Every fear humans experience is ultimately fear of death in disguise and fear of death itself is the soul forgetting what it is.

Why Fear of Death Exists - The Root Cause

In both Vedantic and Tantric frameworks, fear of death (Mrityu Bhaya) arises from one fundamental cause:

Ahamkara - the false identification with the body and mind as "I."

The Atman, the soul is Sat-Chit-Ananda. Eternal existence, pure consciousness, absolute bliss. It was never born, it cannot die. The Bhagavad Gita states this directly:

>"Nainam chindanti shastrani, nainam dahati pavakah" weapons cannot cut it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot drown it, wind cannot dry it.

So if the soul is eternal why does fear exist at all?

Because Maya the veil of illusion causes the Jivatman (individual soul) to forget its true nature and identify completely with the temporary vehicle of the body. When the body feels threatened with dissolution, the ego experiences that as its own death because it has forgotten it is not the body.

This is the core delusion. Fear of death is literally the soul forgetting what it is.

Where It Lives in the Body, The Anahata Connection

Bhuvaneśvari is the space in which the soul resides in heart chakra. According to Kaṭha Upaniṣad the Self resides in a cave in our heart. This cave is said to be space of ākāśa.

Anahata Chakra is the seat of:

• The Jivatman (individual soul) - represented as a tiny flame within the heart
• Anahata literally means "unstruck sound" - the primordial vibration that exists beyond birth and death
• The bridge between the lower three chakras (material/survival) and upper three (consciousness/liberation)

Maa Dakshina Kali specifically resides in Anahata in her most merciful liberating form not the fierce cremation-ground Kali, but the Kali who cuts the fear of death by revealing the eternal nature of the soul she holds in her arms.

The precise mechanism of why Anahata blockage causes Mrityu Bhaya:

Anahata Blockage	Effect on Soul
Grief, heartbreak, loss	Soul contracts, forgets its expansiveness
Conditional love wounds	Jivatman feels unsafe, clings to body for security
Pranic stagnation in heart center	The inner flame dims, soul "forgets" its own immortality
Disconnection from Anahata	Consciousness drops to Manipura/Muladhara, survival fear dominates

When the Anahata is blocked, the awareness of the soul drops downward into the survival chakras: Manipura (ego/control) and Muladhara (primal fear/survival). At that level, death looks like annihilation because the soul's immortal nature is no longer felt or known. It's not that the soul becomes mortal, it's that the perception of mortality takes over.

How Maa Dakshina Kali Removes This Fear

Maa Kali is the great liberator from Mrityu Bhaya precisely because:

1. She IS death: by merging with her, the sadhaka experiences that what we call death is simply Maa herself. She doesn't destroy she transforms. Fear dissolves when you realize the thing you feared is your own Mother.
2. She cuts Ahamkara: the ego-identity that believes it will die. Her sword doesn't cut flesh, it cuts the false "I." What remains after that cut? Pure awareness. Deathless.
3. She opens Anahata: through her Sadhana, the heart center awakens to the Jivatman's true nature. The inner flame is recognized. Once you feel the soul's presence directly in Anahata, death loses its terror completely because you've met the part of you that was never born.
4. Dakshina specifically: the "right-handed" or southern-facing Kali is the most accessible and merciful form. She stands on Shiva (pure consciousness) showing that even the dissolution of form rests on an indestructible foundation.

Why Most People Haven't Had This Experience

Most people live their entire lives in the lower three chakras i.e. survival, desire, ego. The Anahata remains partially or fully blocked due to:

• Unresolved grief and heartbreak
• Childhood wounds around love and safety
• Ancestral patterns of loss and trauma
• Accumulated emotional residue in the heart center
• No direct transmission or initiation into heart-center awareness

Without Sadhana, without a direct experience of the Jivatman, the intellectual knowledge that "the soul is eternal" remains just that, intellectual. It doesn't dissolve fear. Only direct experience dissolves fear.

Feel free to check other posts on my profile if this resonates! Jai Maa kali 🔱

This article is : For Those Who Fear Being Their True Selves.

