A Navaratri Visit from Smitamukhi Devi, Mother with a Smiling Face

This glorious golden Sri Yantra emanates the supreme energy of Lalita Devi

It was Lalita Panchami, the fifth night of Navaratri and a night drenched in the glory of Mother Lalita’s love and bliss. Navaratri, which means “nine nights,” is a sacred festival devoted to spiritual practices and the worship of Divine Mother. Each night is dedicated to a different from of the Goddess, and the fifth night is especially auspicious for Divine Mother Lalitambika. Lalita is usually translated as “She who plays,” but Amma Sri Karunamayi has said that Lalita means “One with a very tender, loving heart,” and I love this translation so much. I was in Bangalore for the Navaratri celebrations at Amma’s Devi Temple, and after the Panchami festivities I had walked back to my hotel. Feeling happy yet tired, I got into bed, eager to get enough sleep before waking up at 4 AM the next day.

The Sri Yantra radiates such glory during the auspicious arati, or light-waving, ceremony

I was still buzzing from the unimaginably radiant and auspicious final arati ceremony I had just witnessed. Hundreds of dancing flames had been waved in front of the blazingly radiant golden Sri Chakra, while devotees sang vibrant and rhythmic Sanskrit songs to Divine Mother in her forms as Durga Devi and Lalitambika. The auspicious images were emblazoned on my inner sight, the mantras were vibrating in my nadis, and my heart was overflowing with spiritual bliss.

As I was relaxing and waiting to drift off into the arms of Nidra Devi, the Goddess of Sleep, I began to feel a little strange. I could still feel the bed underneath me, and the sheet covering me, but my body was starting to tingle and I realized that I couldn’t move. I knew that my eyes were closed, and I couldn’t open them, yet I was somehow able to see the room as if my eyes were open. I had slipped into a state of “sleep paralysis,” which many people say is the precursor to astral travel or an out-of-body experience.

All I knew was that I couldn’t move, and the thought flashed across my mind, “Someone’s coming!” I seemed to hear or sense footsteps coming slowly, steadily and purposefully down the hotel hall, and I felt that my inability to move was somehow connected to this approaching presence. I could feel some kind of energy or power getting stronger and stronger. Being paralyzed, my first reaction was somewhat panicked, and I tried to remember whether I had locked my door, as if that could keep out what was coming!

Before I knew what was happening, someone suddenly appeared inside my room (and no, she didn’t need to open the door). It seemed to be some kind of glowing woman, like a spiritual or divine being, and I was not at all prepared for what I saw in that instant. She was very radiant, very beautiful, and she was smiling a smile I have never witnessed, either before or since. I didn’t get a very good look at her, because of what happened next, but what I could tell was that she was glowing with a very vibrant energy, and I had a sense of golden light around her face. Her eyes were bright and shining, radiating an energy of intense happiness and excited delight.

Lalita Devi is usually shown with a very sweet gentle smile

What really struck me though, was her smile. This wasn’t a gentle, coy or even peaceful smile. She was smiling beautifully with great bliss, and all I can say is that seeing that smile made me feel like I was on top of a sacred Himalayan mountain, with the brilliant sunlight reflecting off of all the immaculately white snow. Her teeth glowed with a whiteness that made me feel like I’d just inhaled the divine fragrance of camphor, or karpuram. It was the fragrance of absolute purity, total exhilaration and blissful exaltation. It’s hard to describe her appearance or energy in words, but I got the feeling of “nava shakti.” Nava can mean the number nine in Sanskrit, but it can also mean new or fresh, and I could feel an energy of eternal freshness emanating from her, like an exhilarating wind that you would feel on a mountain top, that just makes you feel so alive, and truly thrilled and excited to be alive.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to really gaze at her for long. As soon as she appeared, I was immediately hit with the impact of her intense and overwhelming magnetic energy. It was like she was one of those huge MRI magnets, and my soul was just a tiny metal coin, helpless to resist the magnetic force. Before I could form any thought whatsoever, I felt myself fly out of my body and across the room as I literally “leaped” straight into her. It felt like I simply melted into her, as I felt an instantaneous explosion of bliss pass throughout my entire subtle body. Then everything went black, and I don’t remember anything else until I woke up the next morning (at 4 AM).

To this day, I have no idea what actually happened, or who she was, or what she represented. Does she have a name? I don’t know. But when I think of her, I keep remembering a line from one bhajan, “Ranjita Smitamukhi Rajarajeswari.” (Click the icon below to hear the line.)

Ranjita Smita Mukhi Line

Smitamukhi means “One with a smiling face,” and ranjita means delightful or charming. That comes close, but a better word for that smile would be “madya” or “madvan,” meaning gladdening, exhilarating or even intoxicating. All I know is that whenever I think deeply on that experience, it feels like I’m reconnecting with that energy, and before I know it, my heart fills with that new, fresh energy and overflows in tears of bliss and love. Sometimes, life on planet Earth can really wear us down, and it seems as if the true radiance of our souls is not shining through very strongly. So just to connect with that energy of bliss, excitement and enthusiasm for dharma and spirituality is very special to me.

The memory of this experience, which happened 12 years ago, is like a precious little gem that I keep wrapped up in my heart, and every now and then I take it out to look at it and feel inspired once again–inspired by our potential for spiritual radiance and divine bliss. May we all feel divine inspiration and be blessed with fresh new enthusiasm for life, for spiritual practices, and for connecting to the infinite ocean of light and bliss that is our beloved Divine Mother.

Ranjita Smitamukhi Rajarajeswari
Bhagavati Bharati Mama Hrudayeswari

O Rajarajeswari, the radiant smile on your beautiful face captivates my heart and fills me with the light of your bliss. Though you are the glorious queen for the entire universe, you have happily come to sit on the humble throne of my inner heart!