101) Sri Manipuranta-rudita

— Appears then in Manipurna Chakra; devotee feels unreality of     wakeful state.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"We call it consciousness because it is not insentient like a rock or vaguely intelligent like a mammal (including human beings), but it is super-awake. It is super-wakefulness.

How do we know all this when we cannot experience higher consciousness through the mind? Here is the simple answer: As with so many things, we can infer its existence and nature from other experiences. This is a perfectly valid procedure. What is more, our inference is strengthened by the testimony of those who have either temporarily or permanently awakened as higher consciousness — the great mystics and adepts of the different religious traditions. Their accounts and descriptions are the most important evidence we have for higher consciousness. Easily the most remarkable thing about them is that across centuries and cultural boundaries, they are astonishingly similar. Six characteristics are typically mentioned:

1. It is impossible to describe the transcendental realization, or enlightenment, in satisfactory rational terms, because it is full of paradoxes. Of course, mystics and realizers have seldom kept silent but have typically endeavored to communicate their realization in many different ways in order to illumine others about their great discovery.

2. The sense of individuality is abolished, an event often spoken as "ego-death." One's identity is the Identity of all.

3. It is not a fall into unconsciousness but an ascent to perfect wakefulness.

4. It is an utterly blissful and benign condition of being.

5. It feels overwhelmingly real, and by comparison with it, our ordinary state of consciousness appears puny and illusory.

6. It is completely attractive and desirable."

Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking
(Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking, Inner Traditions International, 1997, p. 125-26.)

102) Sri Visnu-granthi-vibhedini

— Cuts Knot of Sri Vishnu; devotee perceives unreality of      individuality.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"Having himself "become Brahman by knowing Brahman," the guru understands that there is actually no duality of pupil and guru; in his teaching he is therefore living a double life. But he condescends to this, conforming to the illusory sphere of the manifold which surrounds him as a reflex, out of compassion, accepting again the attitude of duality because of the urgent desire for instruction on the part of the pupil who has come to him. The illumined teacher descends from the transcendental state of being to our lower plane of empirical pseudo-reality for the benefit of the unenlightened. This is comparable to the gracious act of an Incarnation in the mythology of Hinduism, when the highest God descends in the form of an illusionary manifestation (Visnu, for example as Krsna) for the sake of the release of devotees, or in the mythology of Mahayana Buddhism when a supremundane Buddha likewise descends. By this act the guru conforms to the dictum of the Vedic stanza: "To that pupil who has approached him with due courtesy, whose mind has become perfectly calm, and who has control over his senses, the wise teacher should impart truly the knowledge of Brahman through which one knows the imperishable Man (purusa), who is truly-and-externally-existent." "

Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India
(Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India, Princeton University Press, 1974, p. 420.)

103) Sri Agnachakrantaralastha

— She is inside the Ajna Chakra at the junction of the eyebrows.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"The Kingdom is the merging of Kundalini in the seventh chakra (subtle-somatic center) at the top of the brain (Sahasrara) the abode of the awakened Shakti (divine energy.) This chakra has been described in the great mandala of the Shri-Chakra in Shri Shankaracharya’s work the Saundarya-Lahari: The Flood of Beauty. It has been referred to as Buddha’s thousand petalled lotus.

The Gate is the sixth chakra on the path of Kundalini between and above the eyebrows (ajnya), referred to as the "third eye." It is the abode of Lord Jesus Christ, the one who mastered the Buddhi (intellect) and is the Bouddha.

The key to that Gate is the child-like surrender coming from the heart chakra (anahata) abode of Lord Shiva, which has been referred to by Lord Jesus: "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter." Luke 18.17."

Grégoire de Kalbermatten, The Advent
(G. de Kalbermatten, The Advent, The Life Eternal Trust Publishers, 1979, p. 25.)

104) Sri Rudra-granthi-vibhedini

— Cuts Knot of Sri Rudra; devotee becomes one with Cosmic     Consciousness.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"Higher consciousness is sometimes said to guide us. Thus, Hindus refer to it as the inner ruler (antaryamin.) But what does this mean? Is higher consciousness a kind of personality? The answer must be that it is far beyond anything we could conceive as either personal ir impersonal. It certainly cannot be less than the personal, being at the summit of the entire cosmic evolutionary process. It is the superpersonal, superconscious, superintelligent, superluminous Reality.

