kali

[Guest guest]

found this on www.aghor.org

Navaratri is the time to engage ourselves in the upasana of Shakti.

Upasana literally means to obtain a seat next to, to get close to,

enrich oneself with,worship etc. Shakti is the all pervading energy

that is the source of the existence of the world. All the living

creatures become lifeless for lack of Shakti. It

manifests itself in numerous ways. Seers of the ancient time

have tried to describe Shakti in various ways. Shakti is the power,

strength or capability of "God".

 

Although we know that the great unknown is

beyond any name and form, but when its time to express our

devotion, we have to have a name a form, and an image. The only image

that is the embodiment of unconditional love, forgiveness,

kindness, acceptance that we know is the image of the mother,

who gives birth to us, and nurtures us with her milk. This observance

is really an observance of that simplicity. It's an observance of

trust. It's an observance of devotion. Celebration of that love, that

trust, that devotion, that resides within you. In the chant that we

just sang, "Ya devi sarva bhutesuÉ" The Divine Mother resides within

each individual in so many different forms. As Baba used to say, "You

are never alone. You are always in the lap of the Mother. If it's not

one aspect, it's another aspect of her." Never feel alone. As

you already know, during Navaratri, the first three days, we evoke

Maha Kali. The next three days, Maha Laksmi, the last three days, Maha

Saraswati. Maha Kali is very sweet and kind. As sweet as the darkness

of the night in whose presence a weary person falls asleep. No matter

how tired we are of this world, the presence of Maha Kali in our

life enables us to experience that rest. Forgetting it all, we fall

asleep, to replenish ourselves.

 

It's the celebration of that simplicity. Utmost simplicity, and

utmost trust. Just the way a baby trusts the Mother fully. There is

no doubt or hesitation, when the baby leaps for the Mother's lap, baby

doesn't think twice, doesn't doubtÉ just goes for it. The same

thing with Navaratri, we just go for it.

We Shut the mind, and open our heart. There is no trying to

understand the Mother. She is beyond the realm of the mind. Mind

can't analyze Her. If any understanding about her comes, it only comes

with her grace. Without her grace, you can not even comprehend even

an iota of Her. In those personal, private moments, when I'm sitting,

contemplating, calling upon the Mother there is a sense of

identity, yet there is also a sense of oneness, like the water in the

pitcher, which is placed in the middle of the

ocean. Whatever expression, whatever is outside, is also the

presence of the Mother. Whatever is

inside, is also her presence, it's all one. It's that sense of

I-ness that keeps me separate from her. It is the ego.

 

You may have seen pictures of Ma Kali, although she is not like

that, but some artists have depicted her wearing the necklace of

skulls as a garland in her neck. One understanding of that necklace

is that is the skull of kam, krodh, madh, lobh: greed, jealousy,

anger, pride, all of those. But she cuts those from our lives and

carries them on herself. That's one meaning of her garland that she

wears around her neck. Mother is very compassionate. If the call is

made from the purity of heart, nothing can stop

us from receiving her grace. Particularly during kaliyug: Kalo

Kali, Kali is the presiding deity

who comes to our side instantaneously. She proclaims, "Have no fear!"

f I don't do anything wrong to anyone, why should I be afraid of them?

Maha Kali has one hand always up in abhaya mudra, granting her

children fearlessness. There is no fear. There is no

guilt. If you say, "Mother, I do not know anything. All I know is I

just love you and need your help."

Where is the guilt coming from? If you totally surrender, there is no

guilt. There is utmost freedom in her lap.

 

Many times as I have mentioned it to you: the best way to

approach Navaratri is to become that innocent child, and reach towards

the Mother with total love and trust in your heart. Any

prayers, jap, that are done during Navaratri never go to waste. During

this Navaratri, just open your heart to

her.

