The Divine Feminine, the graceful Lalitha

A Yogic Exploration of the sacred text “Lalitha Sahasranama”

By : Dr. Yashaswini B Raj is a dentist turned yoga teacher and also the founder of  Yogayashas. . She shares her passion for Hatha yoga, philosophy, and creative sequencing with others. With a love for learning, singing, poetry, and exploring historic places, she continues to grow as a teacher and student. Through Yogayashas, she creates a space for like-minded individuals to explore yoga's transformative power.

For the one who wishes to invoke the divine feminine, for the yogis and yoginis who know and understand the role of the goddess in our practice, you might want to unleash the meaning and enormity of the most popular and sacred text of the Shakti forms, The Lalitha Sahasranama. 

Lalitha....She will drag you back to her lap when you are distracted from your practice, she will bring you back to her feet when your sense organs go haywire. She will remind you of your Yamas and Niyamas, and she will also guide you like a loving mother. She will guide an advanced practitioner who can hold their breath for many minutes, and very humbly also guide a beginner who has just stepped on the mat knowing nothing but grace, wanting to step into the divine. 

Lalitha Sahasranama is a sacred text that unfolds the cosmic war between the goddess Lalithambika and the demon Bhandasura. The LS is the journey from Ajnana to Jnana, the victory of good over evil. The ways and means of the sensuous goddess during the war, the playfulness of the divine, the sense of humour she holds during the battle, and the many forms she takes to slay the evil demon and his acts. The text is from the Brahmanda Purana of the 4th century. On the request of Sage Agastya, Hayagriva (incarnation of Lord Vishnu with a horse head) teaches the 1000 names of Lalitha. 

In our daily practice, we are battling many evil forms, it could be as small as extending our morning sleep or as enormous as enduring a fatal disease. Each one has their own unique fight and each fight leading to spiritual purification.The willingness to learn, to understand is what Lalitha is portraying in her entire strotram. 

Understanding Yoga in Devi's form

The graceful Lalitha has 4 hands, 

• In her upper left hand, is a bow made of Sugarcane, which depicts the Mind. From the mind, arises the desire to create.

• In her upper right hand, she holds five flowers like the five arrows that depict the five sense organs - hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell

• In her lower left hand is a noose, which depicts Attachment, to drag us back to her lap when we are out of practice and discipline

• in her lower right hand is a Goad, which shows Anger by gently prodding us when distracted

 Understanding Yoga in Glory of Lalitha

• She sits on the Pancha Brahmas, - Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara, and Sadashiva. She is described as the Panchabhuta swarupini. These are like the 5 legs to her throne; they are motionless without her.

• It also appears that the seat she sits directly on is the Shiva in a supine posture, which depicts Shiva as the passive consciousness and Lalitha the Shakthi as the active consciousness, meaning she is the energy form of Shiva. The Shiva is the Atman, the subject, and Shakthi is the Body and Mind, the object that is ever active in performing karmas. Together they form one. Together they are Atmarathi. Together they are Lalithambika. The divine in human form, is symbolic of the integration of mind and body and the sacredness of confluence.

Laliltha, also called, Tripura Sundari, is also correlated with:

1. Trigunas - Sattva Rajas Tamas

2. Will (Iccha shakti), Knowledge (Jnana shakti), Action (Kriya shakti)

3. Atma (Individual Self), Antaratma (Inner Body), Paramatma (Supreme Self)

4. Srishti (creation), Sthithi (preservation), Laya (Dissolution)

5. Subject(mata), Instrument(mana), Object (meya)

6. Waking (Jagrat), Dream (Swapna), Dreamless sleep (Susupti)

7. Past, Present, Future.

Lalitha Sahasranama has been used by yoga teachers and practitioners on and off the mat as a metaphor to attain deeper meanings about the higher sciences and in deeper understanding of the universe. It is used for Mantra chanting and forYoga Nidra practices. The strotram has a certain form and it must be chanted with the right pronunciation stressing upon certain words and syllables while chanting, the highs and lows of the Sanskrit strotra's vibrations bear effect on the lungs and brain Lalita Sahasranama is a beautiful mystery. The Yogic path to the Goddess is called the Sri Vidya and it leads us to the centre of our own being. Lalitha Sahasranama is a beautiful amalgamation of physical well-being, mental discipline, and spiritual growth. 

And by the time you stumble upon reading my piece, it will be the Shravana masa or the Sawan mahina in India. This is considered the most sacred month in the Hindu calendar when most rituals begin. We will also be gearing up for the Varamahalakshmi pooja (Lakshmi pooja) which is celebrated in most parts of southern India, and the cold month is warming to invoke the feminine Divine.