God as Mother by Swami Chidananda

7/29/2019 God as Mother by Swami Chidananda

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GOD AS MOTHER


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Gorr[s ruroilrrn9; 9r",r"-; e/";/^,r"ri,*/*

Published byTHE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETYP.O. SHIVANANDANAGAR_24g 1 92

Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal, Himalayas, ! nd iaPrice I I Rs.50/-


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First Edition: 1953Second Edition: 1966Third Edition: lg73Fourth Edition: 1991Fifth Edition: 1999Sixth Edition: 2006

[ 1,000 Copies ]

@The Divine Life Tmst Society

rsBN 8t-7o.s2-o9(}-8EC9

Published by Swami Vimalananda forThe Divine Life Society, Shivanandanagar, and printed by him at\the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy Press,

P. O. Shivanandanagar, Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal,Himalayas,India


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Sil SWA}II SHIDANANDAAN APOSTLE OF PEACE AND EMBODIMENT OF

OUINTESSENCE OF INDIAS SPRITUAL ANDCULTURAL HERITAGE

Revered Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji's worthy spiritualsuccessor has been referred to as follows, "If one wants to seeboldness of spirit behind a slender appearance, irrevertiblecommand of heart behind a benign face, unwavering peace ofmind behind dynamism of action, impersonal detachmentbehind personal love and care-all at once in a single person,one cannot do better than meet Swami Chidananda."Born on 24th September, 1916, into a wealthy Brahminfamily in South India, Swami Chidananda absorbed love fortradition and respect for rituals. At Inyola College, Madras (nowChennai), Swamiji had a brilliant scholastic career. The idealsand teachings of Jesus made a deep impression in his heart, andhe was able to s5mthesize them with all that is best and noble inHindu Culture. The two profound influences in Swamiji's lifewere the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and the example of hisGurudev, Sri Swami Sivananda. He joined Gurudev in 1943 andfrom then on the Ashram and the lofty ideals of The Divine LifeSociety became home and field of service for him.

Swami Chidananda was born with an insatiable zeal to servethe sick and the suffering. Even in childhood he built huts forlepers on the lawns of his home and looked after them as thoughthey were deities.Swami Sivananda said about his spiritual son and beloveddisciple:"Chidananda is a Jivanmukta, a great Saint, an ideal Yogr, aPara-Bhakta and a great sage. Swami Chidananda is all this andmuch more. He was a great Yogi and Saint in his previousbirth itself. His lectures are the outpouring of his saintlyheart, the revelations of intuitive wisdom. And he iS a practicalVedantin, his words have tremendous power. He is born tofulfil a great mission."


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ToThe Supreme MotherThis Flowerls offered in humility and reverence


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PRAYER TO MOTHERSalutations to the Divine Mother who exists in all beingsin the form of intelligence, mercy and beauty, Salutations, OSweet Mother, the consort of Lord Siva. O Mother Parvati!Thou art Lakshmi, Thou art Saraswati. Thou art Kaali, Durgaand Kundalini Shakti. Thou art in the form of all objects.Thou art the sole refuge of all. Thou hast enchanted thewhole world. The whole universe is the play of Thy three

Gunas. How can I praise Thee? Thy glory is indescribable. Thysplendour is ineffable. Protect me. Guide ho, O LovingMother!O Adorable Mother! Thou hast generated this greatillusion by which all people walk deluded in this world. Allsciences have come from Thee. Without Thy grace, no onecan get success in spiritual Sadhana and salvation in the end.Thou art the seed for this world. Thou hast two aspects, viz.,the unmanifested aspect or Avyaktam and the manifestedaspect or the gross universe. The whole world gets dissolved inAvyaktam during Pralaya. Give me the divine eye. Let mebehold Thy real majestic form. Help me to cross over thisillusion, O Kind Mother!O Compassionate Mother! I bow to Thee. Thou art mysaviour. Thou art my goal. Thou art my sole support. Thou artmy guide and the remover of all afflictions, troubles andmiseries. Thou art the embodiment of auspiciousness. Thoupervadest the whole universe. The whole universe is filled withThee. Thou art the store-house of all qualities. Do Thouprotect me: I again and again salute thee. O GloriousMother! Salutations to Thee. All women are Thy parts. Mind,egoism, intellect, body, Prana, senses, are Thy forms. Thou artPara Shakti and Apara Prakiti. Thou art electricity,magnetism, force, energy, power and will. All forms are Thyforms only. Reveal to me The mystery of creation. Bestow onme the divine knowledge.

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O Loving Mother! Thou art the primal energy. Thou hasttwo aspects, namely, the terrible and peaceful. Thou artmodesty, gentleness, shyness, generosity, courage, forbeara'nceand patience. Thou art faith in' the heart of devotees andgenerosity in noble people, chivalry in warriors and ferocity intigers. Give me strength to control the mind and the Indriyas.Make me worthy to dwell in Thee..Salutations unto Thee.O Mother Supreme! When shall I have equal vision andplacid state of mind? When shall I be established in Ahimsa,Satyam and Brahmacharya? When shall I have Thy cosmicvision? When shall I get deep abiding peace and perennialjoy? When shall I enter into deep meditation and Samadhi?O Radiant Mother! I have not done any spiritualSadhana or service of teachers. I have not practised any Vrata,pilgrimage, charity, Japa and meditation or worship. I liave notstudied religiouS scriptures. I have neither discrimination nordispassion. I have neither purity nor burning desire forliberation. Thou art my sole refuge. Thou art my only support.My silent adorations unto Thee. I am Thy meek suppliant.Remove the veil of ignorance.O Gracious Mother! Prostrations unto Thee. Where artThou? Do not forsake me. I am Thy child. Take me to theother shore of fearlessness and joy. When shall I behold Thylotus feet with my own eyes? Thou art the boundless ocean ofmercy. When philosopher's stone turns iron into gold bycontact, when the Ganges turns impure water into pure water,can'st Thou not turn me, O Divine Mother, into a pure soul?May my tongue repeat Thy Name always!(Si Swarni Sivananda ln Grus oF PRAvERS)

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rHE'*?ilT*3"#3fililoF rHE(Si Swami Sivananila)

Since the dawn of civilisation, when the primitive manlived in a matriarchal society, the worship of the DivineMother came into practice. Later on, as civilisation progressed,the matriarchal pattern gradually faded out, and the fatherbecame the head of the family unit, where he was treated asthe man in authority and to whom everyone looked forguidance and approval. Consequently, there was a change inthe concept of God as such; the Fatherhood of God wasestablished. But Mother worship persisted simultaneously,since this concept was psychologically more appealing to thedevotee, the mother being nearest in filial affection to thechild. Subsequently, a synthetic harmony between theMotherhood and Fatherhood of God was developed by theHindu religion; the people worshipped Sita and Rama, orRadha and Krishna together.

The concept of the human mind is based on relativeexperience. Subjective idealism, therefore, in its initial stages,takes the aid of objective and relative analogies. God isneither limited to abstract or concrete concepts. But it iseasier to establish a conscious relationship with the Providencein terms of benevolent fatherhood or affectionate, kindlymotherhood than by the concept of an unfa;homable void.God is devoid of qualities, in reality, but a relativesuperimposition of the positive ideals of goodness and virtue isessential for self-culture and spiritual progress of the aspirant.

Mother is very kind to her child. You are more frec rvithyour mother than with anybody else. It is the mother whoprotects you, nourishcs you, consoles you, cheers you andnurses you. She is your first preceptor. She sacrifices her all(10)


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for the sake of her children. In the spiritual field also, theaspirant has very intimate relationship with the Divine Mother.The Upasana or the worship of the Universal Mother

leads to the attainment of knowledge of the Self. The YakshaPrasna in Kenopanishad supports this view. Approach Herwith an open heart. Lay bare your mind with frankness andhumility. Let your thoughts be pure and sublime. Become assimple as a child. Pulverise your individual entity, the egoisticnature, cunningness, selfishness and crookedness. Make atotal, unreserved, ungrudging self-surrender to Her. Chant HerMantras. Worship Her with faith and devotion.

Navaratri is the most suitable occasion for doing intenseSadhana. These nine days are very sacred to Mother. Plungeyourself in Her worship. It is an occasion symbolising thevictory of the higher, divine forces over the lower, negativequalities that find their expression in injustice, oppression,aggrandisement, greed, selfishness, hatred and a host of otherundivine forces that add to the suffering of man.Worship the Mother in all Her manifestations. She is thecreative aspect of the Absolute. She is symbolised as CosmicEnergy. Energy is the physical ultimate of all forms of matterand the sustaining force of the Spirit. Energy and Spirit areinseparable. They are essentially one. The five elements andtheir combinations are the external manifestations of theMother. Intelligence, discrimination, psychic power and willare Her internal manifestations. Humanity is Her visible form.Service of humanity is, therefore, the worship of the DivineMother.Feel that the Mother sees through your eyes, hears

through your ears, and works through your hands. Feel thatthe body, mind, Prana, intellect and all their functions are Hermanifestations. The one, universal life throbs in the heart ofall. How can there be any room for hatred and selfishness,when by hating another you are but hating the Mother, whenby being selfish to another you are but denying your own self.(1 1)


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Drive deep this cousciousness within your heart. Alwapmeditate and practise this ideal of divine onness..Ivlother's grace is boundless. Her mercy is illimitable. She

is pleased with a litfle purity of heart. The sacred Navaratri isapproaching. Do not lose this glorious opportunity. Make adefinite and sineere attempt, to obtain the grace of theMother. She will transfqrm your entire life, and.bless pu withthe milk of divine wMom, spiritual insight and lGivalyalMay you,all obtain the gree of ildother Durga!

