Fwd: Devi Upaasanaa and poverty

[Guest guest]

, "Srinath Ram" <srinath_atreya>

wrote:

|| Jai Sadguru Dutta ||

 

 

"shrthi smrthi purANAnAm Alayam karuNalayam |

namAmi BhagavathpAdham shankaram lOka shankaram"

 

 

Shreeman Mutthaiahji,

 

Everyday, we come across such people who try to discourage spiritual

aspirants and put all possible obstacles in our path. But true

devotion increases with criticism and condemnation. As the great

Kannada Veerashaiva saint BasavaNNa has said, a true devotee of Shiva

should have his criticisers around him bcoz they, in reality, are

helping the devotee to be always alert about his character and remain

humble.

 

"The cause of suffering among intellectuals today

is not because they don't really know; they know a little, but what

they know is not their own knowledge,and that is why they suffer. A

little, or partial knowledge, is always dangerous

like the partial truth. Partial truth is not truth at all,

so is the case with partial knowledge. The wise directly perceive

knowledge."

--Swami Rama

 

 

The interpretation of the term "poverty" itself is highly debatable.

In our great BhAratheeya sanskrthi, materialism has no place. LACK OF

DEVOTION (Bhakthi) AND CONTENTMENT IN LIFE IS THE REAL POVERTY. Our

Seers who deeply analysed the cause of sorrow and suffering in human

life have taught us that the way to real happiness is to treat gold

(luxury/comforts) and women (bodily pleasures) equal to sand. Nothing

can be more foolish in attaching undue importance to things that are

perishable. A person may earn crores of rupees during his life time

but he will carry not even a single paise with him when he dies. Will

he ?. Our own body, which we feel proud of, gets reduced to a handful

of ash. None of those who praise our wealth, strength and valour

would accompany us in the end; not even one's own wife, children,

friends etc. It is only our "pApa" (sins) and "puNya" (noble deeds)

that obidiently follow us during our never- ending journey.

 

"...sanprApthE sannihithE kAle

nahi nahi rakShathi dukrnkaraNe...

Bhaja gOvindham Bhaja gOvindham

gOvindham Bhaja mooDa mathE"

 

-- MOha mudhgaram

 

[O fool !!! when death stares at you, no worldly knowldege can save

you (except Lord's grace). Hence pray to Govinda - the saviour of all]

 

 

Well, the main question here is the materialistic poverty of Devi

Upasaks. It is important to bear in mind that the philosophy and

attitude towards life differs from person to person. While a majority

of people are deeply attached to this volatile life and are ever busy

in their materialistic pursuits, a very few wise people try to free

themselves from the bondages of this world. Every soul has taken

birth on this earth with the ultimate purpose of attaining liberation

from the cycle of births and deaths; but the "mAya" of the Divine

Mother is so strong that everyone forgets the real purpose of their

birth. Hence it is only by the Divine Grace of the Mother who

is "avyAja karuNA moorthih" [epitome of infinite grace], one realizes

his true nature and purpose of taking birth. To obtain Her grace, one

has to seek a Guru and do upAsana. Only She, who is "sansAra panka

nirmagna samudDharaNa pandithA" can save us from drowning in the

littered pond called "sansAra".

 

If an upAsak / sAdhak is poor and is facing lot of worldly problems,

then it is for sure that he has obtained Her divine grace, for:

 

" yasyAnugrahamicChAmi thasya sarvam harAmyaham "

 

--- Shreemad BhAgavatham

 

[i snatch away all that is his's/her's on whom I shower my grace]

 

 

There is an ocean lot of difference between the poverty of a devotee

of the Mother and others. While the worldly people (sAnsArika

prANi!!!) suffer bcoz of the sins committed by them in the

past/present life, a devotee may face poverty bcoz the Mother wants

to free her beloved son/daughter from the shackles of life and bless

him/her with salvation. The Mother wants to test Her devotees whether

their devotion is unshakable like a mountain or shallow like an

earthen pot that breaks instantly when dropped down. A true Bhaktha

(devotee) of the Mother will be oblivious of everything around him.

He is not even aware of the so called poverty or other problems of

life, for, he has rested his mind-soul-body at the holy lotus feet of

Jagadhambaa that is the source of the divine ambrosia:

 

"charaNam pavithram vithatham purANam | yEna poothastharathi

dhuShkrthAni | thEna pavithrENa shudDhEna pUthA | athi

pApnAnamarAthim tharEma ||"

 

--- shathru parAyaja manthram, yajna nArAyaNa

upanishad, yajurvEdham.

