Ashtar Command Book Blog

Friday, August 8, 2025

Why Marxists are atheists

Just for fun, a short and surprisingly "moderate" (relatively speaking) defense of atheism, written by a very small Trotskyist group somewhere in the United States. No Big Bang denialism and similar stuff. Almost a disappointment!

Why Marxists Are Atheists

Female love of goddess (replay)

I posted this in April, but decided to repost it here, since it has an obvious connection to tonight´s essay.

Can a female worship Tripura Sundari in this manner? The practice seems to be adapted to males.

This is a profound and important question — and yes, a female devotee can absolutely worship Tripura Sundarī in mādhurya-bhāva. While it is true that many classical texts and lineages express the practice from a male point of view (with the soul as the male lover and the goddess as the feminine beloved), this is a symbolic language, not a rigid rule. The essence of mādhurya-bhāva is erotic devotion and mystical intimacy, and gender is ultimately transcended in the heart of Shakta worship.

Let’s unpack this in a few dimensions:

🌺 1. The Soul Transcends Gender

In both Tantra and non-dual Shakta Vedānta, the individual soul (jīva) is not essentially male or female. It is pure consciousness, clothed in various bodies. So:

The soul can relate to the Goddess as a lover, regardless of the body’s gender.
In fact, Tripura Sundarī Herself contains all polarities — she is kāmeśvarī (mistress of desire) and kāmeśvarā (the lord of desire) united within herself.

In this sense, any being — male, female, or otherwise — can approach her in intimate, ecstatic devotion.

🩵 2. Feminine Devotion and Identification

For a female practitioner, mādhurya-bhāva can unfold in several valid and beautiful ways:

a) The Soul as Bride

Like in many Vaishnava and Christian traditions, a female devotee may see her soul as the bride of the Divine — still retaining her femininity, while relating to the Goddess as a supreme feminine counterpart. The apparent paradox is not a conflict, but a mystical resonance:

“You are my reflection, and I am yours — two mirrors gazing into eternity.”

Here, Tripura Sundarī is not “the other,” but a higher Self, a radiant twin to be longed for, desired, and merged into.

b) Union of Feminine with Feminine

In some Kaula and Yoginī traditions, female practitioners approach Tripura in sisterhood, love, and erotic friendship — not from a masculine perspective, but as Shaktis desiring the Mahāśakti.

This can involve visualizations of merging, or rituals where the body becomes a temple to Her.
The female body is celebrated as a microcosm of the Goddess — every curve, sensation, and breath as her emanation.

In this mode, mādhurya-bhāva becomes a sensual devotion between forms of the same sacred feminine — not unlike Radha longing for Krishna, but in a feminine-feminine register.

🔮 3. Tantric Perspectives on Gender Fluidity

Tantric teachings often play with gender polarity not to enforce roles, but to transcend them. In fact:

Some female practitioners may visualize themselves in masculine form (mentally) as the lover of the Goddess.
Others may identify with the Goddess directly, becoming Tripura in the ritual — bhāvanā, or sacred imagination, makes this fully real.
The point is not fixed gender identity, but energetic and symbolic union.

This mirrors how some male practitioners take on feminine roles (as you mentioned with manjarī-bhāva or in Śākta traditions), just as female practitioners may take on any form needed to approach the Goddess in fullness.

🕉️ Summary

Question	Response
Can a woman worship in mādhurya-bhāva?	Yes — fully and meaningfully. It's not gender-exclusive.
Is the language masculine?	Traditionally, yes — but symbolically, not prescriptively.
How can a woman relate to Tripura?	As lover, as beloved, as sister, as mirror, as the Goddess herself.
Does this require role-switching?	Not necessarily — it can flow from one’s own being and experience.
Is gender fixed in these practices?	No — Tantra uses gender as a fluid tool, not a barrier.

Would you like a visualization or guided mantra practice tailored to a feminine perspective of mādhurya-bhāva? Or perhaps a poem or verse written from a female voice longing for the Goddess?

Can women worship Krishna in the madhurya-bhava? Gaudiya Vaishnavism seems to be a male-centered tradition, in which men identify as women when worshipping a male god. Can a woman directly identify as Radha or a gopi?