I

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THE WORSHIP OF THE DIVINE MOTHER(Sri Swami Sivanandn)

De-vi is synonymous with Shakti or the Divine Power thatmanifests, sustains and transforms the universe as the oneunitring Force of Existence. In fact, worship of Devi is notsectarian, it does not belong to any cult. By Drive or Shaktiwe mean the presupposition of all forms of existential power,the power of knowledge, of omniscience. These powers arethe glorious attributes of God-you may call Him Vishnu orSiva or as you like. In other words, Shakti is the verypossibility of the Absolute's appearing as many, of God'scausing this universe. Shakti and Shakta are one; the powerand the one who possesses the power cannot be separated;God and Shakti are like fire and heat of fire.Devi-worship or Shakti-worship is therefore worship ofGod's glory, of God's greatness and supremacy. It is adorationof the Almighty. It is unfortunate that Devi is misunderstoodas a blood-thirsty 'Hindu Goddess.' No. Devi is not theproperty of the Hindu alone. Devi does not belong to anyreligion. Devi is the conscious power of the Deva. Let this

never be forgotten. The words Devi, Shakti, etc., and the ideasof the different forms connected with these names' areconcessions given to the limitations of humair knowledge;human comprehension. Bhagavan Sri Krishna sap in the Gita,"This is only my lower nature Shakti, beyond this is my highernature, the Original Shakti, the life principle which sustainsthis entire universe." The Upanishad saln, "The Para Shakti,the Supreme Power of this God is heard of in various ways,this power is the nature of God marrifesting as knowledge,strength and activity." Ti.uly speaking all beings of the universeare Shakti worshippers, for there is none who does not loveand long for power in some form or other. Phpicists andscientists have proved now that everything is pure

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imperishable energy. This energy is only a form of DivineShakti which exists on every form of existence.Since Shakti cannot be worshipped in its essential nature,it is worshipped as conceived of in its manifestations, viz.,creation, preservation and destruction. Shakti in relation tothese three functions is Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kaali. These,as is evident, are not three distinct Devis, but the one formlessDevi worshipped. in three different forms. Navararri is thefestive occasion of the 'nine-day-worship of Maha-Kaali,Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati' the Divinity of the

Universe adored in three ways.Saraswati is cosmic intelligence, cosmic consciousness,cosmic knowledge. Worship of Saraswati is necessary forBuddhi-Shuddi, Viveka-Udaya, Vichara-Shakti for Jnana forSelf-illumination. Lakhmi does not mean mere materialwealth like gold, cattle, etc. All kinds of prosperity, glory,magnificence, joy, exaltation or greatness come under thegrace of Goddess Lakhmi. Sri Appayya Dikshitar calls evenfinal Liberation as "Moksha Samrajya Lakshmi." Hencewors.hip of Lakshmi means the worship of Divinity, the powerthat dissolves multiplicity in unity. The worship of Devi istherefore the explanation of the entire process of spiritualSadhana in all its aspects.During Navaratri, observe strict anushthana, and puri$ryour inner spiritual nature. This is the most auspicious time inthe year for Mother-Worship. Read Sapthasathi, or DeviMahatmya and Lalita Sahasranama. Do Japa of the Mantra ofDevi. Perform formal worship with purity and sincerity andabsolute devotion. Cry for the Darshan of Mother Devi. TheDivine Mother will bless you with the knowledge, the peaceand the joy that know no end. May the Divine Mother blessyou all!

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CONTENTSPublishers'Note . (7)Prayer to Mother (8)The Indian Concept of the Divine Mother . . . . (10)The Worship of the Divine Mother . . . . (13)The Power of the Ti"anscendent Reality lgThe Destroyer of Destructive Forces 27Destruction: The Springboard to Construction . . 33Lakshmi: The Supreme Sustainer 45The Path of Prosperity . . . 53Goddess of Auspiciousness at Home and at Heart 6lCreation: T.he Music of Mother's Veena 75The Goddess of Success . 82The Path to Final Liberation 90The Great Goal and Its Attainment . . 103

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3b6obGOD AS MOTHERqdFfrq'trgr*H


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gb ;rqg6rfr.iFIRST N]GHT

THE POWER OF THE TRANSCENDENT REALITYqr t* F{-ItS @q1}fr {r6nTt I{Twd rqwd TTFild -Q1 a{: lt

PnosrRanoNs again and again to the blessed DivineMother who is the source, substratum and the ultirnate goalof all creation.The Mother is a mysterious, indescribable power of theSupreme Being. She is the dynamic aspect of the Supreme,Tianscendent Being, which is infinity, eternity and ineffable

peace, beyond the cognisance of the senses and the mind.Upon this very solemn and holy occasion which marksthe commencement of the sacred annual nine-day worship ofthe Deity in Its aspect as the Supreme Mother, the first dayof the Navaratra culminating in Vijayadasami, popularlyknown as the Dussera, it is a great mark of divine grace andblessing that we have the privilege of gathering together andglorifuing the Mother, speaking a few words about the DivineMother, adoring Her and worshipping Her and praying forHer Grace, the Grace which alone can enable us to attainsuccess and fruition in all endeavours be they material orspiritual, secular or sacred; by which alone a seeker is able toreach the end of his quest and the Sadhaka is able to achievcthe Thing for which he strives, the soul is able to attainperfection and to realise the Infinite. The Grace of theMother is an indispensable factor to attain Moksha-Siddhi.Upon this sacred occasion. let us try to knorv a few thingsabout the Indian conception of the Divine Mother and aboutthe significance as well as the traditional background of thisnine-day worship.THE POWER OF THE TRANSCENDENT REALITY 19


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In India the Hindus fall under four or five broadreligious divisions. There are the worshippers of the SupremeBeing in its aspect as Siva; we call them the Saivites. Thenthere are the worshippers of the self-same Supreme Being inits aspect as Vishnu. Them we call Vaishnavas. There is still athird section of people-and quite a number of them-whoworship the one God, the Supreme Being, but as manifest inthe form of the great Goddess, the Devi Shakti. They arereferred to as Shaktas. There again are two less-known sectscalled the Ganapatyas who worship the Supreme 'Being asGanapaty, and the Souryas or the worshippers of the SupremeBeing manifest as the splendrous light as embodied in thevisible orb of the sun, the giver of light, the sustainer of thelife-process in this world of ours.The Navaratra worship of the Devi is eminently aShakta-worship, and it has come down to us through theShakta-tradition. A very great section of these Shaktas arelocalised in the Province of Bengal and Assam. Their supremescripture, gloriffing the Divine Mother, is known as the DurgaSaptashati or the Devi Mahatmya. It is known by the nameSaptashati because it is a book of 7(X) verses. In Bengali it isfamiliarly known as the Chandi; also in these parts-Garhwal-people refer to the reading of the Devi Mahatmyaas Chandi-Patha. This is derived from one of the names ofthe Divine Mother Herself who is called Ctrandika.The reading of the scripture is done in a very scientificmanner. There is a strict procedure laid down by the Shastras.In the first part which was read today there is a detailedexposition of the Devi Thttva. The setting is in the form of astory; and the exposition is given by a sage to a king and amerchant. It is full of deep philosophic truth in regard to theaspect of the Deity, Her nature, how She is and what She is.There are sublime, elevating hymns gloriffing the Mother; andthe wap of propitiating Her are given. The very reading ofthe scripture from start to finish is itself a very great andeffective Sadhana in the Shakta mode of worship and spiritual20 GOD AS MOTHER


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practice. I shall just give in a few words the essence of thescripture.

Essence of Devi MahatmyaIt begins this way. A king of the Surya Vamsa to whichI ord Rama also belonged, named Suratha, is overcorne andovenrhelmed by his foes, who compel him to flee hiskingdom. He takes shelter in a forest. He is deeply afflictedand dejected, deprived of all his wealth and retinue; and he iswandering forlorn, destitute of everything, in a very wretchedcondition. His mind again and again goes back to the bitterfate which he has suffered. He thinks of his kingdom, hiswealth, his ministers and the way in which the kingdom islikely to be governed under the new rulers. While he is in thisstate of mind, he happens to come to the vicinity of thehermitage of a great God-realised sage, called Rishi Medha.He sees the hermitage with all its beauty, the disciples of theRishi--cverything pervaded by serenity, calmness and purity;and he stap there.

While he is in this hermitage he comes across afellow-sufferer, a brother-in-distress, a man named Samadhi,belonging to the merchant community, who has also similarlyrun away from his home because of misfortune. He had lostall his wealth to his own relatives; and his own family hadturned him out of the house. He is thus forced to wander intothe forest. He also takes shelter at the feet of the sage.

