God as Mother - The Path To Final Liberation

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shriadishakti , " jagbir singh "

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> CONTENTS

>

> Publishers' Note

> Prayer to Mother

> The Indian Concept of the Divine Mother

> The Worship of the Divine Mother

> The Power Of The Transcendent Reality

> The Destroyer Of Destructive Forces

> Destruction: The Springboard To Construction

> Lakshmi: The Supreme Sustainer

> The Path Of Prosperity

> Goddess Of Auspiciousness At Home And At Heart

> Creation: The Music Of Mother's Veena

> The Goddess Of Success

> The Path To Final Liberation

> The Great Goal And Its Attainment

>

>

>

 

NINTH NIGHT

The Path To Final Liberation

 

g:it:a g:ög:a c: g:ay:*:i g::ðev:ndðet: Æed esT:t:ð .

c:t:Øg:ükars:öy:ØVt:ð p:Øn:j:ünm: n:

ev:½t:ð ..

gãtà gaügà ca gàyatrã govindeti hçdi sthite |

caturgakàrasaüyukte punarjanma na vidyate ||

 

SALUTATIONS to Her through Whose Grace alone the Knowledge of the

Ultimate Reality dawns upon the consciousness of earnest seekers.

Salutations to the great Mother who keeps up this mysterious divine

Drama of creation, preservation and destruction. Salutations to Her

Who makes the transcendent, unmanifest essence, to be manifest as

infinite names and forms, through Her mysterious Power, and Who

deludes and binds the Jivas to this world-process. Salutations to

Her again as the Supreme Vidya-Maya Who in Her aspect as Maha

Saraswati brings about ultimate deliverance from the bondage of

nescience and phenomenal existence and bestows upon the seeker, the

highest transcendent beatitude or Supreme State of Kaivalya.

 

Today is the last day, the ninth of the nine-day worship of the

Mother. It is through Her supreme compassion and grace that we have

been given this precious opportunity and occasion for expressing our

devotion and adoration of Her Divine Feet, by doing which we elevate

our minds and our consciousness and take one more step forward

towards the ultimate goal of Atma-Sakshatkara. Her grace is

infinite. Her compassion and love for all human beings and

especially the seekers and aspirants is simply indescribable. The

mother is ever eager to take the child into her arms. Even so the

Divine Mother who has set going this momentary play, this divine

Drama upon this stage of the external physical universe is yet in

the core of our heart and is at the same time eager to take back

into Her Infinite Bosom those children who have had enough of this

play and who have lost interest in the play and stopping short,

they turn back and cry `Mother.' " Mother! No more of this

play for me. Long have I wandered away from Thee. Therefore, bestow

Thy Grace upon me. Take this child back into Thy blissful arms. "

 

This is the cry of the Jiva. This is the Mumukshutva. This is the

aspiration. This is the call of the infinite to the finite. When the

finite individual hears this call, ceases to be interested in this

world-play and turning his back upon it as it were he begins to gaze

into the face of the Mother, then it is that the compassion-filled

eyes of the great Mother open for a while and the rays of Her divine

mercy fall upon and bathe this child and once for all the fatigue,

the strain and the dust of this play, drop away from him; and he is

lifted up into the subtle heights of spiritual bliss.

 

Then the child regains the Mother's arms and for him the stress

and the struggle of the play is over and there is but Pure Bliss,

the bliss of having regained his coveted home. For, we are all

wanderers, children who have strayed away from our original home,

the Supreme Abode of Satchidananda. To realise that we have strayed

far away and long enough and to once again desire keenly to regain

that original home of Satchidananda is the entire meaning and

the process of the spiritual quest. This is spiritual life and this

is Sadhana Marga.

 

As we know, the great Mother is both Vidya-Maya as also Avidya-Maya.

In both these aspects, She has Her play upon this world-stage in Her

threefold forms of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Yesterday we saw

how Mother in Her Supreme Sattvic aspect as Saraswati, the Omkara-

Rupini, the Nada-Svarupini, was manifest upon the external field of

human activity in Her Pravritti aspect. Mother, though She is

Supreme Vidya, yet She has in Her a tinge of the mysterious Avidya-

Maya also and in this aspect of the Avidya Maya She is manifest as

the Saraswati Tattva in Pravritti.