For the Rejected, the Misunderstood, and the Authentic

For the Heart That Refuses to Pretend

For Every Soul That Was Told to Stay Quiet

For the Silenced Voice and the Hidden Self

For Those Who Fear Being Their True Selves.

🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️🕉️

She presides over the throat chakra (visuddhi) and controls the delivery of speech. She also governs Sarasvati nadi, which extends from the Aggya chakra to the tip of the tongue and bestows the abilities of foretelling.

The Outcaste Goddess, ruling speech, music, and inner wisdom. She is the Tantric Saraswati, but unlike the Vedic Saraswati who embodies purity and refinement, Matangi resides beyond convention, and control. the heavenly outcast who bestows blessings on people who live genuinely, express their inner truth, and embrace whatever that society deems unworthy, insufficient, or unattractive. (ft. Uchistha Chandalini form)

Matangi is the Goddess of inner and outer expression. She governs:

• Vak siddhi (perfection of speech)
• Mantra shakti (power of words)
• Divine intuition and learning

In tantric understanding, she is the power of sound (Nada) that bridges the formless into form. She blesses those who are ready to let truth flow through them especially artists, musicians, writers, and seekers who wish to live their Dharma without fear of rejection.

She is also the Goddess of marginal spaces. The forest, the outcaste, the rebel, the voice unheard. Her energy flows freely in those who dare to break norms to speak and live in authenticity.

Syamaladaṇḍakam, one of the finest compositions of great poet Kālidāsa, calls her as Syamala. Lalita Sahasranama (10) makes reference to Maa Syamala. Mata मरकर्श्यामा मार्ङ्गी मदशाक्षलनी॥ mata marakatasyama matangi madasalini || (verse 3 of Syamaladandakam) This means “Mother, who is dark as emerald (gemstone), who is the daughter of sage Matanga is rapturous.”

FORMS OF MAA MATANGI:

1. Ucchistha Chandalini : represents Divine Presence in what Society rejects. (most fierce and fast responding Deity- strictly under guidance.
2. Raja Matangi : Divine administration under Maa Tripura Sundari
3. LaghuSyama (Shymala): Gentler form of Maa matangi
4. Vasya Matangi: Worshipped for control over emotional state (esp. for people going through intense mental turmoil, wrong habits, etc.
5. ,etc.........

Note: Maa Matangi Sadhana must be done under someone who knows maa ( a sadhak or a guru).

She represents vaikhari (Vaikhari is the fourth and final form of sound in its evolution. This is the state wherein the sound is heard. This is called vaikharīibecause the sound is produced by a modified form of prana called vaikharī. This is the stage which is called aparā or non-supreme stage in the evolution of sound, where there exists fully developed materialization, combined with time and space, the components of maya.

[ 1) Para: The deepest level and Unmanifest sound. Pure consciousness before thought even starts.

2. Pashyanti: The "seen" sound Where intention and vision first form together Before words are created.

3. Madhyama: Mental Sound. Thoughts gets structured but still not expressed.

4. Vaikhari: The Final Outer expression. ]

It is said that will (iccha) forms the basis of speech to finally merge with consciousness. The other three stages of sound are para, pashyanti, and madhyama; the last one being vaikhari.

The important difference between Sarasvati and Matangi is that the former is related to materialistic and scriptural knowledge, whereas Matangi gives inner knowledge to know the Self. In other words, Matangi dissolves all dyads and triads, leading to the unveiling of maya. She also imparts the highest spiritual knowledge: "Nothing is good and nothing is bad," as Brahman is omnipresent. Since she is considered as Shyamala, she also controls all mantras.

She is Ucchiṣṭa, meaning “ritually impure” and therefore has very few rituals associated with Her. There are no qualifications required, in order to seek Her grace. All that She requires from the devotee is pure devotion and nothing else! In terms of symbolizing the intellect behind the entire creation and guaranteeing its continuation through the laws of karma, life, death, and reincarnation, among other things, she is none other than Śrī Lalitā Herself. She is the Creation's supreme ruler, and everyone must submit to her. She is the exact substance and content of all sentient beings as well as the insentient matter, energy, and cognition, and she never changes. She truly is the Parabrahman!

