Matruka

The Matrika as mantra-rupini

The term matrika means a storehouse of sounds syllables, and logos, as the Mother of the spoken word (vaak-devi). All that we think, imagine, desire, aspire and dream begin here.

  “The Matrika-chakra’ is the divine plan (Sri-yantra) of the universe expressed in words and syllables of fifty letters accompanied in the rays of the Light as Kala (Sun) and sustains the universe; the vowels are 16 aspects (15 of the nights and one transcendent) of soma, the moon, (and the remaining) the consonants from ‘ka’ till ‘bha’ are the twenty-four aspects of the sun (surya), and the consonants from‘ma’ till the lastare ten aspects of agni, anala, the fire.” (SKR)

Shodashendroh kalaa bhaanordvirdvaadasha dashanalE |

saa panchashatkalaa jnyeya maatrukaa chakrarupinee ||

“Thus the matrika-chakra is Tripura consisting of trivrutta or three khanda (parts)- the three aspects of devi- as chit shakti or jnyana shakti, iccha shakti, and kriyashakti. She is vaagishvari in vagbhava-kuta, kameshvariin kamaraja-kuta, andparashakti in Shakti-kuta (shakti chakra)”. Vamakeshwara tantra puts it as

  Tripura trividha devibrahmavishnavisharupini |

   Jnyanashaktikriyashaktiricchashaktyatmikaa priye||

  The source of mantra, according to the epics (purana), is traced to prana,the vital-breath,or symbolically enough, the proverbial Vayuputra Hanuman, the faithful servant of avatara purusha of tretayuga Sri Ramachandra. He is the ‘mukhya prana’. So, we have the mantra- ‘hanuman chalisa’. Much has already been said about the Pranava- the ‘Om’, and, hence, the temptation to go into it again is desisted here; so also, about the well- known Gayathri mantra.‘Matrika’- the ‘metre’, or ‘chhandas’, the arrangement of the syllables, and the devataas depicted in the ‘Sri Chakra’ will give us the secrets of origin of the mantras. The sounds and syllables emanating from the different parts of the body are shown in the diagrammatic presentation of the seven plexus, chakras. These chakras are normally not activated and as such we fail to get their benefit. Those who take to ‘Kundalini-yoga’ get the chance to activate these chakras and experience the power inherent in them.

Sadhaka may, depending on their anthahkarana shuddhi, meditate on Devi chanting the following mantra within their heart, except the last single-word secret one without initiation.

TIPURASUNDARI DEVI UPASANA

IN DHYANA- MANTROPASANA

Manifestation of Devi in Shree chakra

Aim|SrIM klIM hsou ||

aim | ka ye I la | hrIM ||

klIM | ha sa ka ha la |hrIM ||

 hsou | sa ka la | hrIM ||

SrIM ||

Gayathri Bala Tripura mantra is:

klIM | tripuradevi vidhmahE| kameshvari dhimahi |

tannah klinnaa prachodayaat || (Aditya Purana)

A complete mantra shall normally have a bija,a pinda, a pada, and samjnya. However, there are Ekakshara, dvyakshari, and tryaksharior panchakshari mantra, as also, a complete sentence by itself starting with Om, aiM or hrIM and ending with svaha or namah. Care must be taken to pronounce the mantra with appropriate phonetic precision to get the full benefit. Each mantra has to be chanted a certain number of timesfor a certain number of days as per the instructions of the Guru in order to be effective.

DeviChaitanyabhaiavi represents the third unit Shakti-kuta and her mantra is:

Souh | sa ka la hrIM souh |

Bala Mantra:

tryakshari: hrIM klIM hsou |

panchakshari: EM klIM souh hrIM EM klIM |

nava akshara: SRIM klIM hrIM EM klIM souh hrIM klIM SRIM |

dashakshari: EM klIM souh bala tripurE svaha |

[Note: sa= Bhrugu, ka= brahma, ra= anala (agni), m= soma, kSha= vaak, ma maha Kaala, r= Vishnu].

