The Veiling Brilliance: The Sapta Matrikas

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The sage Medhas said:

 

[T]he Seven Little Mothers [...] are mostly fierce, [but]

they are also fiercely protective. [...] nderstand them

not only as the gods' powers, but as the diverse

expressions of the Divine Mother, the one Shakti to

whom, after all, the gods owe their powers. [....] The

Seven Little Mothers are not only the diverse

expressions of the one Shakti; more importantly, they

are the diverse powers of [one's] own awareness.

[....] In Brahmani, who is purity itself, the sattva guna

prevails. Her water pot is the emblem of the ascetic, and

the drops of holy water carry the power of self-restraint,

the strength to forego that which you know to be wrong

or contrary to your higher values. [....] The swan has the

ability to separate milk from water with its beak, in other

words, to discern what is true and abiding from what is

impermanent. So, like Kali's curving sword, the swan is

a symbol of discernment. One who becomes discerning

turns away from the lesser, fleeting pleasures and

delights instead in contemplating the Divine. That

contemplation is symbolized by the prayer beads that

Brahmani holds.

Maheshvari is the shakti of Shiva when he appears as

the great Maheshvara, the lord of ascetics and the

destroyer of ignorance. Her mount is a white bull, who

symbolizes the dharma. Her trident holds the powers of

creation, preservation, and destruction. The lovely

crescent moon that glows softly on her brow reminds us

of passing time, which we measure by the lunar waxing

and waning. The serpents entwined around her arms as

adornments signify fertility, regeneration, the eternal

cycle of time, and finally immortality. [....] The ultimate

goal of existence is to reunite with the divine oneness

that is the source of everything. That state of blissful

union is called yoga. Maheshvara - Shiva - is the lord of

yoga, and Maheshvari is the power by which this state

of enlightenment is achieved. [....] Yoga is the cessation

of the thought waves in the mind. To arrive at that state

is to take a journey within. [...] This journey becomes

an entire way of life, and because it leads to the

innermost Self, it necessarily begins somewhere else -

on the outside. So, the beginning steps are the ethical

precepts, which have to do with living in relation to the

exterior world. This is dharma; this is what Nandi stands

for. His four legs are truth, purity, compassion, and

generosity. When you follow these principles, you do

not deceive anyone, you do not disrespect your own

self-worth, you do not cause injury to others, and you do

not take anything that does not belong to you or any

more than you need.

Once you have cast off the outer faults, you next

cultivate positive inner qualities - right attitudes,

contentment, self-discipline, attention to sacred matters,

and devotion to your chosen form of the Divine. These

are the two preliminary steps on the path [....]

Maheshvari is the shakti that will carry you along [this

path of yoga].

Shiva's son Skanda, or Kumara, is a beautiful youth and

also the god of war. Kaumari, his shakti, is the power to

challenge ignorance. She offers an opportunity for

spiritual growth. Her peacock mount represents the

glory of the manifest universe, but you must remember

that such glory has the power to enthrall. So with

Kaumari there is the celebration of divine beauty but

also the danger of delusion. She is the goddess of war.

[...] [in Kaumari there is conflict, but this is] the inner

conflict that subdues the lower urges and draws us

toward the nobler aspects of existence.

Vaishnavi [...] is the power inherent in Vishnu's

supreme form. Like him she rides on the fabulous bird,

Garuda, and holds the symbols of universal power. Her

conch destroys ignorance, because its auspicious sound

awakens us to divine awareness. Her discus is the

inexorably turning wheel of time, which in the end

devours all created things. Her mace destroys

unrighteousness, and her sword is the power of right

knowledge that severs the apparent from the real. In

other words, [one's] own consciousness holds the

potential for spiritual awakening, for transcending the

limitations of name and form, for being in harmony with

the all-pervading divinity, and for recognizing its

constant presence.

Vishnu has ten avataras, or earthly incarnations, who

follow a pattern of evolution from lower to higher life

forms. Varahi is the shakti of the third incarnation, the

boarlike Varaha. [....] [Varahi] stops [the asuras] in their

tracks with blows from her snout and pierces them with

her tusks. She is the power of restraint, which reveals

itself as the ability to stop unwanted thoughts and

impulses.

The ferocious Narasimhi, half woman and half lioness,

is the shakti of Vishnu's man-lion form, Narasimha.

Once there was a righteous youth, Prahlada, whose

devotion to Vishnu angered his demonic father, the God-

hating Hiranyakashipu. The father had the boy tortured,

and when Prahlada prayed for deliverance, Vishnu

appeared in the form of Narasimha and disemboweled

the demon king. Narasimhi, his shakti, is that fierce

power that arises to defend in the face of great evil. [....]

Consider also the image of the heavenly constellations

being scattered by the toss of her mane. [....] It means

that human consciousness is not limited to the confines

of the body and immediate surroundings but can soar

through the power of imagination to the realm of the

stars [....]

Aindri is the power of Indra, king of the gods. Like

him, she rides with regal bearing upon an elephant. She

is the inherent nobility within everyone. And like Indra,

she has a thousand eyes, for hers is the power of

omniscience. Her weapon, the thunderbolt, signifies

specifically the power of illumination.

_The Veiling Brilliance_, by Devadatta Kali

Pages 142 - 146