Sri Vidhya
Ultimate Knowledge
About Sri Vidhya
Greatest Path to Follow
Sri Gurubyo Nama:
Sri Maathre Nama:
Sri Vidhya is the most ancient science that imparts the Knowledge of the Self.
‘Sri’ refers to Maha Lakshmi and also means wealth and anything auspicious. Sri Vidhya imparts every iota of knowledge about the cosmos, and eventually takes the upasaka to the state of realizing that he is the cosmos and the Devi or the cosmos is in him.
The Path of Sri Vidhya
Maha Ganapathy
Sri Vidhya starts with initiation into Maha Ganapathy and Sri Bala upadesams. Maha Ganapathy, as we know, is the key for activating the Muladhara Chakra. He helps with opening up the Muladhara and clearing it of all disturbances (vrittis). He stabilizes the Muladhara and makes it stronger to remove all bodily inconveniences that may occur to the upasaka during his journey in the path of Sri Vidhya.
Sri Bala
Sri Bala is the worship of the Girl Goddess. Like every young child, Sri Bala wants to learn. She kindles the fire of learning in the upasaka. She cultivates a deep interest in him to learn more and acquire more knowledge of the Self and the cosmos. This fire keeps growing through all the stages of Sri Vidhya, consuming every other knowledge on its path. The upasaka becomes an all-consuming Fire of Knowledge, learning all tatvams, shastras, tantras and mantras, dharma and adharma and literally everything in the cosmos and everything about himself.
The Young Goddess
In the third stage, the upasaka applies his learning to practice. Before he enters this stage, he needs to work on his Vishuddhi Chakra (Throat Chakra), a key chakra to administer and impart knowledge. He is initiated into the worship of Vaak Vadhini for this purpose. This is because only a strong Vishuddhi Chakra allows him to impart his knowledge clearly and wisely. Then, the upasaka is initiated into the worship of Sri Maha Tripura Sundari, the ever-young Goddess who is very enticing and all-powerful.
The upasaka learns about The Great Goddess, Sri Maha Tripura Sundari and all that is part of her empire, the entire universe. He is guided by ancient texts like Soundarya Lahari, Lalitha Sahasranamam and he learns about Sri Chakra yantram, all the millions of yoginis around it, the 170+ main avarnaa devatas in it, including about Maha Varahi, Sri Mathangi and all other devatas.
The Mother Goddess
In the next stage, the upasaka sees the Goddess as a 50-year-old Sri Maatha, the Sodashi Ambal. At this stage, he realizes why he learnt Sri Bala mantra—to put his knowledge to use and to impart it to others. At the end of this stage, he becomes a teacher of Sri Vidhya. He learns about the various pujas involved—Navavarna puja, Baakiya pujas, Anthra pujas, about Lalitha Sahasranamam and its nuances, about the prayogam (application) of Soundarya Lahari text and so on.
Knowledge of the Self
All this knowledge opens in him a window to the Devi, the Great Goddess. This iota of knowledge evokes a great fire in him to understand Her. He ultimately ends up knowing that he is the cosmos and how he can realize the cosmos in his very body. The knowledge that the Paramathma is within the Jivathma dawns in him and he realizes that he is inseparable from the Paramathma. He acquires this Knowledge of Self without any ahankara (ego) or mental aberrations.
Sri Vidhya is Knowledge of Self for the benefit of others. The upasaka gets to a state where he becomes as selfless as the Great Goddess herself, treating every life with equanimity.
Guru’s role in Sri Vidhya
Guru plays a major role in Sri Vidhya. Once the upasaka is initiated into Sri Vidhya, he needs the Guru’s intervention more in his life. Guru Srivathsan Swamy is an esteemed and self-realized Sri Vidhya practitioner who has mastered all the stages of the path. A great teacher, he imparts knowledge selflessly, taking upasakas into a state of daily bliss with practical examples and visualizations. A seer and a Devi upasaka, he stays with his disciples through thick and thin, guiding them in the darkest and toughest times.
Who can learn Sri Vidhya?
You cannot be reading this without having done some punniya karma in your past lives. It is said that to know that a knowledge called Sri Vidhya exists is the sum total of all punniyas you have been doing in your previous births.
Sri Vidhya is for everyone. It considers every life to be born out of the yoni of the Great Goddess. Nothing exists or can exist without her. To know her is to know everything in the cosmos. It is knowledge that is purnam, complete in itself.
You could be a devotee in the path of Bhakthi or an ordinary man/woman, a samsari who wants to gain complete knowledge about everything. Or you could be someone on the path of renunciation. Whatever or whoever you are, if you want to know yourself (Athma Vidhya), this is the place to start. This knowledge lets you enjoy everything and yet, realize the Great Goddess. In other words, it lets you have Kaivallya Moksham—moksham in this very life.
Sri Gurubyo Nama:
