“To inform the reader of its special and unique relationship to the Divine Mother, and Devi worship. The Sri Cakra itself comprises #998 of the 1000 Names of the Divine Mother sanskrit chant.”
*Note to Reader:The Sri Chakra is presented on the back of Volume 1 The Bardo, and throught this web site. We offer the passage to introduce the reader to the immense significance and meaning of this primordial mandala.
Chakra pooja or Yantra pooja is the worship of a deity in a diagrammatic form. This type of worship exists in a lot of the other parts of the world also.
The worship of Devi in Shreechakra is regarded as the highest form of the Devi worship. Originally Lord Shiva gave 64 Chakras and their Mantras to the world, to attain various spiritual and material benefits. For his consort Devi he gave the Shreechakra and the highly coveted and the most powerful Shodashakshari mantra, which is the equivalent of all the other 64 put together.
It is said that in the beginning God, who was one, wanted to become many and enjoy himself. As the first step to creation he created Devi – the total cosmic Female force. For the male part, out of his left he created Shiva, out of his middle he created Brahma and out of his right he created Vishnu. That is why many regard the Devi as more powerful than the Trinities and hence She is called Parashakti or Paradevi – Para meaning beyond . Brahma created the universe. Vishnu controls and runs the universe. Shiva along with Shakti is engaged in the eternal dissolution and recreation of the universe. The Bindu in the center of the Shreechakra is the symbolic representation of the cosmic spiritual union of Shiva and Shakti. Apart from that the Shreechakra also embodies countless number of deities and represents the whole of creation. Hence by worshipping the Devi in Shreechakra one is actually worshipping the highest ultimate force in the Tantrik form.
The Shodashakshari mantra is one of the most guarded secretes of tantra. Usually the Guru gives it to a highly deserving and tested disciple. Very few get it. Even in the Mantra Shastra, where all other mantras are openly and clearly given, the Shodashakshari Mantra is not directly given. Several hints about the mantra are given and you are asked to get the mantra if you are capable and deserving. The opening versus of the mantra shastra chapter on Shreechakra says, “Your head can be given, your soul can be given but the Shodashakshari Mantra of the Devi can not be given”.
Various books and websites on Shreechakra have published what the publishers thought is the Shodashakshari Mantra. Let me make it clear that those who know it will never publish it and those who publish it do not know it. I cannot give it to my wife or child. So don’t waste your full moon nights chanting those long mantras.
However, Shreechakra can also be worshipped by other Devi mantras. There are several traditions of the worshipping the Shreechakra. We are giving below a very simple and still very effective pooja of Shreechakra. It is known as the Shreechakra Navavarana pooja as per the Khadgamala Vidhi. For all round spiritual and material benefits it is a highly effective pooja. Anyone can perform it.
The Shreechakra is a very deep subject. A lot can be written about the Nine Avaranas in the Shreechakra, about the 43 triangles, the various Devies and Devatas and their significance etc. This information is already published in several books and websites. The purpose of this page is not to repeat or elaborate on what is already there but to give you a simple but effective way of doing the actual pooja which is what really matters and something which no one else has bothered put in English. Hence Instead of gathering a lot of technical information, it is better that you sit down and do an effective pooja. Prophet Mohammad rightly said, “A man who reads a lot of books is like a donkey carrying a load of books”. Lord Krishna definitely said that Gyana yoga is the best path. A lot of people, especially the ones with pseudo intellectual ego who look down upon ritualistic worship and don’t want to bow their head, mistakenly believe that reading of philosophy books and empty intellectual discussions are the Gyana yoga path. It is not. Adi Shankara was very clear in stating that the Gyana yoga is only for the Gyanis, and a Gyani is one who has reached the Paramahamsa or Avadhoota level. Great yogis like Rama Krishna Paramahamsa, Swami Shivananda and Swami Satyananda belong to this category and not people like us.
On the top left hand side corner of the Shreechakra resides Lord Ganesha. On the top right hand side corner resides Lord Surya. On the bottom right side corner resides Lord Vishnu and at the bottom left corner of the Shreechakra resides Lord Shiva. Hence, before performing the Shreechakra pooja you must perform a brief pooja of the above four deities. These poojas are given in the Pancha Pooja section in this site. Apart from these four, the Devi along with her retinue (Parivar) of 108 other Devies reside in the Chakra. In this pooja they are worshipped one by one.
Devi worship must be done only after taking bath and wearing clean clothes. As per the rituals to be observed – various pooja books and websites prescribe long preparations and rituals for poojas. It is not possible for every one to perform a pooja like an ordained Vedic priest. Hence our scriptures allow one to do a pooja “Yatha shakti” or as per ones capability and convenience. Doing it with faith is what really matters. The minimum is: light a lamp and an incense stick and offer some prasad – if you don’t have anything at home then simple milk or sugar will do.
People worship the Shreechakra made of various materials and in shades. The simplest and the best one is a clear diagrammatic picture. In the olden days people used to draw the Chakra on various materials. Now you do not have to go through all the trouble. You can use a simple printed one, which is equally effective. We have enclosed one for your benefit at the top. Take a print out of it to worship. Preferably laminate it so that it is not soiled or damaged.
While doing the pooja of the various deities in the Nine Avaranas, you can worship the Chakra with Akshintas (Turmeric rice) or flowers or with Panchamrut.
The Devi is worshipped in many forms and names – Lalita, Katyayani, Kameswari, Kamakshi, Durga, Chandi, Kali, and Amba etc. The closest matching form of the Shodashakshari Devi as described in the scriptures is that off Goddess Kamakshi of Kanchi. You will find this in the Devi pooja section.
The Anganyasas and Karanyasa beejas are also given for the benefit of those who are conversant with this ritual. If you do not know you can omit it.
If you are conversant with the other pooja rituals like Aachamanam, Bhuta Suddhi, Dehasuddhi, Shankha pooja, Kalasha pooja etc., you can perform them before the actual pooja. If you do not know simply offer a prayer to Lord Ganesha and do the pooja. At the end of the pooja offer the following prayer.
“Avahanam najanami, najanami visarjanam, poojamchaiva najanamani kshamaswa Maheswari. Yatkrutam yatkarishyami tathsarvam twamarpanam, poojam poorna phalam kuru”.
Roughly translated it means – “I am not conversant with the Aavahana, visarjana etc.. pooja rituals and hence forgive me. Whatever I have done and I am doing, I am offering to you. Give me full results”. Our ancients were also smart!
This pooja, along with the four other poojas that must be performed before that, will take about 45 minutes time but it is more effective than any other pooja both materially and spiritually.
Pandit SP Tata (AstroJyoti.com)
