Questions from a member

[Guest guest]

I received an interesting email from one of the member and I believe

this should be in the message board so that we all can learn from

this. I would encourage our experience members to contribute their

opinion.

 

"You ended Your email with saying "may the light of DEVI shine on

you

always." When I try to learn from the people in the group, I often

see people with Devi in their name or title. What does it mean

exactly?

 

You seem to have a more concrete foundation in Your belief with long

standing documentation. My Mother and the friend she lived with were

believers in the Goddess Diana, and that She was in all Women, but

gave power and energy to the Women who acknowledged Her presence in

them and prayed to Her. It seems so similiar. They explained the

Hierarchy to me, with the Great Goddess at the top, then with Her

followers as the Goddesses on Earth, then all other Women then men.

It that faith. I am just trying to reconcile the differences so that

I can better understand everything. "

[Guest guest]

<Devi>, from Sanskrit, means "bright being (female)." It is often

translated as "Goddess."

 

Certain female Gurus and enlightened female scholars are awarded the name

"Devi" at the end of their name, as a sign that they manifest the

Goddess. For example, Ammachi of Kerala's full title is Ma

Amritananda-mayi Devi (meaning: Mother,

Filled-with-the-Bliss-of-Immortality, Goddess).

 

Male Gurus or scholars are often given the title "Paramahamsa" at the end

of their name, meaning "Supreme Swan." (The <hamsa> is a kind of

mythological swan of the breath and Divine inspiration.) In place of

"Ma" or "Mata" (Mother), such male Gurus are often called "Baba"

(Father).

 

Other specilized religious schools give titles like "Sarasvati" (the

goddess of wisdom), "Acharya" (teacher), or "Das" (Divine servant).

 

Hope that helps.

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

 

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 08:38:46 -0000 "Nora" <ashwini_puralasamy

writes:

> I received an interesting email from one of the member and I believe

>

> this should be in the message board so that we all can learn from

> this. I would encourage our experience members to contribute their

> opinion.

>

> "You ended Your email with saying "may the light of DEVI shine on

> you

> always." When I try to learn from the people in the group, I often

> see people with Devi in their name or title. What does it mean

> exactly?

>

> You seem to have a more concrete foundation in Your belief with long

>

> standing documentation. My Mother and the friend she lived with were

>

> believers in the Goddess Diana, and that She was in all Women, but

> gave power and energy to the Women who acknowledged Her presence in

> them and prayed to Her. It seems so similiar. They explained the

> Hierarchy to me, with the Great Goddess at the top, then with Her

> followers as the Goddesses on Earth, then all other Women then men.

> It that faith. I am just trying to reconcile the differences so that

>

> I can better understand everything. "

>

 

 

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[Guest guest]

fredagen den 18 juli 2003 10.38 skrev Nora:

> "You ended Your email with saying "may the light of DEVI shine on

> you

> always." When I try to learn from the people in the group, I often

> see people with Devi in their name or title. What does it mean

> exactly?

 

I think it is nice :-)

 

"devi" means "goddess"

"dasi" means "female servant"

 

I sometimes put "devi" after my name, sometimes "dasi" and sometimes "devi

dasi". Actually, as a Vaisnavi I should put one of the latter. But then

again, sometimes I put nothing. It depends on the context.

It is just like a title. Sometimes you put a short version, sometimes a

longer, sometimes just the initial letters.

 

Every woman is a partial expansion of the supreme Devi, so calling a woman

devi, is certainly not wrong, particularly if she acts as an instrument of

the supreme Devi.

 

Prisni is a name given me by my guru, during initiation. So it is honorary in

a way.

 

Different spiritual lineages have different rules for names, so in some cases

words mean something very specific, but for other lineages they might mean

something else or nothing.

 

Prisni

 

(In this group I mostly write Prisni. Since few others use titles, I why

should I? That's by the way what people often call me in a spiritual context)

[Guest guest]

"You ended Your email with saying "may the light of DEVI shine on

you always."

 

Indeed this is my favourite quote. DEVI is everything. She is the

rain, the wind, the moon, the sun but to me significantly SHE is the

light, the light that brings hope to us and many others especially in

our times of darkness. When I refer to darkness, it mean when we are

really down. When friends abandoned us at our times of need or when

we feel as if there is no hope. It is during this time of darkness,

that sometimes we have the tendency to make mistakes, to act rashly

and sometimes lost faith in our own beliefs. Thus this is the time we

really need the light of DEVI the most, to act as a net when

we "fall", to show us the way so that we do not

"hurt" ourselves, to

act as a guide so that we can find our way home and do not get lost

in the dark.

 

"You seem to have a more concrete foundation in Your belief with

long

standing documentation"

 

The basic thing that we need in life is principles. That is the

foundation to our beliefs. Once we have that solid, no matter what

others say about you and your faith, you will not stirred. Just like

any building, the foundation are being laid first before we event put

up the other things like the walls etc.

 

 

believers in the Goddess Diana, and that She was in all Women,

but

gave power and energy to the Women who acknowledged Her presence in

them and prayed to Her. It seems so similiar. They explained the

Hierarchy to me, with the Great Goddess at the top, then with Her

followers as the Goddesses on Earth, then all other Women then men.

It that faith. I am just trying to reconcile the differences so that

I can better understand everything. "

 

I shall talk about this tomorrow.

[Guest guest]

"believers in the Goddess Diana, and that She was in all Women,

but

gave power and energy to the Women who acknowledged Her presence in

them and prayed to Her. It seems so similiar. They explained the

Hierarchy to me, with the Great Goddess at the top, then with Her

followers as the Goddesses on Earth, then all other Women then men.

It that faith. I am just trying to reconcile the differences so that

I can better understand everything. "

 

As the Mahadevi ( Maha = great Devi = Goddess ) she exists in all

forms as Saraswati ( Goddess of Learning), Lakshmi ( Goddess of

Wealth ), Gayatri, Durga, Tripura-sundari, Annapurna and all the

other DEVIs. Besides these forms, her other subtle form is in the

body = Kundalini. These are some of the many of her endless form.

Seen as one and as many, just like the moon : one but its reflection

in countless waters. She exits too in all animals and inorganic

things, the universe with all its beauties. For though existing in

all things, woman are also considers part of HER or the direct

manifestation of the DEVI herself. The power and energy is already

imbedded in her, and it is up to her to fully realized this power.

 

She is not separated from the Devi. So although every woman is a

direct manifestation of Devi in many it is not apparent even to

themselves. It is like a diamond from the earth -- dull, encrusted

in coal and rock only when the dirt is chipped away, and the diamond

refined and polished do you see it's true, inherently perfect nature.

Some women never achieve that, and not many will be able to accept

that and see the truth. For centuries women are been made to feel

dirty and unworthy, thus making it hard to clean that diamond. In

some beliefs, all see the body as something to be transcended, it

holds us back, drags us down and assert that women are closer to the

earth then men, thus makes it less holy. But to the Shaktas, this is

reverse: it makes them more holy, a step closer to the Goddess.