Aum Gung
Ganapathaye Namah
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa
Homage to The Blessed One, Accomplished and
Fully Enlightened
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful
Goddess
A Collection of Articles, Notes and References
References
(Revised: Saturday, January 27, 2007)
References Edited by
An Indian Yogi
What’s in a name? That
which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
- William Shakespeare
Copyright © 2002-2010 An
Indian Yogi
The following educational writings are STRICTLY for
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Should NOT be used for commercial, political or any
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8 "... Freely you received, freely give”.
- Matthew 10:8 :: New American
Standard Bible (NASB)
1 “But mark this: There
will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God—
5 having a form of
godliness but denying its
power. Have nothing to do with them.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all
kinds of evil desires,
7 always
learning but never able
to acknowledge the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,
so also these men oppose the
truth--men of
depraved minds, who, as far as
the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those
men, their folly
will be clear to everyone.”
- 2 Timothy 3:1-9 ::
New International Version (NIV)
6 As
he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
- Hebrews 5:6 :: King James
Version (KJV)
Therefore, I say:
Know your
enemy and know yourself;
in a hundred
battles, you will never be defeated.
When you
are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself,
your chances of
winning or losing are equal.
If ignorant both of your
enemy and of yourself,
you are sure to be defeated in every battle.
-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, c. 500bc
There are two ends not to
be served by a wanderer. What are these two? The pursuit of desires and of the pleasure which springs from desire,
which is base, common, leading to rebirth, ignoble, and unprofitable; and the pursuit of pain and
hardship, which is grievous, ignoble, and unprofitable.
- The Blessed One, Lord Buddha
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A Brief Word on Copyright
References
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A
Brief Word on Copyright
Many of
the articles whose educational copies are given below are copyrighted by their
respective authors as well as the respective publishers. Some contain messages
of warning, as follows:
Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are
expressly prohibited
without the written consent of “so and so”.
According
to the concept of “fair use” in US copyright Law,
The reproduction,
redistribution and/or exploitation of any materials and/or content (data, text,
images, marks or logos) for personal or commercial gain is
not permitted. Provided the source is
cited, personal, educational and non-commercial use (as
defined by fair use in US copyright law) is permitted.
Moreover,
I
believe that satisfies the conditions for copyright and non-plagiarism.
References
Some of
the links may not be active (de-activated) due to various reasons, like removal of the
concerned information from the source database. So an educational copy is also
provided, along with the link.
If the
link is active, do cross-check/validate/confirm the educational copy of the
article provided along.
References
Bon-po Nuns: Then and Now - Women As
Ascetics.
http://www.jammafoundation.org/bon_po_nuns_then_and_now.htm
Kali. Part 1
http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/kali-art79.html
Kali. Part 2
http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/kali-art80.html
Kali. Part 3
http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/kali-art81.html
Mother
Worship and the SriChakra
http://www.tantra-ifc-the-art-of-conscious-love.com/srichakra.html
Pagan Goddess of the Sibyl and Cybele
Oracle
http://www.goddess.org/vortices/notes/cybele.html
The
Goddess: Introduction
http://www.lunaea.com/goddess/intro.html
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Educational
Copy of Some of the References
FOR
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
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Reference
Bon-po Nuns: Then and Now - Women As
Ascetics.
http://www.jammafoundation.org/bon_po_nuns_then_and_now.htm
Generally
speaking, Tibetan nuns stayed in their parents home.
They reared their brothers and sisters, cooked and maintained the farms and
helped with harvest. Many families were
nomadic shepherds and their daughters' work was vital to survive in
Formal nunneries existed in
Often, nuns might travel as pilgrims,
led by their faith to holy sites, or retreat to caves for solitary
contemplation. Some nuns would study with wandering gurus they would encounter
on their journeys. Nuns were often alone
in their struggle for the religious life, yet there are many famous female
practitioners and saints. Some Tibetan
teachings claim the female form a superior vessel for the practice of Dharma and
ultimately enlightenment.
These nuns of old
...
These women, who belong to one of the worlds oldest and most peaceful cultures, pray daily for
the protection of the earth and its inhabitants. The vow of a Bon-po
nun is to serve until enlightenment is achieved by all.
(Reference: Bon-po Nuns: Then and Now - Women As
Ascetics.)
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Reference
Kali. Part 1
http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/kali-art79.html
...
In fact, Brahmani, Vaishnavi and Rudrani are the
consorts of the three Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (also named Rudra).