Mantrini, the Divine Mother, is the source of all mantras and their results. She can conjure anything, and she will never let her true devotees down. Sri Rajashyamala is the Divine Mother Sri Lalita's intellect, understanding, and all of her subtleties. Similarly, Varahi is the activity and implementation.

Sri Raja Matangi, also known as Sri Raja Shyamala, serves as the Chief Advisor (Mantrini) of Sri Lalita Tripurasundari. In traditional depictions, She is seated on the left side of Sri Lalita Devi, while Sri Varahi Devi is seated on Her right.

From the perspective of Kundalini Yoga, Sri Lalita represents the Sushumna Nadi, the central spiritual channel corresponding to the spinal cord. Raja Shyamala or Raja Matangi represents the Ida Nadi, the left subtle channel that runs alongside the spine. This channel connects to the left nostril and is linked with the right hemisphere of the brain, symbolizing creativity, artistic expression, intuitive wisdom, scientific understanding, and logical thought.

Sri Varahi represents the Pingala Nadi, the right subtle channel that also runs parallel to the spine. It connects to the right nostril and is associated with the left hemisphere of the brain, signifying action, movement, implementation, and all forms of physical activity.

In this way, Sri Raja Shyamala embodies intellect, wisdom, discernment, and subtle understanding, while Sri Varahi represents the power to act, execute, and manifest. Together, they complement Sri Lalita, the central divine force represented by the Sushumna Nadi.

Direction and Yantra

Direction : West (symbolizing fulfilment, maturity, and expression)

Yantra : The Matangi Yantra is used in practices for:

• Gaining mastery over communication, writing, public speaking.
• Overcoming fear of judgment and accepting oneself in complete totality.
• Unlocking creative and intuitive flow.
• It can also be done by students, performers, and spiritual teachers, Siddhas, etc.

Spiritual Impact of Matangi Sadhana

With sincere worship, Matangi grants:

•  Ability to attract everyone, develop creative and artistic abilities of the highest grade. Mastery over speech, logical deduction and all sciences and knowledge.
• Clarity and courage in self-expression, lies and taboo things holds no place. One accepts things as part of this grand maya and still tries to rise above the same.
• Removal of speech defects or fears of public speaking.
• Mastery in arts, music, and language.
• Connection to higher inspiration and authentic dharmic living, Siddhis and ability to commnd.
• Deepening of voice, people wants to hear the sadhakas of Maa Matangi. Yet thek know what they are speaking is itself Maa Matangi's grace.

She is particularly powerful for those who are spiritually gifted but socially silenced, she blesses the seeker with a fearless, dharmic voice, and guides them further into sadhana.

Matangi and Planetary Influence

Matangi governs the Sun (Surya). The planet of ego, authority, and expression. Her sadhana helps:

• Transform ego from conceit to genuineness.
• Resolve concerns about rejection, visibility, or self-expression.
• Address Sun-related doshas, such as identity crises, insufficient immunity, and poor leadership.
• Develop your literary, musical, and artistic talents
• She transforms repression into free expression and pride into brilliant self-confidence.
• To obtain all types of knowledge and excel in all academic fields.

After Bagalamukhi’s silencing power, Matangi comes to restore speech. But this time purified. No longer reactive or egoic but guided by inner truth. She is the voice of the Self, spoken through a clear, fearless channel.

Matangi invites you to ask: Can you express the true song of your soul, even if the world doesn't approve?

Disclaimer: 
Planets are part of creation, while the Mahavidyas are the cause of creation itself. Worshipping a Mahavidya doesn't just address a planetary problem, it connects the sādhaka to the primordial Shakti-intelligence from which the planetary force itself started. 

Each Mahavidya is a complete expression of Śakti. They rules the entire cosmos. But like water finding a crack, her shakti flows most readily through the channel (nadī or graha) she is resonant with.  

For Maa Matangi: the Sun is her fastest entry point - ability to attract everyone, develop creative and artistic abilities of the highest grade. Mastery over speech, logical deduction and all sciences and knowledge. These manifest quickly in sādhana. But her deeper work reorganizes the entire chart over time. 

Worship Mahavidya whose assigned planet is afflicted in your chart to get the fastest, most visible result, but she is not confined there. 

