LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM 275-276

Bhanu-mandala-madhyasta (275) She is in the middle of solar orbit. ‘Obeisance to that form in the sun’s orbit, the one who is the embodiment of all the Vedas, who showers his brilliance all over the different worlds (meaning the 14 types of worlds; These worlds are the 7 vyakrtis of poorna Gayatri mantra. Seven worlds above and seven worlds beneath us totaling to 14; these imaginary worlds are the modifications of our consciousness), the cause of the three worlds (bhrur, bhuva and suvah-the vyakrits of Gayatri mantra) and known as the Supreme Lord’ says Kurma Purana. This is also confirmed in Chandogya Upanishad I.vi.6 which says ‘There is a deity in the orbit of the sun who is seen by the yogis. His whole body glitters like gold’. In fact such references are not made to mean the sun. It means the Purusha, the prakasha form of the Brahman. Lalithambigai is said to be in the form of Purusha and that is why She is said to be in midst of the solar orbit. Often, a comparison is made to the heart chakra with the orbit of the sun. The word ‘yogi’ attains importance here as this means that such a state can be attained only by yoga, not the physical yoga, but the mental yoga. Possibly this yoga could mean the ‘kundalini yoga’. Bhiaravi (276) Wife of Bhairava (Shiva) is Bhairavi. They are inseparable. It is interesting to know about the Bhairava form of Shiva. ‘Bha’ means sustenance of the universe, ‘ra’ means the great dissolution and ‘va’ means recreation. This form of Shiva is considered as one of His subtle forms. This form of Shiva is said to be beyond the essence of energy of Shakthi (not beyond Shakthi Herself) and is the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman. This is a stage beyond all the stages of consciousness. No tatwas, no mantras, beyond OM, in fact Bhairava is beyond everything. There is a yogic practice referred in Vijnanabhairava verse 24, a famous text on Kashmiri yogic practice. ‘There are two points in our respiration. One is the outer space where exhalation ends and the other is the point within our respiratory system where the inhalation ends. In both these points, the breath takes rest for a split second. The rest does not mean that it stops for the split second, but remains in the form of Shakthi in a stage of suspended animation. One should concentrate on this Shakthi to realize the Brahman. This Shakthi is called ‘Bhairavi’. This masterly interpretation also confirms the prakasha and vimarsha aspect of the Brahman. Shakthi is moving up and down as prana and therefore vimarsha form. Prakasha is the static self-illuminating atman within (not soul). This is the reason why yoga teaches on the concentration of breath. The forms of Bhairava that we see in temples are not the Bhairava that we discussed here. These forms of Bhairava are the protectors of the temples and the community living around the temples. We have already discussed on these forms in our postings pervasive Bhairava and forms of Bhairava. In general it should be understood that the union of Shiva and Shakthi is known as vak. Shiva is the meaning of a word and Shakthi is root of the word. It is also said that Shiva and Shakthi cannot be separated. They are united firmly like a word and its meaning. We cannot separate the meaning from the word. Same is the concept with Bhairava and Bhairavi.