 

But, predominantly Mother Saraswati is Vidya; and in Her glorious

Vidya-Maya aspect, She manifests Herself variously upon the

Nivritti, the inward life of the Jiva. It is by a consideration of

the Mother in the inward, Nivritti life, that we shall offer our

homage and adoration to Her Lotus Feet this day. For Pravritti we

have seen She is all creative activity. We have seen how She is

all constructive activity. She is at the beginning of all things.

She is the research faculty of the scientist. She is the poetic

faculty of the votary of the muse. She is the artistic talent of the

musician, the painter, the sculptor and all the followers of fine

arts. She is the discoveries the scientist makes in his period of

keen research. Mother Saraswati again appears as the inventions,

whatever they are, that flow out of the keen probings of the

intellect into the outward nature. She is again all those various

products that result out of these inventions. Mother is also all

constructive avocation. She is all the professions, all the trades;

She is the business acumen of the super-salesman. She is education

upon the external field of man's Pravritti activities. Thus,

Mother appears variously in the outside world.

 

We touched upon a few of Her aspects in the inward, reverse process,

the Path of going back from the many into the Supreme Source, the

Transcendent One, the Absolute. In the Nivritti path which is the

inward life of the aspirant's soul, which is the inward life of

the Jiva on the path of Yoga and Sadhana, we saw how She manifests

as the Diksha of the Guru. She is also the Mantra and the Japa of

the Mantra, the Sadhana with the Mantra like Anushthana, etc. We

have seen how Mother Saraswati is a radiant mass of purest Shuddha

Sattva, how She is the purest Sattva embodied as it were. These are

symbolised by Her spotless white raiment, as also Her own dazzling

fairness.

 

Mother As Supreme Sattva

 

As Sattva She manifests in the heart of the spiritual aspirant and

as the Grace of Saraswati dawns upon the aspirant, his entire life

undergoes a transformation. All the grossness and bestiality that is

in him is slowly and gradually, but surely, cast aside. For, in the

radiant whiteness of Sattva, the darkness of Tamas cannot stand.

Sattva is a superior, positive force in the life of the being.

Therefore, with the advent of Sattva as manifest by Mother

Saraswati's Grace, Tamo-Guna decreases and ultimately it is

completely overcome by the aspirant. The extremely gross lower

appetites which once were the most pleasure-giving things to him

which he revelled and indulged in, begin to become painful to the

aspirant; he abhors them. Grossness is something which becomes

foreign to one in whom Saraswati has come to dwell.

 

Even so, there happens a change in the Rajo-Guna that is there in

the individual. Rajas is activity springing out of selfishness. It

is activity under the urge of greed, covetousness and selfishness.

Activity or dynamism is always good. It is a valuable asset to all

beings in every endeavour and attempt towards any attainment. But

then it is engendered by selfishness, greed or covetousness, when it

is directed by these baser elements in being, then Rajas takes the

man outward and enmeshes him in greater and greater bondage; but

when the higher pull of a greater power, the power of Sattva

begins to manifest and to work within the aspirant in his Nivritti

life, then surely, its effect and influence are felt upon the Rajo-

Guna in him; and this Rajas rather than being subservient to

selfishness and greed begins to be controlled, diverted and

canalised into higher and more sublime channel. The Rajo-Guna, the

dynamic power, which is in him now becomes allied, not to Tamas, but

to Sattva. Therefore, it becomes a valuable asset to him upon his

spiritual life. It is controlled and sublimated and diverted to

higher, nobler, spiritual pursuits. He is active now for the good of

others; he is animated by noble Sattvic virtues like compassion,

mercy, selflessness, and by the pure desire to offer worship to the

visible Lord as manifest in and through all creature, in the form of

Karma Yoga or Seva. Thus both the lower natures of Tamas and of

Rajas are removed from the spiritual path as obstacles. Tamo-Guna

ceases to be; it only lurks in him in its other manifestations like

the daily sleep, etc; but in its grosser form it ceases to

be. The Rajo-Guna also begins to be a friend and helper to the

aspirant, through the Grace of Mother Saraswati when She manifests

in his Nivritti life in Her aspect as Pure Sattva-Guna.

 

If you read the Seventeenth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita where the

classification of all qualities and things into these three

categories of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas is given, we may conclude that

in this Gunatraya-Vibhaga, Mother Saraswati is that which is

declared to be Sattvic. In the spiritual life of the Sadhaka and the

seeker-disciple, Mother is the Yoga and Sadhana and ultimately She

is the unfoldment of the consciousness into the radiance of Jnana.