For practical, emotional reasons we may want to personalize higher consciousness and speak of grace, or divine guidance, or an infallible inner sense of direction in terms of our personal growth. Yet, it is just as valid to look upon it as an impersonal force (shakti in Hinduism) whose sheer presence, rather like the sun, obliges us to move and grow in a certain way — toward it. Light is omnipresent, yet it has apparent foci like the sun or other stars. So also higher consciousness is nonlocal, but it appears to have focal points — in enlightened beings, in sacred places or objects, or within our most inmost self.

In fact, the analogy with light is a good one, because those who have caught a glimpse of higher consciousness in unitive or mystical experiences, or those who have permanently realized it, describe their transformative state as luminous, illuminating, or enlightening."

Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking
(Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking, Inner Traditions International, 1997, p. 127.)

105) Sri Sahasrarambujarudha

— Dwells in Sahasrara Chakra of liberated souls as Saksi or     Witness.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

By Inner Guru's Grace, the True Lord is found.

Within your mind and body, see the Lord, and the filth of egotism shall depart.

Sitting in that place, sing the Glorious Praises of Her forever, and be absorbed in the True Word of the Shabad.

Those who close off the nine gates, and restrain the wandering mind, 
Come to dwell in the Home of the Tenth Gate (Dsam Duar).

There the Unstruck Melody of Shabad vibrates day and night. 
Through the Inner Guru's Teachings, the Shabad is heard.

Without the Shabad, there is only darkness within. 
The genuine article is not found, and the cycle of reincarnation does not end.

The key is in the hands of the True Inner Guru; No one else can open this door.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib,  (Maajh, Third Mehl, p. 124.)

"He is the sole Creator and sustainer of the universe, wherein every creature bears witness to His unity and lordship. But He is also just and merciful: His justice ensures order in His creation, in which nothing is believed to be out of place, and His mercy is unbounded and encompasses everything. His creating and ordering the universe is viewed as the act of prime mercy for which all things sing His glories. The God of the Qur’an, described as majestic and sovereign, is also a personal God; He is viewed as nearer to man than man’s jugular vein, and, whenever a person in need or distress calls him, He responds. Above all, He is the God of guidance and shows everything, particularly man, the right way, "the straight path." "

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica (1992)

110) Sri Kundalini

— She is coiled like a serpent. She is stated to assume 31/2 coils - the form in which Sri Lalita resides in sacrum bone of every human as potential state.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

This family Woman Kundalini entering the royal road Susumna,
Taking rest at intervals in the secret places (in the cakras),
Embraces the supreme husband and causes the nectar to flow (in the Sahasrara.)

Cintamanistava
(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama,
 The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

"That Kundalini in the Muladhara, sleeping in three and half coils, roused by Yogins, breaks through the six cakras as well as the three knots, called Brahma, Visnu, and Rudra-granthis and proceeding to the Sahasrara, from the moon’s orb, which is the pericarp of the lotus, She causes nectar to flow."

R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama
(R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama,
 The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988, p 87.)

The sakti called Kundalini in the form of a serpent, beautiful, fine as lotus, fibre, Resides in the Muladhara.

Biting the pericarp of the Muladhara which is like the pericarp of a lotus,

With its tail in its mouth and connected with the Brahmarandhra. . . .
This energy unites with Siva in the thousand-petalled lotus.

This should be known as the supreme state (para),
And it is the cause of final beatitude.

Vamakesvaratantra
(R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama,
 The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988, p 198.)

May Kundalini, whose movements are secret and who by the blaze of the fire,
By the illumination of the sun and by the brightness of the moon,
Cause the ambrosia to flow through the seventy-two thousand channels, 
And make us contented.

Sukasamitha
(R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama,
 The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988, p 198)

"The Kundalini Force

When the cosmic energy manifests itself as the life energy of living creatures, it is called kundalini energy or force. This force is the substance and cause of all energies of the mind and body. Vedanta does not regard mind and body as distinct entities. Both are manifested kundalini energy and the apparent diversity is just a question of degree of fineness. In its process of coarsening, the kundalini force makes no leaps. Consequently, there is no division line between mind and body — both are part of one continuous whole. Like everything else in the universe, the kundalini energy is constituted by the gunas and whatever goes on in the mind and body is owed to the interactions of these three forces. — In its purer forms, the kundalini force moves in a net of subtle channels (nadis) which resembles a finer counterpart of the net of nerves. The main channels are directly connected to the central nervous system and run from the top of the head, along the spinal cord to slightly above the perineum. Along these main channels are located seven centres (chakras) which serve as reservoirs for the kundalini energy. In its purer forms, the kundalini energy or force is too subtle to be detected and comprehended by any other means than the mind.

