Sri Vidya Parampara 2

7/31/2019 Sri Vidya Parampara 2

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Sri Sakthi AshramSri Sakthi AshramSri Sakthi AshramSri Sakthi Ashram

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SRI VIDYA PARAMPARA

LESSON 2

SRI VIDYA ORIGIN

Written By

Guruji Sakthi Priyananda

Chairman / Founder

Sri Sakthi Ashram

Malaysia


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Origin of Sri Vidya Parampara

One has to understand the origin and history of mother goddess religion ( Sakthism) in global

perspective before attempting to practice the dharma stipulated. No study would ver be able to

deany that Mother goddess worshipping was practiced along all ages and famous civilizations in

the world. In the study of origin of sakthi worship, due to overlapping of prehistorical period of

different region in the world, we shall generalize the human history into :

1) Pre historical periodPaleolithic age approx 50,000 120,000 years agoMesolithic age - approx 32,000 48,000 years agoNeolithic age approx 5,000 30,000 years ago

2) Ancient historical periodIndus Civilization approx 3,500-5,000 BCVedic Period approx 2,500 BCJain & Buddism Period approx 450-600BCRoman Period 100 BCModern Christianity Period now


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1) Pre Historical Goddess

The Venus of Willendorf ,or Great Goddess of Willendorf, was found in Austria. At a time

when food had to be hunted, gathered or grown by great physical effort, a voluptuous body

would have been considered a sign of luxury, abundance and fertility.This goddess represent

powerful, uncompromising femininity highly fertile but lotus headed. Surprisingly this image has

strong resemblance to Aditi Devi also known as Lajja Gauri in Rig Veda also lotus headed. She is

the most ancient Goddess form in the religious complex that is today referred to as Hinduism..

The Venus of Willendorf and Goddess of Europe ( 10,000BC)

In Sumerian civilization , we find the goddess Inanna or Ishtar was the patron and special

god/goddess of the ancient Sumerian city of Erech (Uruk), the City of Gilgamesh. As Queen ofheaven, she was associated with the Evening Star (the planet Venus), and sometimes with the

Moon. She may also have been associated the brightest stars in the heavens, as she is sometimes

symbolized by an eight-pointed star, a seven-pointed star, or a four pointed star.

Inanna could be wily and cunning. She was a powerful warrior, who drove a war chariot, drawn

by lions. We see the resemblance of Inanna and Durga here with the sacred vehicle to be lion. In

the duality of our reality she is portrayed as gentle and loving, a source of beauty and grace, asource of inspiration. She endowed the people of Sumer with gifts that inspired and insured their

growth as a people and a culture. She is also depicted as a passionate, sensuous lover in The

Courtship of Inanna and Damuzi, which established the principle of Sacred Marriage. ( a concept

of Siva Sakthi perhaps )Indeed, one aspect of Inanna is as the Goddess of Love, and it is in this

aspect that she embodies creativity, procreativity, passion, raw sexual energy and power.


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In Sumerian Civil ization ( 3500BC)

Goddess Inanna / Ishtar

( Lion as sacred animal)

We find the worship of a great mother goddess independent of any association with a male

counterpart flourishing in the oldest period of Babylonian history as old as 3000 BC. Inanna or

Ishtar is the one goddess in the pantheon who retains her independent position in whole

Sumerian history.

As for Egyptian civilization , we find the goddess of Isis takes a important role in the goddess

mythology in 3500 BC . Isis or Aset is the goddess of motherhood and fertility in ancient Egypt.

She is a life-death-rebirth deity. Isis is often symbolised by a cow, or also a cow's head or horns .

This goes to indicate a close connection between Gomatha ( Mother Cow ) in Hinduism

and Isis. Egyptian mythology hold the worshipping of Isis an important element of beliefs heldby the people of Egypt until Islam .

Also another goddess called Sekhmet, known as "The Powerful", was portrayed as either a lion

or a woman with the head of a lion, often holding an ankh or sistrum. The same goddess also

seem to be powerful with a sacred animal which is in form of lion.