They find that they are more or less in the samepredicament, deprived of their wealth and ousted from theirhome, with their own people turned against them; and in spiteof all this unkindness of their own people, both of th'em areintrigued and deeply puzzled to findthat with all the hostilityand enmity of their people, yet their minds go again and againback to these very people, to the very things which have beenthe cause of their sorrot\,, of their grief, of their deepdisappointment and dejection.THE POWER OF THE TRANSCENDENT REALITY 2L


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They try to discuss this between themselves; what is thismysterious nature of the mind which harkens back again andagain and clings to those self-same things and people fromwhom they have had nothing but pain and sorrow. Unable tosolve this riddle, they go and humbly entreat the Rishi Medhato throw some light upon this problem. They ask the Rishi:"O Wise One, pray throw some light upon this problem; weare greatly puzzled to find this mind still clings to those veryobjects, is attached to those very persons, from whom it hasreceived the greatest pain and sorrow; it knows there is nopleasure in those things, yet it will not give up its attachmentto them-what is the reason for this, how do you explain thispeculiar delusion of the mind?"In answer to this query which, though it has been putinto the mouth of Raja Suratha and Vaishya Samadhi, yet is auniversal question which agitates the minds of all thinkingmen and women all over the world, Rishi Medha gives hiswondrous exposition of the greatness of the Devi. He says:"O my children! A mysterious delusion dwells in the mind ofman, by which his pure reason is blinded, by which delusionhe is again and again made to cling and go back to those veryobjects and persons from which he is subject to so much painand suffering. This delusion, this veiling power, is really themysterious power of the Divine Mother. It is She who is thecosmic illusion. It is She who is at the back of the projectionof this very universe itself. It is with Her mysterious veilingPower that the One seems to have become the many, theformless seems to have taken numerous forms and theunmanifest seems to have become manifest and thismysterious power is the indescribable power of the SupremeBeing itself. It is Brahma Shakti; it is the Mahamaya or thegreat Cosmic Illusory Power which emanates from the LordHimself, and it is through this power that the Lord sets goingthis universal drama of projection of creation, preservationand once again the ultimate dissolution of all names and22 GOD AS MOTHER


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forms back into its pristine transcendental state of PureBeing."The King Suratha and Vaishya Samadhi want to know

more about the mpterious power which Rishi Medha hasreferred to and more about this cosmic power which is at theback of all manifestation. In response to this request of theirsRishi Medha goes into the detailed exposition of the natureof the Divine Mother; and the 7O0-versed scripture containsthis exposition. In the end, having expounded the mystery andsecret of the supreme nature of the DMne Mother, RishiMedha advises Suratha and Samadhi to go and practise Yoga,worship the Divine Mother, pray to Her and meditate uponHer and propitiate Her. Thus propitiated She becomesmanifest to them and bestows Her Grace upon both the kingand the merchant and their heart's desire is fulfilled.

This in short is the import of this supreme scripture ofthe Shaktas-Devi Mahatmya.Maya and Brahman Are One

This exposition of the Devi Thttva goes to explain to ushow the Supreme Shakti is all in all. It tells us that whateverwe see, whatever we perceive in this phenomenal universebefore us, is nothing but the outcome of this supreme powerof the Para Brahman, viz. the primal force. She is called theAdi-Shakti. She is also known as the transcendentalpower-Para-Shakti. She is known as the superlative, thegreat .power-Maha-Shakti.

What exactly is the relationship between this greatDivine Power and the ultimate Supreme Being the Almighty,is a question that is very interesting and which occupies theminds of all great thinkers. Varied explanations have beengiven but sages of realisation have stated in illuminating termsthe secret of this relationship between the deity as theyconceived of in its aspect as Supreme Mother and the deity inits transcendental aspect. We are told how the Para Brahmanand His Supreme Mpterious Power of World-illusion whomTHE POWER OF THE TRANSCENDENT REALITY 23


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we call Maya or Devi are in fact one and the same in essence.They are apparently different, but yet they are one. It is adistinction without a difference in fact. That is therelationship between them. As it were they are the obverseand the reverse of the self-same coin. You cannot conceive ofthe Para Brahman without conceiving of the Devi; and themnception of the Devi automatically pre-supposes theconception of the Para-Brahman. They explain to us how theDevi or the Supreme Divine Mother is the mpterious linkbetrveen the manifest and the unmanifest. She is the mediumthat connects the unmanifest with the manifest. Fior instance,ther.e is an effect and a cause which is rasponsible for thiseffect-but what is the thing which connects the effect withthe cause and the cause with the effect? There is somempterious link which connects these two and makes themone. Though apparently two, they are in reality two terminalsof the self-same process. This process of the cause becomingmanifest as the effect, this power that makes the cause appearas the effect is known as the Maya, the illusion or the Devi.The Supreme Brahman is also described as perfectlybeyond all movement and motion because being of the natureof limitlessness and infinity the very question of motion doesnot arise. The Supreme Power whom we call Devi is describedas the dynamic aspect of the Para Brahman. They say thatthey are as inseparable as the whiteness of the milk and themilk; as the heat and fire; as a snake and its zigzag motion.The moment you think of milk, automatically you think ofwhiteness. The moment you think of fire, you posit also theheat. If the burning property is taken away from fire, you canno longer call it fire. Even so, Para Brahman and Shakti areas inseparable as the burning property of fire and fire itself. IfBrahman is fire, Shakti or Devi is the burning property dffire. A more up-to-date analogy which we can draw toillustrate the mpterious connection between Maya or prakritior Shakti and Brahman is this. We have the power ofelectriciU when it is inside a battery. When the power of24 GOD AS MOTHER


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electricity is here within the battery, it is not manifest. It isnot dynamic. It is static. The battery can be taken from placeto place: no one will know that it holds within itself thetremendous force. There is no indication to give us an ideathat it contains within itself this marvellous power. But themoment this self-same electric current is made to spring intodynamism through a system of wiring through a circuit, wefind this static force springs into a wonderful dynamism. Ittravels with lightning speed; it is able to give a shock; or tomake an electric bulb spring into incandescence and manifestas light; it manifests itself as the whirling motion in a fan; itmanifests itself as freezing cold within the refrigerator and asabnormal power of heat in an electric heater; it is able toburn things; it manifests as sound in an electric siren-thispower which is held in a static form within a battery becomesmanifest as light, motion, heat, cold, sound and any number ofaspects manifest and tangible and perceivable through thesenses. Even so the Supreme Power in its transcendentalmotionless static aspect known as the Para Brahman isnameless, formless, unmanifest and the self-same supremepower when it springs into manifestation, into creativity, isprojected as irames and forms, into countless dynamic forceswhich pervade the entire phenomenal world. Mother iselectricity, the brightness of the sun, the depth of the ocean,movement in the hand, the smell and fragrance in flowers, themusical note in sound, everything in this universe, invisible aswell as visible, all motion, all force, all movements; and She ispresent in the human being as intelligence, as mind, as Vrittis,as emotions-everything that we perceive in this world eitherwithin the individual or without in the forces of nature. She isthe very life of the universe. She is the very source, thesustainer and ultimate dissolver of the universe. SaryamShaktimayam lagat; this is the ultimate truth. Whatever thereis in the universe from the grossest thing to the subtlest, theleast to the greatest+verything is the variegatedmanifestation of the Supreme Mother Herself, theTtanscendental Power of the Supreme Being. It is this cosmicTHE POWER OF THE TRANSCENDENT REALITY 25


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Power who appears as all names and forms, who is the verysource of all embodiment, of all manifestation. It is onaccount of the Mother that manifestation is made possible.It is this Supreme Force that we worship during the ninedays through the medium of certain forms. This great powerof all powers is conceived of by the devout worshipper incertain distinct aspects-in her -three aspects as Mahakali orDurga, Mahalakhmi and as Mahasaraswati. The nine-dayworship is divided into three groups of three days.each-thefirst three days we worship the Mother as manifest in and

through the form of Mahakali or Durga. During the secondgroup of three days we worship the Divine Mother asmanifest in and through our conception of the form ofMahalakshmi. And during the last three dap we worship Herin and through the form of Mahasaraswati. This pariicularorder of the worship has got a very deep and very vitalmeaning, about which we shall refer during the subsequentdays.

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uqAd'qrgusr+H uSECOND NIGHTTHE DESTROYER OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES

qr tfr {d1tg rrffiT riRrar rTqwd Tqqrd TqRrd qtt rc,rrSar-urarroNs again and again to the blessed DivineMother, the Supreme Inscrutable Power, the mysteriousAchintya Shakti of Para Brahman. Salutations to the greatDevi who is the source of all manifestation and embodiment.Salutations to the great Divine Power, Drrya Shakti, fromwhom have flowed forth all the countless, innumerable

universes, in whom all manifestations have their being andinto whom all names and forms dissolve and vanish, andthrough whom all beings attain their eternal union with thegreat reality, the Supreme Tianscendental Being, ParaBrahman.This conception of the great power, the Cosmic Spirit, asthe Mother is very easy to understand. For the first

impression of any soul who has come out into this world isthat of the mother. The earliest recollection which a beingcan ever have is that of lying in his or her mother's lap andperhaps looking up and gazing into the love-filled eyes of themother. To the child, in the mother is centered a whole worldof tenderness, of love, of nourishment and of care. It is theideal world from where one draws sustenance, where one runsfor comfort, which one clings to for protection andnourishment; and there he gets comfort, protection and care.Therefore, the ideal of love, care and protection is in theconception of the mother. Thbrefore, this notion transferredto the Cosmic Being is the most natural, most logical andmost easy-to-be-understood step, and thus it is that theTHE DESTROYER OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES 27


