Matangi - part 2

[Guest guest]

Matangi as the Outcast

 

Matangi is described as an outcast and as impure. On one level, this refers

to the nature of the spoken word, which is inherently limited in what it can

project. Only if we look to the Goddess power, Matangi, behind the screen of

words, will we be free from the impurity inherent in trying to put anything into

words. The word makes things profane. Naming often causes us to misapprehend and

devalue the thing itself. Numbers, titles, descriptions, and explanations become

barriers to our actual contact with the soul in things, Matangi rules over these

articulations of language and gives the power to use them the right way and to

go beyond them.

However, there is another level on which Matangi is the outcast or the residue.

The Self or Atman transcends the laws of nature and is beyond good and evil.

Matangi as the manifest knowledge of the Self takes us beyond such outward

limitations and conventions and makes us outcasts, transcending the uman world

altogether. Self-realized beings sometimes appear poor, crazy or in some way

unusual. This is another part of Matangi, who is the visible appearance of the

highest knowledge. Matangi is het highest of the Goddesses in that she allows

all their powers and principles to be realized.

According to the Upanishads the essence of the human being is speech. What we

express through speech is the final product of all that we take into ourselves

in life. This ultimate residue and representation of who we are through speech

is Matangi. This, however, is not ordinary or casual speech, but the deepest

expression of our hearts.

~

 

Matangi and Joy

 

De Divine Word has power, feeling, and passion, which is not mere human

emotion but Divine bliss. The Divine Word is not merely a theoretical or

practical statement but an effusion of energy and delight. This joy is another

aspect of Matangi. Matangi is thus a wild, playful and ecstatic Goddess.

Matangi as the manifest creative word represents the great powers of nature,

wherein the Divine Word is embodied. She personifies all the beauty, passion and

power of the tropical jungle or rain forest, where she happily dwells like a mad

elephant, reflecting the primal rhythms of Mother Nature. In this regard her

forms are sometimes mixed with those of Sundari. She is similarly the beauty of

all creation in the Self, but whereas for Sundari the inner experience of

consciousness is predominant, for Matangi the outer expression gains prominence.

~

 

Matangi as the Minister

 

matangi represents the ministeral power of the Goddess. She is the

counselor to Rajarajeshvari or Tripure Sundari, the Supreme Queen of the

universe. As such she is called Mantrini and has power over all mantras,

particularly in their vocalization and articulation. She gives us the ability to

communicate with all the other Gods and Goddesses through the power of the

mantra. In fact she rules over all forms of knowledge, counseling and teaching.

Those seeking proficiency in these areas should honor Matangi.

~

 

Location in the Body

 

Matangi resides in the Throat Chakra, the center of speech. She also

resides on the tip of the tongue, the place wherein speech is articulated and

wherein we are able to taste the essences of things.

There is a special nerve or channel of the subtle body called Sarasvati that

runs from the Third Eye to the tip of the tongue, which relates to her. This is

the stream of inspiration from the mind to its expression via speech. Matangi

represents the flow of bliss through this channel, which makes us poet-seers of

the Divine with all the powers of cosmic creativity.

~

 

 

--

 

Addition (not in the book):

 

 

 

Matangi the Goddess who Loves Pollution

Once Parvati, seated on Shiva's lap, said to him that he always gave her

anything she wanted and that now she had a desire to visit her father. Would he

consent to her visiting her father, Himalaya, she asked? Shiva was not happy

about granting her this wish but eventually complied, saying that if she did not

come back in a few days, he would go there himself to ask for her return.

Parvati's mother sent a crane to carry Parvati back to her family home. When she

did not return for some days, Shiva disguised himself as an ornament maker and

went to her father's house. He sold shell ornaments to Parvati and then, seeking

to test her faithfulness, asked that she have sex with him as his payment.

Parvati was outraged at the merchant's request and was ready to curse him, but

then she discerned with her yogic intuition that the ornament vendor was really

her husband, Shiva. Concealing her knowledge of his true identity, she replied:

"Yes, fine, I agree. But not just now."

 

Sometime later, Parvati disguised herself as a huntress and went to Shiva's

home, where he was preparing to do evening prayer. She danced there, wearing red

clothes. Her body was lean, her eyes wide, and her breasts large. Admiring her,

Shiva asked: "Who are you?" She replied: "I am the daughter of a Chandala. I've

come here to do penance." Then Shiva said: "I am the one who gives fruits to

those who do penance." Saying this, he took her hand, kissed her, and prepared

to make love to her. While they made love, Shiva himself was changed into a

Chandala. At this Point he recognized the Chandala woman as his wife Parvati.

After they had made love, Parvati asked Shiva for a boon, which he granted. Her

request was this: "As you [shiva] made love to me in the form of a Chandalini

[Chandala woman], this form should last forever and be known as

Uccishtha-matangini (now popularly known as Matangi)."

 

The key to this legend is the essence of the word 'Chandala.' The Chandalas are

believed to constitute the lowest strata of the caste hierarchy in orthodox

Hindu belief. Associated with death and impurity they have always survived on

the fringes of mainstream society. Derogatory in the extreme sense, The label

chandala itself has become the worst kind of slur. Thus by disguising herself as

a Chandalini, Parvati assumes the identity of a very low-caste person, and by

being attracted, Shiva allows himself to be identified with her. Both deities

self-consciously and willingly associate themselves with the periphery of Hindu

society and culture. The Chandala identity is sacralized therefore, in the

establishment of Goddess Matangi. This goddess summarizes in herself the

polluted and the forbidden.

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tantric-Yoga