HER DARKNESS DISOLVES EVERYTHING
The simultaneous existence of these three processes
within the creation clearly expresses the statements included in
all Tantric writings, that the creation of the universe did not
occur once, in the past, nor will the universe be destroyed once in the future, and that rather in every
instant these aspects manifest as flashings creating the illusion of continuity
and reality.
...
The description of the Great Cosmic Power Kali describes her
as being dark as the night, dancing over Shiva's inert, white body. This representation reveals
the significance of the two fundamental aspects of Reality: on one hand there
is the dynamic, imanent aspect of God (Kali's dance) and on the other the static, transcendent
aspect of consciousness (identified with Shiva).
Shiva is white because he signifies the infinite
divine light (prakasha), inert because the absence of
movement and action reveals the consciousness pure, homogenous and compact.
On the other hand, Kali's
dance signifies the dynamic, active aspect of the Divine, and the dark color
of her skin indicates that the processes of the creation are disolved in Kali.
From a different perspective, Kali is also the
creator of the universes, as they come to life from the ashes of the Divine
Consciousness' purifying fire. Consequently, Kali's action is deeply
evolutionary,
as she impels the human beings towards evolution, sometimes in a
painful manner.
Nonetheless, Kali performs her actions in the divine
light and harmony, knowing that this is the best thing to do. Those who
manage to pass all the tests and go through all the stages are in truth
spiritual heroes, and they will be rewarded with Kali's
spiritual grace.
However, until God's will does not manifest the
creative impulse, the divine infinite energy (Shakti)
lies potential, but unmanifested, inseparably united
with Shiva, in his purely transcendent aspect.
The spiritual Tantric
writings denote this state as SAT-CHIT-ANANDA (PURE EXISTENCE-PURE
CONSCIOUSNESS-INFINITE BLISS).
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Reference
Kali. Part 2
http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/kali-art80.html
...
Kali is also named ADYASHAKTI, in her quality of
energy and terrible Cosmic Power who impels humankind towards action and the universe towards
manifestation.
Kali's
representation reveals
her
nakedness. This
is not
a trivial manner of representing a deity, but instead this fact stands for the
transcendence of all limitations.
Her action in the manifested world implies the destroying
and in the same time purifying action of time (Kala). This aspect is suggested by
the
human head she holds in one of her hands.
SHE DESTROYS YOUR EGO SO THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
REBORN
One of the most important hypostasis in which one
can worship Kali is the goddess Durga, the one who
defeated the demon Mahishashura. This demon
represents in the Hindu spirituality the forces of the dark.
The Vedanta philosophy presents the conception
according to which there are the Divine Embodiments (avatara)
who
come on earth in order to perform a deep transformation of mankind.
For the worshipper of God in the aspect of the
Divine Mother, Durga is the only hypostasis that destroys
the evil of the world in its numerous demoniac and satanic aspects.
Thus, the Hindu mythology describes how the goddess
has vanquished the demons and their king, Mahishashura,
saving the gods from captivity and set up again the divine order in the
universe.
The spiritual significance of this myth is that each human
being has inside both good and bad, and these energies constantly fight for
supremacy.
Durga, embodiment of
the goddess Kali
grants
her support and help to those who ask for it and worship her, so that the spiritual
forces develop and gain supremacy over the dark, negative influences of the
psychic and mental.
Durga is thus the Divine
Light who destroys
and burns
in terrible fire of her pure consciousness any malefic force and any leftover of ignorance.
HER FORCE AWAKENS KUNDALINI
The sadhana or spiritual
practice recommended for the worship of the Great Cosmic Power Kali implies the effort of
purifying and activating the
centers of force,
so that the fundamental energy Kundalini
ascends from Muladhara chakra to Sahasrara.
The ascension of Kundalini represents one of the
characteristic and most important aspects of this Great Cosmic Power's worship,
and is correlated with the practice of sexual continence, according to the principles of the Tantric doctrine.
The mysterious influence of Kali is so complex and
hidden that only few pure
souls may see through her actions their real significance.
We meet a frequent representation of Kali as the
Cosmic Mother, surrounded by
a great number of different gods and goddesses. Lacking any dimensions or
spatial-temporal limits,
she
takes on different forms and names in order to meet her worshiper's most secret
desires.
In certain situations, Kali embarks
into action to destroy that which is perverted, weak, or useless. Thus, we may see her
representation as having four or more arms, in which she holds different objects that are
helpful in restoring or preserving the divine order of the universe.
In her most elevated aspects, Kali is the Divine
Bliss itself,
that which
is beyond ordinary human perception, and the nature and consciousness of the
Divine Brahman himself.