Don't try to understand who Maha Kali is, how does she look,

just call her. "Oh Mother, I do not know anything. Give me a glimpse

of thy Divine self. Give me a taste of your proximity." And it

can happen any moment. She could appear to you. You could perceive her

presence the way breeze touches you, the way the warmth of the

sunshine touches you or even the way a bird takes off

in your sight. Anything in the nature can convey her presence to us,

depending on our intensity and mental

attitude. Mother presents herself in many ways. To Ramakrishna

she came in the form of that image

of Kali that you see because of his devotion on that particular

image, Mother appeared that way. The way Baba has taught us to

meditate on Maha Kali is very sweet, she does not hold any

weapons in her hand. All she does is grants us fearlessness and

boons. When you are afraid, call upon the

Mother. Invite her into your heart lotus. Ask her to sit on

that lotus in your heart, clad in red.

Red color

fills the enemies with fear. Whatever is your enemy is, is

scared of that Mother in red in your

heart.

Meditating on that color dispels the fear. Fear of any kind.

 

We are worshipping Maha Kali in the form of Maha Chandi too. No

matter how Durga tried to

killhe stubborn asura, every single drop of his blood that fell on the

ground, created one like him.

Then

Durga evoked another form of herself, Chandi. Chandi, who holds

a bowl. She gathered every

single

drop of blood that came from his body, and drank it. That's how

sometimes we have to do it.

We hear

something that we know is going to cause another undesired

situation, we have to just drink it,

not let is

spread or spill over. That's what Chandi teaches us. We hear

negativity, we hear something that

may

not be very good that somebody did, just gather every single

drop of it and do not let it spread or

spill

out. This is the acknowledgement of the Shakti that resides

within us in her various forms.

When we truly feel trapped into fears and are at the end of our wits,

we call out to the

Mother, as the prayer "Aranye Sharanye gatis tvam, gatis tvam,

twameka bhavani.Oh Maa! I

am

trapped in this wilderness, I do not know anything. I do not

know how to do puja, I don't know

the

pranayam, this, that, all I know is I come under your

protection. You are the only perfect

Mother that I

know of, that I can turn to." This prayer is the height of

devotion.

 

If you read from an analytical mind, with a mind laced with

ego, it may sound like a very strange

prayer. That's why we say, "I don't know anything." If I said,

"I know how to pray to you", ego

is

there. If the devotee says, "I know the pranayama, and I know

the niayas, and I know the

slokas, and

the mantras, I am calling you, so why don't you come?No,"

say, "I do not know anything. All I

know

is I need your help."

 

Navaratri is the celebration of the Divine in the form of the

Mother, the perfect Mother who is

not

outside from us. This is the beauty of such a remembrance:

Mother is not somebody else.

Worship of

Shakti embodies all those qualities of the perfect Mother that

reside within us. The more we

give a

chance to those qualities, the closer we are to the Mother.

Whatever we expect from a perfect

Mother, let it flow from you, then you'll find that it was

right in your hand. Put it out, and see! It

comes

back to you manifold. Whatever we want from the other, all we

have to do is put it out a little

bit. This

is what Navaratri teaches us; this is what Navaratri reminds

us. It's nothing from outside. It's

not

outside at all. It's all within. Whatever you feel you are

lacking, just put it out. Nobody is

completely

void of anything; it's all within. We are the ocean. Whatever

you expect from the other, pay

attention

to yourself. Make an effort to let it flow through you a little

bit. When you are with others, you

can be

the perfect Mother.

 

How Navaratri is observed, how it could be observed, is very

simple, very straightforward.

Mind will

come up with all sorts of reasons, justifications why you are

doing Navaratri, but if you are able,

take

this time simply to sit in the company of the Guru, the Divine

Mother, in a clean house.

Wherever you

are, here or in the world, keep the focus straight. Minimize

your engagements. You can

postpone

things until after Navaratri. Even if I die today, it will go

on. Nothing is that important. Navaratri

is to

remind us of what is really important in our lives. When we are

not mindful, every trifling little

thing

becomes so important, and in the end, what was the purpose ?

What did I accomplish ?

Eat less, speak less, hear less. This is the first preparation for

Navaratri. Minimize the intake through

your sensory organs. You have less things to process, so the

inside can remain peaceful,

spacious, less

irritation. When the space is there, it will be filled. The

less we bring in, the less we have to deal

with,

and the more space we'll have for those virtues to expand.