 

[The (Mother's) feet is the holiest, omnipresent, primordial and

sanctifying that crosses over evil deeds and their effects. May we,

seeking asylum at This feet (of the Mother), overcome our enemies,

the sins]

 

It is not that the Mother is not capable of knowing the worthiness of

Her devotee without testing; Her wish is only to show to the world

how great his son/daughter is. Gold glitters only when subjected to

heat. An uncouth stone boulder gets transformed into a beautiful

idol/statue only if it bears the blows of chisel & hammer and finally

gets worshipped. A heap of clay takes a meaningful shape only if it

puts up with the stampede of the potter. Many rich and wealthy men

lived in the past. No one even remembers any of them now. But we not

only remember those "poor" saints and devotees of Mother but also

rever and worship them.

 

The funniest thing is that none of us brought with us anything into

this world when we came; and we will not take along with us anything

when we leave this world. All of us are only utilising the assests of

the Supreme Lord - the Lord of Lords and still we feel proud of "our"

riches.

 

During his last days, Shree RAmakrShNa paramahansa suffered from

throat cancer. He could not even speak or eat/drink anything. Many of

his so called desciples deserted him thinking that if the Paramahansa

could talk to the Mother kAli, then why shall not he ask Her to cure

his disease. Later, when other desciples aksed the same question to

him, with great difficulty he told them that the disease is only to

the body not to his soul. He further said that his body rightfully

belongs to the Mother who created it and that She can use it

according to Her wish. Inspite of the great pain, he used to be

engrossed in "samADhi" and the divine smile on his face never faded.

Can we notice any sign of the slightest of happiness on the faces of

people who are always busy counting notes ? The product of

materialism is desire, while the product of spirituality is love. If

money,luxury,wealth, bank balance and comforts could give man the

true happiness he longs for, then why is that more and more

Westerners who have no dearth of comforts etc throng to the Ashrams

in BhArath?.

 

When one goes to the Emperor, he should not ask for small, petty

amount of money; rather, one should ask the empire itself, for, the

Emperor is capable of giving it. Similarly, the devotees of "ambaa"

don't want to nag Her for silly things; Their aim is "mOkSha

sAmrAjyam" - the divine abode. If She wishes, then She can make Her

poor devotee a millionaire within no time, for, She is capable of

creating and destroying many galaxies just within the wink of Her eye

lids:

 

"unmESha nimiShothpanna vipanna BhuvanAvalih"

 

 

Those who remain undethered by their sufferings and worldly problems

and continue their upAsana, will sooner or later gain Mother's full

grace and live like a King on earth. Such sadhaks need not bow their

head before anybody for anything. The Mother fulfills all their

wishes. The word "impossible" has no meaning with them. Many such

great men and women are living in this sacred land, even to this day.

One needs to remove the cloth of egoism and ignorance that is

blocking his/her vision, to identify such sadhaks. My infinite

salutations to such great sadhaks.

 

" yathrAsthi BhOgo nacha thathra mOkShah |

yathrAsthi mOkShO nacha thathra BhOgah ||

Shree sundharee sEvna thathparANAm |

BhOgashca mOkShashca karasTha Eva || "

 

--- BhAskara maKhin

 

[ Where there is worldly pleasure, there is no salvation. Where there

is salvation, there is no worldly pleasure. (one cannot enjoy worldly

pleasure and salvation at the same time). But those who worship the

Divine Mother, readily enjoys both wordly pleasure and salvation ]

 

 

 

" O Mother ! take away your 'wealth', take away your 'poverty'. Bless

me with only pure devotion in your Lotus Feet ||

 

O Mother ! take away your 'jnAna', take away your 'ajnAna'. Bless me

with only pure devotion in your Lotus Feet ||

 

O Mother ! take away your 'Dharma', take away your 'aDharma'. Bless

me with only pure devotion in your Lotus Feet ||

 

O Mother ! take away your 'shuBha', take away your 'ashuBha'. Bless

me with only pure devotion in your Lotus Feet ||

 

O Mother ! take away your 'pApa', take away your 'puNya'. Bless me

with only pure devotion in your Lotus Feet ||

 

O Mother ! take away your 'mAna', take away your 'apamAna'. Bless me

with only pure devotion in your Lotus Feet || "

 

--- Shree RAmakrShNa Paramahansa.

 

 

 

Muthiah <mmaindan>

Thu Jan 29, 2004 1:54 pm

Devi Upaasana-two questions

 

 

1)Recently a popular orator raised this question in Dharapuram,in

atemple

function.It is said that worshipping Devi will bless the sadhaka with

prosperity

and worldly well being but why did Bharathiar suffered economically

throughout

his life ,was his question.He was attempting to de moralise those who

are in

Devi upasana.How do we encounter such arguments?May i request learned

members of

our group to throw some light on this?

--- End forwarded message ---