Satsang by Swami Satyananda
The medium of the Rajasooya Yajna is the Sat Chandi Yajna, in which the Mother Goddess, Chandi is invoked and worshipped. Chandi represents the energy of transformation, which is psychological, spiritual and social. That is the basis of the Rajasooya Yajna. Chandi is a very peculiar concept in the tantras, as well. She is the goddess of transformation, change, and the power of Chandi is invoked to bring about an inner transformation in life. You need to invoke Lakshmi for external transformation, to manage the inflation and recession. Chandi is to be invoked for inner transformation.
Sat Chandi is not an ordinary yajna; it is one of the most sacred yajnas of tantra. The techniques of the Sat Chandi come from the highest esoteric tantric rituals. Tantra is a very powerful science, and tantric yajnas invoke tremendous energy, shakti. I am not referring to the tantra that you know about through books, which has been defined as the yoga of sex and free living, but the traditional tantra that is performed to purify and free yourself from weakness and negativity. Tantra is a process of invoking and experiencing the divine force within. This divine force does not come naturally or spontaneously, although it is inherent in everyone; you have to prepare the receiver of the mind.
You are surrounded by radio waves but you are unable to see them. In order to materialize and to hear those waves, you need to have the right instrument, whether it is a radio or a transistor. You also need the ability to tune that instrument, because when the receiver is tuned, you can hear any station you wish. The same applies to the cosmic energy; it surrounds you, internally and externally, above and below, and it is the force responsible for creation, sustenance, transformation and change. The Sat Chandi Yajna prepares you to receive the highest forces of the Divine through the recitation of mantras, performance of rituals and giving of prasad.
The word sat or shat means 100; and Chandi is the name of the Mother Goddess, the cosmic creator. From the tantric tradition and viewpoint, Chandi is the goddess responsible for the change and transformation that you experience in your life. At the same time Chandi is also a mantra. So, Sat Chandi means recitation of the Chandi mantra 100 times. Chandi is the aggressive aspect of the Mother, who comes into existence when all human and divine efforts have failed. Her glories are described in the 700 verses of Durgasaptashati, which form the mantra. Mythologically there is a long story behind this tradition, which is full of deep insights into spiritual life. The 100 repetitions of the Chandi mantra, contained in the 700 verses of Durgasaptashati, is the process, which is used to invoke the cosmic power.
Mantras are words of power, which create a specific vibration in the environment. Mantras purify the environment. The concept of mantra exists in many mystic traditions, which in the past have used mantras to aid the function of the elements, to control the elements, to harness them for the betterment of society, the planet and creation. Nowadays, the mantras that we recognize are those that give control over the natural processes with the strength to manipulate events. Therefore, mantras may seem like magical spells, witchcraft and wizardry, but in reality they have a different function to perform; they focus the cosmic power. You can feel the strength and power that is created when the mantras are being chanted and everyone is participating. The vibrations become a cosmic power, which pervades the entire region, including your own body and self.
The mantra of the Sat Chandi Yajna is a different experience altogether that induces an altered state of consciousness at the conscious, subconscious and unconscious levels. The power of the mantra is harnessed for spiritual upliftment, and at the same time, used to create a different environment of peace, prosperity and beatitude. Different things can happen at many levels. In yajna, the energy that is invoked by the chanting of the mantras and the creation of yantras and mandalas focuses the cosmic power. It is an incredible experience; thousands come to be in the presence of the yajna, to hear the mantras, to spend ten minutes there, and then go away.
Sat Chandi Yajna is performed to invoke the blessings and auspiciousness of the Cosmic Mother. We are worshipping the Mother, the Adi Shakti, the original or primal mother, who was not born from a womb. We are worshipping that eternal Mother, who has no particular form, but every form is Her form. We should not say that She is formless, although it is true that She has no particular form; but it is Her glory we see in the sun and moon, and in all forms of life. The Cosmic Mother, the cosmic energy being worshipped here, is inherent in each and every object of creation. There is no form in this world that is devoid of this cosmic presence. Once we become aware of this cosmic presence within and around us, we will begin to love that divine nature, which some people call God.
