The Sankalpa of the Sri Chakra Temple

An aerial photo of the Sri Meru Nilayam temple at Devipuram during the Third Mahā Kumbhābhiṣēkam, on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019.

 (from "The Goddess and the Guru"):

Even while Sivalaya and Kamakhya Peetam were still being constructed, Guruji’s attention had already shifted to his third and most ambitious project yet—the unprecedented Sri Chakra–shaped temple known as the Sri Meru Nilayam or the Sahasrakshi Meru Temple, which would, 11 years later, become the iconic centerpiece of Devipuram.

The structure’s genesis lay in one of Guruji’s earliest encounters with Kamakhya, during a monsoon downpour.

“She took me by the hand and we walked through the rain to the place where the Sri Chakra temple stands today,” he said. “She told me to build it like a pyramid, and fill it with all the attendant Khadgamala deities installed in their places and receiving puja every day. At its center would be the main deity Lalita Maha Tripurasundari sitting atop Shiva, creating new worlds of higher harmonies. She said, ‘Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu! May they bring happiness to one and all!’ She told me, ‘I am the Mother and this temple will be my child.’”

Since that stunning encounter, Guruji had periodically pondered the logistics such a project would entail—but the proliferation of complications at every level quickly became overwhelming, and he would set it aside to deal with more pressing concerns. He would surely take up the matter of the Sri Chakra temple one of these days, he thought, just not today. Not right now.

That state of affairs continued for only a few months, however, before Bala began bringing up the topic again and again. Guruji recalled, “She would come to me in the form of a little girl and ask, ‘Daddy, when are you going to build a house for me?’

“I’d say, ‘A house! What house?’

“She would say, ‘You know what house.’

“So finally I thought, ‘You know, maybe I’ll try to build this thing after all.’”

He went to see Gurugaru in Anakapalle, describing both Bala’s demands and his inclination to take up the project. Gurugaru, however, balked.

“No, no, no!” he said. “Don’t go near this, Sastry; it’s dangerous! You’re asking for trouble. It’s a huge project and you may very well find yourself unable to manage it. She’ll drive you crazy!”

Guruji nodded thoughtfully and set the idea aside again. But a week or so later, Bala appeared once more, asking, “So when are you going to build me my house?”

Once more, Guruji took the matter to Gurugaru.

“And once again he said, ‘Don’t touch it; it’s a bad business. You’re setting yourself up for failure.’ I asked him why and he said, ‘Look Sastry, this isn’t any ordinary structure. She wants you to build a Sri Chakra—many have tried before you, but none have ever succeeded.’”

After listing off a few such failed attempts—including one by no less a figure than Vidyaranya, renowned high priest to Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I, founders of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 14th century—Gurugaru added, “Consider this too: such an endeavor would be a big distraction from your sadhana. Take my word for it. Don’t go near this.”

Guruji nodded, bowed in namaskaram, and returned to Devipuram.

Upon Bala’s next appearance, he told her of his guru’s response. She replied, “Okay, write down these stanzas and bring them to him.” So Guruji noted down the Sanskrit verses. He then took the message to Gurugaru, who read it and went into meditation for a long time. Upon opening his eyes, he delivered his verdict:

“Well it seems you are destined to do this, Sastry. I think you will complete it.”

And with that he poured a little water into Guruji’s hands and said, “Go ahead and start building.”

“Balaji was so relentless,” Amma recalled of that period. “But once Anakapalle Gurugaru also realized that it was her sankalpa, he gave his blessings to the project and said, ‘I will give all my tapas shakti to you to complete it successfully.’”