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glorified conception of the great Mother who loves all,nourishes all, cares for all and protects all, has come intobeing in the philosophic conception of the Hindu.Today we shall devoutly offer our humble worship at theMother's Blessed Feet in the form of a few words describingsome aspects of Her glory. In doing this, let us evbr be awarethat even this privilege of worshipping Her; glorifuing Her anddwelling upon Her greatness is only due to Her compassionand Grace. Without Her Graco, most difficult it is to get anopportunity to think of Her, to remember Her, and to speak

of Her, and to utter Her glorious names, calling upon Her asMother. All-gracious is She, infinitely compassionate is She;love is Her Nature and thus She has bestowed upon us allthis great blessing and the joy to dwell upon Her in thoughtand through word to devoutly adore Her upon this mostauspicious and glorious day.The Mother is whatever is. The essence of pureexistence is the Supreme Being or Para Brahman. Mother iswhatever is that we know. That which is beyond ourknowledge, that is the Purusha, the Supreme Being, thetranscendental Para Brahman. That which we know throughour mind and senses is nothing but the manifestation ofMother. She is not only the Universe which we know, thislittle world and the countless stars, the sun and moon-allthese the terrestrial and the stellar, the lunar and the solarsystems that comprise this little universe; all this is but aninfinitesimal speck in the vastness and infinity that Mother is.Innumerable such universes have their rise and fall within Herinfinite nature. She is all-power and also the greattranscendental power at the back of all manifestation, theprimal cause for all manifestation and embodiment- She is thevery creatrix not only of this world but even the creator,preserver and dissolver of the world. Brahma, Vishnu andMaheshwara have their being in the Mother. She is theMother of all, countless Brahmas, Vishnus and Maheshwaras.In as much as She is all-power, all powers are Her play; and28 GOD AS MOTHER


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therefore all the three dynamic manifestations Brahma,Vishnu and Maheshwara also are modifications of Mother asAdi-Shakti. She is also Brahma-Shakti manifest to us in andthrough the form of Saraswati, Mshnu-Shakti manifest in andthrough the form of Lakshmi, and also Siva-Shakti manifest inand through the form of Parvati.

Delusion and DeliveranceIn this aspect of all power, She has a twofold form. Thedevout Hindu worships Her as both. It is a beautifulconception: and what a wonderful depth of significance thereis in this conception of Mother in Her twofold aspects-thatof the Cosmic Delusion as well as of the Cosmic Deliverance!She binds down all to this mysterious illusory appearance, thisworld-play, and turns them in Her own playful manner in thewheel of birth and death. As such She is known by the nameAvidya, the delusion that is opposed to spiritual wisdom orknowledge. She is also the Cosmic Deliverance. In this aspectShe smiles upon Her children and She releases them from thedelusion of Her other aspect Avidya. In Her aspect as thisCosmic Deliverance, we know of the Mother as Vidya-Maya.Artists have therefore visualised Her in the form of a radiantbeing, a Goddess, having in one hand a noose or a type ofrope by which She binds, and in the other hand a sharp knifeby which She snaps the bondage if She is propitiated. ThusShe is a mysterious combination of Avidya Maya and VidyaMaya. Therefore, She is called Indescribable.In both these aspects She has set up the Drama ofuniversal phenomena. Lovers of the Mother who haveworshipped Her and obtained Her Grace and have beenvouchsafed with a vision of Her real nature have lovinglydepicted Mother and Her play in this secret way. We all knowthat as children when in a group we gather tdgether, we wishto play; and not knowing how we may carry on this play weapproach the grandmother of the house. Lovingly sheconsents to show us a game; and thus she sets going a gameof hide-and-seek. She tells the children: Children, run aboutTHE DESTROYER OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES 29


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and play. The child;en engage themselves in play. They run;they catch each other and the game of hide-and-seek goes on-But, then, should some child feel that it has had enough ofthe play and wish that it may be released from the play, tiredof running here and there it has only to run up to the granddame and lay its hand upon her. One who touches the granddame cannot now be caught. Even as the grand dame broughtabout this play, watch6s the play in progiess, and takes cireof the children at play, an


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human hands, with a sword dripping blood in Her hand-ifsuch a picture is kept in an orthodox South Indian house, theladies of the house will see that the picture is forthwithremoved from the house. If their feelings about the divinity asKaali was right, then how comes this conception of Kaali asthe mother? How can you worship Her?It is a natural mistake which requires to be corrected.Mother is never terrible, never fearful, is always all-loving andall-compassionate. The explanation for the divine MotherParashakti being conceived of, among other aspects, also inHer aspect as Kaali is a very simple one. It is not difficult; itis not deeply metaphysical; it is not obscurely philosophical; itis very natural and very simple.

I shall first start by giving a very up-to-date and modern,and therefore, easily graspable analogy. We have the modernantibiotics the various mycins and also Penicillin. They arecalled the life-savers of the modern age and millions ofpeople look upon them with feelings of gratitude. But thoughthese life-saving drugs which are benign and cure disease, arethe benefactors of humanity, I shall show how they may bealso regarded to be terrible and destructive. They aredestructive to the germs which they attack in the system anddestroy. You get infected; your body is filled with germs; theycause disease. You take penicillin and it goes and destroys allthe germs; and by thus annihilating and destroying thesegerms, the disease is removed and you become well. Would itbe correct to call these life-saving antibiotics very destructive?If it were right to call them destructive and. terrible, then youmay also be equally right to call Kaali the mother, terrible anddestructive.Destroys to SaveFor, She destrop but to save. She destroys ignorance,nescience, in order to bestow knowledge. She destro)rsdarkness so that we may realise light. She destro)6 all pain, allsorrow, all misery and all the earthly travails and tribulations;

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and bestows upon us bliss, joy and immortality. Thus She is adestroyer of all those factors that bind the Jiva to this terribleSamsara. She is a terrible destroyer of all terrible things andthe benign bestower of blessedness and beatitude. Thus it isthat the Mother is conceived of as the destroyer of one ofHer own aspects; just as by the power of will-and will is alsoa portion of the mind-we overcome certain weaknesses andevils in the same mind. As Vidya-Maya, Mother using Heraspect as Kaali, destrop Avidya and takes us to thetranscendental Brahman.

Thus we find that Mother Kaali stands for a glorifiedbeing, a Mother who is intent upon gMng deliverance fromdelusion. It is in this aspect that the lover of the Motherworships Her as Kaali. He calls upon Her: "O compassionateMother! I am at the mercy of this all-powerful mind. I amtyrannised by the ego and the senses. I have become enslavedby the Shad-Ripus and this whole army of Vasanas, Vrittis andSamskaras. They are ever battling against me. Therefore,Thou alone can'st save me from these terrible foes." Heinvokes Her aid and power to help destroy all these factors,so that when he cannot battle and overcome them, he getsthe strength of the Mother and She graciously comes to hisaid and in Her symbolically terrible form She helps himovercome the senses and attain mastery and victory over themind.This indeed is the content of the Durga Saptashati, thescripture which we read during these nine dap. It containsthirteen chapters which describe this process of the Moihergiving battle to, on behalf of divine beings, and destroying the'entire array of cosmic nescience, of wickedness, of all that is anegation of the Supreme Tluth. Each aspect of this negationof truth is depicted in this great scripture which is awonderful allegory, by some pArticular demon; and thesedemons are given appropriate names and forms according tothose aspects of nescience. And the thirteen chapters describehow Mother using numerous forms annihilates all the aspects32 GOD AS MOTHER


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of evil, of nescience, ignorance and this cosmic delusion. Andat the end the Supreme Victory to the powers of wisdom andknowledge is achieved and the Jiva is freed for ever fromignorance.This is not peculiar to the Shakti cult or Devi-worshippers. We will find this allegory in all the religions ofthe world. We have God and Satan in Christian theology;Satan represents the antithesis of all that is divine, all that isof Light. We have the Ahriman and Ahura Mazda in theZoroastrian religion; and in that religion Ahriman stands forforces corresponding to the conception of Satan inChristianity. We have the Mara in Buddhism. Even so wehave in Hinduism the force of evil, call it Maya, ignorance orAsuric forces, which stand for all that is the antithesis of light,knowledge, wisdom and Atman. Th"y are called in Vedanticparlance the Anatman, to be overcome by the Knowledge ofAtman. That is the central theme of this great scripture-theSaptashati-where Mother enables Her sons to do away withEvil with the help of Her aspect as Mother Kaali.gil qdr Efi{ fiffii:Hd: q!.fl qfdrfrq grri


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3b g g'rt$ w:THIRD NIGHT

DESTRUCTION:THE SPRINGBOARD TO CONSTRUCTION

qr tA r4-Itg aqrsftq riRrar rrrwd {qwd qqmd -81 aq: ttSer-urerloNs again and again to the blessed aspect asDurga, Kaali the Terrible. Now try to see Divine Mother, theultimate Goal and Destination of all spiritual aspiration, theDMne Mother who is one with the Para Brahman, who is the

origin and support and ultimate destination of all creation.We have dwelt yesterday upon Mother in Her aspect asDurga, Kaali the Terrible, and tried. to see and understandhow beneath Her terrible exterior and how within Her dramaof apparent destruction, She is in reality the all-compassionateand all-benign Mother who destroys in order to build, whotakes away in order to give in abundance, and who is inreality the one who ultimately reveals Herself to us as theI-ight of lights, the Eternal Light of the Atman, after havinghelped us annihilate the dense darkness of ignorance-