NOTE: Initiation into Maa Matangi mantras or Sri Vidya is highly recommended. There are high potent mantras and initiation is strongly suggested for her Sadhana.

Jai Maa Uchistha Chandalini Jyestha Matangi 🦜🎶

 

Vatuka (meaning: a child) is the correct form (from the Sanskrit root), but over time common usage/pronunciation drifted it into Batuka and that's the version that caught on and spread. He is described as Vyapaka swarupa, able to take a cremation-ground form or a gentle domestic (saumya) form as the situation requires. 

Batuka Bhairava is in the form of a young celibate and hence he helps to curb lust in a very strong manner so he is also the best deity to invoke when doing sadhana of some devi forms where lust can develop when sadhana increases. 

Skanda Yamala Tantra: “Worship of Guru, Ganapati, Batuka are of utmost importance for attaining perfection in Shakta Tantra.”

Batuka Bhairav has gunatraya svarupavan (having the nature or form of the three gunas ): 1) Satvic   2) Rajasic  3) Tamsic forms. 

In Sadhana, we accumulate lots of energy which is food for physical and extra-physical beings so it attracts beings wanting to steal our energy and Batuka Bhairva has full control over such entities and hence he is the best deity for every household for protection from negative energies of all kinds.

Origin Story:

1. At one point the universe was basically crawling with all kinds of beings - Bhutas, pishachas, vetalas, kushmandas, yakshas, rakshasas, kinnaras, gandharvas, grahas, the whole spectrum, some divine, some semi-divine, some straight-up demonic. These weren't random either they'd organized themselves into camps under different devatas basically each group functioning as ganas serving their respective deity.

Their whole thing was stealing the japa phala [ the fruits/results] of sadhakas' practice. So people doing serious spiritual work would put in the effort and these entities would just steal the results.

वेतालाद्या महादेवि जपपूजादि हारकः
vetaaladyaa mahaadevi japa-poojaadi haarakah

तेषां विनाशनार्थाय भक्तानुग्रहणाय च
teshaam vinaashanaarthaaya bhaktaanugrahanaaya cha

वटुको अयं महेशानि महाकाल्या विभावितः
vatuko ayam maheshaani mahaakaalyaa vibhaavitah

O Great Goddess, vetalas and similar beings {pishachas, pretas, and other lower spirits} steal away the fruits of japa, worship, and other spiritual practices. Even when you're doing your sadhana sincerely, these beings can quietly rob you of the results. So for the destruction of these obstructive forces, and for the grace and protection of devotees, this Vatuka, O Maheshani, has been manifested by Mahakali. 

Batuka Bhairava has the collective Tejas of innumerable Yoginis, 64 bhairava and mahavidyas. The 36 universal principles (tattvas) and 118 realms of existence (bhuvanas) are contained in his body. 

1. Maa Kali's rage during the battle with Raktabija spirals completely out of control. She's started slaughtering everything, even the gods were terrified to approach her. Shiva doesn't confront her as a warrior or a husband. Shiva becomes a child and the moment Maa Kali sees a crying baby in front of her. She picks the child up, nurses him and the rampage simply ends because a completely different part of her got activated i.e. vatsalya bhava. So Batuka Bhairva is the son of Maa Kali and he helps to  accelerate progress in Mahavidya sadhanas. Batuka Bhairava is a form of Shiva Himself.

 

Maa Ugra Tara gave him a snake as his sacred thread. Maa Chinnamasta handed him a skull-bowl and Maa Kali granted him mastery over time itself. Together these three goddesses also gave him a trident (represents mastery over the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of existence), making him the presiding force over their combined shakti. A band of siddhas took the form of nine dogs just to serve him. He has rulership over all the grahas hence Batuk Bhairav is worshipped for relief from challenges associated with Rahu, Shani (Saturn), and Kaal Sarp Dosha. 

Benefits of Worshipping Batuka Bhairava:

Removes fear, rescues us from diseases and adverse health conditions. Dispels black magic and all types of spells and spirits. 

