Dpa Devi In the r vidy ritual manual we are directed to place two lamps on either side of the pja

pTham. The Lamp on right side of pTham should be filled with ghee and have a white wic ! the one on left side should be filled with sesame oil and have a red wic . This is a small open thought on placement and choice of material. The pja pTham is facing sdha a. The deity is invo ed on the pTham and is meditated as facing sdha a. Thus we find right side of sdha a is the left of the deity and vice versa. The deity invo ed is r Lalit"#me$vara %ouple. r Lalit &evi is meditated as being seated on left lap of r #me$vara. Thus we find Lamp on right side of pTham' filled with ghee and having a white wic will be on r #me$vara(s side and on left side filled with sesame oil and with a red wic will be on r Lalitmbi (s side. )e are immediately reminded of the *uru(s +oot stool as said in verse ,ra ta $u la(' where $u la(refers to r #me$avra is diguru - pointing to source of nowledge and ,ra ta( to r Lalitmbi a' who is his vimar$a $a ti' e.perience of this nowledge. /.amining ,&pa( with secret code aTapaydi will show number eighteen' total number of 0idys and 1pa"0idys as per puras' thus pointing to #nowledge 2light3 and its e.perience' which is also seen above. The %ow(s ghee , ( is used to fill right side lamp' , ( means cow' the most venerated' in whose body all divine forces of this universe reside-sarva devat svarpa' in short containing in it the divine energy of this entire universe", ( by #aTapaydi code is ,three( which point to the three worlds" visible universe 2bh14' bhuva4 and suva43! This word also means ,senses(" li ened to a cow' which goes out to gra5e and then retires under a shade to masticate' similarly all the senses go out to gather nowledge from universe and then later remembers that e.perience 2this is called vsan3' number three will allure to three sates of awa ening' sleep and deep sleep. , ( will mean ghee. The

process of producing ghee is a long one' one has to get mil ' boil it' cool' ma e it sour and turn into curds' churn the curds to get butter and finally heat 2melt3 butter to get ghee. These processes described also give and idea on the ac7uisition of nowledge' which again is a long process. 8ne has to wander li e a cow and gra5e 2read 9 hear3' internali5e fodder 2heard9read information3 to get mil ' which is the essence 2learning3' 8ne has to e.ternally discuss or debate with li eminded people' which is li ened to souring and get curds' then churn curds' which is internal debate and process to ma e these learning inside us' which is li ened to the butter' heat again is to implement these learning in our daily routine 2anuTna3 to get ghee 2bliss3. :s per #aTapaydi code , ( will translate to si.ty four' total number of all branches of nowledge" catuaTi" al. +urther' we find same in our guru madala veneratory verse as ,si.ty four siddhs(. Loo ing holistically' we find total nowledge in this entire universe is represented by lighting this lamp. The left side lamp is with a red wic and filed with , (" sesame oil. :ccording to the scriptures Lord 0ishnu is pleased with worship of sesame seeds' which we also use in our forefather(s worship. Lord 0ishnu is the ever pervasive consciousness in both animate and inanimate objects. +orefather(s represent the cumulative nowledge of e.perience by which we further find our way to the land of e.periential nowledge. , and by #aTapaydi code will mean number thirty si.. This is the number of tattvas in the e.periential universe. The color red is e.plained in bhvanopaniat as ,lauhityam etasya sarvasya vimar$a4( - red color is e.perience of identity of sadha a' r Lalit and r #me$vara. r ;hs ararya puts is lucidly as< :tman without any attributes is r #me$vara and with an attribute called ,bliss( is called Lalitmbi and with attributes of four preceptor internal organs" manas' buddhi' aham ra and citta is called sdha a. This identity is described in this verse. Loo ing above ideas on a whole' we find the e.periential nowledge lin ed to thirty si. tattva" universe is the message in lighting this lamp.

:dding both numbers seen will result in centum' 2>?@A>3. The total number of rays 2ra$mi(s3 inside si. dhra ca ra counted both ways' up and down. 2?@>@6B@6=@6>@= CDBE=C6BB3. The up and down movement of udalini is described beautifully in two verses of saundaryalahari" ,mahm mldhre..( and ,sudhdhr srai4..(. Thus a total blissful e.perience of udalini movement is e.plicitly seen in establishing these lamps. )e usually light the dpa with the hlle ha bjam - ,hrm(. This is the verbal form of the initial creative movement of Lord $iva. The ,h( is Lord $iva and ,I( is the primordial energy which instigates creation and ,r( is the life energy - heat energy which resulted in created universe. Ta ing numbers for individual alphabets - ,4( is eight! ,r( is two! ,I( the vowel is four and ,m( 2anusvara3 is one. Thus we find a total of fifteen in parts and considering the whole bja as one we get a total count of si.teen',oa$a al( which is ever present and ever illuminating all aspirant(s intellect for e.perience of this world. In this manner' we find a very deep inner guidance in understanding and e.periencing of $iva"$a ti in all aspects for a simple ritual li e establishing and lighting of lamps during sapary. More light from Lalit sahasranma and triati There are two names in both of these stotr with the word - ,dpa(. They are ,agnnadhvnta dpi (and tri ontara dpi ( in sahasranma! ,hrm rgaFa dpi ( and hrm ra maidparci4( in tri$ati. 6. ,agnna( - the ignorance of the true nature of self is compared to ,dhvnta( dar ness of night' which is lit up by lamp"light ,dpi (. )hen we bring a light into a dar room' we need not as 9 re7uest the dar ness to move away. &ar ness itself is absence of light' so when light is lit' it spreads its glow and reveals all. ,gnna( as defined in aula upaniad by ;hs ararya is ,avivecana abhva( - not being unaware 2note the double negative3. :s seen from above #aTapaydi code' agnna is 5ero signifying absence of nowledge - Ignorance' dpa is numeral eighteen' this refers to the light and e.perience as said in the eighteen vidy.

=. tri oa is a triangle' symbol of ula' the inseparable aspect of triads. 4ence &evi is the light that shines and illumines the triads 2gnna gnt and gneya3! also we can see another name ulntasth' inside the ula' pointing to the same aspect. In r ca ra' inside the central triangle is the bindu' hence this name also points to &evi as shining from the centre of r ca ra. A. In tri$ati the bja ,hrm( is compared to court yard in front of the house' while devi is described as the light illuminating the path way to house. %onsidering from above' if dpa can be thought of as the eighteen vidy and the e.periential nowledge' then we are ama5ed to see that to reach 2 now3 the bja ,hrm(' devi is the personification of all nowledge in the form of Gri *uru to reach 2e.perience3 that mantra. ?. :gain bja ,hrm( is li ened to a crystal and devi is the rays of light gushing from the jewel. ,ma( and ,i( as per code is five and five' representing organs of cognition and motor' light from inside 2devi"tm3 illumines them' leading to e.perience of universe' which is again &evi. ,mai( also is a secret code of sdhana of five ,H(. Thus &evi is bliss 2sadnanda3 e.perienced as sdhana progresses under guidance of Gri *uru.