Sri Vidya Nada Mandir is a sacred space dedicated to the service of the Divine Mother of the Universe, Raja Rajeshwari Tripura Sundari, known to Her devotees as Sri Lalitha Ma. Our primary sadhana or spiritual practice in the mandir is sangeet sadhana, or music sadhana, as well as human service.

Lalitha Ma is accompanied by many Divine Companions in the mandir (temple), all of whom have deep esoteric meaning. As you now tour the shrine in Sri Vidya Nada Mandir, you will learn many important facts about the symbology and meaning of the deities in the Hindu pantheon.

Ganesha is the first god to be worshiped in any puja. According to the puranic story of Ganesha, his mother, Ma Parvati, fashioned him out of earth and breathed life into him. She then asked him to stand guard at the door while she took her bath, and to forbid anyone from entering the house. Ma Parvati’s husband, Bhagavan Shiva, had been away from home for some time, and did not know about the existence of Ganesha. As it happened , he returned home just as Ganesha was guarding the door. Ganesha, not recognizing his father, refused to allow him to enter the house. In a fit of anger, Bhagavan Shiva cut off Ganesha’s head. When Ma Parvati came out from her bath and saw what her husband had done, she was inconsolable. She told Bhagavan Shiva that he must fix the situation immediately. So Bhagavan Shiva went out and , cutting off the head of the first animal he saw, affixed the animal head onto Ganesha’s body. That animal was an elephant, thus Ganesha has an elephant head. When Ma Parvati saw this, she was further upset. She said that everyone would laugh at her son because of his elephant head. So Bhagavan Shiva declared that Ganesha would always be the first deity to be worshipped. Without performing Ganesha puja, no other puja can be done.

Deep symbology is associated with the deity Ganesha. His face is in the shape of an “Om”, with his round body representing the the two half circles of the “3” shape that is the “Aa” part of the letters in “Om” or “Aum”. Ganesha’s trunk represents the curling tail that is the “Oo” part of the word, and his mukut or headdress (or possibly his broken tusk) is the “m” part of the word. The word “Om” (or “Aum”) represents the transcendent aspect of God or Brahman, pure being without attributes. Thus Ganesha reminds us, as we worship him before any other deity, that what we are doing when we perform any worship, on the deepest level, is honoring the Ultimate Ground of Being, that is beyond all names and forms.

Ganesha, the god of beginnings, is also the embodiment of creativity and creative thought. Ganesha represents the moment when a new creative thought dawns on the mind. It is the first movement of creativity that makes everything else possible. Thus we worship Ganesha first, as he is the first movement in creative process.

In Sri Vidya Nada Mandir, we have many Ganeshas. The Ganeshas in the shrine include a traditional Ganesh murti (image, statue), an image of “baby Ganesh” (in which we see Ganesha’s childlike simplicity and adoring love), seven “musician Ganeshas”, each of whom is playing a musical instrument (representing the seven notes or swaras of the musical scale, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha and Ni, from which the entire universe is created), and one very special Ganesha, whom we call “Ganga Ganesha”. Ganga Ganesha appeared at our feet one day as were bathing in the Ganga or Ganges River in Hrishikesh (India). Of course, he came home with us, and has become a treasured deity in our shrine. We also have a picture of Siddhivinayak, an especially powerful form of Ganesha that is worshipped in Mumbai.

Subramaniya, or Kartikeya, is the brother of Ganesha, also born to Bhagavan Shiva by miraculous means. As Ganesha represents creative ideas, Subramaniya represents the instantiation of creative ideas into creative work. Ganesha brings the creative idea, and Subramaniya brings us the means to turn our creative ideas into reality. Psychologically, Ganesha and Subramaniya together represent the creative process.