There's another name for him too : “Aapaduddharak” - "the one who rescues you from calamity." It comes from a separate origin story where he takes on and destroys a demon called Aapad, freeing the gods from years of torment. That's part of why devotees turn to him specifically when things go sideways .i.e. sudden trouble, fear, obstacles that come out of nowhere. 
The head of the family should definitely worship him as he enables one with dharma, artha, kama and moksha. He enables the head (mukhiya) of the family to have financial stability. In his Mahabatuka Bhairava form protects devotees from the Karmic poisons acquired over our countless lifetimes. 

The most significant is that he instils us with a child-like innocence that is later useful while doing Mahavidya Sadhana. 

He helps to build an “adhara” (foundation) : the capacity of mind and body to actually hold a deity's energy; without it, even a deity's genuine, full-force appearance will cause a nervous breakdown rather than transformation.

Dogs are traditionally associated with Bhairava that represents fierce loyalty, vigilance, protection, and fearlessness. The child form also reminds devotees that true spiritual strength can co-exist with humility, innocence, and compassion.

Thank you Batuka for everything, especially for giving this opportunity to write about you. You have always been my greatest support and thank you for the tears while writing about you. 

🔱 Bhairavaye Namaha 🔱

Image credit: to a sadhak on reddit

1. Meeting Mahavidyas: Maa Bhuvneshwari ( It would be a great disrespect if didn't introduce my mother goddess Maa Bhuvneshwari properly, last post wasn't that great)
2. Meeting Mahavidyas: Maa Chinnamasta
3. Meeting Mahavidyas: Maa Dhoomavati
4. Meeting Uchista Ganapati ........

She is the third Mahavidya and She is called Tripurasundari because She rules all the three worlds and she is the most beautiful and wondrous in the entire Creation and all triads. She is the one who is fully manifested in the triads and also beyond them. She is the manifested super-consciousness.

For example: She is in the form of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra;  Iccha, jnana and kriya saktis; creation, sustenance and destruction, the three nadis, ida, pingala and suṣumna, three worlds, bhur(the earthly, material plane), bhuva(the atmospheric, in between plane), suvah(the plane beyond time, space, matter beyond the three dimensions we normally perceive); three guṇas sattvic, rajasic and tamsic. She is in the form of all such triads and once these triads are transcended, the Brahman is attained. 

Shri Vidya means "auspicious knowledge," which is why everything connected to Maa Tripura Sundari carries that same auspicious quality. She is at sahasrara, the crown chakra .

The Peculiar thing about Maa Lalita is that she is endowed with utter sovereignty - Royal Powers. Maa Lalita rules over everyone who has existed, exists and will exist. Whatever deities and avatars come into existence, she rules over those fierce deities and avatars, just everyone. Maa Lalita commands even that which doesn’t exist yet. She is the boss of everyone around. She is the Supreme Divine Feminine  there's simply no one above Her. She's the  queen of queens, and that will never change. She exists beyond time, beyond matter. She is pure consciousness itself. 

Her devotees need no rituals for any of their actions (even terrible ones) onc they realise her completely. They simply command what must be done with a simple look or word. Surely these devotees are endowed with the best qualities and creation is incapable of being the object of their terrible fury. 

This kind of sovereignty isn't Lalita "outranking" her other forms it's simply how the Divine Mother chooses to express Herself in this particular aspect. None of Her other forms are lessened by it. 

But here's the catch, the devotion that actually reaches Lalita doesn't come easily. It's said you only arrive at it after crores of lifetimes spent worshiping other deities first. Without that groundwork, you can't really get pulled toward Her, no matter how hard you try. You can see this playing out right now, in this era, everyone knows Maa Lalita, everyone sings her praises. But devotees who actually succeed with Her? Vanishingly rare, across all three worlds. 

No one is superior to Her, an exclusive of the qualitiy of the Brahman.
Svetasvatara Upaniṣad (VI.8) says “No one is His equal, no one is superior either. “
Anuttama also means intellect not derived from others.  She is the embodiment of intellect. She is known for virtues.  She gives fame to Her devotees.  The very thought of her sanctifies a person.  

Maa Mantrini and  Maa Varahi hold the next highest position after Maa Lalitha. One cannot approach Maa Lalita without first receiving the grace and permission of these two Devis.

Maa Mantrini  is the chief among Her ministers and is said to oversee the administration of the entire universe and Maa Varahi is the commander of the divine army. She represents strength and protection and has the power to drive away negative and evil forces.