Another goddess of Egypt , Tefnut helped support the sky, and each morning received the sun on

the eastern horizon. She was one of the "great nine" who sat in judgment of the dead. She wasconsidered the goddess of the second hour of the night of the fourteenth moon. In art, Tefnut

usually appeared as a lion-headed goddess with a solar disk on her head, or as a woman, or as a

lion.

The Goddess Isis and Goddess Tefnut


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2) Ancient Historical Period Goddess

a) Indus Goddess

Archeological evidence from related cultures suggests that Indus Valley mythology was centered

in the idea of female power and Goddess. There is direct evidence of Goddess dominance on

Indus seals, which, like the seals of ancient Sumerians, bring together goddesses, sacred snakes,

and such symbols of male power and virility as horned bulls and rams and mythical animals such

as unicorns. There is also ample indication on the seals of rituals involving sacrifice to what

appears to be a horned goddess. At the ruins at the ancient settlement of Mehrgarh, dating back to

as early as 6000 BCE, goddess figurines have been discovered that would seem to confirm the

importance of the female power during the 6002500 BCE period

The predominance of female figurines and seals depicting a horned goddess in association with

the sacred pipal tree are generally regarded as evidence of the worship of a mother goddess who

presided over fertility and birth and who may have acted as guardian and protector of the

residents. These evidences goes to prove that Sakthi worship started way back 2500 BC .

Harappa seals belonging to the Indus Valley civilization have large numbers of pictures of fish.According to legend and some literary references, Pandyan kings established their kingdom in

southern India with Madurai as their capital. They ruled from Madurai as late as the 14-th

Century AD. The royal emblem of the Padya dynasty is fish. Tamil word for fish is "meen".

Pandyan king is sometimes referred to as "meenavan". Their deity is Meenakshi .Thus fish is an

important symbol in Sakthi worship and the fish symbols in Harappan seals shall be closely

connected to Sakthi worship in this oldest civilization of India. Some may try to connect these

goddess figures to the worship of Shiva-Sakthi as some seal were found to have pictures of male

god in meditative posture where they link these seal to the worship of Pasupathi. However one

may later understand the redundancy of such arguments as seal and figures of Goddess found are

in single form and does not resemble the concept of dual worship (Siva-Sakthi) in Indus Valley.


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In its contemplation, the Rigveda, which seems to have conceded to the idea of the Divine

Female, takes two different lines, one mystic and the other traditional. The traditional line was

the same as prevailed amongst the primitive Indus community, which perceived the Divine

Female as Mother Goddess. The Rigveda calls the Female power Mahimata (R.V. 1.164.33), a

term which literally means Mother Earth. At places, the Vedic literature alludes to Her as Viraj,

the universal mother, as Aditi, the mother of gods, and as Ambhrini, the one born of Primeval

Ocean.

The Rigveda takes a mystic line, when it perceives the Proto Female as Vak or Vani, which, as

the creative speech, manifests the cosmos and all existing things. In Vedic mysticism the cosmos

and all things pre-exist but are unmanifest. The Vak, or Vani makes them manifest.

b)Vedic Goddess

Sahas means force or power or strength, and is hence synonymous with Shakti. This verse hence

connects these ideas with later Yogic thought, which understands that by controlling or having

mastery over ones indriyas (or senses), one gains shaktis (powers) of Yoga, known as siddhis(mystical powers).

These mystical powers include clairvoyance, levitation, spiritual healing, invisibility and so

forth. They are often personified, or powers granted by forms of the goddess, as Shakti, or power

in her many manifest forms.

In fact, one verse lauds Indra as Shaktivan (V.31.5), which means Possessor of Shakti , which

itself is a feminine term in the Rig Veda, implying the Goddess. This term Shaktivan itself is

comparable to later Shaktiman, meaning the same, and is a term applied to powerful Yogis and

also the god Shiva (Vedic name Indra) himself. It refers to them having these mystical powers of

yoga, or siddhis.