At the beginning of the creation of a new human, the kundalini force resides in sahasrara chakra at the top of the head and is one with the Ultimate Reality. At this stage the kundalini force is unmanifested. Its self-manifestation starts as it departs from the Ultimate Reality and descends through the chakras. During its descend, the kundalini force becomes more and more coarse. The first thing to be created is the mind, which is associated with ajna chakra at the center of the head. Next comes the creation of akasha, which is associated with vishuddhi chakra in the spinal cord in the neck. Then follows the creation of the other four elements — air, which is associated with anahata chakra in the spinal cord near the heart — fire, which is associated with manipura chakra in the spinal cord at the level of the navel — water, which is associated with swadhisthana chakra at the base of the spinal cord — earth, which is associated with muladhara chakra at a point slightly above the perineum. — After this initial arrival to muladhara chakra, a new human mind and body has come into existence.

Throughout life, all mental and physical activities get their energy from the chakra in which the kundalini force resides. In most persons, the kundalini force remains in muladhara chakra the whole life through. However, by means of the techniques of yoga and meditation, the kundalini force can be raised to higher chakras. During its initial descend from the sahasrara chakra, the kundalini force deposited some of its energy and powers in each chakra. Consequently, as long as the kundalini force remains in the muladhara chakra, only a minor portion is available. As the kundalini force is raised to higher chakras it regains its powers accordingly. Raising the force to a higher chakra corresponds to reaching a higher level of consciousness. Raising the kundalini force to sahasrara leads to reunification with the Ultimate Reality.

The description given above is rather simplified. It is the chakra, in which the major portion of the kundalini energy resides, that determines a person's fundamental nature. However, in most persons, portions of the kundalini force fluctuate between the various chakras and it is these fluctuations that determine the ups and downs we all are experiencing. In most persons, the force fluctuates mainly between the 2-3 lower chakras but occasionally a small portion may reach anahata chakra. — To raise the kundalini force to higher chakras, partially or fully, is usually an affair that takes a lot of disciplined effort. However, sometimes the kundalini force may rise spontaneously in an unprepared person. The kundalini force indeed is powerful, so a spontaneous rising always causes a lot of confusion in the minds of the persons it happens to. Some learn to handle the force, often resulting in great art or literature or the person may become one of these few who spread love by their mere presence. Others may end up as permanently mental diseased."

Steen Ingemann, Guide to Ultimate Reality
(Steen Ingemann, Guide to Ultimate Reality, www.rishi.dk/guide/)

"THE YOGI'S LIGHT

Swami, the illumined Yogiswara, invokes the release of the potent power hidden in each being, the power of Kundalini, to merge with the cosmic power of the eternal Reality through the heightened Dhyana-Sadhana of intense meditation and yogic awakening. In this poem, Swami revels in bliss as he hails the dormant, gracious Sakti to arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached! According to the Yoga Sastras, there runs through the spinal cord a canal called the Sushumna, at the base of which is a plexus called the Muladhara (basic), and at the crown in the cerebrum, the plexus called the Sahasrara (thousand-petalled lotus). In the basic plexus is stored the cosmic energy, an infinitesimal fraction of which is distributed throughout the body by the motor and sensory nerves, and mainly by the two columns of nerves called Ida and Pingala on either side of the Sushumna canal. This canal though existing in all living beings is closed except in the Yogi. He dispenses with motor and sensory nerves, opens the canal, sends through it all mental currents, makes the body a gigantic battery of will, and rouses the vast coiled up power called the Kundalini from the basic plexus to the thousand-petalled lotus in the head. As the power travels up the canal, higher and more wonderful powers of vision and knowledge are gained till the consummation of union with Siva is attained.

The transcendental experience of the commingling of the kinetic Sakti with the static power of Siva in the Brahmarandra is incommunicable, as the peace and bliss are beyond the experience of the phenomenal world:

"Behold the consummation of Siva and Sakti and eternal life is assured, my dear." "

Natchintanai. 41.