Bijamantra- ‘ka’, ‘la’, ‘I’

Ka kaare sarvamutpannam kaamakaivalyadaayakam |

La kaare sakalaishvaryam I kaare sarvasoukhyadam |

 Evam bijatrayam devi vidyaanam saarasangraham ||

Gayathri Bala Tripura Devi mantra: klIM tripuradevi vidhmahE|

kameshvari dhimahi| tannah klinnaaprachodayaat ||

  Since Devi as the Shakti pervades every vital breath and its sound, the svara, vyanjana, akshara, pada are all loades with daivIshakti. The manifest powers of ‘a’ are innumerable. It is the personification of brahman, and everything depends on this sound and letter/syllable for its support and sustenance! So also, the two other prime letters ‘u’ and ‘m’, ‘sa’ and ‘ha’ and hamsa and so’ham! kSha is the very soul of the universe. Akasha (viyat) is ‘ka’, ‘kha’ where ‘a’ is added to ‘k’ and ‘h’ (all in Samskruta bhasha not in English Language).

The seven syllables/Letters/hRusva svara- a, i, u, ru, Lu, E, O and deergha svara-A, I, L,U, ai, ou, and am. These are the seeds of creation wherefrom manifest the Soma (Moon) and Surya (Sun) 7 +7 +2- ‘am’ and ‘ah’ (visarga ( : ), respectively giving rise to pruthvi, jal, light, air and space (5); so also, strength (bala), potency (potency), glamour/enlightenment (tejas), power (shakti) and resources (aishvarya)Soma stands for cool, bliss, desire, strength from the first 7 hrusva svara- alphabets (vowels); surya or sun stands for grasping power, light, sharpness, intelligence, projection, agitation and maturity.

  Once we know how the five Great Elements (pancha mahabhuta) manifest from the syllables ofka-varga; thetanmatra from cha-varga; thekarma and jnyana indriyafrom Ta-varga and ta-varga, respectively, followed by the manas, buddhi, ahankara, chitta and mamakara from pa-varga, and finally the very powers of creation and sustenance from the remaining akshara from ya to va and sha to ha. Finally, ‘kSha’ remains unaffected with all that it encompass and, ‘aa’Akasha- holding, encompassing, and pervading everything! These are the mysterious powers of Devi as ‘Paraa-Shakti’, akshararupini, or ‘matrika. 

Kundalini yoga and CHAKRA-DHYAN(Tantric Worship in Meditation)

   ‘Kundalini’ is the form of the Goddess residing in the muladhara as a coiled serpent asleep. As long as this energy is dormant, the jiva is engaged in outward sensuous life and lives an ordinary life like any other animal unconscious of its hidden powers and strength. When kundalini is activated the jiva turns inward and takes to spiritual practices.

The adepts who take to Kundalini yoga have to go step by step, starting from muladhara chakra to reach the sahasrara chakra in a gradual manner. Bijakshara mantra japa and chakra dhyana are suggested for this purpose. There are seven steps to sahasrara and it starts from the muladhara with ‘lam’ as the Bijakshara. This will be discussed separately.

However, an effort is made here to present a significant aspect of Srividya, the Veda that sheds light on the ‘descent’ of Consciousness from Parabrahman, from Sudha-Sindho to Bhu-Bhuvah-svar the abode of the Trinity. This pure Consciousness is individualized and appears in all the animate and the inanimate here and gradually ascends to reach the ultimate destination, the Parabrahman. Human beings are the most ideally suited to attain to this great height from spiritual sadhana- the mantra japa, chakra dhyana, and Devi upasana. The humans are best suited here since the designand execution of all that exist as the Brahmanda, the Pindanda, and the Andanda is on the same plan and same principles. Anybody could reach the state of Parabrahman and the technique (tantra) is explained here. In fact, there is no need to strive for attaining to Brahman since the attainment lies in just realization of the Self, so’ham(‘I am That’) or Shivo’haM; it is achieved by just keeping quiet, by mere observation of one’s breathing (in its natural state), effortlessly!

Vidya:

  The term ‘vidya’ here has a different connotation than usually realized by the upasakas. It refers to the vibration of consciousness before it presents a form of sound or a form in picture. It is difficult to imagine the nature of this vibrant conscious energy, the Chit-shakti emanating from the source from which bindu is gradually forming in a condensed form. This indeed the ‘God-particle or the Einstein – Bose condensate! This is the most fundamental principle governing the universe and it is called the ‘vidya in tantric or occult science texts. It contains the alphabets in their rudimentary form and can be heard as subtle-sounds (anahata dhvani). Hence, ‘vidya’ is not just a verbal, spoken, or written work; it is the energy-flow, a conceptual reality that unfolds gradually the hidden multifarious material objective word spelled out by the syllables and words. These are indeed, the dasha mahavidyas identified as different sound patterns and their deities are shown in symbolic form of: Mahavidyas- Kali, Tara; vidyas- Shodashi, Bhuvaneshvari, Bhairavi, Chinna-masta, Dhumavati, Matangi; and, siddha-vidyas Kamala and Bagalamukhi! Srividya is one of the dasha-mahavidyas since it is mantra rupini of sixteen bijakshara. The entire universe manifests from the bijakshara and the deities are the bodies of these akshara and their powers, gunas or attributes are the Shakti, jnyana, bala, virya, aishvarya, and tejas found in this mantra: ka e I la ha sa ka la sa ka la hrIM(SKR. p.159). These are graphically presented in ‘Sri Chakra’.

