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The tenth Devi of the Khadgamala is called SARVAKAMA. "Sarvakama Siddhe" (the recitation in the Khadgamala) means, "O Siddhi named Sarvakama" (i.e. what Guruji identifies as the power of ATTAINING ALL DESIRES). She is the tenth stop on our journey to the center of Srichakra. She is also the last of the Ten Siddhis, and the final Devi of the outer (white) enclosure wall of Srichakra. Having paid homage to and assimilated SARVAKAMA into ourselves, we advance to the second (red) enclosure wall Again, the power represented by SARVAKAMA is ATTAINMENT OF ALL DESIRES. She is, in other words, the One who satisfies and exhausts all of our desires -- with "exhaust" being the key term. It has often been observed that life in this material plane is characterized by an endless pursuit of transient desires. We want that book, movie, CD, holiday/vacation, car, house, person; we want to be respected as human beings, recognized for what we do well, forgiven for what we do poorly; we want to be liked, we want to be healthy, beautiful, influential, rich, loved, needed, heeded ... and yet, and yet -- whenever we attain one of these desires, it is almost immediately replaced by a new desire. And the cycle begins again. Nothing is ever enough -- not because we are inately greedy or sinful or any such thing; but because we are, under the veil of Maya, chasing after mere stand-ins for the perfect fulfillment and bliss of Divine Realization. And no material stand-in will ever fill our need completely, or forever. No earthly love or pleasure or fulfillment will permanently alleviate the need to connect with Divine Love; no object and material attainment or power will ever be more than a minute partial reflection of Devi's infinite totality as Shakti; as Power Itself. | 
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Therefore, SARVAKAMA's gift to us, once we have assimilated and
become Her, is the exhaustion of those desires. She will give us anything we want -- a power that the vast majority of humanity would give almost anything to gain. And yet -- those who actually attain
SARVAKAMA also gain the realization that the only thing they really desire, the only thing they really need ... is the feet of the
Mother. Devi is all that there is, all that matters. Everything else, however grand and wonderful, is but a pale reflection. But there is more: Sarvakama teaches that all of the diverse goddesses and gods that humans worship and revere in the various religious systems of the world -- while immensely powerful from the human standpoint -- are also just peripheral reflections of the One and All-Encompassing Power (SHAKTI) that we, within the Shakta tradition, identify as Devi. Thus we have the meaning of the 95th stanza of the great Shakta hymn, Saundaryalahari: Think of in terms of earthly royalty: No matter how powerful, no matter how influential, no matter how exalted one's titles, not just anyone can enter the private, innermost chambers of the Queen. Likewise, in sadhana, only sadhaks of the highest order can directly worship Devi in the Sahasrara. This is Shankaracharya's meaning in Soundaryalahari: Deities such as Indra are, on account of their astonishing powers, considered as gods by ordinary mortals -- but in the ultimate scheme of things, they are just slightly more evolved energies. In fact, they have accessed only the outermost gate of Devi's residence -- and are thus but manifestations of the Siddhis. (The siddhis, as eternal aspects of Devi Herself, are immortal and everlasting; whereas Indra and other devas -- however almighty and praiseworthy they may appear to us mortals -- are only temporary manifestations of these siddhis, to be eventually re-absorbed into Devi and disappear into Her totality.) Each Devi of the Khadgamala -- each Devi of the Srichakra -- merges into the next as we progress toward the center. Each Devi is internalized from Her place, and carried with us to the next Devi, and merged with Her. So when we reach SARVAKAMA, we are actually worshiping Her together with the powers of Her predecessors, Anima, Laghima and Mahima, Isitva, Vasitva, Prakamya, Bhukti, Iccha and Prapti. The locations of Sarvakama Devi Continuing to circumambulate counterclockwise around the corner, you pass the next gate and turn a second corner to find Sarvakama (on a flat yantra, She sits to the right of the gate of the outer enclosing wall furthest from you [ seen as in the middle between Prakmya and Mahima ]; close to the upper left hand corner). [ No 10, Blue ] SARVAKAMA's mantra is: Again, the full pooja of these Devis 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 life. According to Sri Bhasurananda Natha, an accomplished Srividya upasak as 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. Hoursof 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. Once again, it is important to note that the Devis representing the Siddhis are *outside* the Sriyantra proper (i.e. the RED area in this graphic)Metaphorically, this teaches that we must get past the Siddhis (powerful and/or attractive side effects of Srividya sadhana) before we 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). [With sincere thanks and appreciation to Sri Amritananda Natha and Sri Bhasurananda Natha, who kindly provided detailed and substantive content for this commentary.] |