As Sattva in the individual activity of the Sadhaka, She manifests

Herself as Sadachara. Sadachara as we know is the very basis of

success in the entire spiritual life. It forms the foundation. The

Yama-Niyama of Raja Yoga are the most scientific expressions of

Sadachara.

 

Guru's Word Is Gospel Truth

 

As the Vak or the Supreme Sound or the Word, Mother is manifest to

the aspirant first as the Guru Mantra which the aspirant receives

through Diksha; and if we are to worship with due honour Mother as

the Mantra, then it behoves every spiritual aspirant to diligently

practise this Divine Name which he has received from the Sat-Guru.

Neglect of the Mantra, neglect to practise this Divine Name received

from the Guru will be indeed a failure to worship and to give the

due honour to Mother Saraswati. If we thus neglect Her, our

spiritual progress will be retarded.

 

In a more general aspect, She is manifest to the aspirant upon the

Path of Yoga and in spiritual life as the instructions and the day-

to-day Upadesha of the Guru. Thus the aspirant must have the proper

attitude of worshipfulness and he must receive the instructions of

the Guru in a very solemn and in a very serious spirit. He should

not be heedless. He should not have a very casual attitude towards

the words of the Guru. To the aspirant the words of the Guru must be

gospel-truth. For they are as Mantra to him: Mantra-mulam

Gurorvakyam. This lapse of taking the ordinary words of the Guru in

a very light manner or too casually and failing to pay proper heed

to the words of the Guru, are very widely prevalent errors in the

aspirant-world. For all Sadhakas and disciples it so happens that

close contact with the Sat-Guru often makes them to be less

receptive to the Saraswati manifest through Him as Upadesha and Vak;

and by this heedlessness, they stand to lose much.

 

Therefore, we must be very cautious in our attitude towards the

Guru's words, to this aspect of the Mother, that they represent.

If only we take them in the right spirit and receptivity and carry

them out diligently, then the Grace of Mother Saraswati would be

utilised properly and profitably.

 

Svadhyaya: Its Practical Value

 

In addition to these, She is also manifest in two special aspects of

spiritual Sadhana. We have said that Mother Saraswati is actually an

embodiment of the Vedas. Vedas mean transcendent knowledge of the

Supreme Being. Upanishads are the highest reaches of the Vedas. We

have been told how the very quintessence of these Upanishads was

given to humanity in the form of the Bhagavad Gita. Therefore,

Mother is present to the aspirant in the form of this unique

universal scripture, Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Therefore, all great

spiritual teachers, Acharyas, have enjoined upon the seekers to

regularly, daily, study the Gita. We must always worship the Mother

in Her form as the Gita, by unfailingly going to the Gita every day

and trying to imbibe the gospel of the Gita gradually into our own

lives. This instruction to read the Gita has been specially stressed

in the Dinacharya which Gurudev has given to all aspirants

living the divine life at his sacred feet. We also know that in the

Niyama of the Patanjali Darshana, Svadhyaya is one of the important

items.

 

We have seen how Mother Saraswati the Parashabda or the Primal Sound

is manifest in Her various progressive aspects as Dhvani, then the

articulate sound or Vak, and the specific Vak in the form of letters

of the alphabet, and combination of letters giving us the Nama or

the name and the Artha of the Nama appearing before us in the form

of Rupa. As Mother is thus embodied in and through the sacred

letters of the scriptures, all spiritual books and also

Dharma-Granthas and all scriptures are therefore a mass of Saraswati

Tattva. She gives us the knowledge of the Transcendent Being in and

through Her Form as the written letter and the word. Therefore, when

we take up the spiritual scripture and study it as part of our daily

routine, we actually come into contact of Saraswati and try to be

instructed by Her directly as She is manifest in the word.

 

Svadhyaya is an important Anga of daily Sadhana. Its importance to

the spiritual aspirant is manifold; but at least one very

significant part which Svadhyaya plays in the realm of Sadhana may

just be touched upon, for it will show us how it helps to increase

the Sattva and spiritual qualities in the thoughts, in the Bhava or

consciousness of the seekers. It is in this way. We know the entire

nature and the make-up of the spiritual Sadhana is decided by

one's Samskaras. The mind is everything; and the mind is but a

bundle of Samskaras. These Samskaras are acquired by Vyavahara.

