Sohini and Rishi discuss the last two Mahavidyas. Matangi symbolises creativity and sound power, while Kamala, a mild form of Kali, is an independent and sovereign Divine Mother. An exclusive for Different Truths.
At first appearance, Matangi resembles Sarasvati a great deal. The vina she plays is the primary similarity. She could be depicted holding a book and a japamala, just like Sarasvati. All three of these represent how power, knowledge, and sound are interconnected. The vina’s distinctive sound stands for creativity, which is the capacity of consciousness to express itself. In the form of the mantra, the mala also symbolises the power of sound. The book is a metaphor for the information and wisdom passed down through the written word. Speaking is another association of Matangi’s companion parrot.
Knowledge is power is a well-known axiom. Our own experience demonstrates that our abilities will increase as we gain more knowledge about a subject. The better we can manipulate anything to work in our favour, the more we will grasp how it operates. Every learned skill related to any subject of study or type of technology is based on this truth. Therefore, the more control we have over the internal instrument known as the mind (antahkarana), the more knowledge we will have about it.
Like Bagalamukhi, Matangi is frequently linked to yogic or magical abilities that can be called upon to affect our surroundings or other people. Again, knowledge is power, but the sincere spiritual aspirant should have no interest in acquiring this kind of power. Seeking control over one’s own lower Self’s impulses is by far greater and more noble than trying to master others.
Sarasvati vs Matangi
Others continue to attempt to control us, and this highlights the distinction between Sarasvati and Matangi. Sarasvati has long been one of the most revered representations of female deity in the Rigveda. She is the ideal Vedic goddess as a result. Matangi, on the other hand, embodies the ideal Tantric goddess in many aspects.
The Vedic thread, which is centred on a priesthood tasked with carrying out the Brahmanical ceremonies, reflects orthodoxy and the establishment throughout Indian religious history. In contrast, the Tantric thread deviates from accepted Vedic doctrine. It is not the rigorous religion of the establishment, which is controlled by men, but rather one that has always been accessible to people of all castes and genders. It embraces individuals on the periphery of society and does not exclude anyone. Tantra is surprisingly egalitarian, possibly in reaction to an orthodoxy strictly regulated by ideals of ceremonial purity.
Matangi’s fables frequently raise issues of purity. These stories frequently relate her to primitive tribes, hunting, and forests—activities that are on the periphery of modern society. Matangi is undoubtedly an outsider, and caste and diet are key issues when it comes to purity.
Chandala and Sankracharya
Her association with chandalas, or untouchables, reminds one of Sankaracharya, who was raised an orthodox brahmana, of an occurrence in his life. He once saw a chandala approaching while he and his students were strolling down a path in Varanasi. Sankara told the wretched thing to get out of the road because he was afraid of the outcaste’s polluting influence. Unexpectedly, that humble gentleman responded with a speech about the equality of atman and the essential value of every person. Sankara was so struck by his humility that he was inspired to write a poem in which he asserted that both the highborn and the untouchable emit the divine Self.
Concerning food, the issue of ceremonial purity is crucial. The meal that is intended to be served to a deity is cooked with extreme care and by stringent standards of moral and spiritual sanctity. The deity then receives it and eats a portion of it. Prasada, or divine grace, is given to worshippers from the remaining portion after it has been sanctified. One participates in it voluntarily and gratefully. Other than prasada, any other meal that is left over is referred to as ucchista and is viewed as being extremely polluting. Anyone who encounters it becomes ritually unclean. Interestingly, Matangi requests this exact ucchista as an offering. The usual course of action has been dramatically reversed. Moreover, a follower offers ucchista
Matangi should also be ritually unclean, covered in other people’s leftovers, and unwashed.
Spiritual Servitude
What’s happening here? A society that places such a high value on ceremonial cleanliness runs the risk of making purity an aim and turning slavish devotion into a type of spiritual servitude. When Matangi commands breaking the law, she is not at all promoting disrespect but rather a reaction to the restrictions of indoctrination. We are trained to have certain beliefs about what is right and wrong from a young age. We risk losing compassion in our understanding of what is good and wrong. People who always act traditionally religious are frequently blind to their shortcomings and are easily led astray by their pride in their own supposed moral greatness.
