COMMENTS


Tanya
April 21, 2025 09:04 PM

Thanks for explaining this however, can you please tell me the order of Kavach, Dhyan Mantra, Strotam and Mantra Japa? I will greatly appreciate the reply.

Nesh
April 21, 2025 08:04 PM

Namaste Annadatta. Honestly I am not sure. I have been curious about this. So far, the tithis at the sunset time have been what I go by, and then I just go in sequence. for any given day, from sunrise to midnight, I focus on a single nitya, but as you note, the tithis sometimes change mid day. I am not sure if there is a more aligned way to do it. So far, I’ve kept in sync with the proper tithi by the end of the day. I am not sure overall

Dylan
April 21, 2025 07:04 PM

Namaste Prince. a) The association between Kālī and Lakṣmī goes back a long way, and Siddhalakṣmī is representative of that. There is a passage in the Jayadrathayāmala Tantra, an early Kālī Tantra, which reads: "If the five rays of the senses within the Shining One shine within the fivefold nature of their objects, then the one who is the Five Abodes of the senses transcends the five objects. If the Wheel of Lakṣmī unfolds within the world which is the root Kula within the abode the objects of perception, then the Sound of the supernal Sun is well established." Here the dynamism of Kālī, the "supernal Sun", which unfolds through and as the universe is called the "Wheel of Lakṣmī". There is also a series of dhyāna ślokas in the Kulakaulinīmata which equates Kālasaṁkarṣiṇī with Vaiṣṇavī, and in that same vein, the Bhairava is called Narasiṁha, although the visualized forms of both are extremely frightening with lots of destructive symbolism, much unlike the more common representations. There is also a very interesting passage therein which, though not related to the topic at hand, I think is very interesting anyway, so I will provide it here: "She is Māyā, Vaiṣṇavī who, well established, is hard to remove. She is Mohanī, but once known, She gives liberation. She is Kālasaṁkarṣiṇī. She is Bhairavī, the destroyer of time, said to be the one energy. The one energy abides in many forms, like the moon reflected in water. She is the ray of the Fire of the God of gods, She bestows long life and accomplishment to men. As Vaiṣṇavī, She is Māyā. Amongst the devotees of Brahmā, She is Gāyatrī. Amongst the Sauras, She is the Queen whose form is light. Amongst the Arhantas, She is the Mother. Amongst the Bauddhas, She is Tārā. In the Kula She is Nityā, and amongst those who study, She is Sarasvatī." The Jayadrathayāmala explains why Kālī and Lakṣmī are equated: "She who is Śuṣkā... is said to be Mahālakṣmī. She brings all good fortune and is the supreme destroyer of death. She resides within the Wheel of the Heart and the navel and is greedy to devour the senses. She is present in all the functions of the body and mind. She is the Goddess of the Lord of the Wheel of Kula." With all that in mind, I suggest you read through the Śrī Pratyaṅgirā Siddhilakṣmī Stotram on this website. I'm sure you will see the connections. b) Kāmakalākālī is explained a bit by Sthaneshwar Timalsina: "The image of Kāmakalā exemplifies conceptual integration, with nuances from different transmissions of the deities balancing her image. The central goddess identified with passion is Tripurā, and the goddess Kāmakalā embodies her characteristics. Just as Tripurā is addressed as ‘the mistress of desire’ (Kāmeśvarī) and is visualized in union with Kāmeśvara, so also is Kāmakalā identified as the ‘aspect of desire,’ and depicted in amorous embrace... Since kāma stands for both passion and will, Kāmakalā in the Kālī emanation and Kāmeśvarī in the emanation of Tripurā personify both erotic desire and pure will. By embodying these two aspects, Kāmakalā not only portrays time, but also demonstrates passion. Being the aspect of time, she brings to mind the concepts of death, fear, and disgust, while embracing the aspects of desire. In her image, the fear of annihilation meets eroticism, as she is described as ‘eager to mate’ (ratāturā)... In Kāmakalā’s lustful gestures, desire masks death lurking within, whereas in her horrific image, unending bliss is concealed... As Kāmakalā, she embodies form, and by assuming form, she becomes the phenomenal world. This embrace of externals is vivid in her role of consumption, and in the form of Kāmakalā, she is the materialized ‘fire of passion’ (kāmāgni). The Kāmakalā emanation depicts two aspects in the sequence of Krama, the nameless (anākhyā) and shining (bhāsā) states that signify the enchanting and repelling aspects of time, manifest in the form of desire and death. As bhāsā, she is the throb or pulsation to externalize, and as anākhyā, she is what she is, beyond name and form. These two aspects signify Śiva’s role of the emanation and reabsorption of the world, described in terms of unmeṣa and nimeṣa, the opening and closing of the eyelids. By embracing the paradoxical aspects of immanence and transcendence, Kāmakalā Kālī depicts the intrinsic tension of consciousness – emergence, passionate desire, and the volition to transcend externality and reside in itself." c) Kālasaṅkarṣiṇī is the highest "form" of Kālī in the classical Kālikākrama, the seventeenth digit of the moon which is the unchanging ground from which all the others arise and into which they are withdrawn. This is exemplified in Her seventeen-syllable vidyā. In relation to Guhyakālī, She is represented as the small flame just above Guhyakālī's uppermost head, embodying pure consciousness.