 

Contact with external objects, moving with persons, the experience

of these contacts, go to form more and more Samskaras in the being.

In this external world of Vyavahara, specially so in the field of

Karma Yoga, we find that Samskaras of a totally Anatmic nature, that

are totally inimical to spiritual life and spiritual progress,

Samskaras of Vyavahara, of Pravritti, of the Vishayas are gathered

together in abundance every day by the human being in his daily

round of normal external activities. If these Samskaras go on

increasing day by day, they become a terrible downward pull, a force

tending to externalise and making the mind more and more

Vishayakara. But they cannot be completely avoided. It is impossible

to completely cut off all Vyavahara for the vast majority of

spiritual seekers. Therefore, as a supreme psychological method of

counteracting these Samskaras, these ideas, spiritual ideas are made

to get into the mind through daily study of elevating scriptures.

For by daily, diligent and regular study of scriptures, every day

the spiritual aspirant takes into himself a whole mass of sublime

spiritualising, life-transforming ideas; and they form powerful,

positive, Sattvic, spiritual Samskaras in the mind of the seeker.

 

Thus, they help to overcome the unfortunate unspiritual Samskaras

that are gathered inevitably during the course of daily Vyavahara.

They have got the power to give a fresh Bhava to the aspirant. They

change the thoughts, the Samskaras and the very Bhava of the

aspirant. This daily feeding of the nature of the seeker with

spiritual and Sattvic food in the form of ideas is achieved by our

contact with Mother Saraswati in Her form of sacred

scriptures—the lives of Saints, Gita, Bhagavata, Ramayana, Bible,

Quran, Zend Avesta, Dhammapada.

 

Also, we find this creation of a set of powerful positive spiritual

ideas in the mind help the aspirant during Dhyana, during the

practice of concentration and inward meditation. We find that when

an aspirant tries to do Dhyana, the mind wanders. In the beginning

stages of Dhyana, this wandering is very powerful. The entire

process becomes a see-saw, a sort of tug of war; the mind

is brought to the Lakshya and it wanders again. There is one very

undesirable thing here; when it wanders, the field of its idea in

which this wandering takes place is all sensual, gross and worldly.

This wandering cannot be arrested except by gradual practice and

Vairagya. But in the meantime a change can be brought about; even if

the mind wanders, provided that a whole set of powerful spiritual

ideas are daily pushed into the mind through Svadhyaya, the

field of ideas through which the mind wanders in its Vikshepa

becomes gradually Sattvic. Instead of wandering in a vicious set of

ideas, the mind has now a field of pure ideas, great ideas,

elevating, Sattvic ideas through which it wanders. The wandering

then becomes less harmful to the aspirant. In this way also the

daily Svadhyaya is an invaluable asset to the aspirant.

 

Speak Little

 

Let us come to the actual conduct, the Achara, of the spiritual

aspirant. Here we may give a few hints that will be very valuable

for the aspirant in his daily conduct. Mother, we have seen, is

speech. She is manifest in all beings as Vak. She is Vakshakti.

Therefore, to conserve speech through a regular period of Mouna is

also the adoration of Mother Saraswati. This energy of the

Mother in the form of Vak, when conserved, becomes an asset to the

aspirant to be tapped and utilised in the Yogic process of

Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana; and also the conserved power of Vak

in and through the Sadhana of Mouna becomes very valuable in

carrying out Vichara and self-analysis. This is practical experience

which any aspirant may see for himself, by practising Mouna. As long

as the Vak is spent outward, the mind becomes outgoing,—one

cannot do the same intense Vichara and introspection. But when the

Vakshakti is conserved through Mouna it becomes capable of being

utilised for inwardness, for introspection and the practice of

Viveka and Vichara.

 

Speak the Truth

 

It is the great duty of spiritual aspirants to safeguard the

sanctity of this holy power of Vak. We have to safeguard the

sanctity of the power of Mother Saraswati in the form of Vak. We

know that falsehood is unspiritual, unclean. Therefore, the aspirant

who would aspire to realise the Ultimate Reality, the Transcendent

Truth, should always diligently try to manifest that truth in his

speech. This quality of purity of speech by means of the vow of

Truth, Satya, is of paramount importance.