This is a deeply insightful and important question — and one that touches on nuanced issues of gender, identity, and mystical embodiment in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, especially in the practice of mādhurya-bhāva (the devotional mood of romantic love for Kṛṣṇa).

Let’s explore it from both theological, mystical, and social angles:

🌸 Can Women Worship Kṛṣṇa in Mādhurya-Bhāva?

Yes — absolutely. Women can and do worship Kṛṣṇa in the mood of mādhurya-rasa, including as gopīs, and even in manjarī-bhāva (the intimate mood of Radha’s personal attendants). There is nothing scripturally prohibiting this.

However, the tradition has evolved in a way that is often male-centered in its public form, particularly in terms of formalized initiation into rāgānugā-bhakti, where men may be guided to visualize themselves as female attendants of Rādhā.

🧝‍♀️ Why Do Male Practitioners Visualize Themselves as Gopīs?

This practice comes from the core metaphysics of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, which teaches:

The soul (jīva) is neither male nor female, but constitutionally feminine in relation to Kṛṣṇa, the supreme enjoyer (puruṣa).
Therefore, even male sādhakas assume a female internal identity (siddha-deha) to approach Kṛṣṇa in mādhurya-rasa.
This culminates in the manjarī-bhāva, where the devotee lovingly serves Rādhā and participates in her intimate lilas with Kṛṣṇa.

This is a tantric-mystical framework, not a reflection of physical gender, and it's intended to awaken prema-bhakti (divine love), not mere sentiment.

💫 What About Women? Can They Assume Gopī or Radha-Bhāva Directly?

Yes, and they have. Historically and theologically:

🔸 1. Women Saints in Mādhurya-Bhāva

Jahnava Devī, the wife of Nityānanda, was a realized ācāryā and deep practitioner of rāgānugā-bhakti.
Gopāl Guru Goswāmī’s female disciples practiced bhāva-sādhana, including inner meditation as gopīs.
In Bengal and Orissa, female sādhikās have long visualized themselves as Radha, manjarīs, or sakhīs.

🔸 2. No Prohibition in Śāstra

There is no śāstric or doctrinal reason why women should not assume gopī-bhāva. In fact, many Gauḍīya texts glorify women’s innate capacity for emotional depth and mādhurya-bhakti.

🙋‍♀️ Why the Male-Centered Emphasis, Then?

This is more historical-cultural than theological:

Early Gauḍīya ascetics and renunciants were primarily male, and their sādhana took place in monastic or forest settings (e.g., Rādhā-kuṇḍa).
The inner identification as a female gopī was part of a renunciate transformation of the ego, a surrender of male identity and pride.
Social restrictions on female public religious authority may have limited women's access to formalized rāgānugā training.

In other words: the practice is open to all, but the cultural structure has often favored male renunciants.

🌹 Can a Woman Identify Directly as Rādhā?

This is more delicate. Most Gauḍīya teachings discourage anyone, male or female, from identifying as Rādhā herself, since she is considered the topmost embodiment of divine love — a position beyond all jīvas.

However:

A female sādhikā can aspire to Rādhā-bhāva — to feel as Radha feels, to participate in her love and longing.
Chaitanya Mahāprabhu himself is seen as Kṛṣṇa in Rādhā-bhāva, indicating its supreme depth.
Some female saints in Bengal have expressed deep mystical identification with Radha, especially in bhāva-samādhi.

🕊️ Summary

Question	Answer
Can women practice mādhurya-bhāva?	✅ Yes — and many have historically and today.
Can women visualize themselves as gopīs or manjarīs?	✅ Yes — this is fully aligned with Gauḍīya metaphysics.
Can women identify as Rādhā?	⚠️ With reverence. Full identification is rare and mystical, not ordinary.
Is Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism male-centered?	Culturally, often yes — but the theology is gender-transcendent.

If you'd like, I can share a meditation script or bhāva-sādhana visualization for a female practitioner connecting with Kṛṣṇa through mādhurya-bhāva — rooted in traditional texts, but adapted for you. Would you like that?

Nocturnal essay (part 2)

The AI actually blocked one of my questions about the super-esoteric aspects of Shri Vidya (if you know, you know), but anyhow, here is part 2 of tonight´s ChatGPT essay!