The very conception of the name Durga, the Mother inHer apparently terrible and destructive aspect, is a significantthing to be understood. [n the Saptashati the origin of thename Durga has been given in one verse where we have itdescribed that She, who saves us from all that is calamitous,She who saves us from danger and trouble, is known asDurga. Because She saves Her devotees from all sorrows,dangers and calamities, She is called Devi Durga. She beingconceived of in this peculiar aspect of an all-destroying poweris not only capable of being esoterically interpreted and34 GOD AS MOTHER


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explained that She destroys all that is undesirable but also it isbased upon universal experience.Life Involves DestructionWe find that this entire world and the life of man ispervaded by destruction. Without destruction there can be nolife. The destruction is ultimately a part of a continuousconstructive process. This philosophy of destruction can berealised even through. an observation and a study of man'severyday life. Annagatah Pranah refers to man's life which isfounded upon physical body. If we withdraw this food, man'sbody cannot last. Let us take this process of nourishing thebody and keeping up life. The very process of producing foodis based upon a continuous series of destruction. We have firstof all-if we desire to cultivate grain-to destroy all thorns,weeds and jungle-growth upon the surface of the earth. Thenwe have to break the surface of the earth and we have theimplements which are driven into the earth; the earth is, as itwere, wounded. Then we have to sow the seed which dies inorder that it may sprout forth into a plant. This process ofdestruction continues when the grain is produced. We have tohusk it. It destroys the outer covering, then the grain is got. Ifit is to be converted into food, we have to destroy trees fortimber with the cruel axe. This firewood in its turn has got toimmolate itself in the flame. Thus destroying itself, it gives upheat and thus the food is cooked. Upon the table mandestrop the food. The form, the shape and the nature of thefood are destroyed. Until it reaches his body and manifeststhere as vitality, a series of the process of destruction has gotto go on. This is only one typical instance. Like that we mayobserve any part of man's life upon earth; and we will findthat whatever is built is based upon a series of apparent

destructions. The sum-total of it is found to achieve thedesired result of ultimate construction.Upon a much larger scale also we find that this;processis inevitable for the very sustenance of life upon earth. If theprocess of destruction of the human body at death were not

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to be. then we would never need a Malthus to confront uswith the trightful theory that there would not be enoughspace or tbod to house and feed the overpopulated earth.Overpopulation is a terrible spectre which is not visible to theordinary layman but to the economist and the politician whohave got a world-view of things. Overpopulation is a constantmenace to mankind. It is the institution of this destructiveaspect of the Mother as death and annihilation of the phpicalbody that keeps the spectre of overpopulation at bay and alsosaves mankind. [n spite of this, when the population on darthfar exceeds the capacity of man to produce the necessities oflife, a situation is there before mankind which makes himtremble, a situation which baffles the politician and theeconomist. There .again steps in the Benign Power of theall-compassionate and loving Mother in Her destructiveaspect. Man does not know how to stem this tide of rhenacingoverpopulation; She manifests as an earth-quake, as a war, asa widespread famine, as floods, as epidemic in the cosmicaspect.

Therefore, we find in all processes of human life if eachof the several processes is taken, by itself, we find that eyenthe most constructive process is nothing but an\ ultimateculmination of a series of necessary and inevitable destructiveprocesses--destructive as conceived by man. To the ordinarymind destruction usually implies the removal of anything fromexistence; a thing that is, when destroyed, ceases to be. Thisphilosophy of the ceasing to be in one form and developingor progressing into another form is the very basis for thisconception of the Mother as the all-destroying Durga orKaali. It is this philosophy of destruction that is ultimatelyfound to be a philosophy of transcendence. It is the outcome,the necessity, of transcending the lower, if we have to reachthe higher. It is a process of destroying the gross in order thatscope may be given for the manifestation of the subtle. Wehave to destroy darkness if light has to come in. We have totranscend impurity, if we have to reach purity. Imperfection is36 GOD AS MOTHER


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destroyed if perfection is to be gained. Even.so the lesser isdestroyed to give place to the greaterNot Destruction But ThanscendenceThus destruction upon the spiritual level ultimatelycomes to express itself as a positive transcendence where aseries of progressive constructions are undertaken, by a seriesof destruction of each lower form so that it may give place. toeach succeeding form higher than itself. Thus, we see that thisprocess of transcending is a desideratum and not something to

be shirked; for as long as we are clinging to the lower, as longas we refuse to let the lower go, we will not be able to attainthe higher. It is the intervention of the divine power in thisaspect of destrofng lower that makes it possible for theattainment of the higher. As today we are to speciallyconsider this application of Mother in Her aspect of Durga orthe all-compassionate Kaali to the specific process of yogaand Sadhana, we shall see how Mother is to manifest Herselfi_n the individual personality of the seeker, in what way is theSadhaka to invoke and to make manifest the Divine Motherwithin himself if She is to be a tangible and helpful force inthe progress of his Yoga Sadhana. In trying to consider this,we will do well to first of all get an idea of what this processof Yoga Sadhana actually implies.

Yoga Sadhana is, as we all know, a process of the humanbeing .transcending the imperfections and limitations, defects,weaknesses ahd impurities of his limited, finite, human natureand ascending upward into and partaking of the infinite,eternal, divine consciousness. In setting about to do thisthrough the path of Yoga and spiritual life, man is confrontedwith a peculiar situation, a problem. It is not as though he hasmerely to take a single step from his htrman nature to divinenature; because when he sets about this task, he finds thatinherent in his human nature, there is a whole range ofqualities that are essentially subhuman. This is explained in aspecial manner which is peculiar to the Hindu culture. Thetheory of re-incarnation has laid down that the Jiva hasTHE SPRINGBOARD TO CONSTRUCTION 37


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arrived at the stage of man after having gone through a longseries of transmigrations, through numerous lower births tiomthe most elementary forms bf the mineral and thc plant andthe primary forms of life like the amoeba. During this processof passing through various lower stages of life, hisconsciousness acquires the impression of the predominanttraits of each one of these birth phases. Theretbre, when hearrives at the human stage, in addition to this quality ofhuman intelligence, the power of thought and discrimination,he has also a whole host of previously-acquired tendenciesand characteristics which belong to the subhuman plane.Therefore, we find in him such qualities which are usuallyattributed to particular types of animal-the cunningness ofthe fox, the cruelty of the tiger, the venomousness of thescorpion and the lethargy of the lower species of creatures,the gluttony of the pig, and all the evil qualities which are notto be classed as human. These form part of the nature of manthough he has risen above the bestial kingdom. Man is thus abrute endowed with a higher capacity of discrimination,knowledge, thinking, etc. Therefore, we find that the humanbeing is a triune being. He is as it were midway between thebeast-world and the God-world. There is the brutal nature onthe one side of him. There is the divine nature upon theother side of him. In between he finds himself sometimesswayed by the bestial instincts in him-as lethargy, passion,cruelty, anger; and sometimes raised up, at rare moments, tosublime heighs where he manifests dMne qualities likecompassion, justice, truth, purity and so on.

Sacrifice the Beast in YouThe Sadhak's task is, therefore, to first and foremost

entirely eradicate all that is gross, all that is.animalistic, brutaland beastly in his nature. These qualities have to bethoroughly overhauled and taken out of his nature. After thisprocess is done, the transformation of the human nature hasto be taken in hand and it has to be sublimated, andtransformed into a higher divine nature. It is precisely this38 GOD AS MOTHER


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study of man as a composite being containing the loweranimalistic nature and then the human nature endowed withdiscrimination, conscious of higher ideals of a noble divinepurpose of this human birth upon this earth, and the capacityto actually rise up into a higher divine consciousness-it isthis study of man and this knowledge of the nature of manthat has led to the conception of the animal sacrifice as alsothe Narabali which later on became degenerated into theactual outward practice of sacrificing animals at the altar ofMother Kaali. What was an idealistic conception to symbolisea certain inward process in man's spiritual life later onbecame externalised in a degenerate form in the shape of thepractice of animal sacrifice. For what the animal sacrifice tobe done to the deity Kaali symbolised was the invoking of thisdivine power in Its destructive aspect as Durga or Kaali,within the personality of the seeker so that this divine powermay work within the aspirant and completely annihilate thebeast within the man. This sacrifice of the lower self of theseeker, of the animal nature of the Sadhaka is what isachieved by Mother Durga or Kaali in the first stages of anaspirant's Sadhana-life.

