Click to hear the brief explaination
"Yaa devi sarvabhootheshu
Mathruroopena samsthitha
Namasthasye namasthasye Namasthasye namo namaha"
(Saluations to the Devi again and again
who abides in all beings in the form of Mother!)
Devi Lalita Tripurasundari
Lalita means She Who Plays. All creation, manifestation and dissolution is considered to be a play of Devi or the goddess. Mahatripurasundari is her name as transcendent beauty of the three cities, a description of the goddess as conqueror of the three cities of the demons, or as the triple city (Tripura), but really a metaphor for a human being.
In terms of Lalita, the gross form is the image of the goddess with her four arms and so forth, the subtle form is as yantra, and the supreme form is her mantra, all three being the goddess in different aspects. Behind the sometimes colourful symbolism is deep wisdom coupled with practical methods for realising oneself.
What then is a yantra? The word is usually translated as a machine, but in the special sense of the tantrik tradition refers to the Devi in her linear or geometrical form. Yantras, by the way, are always used flat. They may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Every aspect of Devi has her own mantra and yantra. The yantra of Devi Lalita is Shri Yantra. The divinity of the yantra always occupies the centre or apex.
The different parts or petals and lines of the yantra are usually arranged in concentric circles (mandalas) and contain rays or sub-limbs of devi. The Shri Yantra has nine of these mandals, each filled with various aspects of the Devi. In Shri Yantra there are 111 aspects. The Shri Yantra is said to be a geometric form of the human body, which implies that goddess as Macrocosm is one with human being as Microcosm.
Lalita has three forms: the maiden, Bala (or Bala-Sundari); the Mother, Sundari, (or Tripurasundari, or Sundari the Beautiful); and the "Crone", Tripura Bhairavi (who is actually depicted as a little more mature in human terms, but not aged., the term "Crone" does not necessarily - or usually - imply taking the form of an old woman).The term "crone" does not originally signify an old woman. Indeed most ancient images of the Triple Goddess do not include an old woman. "Crone" comes from Greek cronos, meaning time. Thus the significance of "Crone" is identical to that of Kali, which comes from Sanskrit kala, also meaning time.
The saint has this to say about Sri Lalita:
She is Jagadamba, or Mother of the World. Her love for all is supreme. She constantly showers upon humanity Her love and grace, and She is known for Her all-giving nature. Her goal is to have humanty return to the ultimate state of oneness with Her... What can humans offer such a Mother who loves them, takes care of them and gives them Her bounty? Praising such a Mother and offering Her gratitude is the essence of Sri Lalitha Sahasranama [the chant of Her Thousand Names - hear an mp3 excerpt].
Mother of all that is, please enter our hearts as the love that can adore You: for we are very little children, and even to love You we need Your help.