Himalayan Academy, 1998. www.hinduismtoday.kauai.hi.us/welcome.html

"God Agni as Kundalinî  (Full PDF File)

by Jeanine Miller

The cult of fire as the inner immortal ruler who raises the mortal to the level of immortals, as the link between heaven and earth, the messenger between gods and men, the divine sacrificial priest whom man evoked at break of dawn, reached its apotheosis in early Vedic times. Subsequently, however, it was reduced to a mere ritual bereft of its original pristine spiritual significance. Yet the early understanding was not completely lost, because the knowledge of the secret fire reappears as kundalinî in the later Upanishads, the Tantras, and the medieval scriptures of Hatha-Yoga. This again bespeaks of the astounding continuity of transmission of spiritual from the early Vedic era to classical Hinduism. . . ."

Jeanine Miller, God Agni as Kundalinî

"Kundalinî: Awakening the Serpent Power  (Full PDF File)

by Georg Feuerstein

The way we see the world depends on who we are. On the simplest level, a child walking down the street will readily spot all the toy stores, a penny-wise mother will see all the bargains displayed in shop windows, an architect will easily notice unusual buildings, and a taxi driver will be quick to spot house numbers. In each case, perception is selective, depending on the person's interest and attention. This extends to more significant aspects of life as well, such as our attitude to relationships, morality, work, leisure, health, sickness, pain, death, and the great beyond. These attitudes are shaped by all kinds of factors, karmic conditioning, as the Tantric scriptures would insist, being the most influential one. . . ."

Georg Feuerstein, Kundalinî: Awakening the Serpent Power
(Yoga Research and Education Centre, http://www.yrec.org/index.html)

112) Sri Bhavani

— Giver of Life to Universe.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"Allah, . . .

Creator of all, 2.29, 117; 6:73; creates and sustains all, 7:54; 11:6-7; 13:16-17; 21:30-33; 66:2-3; created all nature, 25:61-62; to Him belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, 3:180; 15:23; 19:40, n. 2492; gives Sustenance, 29:60-62; 51:58; Lord of Bounties, 3:174; His bounties open to all, 17:20-21; Most Bountiful, 96:3; . . . Cherisher and Sustainer, 10:32; . . . rain, corn and fruit, 16:10-11; night and day, sun, moon, and stars, gifts from heaven and earth, 16:12-13; creation of heaven and earth and man’s benefits, 27:60-61; originates and repeats creation, gives sustenance, 27:64; feeds creation, 29:60-62; sends rain and revives the earth, 29:63; made heaven and earth with all its produce, 31;10; . . . life, grains, fruits, and springs, 36:33-35; earth and the heavens, 41: 10-12, 51:47-48; heavens and earth, rains and life, 43:9-11; . . . grants the need of every creature, 55:29;"

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989)

114) Sri Bhavaranya-kutharika

— Confers moksa from samsara i.e. freedom from cycle of rebirths. 

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

". . . the belief in transmigration was an integral part of some early Christian communities, notably the followers of the Alexandrian teacher Origen, the most prolific of the church fathers. However, this teaching was explicitly anathematized by the church. Origen himself was condemned as a heretic by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D.

Yet, there are statements even in the New Testament suggesting that Jesus himself believed in the repeated return of souls. In a well-known biblical passage in the gospel of Matthew (16:13), Jesus asks his disciples: "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, ‘Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.’ " Both the question and the answer would be nonsensical without reference to rebirth, which was apparently a widely held belief among the Jews, who, like the Tibetans, were always looking for there incarnations of their great spiritual teachers. It is a curious and regrettable twist of fate that the church voted early on to outlaw this powerful teaching. Perhaps the ecclesiastical leaders felt that it would undermine the sense of urgency that they tried to instill in the faithful. For, if we are born again and again, what reason is there to take up the spiritual life now?

The prospect of multiple lives does not at all reduce the significance of the present life, which is an opportunity to disrupt the cycle of incarnation. But to become motivated to make the all-out spiritual effort necessary to break free from the conditional world in the form of the consensus trance, a person must first be overwhelmed by that suffering that is the fruit of all incarnations and be attracted to the ideal of liberation or, in Christian terms, the kingdom of God. And that is always a matter of spiritual ripening. "

Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking
(Georg Feuerstein, Lucid Waking, Inner Traditions International, 1997, p. 41.)