Consequently, there are two ways of worshipping her:
as the
great Goddess
bestowing her grace and blessings upon all those who deserve it, and as holy energy (Shakti) who grants spiritual freedom (Kaivalya).
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Reference
Kali. Part 3
http://sivasakti.com/articles/tantra/kali-art81.html
THE PURIFYING FIRE THAT BURNS THE EGO TO ASHES
All the representations of the goddess have in
common the following fundamental elements: Shiva's dead body, her glorious
attitude, the black
color, but they
may differ in other details, which underline her specific role in the
universe, characteristic to a particular representation.
One representation of Kali reveals her in an imposing
attitude, meditating in a state of infinite bliss on Shiva's chest. Another representation is while shooting
an arrow, with her right foot bent, on Shiva's chest.
Both figures (Kali and Shiva) are in a
cremation place,
suggesting that all illusory things are finally reduced to ashes, burnt in the fire of
time, or that they
return to their primordial essential state.
As usually, Kali's skin is
black, the source of
all colors.
This also indicates the fact that she is associated to the depths of God's
mystery.
Nevertheless, she is surrounded by a white hallo, a gentle light whose nature is amrita and
that brings peace to the eye. In this representation, Shiva's body indicates the fact that the power of
God's consciousness is inherent to the unanimated matter as well.
Kali's mouth is wide open and she
pulls her tongue out, symbolizing the mudra of
the devouring, or consuming the universe.
However, this terrible and scaring aspect is backed up by a smiling
attitude of the
goddess, looking upon the being of the universe with kindness and affection, sustaining their life and nourishing
them with her immense
breasts.
Her ironic laughter is for all those who, due to ignorance for the laws of harmony and
balance imagine that they can elude spiritual evolution. The Great Goddess has three all-seeing eyes,
"supervising"
the universes from the past, present and future.
In her other hand she holds a skull, whose
significance id double: on one hand it is the receiver of the universal
mysterious teaching,
and on the other hand it is a reminder of what endures after the dissolution
of the universe.
THROUGH HER INFINITE GRACE, ALL UNIVERSE DISOLVES IN
YOU
In another hand, Kali holds a sword (khadga),
whose role is to cut all worldly connections and attachments, so that the worshipper
is prepared for the ultimate spiritual freedom.
It is also interesting to mention that her hair is
long and dishevelled, standing for the power of this great cosmic
power's all-pervading grace.
Her benevolence and compassion are underlined by two
of her hands that perform the gesture of casting away the fear and that of offering
spiritual gifts and powers.
Around her neck there is a necklace
made of skulls belonging
to various demons and other malefic entities, symbolizing her complete
victory over the evil.
Her naked body is splashed with the
blood of these entities,
and her
earrings are in
fact two
decapitated human bodies.
This is Kali's complex representation in her terrible
form, known
also as Dakshina Kali or Shyamakali.
In the Hindu iconography, Kali appears under
a number of other forms,
with
minor differences
as regards the number of the arms, face, of symbolic objects she holds.
Thus, Shamasana Kali, Siddha Kali, Maha Kali, Guhyakali represent just as many aspects of the Goddess,
worshipped in different areas of India.
Among these forms, remarkable is the form of Bhadra Kali, described in Tantasara as a hungry
deity, ready to devour any illusory aspect of the universe, having three eyes,
four hands holding a skull, a drum, an ax and a trident.
A variant of Bhadra Kali
is Chamunda Kali, who although pleasant to
the eye has terrible teeth and holds a long
human bone with a skull at one end, a sword, a chain and a human head. Unlike the other
representations of Kali, Chamunda Kali wears a tiger's fur
and sits
on a body.
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Reference
Mother Worship and the SriChakra
http://www.tantra-ifc-the-art-of-conscious-love.com/srichakra.html
Mother is Brahman the Absolute, the all pervading,
beyond all speech and mind and even beyond time and space, the Tat Sat.
Though illuminated seers and adepts call the
absolute Brahman in various names, this is due to the difference in taste, but
in reality there is no difference at all in essence. What ever name you call
her she is still the absolute Adi Sakthi
or Adi Para-Sakthi.
(Reference: Mother
Worship and the SriChakra.)
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Reference
Pagan Goddess of the Sibyl and Cybele
Oracle
http://www.goddess.org/vortices/notes/cybele.html
In the new language Siburu
became known as Si-bel-u (bel
being lord) in the new language, while Her heavenly
aspect became Subulutu, the
"celestial virgin", which is a priestess who never married but was sexually promiscuous.
