Chinnamasta: cutting off the excess

Chinnamasta and https://www.julianalucky.com/yoga-for-kids is one of the ten Mahavidyas, the manifestation of the One Divine Consciousness. It is a stream of kundalini energy that burns ignorance and impurity on its way, breaks through blocks that interfere with the free flow of energy in a person, and takes consciousness beyond the boundaries of the usual space.

The very word mahavidya means great knowledge. Figuratively, the ten Mahavidyas are represented as the ten main goddesses of the Tantric pantheon. The first and perhaps the most famous of the ten great goddesses is Kali. It represents the dynamic aspect of the Absolute, its power of awareness. The remaining nine Mahavidyas are its particular manifestations, carrying their own functions. Chinnamasta, along with Tara, refers to the deities common to Hindu and Buddhist Tantrism. She is also called Vajra-vairochaniya and Vajrayogini – the word “vajra” means lightning, and it is a symbol of the power of this goddess.

Perplexity, shock, horror, disgust – they say that this is the first reaction that usually occurs among Europeans who are faced with the image of Chinnamasta: a goddess who cut off her own head and feeds her companions with her blood. The image of Chinnamasta contains a deep philosophical meaning.

Myth
The myth tells that Chinnamasta’s companions asked her for food on their way to the river. After some time, Chinnamasta cut off her own head and began to drink the blood of her companions and herself. Then she put her head back. And only Shiva later noticed that she was “slightly pale.”

This myth indicates the superiority of the goddess over the spatial and temporal spheres of being. The act of destruction occurs at the same time as creation, because she deprives herself of her head, but at the same time nourishes herself and her companions. Chinnamasta manifests her divine nature and shows that this is just a “game”, for her temporary deprivation of her head has no consequences, except for temporary pallor.

The seat of Chinnamasta is the ajna chakra (forehead area). The Goddess represents there the energy of will, true vision and freedom, transcending the fivefold creation, the five planes of limitation. Chinnamasta is a state of great spontaneity, true freedom, when the choosing mind is dropped and life is experienced directly.

Ajna Chakra is the confluence of the three nadis: fiery, lunar and solar. This fire of unity burns all karmas, “roasts the grains”, so that they will no longer “sprout”. In the tantric system of yoga, prana circulates in the human body through the channels of the nadis. The central one is “sushumna”, the left one is “ida” and the right one is “pingala”. For most people, prana remains in the side – secondary – channels and cannot enter the central one. Until prana enters the central channel, a person cannot get rid of the idea of ​​the duality of the surrounding world and realize his identity with the Absolute.

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