Devipuram questions and answers

An aerial photo of the Sri Meru Nilayam temple at Devipuram during the Third Mahā Kumbhābhiṣēkam

Q: We don’t understand this. Will you please explain?

Guruji: This temple is made in the form of Śrī Chakra.

Q: What is Śrī Chakra?

Guruji: Śrī Chakra is the abode of the Mother Goddess Lalitā and Her retinue.

Q: Who is Lalitā?

Guruji: Lalitā is the Tantric form of Gāyatrī. Anyone can worship Her. She represents Life in all of Nature.

Q: In Hindu religion we have too many Gods. That is our confusion, is it not? Will not one God do?

Guruji: Well, it is a problem — and its solution also. Let me explain.

We know that life is one. But when it is in our eyes, we see; in our ears, we hear. Seeing and hearing are totally different. The same life is given different names in different organs because it is doing different things. What is wrong with that?

It is also the same life which is manifesting as you and me. So we have different names. It reduces confusion to have different names for different functions.

Let me answer why we need many Gods.

Every time your house pipe leaks, will you call the president to come and repair it? You will call a plumber.

In the same way, we don’t have to go to the Supreme God for every small job. We can go to a Sarpanch for village problems.

Appropriateness is the key to diversity.
Grandeur is the key to unity.
They are the same.

So, there is only one Goddess — the Life of all.

And there are also many Goddesses — the lives in each of us, and the life in each organ of us.

Life is the same, but it is called by different names in different persons, organs, places, times, and cultures.

Views of the new Khaḍgamālā Devis of the Sri Meru temple, 2015

 

Q: Why are there only Goddesses here?

Guruji: We worship God as Mother Lalitā here. We worship, adore, and protect Nature — ours as well as that of our environment. Nature is our mother who created us.

Q: But the male is also needed for creation.

Guruji: That is true, but the prime role is that of woman. In creating life, man’s role is only pleasure. Woman’s role begins there. She labors for nine months, gives birth to the baby, nourishes it for twenty-seven months at her breasts, and teaches it for seven years more.

Sex is man’s preoccupation, while compassion is woman’s preoccupation.
Aggression belongs to men; patience belongs to women.

Given our nuclear bombs, which can destroy the whole world 27,000 times over, we do not need to adore aggression anymore. Womanly patience and compassion are the needs of the hour to protect our little world. Therefore, we prefer the compassionate female form of Goddess to the aggressive male form of God here.

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Q: Why are the Goddesses shown nude here?

Guruji: Nudity is a symbol of purity. All of Nature is nude. Are not flowers pure? Are they not the genitals of trees? Do we recognize them as genitals and condemn them as obscene public display?

There is a deeper reason than just purity for showing nude icons here.

All powers are in a half-awakened state in people. Vedas and Tantras teach that your body itself is a temple in which Goddesses live. All parts of your body are the real seats of power — Śakti Pīṭhams.

This is the secret of the Purāṇic story of Satī.

When Dakṣa insults Śiva, saying, “Why should we worship the erect male genital, Śiva?”, Satī is unable to bear it and dies. With Her body on Him, the enraged Śiva wants to destroy the world. To save the world, Her body is cut into bits and pieces by Viṣṇu to pacify Him. The places where these pieces fell are the Śakti Pīṭhams, the homes of Goddesses.

The story clearly identifies Śakti Pīṭhams as body parts. By worshipping the organs, we awaken the Śaktis there.

There is also another lesson here.

Śiva is angry because of the dead Śakti. Worshipping a dead yoni leads to anger. This is a pointer to the dangers of deadening Eros — the love of life.

Of all body parts, the female genital is the most potent life-giver. It is the greatest generator of power. If we worship that, we are assured of awakening all powers latent in us.

It is the basis (Ādhāra), the ground of all.

Q: Won’t lust be provoked in worshipping the genitals? Won’t it enhance sexual crimes?

Guruji: Yes, provocation of lust will be there. But that is the natural first reaction, due to our suppressing nudity in public. Who tells us to go against our own Nature? If we really worship women, the lust will be replaced by kindness sooner or later.

The fear that public nudity enhances sexual crime is baseless. There are many tribal people who go completely nude. In these societies, people are not aroused by nudity. Sexual crime is practically unknown there. Sexual crime increases by suppression, not by expression. It is extinguished by expression, not enhanced by it.

