Bhuvaneshwari

Integrating, unifying knowledge begins with Bhuvaneshwari. The seven worlds below and the seven worlds starting from this earth above arise from the act of seeing. The act of seeing is Bhuvaneswari. She is also known as Maya or the shudha vidya. What comes before knowledge? Sometimes it is the act of seeing/perception. Sometimes it is one devise which makes the act of seeing to happen. Knowledge has two origins. What coming from the sensory perception is the first origin.

Among the second class of knowledge, there are two further divisions. If the devise to see, relive a past experience exists, with the object of desire known before the seeing happens. This seeing is related to memory; the object of desire springs forth from individual memory. Seeing a divine image of Krishna or Lalita in meditation belongs to this class of knowledge. These are projections from the mind.

If the desire to see is there, but the object of seeing is not preconceived or prespecified, then such as act of seeing forms the subject of revelation. This can happen in a seedless meditation, this causes vijnana. It’s origin is not necessarily in the individual subconscious, but it could be in the collective subconscious, and we will use the name God to represent the unmanifest, but potentially manifestable source of knowledge. When one reads books (not read before) in meditation, or one sees sights not seen before, then these are revelations.

The word seeing is used in a loose collective sense here. It is to be taken to mean all possible modes of receiving information: contact, sound, objectory, taste, seeing.

The upasana of Bhuvaneswari is an attempt to receive such knowledge of God as a direct experience. The basic idea here is that the restriction of an individual consciousness is an artificially imposed one, and it is possible to transcend this by means of the following way.

Suppose you are seeing an object. Normally the eyes tend to focus to get a clear image of the object. But it is possible to focus the eyes on the space in between the object and the eye. The eye no more perceives the object them, but looks at the space in between; this space is objectless.

Or alternatively, one can focus one’s eyes to the space beyond the object to eliminate the object recongnition. See figure accompanying. Thus one generates a mode of mewing which is not normal. The normal way is to focus the image, trying to analyse the image, trying to name it, trying to assess whether it is threatening or loving, trying to polarize it, trying to judge it. The abnormal way is to defocus the object, and instead of looking at the object, look at the projection from the universal mind on the object. This way the illusory nature of the world is destroyed, and the true nature of the world is made self-evident.

All the worlds have their origin in focus- in the act of seeing, defocus and multitude merges into the one.  This is the open eyed meditation of Bhuvanesvari, by Sambhavi mudra.

It is difficult to practice this with everyday objects, because we have been trained in a particular way all the time to focus only. Besides, there are likeable and unlikable objects which immediately bring in the colour of love and hate into the mind, destroying the peace of oneness. It is easier to start practice on objectless space, like the sky.

It is important to notice that Sambhavi mudra applies not only to the sense of sight, but also to other senses as well. This is left at an exercises to the reader and to apply it!

Bhuvaneshwari is perceptive power leading to knowledge. Therefore She is Jnâna Shakti. She is the Space concept in creation, the ether medium through which light moves and extends. Space, in fact, is an extension of perception. What we call space is the extent to which we see, the range of our vision. As our vision widens, the Space grows and we are able to realize more and more of the Self-extension of the Divine. The Divine's vision is vast and so is the Space (Âkâsha). She creates the myriad primoridial worlds (Bhuvanâs), sustains them and nourishes them. She is the all-pervasive force, permeating the whole fabric of creation. The Space gives a form to the formless Divine.

Another name for Bhuvaneshwari is Mâyâ. Mâ is to measure. It is the Space which measures the immeasurable. The feat implied in measuring the immeasurable is acclaimed as an illusion by some seers. However, to the tântric, Mâyâ is the infinite consciousness having the power to clothe itself in finite forms. She is the measured out space, the perception of the Divine, force of the first knowledge. This vast space, Bhuvaneshwari, resides in the little space of the heart (daharâkâsha) of every being!
The mantra of Bhuvaneswari is Hrim - meaning illusion. It is a constant remind not to fall into illusions of focus, of detail, but see beyond the unifying identity underlying all. Sometimes, the mantra is given as Om Hrim Om - implying that anahata should be strung through the Hrim. In fact, Hrim is the tântric Pranava. It connects the little space within one's heart with the infinite space outside, making the heart yearn to go beyond boundaries of shape into the vast immensities.

Hrim is known to the tântrics as the lajjâ beeja, implying shrinking and not free. Hrim, therefore denotes a manifestation that is not yet fully blossomed- the worlds created by Bhuvaneshwari continually evolve. Hrim is the sound of Space itself, a yearning cry of the created towards the Creator.

The view of the lord is the one of identity. Bhuvaneshvari upasaka is led to this view, in all circumstances. He sees himself everywhere, initially. After some time, he stops seeing the external world, and is all the time merged in the oneness of God, loving himself deeply.

Bhuvaneswari is the central deity of the Sakti worshippers. She occurs thrice in Pancadasi, as Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Gauri.