Kamalatmika - The Lotus Goddess of Delight
| Date :04-Apr-2020 |
By Rajendra Diwe :
Goddess Kamalatmika or Kamala is the tenth and the last of the Dasha Maha Vidya. She is considered as the goddess of inner and outer prosperity. Kamala means “Lotus” Atmika is “based on”, thus she is lotus goddess of delight, representing the enfoldment of divine nature and its manifestation in the physical world. Her epithets include Shakti as well as Maya. Goddess Kamala is seated on a lotus which symbolises purity. Mata Kamala is a pleasing young woman with a radiant complexion, delighting the senses, great intellectual and emotional admiration.
Goddess has four hands with lotus flowers in her two hands, and her two remaining hands are in the posture of giving boons and blessings. She has a crown on her head and wears silken apparel. Four elephants as white as the snow of the Himalayas encircle her, carrying vessels of gold in their trunks. Kamala is the goddess of prosperity, purity, integrity and generosity. Goddess Kamala is Lord Vishnu’s energy existing in bodily form and accompanies him in all his divine activities. Her sadhana, in reality, is the worship of Shakti (Power) the root cause of the existence of this world. Her devotion gives triumph, great quality, wealth etc.
Mata Kamala like Mata Lakshmi is the goddess of fame, fortune, riches, material well-being, fertility and conception of children. According to Yogic Scholars, “Kamalatmika Devi is the yogic appearance of goddess Lakshmi. She is one of the more benign Mahavidyas, her nature much like Sundari, is gentle, kind and benevolent. She is propitiated when there is need for peace and harmony. Kamalatmika is also known as Shree, meaning all that is auspicious and radiant.” Among the Dasha Maha Vidyas, Goddess Kamalatmika is linked to fertility, crop growth and its profits, material wealth and good luck. There is no bias as this grace is to one and all. She relieves one from famine and ensures prosperity. She is only a giver she never expects anything from anyone.
David Frawley alias Vamadeva Shastri in his book ‘Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses’ writes, “Kamala is Lakshmi among the Dasha Mahavidya. Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth, beauty, fertility, love, and devotion, like Roman Venus and Greek Aphrodite, who, like Lakshmi, is born from the ocean, but on a sea shell rather than a lotus. Lakshmi is the great Mother in her role of fulfilling all desires. She represents the water of fulfillment, the flowering of Divine grace and love. Kamala is similar to Sundari in that both rule over love, beauty and bliss. Sundari, however, rules over the subtle form of bliss born of perception of the Self. Kamala governs the outer form of beauty, not merely as pleasure but as the unfolding of the Divine nature into the realms of action and creation.
Kamala causes us to create forms in the outer world, while Sundari allows us to withdraw the outer world into our own consciousness. Kamala thus relates to the Earth, which contains the maximum manifestation of the Divine in the material word. The Earth Goddess, Bhu Devi, is considered to be the second consort of Lord Vishnu.” “Kamala nourishes and supports whatever we truly aspire to do. She aids in all projects and ever seeks to promote their fulfillment, allowing layer upon layer of Divine grace to come forth in various degrees of wonder. She can be propitiated both for ordinary worldly goals and for spiritual realisation. But the ordinary goals we seek through her – wealth, progeny, or success – should be part of seeking Divine fulfillment in life, an unfoldment of our souls desires through an organic process of evolution, not a mere satisfying of neurotic wants,” Grawley states. Dasha Mahavidya, by Geeta Press Gorakhpur mentions, “Kamala is the form of the Goddess most worshipped by people in this world, as we are mainly cognizant of outer beauty and abundance.
Most of us are engaged in the pursuit of pleasure, fortune, talent, fame and so on, which are nothing but superficial or limited aspects of the power of Lakshmi. Since we naturally pursue Lakshmi, we might as well pursue her highest form. Most beautiful thing in life is devotion to Divine. Lakshmi also gives this. When we have that spirit of devotion for the Divine presence everywhere we find incomparable beauty in everything.” “Kamala is a little different from Lakshmi. Kamala is the aspect of Lakshmi that is part of the Wisdom Goddesses. She is the form of Lakshmi which relates specifically to the practice of Yoga. Hence she is also a form of Kali. Kali or the beauty of the void is also the basis of Kamala or the beauty of life. The spiritual lotus, which is the basis of the universal energy, blooms in the void. It comes forth in the space of pure consciousness. Hence to allow it to come forth we must first make ourselves empty and clear. Only the non-attachment of Kali enables us to enjoy life and find our fulfillment through Kamala,” the book elaborates.