Thoughts on Shailputri

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Shailputri means "The Daughter of the Mountain," the abode of Shiva

and of the father of Parvati. So Shailputri has a double identity:

One as a daughter and another as a wife. This dual role of Shailputri

denotes also the great transformation a woman undergoes - not just

spiritually but physically - when she turn from a daughter to become

a wife. Shailputri, the Devi of the first night of Navratri,

symbolizes the beginning of that journey of transformation.

 

She is also the Devi of the root chakra, who, upon awakening, begins

Her journey upwards. Sitting on Nadi , and making her first journey

from the Muladarachakra? To where? From her father to her husband -

the awakening Shakti, beginning Her search for Shiva or making a move

towards her Shiva? (Could each Navdurga represent a charka; the seven

that all aspirants know; plus the two Tantric charkas that are never

named?)

 

Mountains in general are associated with strength, beauty, panorama

and variety. They are not manmade like cities. They denote height and

depth, grandeur and gravity etc. Mountains represent the obstacles

one faces in scaling the spiritual heights in the course of one's

efforts at sadhana.

 

In the Sadhana of Durga, both the goddess and the demons are

perceived as being within oneself. The Great Mother herself is

ceaseless in her manifestations. One have to be alive to her

visitation in oneself and in the world, for she both is inner and

outer. Therefore, for one to understand her glory and make this

experience a meaningful one, one must be both an extrovert and

introvert. The Durgic process allows us to see the shadow of the

self, the pleasant and the unpleasant within ourself, goading us

onward to continue strengthening the pleasant aspect in us till we

shine, truly shine - like Her - and this process of strengthening is

a continuous one until one is refined and amalgamated.