From: MikeMagee@magee.demon.co.uk (mikemagee)
Subject: The Bhavana Upanishad & GIF of Lalita
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 21:26:10 +0000


The Bhavana Upanishad


The subject of this upanishad is the yantra of Lalita, also known
as the famous Shri Yantra.

Yantra, a Sanskrit word, literally means a machine  but in
Hindu Tantra is usually taken to refer to the devi in linear or geometrical 
form. Yantras are always used flat. They may be 2-dimensional or 
3-dimensional (Bhu and Meru arrangements). Every aspect of devi has 
Her own mantra and yantra. The yantra of Devi Lalita is Shri Yantra. 
The divinity of the yantra always occupies the centre or apex.

The different parts or petals and lines of the yantra are usually 
arranged in concentric circles (mandalas) and contain rays or sub-limbs 
of devi. The Shri Yantra has 9 of these mandals, each filled with 
various aspects of the Devi. In Shri Yantra there are 111 aspects. 

The Shri Yantra is said to be a geometric form of the human body,
which implies that goddess as Macrocosm is one with human being as
Microcosm. of the erotic goddess of the tntrika school of Shri Vidy
called Lalita<$F`She Who Plays'. All creation, manifestation and
dissolution is considered to be a play of devi. Mahtripurasundar is
the transcendent beauty of the three cities. This is a description of
the goddess as conqueror of the three cities of the demons, or as the
triple city (Tripur).> or Mahtripursundar. The yantra is said to
represent man and the universe. It consists of nine sub-mandalas, and
is shown on the cover of this booklet.  Bhavana or meditation consists
in the actual practise of placing the different Shaktis upon the body
in the manner enjoined in the prayoga (magical application). My brief
notes are enclosed by [ and ].



Shri

BHAVANOPANISAD

Om. Peace and good fortune be to those who hear this!

1. Shri Guru is Shakti from whom all the elements are created.

2. Of this (Shakti) the body, with its nine orifices, is the form. 

3. The Shri Cakra is of ninefold form.

4. Varahi is the father-form. Kurukulla, the mother, is the receiver 
of offerings.

[The yantra is made up of four upward pointing triangles and five
downward pointing triangles. Varahi, the devi with a sow's head,
is father and contributes 12 kalas (4 x 3). Kurukulla, the
menstruating devi, is mother and contributes 15 kalas (5 x 3).
Together they give birth to an individual.]

5. The aims of mankind are the (4) oceans.

[Dharma, artha, kama and moksha; doing what is right, acquiring
wealth, sexuality and liberation.]

6. The body is the island of nine gems.

7. Skin first, then the seven bodily elements and hair (are the nine).

[Indian medicine says the human body is created from the dhatus
(bodily elements).] 

8. Resolutions are the wish-fulfilling trees, Shakti the grove of aeon trees.

9. The tastes sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, astringent and salty 
are the six seasons.

[6 tastes in Tantra, 6 seasons in India]

10. Knowledge is the offering, the known is the oblation, the 
knower is the sacrificer. The meditation on knowledge-known-knower 
and on their non-difference is the worship offered to the Shri Cakra.

11. Fate, love, and the other sentiments are Anima and so forth (the
other siddhis).

[The upanishad begins to describe the 9 circles of the Shri Yantra. The
Siddhi Shaktis are on the outermost line]

12. Desire, cruelty, greed, delusion, euphoria, envy, merit and 
demerit are the eight Shaktis  Brahmi being the first.

13. The nine adharas are the Mudra Shaktis.

[The nine chakras. Innermost line of the enclosing square of the
yantra.]

14. Earth, water, fire, air, aether, ear, skin, eye, tongue, nose, 
speech, hands, feet, anus, penis, and mind's wavering are the 
sixteen Shaktis, Kamakarshini being the first.

[The 16 petals.]

15. Speech, holding, moving, excreting, generating, rejecting, 
accepting and being detached are the eight (Shaktis) like Ananga-Kusuma.

[The 8 petals.]

16. Alambusha, Kuhu, Vishvodara, Vatnrta, Hastijihva, Yashovati, 
Payashvini, Gandhari, Pusha, Shankhini, Sarasvati, Ida, Pingala and 
Sushumna are the fourteen nadis -- Sarvasankshobhini being the first of 
the fourteen Shaktis.
 
 [The 14 triangles.]

17. Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, Samana, lqaga, Kurma, Krikara, Datta and 
Dhananjaya are the 10 breaths -- Sarvasiddhidana being the first of the 
devatas of the outer 10 (triangles}.

[The 10 triangles. Ten forms of vital breath, bioenergy or prana.]

18. The biological fire is fivefold through differences 
based on its association with the major breaths -- 
being Recaka, Pachaka, Shoshaka Dahaka and Plavaka.


19. Ksharaka, Utgaraka, Kshobaka, Jrimbhaka and Mohaka are fires associated 
with the lesser breaths. They assist digestion in a fivefold way -- 
what is eaten, chewed, sucked, licked and drunk.

20. These ten kalas of fire are the devatas of the 10 inner (triangles).

21. Cold, warmth, pleasure, unhappiness, desire, sattvas, 
rajas and tamas are the eight Shaktis Vashini and so forth.

[The 8 triangles.]

22. The five flowery arrows are the sense-impressions, 
of which sound is the first.

23. Mind is the bow made of sugarcane.

24. Attachment is the noose.

25. Repulsion is the goad.

[Between the 8 triangles and the central triangles are the
'weapons' of Lalita. See TRIPURA.GIF]

26. Nature, Intelligence and `I am' are the devatas of the 
inner triangle -- Kameshvari, Bhagamalini, and Vajreshvari.

27. Truly, awareness without attributes is Kameshvara.

[Kameshvara means the Lord Kama, the Lord of Sexuality,
the spouse of Kameshvari, the Lady Kama, i.e. Shiva and Shakti.]

28. One's very own being, true, blissful, complete, is the 
supreme Devi Lalita.

29. The red glow of all this is the mirror. 

30. Presence of consciousness is siddhi.

31. When one meditates in this way action is homage.

32. The dissolving in one's being of distinctions such as 
`I', `you', `existence', `non-existence', `what is to be done', 
`what is not to be done' and the duty to worship is the act of oblation.

33. The thought of the sameness of all objects of mind is the act of 
nourishment .

34. The fifteen days of the transformation of time are the eternities 
(the Nityas).

[The fifteen days of the lunar fortnight.]

35. One who meditates in this way for three, two or even one moment is 
liberated whilst living, and is called a Shivayogin.

36. These thoughts on the centre of the cakra have been discussed 
according to the tenets of the Kadi school.

[The Kadi school worships Devi from the outer edge of the yantra
to the centre, to the bindu.]

37. Whosoever knows this is a student of the Atharvashiras.

[The fourth, non orthodox, Veda.]

[The picture is in a separate file called bhavana_gif. --Ceci]