"Moksa looks beyond the stars, not to the village street. Moksa is the practical discipline of metaphysics. Its aim is not to establish the functions of the senses, evolve a valid theory of knowledge, or to control and refine methods of scientific approach to either the spectacle of nature or the documents of human history, but to rend the tangible veil. Moksa is a technique of transcending the senses in order to discover, know, and dwell at one with the timeless reality which underlines the dream of life in the world. Nature and man, in so far as they are visible, tangible, open to experience, the sage cognizes and interprets, but only to step through them to his ultimate metaphysical good."

Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India
(H. Zimmer, Philosophies of India, Princeton University Press, 1974, p. 43-4.)

"Students unraveling the principles of reincarnation often ask, "If reincarnation is true, why can't I remember my past lives?" They could easily ask another question: "Why do we not remember everything in detail in this life?" The memory capabilities, unless highly trained, are not that strong, especially after having endured the process of creating a new body through another family and establishing new memory patterns. However, there are people who do recall their past lives, in the very same way that they remember what they did yesterday. Former-life memory is that clear and vivid to them.

It is neither necessary nor advisable to pursue happenings, identities or relationships that may have existed in previous lives. After all, it is all now. We don't think it important to remember details of our childhood years, to wallow in happy or unhappy nostalgia. Why pursue the remembered residue of what has already come and gone? Now is the only time, and for the spiritual seeker, past life analysis or conjecture is an unnecessary waste of useful time and energy. Now is the sum of all prior thens. Be now. Be the being of yourself this very moment, and that will be the truest fulfillment of all past actions.

The validity of reincarnation and its attendant philosophy are difficult to prove, and yet science is on the threshold of discovering this universal mechanism. Science cannot ignore the overwhelming evidence, the thousands of level-headed people who claim to remember other lives or who have actually died and then returned to life, and the impressive literature spanning Hindu, Tibetan, Buddhist and Egyptian civilizations. Thus, the pursuit of various theories continues in an effort to bring theory into established law according to the reason and intellectual facilities of man. Those living in the heart chakra, anahatha, are able to cognize and know deeply the governing mechanism of rebirth from their own awakening.

There are at least three basic theories or schools of thought related to reincarnation. At first they may seem to conflict or contradict one another, but further elucidation indicates that they are all correct. They are just different aspects of a complex mechanism."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
(Himalayan Academy, 1998, www.hinduismtoday.kauai.hi.us/)

"More than half the world believes in reincarnation, but the modern Western religions do not. It’s understandable. Reincarnation threatens the hold the power seekers within the Church have over us. How can we be threatened with everlasting damnation, with being doomed to dance on the hot brimstone coals of hell, if death itself is not everlasting and, in fact, our souls reincarnate? Their power is based on fear, specifically on the fear that we shall burn forever in hell if we sin and do not repent our sins in this life. If we can atone for sins of this life in the next one, the fear is lessened and the whole basis of their power is shaken. In the Eastern religions, we pay for the sins of the last life in this one; if we improve, we have a better life next time and, eventually, are freed from the cycle of reincarnation and join the universal spirit when we realize that our soul and the Buddha soul are one.

But the process of reincarnation is neither a license to sin nor a debt to carry and be punished for until we purify ourselves. Karma is not about punishment, it is about learning. Reincarnation is a chance to improve ourselves and our world, a series of lessons leading to the realization that we share the spark of universal life. We are all part of the great cosmic consciousness. Why, then, would we be sent here with but one chance to prove our worthiness before we are cast eternally into hell? Is, then, a native in the wilds of Africa who lives and dies without ever hearing the teachings of Christ, but who does not sin in the Christian sense, cast into hell or accepted in the Kingdom of Heaven? Why would God put that African here in the first place if he or she cannot ever read the Bible and gain admittance to the heavenly realm?"

Walter Mercado
  Beyond The Horizon: Visions of a New Millennium
(Walter Mercado, Beyond The Horizon: Visions of a New Millennium,
 A Time Warner Company, 1997, p. 100-1.)

135) Sri Nirmala

— Pure

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

136) Sri Nitya

— Eternal.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

137) Sri Nirakara

— Formless

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

That (Brahman) is neither Devas, nor Daityas, nor human, nor animal, nor woman,
Nor eunuch, nor man, nor insect, nor quality, nor action, nor existence, 
Nor non-existence.
May victory attend Him, the Infinite who remains after all negation.

