Secrets of the Devī Māhātmyam | Śākta Theology 101

As one of the most ancient and important texts of the Tāntrik Goddess (śākta) tradition, the Devī Māhātmyam is of course unspeakably rich in its every dimension!

In its esoteric dimension, it is a very complex manual of mantra, ritual and magical application. 
As literature, is aesthetically and poetically sublime beyond comparison. 
As a narrative, it is astoundingly complex and ingenious in terms of structure and progression. 
And as a philosophy or theology, it is among the most refined and sophisticated that any religious tradition has ever offered! 
Politically, never have we encountered a more triumphant depiction of fierce, untamed feminine power! 

Theologically, the texts challenges our metaphysical ideas of objective reality & temporality, our ethical understanding of "good & evil" (the narrative is intensely morally ambiguous, after all as I point out in this talk) and our spiritual notions of the One & the Many, the Transcendent & the Immanent, the Absolute & the Relative etc. Studying and contemplating this text (and of course chanting and living the text) will dramatically transform everything about your world view, especially with regards to how you view the self, the world and "God" who in the text is "put to sleep", i.e transcended by this Absolute Reality we call Śakti, Power. 

In order to tease out some of this complexity as part of our Navarātri celebrations last week, we offered this talk! 

May all this be placed at the feet of our beloved Mā who comes to me in the form of all of you!

Jai Mā!

PS: you'll find all the talks we've given on the Devī Māhātmya in this playlist.