Since this primordial power of the ultimate is the base of all creation, She

is worshipped as Mother from time immemorial. In Vedas she is

worshipped as Sarasvati, Ushas & Aryamaa (Rig Veda), Sri Gaayatri

(Yajur Veda), Mahalakshmi & Durga in some places and in Upanishads

as Uma and Haimavati. One of the most powerful gods in Rigveda shallbe Indra and Varuna. In this regard, Indras powers or indriyas are

mentioned in the Rig Veda (VI.31.3) as vishva indriyas or cosmic

senses or powers of the God, from which his own sahas or power or

strength is said to emerge.


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On this note, the term Shachi, an old Sanskrit term meaning Shakti and denoting the same, is

lauded in the Rig Veda (I.112.8) as being the power given to the twin Ashwin gods (who possess

mystic powers) to allow them to heal the crippled and help the blind see again. Shakti here is

hence invoked as a feminine and yet positive term, in relation to Yogic powers or siddhis again.

In fact, these Ashwin gods are also invoked in another passage, which reads:

"Bring into creation, my tireless meditations and thoughts that ask for wealth, Shining Ashwins. Grant us high spirits

in battle, and with your Shaktis, Lords of Shakti, assist us." (Rig Veda.VII.67.5)

The terms used here are shaktam and shachipati which mean Power or force and Lords of

power and force, similar again to Shaktiman of later times, as a term for a Yogi possessing yogic

powers. Yet again here however, the term Shachi is used in a feminine tense. It also asks these

gods to grant us powers in warfare, with their shaktis or powers. We know in later texts as the

Puranas, the Devayudhas or weapons of the Gods, were manifestations empowered by the force

of the Divine Mother in the form of Shakti to power also.

These are powers of the Self (sva or atman) employed by the Gods, who derive their powers from

the Goddess Shakti to do so. On this note, one verse to the Vedic gods of War, who aremanifestations of the god Shiva or Indra, are lauded as possessing svayudha or weapons of the

Self or soul (RV.V.57.2), showing their importance, even in Vedic times. The same verse calls

them Sons of Prishni, who is a Goddess later associated with the Goddess Kali in India herself

commonly portrayed as the goddess Shakti, in her most supreme form!

In regards to Indra or the god Shiva, he is invoked along with his wife, Shachi or Power in the Rig

Veda (III.60.6), and worshipped along with her, again showing her importance.

In the tenth and last book of the Rig Veda, we also know of a famous hymn to Shachi or Goddess

Power, which tells us of her Supreme Nature as in later times (X.59). The same hymn (verse 3),

extols her as Jaya or Victory, and states that her lord (pati) is submissive unto her will-power.

Although dark, she destroys spiritual darkness, known as tamas, which she merges

into her own dark formlessness. Kali (meaning black or time) is also called Ratri (ight),

which also refers to her name Prishni (spotted; Meaning spotted with stars, which later

become her garland of white skulls on her black body. The moon is the symbol of ego and

the severed head Kali holds). The immortal Goddess, she fills the vast, high and low

places: She destroys tamas (spiritual darkness) with her Light. (Rig Veda : X.127.2)


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This also asserts her power in the Vedas, and this hymn is at the end of the Rig Veda, perhaps to

remind the Rishi (Seer) of her importance in the text, although she may be contained within the

hymns. Her secret power however is well-known.

In later text , especially in Puranas she is worshipped as Lalitha, Kali and in Agamas as Tripura

Sundari, Raajaraajeshwari, Maha Kali and other forms. The most famous purana of Sakthism

shall be Devi Bhagavata Purana . Devi Bhagavata Purana consists of 12 skandhas (books), 318

adhyayas (chapters) and 18,000 verses and it is ascribed to the mythical sage Krishna

Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa,who is also regarded as the author of the Mahabharata and who is

credited with dividing the Vedas into four parts.

The last nine chapters (31-40) of the seventh skandha is known as the Devi Gita. It is a dialogue

between Parvati and her father Himavat. It deals with the universal form of the Devi, meditations

on the major texts of Upanishads, ashtanga-yoga, the yogas of jnana, karma and bhakti, locations

of the temples dedicated to the Devi and the rituals pertaining to her worship. The eighth, ninth,

tenth, eleventh, and twelfth skandhas have 24, 50, 13, 24 and 14 chapters respectively.

