Shreevidya

    As if by the divine intervention, the topic of 'Shreevidya' came up for discussion in our daily evening meetings- 'Adhyatma-Sandhya'. Hence it was decided to post some important aspects of the mystic song- the eternal, "Waves of Beauty", that is also known as the "Streams of Ocean of Bliss". These produce the waves of joy, happiness, peace and and supreme bliss in the heart of the devotees who sing in the praise of the Devi Tripura Sundari, Lalata. The very creation of cosmic entity that covers the entire brahmanda start here as mild inaudible tremors, vibrations, waves, and produce sounds, alphabets, words and their meaning leading to the phenomenal objective world along with the jivarashi to enjoy the same. Every syllable, every alphabet, every sound or note of the syllable is important here. The song rendered in the musical notes bring  immense joy and happiness.

   'Shreevidya' is very complex system of mystic knowledge and it is like the five blind persons describing an elephant! There are different perspectives of Shreevidya and different sections of society have been practicing this as a cult, a religious faith, a system of study and meditation, and practice as daily rituals since times immemorial. This include the Devi in different forms and Mudra, Devi with different arms and tools, Devi with different moods and powers. Many treat the system as a very powerful secret mantra ritual. The mantra associated with the Devi Shreevidya are numerous, beyond count and each one is inherent with powers of creation, protection, and dissolution, as well.

   Shreevidya is invariably associated with Shree Chakra and we will discuss this in detail later. There are numerous chakras, mandalas associated with this and these require a detailed study. Much research is also going on in this regard.

    Nobody knows the source of this and many have attributed to the agama shastra, and some to the Veda and many to age-old practice of tribal culture in vogue in ancient India (sanatana dharma). The author cited here is Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada and nobody knows who this Shankara is. The issue is further complicated by the practice of calling the Swamijis or Peethadhipati of all Shankara Mathas as 'Shankaracharya' only with a slight change in prefixes. Satyendranath Dasgupta says, there were as many as six or seven famous Shankaracharyas. There was one at the time of the Buddha, one at the beginning of the first Century B.C, the Sixth, Eighth, and one even later! However, it is not necessary to wrangle here about the authorship since what is said is more important than who said it!

    We follow several authors and refer to as many sources as possible in presenting a comprehensive study of Shrevidya here.