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

Unlike the state of deep sleep where the dissolution is into ignorance (as in, we don’t wake up from deep sleep with the realization of our true nature), in the vijñānakala state, the meditative absorption is the result of wisdom or higher awareness. Here, only the āṇava mala is in play. This higher awareness, however, is not permanent.

Pure and Impure Paths The pure and impure paths have to do with seeming differentiation between the subject or perceiver (Aham) and object or That (Idam). The Māyā tattva delineates the pure and impure paths. Below Māyā, Ahaṃ and Idam remain separate. Above Māyā, Ahaṃ and Idam are non-separate.

Prakāśa is Śiva and vimarśa is Śakti. When vimarśa is directed toward itself, Reality is transcendent and when it is directed toward manifestation, Reality is immanent. When Reality’s self-awareness is directed exclusively toward Itself, it is transcendent. When Reality’s self-awareness is directed toward objects, it is immanent. In other words,

Even as you’re reading this, various thought-forms, fragments of images, phrases and words might be arising, which determine how you’ll interpret this sentence. These spontaneously arising modifications are known as vṛttis, and are particularly noticeable when we are trying to meditate. When people say they can’t meditate because their minds are

If we really want to know Devī, we have to realize our unlimited nature and become her. This is the purpose of sādhanā, and the result of moving from duality to non-duality, from taking ourselves to be the limited “me story” to knowing ourselves to be non-separate from Reality. It is realizing that we are far more than the character in the movie.

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

Kāma, the God of Love Central to the LSN. Also known as Kāmadeva or Manmatha. Confusingly, Śiva is also sometimes referred to as Kāma in some contexts. Not just the god of erotic love; Kāma represents the fundamental juicy desire to be alive! Incinerated by Śiva into ashes. Rises from the ashes as Bhaṇḍāsura, his distorted form that is the lack of

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