A Simple Meditation to Absorb the Essence of Devi
Introduction from the post:
Navami of Navratri is a very special and important day. It was on the Sandhi of Ashtami and Navami that the Devi emerged in Her mightiest form to annihilate the Asura. When Ashtami was ending and Navami was beginning, it was at that junction that Devi emerged.
And luckily, this year that junction is coming on the evening of Sep 30th. To find the exact time for your place, refer to any online Panchang. Typically, this junction consists of two Ghatis, making it a total of 48 minutes. It is counted as 24 minutes (one Ghati) at either time of Sunset on Ashtami.
It's a 10-minute meditation that you will need to do during this 48-minute window. You do not need any Puja articles, Murti, but just an open mind to embrace Devi and Her essence. There are four main steps, which I have explained in detail in the blog section of the website 'A Simple Meditation to Absorb the Essence of Devi.'
I have also provided a link to a well-known online Panchang so that you can verify the timing according to your location. We often see Devi restricted to a Murti or limited to temples. This meditation will help you break that and feel Her higher dimension of existence. You will be able to experience that expansive form of Shakthi that surrounds us.
Method:
1 It's a ten-minute Dhyana that you need to do during this 48-minute window. Just 10 minutes with some breathing and visualisation.
2 Freshen up and relax yourself. You are entering a sacred space of Devi.
3 Ensure you are seated comfortably, either cross-legged or in a chair with a straight back. Back need not be absolutely stiff and straight, but upright without any tension.
4 You must ensure you are seated outside in the open, either on the terrace or balcony. The best is an open ground or open field from where you can see the radiance of the Sunset.
5 You are not viewing Sunset in particular, but the orange-reddish hue that spreads across the sky during Sunset. The point of sitting in the open is to visualise that essence surrounding you.
6 Start by closing your eyes and gently stretching your eyeballs by moving them up and down and from side to side, keeping your eyelids closed. Do this for around a minute or till you feel fatigue in your eyes.
7 Then stop moving your eyeballs and sit with eyes closed. Your eyes will feel very centred and balanced. Imagine calmness and stillness in them.
8 Gently open your eyes, slowly, not rushing. Then look at the sky around you - full of that sunset orange colour. Imagine all that essence emanating from Devi, the Supreme Mother.
9 The whole sky is submerged in that orange-reddish hue. Imagine a wave of calmness descending upon you as you open your eyes gently.
10 Now the breathing starts. Eyes closed, but visualise the orange-reddish hue. Breathe in, and as you breathe in, imagine that essence of Devi entering your body through your nose.
11 That orange-reddish essence is filling you up from head to toe as you inhale.
12 As you exhale, imagine the essence spreading throughout your entire body. Every corner of your body is getting submerged in Her essence.
13 No holding the breath, forced inhalation, or exhalation. Just relax and allow your breath to work at its own rhythm.
14 Take the next inhalation, and imagine that essence growing stronger within you. Every breath is increasing in its intensity of reddish-orange in you. You are absorbing that energy which is radiating from Devi.
15 Do this for 30 repetitions of inhalations and exhalations. Then don't focus on your breath. Just breathe normally with your eyes closed and focus on the essence of Devi, which is within you. Your whole body is radiating in that vibration and colour. You are as orange-reddish as the sky you visualised.
16 Try to remain in this state for as long as possible, for 2 to 5 minutes. Not longer. Don't force yourself. If any thought arises, simply ignore it and refocus on the reddish-orange hue of your whole body.
17 Once you feel you are no longer able to be in that state, then gently open your eyes and look at the sky around you. Thank Devi for giving you this opportunity to experience one of Her subtle aspects.
18 Then continue with your evening as usual, but be mindful of Her essence in you.
Significance:
Now, I will share with you the main essence of this meditation. Generally, seekers perform Sandhi Puja at the junction of Ashtami and Navami.
But I have had this rare opportunity of being a student of both Zen and Samayachara. So both these paths are entirely internal. There are no rituals, no puja articles, no props.
Samayachara is, in fact, the highest form of Tantra, where all rituals and external articles are discarded, and worship is performed within or through the body. Your body becomes the temple, and the internal body is where you find the Devi.
I will definitely write about this in detail in future, but that is the essence of doing this meditation. To feel Devi is not something distant, not something outside; She is the sky you are looking at, the orange-red colour you see, and the same colour that is absorbed into your body.
Take some time and think about why blood needed to be red in colour. It could have been green or blue. But why only red? It can't be a coincidence. Relate it to a name of Devi in Lalita Sahasranama -
निजारुण-प्रभापूर-मज्जद्-ब्रह्माण्ड-मण्डला
Nijāruṇa-prabhāpūra-majjadbrahmāṇḍa-maṇḍalā
(Name 12)
Meaning: She submerges groups of Universes in the flow of Her reddish-orange lustre. This signifies that She controls everything in all these Universes, and everything happens as per Her supreme will.
Word-by-word meaning with Sandhi Viccheda and Samāsa Vigrahaḥ:
13 comments
Jai Maha Shakti !!!
Thank you for imparting such a profound knowledge on Devi Maa… ❤️🙏🏻
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