Vishnu Bhag. Purana

(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

As I have said, Devi is devoid of attributes, listen well, 
To the explanation of the meaning of these sayings.
Attributes (laksana) are the marks of devas, and qualities (guna) depend upon body.
This Devi is without qualities and cannot be distinguished by attributes.

Matsya and Padma Puranas, Svetasvataropanisad VI. 11

(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

143) Sri Nirupaplava

— Indestructible.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

154) Sri Nirupadhih

— Alone

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

155) Sri Nirisvara

— Supreme.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"The Shakti Principle in Puranas:

In the very beginning, there was the Primordial Supreme Principle. That itself is the transcendental Attribute-less, Form-less nirguna, nirAkara, parabrahma tattva. Out of Its own free will this Supreme Immensity split into two, and there appeared the Supreme Power, parA shakti. According the Bahvrucha- Upanishad, devI hi ekA agra AsIt| sA eva jagadanDam asrujat| tasyA eva brahmA ajIjanat| viShNur ajIjanat| rudro ajIjanat| sarve marudgaNa ajIjanat| gandharvA-aprasaH kinnaraU Aditya AdinaH samantAt ajIjanat| bhogyam ajIjanat| sarvam ajIjanat| sarva shaktim ajIjanat| anDajam, svEdajam, udbhijam, jarAyujam, yat kinchai tat prANi sthAvara jangama mAnuSham ajIjanat| sA eShA parA-shaktiH||

Every thing — movable, immovable, living and inanimate — all were created by Her, by this primordial Supreme Power — and we call her parAshakti!. And She herself declares in Devi Bhagavata, sarvam khalu idam eva aham| n anyad asti sanAtanam|| (All this is myself. None existed and exist but me!) As a spectrum of different colors are brought out (while passing a ray of white light) through a colorless field (of a prism) (Ref: ya eko avarNo bahudhA shaktiyogad varNAn anekAn nihitArtho dadhAti — Shvetashvatara. Up. 4.1), the Supreme One assumes the form of many.

Answering to the vision of the Vedic rishis who chanted "tvam strI tvam pumAn asi, tvam kumAra uta vA kumArI" (You are the Man and You are the Woman; You are the Boy and You yourself are the Girl! — Shveta. Upanishad. 4.3-4), Devi has affirmed, in Rigveda (1.10.125):

aham rudrebhir vasubhir charAmi| aham Adityair uta vishva-vedai|| aham mitrA varuNobhA vibharmi, aham indrAgnI aham ashvinobhA||

(I manifest in the forms of Rudra, Vasu, Aditya, Mitra, VaruNa, Indra, Agni and Ashnvini twins.)"

Shikaripura Harihareswara
(HOYSALA@worldnet.att.net) Thursday, 21 Aug 1997)

"But God is neither man nor woman. The clumsiness of language forces us to describe this supreme being in terms of gender, but its essence extends beyond that, encompassing all. God is the union of all the energy in the universe, feminine and masculine, yin and yang . . . And now, as we step into the Age of Aquarius, the good principles of all religions will be preserved and expanded upon in this golden age of spirituality. The beautiful and profound messages of the past will bloom in the new conscience of humanity. Women will take their place beside men as equals . . .

But the challenge for religions to adapt to the changes in people, to recognize that the meanings of the holy books are open to all of us, will crush some of the world’s most powerful churches and force them all to change forever."

Walter Mercado
  Beyond The Horizon: Visions of a New Millennium
(Walter Mercado, Beyond The Horizon: Visions of a New Millennium, A Time Warner Company, 1997, p. 66.)

167) Sri Papanasini

— Dispels all ignorance, or destroys sins.
— "By mere concentration on Her, sin becomes virtue."
     Brahmanda Purana

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"We know that our mind turns more readily to the world’s pleasures than to the vision of the soul. It is a bridge between the senses and the spirit; it is a secret enemy, and a treacherous friend, which can change our conduct without giving us time to consider. Patanjali advises the sadhakas to train the mind and cultivate discrimination, so that objects and events are seen only for what they are: then they cannot gain power over us. This is extremely difficult but an understanding of nature will help. We are matter (temporarily) and we live surrounded by matter. Interaction with matter or nature is the condition of our life. Without discrimination we cannot break free, but with understanding and practice we can use this interaction to reach the highest peace and bliss.

