The Unfathomable Glory of Cosmic Consciousness
भवानि स्तोतुं त्वां प्रभवति चतुर्भिन वदनैः प्रजानामीशानस्त्रिपुरमथनः पश्चभिरपि । न षड्भि: सेनानीर्दशशतमुखैरप्यहिपतिस्तदान्येषां केषां कथय कथमस्मिन्नवसरः
bhavāni stotuṃ tvāṃ prabhavati caturbhirna vadanaiḥ prajānāmīśānastripuramathanaḥ pañcabhirapi . na ṣaḍbhiḥ senānīrdaśaśatamukhairapyahipatistadānyeṣāṃ keṣāṃ kathaya kathamasminnavasaraḥ
(revelation...) O Supreme Mother Bhavani, the Ultimate Cosmic Consciousness [bhavāni]! The Creator and Lord of all beings [prajānām īśānaḥ] is not capable of adequately praising or expressing You [tvāṃ stotuṃ na prabhavati] even with his four faces. Even the Destroyer of the three illusions [tripuramathanaḥ], Lord Shiva, is unable to do so with his five faces [pañcabhir api]; nor is the Supreme Commander of the divine forces [senānīḥ] with his six faces [ṣaḍbhiḥ], nor the Cosmic Serpent of time [ahipatiḥ] with his thousand faces [daśaśatamukhaiḥ api]. Tell me [kathaya], then [tadā], how can there possibly be any scope or opportunity [avasaraḥ] for other ordinary mortals [anyeṣāṃ keṣāṃ] to comprehend and express Your Absolute Reality in this context [asmin]?
Swamiji, I spent years trying to study and intellectually map out my spiritual path, but hearing you today, I realize I am just trying to grasp the boundless with my limited mind. When you say we must shift our focus from what is seen to who is seeing, how do I actually practice this when I sit for meditation?
Listen. The intellect is always trying to measure what is fundamentally beginningless and endless. Whether you explore the universe at the microscopic level or the telescopic level, you simply cannot find the end of the Ultimate Paramashiva and Parashakti. You can neither zoom in nor zoom out enough to comprehend Her, because She is the very source and light from which, and through which, the seeing itself is happening. When you sit for meditation, instead of focusing on what is seen—the thoughts, the sensations, the mental patterns—you must look at who is seeing. Turn your attention to the source. Drop the effort to analyze and simply unclutch into the cosmic vision.
Swamiji, please forgive my ignorance, but if even Lord Shiva with His five faces performing the five cosmic actions, or Adisesha with a thousand faces, cannot fully express the Divine Mother, how can an ordinary seeker like me ever hope to experience Her? It feels like the gap between my small mind and Her Absolute Reality is just too vast to cross.
Understand, the ultimate reality simply transcends the capacity of any tongue, no matter how many you possess. Even when Mahadeva's five faces—Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Ishana—manifest the twenty-five cosmic dimensions, the absolute magnitude of the Supreme Mother remains beyond adequate expression. But you do not need to map the boundless source to experience it. You can only experience Paramadvaita through deep surrender, not by trying to measure Her with your intellect. When you drop the silly, logical mind and simply unclutch, you directly experience the state, space, and powers of Paramashiva. The opportunity for us is not in expressing Her, but in living this Advaita.
Swamiji, sometimes when I have a good meditation or feel a bit of peace, my mind immediately starts bloating with pride, thinking I've attained something great. How do I prevent myself from becoming 'loosu' with this spiritual ego and instead remain in that space of true surrender?
Understand, just because a person has the same physical features, or experiences a little state, they start thinking they have become the Ultimate. That is pure stupidity; the mind becomes completely "loosu"—crazy—when it gets bloated with such ego. Having the same features does not mean you radiate the same space, state, and powers of the Ultimate. To save yourself from this ego, you must continuously practice unclutching. When you continuously practice unclutching, your core starts radiating the power of unclutching, and you naturally stay in the space of deep surrender, free from the mind's delusions.