Like other Puranas, the Devi-Bhagavata Purana contains narratives, sections praising the Devi as

supreme, and instructions in various types of sadhana. Parts of it have worked their way into

popular Hinduism, such as the narrative of the goddess Durga in her fight against thebuffalo-demon Mahishasura (Book 5, Chapters 2-18), which is also described in the Devi

Mahatmya. This narrative provides the mythological backdrop for the annual ritual called Durga

Puja and Navarathri which is celebrated widely in Bengal.

Within the Hindu genre of Sahasranamas (literally, "thousand-name" hymns, extolling the names,

deeds and associations of a given deity), the Sri Lalita Sahasranama Stotra, or "Hymn to the

Thousand Names of the Auspicious Goddess Lalita", is "a veritable classic, widely

acknowledged for its lucidity, clarity and poetic excellence."

The Lalita Sahasranama is part of the Brahmanda Purana, but its

specific origins and authorship are lost to history. Based upon textual

evidence, it is believed to have been composed in South India not

earlier than the 9th or later than the 11th century CE. The text is

closely associated with another section of the Brahmanda Purana.


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The text operates on a number of levels, containing references not just to the Devi's physical

qualities and exploits but also an encoded guide to philosophy and esoteric practices of kundalini

yoga and Srividya Shaktism. In addition, every name and group of names within the

Sahasranama is considered to have high mantric value independent of its content, and are often

prescribed in sadhanas or prayogas to accomplish particular purposes.

In all above text , two aspects of Shakthi can be clearly distinguished, one the fierce form of the

deity which is dreaded and propitiated and the second the benign aspect of her love and kindness.

The first one is more primitive and is a Tamasic or Rajasic personification of Sakthi. Fear is

the predominant emotion of the saadhakaa in worshipping this aspect, fear of natural calamities,

ill health, enemies, poverty, death and even ignorance. Her form is imagined with many heads

and hands, each carrying deadly weapons like sword and mace riding on wild animals.

The second is the satvic form. A more sublime concept which is the product of Upanishadic

thoughts. Here the saadhakaa through great knowledge largely sheds the fear of the deity and

loves her as his mother. She is imagined as seated on a lotus and resides in beautiful

surroundings with a book, japamaala, parrot, sugarcane or veena in hand. She is worshipped with

the object of realizing higher and higher reaches of consciousness and knowledge with offerings

of flowers, milk and honey.

Some Tantras and Agamas as sacred texts are held in the same high esteem as the Veda and

Upanishads. There are some Tantras like the Yamala tantra, which are claimed to be older than

even Vedas. There is an impression that Tantra is some sort of black magic or immoral practice

associated with mystic practices that are condemned by orthodox Hinduism. Before identifying

the Tantras as black magic , we need to understand that there appear two forms of rituals

mentioned in Tantras, known as the Vaamaachara (also known as Kaulachaara ) or the left

hand ritual and the Dakshinachaara ( also known as Samayachaara) or the right hand ritual .

These two modes of rituals have again some relation to the dual aspect of Sakthi discussedearlier.

The Vaamaachara is probably an echo of the primitive ritual with which the terrible aspect of the

mother goddess was worshipped in pre historic times. There were different clans of people who

practiced this method. Some of those worshippers were Digambaras and Kaapaalikas. Mahakaali

is their deities. Sacrifice of humans that too most revered ones is the effective way of pleasing

the deity according to them. We come across such a Kaapaalika in Shankara's biography. A later

modification of this clan who shed human sacrifice but lived in graveyards and dressed with

animal skin known as Kaalaamukhas lived during mid Chola rain in south. In Vaamaachara,

Pancha Makaaras are offered to the deity in the ritual. They are meat (maamsa), wine (madya),

parched rice (mudraa), fish (matsya) and sexual intercourse (Maithuna).