 

The importance of this great quality of truthfulness cannot be

described by speech. Suffice it to say that if truthfulness is not

there in the aspirant, his whole spiritual life is a wash-out. It is

zero. There can be not an iota of real, substantial and lasting

spiritual progress, unless one strives with all his might and all

his heart and soul to stick absolutely to truth. In this there is no

half-way house. A man is either truthful or he is untruthful. As

long as he is not absolutely truthful, spiritual progress is only a

hope or dream and it cannot be a reality to that aspirant. This is

truth.

 

Therefore, if people are serious, if aspirants are really earnest in

their quest, if there is really a burning desire to somehow break

the shackles of this mortal physical existence, this earthly life

full of pain and sorrow, disease and ultimate death, if there is a

longing to free oneself and enjoy eternal bliss, one must become an

uncompromising votary of truth. Then only will Mother Saraswati be

gracious and will bestow upon that aspirant Her Kripa; and he will

get Knowledge of this Ultimate Truth. Let us every day unfailingly

meditate upon this supreme virtue of virtues, this manifestation of

Mother Saraswati in Her most glorious and most radiant form, this

Truth, Satyam. A man must invoke the Mother as Truth; and he has

established the splendour of the Atman in his heart.

 

As long as that is not there, the light of the Atman cannot shine in

that being. Therefore, let us always meditate upon Mother Saraswati

in the form of truth. Truth is the greatest Yoga; it is the greatest

Tapas and austerity in this iron age. A man who has got truth has

got God. Let us always bear in mind this supreme importance of the

Mother as truth. Let us meditate upon it. Let us reflect upon it.

Let us always try by every possible means to gradually approach

nearer and nearer to an absolute perfection of truth in our

thoughts, in our words and in our deeds. May the Grace of Mother

help us to achieve this very necessary, but very difficult task.

 

Speak Sweetly

 

Also language, the spoken word, is an all-powerful thing. It is a

mighty force in this world of men. Language can be used to construct

and to build as well as to destroy and to annihilate. We have seen

how the great Mother as Saraswati is the essence of all

constructivity. Therefore, let the seeker or spiritual aspirant ever

be cautious as to how he uses this great power of speech. Let him

take a vow never to hurt even the least of the Lord's creatures

through any unconscious harsh word. Harsh speech, speech that pains,

should be completely eliminated from the speech of the aspirant. One

should speak sweetly. When it becomes difficult at any juncture to

speak sweetly, it is better we remain silent. Of course, the next

best, the third class, would be to immediately make up for any harsh

word spoken, by expressing regret at once and trying to ask the

forgiveness of him towards whom this harsh word is uttered. It is

for those of the third class; but we should always aspire to belong

to the first grade, Uttama Adhikari; our speech should always be

sweet. Bear these three in mind: Mita-Bhashana, Satya-Bhashana, and

Madhura-Bhashana.

 

Guard Your Tongue

 

Once again, as the constructive force in the world, Mother Saraswati

should be used for helping others through our speech. Let not our

speech be idle. If we speak, let us speak about the Lord, about the

great ideal things, and also in order to console, to encourage, to

inspire, to enlighten, to educate or to help in any way those with

whom we have to speak with the power of Mother Saraswati. Idle-

gossiping should be completely eliminated, in the life of

spiritual Sadhana and the spiritual quest after Reality. Idle-

gossiping is an insult to the Mother, as She is manifest in us as

the mighty force of Vak or the spoken word.

 

Aspirants should never utter vulgar words. Habits die hard; and more

so this holds good in reference to wrong habits. Right habits as

sometimes are left behind more easily than the wrong ones because

these wrong ones are firmly embedded in the lower self of the being;

and whatever is there in the gross animal portion is very firmly

entrenched through past repetition. Therefore, we come out of a

world where speech is 75% indecent and 25% decent. To a vast

majority of people, vulgar or indecent remarks are part and parcel

of the ordinary conversation. They are not felt to be anything

specially improper. But this same criterion should not be applied to

the life of the spiritual aspirant. The aspirant must keep all

objectionable words and terms out of his speech. His speech should

be as clean as the flow waters of the Ganga. These are the ways in

which the aspirant can make Mother Saraswati manifest in him as the

Suddha-Sattva. They are all spiritual qualities; they all lead to

the increase of Sattva in him and they all indirectly contribute to

his spiritual unfoldment.

 

Let us remember these various aspects of the Divine Mother as She is

manifest in the inner path of the Sadhaka, in Her Nivritti aspect.