Lalitha Ma is the central deity in our shrine. She is our own Divine Mother. Lalitha Ma, whose name means “the playful, blissful Mother”, is the goddess of beauty, abundance and joy. She is a “shanti bhav” Ma, a peaceful goddess. Lalitha Ma had four arms, representing her complete control of all creation. She is Raja Rajeshwari, the Empress of the universe. In her hands she holds the mace (a weapon for vanquishing negativity), a goad (to guide her devotees on the right path), a bow made of sugarcane (indicating her nature of peacefulness, even as she eliminates negativity) and arrows made of flowers (again indicating her mood of peace and beauty).

In her puranic story, Lalitha Ma came into existence when the gods, tormented by a fierce demon named Bandhaasura, all got together and performed a fire sacrifice (havan) for the purpose of freeing themselves from the clutches of this evil demon or asura. From out of the sacrificial fire emerged Lalitha Ma, shining in splendor. She had come to save the gods from this demon. But the gods began discussing whether a woman alone should be allowed to go into the battlefield. Finally, the gods decided that Lalitha Ma should get married first. When she heard this she laughed and threw a flower garland up into the air. (Perhaps she was the first feminist!) The garland landed around Bhagavan Shiva’s neck, so Lalitha Ma married him. Then she went into battle with Bandhaasura, and manifested various other deities from her body as she fought. For example, Ganesha (according to this story) was created from her laugh, and Ma Kali was created from her finger nails. She triumphed over the demon Bandhaasura and saved all the gods from their peril. Then she retired to her home in the center of the Sri Chakra or cosmic diagram, where she resides eternally. The center of the Sri Chakra can be interpreted as being the depths of the human heart/soul.

There is an enormous amount of symbology surrounding Ma Lalitha, her stories, and the sadhanas or spiritual practices that focus on her. The gods, the demon Bandhaasura, the predicament of the gods, and Lalitha Ma’s battle can all be seen as part of each person’s psychology or inner life. The Sri Chakra, or cosmic pattern, in which Lalitha Ma lives, sometimes seen as a Meru or three dimensional mountain, is a map of both the microcosm and the macrocosm, the individual and the universe. Each circuit of the Sri Chakra (which is composed of nine overlayed triangles) has deep meaning and symbology. The puja that we do in Sri Vidya Nada Mandir honors the divine beings and ideas in each of these circuits or avaranas.

In Sri Vidya Nada Mandir, we honor Lalitha Ma with divine music, and also with the chanting of her thousand names, Lalitha Sahasranama, her special three hundred names, Lalitha Trisati, and her special worship, called Sri Chakra Puja, along with Kadga Mala Stotra.

Lalitha Ma sits in the central place of honor in our shrine. She sits on earth from the Kali Temple in Dakshineshwar, where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived and practiced his sadhana, which included the worship of Lalitha Tripura Sundari.

Below Ma Lalitha is a Sri Meru, or three dimensional cosmic diagram, made up of five precious metals. Behind it is the Sri Chakra, the same cosmic diagram in two dimensions.
This is the cosmic home of Ma Lalitha, to which we offer puja daily. The philosophy and cosmology of the Sri Chakra is vast and complicated, but it sufficient just to think of the Sri Chakra as the abode of Ma.

Kali Ma is a fierce goddess who fights the demons of negativity. In her puranic story, she vanquished the demon Raktabhija. Raktabhija had a special power- whenever his blood fell onto the earth, a new Raktabhija was created for each drop of blood that fell. Kali Ma defeated him by drinking up each drop of blood before it could touch the earth. The drops of blood from Raktabhija represent desires. Each desire that we experience gives birth to many more desires; the chain of desire is endless. As long as we chase desire after desire, we cannot realize our deepest nature as Brahman. Kali Ma represents the ability to put an end to all desire, which is the ability to realize God. In Lalitha Ma’s puranic story, Kali Ma is a projection or aspect of Lalitha Ma.