चापं   चेक्षुमयं    प्रसूनविशिखान्    पाशाङ्कुशं    पुस्तकं
chaapam chekshumayam prasoona-vishikhaan paashaankusham pustakam
माणिक्याषसृजवरं    मणीमयीं    वीणां    सरोजद्वयं।
maanikya-shasrija-varam maneemayeem veenaam saroja-dvayam
पाणिभ्यां     वरदा    अभयं    च     दधतीं     ब्रह्मादिसेव्यां प   रां
paanibhyaam varadaa abhayam cha dadhateem brahmaadi-sevyaam paraam
सिन्दूरारुण    विग्रहां    भगवतीं    तां     षोडशीमाश्रये॥
sindoora-aruna vigrahaam bhagavateem taam shodasheemaashraye

Meaning: She has twelve hands total, and each one is holding something. she holds (1) a bow made entirely of sugarcane and (2) arrows crafted from kadamba flowers, beautiful, almost poetic weapons.

In her next two hands, she carries (3) a noose and (4) a hook, tools that pull us toward her and clear the way at the same time.

She also holds (5) a sacred book in one hand and (6) a rosary made of rubies in another, pointing to both knowledge and constant remembrance of her.

Two of her hands aren't holding objects at all instead, they're forming gestures - (7) abhaya mudra, which basically says "don't be afraid," and the other shows (8) varada mudra, the gesture of granting boons and blessings.

Then, with two more hands (9 and 10), she's cradling a veena close to her body almost like she's about to play it. And in her final two hands (11 and 12), she holds a lotus flower in each one on either side.

All the gods, Brahma included, worship her. She's red-complexioned, a deep, glowing red.  And before this Supreme Goddess, I simply surrender.

The sweetness of the sugarcane bow is the reference to the cerebral fluid that is generated by the pineal gland during deep meditation and also when the Kundalini reaches the Sahasrara.

(There are other dhyana verses too)
Shree Cakra is Her abode. Shree Chakra is made up of four triangles known as Shiva chakras facing up and five triangles known as Shakti chakras facing down.  

Saundarya Lahari (verse 95) says, “It is difficult for those who have not controlled their senses to attain you.” She cannot be attained by those who continue to be addicted to sensory pleasures. Addiction is different from necessity. To reach Her, you have to be able to turn inward, and that's genuinely hard for most people. The mind is what does that inward-looking, but the mind won't calm down until the senses are under control.

She takes the form of kalas. Think of a kala as a fraction, a tiny slice of something whole. The moon carries 16 of them, the sun carries 12, fire carries 10.
Saying the moon has 16 kalas just means the moon itself is made of 16 parts.
 During the waning phase, the moon loses one kalā every day until you hit the new moon , that's when all 15 are gone. Then during the waxing phase, it gains one kalā a day until you're back to a full moon with all 15 present again.
But there's a 16th kalā of the moon and that one's different. It's Lalitāmbikā herself, and she never waxes or wanes. She just stays constant, no matter what phase the moon is in. This is basically another way of showing that Brahman doesn't change, ever it's beyond any kind of increase or decrease.

There are four states of consciousness viz. waking, dream, deep sleep, and turīya (the "fourth" state, beyond the other three). Each of these has four kalās within it, which adds up to 16 kalas total.

The waking state itself is said to actually be Lalitāmbikā in form. And within the waking state, the four kalās are: rising, waking, consciousness, and mental activity.
She lives within the five sheaths. These sheaths basically make up the covering of the human body, what's called Pinda Sharira. Beneath all of it, the soul sits wrapped in three layers, each one nested inside the next: causal, subtle, and gross. Causal is the deepest, closest to the soul itself. Gross is the outer shell, the one furthest out. 

The gross body is the one that dies, it's not built to last. The subtle body sticks around a lot longer. And the causal body basically stays with you the whole time, all the way until the soul finally gets liberated. Your soul, along with your entire karmic record, is stored right there in the causal body.

According to Vedanta philosophy, there are five superimposed sheaths called  Panchakosa.  