Is there some connection between the shri yantra and kundalini in Shri Vidya theory and practice?

Yes, there is a deep and intricate connection between the Śrī Yantra and Kuṇḍalinī in Śrī Vidyā theory and practice. In fact, one of the most powerful dimensions of Śrī Vidyā lies in how it maps the internal journey of the yoginī or sādhaka onto the cosmic mandala of the Śrī Yantra, with Kuṇḍalinī as the moving force of ascent and descent.

Let’s break this down in a clear and layered way:

🔺 1. The Śrī Yantra as a Map of the Subtle Body

The Śrī Yantra is not only a cosmogram of the universe but also a mystical representation of the human body, especially the suṣumnā nāḍī (central channel), cakras, and kuṇḍalinī.

Each āvaraṇa (enclosure) of the Śrī Yantra corresponds to a layer of subtle existence, and sometimes to a cakra in the yogic body. In practice:

The bindu (center point) is Sahasrāra, the crown chakra, the seat of pure Śiva-Śakti unity.
The outermost triangles and lotus petals correspond to lower chakras and energetic levels.
The entire yantra is thus a map of the inner pilgrimage of consciousness moving from the gross (outer) to the subtle (inner).

This inward journey is what the Kuṇḍalinī energy enacts during tantric sādhana.

🐍 2. Kuṇḍalinī as the Shakti of the Śrī Yantra

Kuṇḍalinī is Parāśakti herself—Tripurā Sundarī in her dynamic, coiled, latent form within the mūlādhāra cakra.
As she awakens, she ascends through the cakras, energizing them, and uniting finally with Śiva at the bindu—this ascent mirrors the movement from the base of the yantra to its center.

Thus, the Yantra is the diagram, and Kuṇḍalinī is the journey through it.

In Śrī Vidyā, this movement is not violent or abrupt (as in some other Kuṇḍalinī paths) but is done through mantra japa, visualization, devotion (bhakti), and inner absorption.
The Śrī Chakra Pūjā (worship of the yantra) often parallels the inner movement of kuṇḍalinī, sometimes explicitly guiding it with mudrās and mantras.

🧘‍♀️ 3. The Tripartite Movement: Kuṇḍalinī, Śrī Yantra, and Tripurā Sundarī

There are three realities that are unified in Śrī Vidyā sādhana:

Inner Energy (Yoga)	External Mandala (Yantra)	Deity (Śakti)
Kuṇḍalinī Śakti	Śrī Yantra	Tripurā Sundarī / Rājā Rājeśvarī
Ascends through the cakras	Moves inward through āvaraṇas	Exists both as bindu and beyond

The practitioner contemplates, visualizes, and unites with all three—this is the core of the sādhana.

🔥 4. The Inner Śrī Cakra (Antaryāga)

In more advanced Śrī Vidyā practice, especially in internal worship (antaryāga):

The Śrī Cakra is visualized within the subtle body, often in the region of the heart or the forehead.
The Kuṇḍalinī is invoked to rise through recitation of the Śrī Vidyā mantra (e.g., pañcadaśī or ṣoḍaśī).
Each āvaraṇa is visualized as being crossed, often with the guidance of mantra-nyāsa (placing of mantras on the body).

This inner practice refines awareness, unites the microcosm with the macrocosm, and brings both liberation (mokṣa) and enjoyment (bhoga)—the goal of Śrī Vidyā.

🌺 5. Feminine Kuṇḍalinī and Śrī Vidyā Grace

Unlike many systems that emphasize effortful kuṇḍalinī rising as an act of yogic will, Śrī Vidyā approaches Kuṇḍalinī as the Goddess's grace (kripa):

Kuṇḍalinī is not forced upward—she is worshipped and awakened through loving devotion, with mantras and mudrās.
Her movement is not explosive but erotic, elegant, and blissful—this is Lalitā's dance.

This style reflects the aesthetic and graceful nature of Tripurā Sundarī, whose beauty is as much spiritual as sensual, and whose power is soft and luminous rather than harsh or austere.