These are a few that have been put before us. If we reflect over

these matters, we will find all the various ways in which Mother

tries to infill the personality of the seeker and thus when we come

to know what is opposed to the qualities of Sattva, we shall be able

to avoid those things which are against the nature of Mother

Saraswati, and we shall be able to diligently cultivate and develop

and increase those aspects of our inner life and our inner nature in

which She is predominantly manifest, avoiding that which is impure

and unspiritual and growing more and more into the form of the pure

Sattvic nature. We shall be able to bring about ultimately the

fullest unfoldment of the spiritual consciousness and we shall

realise our Svarupa and attain Svarupa-Jnana. We shall then be able

to declare: " I am neither mind nor body; Immortal Self I am. "

 

" Shuddhoham, Buddhoham, Niranjanoham, Samsara Maya

Parivarjitoham, " " Deho Naaham Jivo Naaham Pratyagabhinna

Brahmaivaaham, " " Satchidananda Svarupoham. "

 

These declarations are the spontaneous utterances of the seeker who

has adored Mother Saraswati with all his heart and obtained Her

Grace and has become illumined with the transcendent light of the

Supreme Atman whose First Emanation Mother Saraswati is.

 

 

The Great Goal And Its Attainment

 

t:v:am:àt:sy:enden: p:adp:¢j:ð

en:v:ðeS:t:atm:a kT:m:ny:edcCet: .

esT:t:ð|rev:ndð m:krnden:B:ürð

m:D:Øv:Òt::ð n:ðx:Ørs:ö eh v:ix:t:ð ..

tavàmçtasyandini pàdapaïkaje

nive÷itàtmà kathamanyadicchati |

sthite.aravinde makarandanirbhare

madhuvrato nekùurasaü hi vãkùate ||

 

TODAY is the glorious day of the celebration of the Mother's

Victory. It is a day of Vijaya, when all the gods rejoice and all

mankind is in an exuberance of joy; for they have received the

Supreme Assurance that so long as they turn to the Mother in their

extremity and distress, there will be no lack of support and of

strength. For, Mother is the champion of those in distress and

those who seek refuge at Her divine feet. She is Strength Infinite,

Maha-Shakti; and as such we have but to turn to Her and no more will

weakness persist in us. The supreme victory over all the forces of

darkness, ignorance and nescience is achieved and we shall be

partakers together with the Mother of joy of Vijaya. Vijaya-Dasami

is a supreme day of confidence, strength and courage for all

seekers.

 

On this day all aspirants and those in quest of God have the

greatest strength and courage for by the annihilation of all the

forces that stand in the way of the fullest manifestation of

divinity, Mother has thrown open the gateway as it were to the abode

of Para Brahman. The worship of the Mother upon this supreme day is

the worship of Maha-Maya in Her purest and absolute Vidya aspect.

Till now, during the Navaratra, we worshipped the Mother in Her

different aspects as She is manifest in this phenomenal world of

human affairs. But when we come to Vijaya, we transcend the Mother

in all Her external and Vidya-Avidya aspects and we gaze into Her

face as the Pure Vidya-Maya, the Para-Shakti, to gaze at Whom is

verily to gaze into the Infinite and the unfathomable depth of Para

Brahman Himself.

 

For, we started at the very commencement of this worship by

declaring that Mother is none else than the Para Brahman. The

Supreme Being is Itself the Mother. Therefore, in Her Pure aspect as

Vidya-Maya, She is Para Brahman Itself; and it is in Her radiant and

all-glorious form of the Vidya, the radiance of Atma-Jnana, that we

offer our salutations and adorations to the Mother upon this Supreme

and blessed day of Vijaya Dasami.

 

On this day there no longer exists any element of the lower nature.

There is no Asuric Sampat at all. There is no trace of demoniacal

nature. All that is darkness has been completely annihilated. It has

vanished. There reigns Mother and Mother alone in all Her supremacy.

She is once again that mass of infinite consciousness. To invoke Her

in this radiant, all vigorous aspect is to plunge ourselves in the

supreme worship of the Transcendent Being. Thus, now, we start our

worship and adoration of the Supreme Being, reaching which man has

no more to go this round of painful birth and death. That is the

abode of everlasting light from where there is no more return to

sorrow. There is no more pain. Once for all we reach that supreme

abode which is beyond all sorrow, all pain and all delusion. That is

the supreme goal of the aspirant, the seeker, of all human beings,

in fact, for this human birth has been given to us for that purpose

of the highest attainment and for that purpose alone. All other

pursuits are delusions and the one purpose of attaining the Supreme

Being is the sole meaning, end and aim of this invaluable and

precious human birth.

