~*~ Kumari Tattva ~*~

    The power of kaal (time) is working in creation. It is a very strong power. Everything in the world is subject to change and this is the work of Kaal Shakti. It digests everything and is ever moving. Everything in creation is under its spell and is evident everywhere. The meaning of Upasana is to defeat kaal and be free from its effects.

   This philosophy is followed more in the Shakt system. To understand this, we must clearly understand Panchdashi (15), Shodashi (16) and Saptdashi (17). (This is important knowledge for shakti sadhaks whose ishtadev is Tripursunndari.)  Kaal has two direction of movements. One is expansion and the other is contraction. First is the move to confront and the other is to move across; one is inhalation and the other is exhalation; one is opening of the eyes and the other is closing them. This goes on for the whole life. It happens in the realm of kaal. When in it sadhana is followed as per one's lineage, then with the help of one's guru one is able to transcend it. By support of inhalation and exhalation one is able to connect with the innermost bindu. Once that is connected, then in this very ignorance, one develops chaitanya. This is called Shodashi Vidya. This is the eternal kala of one's atma. While the kaal chakra is called Panchdashi.

    Attainment of Shodashi means freedom from the grip of kaal and one enters into the realm of Shakti. In this realm, Shiva always stays close with Shakti and both are called Kameshwar and Kameshwari. They are established in the central bindu of mahatrikon (great triangle). Around it an aura is eternally rotating. This only is the Panchdashi which is also the form of kaal shakti. Panchdashi is only Nitya but Shodashi, apart from being nityas is also Jagdambika Herself. In it there is always increase or decrease of kala. She is Bindu swaroopa. 

    The central point of panchdashi circle is Shodahsi. Taking the support of this very centre, Panchdashi keeps working. This panchdashi has two movements, one is clockwise and another is anticlockwise. This movement is without a beginning and without an end. The point around which this movement is happening is fixed, is at rest or is still. When the above two movements are completed, the central bindu lightens up. This mahabindu is the navel of kaal chakra. This is Shodashi. It is said that inside the navel is nectar. Hence Kaal chakra is FIRE and nectar is SOM (Moon). 

    The meaning of circling is, two points joined together by a line. On one side of this line is the point which continuously rotates, while on the other side is the point which is always at rest. All the three, two point and joining line, together comprise Kaal Chakra. Rotating point is Kaal bindu and every jeev takes its refuge. Day-night, months, years all rotate like this. This is the play of kaal. While the central bindu is beyond time. As in the outside world, similar bindus are located in our body also. The continuously rotating bindu is our body, while the static bindu in us is our Atma. We can say, that moving bindu is prakriti and the fixed bindu is Purusha. Poornima is called complete but it is not. Because after it, krishan paksha also comes. Thus in kaal, we have poornta (completeness) of poornima and shunyta of Amavasya.

    Shodashi is not affected by kaal. The body in which it descends, that body becomes free from the clutches of kaal and is nectar-like. One who has transcended kaal, in their bodies, the effulgence of Shodashi shines fully. Kaal can eat up Panchdashi but it cannot eat Shodashi. During descent of Shodashi, in comparison to Agni kala, Somkala starts increasing. Shodashi is Nishkriya roopa. It is drishta or sakshi (seer) only. Due to non activity, real completeness is not reflected. Real completeness dawns on the advent of Saptdashi. In it, where on one side is dynamism, complete repose is also reflected on the other side, thus it is akhand. Here , there is no difference of sakriya and nishkriya and from this the whole world is continuously evolving out. But still it is poorn. This completeness is the real Akhand Kumari Tattva. From this Kumari the whole world is taking birth but her Kumari Tattva is still maintained. 

    When one is moving on the gross path, gross obstruction are faced and when one is moving on the subtle path, so also obstructions are there. As we move out of the gross path and enter the subtle path, subtle obstruction raise their heads. Most of the times they are not seen. At every step one faces the problem of falling down. To overcome this, Matri seva is suggested. Mother resides in the whole creation in the form of Shakti. One has to appease her with seva and by Her grace all known and unknown obstructions get removed. Hence help of Karm shakti is essential. 

    While taking Diksha from guru one gets a body which has guru shakti in it. It keeps helping the yogi continuously to complete his sadhana. This very shakti is the Mother. Mother in essence is Kumari. That is why a brahmin kanya poojan is considered an important work. When we do seva of outside statues, we are actually giving service to those statues where pranpratishtha has been done by our own pran. Hence seva of a living kumari has been devised. The body provided by guru gets strong with the help of this kumari poojan. It gets satiated and with it one gets permanent connection with the Mother. Now the Mother Herself, in the form of Gurushakti completes the deeds for the Sadhak. Hence seva is an extremely important thing. In the eternal realms even, it is not possible to perform such seva, as there is no Mother in the gross bodied kumari form there. Hence it takes an extremely long time to complete ones sadhana there.
        This English rendering is from the writing of Siddha Mahamahopadhyaya Pt.Gopinath Kaviraj.

                                                                   ~*~Om Jai Ma!~*~