Loving God is a personal expression, it is not a matter of religion. Religions are systems that can evoke that feeling, but love of God, feeling for God, and experiencing God are not religion. Loving God is a natural form of expression in which we are aware of, connected to and filled with the presence of that cosmic force. So, here we are worshipping the Mother, the cosmic energy, whom yogis know as kundalini shakti, Vaishnavas as Lakshmi, Shaivas as Gauri and Amba, Christians as Mary. The Mother is the giver who nourishes life and at the same time, She has the power to bless everyone.
During the worship performed in the yajna, no image or idol is used. The invocation is done for shoonya, the unmanifest, attributeless existence. There is no idol of any God or demi-god. We have only invoked the formless into a formless space. We have only invited a nirguna, formless, placeless, eternal, infinite Atma, having no name. We have given Her a name and a sex, because we are used to it. Otherwise, She is neither male nor female. We have invoked Her and placed Her somewhere within that space; we don't know where that space is. We have invited the attributeless Shakti into shoonya. Only a cloth is put around something to represent Her. God can be created anywhere on earth, in water, in fire, in air or in ether.
The medium of the Rajasooya Yajna is the Sat Chandi Yajna, in which the Mother Goddess, Chandi is invoked and worshipped. Chandi represents the energy of transformation, which is psychological, spiritual and social. That is the basis of the Rajasooya Yajna. Chandi is a very peculiar concept in the tantras, as well. She is the goddess of transformation, change, and the power of Chandi is invoked to bring about an inner transformation in life. You need to invoke Lakshmi for external transformation, to manage the inflation and recession. Chandi is to be invoked for inner transformation.
Sat Chandi is not an ordinary yajna; it is one of the most sacred yajnas of tantra. The techniques of the Sat Chandi come from the highest esoteric tantric rituals. Tantra is a very powerful science, and tantric yajnas invoke tremendous energy, shakti. I am not referring to the tantra that you know about through books, which has been defined as the yoga of sex and free living, but the traditional tantra that is performed to purify and free yourself from weakness and negativity. Tantra is a process of invoking and experiencing the divine force within. This divine force does not come naturally or spontaneously, although it is inherent in everyone; you have to prepare the receiver of the mind.
You are surrounded by radio waves but you are unable to see them. In order to materialize and to hear those waves, you need to have the right instrument, whether it is a radio or a transistor. You also need the ability to tune that instrument, because when the receiver is tuned, you can hear any station you wish. The same applies to the cosmic energy; it surrounds you, internally and externally, above and below, and it is the force responsible for creation, sustenance, transformation and change. The Sat Chandi Yajna prepares you to receive the highest forces of the Divine through the recitation of mantras, performance of rituals and giving of prasad.
The word sat or shat means 100; and Chandi is the name of the Mother Goddess, the cosmic creator. From the tantric tradition and viewpoint, Chandi is the goddess responsible for the change and transformation that you experience in your life. At the same time Chandi is also a mantra. So, Sat Chandi means recitation of the Chandi mantra 100 times. Chandi is the aggressive aspect of the Mother, who comes into existence when all human and divine efforts have failed. Her glories are described in the 700 verses of Durgasaptashati, which form the mantra. Mythologically there is a long story behind this tradition, which is full of deep insights into spiritual life. The 100 repetitions of the Chandi mantra, contained in the 700 verses of Durgasaptashati, is the process, which is used to invoke the cosmic power.
Mantras are words of power, which create a specific vibration in the environment. Mantras purify the environment. The concept of mantra exists in many mystic traditions, which in the past have used mantras to aid the function of the elements, to control the elements, to harness them for the betterment of society, the planet and creation. Nowadays, the mantras that we recognize are those that give control over the natural processes with the strength to manipulate events. Therefore, mantras may seem like magical spells, witchcraft and wizardry, but in reality they have a different function to perform; they focus the cosmic power. You can feel the strength and power that is created when the mantras are being chanted and everyone is participating. The vibrations become a cosmic power, which pervades the entire region, including your own body and self.
The mantra of the Sat Chandi Yajna is a different experience altogether that induces an altered state of consciousness at the conscious, subconscious and unconscious levels. The power of the mantra is harnessed for spiritual upliftment, and at the same time, used to create a different environment of peace, prosperity and beatitude. Different things can happen at many levels. In yajna, the energy that is invoked by the chanting of the mantras and the creation of yantras and mandalas focuses the cosmic power. It is an incredible experience; thousands come to be in the presence of the yajna, to hear the mantras, to spend ten minutes there, and then go away.
