The Heart of the Yogini

...that the word "Hindu" has been imposed upon us, and through this imposed confusion, we are increasingly dividing ourselves into little houses of external rituals. In contrast, terms like Buddhist, Jain, Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta are products of this very soil, and over time, they have, in some respects, unfolded a common perspective. The Shakta doctrine has a very deep imprint on all of these. This comprehensive vision of the Shakta doctrine reached its full development in the Yoginihridaya. We are now making a small effort to bring this comprehensive perspective to light.

The Chakra-Sanketa Sign/Symbolism of the Chakra

Kshemaraja, in his commentary on the eighth sutra of the Pratyabhijnahridayam, states that "in the view of the Tantrikas, the atmatattva Self-essence is transcendent to the universe; according to traditions such as Kula, it is the universe itself; and according to the knowers of the Trika and other philosophies, it is both transcendent to the universe and the universe itself." This third view is accepted in the Yoginihridaya and the Dipika. While delineating the Mahatattvartha Great Essential Truth, it is stated here (2.73-74) that dissolving oneself into the supreme reality—which is devoid of parts (nishkala), extremely subtle, unmanifest, without attributes, beyond space, of the nature of light and bliss, both transcendent to the universe and the universe itself—is the Mahatattvartha. The transcendent reality, by its own will, unfolds the universe upon the canvas of its own Self and becomes the universe (vishvamaya), and then gathers the universe back into itself; thus, it is both the universe and transcendent to the universe.

How this transcendent reality assumes the form of the Shri Chakra in order to become the universe, and how the Supreme Deity descends in the form of the Shri Chakra, is the philosophical account presented in the first Chakra-sanketa chapter. The form of the Shri Chakra is created by the intersection of five Shakti-triangles and four fire-triangles. Here, the five Shakti-triangles are arranged in the order of creation, i.e., facing upwards, and the four fire-triangles are arranged in the order of dissolution, i.e., facing downwards. Two methods for the construction (uddhara) of the Shri Chakra have been mentioned in the Nityashodashikarnava (1.29-41, 59-75), so they are not mentioned here.

It is stated here that when that (transcendent) Primordial Shakti wishes to become the universe, a vibration (spandana) occurs within her, and the first result of this vibration is the Shri Chakra. This chakra is of the form of Kamakala the aspect of desire. Here (1.11), Kamakala is called the ultimate truth of light, and the Shri Chakra is called the ultimate truth of expansion (1.24).