1. The inner most layer is anandamaya kosa (the sheath of bliss), which corresponds to the casual body. 
2. The next three layers are as follows:

 

a) vijnanamaya kosa (the sheath of intellect and knowledge), 

b) manomaya kosa, the sheath of mind, 

c) pranamaya kosa, the sheath of vital vayus like prana, apāna, etc.  

These three together make up what we call the subtle body. 

3. The fifth and the outer sheath is annamaya kosa, the sheath of food that corresponds to the gross body. So basically this whole stack of sheaths is what buries the soul - the puruṣa, your true self deep inside. And because of that burial, you end up mistaking yourself for just this small individual person (the microcosm), while the whole outside world gets mistaken for something separate and "out there" (the macrocosm). It's really just one big illusion built layer by layer.

 

Lalitopakhyana:

Bhandasura represents the negative karma, rigidity, ignorance and other such tamasic qualities in us. The asuras ViShukra (reproductive fluid) and Visanga (venomous and uncontrolled senses), brothers of Bhandasura are born of the ashes of Manmatha (amorous love), who gets burnt by the third-eye (ajna cakra signifying realization and deep understanding) of Lord Shiva (pure consciousness). 

Bhandasura basically stands in for all our negative karma, our rigidity, our ignorance all those heavy, tamasic qualities we carry around inside us.

His brothers, Vishukra and Vishanga, have their own symbolism too. Vishukra represents reproductive fluid, and Vishanga represents our senses when they're venomous and running completely out of control.

And here's where it gets interesting  both of these brothers were born from the ashes of Manmatha(Kaamdeva), the god of desire and amorous love. Manmatha gets reduced to ashes when Lord Shiva opens his third eye( the agya chakra: which represents true realization and deep spiritual understanding. )

The defeat of these asuras basically points to something we all deal with: getting a handle on lust, and controlling our senses, both the subtle ones and the more obvious, physical ones.
And when it comes to actually rising spiritually, here's how it works: the Divine Mother, who is pure super-consciousness itself, doesn't just stay in one form. She breaks herself down into a whole range of different deities, each one there to help us climb further up in our own consciousness, step by step.

This body of ours, and the whole world around us, isn't the ultimate reality. It's basically a smoke screen, put up by the Divine Mother Mahamaya who's often described as this cosmic virtual reality we're all living inside.

The spiritual journey really begins the moment you recognize the truth of who you actually are that underneath everything, your true origin and true self is just pure consciousness, nothing more, nothing less.

In the world of Shri Vidya, that journey starts with Shri Bala. She's the one who helps us find that childlike innocence again the kind of openness we need before we can even start questioning and searching for the Truth. Then Lord Mahaganapati steps in and clears away all the obstacles blocking our path, opening things up for deeper learning and real experience.

From there, as you keep moving forward, you start to actually grasp the triads that surround us in every direction and along with that, you begin to see the different paths and methods available to rise up through them.

The Divine Mother Shri Varahi gives us the courage, the drive, and basically all the weapons we need to tear down our ignorance, our obsessions, and the attachments we're stuck in.
Maa Shyamala works differently. Knowledge, expression, creativity that's her territory, and through these she helps burn through our karmic patterns.
Then there's the Kiri chakra, tied to the pingala nadi, the channel running along the right side.

And  the Geya chakra, linked to the ida nadi, the left-side channel. And finally, the Shri Chakra itself connects to the central channel, the sushumna nadi, which basically represents the spinal cord.

When the Kiri and Geya chakras line up together with the Shri Chakra, that alignment can actually activate the kundalini and fully charge up all the chakras at once with the kundalini rising all the way from the muladhara chakra at the base, up to the sahasrara at the crown.
And when you bring all of this together the blessings of these deities and all the subsidiary deities working through their own Kiri, Geya, and Shri Chakras, that's when we merge into pure super-consciousness itself. And that super-consciousness is nothing other than Shri Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari.

The war that is waged (between Bhandasura and Maa Lalita Tripura Sundari), is our own internal struggle and endeavor to realize the Truth and merge into the super-consciousness by becoming self-realized and finally attaining liberation. 

Would have talked about Lalitopakhyana in detail but may be some other day. 

May Maa bless you all. Jai Maa 🔱