Hanuman, the “monkey god”, is the perfect devotee. In his puranic story, he helped Bhagavan Rama save Mother Sita from the clutches of the demon Ravana, who had kidnapped her and taken her to Sri Lanka. Hanuman leapt over the ocean to reach Lanka and give Sita a message from Rama. Hanuman personifies the perfection of the “servant attitude” in relationship to God. Four attitudes toward the Divine are possible- the “servant attitude”, the “child attitude” (seeing God as a loving parent, or, conversely, seeing God as one’s own innocent child), the “friend attitude” (seeing the Divine as one’s best friend), and the “heroic attitude” (seeing the Divine as the beloved). Hanuman’s complete devotion to the service of Bhagavan Rama personified the power and strength to be gained by taking the “servant attitude”. As Rama’s faithful servant, Hanuman could perform super-human feats. This is the power of being a servant of the Divine. According to some interpretations, Hanuman is an incarnation of Bhagavan Shiva.

Baby Krishna, or Lalaji, represents God in the form of an innocent child. Psychologically, Lalaji is the innocent child- nature that resides in each of us. Devotees of Lalaji take care of him just as they would their own baby son- bathing, dressing and feeding him, getting him up in the morning and putting him to bed at night, and singing and chanting to him. This sadhana creates a tender bond of love between the devotee and the Divine. Also, because Lalaji’s service (utsav or seva) is externally visible (you can see whether Lalaji is in bed, or whether he is up and dressed, for example), doing Lalaji’s utsav is wonderful for regularizing one’s spiritual practice. Our Lalaji travels everywhere with us, or, when that is impossible, he stays with a “babysitter”, another devotee family who can take care of him. He came to us on Sargam’s thirty-fifth birthday from Vinodiniben Patel, and he had been long worshipped by another family before that. Lalaji has his own little side-shrine, next to which is a vase of sand from the Ganga River, and a bottle of 108 rudraksha beads, which we collected from the rudraksha forest at the Shaiva Siddhanta ashram on Kauai, Hawaii. Rudraksha beads are considered to be “the tears of Shiva”, and the excellence of their spiritual vibration is extolled in the Devi Bhagavatam, a classic puranic text of Hinudism.

Ma Saraswati is the goddess of wisdom and learning. She is the “wisdom” aspect of Lalitha Ma, according to her puranic story. Many years ago, in Brindaban (Krishna’s birthplace in India) we found our small stone murti of Durga Ma which you saw in the previous picture. We wanted a stone image of Saraswati that would “match” our Durga Ma. We looked everywhere, both in India and the U.S., but we couldn’t find the right image. Then one year, we went to Ammachi’s ashram during her summer tour, and asked in the bookstore whether they had any image like this. The bookstore devotee answered no, they never have that, but perhaps we should mention it mentally to Amma. We did that, and the following November, there was our murti in Ammachi’s gift shop. There was only one, and we haven’t seen another one since!

Mumba Devi is the presiding goddess of Mumbai, India, where our family home is. Her temple is on a small side street, and is identified by only a small door marked “Mumba Devi”. When you enter the door, you come upon another world- inside is a huge courtyard, beyond which is the temple to Mumba Devi. Each day, Mumba Devi is honored by the most ecstatic arati we have ever seen. Her temple reflects perfectly the mix of grandeur and mess, control and chaos,that is the India that we love. Her picture, which we bought in her outer courtyard in Mumbai, reminds of India as it really is.

Now you will see the images of our Gurus. The Guru is honored even more than God Himself, because it is the Guru’s grace and guidance that bring us to God realization.

Guru Maharaj Sri Ramakrishna is considered by many an incarnation of God (avatar). He lived in the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple (Kolkata, India) in the eighteen hundreds, and is the founder of our sampradaya or lineage. He was a great sadhaka, and realized not only the vision of Kali Ma, but the truth of all religions by his sadhana or spiritual practice. He actually experienced in his own life the Vedic injunction, “Truth is one; the sages call it by various names.” He was also the most amazing kirtankar, or divine singer. If he heard a bhajan or kirtan once, he could remember it and sing it perfectly. He loved to have music and chanting around him all the time. You can read more about Sri Ramakrishna in the literature available through the Vedanta Society in America, or the Ramakrishna Mission in India. We have both his photo and his murthi in our shrine. His murthi sits on earth from his birthplace, Kamarpukur, in Bengal, India.

