Navarathri Specials : Chapter One

[Guest guest]

Durga :

 

BHS 047 : "The one difficult of access…. The nature of DurgA is free

one from peril … seated above all the powers "

 

LS 190 : The word Durga is explained in the Devi Purana :"Indra and

other Devas were delivered from mental and physical fear, in

difficulty and in battle, hence [Devi] is called DurgA [ ie the

deliverer]

 

"Devi is celebrated by the name Durga because She slew the great

demon Durgama. Durgama means who travels on evil paths. What other

demon than the mind wanders in search of evil paths? Durga is the

power of the mantra that destroys that demon" The Thousand Names of

the Divine Mother. Mata Amritanandamayi Math publication.

 

A member once asked : "I had a hard time with the Devi Mahatmyam,

also, because of the constant bloody battling. Even if it's meant as

metaphor, why so violent?.

 

How true don't you agree. DM is indeed a very bloody story. So much

killing and blood. For those with a faint heart and who don't like

to see violent/war movie, DM will gives you nightmare, nevertheless

Devi Mahatmaya is indeed a great spiritual text and Mantra Sastra.

It's the story abt the march of the human soul to its

destination/goal. The goal here is DURGA herself. As in T.V Narayana

Menon commentary "Durga is one who turns the mind away from its

thirst for evil and establishes it in the pursuit of good".

 

The Sadhana of Durga both the goddess and the demons are perceived

as being within oneself. 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.

 

Swami SWAMI KRISHNANANDA in his discourse entitled : THE ESOTERIC

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEVI-MAHATMYA remarked : "so that in this march

of the soul to its freedom, it carries with it everything that is

connected with it. The difference between the spiritual march and

your march along the road or a highway is this, that while in your

march on a roadway, you alone walk and nobody need accompany you,

nothing need be connected with you, and you can have a free walk

independently; in the spiritual march, it is not such an isolated

march, but you carry with you everything that is connected with you.

Now, what are the things connected with you that you carry?"

 

In chapter one of we were introduce to two character : A King named

Suratha and a vaisyA [mechant] named Samadhi. Lets do an analysis on

these 2 characters [ using Devi Mahatmyam by Swami Siddhinathananda

commentary as a reference] We shall begin with : Suratha.

 

Who is he? A king who was forced to flee from his own kingdom and

took shelter in the hermitage of Medhas.

 

Questions :

Why was he forced to flee from his own kingdom? Is he a good king?

Did he not provide protection to his subjects?

He is indeed a good and great king. For he ruled the whole world. So

he did have a powerful and well organized army. He protected his

subjects duly like his own children. This tells us something about

King Suratha. He did not just protect his subjects like any other

ordinary subject, but much more. If a father have many children, he

makes no differentiate between them. He awards or treated them all

equally. [ Swami Siddhinathananda]

 

Thus he is indeed a just and compassionate ruler.

 

Then why does he need to flee from his own kingdom?

He have an enemy : the kings who were the destroyers of the of the

Kolas [kolas may refer to the aboriginal race of kolas]. He, the

wielder of powerful weapons, fought a battle with the destroyers of

Kolas, but was defeated by them though they were a small force. Then

he returned to his own city, and ruled over his won country. Then

that illustrious king was attacked by those powerful enemies. Even

in his own city, the king, (now) bereft of strength, was robbed of

his treasury and army by his own powerful, vicious and evil-disposed

ministers. Thereafter, deprived of this sovereignty, the king left

alone on horse-back for a dense forest, under the pretext of

hunting. [swami Siddhinathananda]

 

Why these need to have an enemy in the first place?

There were no cause for any quarrel before and why suddenly this

becomes and issue that warrant a war? Threat? Intimidation? Quarrels

over trivial matters such as women, gambling, drinking, harsh words,

cruel punishment etc? [swami Siddhinathananda]

 

*** If he is indeed able to treat his own subject with compassion

why cant this issue too be settles likewise? Well if you look at the

historical records, wars between kings happen all the time. One can

be a good king to their own subjects but cruel to another. Its

explains to us about this whole issue of ethnic cleansing, this mass

killing of innocent people. Because these are insignificant people?

Their life is worthless? *** [ my own words ]

 

If he is indeed the wielder of powerful weapons, how come he was

defeated. Was his enemy strong too?

"NyUnairapi sat air yuddhe kola vidhvamsibhir jitah". Nyun here can

mean ignorant, despicable, destitute and low. And King Suratha was

so confident that he will win over these people. [swami

Siddhinathananda]

 

The defeated Suratha returned to his capital. For a King, the proper

course in a battle is to court death if need be, and not turn about

and run. Why then did Suratha beat a retreat like that? In Dharma

Sastra : These two – the sauntering yogi and the one who courts

death fighting – definitely attain to the glorious world,

transcending the solar sphere. The Nyaya Sastra says : Death is

better than cowardly retreat in a battle, but retreat is better than

being caught alive. The king felt he would be captured alive if he

did not run away. In order to avoid falling into the hands of the

enemies and suffering the indignities they were sure to inflict on

him, Suratha beat a retreat. Then he remained the master of his won

country. What happen then? The Mandalikas became the masters and

rulers of Suratha's native state. They, the enemies now becomes

powerful instead. [swami Siddhinathananda]

 

The defeated king returned to his palace. Three also he was not left

in peace, the victorious wildmen invaded and captured his country.

The king was betrayed by his own ministers; they looted his treasure

and made the army turn traitors. Deprived of the royal insignia by

the ministers, the king went away in the woods/ thick forest under

the pretext of hunting. [swami Siddhinathananda]

 

If King Suratha is within me, what does he represent? Can the

predictment of Suratha can be relate to life as someone who have

this attitude which does not care what happens around oneself? What

happen to the neighbours can happen to you tomorrow? So one have to

be viligant and caring, and not be self involved?

 

Or Suratha can be this whole attitude of : you able to find peace

within but you create a lot of enemy and animosity with those around

you. No man is an island. You need to not just embrace within you

but those without/external, because what happen around you will

affect you indirectly/indirectly. The world around us is not just an

illusion. They are real.

 

Or Suratha is our pride. When one feel awed with oneself? I am

great? I am good you see and I am the superior one?

 

[ My note } there def are more to this. Anybody would like to add in

please do?

[Guest guest]

In chapter one of we were introduce to two character : A King named

> Suratha and a vaisyA [mechant] named Samadhi. Lets do an analysis on

> these 2 characters [ using Devi Mahatmyam by Swami Siddhinathananda

> commentary as a reference] We shall begin with : Suratha.

>

> Who is he? A king who was forced to flee from his own kingdom and

> took shelter in the hermitage of Medhas.

 

 

 

Was he forced to flee? or he left voluntarily? carrying along with him

this attachment he have for his lost kingdom.

 

How many times does we do this? We like to believe or to convince

ourselves that we care not of certain things, but deep within us, we

continuously crave for it.