This mantra calls upon the Divine Mother and is the opening mantra in the 1000 names of the form of the Goddess called Lalita, who is known as Tripura Sundari and Sodashi.
This particular recording is made to assist in healing the heart. The sound “Hrrrreeeeeem” is included and is a very important sound for contributing to the energetic health of the heart center.
I had a lovely experience with Lalita appearing to me. She was a beautiful young bouyant teenage girl who had wisdom as well as beauty. She was full of laughter and joy. Rays of radiant light streamed from her body. One of her names is, “She Who Plays.”
The ability to be joyful is a great indicator of how quickly you can “heal.”
This track came to have a very personal meaning for me, as the day I was going to record a second vocal track for it, my sister called to tell me that my mother, who’d been in the hospital recovering from surgery with a broken hip, had something more serious going on and her time might be extremely short. I had the choice of getting in the car immediately to make the hour and a half drive to the hospital, or of recording the track first as a prayer to the Divine Mother on my own mother’s behalf and for my sister, to help ease the pain of the situation. Knowing the power of prayer, I sat down and sang the mantra “Om Shri Matre Namaha” and the bija mantra “Hrrrreeeem” calling out to the Divine Mother to bring us closer into her heart and make us aware of Her proximity within us. My mother lived for almost a week longer, she died in peace, on her mother's birthday.
OM NAMA SHIVAYA
Shiva is the form of god who is the Great Yogi. He presides over the transformation of energy, so that he is sometimes said to be the Great Destroyer, in comparison to Vishnu, who is the Great Preserver, and Brahma, who is the Great Creator. Shiva is the consort of the goddess in her forms of Parvati, Gauri, Uma and Kali. The term Shiva/Shakti describes the balance of our male and female energies, with the male side as holding stillness and the female side (shakti) providing movement. The energy of this mantra takes you deep inside and builds up your ability to sit in stillness while experiencing and allowing your vital energy to expand and accelerate.
LAKSHMI STUTI
also called the
MAHA LAKSHMI ASHTAKAM
The Lakshmi Stuti is chanted by many people every day as a tool to bring forth in their lives whatever type of wealth they desire. The wealthy people I enjoy spending time with are the ones who are rich in their ability to connect with divine energy.
When I sing this mantra, I let myself soar into a place where the golden light associated the goddess Lakshmi bathes my consciousness, bringing comfort to my heart and peace to my mind.
1) Namasthethu Mahaamaye Shripeede Surapujithe !
Shangachakra gadha hasthe Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!2) Namasthe Garudaa rude kolaasara bhayankari !
Sarva paapa hare devi Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!3) Sarvajne Sarvavarade Sarvadhustha Bhayankari !
Sarvadhukka hare devi Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!4) Siddhi Buddhi Pradha devi Bhukthi Mukthi pradaayini !
Mantramoorthe Sadha devi Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!5) Aadhyantharahithe Devi Aadhyashakthi Maheshwari !
Yogaje yogasampoothe varalakshmi Namosthu the !!6) Sthula saokshma Mahaaroudre Mahashakti Mahodare !
Mahaapaapahare devi Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!7) Padmaasanasthithe Devi Parabrahmaswarupini !
Parameswari Jaganmaatha Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!8) Swethaambaradhare Devi Nanaalankaarabhooshithe !
Jagasthathe Jaganmaatha Mahalakshmi Namosthu the !!9) Mahalakshmiashtakam sthothram yah patethe Bhaktimaannarah !
Sarvasiddhi Mavaapnothi Raajyam Praapnothi Sarvadha !!
NARAYANI STUTI
...is one of the four hymns in the great transformational tool called “The Devi Mahatmyam” or Glory to the Great Goddess. It is also called “The Durga Sapatsloki” and “The Chandi.”
Some years ago, when I’d had a very challenging week working with many people who were going through a struggle with HIV, AIDS and cancer, I decided that I would go to the movies on a Saturday and just surrender to the cinema experience, to give my self a rest. I went to an art movie theater in Hollywood which plays five movies at a time, so I would be sure to find one that I liked. However, I’d given a ride to a friend whose car had broken down, which made me so late that there were no more movies until midnight!
So frustrating! Stamping my feet, I turned around and faced The Virgin Megastore, which for those of you who don’t know, is actually a music store. I decided that I would wander aimlessly around for several hours as a substitute for going unconscious at the movies. But the minute I walked in the door, an invisible force pushed me to the back of the store, towards a CD bin, my hand seemed to spring out on its own and selected a CD. I could barely make out the title, “ONE TRACK HEART” by Krishna Das, as I was being propelled up to the checkout counter, and was internally told to listen to it immediately.
I had to drive to my office as that’s where my CD player was. After almost an hour drive, at the last place I wanted to be on this Saturday night with a rare opportunity to relax, I put it on. The first song sounded really good, but then, just as the second song, “Devi Puja” was starting, I was told to learn the song and sing it every day.
I took the CD liner notes which had the lyrics in transliterated Sanskrit to Kinko’s and blew them up big enough to read. Then, every morning, first thing, I would sing along with Krishna Das until I knew the song well enough to sing on my own.
About seven years later, when I was now internally urged to play the harmonium and sing, but no one would show me how, and I started to “get” melodies and chants given to me internally. I couldn’t really listen to a song and play it on my harmonium, with the one exception of the Narayani Stuti. It seemed right to keep the melody that Krishna Das had written, so I asked him if I could put in on this CD. He graciously gave me permission.
THE DEVI MAHATMYAM EXPERIENCE
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On April 30, 2004, my neighbor and I went to the public library. She had asked to come along to get a monolog for an audition. I knew a great one for her, from a one act play called The Autograph Hound.
When we walked in the front door of the library, she looked around and said, “Where is the card catalog?” I pointed to the computer and said, “They keep it inside there now.” She made a very sad and frightened face, but I told her, “Don’t worry, come and sit next to me and I’ll look it up for you.”
We sat down at the computer and I typed in THE AUTOGRAPH HOUND, selected “title” from the menu, and then pressed the return key. What came back was THE DEVI MAHATMYAM, then underneath those words were what I assumed was The Devi Mahatmyam translated into many languages, as I could see that there were Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters, being familiar with them, as I am a doctor of Chinese medicine. Also, I could see that it was listed in the Romance languages too; French, Spanish and Italian, as I am familiar with “the” as an article in those languages.
I said aloud, “The Devi Mahatmyam!” My neigbor said, “You know what that is, don’t you?” Being my neighbor, she has had some experience with my out-of-the-ordinary life events. “Yes,” I said, “That is the most ancient sacred text to the Goddess, from India.” “It means, “Glory to the Great Goddess.”
“Oh.” She said. “I’m your witness.”
Then, I tried once again to get The Autograph Hound through the card catalog, and once again, I got back, “The Devi Mahatmyam” with its title translated into many other languages. This happened four times until I gave up.
Several months later, realizing that I had been thinking that the library actually had a copy of The Devi Mahatmyam, I purposely searched for it in the catalog, only to discover that they didn’t have a single copy! I even looked for it under its other titles; The Durga Saptasati and The Chandi.
For English readers, the version I like the best is CHANDI PATH: She Who Tears Thought Apart, Also Known As The Durga Saptasati: The Seven Hundred Verses in Praise of She Who Removes All Difficulties and The Devi Mahatmyam: The Glory of the Great Goddess by Swami Satyananda Saraswati.
For a more information about the Devi Mahatmyam, refer to The Esoteric Significance of the Devi Mahatmyam by Sri Swami Krishnananda.