If we want to experience heaven on earth, we have to grasp the qualities of nature, the gunas, that is to say the polarity of rajas and tamas, the eternal pulse of nature between movement and stillness, and the higher balancing state of sattva. . . .

If we understand the flow of these forces, we can reach balance, and from balance go on to true freedom. If not, we are swayed from one extreme to another, between pleasure and another pain. Yoga, says Patanjali, is the way to harmonize ourselves at every level with the natural order of the universe, from the physical to the most subtle, to reach the total state of health which brings stability, to cultivate the mind with real understanding, and to reach out ultimately to undifferentiated infinity."

BKS Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
(BKS Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996, p. 128-29.)

169) Sri Krodha-Samani

— Destroys anger of devotees.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"Self-control is necessary for any spiritual progress. Unruly thoughts, attractions of the senses, lustful desires, anger, covetousness, and avarice constantly arise in the mind of the person who has no mental discipline; and these impel him to do evil deeds. If a person cannot direct his thoughts, desires, and actions according to his own will, how can he possibly direct his soul to God and keep his life on the path of truth? Unless the higher mind is strengthened and given the will power to master the impulses of the flesh mind, there will be little room for God to dwell with that mind. Thus, central to the religious life is self-control."

World Scripture, International Religious Foundation
(World Scripture, Int. Religious Foundation, Paragon House Pub., 1995, p. 522.)

That man is disciplined and happy who can prevail over the turmoil,
That springs from desire and anger, here on earth,
Before he leaves his body.

Bhagavad Gita 5.23

171) Sri Lobha-Nasini

— Destroys greed of devotees.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

173) Sri Samsayaghni

— Destroys doubts of devotees.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

He is the guru who is without doubt the remover of doubt and expects nothing.

Tantraraja

(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

The flickering, fickle mind, difficult to guard, difficult to control — 
The wise straighten it as a fletcher straightens an arrow.

Like a fish that is drawn from its watery abode, and thrown upon land, 
Even so does this mind flutter.

Hence should the realm of the passions be shunned. 
The mind is hard to check, swift, flits wherever it lists:

To control it is good. A controlled mind is conducive to happiness.

The mind is very hard to perceive, extremely subtle, flits wherever it lists.

Let the wise person guard it; A guarded mind is conducive to happiness.

Faring far, wandering alone, bodiless, lying in a cave, is the mind. 
Those who subdue it are freed from the bonds of Mara.

Dhammapada 33-37

Though a man should conquer, thousands and thousands of valiant foes,

Greater will be his victory if he conquers nobody but himself. 
Fight with yourself; why fight with external foes?

He who conquers himself through himself will obtain happiness.

Difficult to conquer is oneself; but when that is conquered, everything is conquered.

Uttaradhyayana Sutra 9.34-36

Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot; 
That the intellect is the charioteer, and the mind the reins.
The senses, say the wise, are the horses; 
The roads they travel are the mazes of desire. . . .
When a man lacks discrimination and mind is uncontrolled, 
His senses are unmanageable, like the restive horses of a charioteer.
But when a man has discrimination and his mind is controlled, 
His senses, like the well-broken horses of a charioteer, lightly obey the rein.

Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-6

It is true that the mind is restless and difficult to control. 
But it can be conquered, Arjuna, through regular practice and detachment.
Those who lack self-control, will find it difficult to progress in meditation;
But those who are self-controlled, striving earnestly through the right means, 
Will attain the goal.

Bhagavad Gita 6.35-36

174) Sri Nirbhava

— Unborn.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

"God is unborn

God is never born, nor does He, therefore, die. There is no cause of His existence because He Himself is the Cause of all causes. How can then He be born? He is not incarnate in any physical body, be it of man or animal.

God is the Final Cause. About it Aristotle says:

"Surely motion has a source; if we are not to plunge drearily into an infinite regress, putting back our problem, step by step, endlessly, we must posit a prime mover unmoved, a being incorporeal, indivisible, spaceless, sexless, passionless, changeless and eternal." "

Pritam Singh Gill, The Trinity of Sikhism
(P. S. Gill, The Trinity of Sikhism, N A Pubs. Co., Jullundur, India, 1990, p. 78.)

175) Sri Nirnasa

— Deathless.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

184) Sri Nistula

— Unequalled.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

190) Sri Durga

— Protectress.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

Known by the name of Protectress, the Goddess girth by Eternal Law,
By Her beauty are these trees green, and have put on their green garland.

