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Who is Śrī Lalitā Devī? An Contemplative Introduction to Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma

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222 Who is Śrī Lalitā Devī? From Upāsya Devatā to the Upaniṣadic Brahman Śrī Mātre namaḥ. Śrī Vāśinyādi Vāgdevatābhyo namaḥ. Śrī Hayagrīvāya namaḥ. Śrī Lopāmudrā-Agastya Divya-Dampatibhyāṃ namaḥ. Śrī Dvādaśopāsakebhyo namaḥ. Śrī Guru-Sampradāyebhyo namo namaḥ. Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācāryāya namaḥ. Śrī Bhāskararāya Svāmine namo namaḥ. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsāya namo namaḥ. Śrī Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Gurubhyo namaḥ. A devotee of Ambāl (Divine Mother), when first encountering Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma, may naturally ask: What is the tattvam, rūpam and itihāsam of Sri Lalitā Devī? Who exactly is Śrī Lalitā Devī? Is She Sri Pārvatī? Is She Sri Durgā? Is She Sri Lakṣmī? Is She Sri Sarasvatī? What is special about Srimad Lalitā Sahasranāma, and why does our sampradāya accord it such an extraordinary position? The simplest revelation is: Śrī Lalitā Devī is Īśvarī = Brahman = Ātman, the Self = Guru. Śrī Lalitā Devī is not “yet another” Devī or Ambāl alongside Śrī Pārvatī, Śrī Lakṣmī, Śrī Sarasvatī ...
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Sat-Chit-Ānanda: A Stepwise Contemplation

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Context: Reflection on https://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part1kurall69.htm  தான் உள்ளதாகவே உணராத ஒன்று இருந்தும் இல்லாதது மாதிரிதான். ‘ஸத்’ தாகிய பிரம்மத்துக்கு, தான் இருப்பதாக அறிவு இருப்பதால்தான் தன் சக்தியை இத்தனை தோற்றங்களாகக் காட்ட முடிகிறது. இப்படியாக ‘ஸத்’ தன்னைத்தானே அறிந்துகொள்வதைத்தான் ‘சித்’ என்கிறோம். ஞானம் என்றும் அறிவு என்றும் சொல்வது அதைத்தான். ‘ஸத்’ என்பது ஈசுவரன். ‘சித்’என்பதே அம்பிகை. தன்னையே அறிந்து கொள்ளும்போதுதான் ஆனந்தம் என்கிற உணர்வு உண்டாகிறது. ஈசுவரனும் அம்பாளும் – காமேசுவரனும் காமாக்ஷியும் சேர்ந்து – ‘ஸத்சித்’ஆனந்த பிரம்மமாக இருக்கிறார்கள். 1. Sat is pure existence Brahman is not something that possesses existence. Brahman is existence itself, Sat. Ātman is Brahman. Therefore, the Self is not merely an existent individual. The Self is the very existence because of which the body, mind, thoughts, and world are experienced as existing. Begin with the undeniable recognition: I exist. Before saying, “I am this body,” “I am this person,” or “I am happy,” there is ...
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Seeing the Tree Through the Ripe Fruit

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Seeing the Tree Through the Ripe Fruit An Exercise in Viveka «" Do you judge of an apple tree and the taste of its fruits by the unripe, undeveloped, worm-eaten ones that strew the ground, large even though their number be sometimes? If there is one ripe developed fruit, that one would indicate the powers, the possibility and the purpose of the apple tree and not hundreds that could not grow." Swami Vivekananda, Letter to H.H. the Maharaja of Khetri» Swamiji's analogy is an invitation to cultivate viveka, the capacity to distinguish the essential from the incidental, the permanent from the changing, and ultimately the Ātma from the anātma. Ordinarily, our attention is drawn to imperfections. We define a person by a few mistakes, a family by its difficulties, an institution by its failures, and often ourselves by our upādhis. This habit of thought arises because we identify entirely with the realm of anātma, the world of body, mind, personality, circumstances, ...
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