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It is an important matter to note that Jagat Guru Sri Shankara did not acknowledge any part of

Vaamaachara. Sri Shankara rescued various schools of hindu religious worship more especially

the Sakthi worship from these odious practices and establishing it in its pristine vedic purity as

Dakshinaachara or also known as Samayachara. This Samayachara is the ritual adopted in the

monastic institutions established by Shankara and prescribed to Hindus since his time. Shankara

calls the discipline of Samayachara as swatantra tantra. This like all other systems is a system

integrated within itself the Yogas of Mantra, Laya, Bakthi and Jyana. Samayachara is carried out

through the five sacred text Shubaagama Panchakam. Sanaka Sanaadana, Satkuraara, Shuka and

Vasihta Samhitas.

c) Jain and Buddism Goddess

In Jainism , Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is considered to be the source of all

the learning. This divine energy is the source of spiritual light, remover of all ignorance and

promoter of all knowledge. She is respected and adored by all the faiths, worldly persons and

saints. She has four arms, one holding a book, the other a rosary and two hands holding a

musical instrument Veen. Her seat is a lotus and the peacock is her vehicle representing

equanimity in prosperity.

Per Hindu belief , in some places it is mentioned that the swan is her vehicle. There are many

images of Saraswati created for a temple of the Jains, a faith that originated in the fifth century

B.C. The great jain saint Yashovijayji sought the blessing of Goddess of knowledge, Saraswati to

formulate and construct Jain scriptures, which he mentioned in the second stanza of Jambuswami

Raas. It is also said that once Acharya Umasvami (Umasvati) made a stone-image of saraswati,

the goddess of learning, to speak.

The female deities of Buddhism are of many types. There are buddhas in female form andgoddesses who are bodhisattvas. There are also historical figures such as lineage founders, and

they all can function as goddess. The most prominient goddess of Buddism is Tara who is a

Buddhist savior-goddess especially popular in Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia. In Tibet, where Tara is

the most important deity, her name is Sgrol-ma, meaning "she who saves." The mantra of Tara is

the second most common mantra heard in Tibet, after the mantra of Chenrezi (om mani padme

hum).

The goddess of universal compassion, Tara represents virtuous and enlightened action. It is said

that her compassion for living beings is stronger than a mother's love for her children. She also

brings about longevity, protects earthly travel, and guards her followers on their spiritual journey

to enlightenment.


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Before she was adopted by Buddhism, Tara was worshipped in Hinduism as a manifestation of

the goddess Parvati. The feminine principle was not venerated in Buddhism until the fourth

century CE, and Tara probably entered Buddhism around the sixth century CE. According to

Buddhist tradition, Tara was born out of the tears of compassion of the bodhisattva

Avalokiteshvara. It is said that he wept as he looked upon the world of suffering beings, and his

tears formed a lake in which a lotus sprung up. When the lotus opened, the goddess Tara was

revealed.

d)Roman Goddess

Unlike the Greek deities the original Roman goddesses did not have distinctive personalities,

human form, family histories or myths about their lives. Instead these deities were manifestations

of what the Romans termed "numina", the divine essence that could be found in all living things

and places. An example of the Numina is Pomona the Goddess of Fruit trees, orchards and

gardens.

This belief in numina helps explain why there were so many early Roman deities, as each

represented different aspects of the natural world. Early Roman mythology did not contain talesof the lives of magical gods. Instead they were presented as the history of Rome's creation and

concerntrated on the rituals and religious practices.

The nature of these early Roman deities was also closely linked to the physical needs of people,

concentrating on areas like the agriculture and motherhood. Remaining accounts of early

worship of these beings suggests it was highly ritualized to reflect the complex relationships

between different groups of gods.

The Romans also had numerous festivals dedicated to their different gods and goddesses. Later

the Romans borrowed heavily from other traditions especially the Greeks. However it was the

rule of Rome by the Etrusian kings that was first to influence Roman worship. They began by


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adapting three of the Etruscan gods and making them the focus of their religion.