The eighth of the eight fetters mentioned in tantric teaching, sila, or excessive concern for morality, is particularly pertinent in this case. Sila is a mental attitude that, like all other restraints, exerts its influence over us and limits the Self’s fundamental freedom. It can be difficult to shake these ingrained attitudes at times. Our everyday awareness is very conditioned; this is saguna. Nirguna is the unconditioned nature of awareness, which is our divine nature. Sadhana is essentially a deconditioning procedure.
Purity-Impurity Dichotomy
Our perception of the universe is dualistic because of the dichotomy between purity and impurity. The Tantric idea that the fundamental source of impurity is not the ritual contamination we have been taught to fear but rather our existential restriction can only be understood when we see beyond our lower notions. We have been so preoccupied with unimportant issues that we have completely missed the main issue.
Mala is the term denoting impurity in Tantric teaching. Mala develops because of the atman’s connection to maya, which is the Divine’s inherent capacity for restriction. Only a condensed version of the perfect, infinite Self exists in the imperfect finite soul. The impurity of our smallness, mala, manifests in three ways.
Anavamala is the impurity of a lessened sense of self: “I am small (anu) in my sense of separateness, lack, and inferiority.” Anavamala is the consciousness of restricted individuality. The other two malas are also a result of this underlying impurity.
The World of Duality
The sense of “I and other” is created when the sense of individuality develops into a sense of separation. This additional impurity is known as mayiyamala: “I am apart from what I experience around me.” Mayiyamala throws us into the world of duality and causes our mental activity to become enmeshed in a process of contrast, comparison, and exclusion. By concentrating on the variety around us, we are drawn away from the internal oneness that is our true, divine nature.
The third impurity is a result of the restricted inside I and the numerous outer others interacting. Our actions are never free and spontaneous; they constantly submit to the conditioning that ties us, and their repercussions in turn prolong the bondage. This is karmamala, the bound and binding state of human action: “I act out of necessity, driven by my own sense of want.”
The malas imprison us if they taint our perception. We are stuck in a feedback loop as long as we pursue the traditional ideas of purity and piety and avoid their opponents. The example of Matangi helps us to confront our misconceptions and set ourselves free.
Kamala: Blessing-giving Gestures
Kali is the first in the ten Mahavidyas, while Kamala is the last. Both are manifestations of the Divine Mother who, outside from the Mahavidya framework, are highly revered. They differ in this sense from elements like Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, and Matangi, which lack a same level of independence and a sizable fan base.
Kali is ranked first in the Mahavidyas according to one analysis because she stands for the transcendental experience. Kamala is ranked last in this same order because she is the element that is most directly related to the present. The mistake here is to see Kali and Kamala as two distinct people. The awakened spirit recognises oneness rather than distinction because the Divine is, in fact, one.
It is oversimplified to classify Kali as fierce (ugra) and Kamala as mild (saumya) in this manner. Kamala is not solely auspicious, although being tremendously so, and Kali is not without compassion and goodness. Mother is One and she is All, to reiterate.
Kamala is depicted as making brave and blessing-giving gestures. In her two upper hands, she is holding lotus petals while she reclines on a lotus. She is surrounded by two elephants, and even her name means “lotus.” Naturally, Kamala is Lakshmi, who is depicted in the same way, but there are also notable contrasts in the context of the Mahavidyas.
A very old embodiment of the Divine Mother is Lakshmi. She had the name Sri in the Vedic era. Sri, as she is referred to in the Vedic hymns, stands for brightness, lustre, grandeur, and abundance. She embodies the celestial brilliance and strength that each deity possesses.
Laskhmi: Agricultural Goddess
Lakshmi, who may have initially been a non-Vedic agricultural goddess, is associated with Sri in a song from late Vedic periods known as the Srisukta. She is already connected to the lotus and the elephant via the Srisukta. The lotus is a symbol of cosmological harmony, life, and fertility. The creation is bright, lovely, and good because the cosmos develops like a lotus blossom. The lotus is a symbol of purity. Although the plant is deeply rooted in the dirt, the stunning blossom it produces is unharmed. The lotus depicts calm detachment and incorruptibility since water beads up on its leaves and immediately goes off. The lotus represents spiritual authority in addition to purity, and the lotus on which Lakshmi-Kamala is seated serves as a throne.
The elephant represents comparable virtues. Rain, which is associated with fertility, development, expansion, wellbeing, and wealth, is represented by the water that rained from the tree’s trunk. The elephant is a representation of authority because it is the monarchs’ mount.