To this end, the aspirant has first to analyse and try toascertain what are the prominent aspects in which the animalside of his lower nature has its play in his present personality.One may be a slave to anger more than to anything else;anbther to lust, to carnality; and a third one to some otheraspect. One may find several aspects dominant in his lowerpersonality and holding him slave. It may be that at dift'erenttimes different passions get the upper hand. He has,therefore, to first of all introspect, analyse himself and try tofind out what particular manifestation of the gross lowerGunas ure op".iting within his nature. A sincere study ofone's own nature is absolutely indispensable to the Sadhaka.Unless he knows what is there in him that is undesirable,inimical to success in !oga, that stands as an obstacle toSadhana, it is not possible for him to proceed correctly uponTHE SPRINGBOARD TO CONSTRUCTION 39


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this difficult inward Path of Yoga. More difficult is it becausethese dark aspects of the gross part of man's nature, of theThmo-Guna are not always clearly expressed and visible withinhimself. Far more easy it is to fight the externai fo"r, becauseyou know what they are and their nature and strength so thatyou can meet them on their own level. The inner enemies ofman-anger, lust, jealousy, hatred, cruelty, etc.,-have variousforms and are invisible; they are cloaked under variousdisguises and unless the seeker invokes the grace ofAntaryamin or the Indwelling Presence of the Divine in him,to aid him, it will be a difficult task for him to proceed withthis process of destroying his lower, selfish, egoistic nature. ToanaliSe another person is an easier matter because you canobserve his outward behaviour, etc., but this self-analpis is avery difficult task-first, because of the basic extroverttendency of the human mind-it tends to go outward to theobjects of the universe and to make it go inward is itself adelicate task; secondly man is prevented by the ego-sensefrom finding out and knowing what is defective, what is ba


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helping the aspirant to destroy the vicious tendencies and eviltraits that are the stumbling blocks in the very first stages ofone's spiritual life.Manifestations of Durga in Spiritual SadhanaMother Durga thus manifests Herself in and through.theform of the Guru, in the form of an aspiration in the aspiranthimself to rise to a higher plane, in the form of a ruthlessself-criticism and a self-examination; and .when this analpisreveals to the seeker the picture of his lower animalistic self

in all its detail then the Mother has to be invoked by him as astrong resolution and a strong determination to completelyroot out these evil tendencies because this aspect of theMother is absolutely necessary if one has to start progressingupon the path of Yoga. To be unaware of the defects is thefirst great obstacle; and then if we get over this and becomeaware of our defects, but if we do not do anything aboutthem in spite of our knowing our defects, the defects willremain and we will not progress. The next stage is, we rnusthave a fiery determination and a strong power of will tocompletely break down this lower nature within us. Once thisdetermination is invoked, the Mother manifests Herself as astrong will-power and a resoluteness in the aspirant toconquer and attain victory over his animalistic nature.

Next She has to manifest Herself in dynamic will. Thiswill has to be translated into dynamic action, asSadhana-Sakti, in the aspirant, so that day by day he begins tofight these evil tendencies in all moments of his daily life, inhis actions, in his dealings with others, in his thoughts andmotives and in his attitudes; this is done by the Sadhana-Saktiaspect of the Divine Mother. Thus the Sadhana must proceed.For doing his task successfully he has to generate the powerof the DMne Mother as Sadhana-Sakti and all the differentprocesses of Yoga. If he is prey to certain lower appetites, hehas to completely destroy those appetites, by a series ofSadhanas like Tapascharya, leaving off certain'things, denyinghimself the gratification of those appetites.THE SPRINGBOARD TO CONSTRUCTION 47


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It may be said that the denial of certain appetites maydrive them underground as it were, to overcome man at somepropitious moment, in the tbrm of temptations. Here we haveto put forward a certain great truth. It has been found outthat to try to overcome an appetite by feeding it is the mostimpossible thing upon earth; because sense-cravings arelikened to a huge conflagration or fire-and if we try tosatis$ them, they say, this process acts as ghee poured intothe fire-so that we actually give it something to consume;and by consuming it the fire blazes forth all the stronger andmore furiously. It is, on the other hand, by withdrawing thefood to this blaze of sense-cravings that they die a naturaldeath. Therefore, Thpascharya is another form in whichMother Durga manifests Herself in the aspirant.In order to bear the rigour of Thpascharya, one mustdevelop the power of Titiksha, the power of enduring thingswhich may be very unpleasant and which may be very difficultand undesirable to the lower side of man. Titiksha in itsvarious forms like fasting, vigil, etc., and self-denial in itsvarious forms like giving up those things which the mind likesbest for some period of time, e.g., saltless diet, takihg teawithout sugar, not using shoes, come under this category.Methods by which we check some natural downward tendencyand control some sensual appetite which draws the personalitytowards the objective world, have to be intelligently thoughtover and thus. a whole programme of Sadhana has to beworked out by every individual Sadhaka or spiritual aspirant.It is the sum-total of these expressions of the Mother in theSadhaka that ultimately enables him to transcend the firststage of spiritual life and Sadhana and completely attainvictory over the lower nature in him.

Thus, the animal sacrifice, as it were, is achieved throughthe invocation of the Divine Power within us in itsevil-destroying, darkness-annihilating, and Thmas-overcomingaspect. This is the significance and meaning of the worship ofMother Kaali in the spiritual life of the aspirant.42 GOD AS MOTHER


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It is impossible tbr anyone to cover the entire field o[the manit'estation of the Mother in Her aspect as Durga inthe life of the aspirant. It is naturally a process which cachone has to think and work out for himseli It is only in itsgeneral form that we can say that Mothcr has to bemanifested, in the lbrm of a ruthless self-analysis, a tirmdetcrmination and a dynamic attempt to give exprcssion tothis resolutionl and the qualities like austerity, endurance,self-denial, fasting and the various other aspects of YogaSadhana we will be able to give while dealing with thequestion in a general way.Saptashati's Lesson

Next, we have to transcend even the human nature withall its wrong conceptions and with its ego-sense, if we are toreach the higher divine consciousness. This process ofovercoming even the human side of the aspirant'sconsciousness is symbolised by human sacrifice or Narabali.The arrangement of the Saptashati in the three aspects offirst the killing of Madhu-Kaitabha, secondly the killing ofMahishasura, and thirdly the killing of the brothers Shumbhaand Nishumbha with their host of demons, symbolises thedifferent stages of Sadhana. Madhu and Kaitabha representthe gross form of the lower nature of man. Mahishasurarepresents the next stage, the annihilation of the Rajo-Gunaaspect. When we come to the third part, we find the Asura isa far finer type of demon; he is a king, very wealthy, greatlycultured, but with a supervening vanity. He possessesdominance over all the celestial hosts and he possesses theentire wealth of the world. Everything that is desirable, allthat is best in all the fourteen worlds, are possessed by theinvincible brothers and they command a huge host of warriors.One of the warriors is a demon called Raktabija who isequated with the human egoism. [t is a[ler the destruction ofegoism in its lower form that the ultimate destruction ofShumbha and Nishumbha is possible, symbolising as it werethe destruction of Vilshepa and Avarana Shaktis, by whichTHE SPRINGBOARD TO CONSTRUCTION 43


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the last barrier between the human and the Divine is removedand the culmination of the Sadhak's spiritual life is achievedthrough the grace of the Mother, with the attainment ofidentification with the Cosmic Supreme Being.Tqrf{ d Eril qfr hilr Etr *muun-Frfr tri Er1swfr rrqrfr effi q ratq cidd frNrtu@

tl(Saundarya-Lahari: 22)

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sbfrsbFOURTH NIGHTI,{.KSHMI: THE SUPREME SUSTAINERv4{ruqiqd nira vetffiq* rTR',t ,rie+ tfq qRrqFr +irsq t rrSeluranroNs to the blessed Source, destination of all!Salutations to the Supreme Power of the Almighty Beingmanifest as Saraswati! Salutations to the Power manifest asMahalakshmi and that Primal Power manifest as Durga!

Today is the fourth day of the worship of the Godheadconceived as the Mother of all creation. From today we enterinto the next phase of this deeply significant adoration of theMother, in Her aspect of the nourishing and sustainingfunction of the Supreme Shakti. From today for three days allover India the Mother will be adored as Mahalakshmi. Thelast three days will be Her worship in Her aspect ofMahasaraswati, culminating on the tenth day, the VrjayaDasami.Involution of Spirit in MatterWhen we take up the consideration of this peculiara..ungiment of the Navaratra Puja, the worship of theMother in the three aspects, in this particular order of Durga,Lakshmi and Saraswati, we are mnfronted with a verysignificant truth. It is in itself the revelation of a certain actual

law. We know that when the transcendent power which isunmanifest and beyond all names and forms becomes manifestas the visible universes, as phenomena and takes on theappearance of Nama-Rupa, there commenoes a process ofinvolution, of the transcendent becoming relative, of thenameless and formless entering into forms and we see in it aLAKSHMI: THE SUPREME SUSTAINER 45


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process of the supreme. subtlcst of thc subtle. thc originalcause and source becoming prtlgressively _[rosser and grosscruntil it reaches the ultimate grosscsr marrit'estation in itstermination as incrt matter. This proccss of involution is theorder of the projection o[ phenomena. It is the ordcr of clnebecoming the many, the unmanifest becoming Lhe manil'est,the cause appearing as the various eft'ects. Correspondingly,when from this movement into matter the seeker strives torise back into the original state of transcendence, through areverse process of an inner movement from matter back intothe spirit, we find that the manifestation of this divine poweror Shakti starts operating in exactly the contrary and oppositeway. When involution starts, it is first the creativity of Brahmathat begins to operate. The creative power functions andnames and forms stream forth from the great Prakriti. Fromthe state of being beyond, when the names and forms strcamforth in the realm of Maya, these names and forms comeunder the sway of time, under the threefold aspect of thepast, the present and the future. As they have to retain theirnames and forms and exist in threefold time, there arises thefunction of the preservative, the sustaining, the nourishing andthe protecting tactor. Mahashakti then operates as thedynamic counterpart o[ Vishnu the Preserver, Hc who sustainsand keeps up the world-process. She is Maha-Lakshmi.Change has to take place and names and forms are in theirvery nature perishable and passing bccause they come undcrthe operation of time or Kala. This process of breaking upthe names and forms is performcd by Rudra who prcsidesover Laya or dissolution. Thus thcse itnctions operate-starting with creativity, then sustcnance and then dissolutjon.This is the descent into matter.