The Hittites, who had first arrived in northwest
Asia-Minor (modern Turkey) about 3900 years ago, began their rise to power
about the time of Hammurabi, but were held in check
for the next one hundred and fifty years, when Babylonia become a weakened
nation. Six generations later, the Egyptians under Tuthmosis
III, conquered much of the former Babylonian territory. It was during this
period that the Holy Taverns and the Sibelu spread north
to the place of its origin in Asia Minor and as far as the
Under Pharaoh Seti (c.
1300 BCE) the Egyptians established the colony of Colchis
on the eastern tip of the
...
The cult of Dionysus was probably the first
missionary religion in history. Semele [the daughter of
Cadmus - founder of
Cybele thus became the Goddess of
Asia Minor while, Sibyl or Sybil, which means "Cavern-dweller"
became the title for the Priestesses who would be distantly related and known
as the Sibyllae in
The Pythoness at
Justification for the supremacy of male the priests
of Apollo had begun in at the earliest days of the
One day while Apollo and Hyacinthus
were hurling a discus, Zephyr caught the discus and in a jealous rage hurled it
against Hyacinthus's skull. Apollo's cradled his
dying lover in his arms and from the boy's death's blood which fell to the ground, sprang the hyacinth flower. This is somewhere
between legend and myth, as it has little to do with the cosmos, but rather it
is used as historical justification for homosexuality among the Greeks. There
is no question that homosexuality (or rather male bi-sexuality) was very much a
part of the early religious practices. But this was sacred homosexual ritual.
By making the sex of Hyacinthus and Apollo,
"love" between a mortal and a god, Greek men were justified in emulating
their god.
When the Priestesses of Daphoene
were taken over by the male priests of Apollo, the priests vied for both oracle
and the sexual rituals of the Priestesses, as Apollo sanctioned both fellatio
and anal sex. However, the people rejected any change from Priestesses as
oracles, when the oracular priests failed - which was immediate. So to take
control from the young sexually promiscuous Pythonesses,
the priestesses were deprived of their sexual rituals and replaced with older
women. It was through these older women that Apollo gave His oracle. This led
to the legend of the Sibyl.
...
It was the Great Mother, Cybele,
as the Greeks and Roman's knew Her, who was originally
worshiped in the mountains of
...
All of the Cybela rituals
had an orgiastic nature.
...
Midas, king of Phrygia, was at the music contest
between Pan, the pipe playing God [who resembled Dionysus] and the harp playing
Apollo. The judge of the contest, Timolus, awarded
the contest to Apollo, but Midas said that Pan was superior. For this Apollo
changed Midas' ears into to those of a donkey. This is more than a cute story,
as it shows the rivalry between the Greeks and Phrygians.
Apollo was a God of restraint, sexual
moderation and homosexuality [or bisexuality]. Pan was a God of wine, open sexuality,
and enjoyment, as were the
women of Phrygia and Lydia, a nation which sprang up after the Trojan war.
By the time of Herodotus, the cultures of Greece and Lydia were
indistinguishable, except that the Lydian woman all prostituted themselves to
earn dowries, and Lydian men judged their potential wives, not by how much
money they had earned, but by how many different men with whom they had sex.
...
There are several versions of Attis.
And though he was obviously associated with the late coming, Adonis of
(Reference: Pagan Goddess of the
Sibyl and Cybele Oracle.)
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Reference
The
Goddess: Introduction
http://www.lunaea.com/goddess/intro.html
In
the beginning was the Mother.
...
Once
She has called your name,
you
are Hers forever.
(Reference: The
Goddess: Introduction.)
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Personal Note
In the beginning was the Mother.
In the beginning was Energy...neither
created nor destroyed...never dies...Energy, the Mother...from which all forms
evolved...
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http://in.geocities.com/anindianyogi/goddess.html
Published on internet: Saturday, October 25, 2003
Revised:
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Information on the web site is given in good
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“Thou belongest
to That Which Is
Undying, and not merely to time alone,” murmured the Sphinx, breaking its muteness at last. “Thou art
eternal, and not merely
of the vanishing flesh. The soul in man cannot be killed, cannot die. It waits, shroud-wrapped,
in thy heart, as I waited,
sand-wrapped, in thy world. Know thyself, O mortal! For there is One within thee, as in all men, that comes and stands at the bar and bears witness that there IS a God!”
(Reference: Brunton, Paul. (1962)
A
Search in Secret
Amen