Invoking the Divine Within

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The female sadhak who embraces Mother Nature from within is the true

Yogini. The Yogini abounds in the sweet bliss of Nature's mysticism.

The Yogini yields to the gentle strains of the inner guru.

 

The Mother Goddess opened up the windows of my heart to her beatitude

and to her grace. She gently drew me into a mystical world of amazing

marvels, where I met beautiful people with deep resonances in the

inconceivable surroundings of her sacred creation. There arose a

profound awareness along with a worldly intelligence at viewing

life's larger picture, seeking divinity within the throes of

Mother Nature.

 

One soon realized that the reality of Shiva, the transcendent Being,

is seeded deep within us. The eternal presence of Shiva's light rests

in each soul and is not something that one need reach out for as if

it were apart from ourselves. Shiva's light is not circumscribed or

restricted by any effort or design. An aggressive or desperate

approach to the spiritual life never works, for Shiva and Shakti must

be experienced through Bhakti, through deep love and fervent

invoking. Clarity of thought, astute awareness and shraddha " deep

faith and confidence " must be invoked in tandem with the universal

energies that pervade even our ordinary lives.

 

A Devi or " Goddess " energy guided me in seeking out the purity and

mystique of one's essence, allowing the bliss of Her eternal presence

to illumine my prevailing awareness. Life never changed, but my

approach to its myriad experiences took on a new mantle. Through the

Devi's grace one embellished the fabric of this sacred mantle with

rich hues of varied designs and motifs of larger spiritual

experiences. Mother Nature continued for me as the support of a

veritable Guru, unraveling her wonder and beauty wherever I happened

to be. Mother Nature has no religion, just as she recognizes no

national boundaries. Her scriptures are open-ended and move with all

of life. They cannot be limited to the pages of a book. Our inner

consciousness spontaneously relates to the abundance and beauty of

Nature's world through our ability to sense the Divine spirit of a

tree, the mountain rock, the flowing rivers, or whatever is paraded

before our senses in the natural world around us.

 

The female sadhak who embraces Mother Nature from within is the true

Yogini. The Yogini abounds in the sweet bliss of Nature's mysticism.

The Yogini yields to the gentle strains of the inner guru. The one

who inspires us from within is the real guru, removing the veils of

darkness which cloud our thoughts and actions, not simply the one who

teaches or preaches. The Yogini sustains the flow of inner joy that

is the true form of the Guru Shakti. The Yogi can only provide the

space and the presence for Shakti, but the Yogini herself carries the

powerful currents of its celestial energies.

 

However, before we can embrace the sadhana of the Mother, we must

create the vessel to allow her grace to be held. For this aim, we

need to deal with our own mental and emotional turbulence first. All

the emphasis on psychology dominating our thought today, even in the

spiritual realm, has driven people into analyzing their suffering and

blaming others for it, rather than learning how to catalyze it into

something higher. Through sadhana one learns not to dwell on

emotional hurts and traumas; instead we must transform our personal

psychology into a deeper love and joyousness, embracing it with

gratitude and willing to move forward and shift its energy to higher

planes of nirvana.

 

Life is not meant to be a saga of sinful acts, for which we are

continuously punished and left guilt-ridden. Life is meant to be an

incessant festival of joyousness and vivacity that is the play of

Shiva and Shakti. Every moment of our lives can unfold a deeper

experience of the Divine presence, whether it is our kitchens, our

offices or in our meditation rooms, once we awaken the inner flow of

grace that is our real seeking behind all that we attempt.

 

The mystic spirituality of Rishis, the great seers of ancient India,

is not a faith veiled in sin, condemnation, judgment or damnation. It

is the truth which leads us to the transcendental reality of life as

a celebration, where every experience holds universal blessings

through the grace and abundance of unbounded divinity. It rests in

the beneficence and freedom of Nature which is an expression of a

higher consciousness and joy.

 

My sadhana transpired amidst the blissful throes of Nature's

abundance, in the sacred shadows of the great Himalayas, opening up

vast vistas within, unveiling the secrets of the Supreme Spirit. My

traverses into sacred precincts of ancient temples like Kedarnath or

Jhula Devi enkindled the embers of my inner fires, drawing me into

the mystical realms of the Devatas, the universal sacred powers. What

the western mind calls Hindu Gods and Goddesses, we refer to with

reverence as Devatas, are Divine principles, sacred aspects of

Brahman, the impersonal Godhead reaching beyond the manifest

universe. Devi or Deva manifest as powers of Bhakti Yoga or Divine

love and Jnana Yoga or Divine wisdom. They symbolize Ishvara, the

Cosmic Lord and Creator which is why their forms and powers as

extraordinary, supernatural and paradoxical.

 

By SHAMBHAVI CHOPRA

 

http://www.tathaastumag.com:80/index.php?hid=1730