🕊️ Summary

Element	Description
Śrī Yantra	Cosmic and inner map of Shakti’s unfolding—also a map of the subtle body.
Kuṇḍalinī	The living energy of Parāśakti; ascends through the body mirroring the yantra.
Tripurā Sundarī	The deity who is both the yantra and the kuṇḍalinī; she is the path and goal.
Practice Style	Graceful, non-forcing, beauty-centered, devotion-based inner ritual.

Would you like a step-by-step visualization exercise of Kuṇḍalinī ascending through the Śrī Yantra, or how this maps onto cakra meditation?

Can you tell me more about the connection between the kundalini and devotional practice to raise it?

Yes, the connection between Kuṇḍalinī and devotional (bhakti) practice is deeply significant, though often misunderstood. While Kuṇḍalinī is usually associated with esoteric Tantric and Yogic disciplines, devotion (bhakti)—especially in Tantric and Śākta contexts—is not a separate or lesser path, but a powerful and even safer way to awaken the inner Shakti.

Let’s unpack this in detail:

🐍 What Is Kuṇḍalinī?

Kuṇḍalinī is:

The primordial energy of consciousness.
Often depicted as a coiled serpent sleeping at the base of the spine (mūlādhāra cakra).
She is Śakti Herself, latent in the individual.
When awakened, she rises through the central channel (suṣumṇā nāḍī), piercing each cakra, uniting with Śiva at the crown (sahasrāra), producing liberation (mokṣa), bliss (ānanda), and divine knowledge (jñāna).

🕉️ Kuṇḍalinī and Bhakti: The Theological Connection

In Tantric and Śākta traditions, especially in Śrī Vidyā, Kuṇḍalinī is not merely energy, but a conscious goddess, and devotion to her—whether as Tripura Sundarī, Kālī, or Lalitā—is a direct form of awakening her.

Devotion is the invocation of Shakti in the heart. When the heart is melted, the serpent stirs.

Some key points:

Kuṇḍalinī is Tripura Sundarī in the individual microcosm.
The mantras, yantras, visualizations, and songs of devotion vibrate her awake.
The feeling of bhakti—surrender, yearning, love—is itself her rising.
In yoga of devotion, grace replaces force: where Hatha Yogis might try to awaken Kuṇḍalinī through strict austerity, the devotee awakens her by melting the ego.

🔥 Devotion As Awakening

A few core principles:

Concept	Devotional Interpretation
Kuṇḍalinī	Inner goddess, sleeping as love in the heart
Mantra	Vibrations that align the ego to the divine
Bhakti (Love)	Heat (tapas) that stirs the energy upward
Tears	Sign of inner awakening; Shakti is moving
Japa or Kīrtan	Repetition that aligns breath, prāṇa, and mind
Visualizing the Goddess	Aligns inner awareness with divine form, causing flow in suṣumṇā

In Śrī Vidyā, Kuṇḍalinī is:

Worshipped through mantra japa (e.g., Śrī Vidyā mantra, Sauḥ, Aim, etc.).
Guided up through cakras by devotion, not force.
Invited to rise not just through will, but through emotional offering: surrender, longing, beauty, sweetness (mādhurya).

🌸 Scriptural and Lineage Support

This idea is supported in various traditions:

In the Devī Gītā, the goddess says:

"By devotion alone I come to dwell in the heart."
In Kālī Tantra, it is said:

"Those who weep for me, even once, stir me in their spine."
Abhinavagupta, the Kashmiri Tantric sage, emphasized aesthetic rapture (rasa) as Kuṇḍalinī movement.
In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Kṛṣṇa Bhakti is described as so intense that it burns karma and stirs the sleeping serpent.

Thus, bhakti is not a lesser yoga—it’s often the highest, because it bypasses the ego more directly.

🕯️ Signs of Kuṇḍalinī Awakening through Devotion

These may include:

Unprovoked weeping during prayer or kīrtan.
A feeling of rising energy from the base of the spine or heart.
Inner heat or pulsation during mantra japa.
Moments of ego-loss, vastness, or deep silence.
Intuitive visions of the deity, even without active visualization.

This awakening is often gentler, and sometimes slower, but more sustainable and emotionally integrated than via forced techniques.