Sat Chandi Yajna is performed to invoke the blessings and auspiciousness of the Cosmic Mother. We are worshipping the Mother, the Adi Shakti, the original or primal mother, who was not born from a womb. We are worshipping that eternal Mother, who has no particular form, but every form is Her form. We should not say that She is formless, although it is true that She has no particular form; but it is Her glory we see in the sun and moon, and in all forms of life. The Cosmic Mother, the cosmic energy being worshipped here, is inherent in each and every object of creation. There is no form in this world that is devoid of this cosmic presence. Once we become aware of this cosmic presence within and around us, we will begin to love that divine nature, which some people call God.
Loving God is a personal expression, it is not a matter of religion. Religions are systems that can evoke that feeling, but love of God, feeling for God, and experiencing God are not religion. Loving God is a natural form of expression in which we are aware of, connected to and filled with the presence of that cosmic force. So, here we are worshipping the Mother, the cosmic energy, whom yogis know as kundalini shakti, Vaishnavas as Lakshmi, Shaivas as Gauri and Amba, Christians as Mary. The Mother is the giver who nourishes life and at the same time, She has the power to bless everyone.
During the worship performed in the yajna, no image or idol is used. The invocation is done for shoonya, the unmanifest, attributeless existence. There is no idol of any God or demi-god. We have only invoked the formless into a formless space. We have only invited a nirguna, formless, placeless, eternal, infinite Atma, having no name. We have given Her a name and a sex, because we are used to it. Otherwise, She is neither male nor female. We have invoked Her and placed Her somewhere within that space; we don't know where that space is. We have invited the attributeless Shakti into shoonya. Only a cloth is put around something to represent Her. God can be created anywhere on earth, in water, in fire, in air or in ether.
Kanya kumari pooja
Kanya worship is an important part of Shakti Tantra and of the Sat Chandi Yajna. This is a new philosophy of life, where a little girl can be acknowledged and worshipped as a replica of the Divine Mother. This concept of the kanya is unparalleled in man's philosophy. Kanya means 'virgin'. In India, girls officially become kanyas, or virgins, at the age of nine. The concept is fully explained in the scriptures of Shakta Tantra. The discovery that a young virgin was capable of symbolizing and representing the Cosmic Mother was made by a rishi. Could you ever think of your little daughter as the replica of the Mother? No. This idea did not come to the average person, but to the rishis, the great seers.
The replica of greed is money; the replica of passion is a woman. The replica of fear is a tiger, and the replica of the goddess, the Cosmic Mother, is the kanya. The kanyas are very pure, simple and innocent. Up to the age of puberty, they don't know the jugglery of sensual life. Once puberty approaches, the hormones transform the body, emotions and mind. However, there are girls who remain virgins mentally and spiritually, even after puberty. They are virginal by nature, and it is these girls who come for sannyasa. A girl may be a virgin in the sense that she has not menstruated or had sexual interaction, but that alone is not virginity. Not every nine-year old girl can be worshipped as a kanya kumari. Virginity is a natural quality that belongs to one's genetic structure. This is the meaning of virginity in vedic astrology.
The concept of kanya kumari, or virgin, is also found in Christianity. Although Mary was a mother, she was still believed to be a virgin, because she reflected particular qualities that belong to a virgin. One who has the basic quality and divine grace of a virgin can give blessings. During the Kumari Pooja, on the final day of the Sat Chandi Yajna, one hundred and eight girls are looked upon as the form of the Mother and worshipped as Devi. We dress them, feed them and wash their feet, superimposing the concept of Devi on them, and receive their blessings. The kanyas are the Divine Mother's most beautiful form. They represent purity of soul. The soul of man is virgin; its pristine beauty and glory cannot be contaminated. But you cannot see that virgin soul, so you have to form a concept of it.
The kanyas of Rikhia, who host the Sat Chandi Maha Yajnas, represent that virgin reality. They represent your virgin soul, your pure spirit, your inner being, which you are unable to see. This concept is unparalleled. In Devi tantra, the kanya or virgin is considered to be the true embodiment of the Cosmic Mother. We are not her husband or her father.We are her children and She is our Mother. We should remember this and feel it. In the tantric festival of Sat Chandi, the conductor of every ritual is a kanya. This is the most ancient concept of Shakta Tantra, where a young girl is regarded as the embodiment of divine energy, and there are replicas of the goddess everywhere.