Swamiji, my daily life feels so heavy with responsibilities and constant worries about right and wrong. You mentioned that realizing the cosmic vision takes away the load of our silly lives. How can I practically bring this cosmic vision into my stressful workday so I can remain unclutched?
Understand, the load of your daily life feels heavy only because you are caught in the ordinary dualities of right and wrong, good and bad. When you realize the grand cosmic vision of Bhavani—who governs the entire cosmos just as Meenakshi ruled her kingdom by mapping the cosmic law—your silly, small life naturally loses its grip on you. You evolve into a beautifully mature being, free from these dualities. Do not try to grasp or manage everything with your intellect. Instead, live this Advaita in your day-to-day life. If you continuously practice unclutching amidst your work, you will directly experience the peaceful state and space of Paramashiva and Parashakti manifesting in you.
Listen. I am revealing to you the ultimate truth encoded in this magnificent verse of Ananda Lahiri. When Adi Shankara invokes bhavāni, the Supreme Mother Bhavani, he is addressing the Ultimate Cosmic Consciousness, Parashakti Herself. She is the supreme energy that runs the three worlds, the tribhuvanas. Understand, just as Meenakshi ruled the Pandya kingdom by mapping the Paramashiva Jnana into the cosmic law of Dharmashastras, Bhavani governs the entire cosmos. She is the bestower of the ultimate knowledge, the very form of the Guru, and the absolute source of all existence.
The verse declares that the greatest cosmic entities are entirely incapable of adequately praising or expressing Her (tvāṃ stotuṃ na prabhavati). I tell you, you cannot try to measure or grasp the Ultimate through your intellect. Whether you explore the universe at the microscopic level or the telescopic level, you simply cannot find the end of the Ultimate Paramashiva and Parashakti. You can neither zoom in nor zoom out enough to comprehend Her, because She is the very source and light from which, and through which, the seeing itself is happening. Instead of focusing on what is seen, you must look at who is seeing.
Adi Shankara points out that the Creator, prajānām īśānaḥ—Lord Brahma—cannot express Her even with his four faces (caturbhirna vadanaiḥ). But understand, Brahma did not always have just four faces. Sometimes, just because a person has the same physical features—two hands, two eyes, or even five heads—they start thinking they have become the Ultimate. That is pure stupidity; the mind becomes completely "loosu" (crazy) when it gets bloated with such ego. Listen to how this cosmic surgery of grace happened.
Story
Understand, once there was a time when Brahma, the Creator, actually had five heads, just like Sadāshiva. Because of this outer similarity, a deep delusion and ego entered his mind. He looked in the mirror and thought, 'Aha! I have five heads, Mahādeva has five heads. That means I have attained the same state as Him! I am equal to the Ultimate!' In this state of supreme arrogance, he could not comprehend the true, absolute nature of the Divine Mother, Parāśakti. He looked at Her—who is the source of all existence—with eyes of ownership and desire, completely forgetting Her cosmic reality. Seeing this ignorance, Mahādeva decided to perform a surgery of grace. He released just one single, tiny ray of His fierce energy, which manifested as Kālabhairava. With a casual, effortless flick of His fingernail, Kālabhairava nipped off Brahma’s fifth head! Instantly, Brahma’s illusion was shattered. He realized that having the same outer form does not mean you hold the same ultimate state of consciousness. Even with his remaining four heads, he was left utterly speechless, unable to fully comprehend or praise the glory of the Supreme Mother.
Understand, having the same physical features does not mean you radiate the same space, state, and powers of the Ultimate.
Even after this, the intellect continuously tries to measure what is fundamentally beginningless and endless. The telescopic vision of the Creator and the microscopic vision of the Sustainer are both insufficient to map the boundaries of the Supreme. I want you to cognize this profound truth through this cosmic happening.