Holy Mother Sharada Ma, or Sri Ma, was the wife of Sri Ramakrishna, and is considered by many to be an incarnation of the Divine Mother. She was the embodiment of love and selfless service. Sri Ramakrishna himself worshipped her as the Divine Mother Shodashi. She is the “Guru Ma” of our sampradaya or lineage. Many books about her are available through the Vedanta Society in America and the Ramakrishna Mission in India. We have both her photograph and her murthi in our shrine, and her muthi sits on earth from her birthplace, Jayrambati, in Bengal.

Swami Vivekananda was the foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He is well known in India as a great patriot, and in America as the person who brought the ideas of Vedanta to the west. He was a perfect sadhu. Swami Vivekananda was also a great musician, and this is, of course, our favorite thing about him. He was trained in classical music and could sing well and also play several instruments. Sri Ramakrishna loved to listen to his bhajans, many of which are still sung today. (Most of these are in Bengali, but a few are in Hindi.) Swami Vivekananda composed many classical bhajans and drupads, including the arati that is sung in all the Ramakrishna Centers worldwide. Our picture of him is a very rare one, showing him playing the pakawaj.

Sat Guru Dattatreya is the original ancient guru of the tradition of Sri Vidya (the sadhana of worship of Lalitha Ma and the Sri Chakra). Many consider him to be an incarnation of God, or avatar. Our murti or image of him comes from Hrishikesh, where we had many wonderful experiences.

Our first contemporary guru is Swami Swahananda of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. He is currently the head of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, and is one of the most senior Ramakrishna swamijis. He had been an integral part of our life since the early 1970’s, when he came from India to serve first the Vedanta Society of San Francisco, and then the Berkeley Vedanta Society. He is so close to us that he is like our own father, and we call him “Bapuji”. Swami Swahananda has been a great source of guidance and strength to us.

Our second guru is Sri Amritananda Mayi, known to all as “Ammachi” or “Amma”. She is well known the world over as the “hugging saint”, and is considered by many to be an incarnation of the Divine Mother. We have known her for many years, and have had many incredible experiences with her. Her beautiful bhajans and kirtan, and her focus on social service are a constant source of inspiration to us.

We are also very devoted to Swami Omkaranandaji of Badarikashrama, who has been a wonderful guide and brother to us for many years. We began our path of music sadhana with him many years ago. Badarikashrama began in our house over twenty years ago, and has now grown into an important mission with a special focus on social service in India, especially in the mission’s sister ashrama, Badarikashrama of Madihalli (near Bangalore). Both Swami Omkaranandaji and Badarikashrama remain important associations for us.

The mountain of kumkum, or red powder, in the center of our shrine is the result of daily offering. Offering kumkum and haldi (tumeric) symbolizes offering our very life force to the service of the Divine. Offered kumkum is highly charged with spiritual vibration, and may be useful for healing in some cases. The kumkum “mountain” fills the shrine with spiritual vibration and attracts the presence of high astral beings to the temple.

The small brass vessel or “ghat” with the brass coconut on top represents the “heart” of our shrine. We can mentally offer all our desires, intentions or problems into the ghat, and Ma will help us with all these issues. The ghat is filled with salt water (just like the human body) from the ocean and the threads tied around it represent the three gunas or qualities of all existence.

Because the heart of our sadhana or spiritual practice is music, we include several small instruments in our shrine. Indian musicians always worship their instruments as embodiments of Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom. Without the grace of our instruments, we would have no music! The small instruments in the shrine are symbolic of all music and all instruments. We also always honor our real instruments each time we sit to practice or perform, and we encourage our music students to do the same.

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