Kāmākhyā Temple

 

Guruji at the Kāmākhyā Shrine

The old sign that used to be present by the Kāmākhyā Temple

The text of the sign says:

A Sri Chakra Meru was discovered here by Amritananda. The Meru was dug out from the middle of a rock formation resembling the private parts of a woman. He also saw Kamakhya Devi in person and received initiation into Shakti puja from Her.

The Sivalinga represents four levels of understanding: (1) In Creation, Siva is the phallus and Shakti is the birth channel. (2) In Preservation, Siva is the power in the Sun and Shakti is the love of the created world, coming from the breasts. (3) In Annihilation, Siva takes us into space and Shakti is the time which flows through it everywhere. (4) At the Fourth Level, there is no time, no space, no world; only the seed of a world yet to be manifested. Thus the symbol of God is the lingam, yoni and the Seed coming out of their Union as time, love and semen.

The form here contains all of these ideas. The phallus does not penetrate from outside as in normal intercourse, but is projecting out from the yoni. This shows that pleasure need not be sought from anywhere outside, really. We are self-fulfilled; half-male, half-female. The seer and the seen are one. This is the concept of being Svayambhu, self-born.

The Shakti puja is to be performed according to the rite of Five Ms. These are Madya, Matsya, Mamsa, Mudra and Maithuna. Madya intoxicates. The intoxication of constantly experiencing the release of all tensions as they arise is meant. Matsya, the fish, roams freely in all directions in waters. Water is the symbol of life. Life is to be lived freely, without limits of I and Mine. Mamsa means meat. The tongue touching the palate is called meat. Mudra means a gesture; Shakti chalana and sambhavi mudras are well-known. Maithuna means intercourse. We are continuously interacting with the world through hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling. All this is called intercourse with the world at large. Shakti puja is done to a living woman who agrees to be worshipped as Devi (Suvasini if married, Kumari if single).

The Agama shastras prescribe the actual ingredients. These ancient traditions are not to be looked down upon as Tantra is the art of getting rid of all attachments and inhibitions, gaining freedom from the limiting concepts of uniformity, [expectations] of one’s culture, etc. We follow the Datta[treya] tradition which insists that moksha is for everyone, not only for the elite. All that is required is to follow the tradition told to us by the Guru.

Guruji at the old Kāmākhyā Temple entrance

Current Kāmākhyā Entrance depicting 10 Māhāvidyās