💡 Summary

Yoga of Force (Haṭha)	Yoga of Love (Bhakti)
Strives to awaken Kuṇḍalinī via breath, bandhas, etc.	Awakens her through love, longing, surrender
Uses discipline and control	Uses softness, openness
Sometimes risks destabilization	Emotionally integrated, heart-centered
Works through prāṇa	Works through rasa (emotional juice)

Would You Like...

A devotional Kuṇḍalinī prayer?
A guided meditation combining bhakti and internal Kuṇḍalinī practice?
A comparison with other paths like Rāja Yoga or Śaiva Tantra?

Let me know how you'd like to explore further.

Nocturnal essay (part 1)

Credit: Ranjithsiji

So I decided to go all in with the AI-generated cheating. Here is the first part of tonight´s essay on various esoteric aspects of Shri Vidya, a Tantric school of Hinduism based on worship of the goddess Tripura Sundari.

Can you tell me about the mysterious Shri Yantra of Tripura Sundari? What does the yantra mean? How is it worshipped?

The Śrī Yantra (also spelled Shri Chakra) is one of the most powerful, mysterious, and symbolically rich diagrams in the entire tradition of Tantric Hinduism, especially within the Śrī Vidyā tradition of Shākta Tantra, where Tripurā Sundarī (also known as Lalitā or Rājarājeśvarī) is the central deity. The yantra is not merely a geometric figure—it is a sacred map of the cosmos, the body, and the path to liberation. Let's explore it in depth:

🔱 What is the Śrī Yantra?

The Śrī Yantra is a sacred geometric mandala made up of:

Nine interlocking triangles, four pointing upward (Śiva, masculine, fire) and five pointing downward (Śakti, feminine, water).
These form a complex lattice of 43 smaller triangles, representing the cosmos and the human body.
It is enclosed by two or three concentric circles of lotus petals, and a square called the bhūpura with four gates (symbolizing the earthly realm).
At the center lies the bindu, the point of unity, representing Tripurā Sundarī herself—pure consciousness and bliss.

The entire yantra is seen as a three-dimensional mystical mountain or cosmic palace, known as Meru. It is at once cosmic and microcosmic, symbolizing the entire universe and the inner self.

🧭 Symbolic Meaning

Each part of the Śrī Yantra corresponds to different levels of reality, deities, psychological states, and steps on the spiritual path:

Component	Symbolizes
Bindu	The supreme goddess, Parāśakti, pure consciousness
Nine triangles	Dynamic interplay of Śiva and Śakti
43 smaller triangles	43 Devīs or Yoginīs, subtle aspects of reality
Lotus petals	Chakras, blossoming of inner energy
Square (Bhūpura)	Earth, material realm, the physical body

The Śrī Yantra thus represents the entire manifestation of the divine—from subtle formless unity to gross material form—and provides a map back to that unity.

🙏 How is the Śrī Yantra Worshipped?

1. Installation & Consecration (Sthāpanā)

The yantra is usually drawn, engraved, or painted on copper, silver, gold, birch bark, or paper. Sometimes it's made as a three-dimensional Meru Chakra. It must be ritually consecrated before worship.

2. Worship (Upāsanā)

Worship of the Śrī Yantra may be external (with a physical yantra) or internal (visualized in meditation):

Nyāsa – Placement of mantras or energies on the body.
Pūjā – Ritual worship of each triangle and petal, invoking the respective Devis and Śaktis.
Japa – Repetition of the Śrī Vidyā mantra (e.g., Lalitā Mahātripurasundarī's Pañcadaśī or Ṣoḍaśī mantra).
Meditation – The practitioner moves from the outer square inward toward the bindu, symbolizing spiritual ascent.

In traditional pūjā, one worships the nine enclosures (navāvaraṇa), each with its own set of deities. The worshiper becomes the goddess herself through ritual identification.

🕉️ Deeper Esoteric Meaning

The Śrī Yantra is a non-dual symbol: It holds both duality (Śiva–Śakti) and unity (bindu).
It reflects the Sṛṣṭi–Sthiti–Saṁhāra (creation, sustenance, dissolution) cycle.
The central bindu is beyond time and space—the still center around which all motion occurs.

In Kaula and Śrī Vidyā Tantras, the Śrī Yantra is not just an object of worship but the soul's roadmap for merging into Parāśakti, the highest reality.