Atharva Veda 10.8.31

191) Sri Duhkhantri

— Destroys sorrow of devotees.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

Salvation is the complete release from that (pain.)

Gautama-sutra (I. 22)

196) Sri Sarvajna

— Omniscient.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

One who perceives all and knows all.

Mundakopanishad (I. 1. 9)

As She knows everything She is called Omniscient.

Devi Purana

(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

198) Sri Samanadhika-Varjita

— Supreme; none to equal or excel Her.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

As a thousand sparks from a fire well blazing spring forth, each one like the rest, so from the Imperishable all kinds of beings come forth, my dear, and to Her return.

Divine and formless is the Person; She is inside and outside, She is not begotten, is not breath or mind; Utterly pure, farther than the farthest Imperishable.

From Her springs forth the breath of life, the power of thought and all the senses, space, wind, light, and water, and earth, the great supporter of all.

Fire is Her head, the sun and moon Her eyes, the compass points Her ears. The revealed Vedas are Her word. The wind is Her breath, Her heart is the all. From Her feet proceeded the earth. In truth, She is the inner atman of all beings.

From Her comes fire with its fuel, the sun; From the moon comes rain, thence plants on the earth. The male pours seed into the female; Thus from the Person creatures are born.

From Her come hymns, songs, and sacrificial formulas, Initiations, sacrifices, rites, and all offerings. From Her come the year, the sacrificer, and the worlds in which the moon shines forth, and the sun.

From Her take their origin the numerous Gods, The heavenly beings, men, beasts, and birds, The in-breath and the out-breath, rice and barley, ascetic fervor, faith, truth, purity, and law.

From Her take their origin the seven breaths, the seven flames, their fuel, the seven oblations; From Her these seven worlds in which the breaths, are moving each time seven and hidden in secret.

From Her come the oceans, from Her the mountains, from Her come all plants together with their juices — With all beings She abides as their inmost atman.

The Person is all this — Work, ascetic fervor, Brahman, supreme immortality. Who knows that which is hidden in the secret cave, he cuts here and now, my dear, the knot of ignorance.

Mundakopanisad II, 1, 1-10

Thou art the Supreme Sakti, Infinite, Supreme Ruler, devoid of all differences, 
And destroyer of all difference. . . .
Some ignorant persons say there is a difference between Sakti,
And the possessor of it (Siva),
But those Yogins who meditate on reality, recognize non-separateness.

Kurma Purana

(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

199) Sri Sarva-Sakti-Mayi

— The Mother of all Powers and Energies such as Mahakali,     Mahlaksmi and Mahasaraswati.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

That breast of Thine which is inexhaustible, health-giving,
By which Thou nursest all that is noble,
Containing treasure, bearing wealth, bestowed freely; 
Lay that bare, Saraswati [Divine Mother], for our nurture.

Rig Veda 1.164.49

200) Sri Sarva-mangala

— The source of all good (auspicious), or the name of the spouse of     Siva.

Sri Lalita Sahasranama
(Sri Lalita Sahasranama, C. S. Murthy, Ass. Advertisers and Printers, 1989.)

She gives all the good fortune (longed for) in the heart, all desired good objects, 
Hence She is called Sarvamangala.
And She removes the pain of the devotees,
And gives to Hara all the best and choicest things, hence, Sarvamangala.

Devi Purana

(source: R. A. Sastry, Lalita-Sahasranama, The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, 1988.)

"Bolo Shiv Shiv Shambhu bam bam bam Are gao re, ye nam har.dam, ye nam hardam jab tak hai bhayi dam me dam, bhayi dam me dam

Let’s all take the name of Lord Shiva and remember his powers all the same.

O God who brings Pralay (the total destruction of the creation), who is very powerful and also can be very terrible, O Lord Shankar, You govern us. You are the whole cosmos. You are the Greatest Lord, and one who knows everything subtle and gross within us.

You are the Father of this whole world.

Lord Shiva is the eternal Witness. He is the embodiment of Compassion. Lord Shiva is also known for His patience and self control. Shivji is the Salvation. Shivji is the Shakti, and also Shivji is the essence of devotion. No one should underestimate the Glory of Lord Shiva."

Music of Joy 2: Music to awaken the Spirit
(Sahaja Yoga Bhajans Group)