A Mandala of Grace: The Dasavataras
Geoffrey has written the following on the Dasavataras and how they will help us through the Bodhicitta/Dasavataras meditations offered monthly in 2024
This year we will be establishing and moving through the Dasavatara mandala (10 avatars). It should open up the channels of grace in many areas of your life. There are astrological correspondences for the first 9 avataras and universal astrological karma resolving effects for the other 3.
The Dasavatara mandala also has the very unusual capacity to resolve prenatal karmas. There are many ways of categorizing karmas. One that I find useful is to enumerate the source of various karmas. Here is a list of possible categories:
Past-life karmas - what we carry and have not resolved from our past
Genetic/ancestral karmas - what comes along with acquiring a body
Prenatal karmas - the various difficulties acquired while the body is being formed
Astrological karmas - the timing and unfolding of our karmas as well as the secondary karmas that are created out of resistance to the movement of time
Cultural karmas - the habits of body, speech and mind learned from our early childhood
There are more than just these but this will be a sufficient list for now.
The resolution of prenatal karmas can unwind very, very deep difficulties and open up new possibilities for moving through the world in terms of relationship, home, abundance, creativity and health. As we establish and move through the entirety of this mandala, we are inviting the great beacons of Grace to transform and rebuild us on a very deep level. It is very much like being reborn.
As well as meditating on the various avataras, we will be meditating on their feminine counterparts. All of these counterparts are expressions of Lakshmi, the glory and power of the divine. At any stage of our development or in any way we have trauma or deficiency of any sort, it is these feminine counterparts that can fill us with their Grace and restore wholeness, abundance, fullness and prosperity.
1. January – Narayana/Narayani –
We start off building our mandala of grace by going to the source. Narayana, unlike the others, is not an avatar (a descent of the entirety of the paramatman into flesh). This ancient form of the divine is the cosmic person. To meditate on and with Narayana is to meditate on the source of Grace itself. This leads to purity, fullness, abundance, connection to God and the feeling of being back in your truest home. This also purifies all astrological karmas. In terms of prenatal development, this is the moment of fertilization in the fallopian tube.
2. February – Matsya/Shri Lakshmi –
Matsya is the first of the classical Dasavataras (10 avatars). This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine fish who saves the Vedas and the world during the flood. Meditating on and with Matysa purifies one’s home & environment, improves one’s relationship to home & environment and protects one’s space both internally and externally. It also purifies the mind, allowing one to make better decisions. Astrologically, this is associated with Ketu (the southern lunar node). In terms of prenatal development, this is when the fertilized egg moves out of the fallopian tube.
3. March – Kurma/Sindhusuta –
Kurma is the second of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine turtle who supports the whole of the world. Meditating on and with Kurma grants tremendous stability and grounding of both body and mind. Astrologically, this is associated with Saturn. Developmentally, this is the stage of implantation where the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus.
4. April – Varaha/Varahi –
Varaha is the third of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine boar who recovers the earth from the bottom of the cosmic sea. Meditating on and with Varaha grants protection, emergent power, removal of obstacles and sexual vitality. Astrologically, this is associated with Rahu (the northern lunar node). In terms of prenatal development, this is the stage of extremely rapid cell division and multiplication and increase of the size of the embryo.
5. May – Narasimha/Narasimhi –
Narasimha is the fourth of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine half-man/half-lion who protects his devotees and annihilates negative influences. Meditating on and with Narasimha grants protection, power, the removal of obstacles and the restoration and protection of family harmony. Astrologically, this is associated with Mars. In terms of prenatal development, this is when the fetus is recapitulating mammalian evolution and has not yet fully become human.
6. June – Vamana/Kamala –
Vamana is the fifth of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine dwarf who grows to cosmic proportions and reclaims the three worlds from a Titan. Meditating on and with Vamana grants victory over opponents, wisdom, relief of heavy karma and grace. Astrologically, this is associated with Jupiter. In terms of prenatal development, this refers to the massive leaps the fetus is now making in brain development to get us to be human.
7. July – Parashurama/Dharani –
Parashurama is the sixth of the classical Dasavataras. This is the first divine incarnation as a human and although he is a Brahmin, he takes up arms to annihilate the many power hungry evil doers in the world. Meditating on and with Parashurama grants spiritual knowledge, power, purity and the transformation of anger into patience. Astrologically, this is associated with Venus. In terms of prenatal development, this is the stage when the human form has been developed but not perfected.
8. August – Rama/Sita –
Rama is the seventh of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of the perfect man, son, king, husband, father who perfectly aligns and enacts his dharma for the well being of the whole of the world. Meditating on and with Rama and Sita grants protection, vitality, healing, and alignment with one’s dharma. Astrologically, this is associated with the Sun. In terms of prenatal development, this is the stage when the form reaches the capacity for enacting dharma.
9. September – Krishna/Radhe –
Krishna is the eighth of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine human whose form contains the whole of creation and is pervaded by Grace. Meditating on and with Krishna grants a portion of the wild mystery of Grace and Love. Astrologically, this is associated with the Moon. In terms of prenatal development, this is the stage of when bhakti and Grace become available.
10. October – Buddha/Sri Lakshmi –
Buddha is the ninth of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the form of a divine sage whose penetrating insight and compassion heals the deepest layers of the mind. Meditating on and with Buddha grants the insights of emptiness and compassion that lead to the cessation of all suffering and the capacity to act as an agent of Compassion for other living beings. Astrologically, this is associated with Mercury. In terms of prenatal development, this is the stage of the final preparation of the mind.
11. November – Kalki/Padmavati –
Kalki is the tenth of the classical Dasavataras. This is the divine incarnate in the future form of a divine warrior who emerges from the sea riding a white horse and wielding a flaming sword who will once again destroy the non-dharmic forces in the world. Meditating on and with Kalki, grants purity, protection and the removal of all obstacles. Astrologically, this can remove any sort of malefic influence. In terms of prenatal development, this is the time of birth.
12. December – Meher Baba/Mehera –
Meher Baba is the most recent incarnation of the whole of the paramatman. Meditating on and with Meher Baba, grants tremendous purity, wisdom, Love and just about anything you can ask for due to his proximity to us in time and space. With this final meditation we will be completing this mandala of avatars and sealing the pathways to their innumerable forms of grace within our beings. Jai Baba!
