As the joyous celebration of Goonla gets underway, we pray to श्री श्री प्रज्ञापरामिता ।Sri Sri PrajnaParamita. She is the personification of wisdom. Of the wise–the perfect among whom are recognized as Buddhas, She is the Mother. Wise-wisdom; child-mother; Buddhas (yes, in the plural)-Sri Sri Prajna Paramita.

For the full text of the Stotra, please click here.

This prayer is really a statement of recognition. Whenever we recognize or understand something, anything, we think to ourselves, “I got it.” She is the ‘it”. Think of ‘it’ as software. Without ‘it’ the hardware is inert. With Sri Sri PrajnaParamita, we be.

The Devi is typically represented as a seated figure, tranquil of face and bearing. Two of her four hands are held in ध्यान मुद्रा । meditative hand posture in which the fingers are interlaced and the thumbs touch each other. On the left of her two remaining hands, she holds the वज्र । vajra, a nine spoke artifact representing the totality of human experience in adamantine form. On the left is the prescriptive manuscript for the discovery of emptiness in that experience. In aggregate form, the representation of the Devi invites a reflection on the “It” that pervades and powers the Universe.

The particular sculpture whose picture is reproduced in the prayer-video below is a 13th century creation. Commissioned for veneration and crafted to prompt the human spirit in contemplation, this sculpture most assuredly paved the path to enlightenment to those who would have been fortunate to catch her glimpse at some आगं ।agama (dedicated, private worship space) somewhere. This sculpture is no longer in Nepal, but the inspiration is. To that inspiration, we pray.