One of the goddess which is similar to parvathi is Juno who was the wife of the King God

Jupiter. Goddess Juno is said to be the queen of the gods. She was the goddess of women and

marriage. Her sacred animal was the peacock.

The Romans believed that every man had a spirit that looked after him all his life. This was

called his genius. Some people believed each man had both a good genius and a bad genius.

Women didn't have a genius, they had a juno instead.

The other goddess which is quite important in roman goddess devotion is Venus. She was born in

the sea and first came to shore at Cyprus, floating on a scallop shell. There was a Golden Apple

with "For the Fairest" written on the side. Venus, Juno and Minerva all wanted it. They decided

to let a man, Paris, judge between them. They were all so beautiful that he couldn't make his

mind up. So Juno said she would make him powerful. Minerva said she would make him wise.

Venus offered him beauty .

Goddess Venus

e) Christianity Goddess

Catholics and the Orthodox maintain Mary is the most important being in God's plan, except for

her Son, the God-Man, Jesus. Others think that by honoring Mary we take away from the

worship of Jesus. However, Catholics and the Orthodox say Mary will lead a person to Jesus, just

as all good Christians try to lead their friends to the Lord. After all, Mary's last recorded words in

the Bible were: "Do whatever He (Jesus) tells you"

Both Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians venerate Mary. This

veneration takes a number of forms, including composing poems and songs in

Mary's honor, painting icons or carving statues representing her, bowing or

kneeling before such images and making prayers


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Mary is not just the average person; she is God's mother, having conceived Jesus by the

overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. If we understand God's holiness and the intimacy of the Holy

Spirit with Mary in conceiving Jesus, we see that Jesus' incarnation presupposes that Mary was

immaculate from the beginning of her life. Because Mary was free from sin, she was free from

the wages of sin, that is, death . Thus her immaculate conception implies her assumption into

heaven. This does not take away from the glory of her Son or imply she did not need to be

redeemed

The Virgin Mary is also venerated at major religious sites around the world where it is believed

that apparitions or appearances of the Virgin have occurred. In many places the witnesses to

these appearances have said that important messages for humanity were delivered by the Virgin.

Popular devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with Marian apparitions include theImmaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of

Guadalupe.

The term Marian apparition is normally used in cases where visions of just the Virgin Mary

herself are claimed. There have also been visions, such as those of Padre Pio and Sister Maria

Pierina De Micheli, where visions of Jesus and Mary and conversations with both have been

reported.

Thus , from all above evidences , the worship of goddess was a truly universal Religion. Not

only did She comprise all god within Herself, her worshippers comprised the entire known world

in their linguistic, ethnic, geographic and political diversity. There were even temples and idols

found in various parts of the world dated back to 20,000 to 30,000 years ago.

We may realize that the worship of goddess is however, clearly Hindu in origin. The spread of

Her cult through the lands of Middle east , China , India and beyond is an indication of the high

regard that all ancient peoples had for Goddess culture in general - and Saktha spirituality and

philosophy in particular. The pictures and name of mother in native language seem to appears

over two dozen times in the "Pyramid Texts" which date from before 2,000 BC and writings

found at Indus valley. By the time Her worship spread to the the rest of the world, Her cult was

In the Bible, Mary is called "full of grace" and "blessed among women" We

have begun to appreciate how blessed and graced she was and why "all ages to

come" shall call her blessed. In many part of Christian world , she is named

goddess mary.


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already a very "old religion" indeed.

Myths of these goddesses have changed over centuries and sometimes blended with those of

other male deities. Their worship has been revived as the image of the Great Mother or Earth

Mother deep within the collective unconscious and the importance is reemerging. As a result of

her association with earth fertility and agriculture, one of the most recognizable symbols of her

in goddess worship discussed above was the form of Venus of Willendorf. This statue which was

found 22,000 to 30,000 BCE further proofs that mother goddess in form of Booma Devi was

worshipped by the earliest known man on earth. Thus within Hinduism , the longest surviving

religion amazingly is none other than saktha religion ( sakthism) which focuses and propagates

the importance of female god worship.

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Sri Vidya Parampara 2