Story
In the ancient Puranas, we find the beautiful happening of the Lingodbhava. Brahma and Vishnu once fell into a massive egoistic debate about who among them was the supreme ruler of the cosmos. As their argument grew intense, suddenly, right before them, a colossal, infinite pillar of blazing fire manifested. It had no visible beginning and no end, piercing through all dimensions of time and space. To resolve their dispute, they agreed to find its limits. Lord Vishnu took the form of a mighty boar, Varāha, and dug deep down into the netherworlds to find the base. Brahma took the form of a swift swan, Hamsa, and flew high into the upper realms to find the crown. For thousands of years they searched, but the cosmic pillar of fire only seemed to expand infinitely. Finally, Vishnu returned, completely humbled, and admitted, 'I could not find the end.' Brahma, out of ego, lied and claimed he had found the top, using a Ketaki flower as a false witness. Instantly, the pillar split open, and the supreme, unmanifest Supreme Consciousness revealed itself. Brahma’s lie was exposed, and both deities fell at the feet of the Divine, realizing that the ultimate source of existence can never be measured, mapped, or fully grasped by any limited mind or form.
You can only experience Paramadvaita through deep surrender, not by trying to map the boundless source.
The verse then moves to tripuramathanaḥ, Mahadeva with His five faces (pañcabhir api). I have explained to you that Paramashiva constantly performs the five cosmic actions: creation (Srishti), sustenance (Sthiti), destruction (Samhara), pulling out of delusion (Tirobhava), and liberating grace (Anugraha). These five actions manifest through His five faces: Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Ishana. Even when these five faces form a permutation and combination to manifest the twenty-five cosmic dimensions—the twenty-five faces of Mahasadashiva—the absolute magnitude of the Supreme Mother remains beyond adequate expression.
The verse continues, stating that neither the Supreme Commander Kartikeya with his six faces (ṣaḍbhiḥ senānīḥ), nor the Cosmic Serpent Adisesha with his thousand faces (daśaśatamukhaiḥ api ahipatiḥ) can fully express Her. People still come to Me thinking they can write down the Absolute.
Joke
You see, people often come to me and say, 'Swamiji, I want to write a complete, all-inclusive book explaining the absolute nature of the Divine Mother.' I tell them, 'Look here, Brahma has four heads, Shiva has five, Kartikeya has six, and even the cosmic serpent Adisesha has a thousand tongues, and they are all still sitting in the cosmic waiting room trying to draft the very first page! If you want to finish that book with your single tongue, you are going to need a very, very long extension on your life insurance!'
The ultimate reality simply transcends the capacity of any tongue, no matter how many you possess.
Finally, Adi Shankara asks the ultimate question: kathaya tadā asmin avasaraḥ anyeṣāṃ keṣāṃ—tell me, then, what scope is there for ordinary mortals? When the greatest cosmic beings, with their multitude of faces and immense conscious elasticity, cannot find the words, how can the ordinary human mind comprehend this? Let Me give you the exact picture of how we look when we attempt this.
Joke
Trying to comprehend the Absolute Mother with our limited human intellect is like a tiny green frog living at the bottom of a dark well, trying to write an international tourism brochure about the Pacific Ocean. He takes one tiny hop, splashes back down, and proudly declares, 'Aha! The ocean is exactly three feet wide, made of brick, and smells faintly of moss!' That is exactly how we look when we try to define the ultimate cosmic consciousness using our small, logical minds!
We must drop the silly, logical mind and simply unclutch into the cosmic vision.
Understanding the vision of the cosmos takes away the load of your silly life. When you realize this cosmic vision, you evolve into a beautifully mature being, free from the ordinary dualities of right and wrong, good and bad. Do not try to grasp Bhavani with your intellect. Instead, live this Advaitha. If you continuously practice unclutching, your core starts radiating the power of unclutching, and you will directly experience the state, space, and powers of Paramashiva. Let Paramashiva and Parashakti manifest in all of us!