The Evolution of Man to GodheadBut, just'as it has been said in the Gita: to the man ofthe spirit everything operates in exactly the opposite directionas it does to the man of the world who is immersed in matter.That which is day to the man of the world is night to the man

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of the spirit and to those things to which the man of theworld is awake as it were in his perception, the man of thespirit is asleep and does not recognise them. To those things.to which the man of the world is asleep in his perception, toall those higher things of the spirit, the man of God is fullyawake. What the worldly man perceives the Yogi turns awayfrom and does not perceive; what the worldly man fails toperceive the Yogi perceives in his state of spiritual awakening.In accordance with this law, when the self-same divine powerbegins to act in the inner realm of the spiritual ascent, in therealm of evolution as opposed to involution, the seekeradores the power in a contrary way. He first invokes theMother in Her destructive aspect so that She has to destroythe whole of matter which is upon the Jiva having involvedinto grossness, having involved into patfr, having becomeimmersed in nescience; therefore, the'first process is to breakfree from the grip of matter, to shatter the shackles ofnescience and delusion and to attain victory over that which isgross and to rise up into the realm of the pure, the subtle andthe spiritual. First Mother in Her aspect of the Power andForce to destroy the grossness and the influence of thematerial world is invoked; and then when one rises up intothe path of Yoga and spiritual life, it is Mother as Lakshmiwho is invoked next so that She may bestow upon him all thatis necessary to sustain the spiritual life, whereas in theinvolution She becomes necessary to sustain the material lifean'd to protect and preserve the life in this external physicalworld o[ matter. We have to remember that the Motherhoodof God is always conceived of as the twofold Shaktis,Vidya-Maya and Avidya-Maya. It is in this aspect ofVidya-Maya She now comes to be adored and invoked by theseeker and therefore Lakshmi in Her aspect as Vidya-Mayasustains, nourishes, protects and preserves the seeker'sspiritual ascent, his Yoga and his Sadhana.

When he passes on still higher beyond the path of Yoga,he invokes the great Mother in Her aspect as the first47AKSHMI: THE SUPREME SUSTAINER


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emanation from the transcendence of supreme Being, whichis nearest to that, and in Her aspect as Mahasarur*uli she isthe first emanation and she is the bestower of Knowledge.She makes the Jiva irnite wiih the paramatma or paraBrahman and attain the universal cosmic consciousness, theconsciousness of the Infinite Atman. It is in Her aspect asvidya-Maya that the_ seekcr worships the Mother in exactlythe reverse way so that she may aihieue for him the returnback from matter into the original state of pure Spirit.The Eightfold LakshmiWhen we come first of all to consider Maha Lakshmi inHer- cosmic aspect as Avidya-Maya who has to preserve theworld-process which has involved out of the supreme Being,we find that She is conceived of as all the various things thitare necessary to have a prosperous and successful life uponthis earth-plane. we have the conception of Mahalakstrmi inHer eightfold forms and the Hindus refer to Her as theAshta-Lakshmi. For the sustenance of life upon this earth themost important thing is food. All beingi live upon thisphpical plane through the nourishment deiived from physicalfood and the chief source of food upon earth is corn that iscultivated. Grain is Dhaanya. Therefore, Mother isworshipped as Dhaanya-Lakshmi. It is a common sight to seeupon a particular day in the year set apart for this specificpurpose, the cultivator and all the people worshipping thefreshly-cut sheaves of golden corn thit his been gut^h".;a utharvest-time. It is a very ioyous festival. The tilst crop ofgolden corn which has filled the field is cut, taken up withgreat ceremony, with music and rejoicing and it is brought tothe house wherein all the ceremonial woiship due to a o"eity isoffered to it. Thus Mother in Her universal aspect as

life-sustaining corn is regarded as the most important factorand in this form Lakshmi is manifest in this worid of ours.. Secondly, for all human dealings, in society, bothintra-national and international, money or wealth is ofparamount importance. without wealth man cannot live with48 GOD AS MOTHER


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happiness, prosperity and success. He cannot undertake anyworks; and therefore, Mother is also conceived of as Dhana.It means wealth in any form-in the form of coins, goods-allvaluable things: Thus wealth also is revered and worshipped insociety.

The Mother in these various forms is worshipped bydifferent classes of people in India. The Hindu society isbased upon the beautiful plan of Varnashrama. There is ageneral division of labour in the whole soLiety as it is anddifferent aspects of national life are entrusted to differentsections of the community and in Her eightfold aspects asDhaanya-Lakshmi, Dhana-Lakhmi, Mdya-Lakhmi, Dhairya-Lakhmi, Veerya-Lakhmi, Gaja-Lakshmi, Jaya-Lakshmi andSaubhagya.Lakhmi, Mother is worshipped in the form ofIife-giving corn, of wealth, of Apara-Mdya (knowledge of artsand sciences which is very essential if one must live a civilisedand happy life-all knowledge pertaining to this materialuniverse is Mother in the form of Vidya), of Dhairya (toutilise wealth and knowledge one must have enterprise), ofVeerya (vitality or virility), of Gaja (royal power or the powerof royalty), of Jaya (the power of victory over adversecircumstances, obstacles that stand in the way of a happy,prosperous and successful life) and of Saubhagya (prosperityin general). In these eight aspects, the power of the nourisherand sustainer Lakshmi is manifest in the world of humanbeings. The Kshatriya worships the Mother in the form ofvictory-giving weapons; to him the sword and all .the otherweapons are the victory-giving manifestations of Mahalakshmi.To the Vaishya who belongs to the third social order, whocarries on commerce and business in human society, the greatpower is the power of money; therefore, a day is set apart tospecially worship Goddess Lakshmi in this aspect of money, bythem. It is a common sight on Deepavali and Lakshmi puja,especially in wealthy cities like Bombay, when silver coinswould be put into a heap and worshipped as any deity wouldbe worshipped by the devout Hindu, as the visibleLAKSHMI: THE SUPREME SUSTAINER 49


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manifestation of Divine Mother Lakshmi Herself. The fourthclass, Sudras, worship Lakshmi as grain which they help toproduce. By the Brahmin who is the trustee of knowledge andwho is to impart knowledge to all people, Mother isworshipped in the lbrm of Vidya and as books. Implements ofmachinery, every sort of Ayudha that help to keep life goingupon earth, are also worshipped on Ayudha Puja day. Theconception of the Motherhood of God in its aspect as thepreserving and life-sustaining form iS thus practicallydemonstrated in the Hindu society in these various ways.

The Sadhak's Attitude to l,akshmiThus it is that to the devout Hindu the aspect of theMotherhood as a material power, a power which sustains lifeupon this physical world, is an important aspect of divinity inso far as his material life is concerned and here we have tonote that the Hindu shows himself as a sane realist. He

realises and accepts the importance and value of the divinepower as it is manifest upon the material world in the form ofthese helpful factors that go to sustain and preserve life forhim upon earth in a prosperous and huppy state. While wethus recognise his realistic attitude towards the good things ofthis world, here it will be interesting to note that the EternalQuest for the Absolute, for the ultimate Being, is also a partand parcel of the consciousness of every true Hindu. Theself-same Hindu who devoutly worships the Mother in theform of wealth and all the good things of the worldsimultaneously admits the fact that once his aspiration for thedivine realisation has begun to manifest within himself, thisvery aspect of Lakshmi which is most important in thiswork-a-day world of ours has to be resolutely brushed aside,and renounced. Thus he turns his face away from the materialthings of this world, gives up wealth and takes to the path ofrenunciation; because he admits that as long as one is deeplyconcernbd with desire and its fulfilment, he has to accept theall-powerful nature of Mother in Her aspect of the things ofthis world. But the moment he has had enough of these50 GOD AS MOTHER


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things and he has realised their temporariness, their transienceand their perishable nature, and the moment his heart is setupon the eternal thing, he bids adieu to rhis aspect of thelvlothcr and he invokes the other aspect. viz., the Vidva-lVlaya.He prays tcl the Mother that She may releasc him fiom thclure and the attraction o[ Her own deluding power in theform of wealth, prosperity, domestic happiness and all thegood things of the world; and thus he makes a deliberatedeparture from Mother Lakshmi in Her aspect of Avidya.Herein lies the main dift'erence between the man of the rvorldand thc seeker. Herein lies the inner significance of theworship for these two people, of the self-same deity. The manof the world worships the Mother; and at the same timc theseeker who has renounced the world also worships Lakshmi.To the surface-observer it would seem that both are carryingon the selt'-same worship; but once this conception ofLakshmi both in Her Avidya and Vidya aspects is known, thenone would see underneath the surt'ace and go beneath theapparent worship, and he will find that tbr one and the sameworship of the self-same deity, Mother Lakshmi, there is atotal difference of view or point of approach and the totaldifference of Bhava or mental attitude between thematerialist, a man of desires, and the spiritual seeker or theman who has turned away from desire, who has commencedto aspire for the Eternal.Yet the figure is the same, Mother is the same; andbecause She is the prosperity-giver and the preserver, theform of Lakshmi is alwap full of auspiciousness. She isgorgeously dressed. She has got golden ornaments. There isalways that symbol of power and pomp, the elephant, which isby Her side. She lives upon a lotus and She holds twolotuses-and these flowers are in full bloom. The significanceof these will become apparent whcn we reflect upon whatthey stand for. Full-blown lotus represents the fullness in allaspects. Even so, the elcphant represents two things: thehighest state of prosperity, regal splendour, royal pomp; andLAKSHMI: THE SUPREME SUSTAINER 51


