Femininity/Motherhood

[Guest guest]

Thanks as always, Adi, for a thorough and thoughtful reply to my

queries. Your knowledge and experience and willingness to share are

great assets of this gathering.

 

I think your comments make for an excellent argument; may I quote?

 

You ask: "What do we mean by divine feminine? Does it refer to the

'female' form of the deity or to her 'qualties' of MOTHERHOOD?"

 

You answer: "It is [Her] quality of 'Motherhood' we are talking about

when we say the divine feminine. ... When we talk about god as a

mother, it is these feminine attributes [i.e., compassion, kindness,

mercy, nurture, nourishment, protection] we are talking about; not the

'form' as such -- form is incidental."

 

This is beautifully stated and very direct. You conclude: "Once this

is understood, then one can understand why Hindus or for that matter,

anyone [else would] approach the divine principle as a Feminine

Principle. ..."

 

It seems very sensible. May I open the floor to the rest of the Group,

and ask whether you agree with this, in whole or in part? Is there

anything you would add or subtract? Any and all replies are both

welcome and encouraged!

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe

 

> Containing treasure, bearing wealth, bestowed freely;

//> Lay that bare, Saraswati [Divine Mother], for our nurture."

>

> Rig Veda 1.164.49

>

> it is this quality of 'motherhood' we are talking about when we say

> the divine feminine.... our noble laurette poet shri rabindranath

> tagore also alludes to this 'nurturing' quality of the divine mother

> when he says in his poem Gitanjali that the earthly mother nurses

the

> baby on one breast and the baby falls asleep but as soon as the baby

> cries again, the baby finds comfort in the other brreat- such are

the

> qualities of a mother- she never allows her baby to suffer - if this

> is true of the earth;ly mother, how much more true this is of our

> cosmic mother?

>

> you said it colin.... it is the concept of the ****motherhodd of

> god*** -- and if our beloved penkatali were reading this, he would

> support me on this how islam views this "motherhood of god"

>

> another point i liked about your quotinfg woodroffe -

>

> yes, in tantra shastra women girus are allowed... infact, shri

> ramakrisna's first guru was a woman guru (tantrika) named bharavi

> brahmani...

>

> also, in tantra women and shudras are honored ( like there is no

> discrimination and as we all know how in manusmriti women and

shudras

> are condemned ) this is great news because as we know the caste

> system is the most inhumane and in the eyes of god/ess all

> are 'equal' ... i liked this a lot, colin- plese keep on posting

such

> wonderful excerpts...

>

> now women as guru.... please read what Mahadeva says to Mahadevi...

>

> "there are many teachers, like lamps in house after house, but hard

> to find. O Devi, is the teacher who lights up all like the sun.

>

> There are many teachers who are proficient in the Vedas [revealed

> sacred lore] and the Shastras [textbooks], but hard to find, O Devi,

> is the teacher who has attained to the supreme truth.

>

> There are many teachers on earth who give what is other than the

> [transcendental] Self, but hard to find in all the world, O Devi, is

> the teacher who reveals the Self )

>

> Many are the teachers who rob the disciple of his wealth, but rare

is

> the teacher who removes the disciples affliction.

>

> He is the [true] teacher by whose very contact there flows the

> supreme bliss (ananda). The intelligent man should choose such a one

> as his teacher and none other.

>

> These stanzas are found in the Kula-Arnava-Tantra (Chapter 13), a

> Sanskrit work on Hindu esotericism dating from the eleventh century

> C.E. They are spoken by God Shiva, the Lord of yogins, to his divine

> spouse, Devi.

>

> Georg Feuerstein, Holy Madness

>

> so colin and others, where do we go from here?

>

> is shiva supreme ?

> is shakti supreme?

> are they both equal?

>

> these are all theoretical questions; answers are also theoretical !

>

> our own beloved parvati is always meditating on her beloved pati

> pareshwera! (shiva)

>

> our bholenath shambhu (shiva) is meditating on shri mahavishnu !

>

> lord mahavishnu is performing puja to shivalinga in his yoga nidra!

>

> then we have shri ramachandra (an incarnation of vishnu) praying to

> sree durga mata before his battle with demon ravana..

>

> then we have our elephant god circambulating his parents parvati and

> shiva as the divine parents of the universe

>

> and then we have all the gods/goddesse praying to lord ganesha

> as 'omkara' rupa!!!!

>

> SO IF GODS AND GODDESSES HAVE NO PROBLEM MEDITATING ON EACH OTHER,

> WHY SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT WHO IS EQUAL??????

>

> but as great sages say 'there are many paths; but choose one path

> most suitable to your temperament and stick with it."

>

> in the final analysis, as per tripura rahasaya

>

>

> "Second-hand knowledge of the self gathered from books or gurus can

> never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and

> applied; only direct realisation will do that. Realise yourself,

> turning the mind inward." - Tripura Rahasya

>

> that is why it is said, devi is attainable only by "antramukhi"

> sadhana- mind turning inward!!!!

>

> om shri maharajnayaii namaha!!!

>

>

>

"