  There are two groups of vowels as Bouquet of Mantra, mantragucha- hRusva svara and the deergha svaraof alphabets starting from a to am and ah. These are the rays (mayukhi) emanating from Devi.  The Point or the Bindu is the basis of all creation and the Devi as mantra-rupini appears as the akshara brahmn. Almost a Trillion mantra are formed from these syllables, each with a specific power- creating, sustaining, dissolving and merging Devi Lakshmi says that Lord Janardhana imparted thisjnyan to Her Majesty. That has come to be known as the “Srividya”! This gives ananda like the Full Moon and removes all blemishes or karma kleshas to the upasaka. All desires are fulfilled here as tejamsi and the jiva ultimately liberated from bondage, rebirths, and as such, it is bhukti-mukti-pradayini. (See Sanjukta Gupta: Lakshmi Tantra, MLBD).Some important Bijakshara representing their deities are:

kSha and ha- Shiva; haM-Shakti; saM- Sadashiva; ShaM- Ishvara; Sam- Shuddha vidya; aiM- Maya;  lam- niyati; vaM- kAla; laM- raga; raM-avidya; yaM-kalA; maM-purusha; bham-manas; baM-buddhi; phaM-ahankara; paM-prakruti; naM- shrotram (Shravan/hearing); ghaM-tvak (sparsh/skin); daM- chakshus; thaM-jihva; taM-ghrana;  NaM-vaak; ThaM- padyou (feet); jaM-pAni/hand; ThaM-upastha; TaM-pAyuh; traM- Shabda; TraM-sparsha; jaM-Rupam; ChaM-rasa; cham-gandha; kaM, Kam,ngaM-Akasha; ghaM-vAyu; gaM- agni/vahni; khaM- jalam/water; and gam-Pruthivi.

Thus, ‘Srividya’ incorporates all knowledge in a nut-shell- the science, the art, and the technology of creation, sustenance, dissolution and withdrawal. It emerges as the single source of all creation at the cosmic level (Brahmanda), at the terrestrial level (Pindanda level), and at the micro level of cells and atoms (andanda level), rather, the macro-, meso- and the micro- levels, in short. It begins with a small dot (space-less space, or a circle without a diameter) and ends with a series of Triangles, arcs, big circles, squares, installing directions, days, seasons, and Hours, minutes and seconds along with their respective deities).

  A person breathes 21,600 breaths every day and this breathing is a mysterious action of the divine since the jiva has no control over it; at best, one can consciously breath deep enough only for a few minutes! Rest of the time it is going on whether the jiva is aware of it, or not. It is a wonder how the body works when a person is in deep sleep and how the air circulation goes on within. Each chakra has its own cycle and very limited function unless the person activates them in pranayama. The circulation of air within the body creates enormous energy and sound is also a product of this air circulation. Vaak is closely associated with prana.

The time taken to breathe at each of the levels of the seven chakras is:

Muladhara            600 breaths    0 Hrs. 0 Mins.40 Secs.

Svadhisthana         600 breaths      6 Hrs. 40 Mins.

Manipura              600 breaths          6 Hrs 40 Mins.

Anahata                600 breaths          6 Hrs. 40 Mins.

Vishuddha           1000 breaths      1 Hr. 6 Mins. 40 Secs

Ajnya                   1000 breaths   1 Hr. 6 Mins. 40 Secs

Sahasrara            1000 breaths       1 Hr. 6 Mins. 40 Secs.

A person is allotted 120 years of life (longevity) in Kaliyuga and can live upto hundred years without any physical ailments provided he lives a disciplined life. Purity of mind, thoughts, words and deeds are essential requirement along with discipline in life, particularly food habits and style of living. Austerities are called for here for a healthy and successful life.

  There are certain time-tested yoga and upasana marga (methods) that enhance longevity and fulfillment in life.