Image: HAR #87223, 1300-99, Central Tibet, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Q: Who is the deity Kalachakra in the Kalachakra Tantra?
A: The Tantric Teachings are divided into four classes: Action Tantra, Performance Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Highest Yoga Tantra. The Highest Yoga Tantra is further divided into Father Tantra, Mother Tantra, and Non-dual Tantra.
The glorious Kalachakra Tantra belongs to the Non-dual Tantra. Within this Tantra, there are the “support,” namely the inconceivable palaces of body, speech, and mind (this magnificent, multi-layered three-dimensional divine palace represents the purified universe and corresponds directly to the three secrets of an enlightened being), and the “supported,” the specific assembly of enlightened energies residing within this palace. Namely, this indicates the principal deity Kalachakra and his consort in Vishvamata in primordial union, together with their retinue of 636 deities (the number can vary).
In summary, the deity Kalachakra is a deity appearing in Sambhogakaya form, with four faces and twenty-four arms, who is meditated upon in the Generation Stage. This serves as a means to eliminate our sufferings in Samsara and, ultimately, to completely purify all obscurations.
Note: There are many different ways of meditating on the deity, in both elaborate and condensed forms.