 

Guru: The Embodiment of Supreme Power

 

Upon this glorious day, let us take the opportunity of looking into

one very great secret of the spiritual life. We have considered the

Mother in Her threefold aspects of Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati, as

She is manifest as different movements in this phenomenal existence,

as different qualities in the aspirant and also as different forms

of living and different phases of man's life and activities. But

all this has been more or less in an impersonal way. She is also

manifest in a special and an occult form; and this occult form of

Her is in the nature of a divine personality. The manifestation of

the Mother as our divine preceptor is a rare secret that is revealed

to the heart of the spiritual seeker only through the Grace of the

Lord, of Mother Saraswati. This secret of the direct personal

manifestation of the Mother in Her supreme aspect of Vidya-Maya and

Vidya-Shakti is the Guru to the disciple.

 

She is the Sat-Guru to the seeker. To a spiritual seeker, that

spiritual being whom he has accepted as his spiritual preceptor and

the Guru is in the completest sense the visible personal

manifestation and embodiment of the Supreme Divine Mother. Upon this

conception of the Divine Mother rests the entire foundation of the

seeker's spiritual life. Upon this rests the entire philosophy in

Hindu culture. This is a unique conception the parallel to which

cannot be found in any other culture upon the whole earth. This

secret of seeing the Supreme Being as embodied and manifest in the

visible personality of the Sat-Guru is at the very bottom of the

success of the aspirant's spiritual quest.

 

Thus, to every circle of spiritual seekers that particular

personality whom they have surrendered themselves to and whom they

have accepted in the core of their hearts as their spiritual guide,

is the Supreme Embodiment of Para-Shakti, he is Brahma, he is

Vishnu, he is Maheshvara, he is Shakti, and he is the Akshara Para

Brahman Himself. This is a truth which no aspirant who is earnest in

his quest for the Eternal can afford to lose sight of or miss or

forget even for a single moment of his spiritual life. For him the

human aspect of the Guru's personality should vanish; in its

stead there should stand before him only the radiant embodiment of

the Supreme Divine Power. This is an earnest reminder and a prayer

to all aspirants and all seekers throughout the universe, be they of

the East or of the West. This is a reminder also of the attitude

which they should adopt towards their Sat-Guru, be they the

followers of any spiritual personage whom they have accepted in the

inmost core of their hearts as their spiritual Guru.

 

For, the degree and the measure by which we shall be fully aware of

this special manifestation of the Mother in Her purest Vidya-Maya

aspect in and through the living personality of the Guru, to that

degree and in that measure will be the unfoldment of the divine

knowledge in our consciousness; to that degree and measure will be

the success of our spiritual realisations.

 

Therefore it is that again and again the aspirant and the seeker who

has surrendered himself at the feet of his Sat-Guru is reminded to

worship the Guru-God; and the Slokas which all aspirants repeat

every day embody this great secret and this highest truth:

 

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshvarah

Guruh Sakshat Param Brahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namah.

Dhyanamulam Gurormurtih, Pujamulam Guroh-Padam

Mantramulam Gurorvakyam, Mokshamulam Guroh-Kripa.

Tvamhi Vishnur Virinchistvam Tvamcha Devo Mahesvarah

Tvameva Shakti-ruposi Nirgunastvam Sanatanah.

 

Guru is Brahma. Guru is Vishnu. Guru is Siva. Guru is the Supreme

Brahman Itself. Prostration to that Guru.

 

The form of Guru is the root of meditation. The feet of Guru are the

root of worship. The teaching of the Guru is the root of all

Mantras. The Grace of Guru is the root of Salvation.

 

Thou art Vishnu. Thou art Brahma. Thou art the god Mahesvara. Thou

alone art the form of Sakti. Thou art the attributeless Eternal.

What is the real form of Guru? What should we feel he is?

Yasyantar Nadi Madhyam Na-hi Kara-charanam Nama Gotram Na Sutram

No Jatir Naive Varno Na Bhavati Purusho No Napumsam Na Cha Stree

Nakaram No Vikaram Na-hi Jananamaranam Nasti Punyam Na Papam

No Tattvam Tattvamekam Sahajasamarasam Sat-Gurum Tam Namami.

