Glorious Alchemy: Living the Lalitā Sahasranāma

In her many forms, Devī resides in the Śrīcakra, with the nine enclosures (āvaraṇas) representing nine types of borders around her palace in Śrī Nagara15 in the midst of a forest thick with Kadamba trees, which bear highly fragrant flowers that she favors

The nāmas pour into the moment-to-moment unfolding of life, which becomes infused with Devī’s radiant presence. Instead of being hindrances to liberation, our challenging life circumstances become the doorways to freedom, and sādhanā becomes a 24/7 activity. Each of the thousand nāmas of the LSN is a mantra. When we invite the nāmas into our inner

Journal Journaling is an incredibly useful practice, especially when combined with bhāvanā (see Chapter 12). Writing helps the mind to slow down so that we can undertake a deep examination of our mental processes.

Prakāśa-Vimarśa Prakāśa = illumination: eternal, unchanging Consciousness. Vimarśa = self-awareness: consciousness of Consciousness. Transcendence = Śakti turned toward Śiva. Immanence = Śakti turned toward manifestation.

the very act of creation is the Divine limiting itself. Everything that exists is therefore a manifestation of this limitation. Accordingly, the very question of why suffering exists lies in the realm of limitation. When we transcend limitations in our own sādhanā, such questions stop making sense and stop arising. Imagine a movie that you pay good

The buddhi, ahaṅkāra and manas together make up what is known as citta, the field of thinking and feeling.

The non-dual Śakta-Śaiva Tāntrik traditions describe the descent of Reality into creation by way of the thirty-six principles known as tattvas

The best-known English translation of Bhāskararāya’s commentary is by R. Ananthakrishna Sastry via the Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras (first edition 1899, last edition 2010).

While there is no need for specific rituals or offerings, it is said that Devī is especially pleased when we offer flowers for every nāma. While this can be taken literally, flowers refer to our saṃskāras (see Chapter 4). Setting an intention to offer up our saṃskāras to Devī and to become aligned with her will is practically more useful than offer