Purity and Power
These are the two attributes that the preceding Mahavidya, Matangi, is found to nullify. Do these two facets of the Divine Mother contradict one another? Or may they be combined in any way? Doctrinal differences less significant than these have sparked antagonism, schism, physical bloodshed, and conflict among several of the world’s religions. However, the Mahavidyas’ worldview accepts even stark contrasts and finds a way to integrate them harmoniously.
We need to keep in mind that, according to the viewer’s sectarian perspective, there are at least three alternative perspectives of Lakshmi to comprehend this better. The original Vedic goddess, Sri, absorbed and assimilated the likely non-Vedic Lakshmi to herself by late Vedic times. The Divine Mother’s Vedic or orthodox aspect is Lakshmi as it is known today. The non-Vedic Lakshmi most likely kept her original status among her followers as well, and it is in that form that we know her as the Tantric goddess Kamala. Lakshmi is Visnu’s consort in the form in which she is most recognised and most frequently worshipped today. Vaisnavism is the third situation mentioned.
This raises the complexity level further. The divinity’s brilliance, might, and splendour are represented by Vedic Sri. As a result, Sri had relationships with every male deity, including Indra and Kubera, who are associated with power and fertility, and the Vedic Visnu, who is associated with dharma, or moral excellence. However, Lakshmi is now Visnu’s slave in the later, orthodox Vaisnava religion. She is now his submissive wife and is represented as being smaller and weaker than him. However, Visnu represents the passive male principle, and Lakshmi is the dynamic female force in the Pancaratra system, an early variant of the Vaisnava Tantra. She is the one in charge.
An Independent and Sovereign Divine Mother
She is even more powerful since she is the Mahavidya Kamala. Kamala is the independent and sovereign Divine Mother, not a divine consort. She is not a male deity’s spouse. It’s interesting to note that she’s not frequently confused with the other female figures found in traditional Vaisnavism, such as Sita, Radha, or Rukmini. Only Saiva names like Siva (“the auspicious one”) and Gauri (“she who is gently radiant”) are ever used as epithets for her partner names. Kamala is not entirely positive or biased, though. She has various names, including Tamasi (“the dark one”), Ghora or Bhima (“the terrifying one”), and Rudra (“the howling one”). The Tantric Kamala accepts both light and darkness since she is the totality, much like Kali.
This clarifies how Kamala, who is frequently connected with lotuses, which stand for authority and purity, may be reconciled with Matangi, who challenges us to break the rules governing outward purity and to question the legitimacy of the authority that enforces them. The goal of the spiritual life is ultimately to reclaim our lost freedom. We feel our perfection once we have realised our identity with the Divine through whichever kind of practice we choose. Purity and impurity debates are moot. Knowing the truth of divine consciousness in its unconstrained unity is becoming purity itself, the purest purity outside of the realm of thought. In the experience of total oneness, where there is no second, questions of authority also vanish. Any imposed authority disappears in the glory of divine autonomy (svatantrya), and this is the feeling of emancipation or enlightenment.
The most well-known manifestation of the Divine Mother is Lakshmi, also known as Kamala, because she has a connection to the present moment. Her devotees send her prayers for luck, wealth, abundance, and well-being—for all positive life has to offer. If we sensibly ask for only what we need and nothing more, there is no danger in doing this. Our Mother, Lakshmi, exhorts us to pray and work for the welfare of all our brothers and sisters. Beyond that, she encourages us to pursue greater riches—the riches of dharma. This dharma encompasses all aspects of moral excellence, including dedication, kindness, compassion, truthfulness, and others. Our greatest treasure is virtue, which is more priceless than riches. It will inspire us to look for yet greater understanding of Self-realisation, which is the ultimate objective of human existence.
In conclusion, all the Mahavidyas are mental and emotional states of spiritual enlightenment that we shall encounter as we make our way back to the Divine. How frequently have we heard that God is love? Kamala or Lakshmi stands in for that love. Being completely immersed in Kamala’s presence causes one to embody divine love. Then we realise her greatest secret: love is special and unlike everything else because the more you give, the more you receive. And Kamala provides us with a direct route to the Divine with her wonderful secret.
(Concluded)
Cowritten by Rishi Dasgupta
Rishi Dasgupta, a Masters in Economics from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, is a millennial, multilingual, global citizen, currently pursuing a career in the UK. An accomplished guitarist and gamer, his myriad pursuits extend to the study of the ancient philosophies and mythologies of India. ‘Adi Shiva: The Philosophy of Cosmic Unity’ is Rishi’s second book as co-author.
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