Minimizing our contact with the

outside

things. Keep cleaning that space inside. Keep cleaning that

space inside.

 

Tonight when you are sitting, invite the divine Mother to sit

in the lotus of your heart. Be as

simple as

that baby. Just say, "I do not know anything, I'd just like to

taste the nectar of your presence. I

bow to

that Mother in your heart and take leave from you.

[Guest guest]

Yaa Devi Sarva Bhutesu

Matrurupena Samsthitha

Namastasya Namastasya

Namastasya Namo Nama

 

I bow to that Devi who is

present as the Mother in all

beings. - Chandi path

 

 

--- devi_bhagat <devi_bhagat wrote:

> found this on www.aghor.org

> Navaratri is the time to engage ourselves in the

> upasana of Shakti.

> Upasana literally means to obtain a seat next to, to

> get close to,

> enrich oneself with,worship etc. Shakti is the all

> pervading energy

> that is the source of the existence of the world.

> All the living

> creatures become lifeless for lack of Shakti. It

> manifests itself in numerous ways. Seers of

> the ancient time

> have tried to describe Shakti in various ways.

> Shakti is the power,

> strength or capability of "God".

>

> Although we know that the great unknown is

> beyond any name and form, but when its time

> to express our

> devotion, we have to have a name a form, and an

> image. The only image

> that is the embodiment of unconditional love,

> forgiveness,

> kindness, acceptance that we know is the

> image of the mother,

> who gives birth to us, and nurtures us with her

> milk. This observance

> is really an observance of that simplicity. It's an

> observance of

> trust. It's an observance of devotion. Celebration

> of that love, that

> trust, that devotion, that resides within you. In

> the chant that we

> just sang, "Ya devi sarva bhutesuÉ" The Divine

> Mother resides within

> each individual in so many different forms. As Baba

> used to say, "You

> are never alone. You are always in the lap of the

> Mother. If it's not

> one aspect, it's another aspect of her." Never feel

> alone. As

> you already know, during Navaratri, the first three

> days, we evoke

> Maha Kali. The next three days, Maha Laksmi, the

> last three days, Maha

> Saraswati. Maha Kali is very sweet and kind. As

> sweet as the darkness

> of the night in whose presence a weary person falls

> asleep. No matter

> how tired we are of this world, the presence of Maha

> Kali in our

> life enables us to experience that rest. Forgetting

> it all, we fall

> asleep, to replenish ourselves.

>

> It's the celebration of that simplicity.

> Utmost simplicity, and

> utmost trust. Just the way a baby trusts the Mother

> fully. There is

> no doubt or hesitation, when the baby leaps for the

> Mother's lap, baby

> doesn't think twice, doesn't doubtÉ just goes

> for it. The same

> thing with Navaratri, we just go for it.

> We Shut the mind, and open our heart. There

> is no trying to

> understand the Mother. She is beyond the realm of

> the mind. Mind

> can't analyze Her. If any understanding about her

> comes, it only comes

> with her grace. Without her grace, you can not even

> comprehend even

> an iota of Her. In those personal, private moments,

> when I'm sitting,

> contemplating, calling upon the Mother there is a

> sense of

> identity, yet there is also a sense of oneness, like

> the water in the

> pitcher, which is placed in the middle of the

> ocean. Whatever expression, whatever is

> outside, is also the

> presence of the Mother. Whatever is

> inside, is also her presence, it's all one.

> It's that sense of

> I-ness that keeps me separate from her. It is the

> ego.

>

> You may have seen pictures of Ma Kali,

> although she is not like

> that, but some artists have depicted her wearing the

> necklace of

> skulls as a garland in her neck. One understanding

> of that necklace

> is that is the skull of kam, krodh, madh, lobh:

> greed, jealousy,

> anger, pride, all of those. But she cuts those from

> our lives and

> carries them on herself. That's one meaning of her

> garland that she

> wears around her neck. Mother is very compassionate.