Annadata
April 21, 2025 05:04 PM

Dear Nesh, may I request you please clarify my doubt? In the above nitya devi sadhana, what if there are 2 tithis in a day?

monali
April 21, 2025 04:04 PM

totally appreciate it. If not 12am whc is the next best time as I generally do bet 9-11pm & i get dead tired and crash usually by 10:30pm. All my life I have had good sleep at nite & never stayed awake till late and it gets difficult to do such a time. Also what is this body tattva you had mentioned that it should be capable of taking the energy?? My body muscles have become very loose, organs are fairly healthy at the moment. I used to have bad digestive issues most of my life and after an ayurvedic panchkarma managed to treat it and now I know what to eat or fast if anything goes haywire again. Also wanted to check the mind gets caught up in random thoughts even during sadhana & it gets difficult to keep Maa on highest focus during that time too though I try my best i always feel this mind fails to co-operate. I do manage to sit on the floor through the session and change my leg position 4-6 times as I am not used to sitting in one spot in one leg position for a long length of time. I guess over time it will get better and I will mng one position soon. And I can continue with Bhuvaneshwari Maa pooja in the morn while i do this Pratyangira sadhana or do i need to stop that for these 7 days.

Narasimha Sumanth
April 21, 2025 02:04 PM

from Maharnava Ganesa kalānyāsa, i see the following corrections, for number 16 - it is mentioned as "ganesa suréșībhyām" in maharnava, while it is present here as "suréșa gananāyakībhyām" for number 39 - instead of "matta-rāśi prabhābhyāṃ" it should be "matta-śāśi prabhābhyāṃ" which i believe means intoxicated but shining like moon for number 40 - instead of "vimalaloma locanābhyāṃ" it should be "vimatta-lōlalocanābhyāṃ" eyes with playful nature for number 42 - instead of "tvam-ātmabhyāṃ" it should be "tvag-ātmabhyāṃ", with the tvaga dhātu representing skin for number 50 - instead of "vyāsī kālarātribhyāṃ" it should be "vyāptī kālarātribhyāṃ" for number 51 - for the ksham bijam it is mentioned as "paramātmabhyām" instead of "krodhātmabhyāṃ"

Prince
April 21, 2025 07:04 AM

Thank you Dylan and Omid. We have fresh new perspectives on mother guhyakali's faces and colours. We will now move on to the second week of discussion about the differences between Mother Guhyakali's manifestations/krama as there is much to be elucidated and learnt. as always humbly asking the input of everyone here. Here are the questions for our study for this week. a) Who is mother Siddhilakshmi in relation to Guhyakali ? please refer to this image : https://rubinmuseum.org/collection/c2003-38-2/ from the image from Rubin Museum it appears that siddhilakshmi is being flanked by guhyakali and kamakala bhagavati. b) who is Kamakalakali in relation to Guhyakali ? c) who is kalasankarsini in relation to Guhyakali ?

Prince
April 21, 2025 06:04 AM

thank you Dylan. this is a new perspective in my mind now. excellent work.

Prince
April 21, 2025 06:04 AM

excellent comment omid. thank you

Koman
April 20, 2025 07:04 PM

Namaste Sumit, you are right. We insights from people who have gone through this. Urga deities are not easy to worship even if we were properly initiated.