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The second Devi of the Khadgamala is called Laghima. As you circumambulate counterclockwise around the outermost square enclosure, Laghima sits to the right side of the next gate wall [ No 2, Blue ] Laghima Siddhe(the recitation in the Khadgamala) means, "O Siddhi named Laghima"(literally, the power of LIGHTNESS). She is the second stop on ourjourney to the center of Srichakra. Laghima's mantra is: aIM hrIM shrIM laghimA siddhi shrI pAdukAM poojayaami. Please note, however, that the beauty of the Khadgamala Stotram is that NOTHING is really required for the recitation except for your concentration: You simply sit and recite the Stotram. (The mantra given just above is not part of the stotram; it is offered merely for informational purposes. The entire stotram is self-contained, as explained in earlier posts. The full pooja takes hours, because at each point we pause and do smaller, detailed poojas. Hence the sages of yore created an ALTERNATIVE, SHORT-FORM recitation known as the Khadgamala Stotram more suitable for the demands of modern living. According to Sri Bhasurananda Natha, an accomplished Srividya Upasakas well as a member of and advisor to this group: "All of the sadhana of Srividya can be achieved by the recitation of the Khadgamala. Hours of long ritual compressed to less than half an hour of intense meditation that will give you a ticket on the same plane as the great Srividya Upasakas. Whatever your developmental stage, this is IT." Even those who have not been initiated into Srividya can benefit from the Khadgamala, which is why we chose too ffer it to our members here. |  |
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Once again, it is important to note that the Devis representing the Siddhis are *outside* the Sriyantra proper. Metaphorically, of course, this denotes that you must get past the Siddhis (powerfuland/or attractive side effects of Srividya sadhana) before you can enter the Sriyantra (the higher benefits of sadhana) and reach Devi(the goal of Sadhana; even though each of these Siddhis are themselves aspects of Devi). As noted above, the power represented by Laghima is LIGHTNESS. So Laghima is the siddhi by which you gain the power to levitate; to make yourself light so that one could float in the air or walk on the water. She is the ability to offset the pull gravity and the limitations that gravity places upon us. It's important to note that, when we first do the pooja of Anima, we just do not simply complete the pooja and move on to the next Devi, Laghima. When we are doing the pooja we are standing in front ofher, facing her. After completing her pooja, She is internalized from that spot, carried with us to the next Devi, and merged withher. So when we reach Laghima, we are actually worshiping Laghimatogether with the power of Anima. Thus we have, in essence,destroyed or overcome Anima by merging her with Laghima; and it willcontinue thus, through the Siddhis and other Devis of the Khadgamalaso on. That's why, when we start the pooja from the outer enclosure, it is called samhara karma, or the dissolution method. In samhara karma,each Devi is worshiped and is absorbed into the next Devi, and itcontinues until we reach Lalita, in whom, by that time, all the Devis will be absorbed. (In srishti karma, or the creation method)Lalita is worshipped first, and from her the next Devi is extracted,and from her the next one, and onward until all the Devis are intheir rightful places.) [With sincere thanks and appreciation to Sri Amritananda Natha and Sri Bhasurananda Natha, who kindly provided detailed and substantive content for this commentary.] |