Re: Different views of śakti or mAyA?
namaste everyone.
Yajvan has explained the concept of Reality very well in his post no.12 as the combined truth of Shiva, Shakti and mAyA, which is universally crystalized in the form of aham--I-ness. In other words, it is the transition of NirguNa Brahman from Shiva who is sthANu--motionless, through SaguNa Brahman as Shakti to the jagat--world, as mAyA, which is perceived as reality by the aham--I-ness.
How identical--or different--are these three entities Shiva, Shakti and mAyA?
• Shiva as NirguNa Brahman could not have become Ishvara as SaguNa Brahman without Shakti, which is why Shakti takes a half of his manifest rUpam--form, as ArdhanarIshvara, and withdraws herself to freeze into him when he is in the sthANu form of DakShiNAmUrti. Since there is no SaguNa Brahman without Shakti, our Gods we worship as the Ultimate Reality are paired with their consorts.
• NirguNa Brahman is actionless and motionless, so it cannot create the world. But once it wishes to know itself better, its hidden power--Shakti, comes to the fore as Ishvara and it is she by her naTanam--dance, of lAsyam--artful and pleasing dance, in the form of LakShmI and SarasvatI, and tANDavam--dance of vigour and passion, in the form of DurgA and KALI, brings up the mAyA of the world.
• So, mAyA is her crystallized forms of illusion that we see as objects of matter in the world. We know it very well that forms are anitya--transient, and yet in our state of aham--I-ness, we cannot see the illusion behind the transient reality of the world and seek to identify the Self with the aham--ego, and consider the forms as part and features of the Self.
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Another interpretation of mAyA is yA--who (which Goddess), does-mA--make a show, of the world which is not really there, hence the connection between paraAshakti and mAyA.
• So long as we are under the influence of the avidyA--ignorance, of mAyA, we fail to see the Shakti behind it, so we adore and worship her with bhakti--devotion, to lift us from mAyA's influence.
• mAyA is avidhyA--ignorance, of faulty identification with the world. Shakti is vidyA--the science of knowledge of Shivam--Brahman. mAyA are the puppets she creates in the show of the world. She is the puppeteer behind the scenes, the puppets she create and action of the show--everything essentially. samsAram--worldly life, and mukti--liberation are both only her actions.
• As we as her bhaktas--devotees, become increasingly aware of her as the ParAshakti, she gives us glimpses of darshan of Shiva, of ViShNu, and KRShNa who represent the NirguNa Brahman behind her. This is why she is described as the mukham--mouth/face, and DevI--the sporting, shining Goddess, of Shiva, as Yajavan has pointed out.
• It is she, parAshakti, as Shiva's consort, manifesting as DurgA-LakShmI-SarasvatI, makes a show of the reality of the mAyA--illusory, changing world. This is the reason parAshakti in all her three manifestations, has the epithet mahAmAyA:
‣ mahAmAya mahAsattva mahAshaktiH mahAratIH--LalitA sahasranAmam
‣ namastEstu MahAmAye shripIthe surapUjitE--MahAlakshmI aShTaka stotram
‣ SarasvatI mahAbhadra, mahAmAyA varaprada--SarasvatI stotram
• This is the reason that 'DevI mahAtmyam' in a whole lot of shlokas, adores her, parAshakti, with the words 'namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaH'--saying one namaste for each TrimUrti.
• The term DevI itself springs up from the root div--to shine, be bright, so she is the shining lamp placed between Brahman and the world. So long as Brahman is not aware of his shakti--power, it is inert. Once it starts knowing it, it becomes the light of DevI, and with that light creates the jagat--world.
• She is known as BhagavatI, that is, one who has the bhagam; bhagam itself means aishvaryam, that which belongs to Ishvara, but only she as IshvarI is the Ishvara, so all that aishvaryam is only hers. The term bhagat comprises of six types of sampad--fullness:
‣ aishvaryam--sovereignity, her power of ruling over the world;
‣ dharma, her ruling over the world in dharma, not in tyranny;
‣ kIrti--fame, praise of her guNa-sampad--features of excellence as the ruler;
‣ dhanam--wealth, the whole creation with its forms is only her creation, and she is the life of all the beings in the forms;
‣ vairAgyam--freedom from desires; although she owns the world as her wealth, she does not enjoy ruling over it; instead she lets the physical laws and spiritual laws of karma rule over the world and stays as a witness;
‣ mokSham--the state of liberation. All her vairAgyam is only with the jaDa-prapancha--insentient universe. She has immense love for the chetana jIvas--sentient beings, of the universe. After all, they are all her children, only she in different forms, so she leads every sentient being up the curve of creation to mokSha.
‣ Love is born only if there is mind. Just as a fruit is reddened when it becomes ripe, the mind when matured becomes prema-maya--full of love.
‣ The term rAga indicates love and the hue of redness. The term rakta--reddened/red/blood, derives from rAga. In the absence of this blush of love, a person becomes virakta--unaffected, and virAga--without feeling.
‣ Therefore, she does not remain aloof in vairAgya, when the jIvas move towards or away from her (using the liberty of freewill she gave them), but becomes rAgamaya--full of love, karuNAmaya--full of compassion, and gives them her anugraham--divine favour, of discovering their source and moving towards it, and ultimately reaches them in mokSha.
Such is her lIlA--sport, in the mAyA--show, of the world she created. She is the mohadAyinI--one who gives the illusion; she is the mokShadAyinI--one who leads to liberation. She is the mahAmAya as well as ParAshakti who has her source in Brahman.
The term 'hrI' in Sanskrit means 'shyness'. Shakti due to her femininity never reveals herself as the source, she has such shyness. The bIja-mantra called devIpraNava of AdiShakti is 'hrIm', indicating the hrI--shyness, in her.
When Brahman is adored as the PuruSha in the PuruShasUktam, it says, 'both hrI and shrI are your patnis--wives.' LakShmI as shrI expresses herself as the lakSha--marks/appearance, of the world, while Shakti as hrI hides herself behind in shyness. Both the Aitereya (1.3.14) and the BRhadAraNyaka UpaniShad (4.2.2) describe the Devas as 'parokSha priya hi devaH'--'one who is fond of hiding things in symbolism'.
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रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
Originally Posted by Snip
of this, consider this HDF string: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3758
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