In Scandinavian countries, sex is open; rape is rarely heard of. Blue films are sold in every store; people hardly take any interest in them.

Men realize that the approach to woman's sexuality is not through lust. She has ten times the capacity for sex pleasure than man, as Vātsyāyana points out in the Kāma Sūtras. Her sex is distributed all over her body, unlike that of men, in whom it is concentrated in the liṅga.

That is why the Liṅga Purāṇa says Śiva is to be worshipped only in the liṅga, not his body. And how? By Rudrābhiṣeka. For what purpose? Mahānyāsa says: “Rudrasya antarhityai” — to defuse anger. It does not say to provoke lust.

Lalitā Sahasranāma advocates the worship of yoni and sex:
Bhagārādhyā, Kula-kunda-ālaya, Yoni-nilayā, Rati-priyā, Kāma-keli-taraṅgitā, Vīra-goṣṭhī-priyā, etc.
“Worship Her genital. She resides as Mother there. She resides in the vagina. She is fond of sex. She enjoys lusty intercourse. She is pleased by group worship of heroes and heroines.”

Lalitā Aṣṭottara says: “Mahādeva-ratotsukyā Mahādevyai Namaḥ.”
“Salutations to the Great Goddess who longs for union with Mahādeva, the great phallic God.”

Khadgamālā says: “Upastha-indriya-adhiṣṭhāyī Varuṇa-Āditya ṛṣiḥ.”
The waters of life and their shine in the vulva are the sages who reveal Her.

The pūjā of Lalitā describes giving sixty-four intimate services to the Goddess, including complete body massage with scented oils, followed by abhyanga snāna — pouring milk, rubbing curds, slippery ghee and sticky honey, pouring fruit juices, erotically satisfying the senses, and finally bathing with scented waters while reciting Vedic mantras for hours. It is indeed a great feeling to be worshipped like that by many people around.

She is worshipped in a married woman (suvasinī-archana-prītā). The śāstras clearly state that all body parts contain Devīs. They should all be worshipped without exception.

And She should be worshipped with fun, gaiety, music and dance.

In ancient times, even public sex was considered service to the Goddess. This was true not only in India, but throughout the world. Temples of Goddesses had sacred prostitutes who taught the arts of love to initiates. In India they were called Devadāsīs. They sang and danced for the Goddess. Temple walls show sculptures of group sex, and governments today proudly promote tourism to these erotic places of worship — such as Khajurāho and Konārk.

Q: Many men may object to this. They may say you are destroying women’s morals and are a dangerous Tantric.

Guruji:
They have a right to think like that. The same was said about Buddha. They will continue to think like that until the truth dawns on them. They are important people; they have an image to protect. Fortunately, I am not important, so I have nothing to lose except my identity by exposing myself.

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Q: Is this the only path in Śakti Pūjā? What is your path?

Guruji:
I am not an expert nor a Siddha. I am a seeker.

As far as I know, there are four basic paths in Śakti Pūjā:

1. Samaya – Fire as symbol

2. Dakṣiṇa – Idol or Yantra as symbol

3. Kaula – Living person as symbol

4. Vāma – Dead person as symbol

The first two are guided by Dakṣiṇāmūrti. The last two by Dattātreya.

Samayācāra is traditionally reserved for Brahmins:
– High caste Brahmin
– Learned in Vedas and Vedāṅgas
– Maintain four sacred fires daily
– Renounce sex except for procreation on prescribed days
– Treat every woman as mother

It considers base and sex chakras unworthy of worship.

Dakṣiṇācāra is for Brahmins, Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas. It uses icon or yantra.
Milk, ghee or honey are used depending on caste. Pūjā is done to a married woman as Goddess. If she demands, sex can occur, except for Brahmins.

Here, latent powers can be awakened.

Nude Goddess sculptures help awaken these powers.

They teach: be affectionate to all.
Removing clothes alone is not nudity. Opening the mind is nudity.

Learn to worship Śakti and Śrī Chakra as Dattātreya taught Prahlāda and Paraśurāma.

Know the secrets of ancient rituals to change destructive attitudes, dissolve anger, benefit yourself first and then society.

Discover how to love yourself.

Sex is worship because it is the highest offering of self.
Worship it in temples where it belongs.

Learn fine arts expressing love to Divinity in temples.

To make relationships pleasant, we must pull down our egos.
Then others will do the same.
Then harmony happens.

Opening our mind for others to read — that is nudity.

— Amrita