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at the same time the highest knowledge-elephant representsthe fullness of wisdom.qr tfr F4-Itg oqfrftq riRrar rrqwd rqwd rqkrd -fi q: u

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3b fr Eroqr{ qq:FIFTH NIGHTTHE PATH OF PROSPERITY

qluRrfaH+rilqi rrfuTt vnafr rgunqt Uqqt rrrqFr rirsq t rrSalurarroxs to the blessed Divine Mother, the life ofour lives, the sole support of our existence, the very essenceof our being, the inmost core of our consciousness, the goaland ultimate destination of our life, the glorious fruition ofour Yoga Sadhana, the Pure Existence-Knowledge and Bliss.We bow to Her again and again as Mother Durga, Lakshmi,and Saraswati. May Her Grace be upon us all.Mother in Her aspect as Lakshmi is the one great Powerupon earth that makes life possible and bearable here. Wereit not for blessed Mother Lakshmi, life upon earth would be ajourney of sorrows and pain. It will be a vale of tears; for dueto the transient nature of things and due to the all-pervasiveaspect of Mother Durga, destruction is ever haunting thefootsteps of the Jiva from the moment it sees the light of dayupon earth until it reaches the grhve. Verily, life onlarth is alife of pain and death. It is the shining, radiant and joy-givingaspect of Lakshmi Devi that makes life bearable by balancingthe pain and destruction that pervades this earthly existencewith the sweet elements of light, love, rejoicing, prosperityand happiness in, all its various forms. Mother pervades allaspects of human life as auspiciousness. She is Kalyani. She isMangalam. She is Saubhagyavati. Both in the wider sphere ofnational life as well as in the intimate sphere of a being'sdomestic circle, Mother manifests Herself in all Her radianceand good cheer so that life is sustained through Her light,through Her charm, and Her Grace. Thus, Mother Durga andTHE PATH OF PROSPERITY 53


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Mother Lakshmi keep up the balance in this Samsaric life andmake it possible for the Jiva to forget the harsh realities ofthis transitory passing existence and to partake of the goodthings of life with some extent of joy.Signs of National GloryIt is a very interesting and very useful task to try to beaware of the Divine Mother as Lakshmi in both these spheresso that we shall be in a position consciously to work towardsthe maintenance of the presence of Mother Lakshmi in thesespheres by doing which we shall be able to fill this terrestriallife with happiness and prosperity. In the widei sphere ofman's social and national life, Mother appears as those modeswhich counteract and counter-balance the terrible modes ofthe divine Shakti in its aspects as Durga Devi. We have seenhow in order to sustain the very life upon earth, Durgamanifests Herself in aspects of very necessary destructivity andannihilation, how but for Her benign breaking down process,life upon earth would end in absolute chaos and ruin,catastrophe and calamity. Thus in Her terrible aspects as war,epidemics, famine, natural catastrophies like flood, fire andearthquake, Mother Durga destrop in order to save, in orderto see that life continues. Lakshmi Devi manifests in this lifeas modes which counterbalance and counteract this activity ofHer own aspect as Durga, by appearing as peace instead ofwar,-when Lakshmi is propitious there is peace in theuniverse, peace amongst nations and mankind, and there isfreedom from all civil strife-as plenty, fertility, abundantharvest and, as the counterpart of disease and epidemics,Lakshmi graces society in the form of health, well-being,welfare of the children and of the women, and of a goodstandard of the nation's health. In Her aspects as .thepreservative forces like the medical profession, hospital*, thefire brigade, police, etc, the power of Vishnu-Shakti, DivineMother Lakshmi, appears to counteract the calamities ofnature and to protect the life and welfare of men and theirproperties. Therefore, to the politician, to the administrator,54 GOD AS MOTHER


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to the leaders of society, these aspects are lhe signs ofLakshmi being present in the social structure.Where these things are neglected, we find that thehappiness of the people is destroyed. Their progrcss isarrested; and prosperity leaves that nation and that society.Therefore, the ancient law-givers laid down that every trueadministrator must have in mind these aspects of the Motherand he should always diligently try to see that he does whatall he can in order to increase these factors in society,through which Mother Lakshmi manifests Herself and inwhich this benign progrcssive aspect of Vishnu-Shakti dwells.Temples, schools, playgrounds, parks, flower-gardens, tanks-all these factors in human society are so many manifestationsof the Vishnu-Shakti. Thcy are ali Mothcr Lakshmi beingvisible through thesc symbols. Thereforc, we find that in thisland of Dharma, I3haratavarsha, there will be no place withouta temple.. It may be the most insigniticant village, a merehamlet, with a handful of houses; yet without even the dignityof a pucca structure, at least under the shade of some treethere will be a village deity that is worshipped by thatcommunity. Where there is a village without place of worship,there no religious man will set foot. They will say: "This placehas no Lakshmi therein." They will avoid such a place. Wherethere is no good provision for water, for people and cattle todrink, there people will say that Lakshmi does not dwell; andholy men will turn away from such a place. All Dharmicpebple, people of wealth, ever tried to utilise their God-givenwealth for setting up these visible expressions of Lakshmithroughout the land. To plant trees, to dig wells and tanks, todonate gardens and playgrounds, to build new temples wherethere are none and to renovate old temples which had falleninto disrepair, and to start choultries where travellers maycome and rest themselves, tq have feeding houses whereweary pilgrims, holy men, men of God, mendicants and thereligious students may get food-all these were consideredand even now they are'considered to be worls of Dharma, ofTHE PATH OF PROSPERITY 55


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great merit, which will bless the giver with happiness here andhereafter. Education also was a visible expression of Lakshmiin Her aspect as Vidya-Lakshmi which is one of the eightaspects of Ashta-Lakshmi. Thus the expression of MotherLakshmi in all these forms was regarded by our law-givers assomething which every man, every citizen should try toincrease in the country and in the society so that a state ofprosperity may always prevail in the land.

The Foremost Duty of National LeadersIt will do well for all the leaders of men in whichevercountry or nation they may be and to all social leaders andadministrators, to bear in mind that the increase and thepreservation of these aspects of Lakshmi in society is not onlyone of the primary concerns and duties, but also to preserveand increase all these factors contained in it the seeds ofenduring welfare and happiness of all people. Thus, as long as

man was still conscious of the reality of this world, as long ashe felt the reality of these external things, it was his duty tosee that he did not neglect any of these factors. A falseassimilation of the Hindu religion, and wrong conception ofman's duty or rather an indigestion of the Vedantic food fromthe Upanishads, had led to an unfortunate neglect of thisfactor of realism in the Hindu race in centuries gone by sothat having half-assimilated notions of Vairagya, ofGod-realisation and of the unreality of the world, the Indiansas a whole became apathetic towards the preservation ofthese aspects of Mahalakshmi, thinking that all these thingswere only in the realm of Maya and they were not worthwhilegMng one's attention to; and,to turn away from them in asort of so-called lofty otherworldliness was the acme ofphilosophic life of wisdom. The Hindu nation had to pay aterrible price for having this sort of apathy towards Mother inHer aspects of Lakshmi in this external world and the pricewas losing Her in some of Her most precious aspects, viz.,freedom, prosperity and national self-respect. Thus; Lakshmileft the Hindu nation when their mistaken notions of56 GOD AS MOTHER


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philosophy made the majority of people neglect Her anddiscard Her worship in the florm of a robust realism and inthe form of a practical idealism in this external life.Therefore, education was neglected and all these social wotkswere neglected as something belonging to the realm ofignorance, which was not worthwhile to pursue; and evenwhile man was firmly bound up in body-consciousness uponthe gross plane, he shut his eyes to the realities of thisphysical world and tried to dispense with all these things withthe declaration that they were all only transitory andevanescent. Thus, a state of Thmas supervened which wasopposed to Lakshmi and therefore two centuries of slaverywas the result-slavery to those who were better worshippersof Lakshmi in the real sense of the term in the externalworld. They, the British people, were able to propitiate Herand thus all that was best in Bharatavarsha, all theprosperity-giving elements went over to the West where,though they were materialists yet rhey worshipped Lakshmi.When saints and great thinkers of modern India realised thatit was the neglect of Lakshmi through a succumbing to Thmasthat was at the root of the Indian problem, they at once gavea dynamic social philosophy to the Hindu nation. The clarioncall for the Hindu nation to wake up from its slumber ofThmo-Guna and to plunge into selfless service and tovigorously take life with a realistic attitude and point of viewwas sounded by these great modern saviours of India. Thus arevival came about and the half-assimilated and wrong notionsof philosophy were driven out from the heads of the peopleand they were taught how one has to be a dynamicworshipper as long as his body is still a very real thing to himand as long as he has not risen to that state of consciousness,of spiritual evolution, when he would be able to actually feelwithin the heart of hearts that the world is but a passingdream and that the unmanifest alone is thc actual rcality. Thisis a mistake which is very easy to fall into. to think that onehas risen very high upon the spiritual plane and to neglect thethings which ought not to be neglected in thc beginning

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stages of one's evolution. In the beginning these things whichmay later on have to be renounced and given up, themselvesform the first stepping-stones upon which one has to risehigher and higher. Thus the apathy due to Thmas which wasmistakenly considered to be a sort of philosophy andresignation was pointed out and ended and now we areexperiencing

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God as Mother by Swami Chidananda