🔥 Where Is It Worshipped?

Śrī Vidyā lineages (like those of Sringeri, Kanchipuram, Kāmakhyā, and Devipuram) center their practice on the Śrī Yantra.
It's also installed in temples, homes, and tantric altars.
In Devipuram (Andhra Pradesh), there's a life-size 3D Śrī Meru one can walk through.

⚠️ Secret & Protected Knowledge

Traditional Śrī Vidyā practice, especially involving the Pañcadaśī and Ṣoḍaśī mantras, is often initiated and secret, passed down from guru to disciple. The yantra itself is considered a living deity, not just a diagram.

🪔 Summary

The Śrī Yantra is Tripurā Sundarī’s own form.
It encodes the entire cosmos and the path to liberation.
Worship of it is both a devotional act and a powerful internal yoga.
It teaches that the divine is not outside us—but within the layered structure of our very being.

Would you like a visual breakdown of the yantra’s layers, or a step-by-step puja method as practiced in a living Śrī Vidyā lineage?

Is the "bindu" or Parahsakti impersonal (like Brahman) in Sri Vidya? If so, is the goddess Tripura Sundari merely a symbol? Or does the godess actually exist (with form) on some level?

In Śrī Vidyā, the relationship between the bindu, Parāśakti, and the goddess Tripurā Sundarī is subtle and non-dual, resisting simple classifications like “impersonal” or “personal.” To answer your question clearly and in depth:

🌕 Is the bindu impersonal?

Yes and no.

The bindu—the central point in the Śrī Yantra—represents Parāśakti in her absolute, formless, unmanifest state. This is equivalent to Brahman in Advaita Vedānta: nirguṇa (without attributes), nirākāra (without form), beyond duality, beyond conception.
In this state, Parāśakti is pure Consciousness, beyond deity, form, or even energy—a transcendental stillness that is the source of all. She is identical with Śiva here—there is no difference.

So in this sense, yes, the bindu represents an “impersonal” absolute reality. But Śrī Vidyā does not stop here.

🌸 Is Tripurā Sundarī just a symbol of this?

No. She is more than a symbol.

While Tripurā Sundarī represents that same formless reality (Parāśakti) when viewed from the perspective of manifestation and devotion, she is also a real presence—a conscious, embodied form of the Divine that can be related to, invoked, worshipped, and realized.
Form and formless are not opposites in Śrī Vidyā—they are two aspects of one reality.
“She is beyond form and within all forms. She is the bindu, and she is the lotus blossoming from it.”
Thus, Tripurā Sundarī is both:
- The supreme Brahman, pure awareness (sat–cit–ānanda),
- And the beautiful, blissful Devi who dances, loves, and reigns in Manidvīpa, surrounded by her śaktis.

🕊️ Does the goddess exist "with form" on some level?

Yes, absolutely—and this is essential to Śrī Vidyā practice.

Her form is not imaginary or “just symbolic,” but subtle and supra-physical—a divine body of light (divya-deha), perceivable by clairvoyant insight or deep tantric realization.
In Manidvīpa, she dwells in a radiant city of crystalline brilliance, seated on the Śrī Chakra, served by countless goddesses and yoginīs—a real realm for the awakened consciousness, yet not made of material matter.
For the sādhaka (practitioner), her form becomes the bridge to the formless. By worshipping her in form, one is led beyond form—not by denial, but by absorption.

🪞 In summary:

Aspect	Description
Bindu / Parāśakti	The absolute, formless, non-dual Brahman; pure awareness.
Tripurā Sundarī (with form)	The embodied Divine Feminine, real and luminous, guiding toward the formless.
Form vs Formless	Not contradictory—form is Shakti’s play, formless is her essence.
Symbol vs Reality	She is not merely a symbol—she exists in subtle form and is fully real.

This non-dual integration—where the personal goddess is the gateway to the impersonal absolute—is what makes Śrī Vidyā such a refined and philosophically rich system. It allows the practitioner to engage with the Divine emotionally, ritually, intellectually, and mystically, without fragmenting the Absolute into pieces or denying the world.

Would you like a comparison of how this differs from Vedānta or other schools of Tantra?