> If the call is

> made from the purity of heart, nothing can stop

> us from receiving her grace. Particularly

> during kaliyug: Kalo

> Kali, Kali is the presiding deity

> who comes to our side instantaneously. She

> proclaims, "Have no fear!"

> f I don't do anything wrong to anyone, why should I

> be afraid of them?

> Maha Kali has one hand always up in abhaya mudra,

> granting her

> children fearlessness. There is no fear. There is no

>

> guilt. If you say, "Mother, I do not know anything.

> All I know is I

> just love you and need your help."

> Where is the guilt coming from? If you totally

> surrender, there is no

> guilt. There is utmost freedom in her lap.

>

> Many times as I have mentioned it to you: the

> best way to

> approach Navaratri is to become that innocent child,

> and reach towards

> the Mother with total love and trust in your heart.

> Any

> prayers, jap, that are done during Navaratri never

> go to waste. During

> this Navaratri, just open your heart to

> her.

> Don't try to understand who Maha Kali is, how

> does she look,

> just call her. "Oh Mother, I do not know anything.

> Give me a glimpse

> of thy Divine self. Give me a taste of your

> proximity." And it

> can happen any moment. She could appear to you. You

> could perceive her

> presence the way breeze touches you, the way the

> warmth of the

> sunshine touches you or even the way a bird takes

> off

> in your sight. Anything in the nature can convey

> her presence to us,

> depending on our intensity and mental

> attitude. Mother presents herself in many

> ways. To Ramakrishna

> she came in the form of that image

> of Kali that you see because of his devotion

> on that particular

> image, Mother appeared that way. The way Baba has

> taught us to

> meditate on Maha Kali is very sweet, she does not

> hold any

> weapons in her hand. All she does is grants us

> fearlessness and

> boons. When you are afraid, call upon the

> Mother. Invite her into your heart lotus. Ask

> her to sit on

> that lotus in your heart, clad in red.

> Red color

> fills the enemies with fear. Whatever is your

> enemy is, is

> scared of that Mother in red in your

> heart.

> Meditating on that color dispels the fear.

> Fear of any kind.

>

> We are worshipping Maha Kali in the form of

> Maha Chandi too. No

> matter how Durga tried to

> killhe stubborn asura, every single drop of his

> blood that fell on the

> ground, created one like him.

> Then

> Durga evoked another form of herself, Chandi.

> Chandi, who holds

> a bowl. She gathered every

> single

> drop of blood that came from his body, and

> drank it. That's how

> sometimes we have to do it.

> We hear

> something that we know is going to cause

> another undesired

> situation, we have to just drink it,

> not let is

> spread or spill over. That's what Chandi

> teaches us. We hear

> negativity, we hear something that

> may

> not be very good that somebody did, just

> gather every single

> drop of it and do not let it spread or

> spill

> out. This is the acknowledgement of the

> Shakti that resides

> within us in her various forms.

> When we truly feel trapped into fears and are at

> the end of our wits,

> we call out to the

>

=== message truncated ===

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

, Yoga man <childofdevi> wrote:

> Yaa Devi Sarva Bhutesu

> Matrurupena Samsthitha

> Namastasya Namastasya

> Namastasya Namo Nama

>

> I bow to that Devi who is

> present as the Mother in all

> beings. - Chandi path

>

 

 

 

i really like this poem, i heard it for the first time during

navaratri when i was waiting for a bus in uttarakashi few yrs

back the rendition that i heard was the person was singing as if he

was seperated from his mother and weeping for her by singing this...

i heard it for the first time, it created a pleasent and everlasting

impression/feeling

[Guest guest]

>

> i really like this poem, i heard it for the first time during

> navaratri when i was waiting for a bus in uttarakashi few yrs

> back the rendition that i heard was the person was singing as if he

> was seperated from his mother and weeping for her by singing this...

> i heard it for the first time, it created a pleasent and everlasting

> impression/feeling

 

yes it is beautiful. it is a part of durga saptashati, 5th adhyaaya.

i have the whole path in a set of casettes in sanskriit and hindi by

pandit somnath sharma....

 

and of course you will find it in durga saptashati geeta press

jai guudev

anu