock, octagonal in shape rising into the sky.

A narrow door lay ahead holding secrets within its darkness. The main door appeared strangely similar to that he had seen within the pyramids of the Maya. Yet this kind of architecture was unknown and untapped back here. Srinivasan walked up to the main door, and looked at the world now at his feet. He was told it was the temple of Adi Shankaracharya, an ancient Shiva temple, that came to be known by this great saint's name centuries ago when he visited it and worshipped the Lord here. Adi Shankaracharya was known to have been initiated into the Shakti cult during this period.

View location of this temple

Srinivasan entered the narrow entrance and walked through its thick walls. What lay ahead of him was a breath taking view of the Lord. A stone linga towered in front of him, topped with floral offerings. A small chamber held more than just air and stone. Srinivasan came down on his knees, overwhelmed with the presence of the Lord in front of him. It was not just another temple, it was the world of Shankaracharya relived, the world of Lord Shiva brought alive again within his mind, the world of Shankaracharya temple waking up another soul to itself, far away and above the familiar world, one that promised experiences beyond the realm of the self, soaking the soul in the air within these chilling ancient walls experiencing the meaning of perfect life.

An ancient cult, an ancient world, ancient stone and an ancient emblem of faith still alive after so many centuries to just wake up the inner realm within the mind of Srinivasan - Shankaracharya temple, a divine outpost to the world of the Lord, meant much more than just a dream.

Courtesy:
Takhat-e-Sulaiman / Shankaracharya Temple. Srinagar 1911
sgankaracharaya - KPLink.com photo gallery
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