 

In these glorious utterances we have a little of the great secret of

this manifestation of Divine Vidya-Maya revealed to us.

 

The Quintessence of Great Scriptures

 

Upon this glorious day of Vijaya our worship of the Divine Mother in

Her victorious Vidya-Maya aspect, this in reality constitutes the

adoration of the Supreme Para-Brahman as manifest and embodied in

and through the spiritual personality of the Sat-Guru. We have

worshipped the Mother in various ways.

 

Today we have specially tried to adore Her in the form of the

written word, the lofty scriptures; the Vidyarambha with the reading

of the Gita, the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavata, the Ramayana, etc.

Therefore, it will not be out of place to just mention in a few

words what this approach to the Mother as the written word, as the

scripture, She actually means to us. As I have tried to explain,

Svadhyaya means a very special process to the aspirant. But it is

also a practical way of life. The Svadhyaya is meant to mould our

aspirations, our aims and ideals and our day-to-day living and

actions also. Therefore, these scriptures—Gita, Brahma-Sutras,

Bhagavata, Ramayana and the Mahabharata—contain a number of

valuable lessons to us upon the spiritual path.

 

In a word, what is the great call of the Mother through the Bhagavad

Gita? In the Bhagavad Gita, Mother has one supreme admonition and

call, Tyaga. Gita means Tyaga; it is the scripture of the secret of

renunciation. It says the one method of realising the Supreme is to

renounce all that belongs to the phenomenal world—renounce your

Kartritva-Abhimana, egoism, attachment—to feel the whole universe

is the Virat-Svarupa and that all your actions are worship of the

Virat. Anasakti and Tyaga are the supreme admonitions given in the

Gita.

 

In the Bhagavata we have the positive side. Renounce this phenomenal

world; detach the mind from everything that belongs to this

perishable world and have supreme love for the Lord. The one word

which sums up the entire message of the Bhagavata is Love: love for

the Lord. It is the radiant essence of pure Prem. It is Rati for the

Lord. Gita teaches complete detachment; Bhagavata says: attach

thyself to and whole-heartedly give thyself in complete oneness

of love at the feet of Bhagavan.

 

The Mahabharata sums up the one ideal of sticking to Dharma. The

Message of the Mahabharata is: even if life is to be sacrificed, do

not deviate from the code of Dharma. Stick to Dharma even then. By

Dharma one will be able to purify one's heart and life.

 

In the Ramayana the practical ways in which Dharma manifests itself

in all the spheres of man's life are given. For, the Ramayana is

a scripture which places before us concrete and practical living

models of the ideal man of Dharma. It is a scripture which puts

before us the moulds of the ideal husband, the ideal son, the ideal

brother, the ideal wife, the ideal servant, the ideal seeker

and the ideal king. The ideals of all these aspects of man's life

in their detailed aspects are given in the form of concrete models

in the various divine personalities of the Ramayana. If a man wishes

to cultivate Love of the Lord and to live a life of Dharma, how then

is he to conduct himself in his various aspects? For this the

Ramayana gives the pattern upon which he may mould himself so that

he may live a life of Supreme Dharma.

 

In the Brahma Sutras we are given the ultimate reason for all these

things. It shows the supreme goal for which man has come. It says:

the one purpose of this life is to reach the imperishable, that

which is eternal bliss and to this end all these things are the

means. Through the means you reach that Supreme Abode, reaching

which there is no more return into the world of pain and death; for,

the ultimate conclusion of the Brahma Sutras is that once having

reached the Para Brahman through Dharma, Tyaga, Bhakti, Na

Punaravartate the Jiva returns no more. He is once for all

established in the transcendent, infinite consciousness, immortal

existence, the eternal bliss, and perennial peace.

 

This is the goal. Yadgatva Na Nivartante Tad Dhama Paramam Mama says

the Lord in the Gita. Having reached that Abode, man does not return

to this world. It is of the nature of Supreme plenitude. Yo Vai

Bhuma Tat Sukham. That Bhuma is the goal of man in this world.

 

Knowing which nothing else remains to be known. Yasmin Jnate

Sarvamidam Vijnatam Bhavati. Obtaining which there is no greater

thing to be obtained. Yam Labdhva Chaparam Labham Manyate Nadhikam

Tatah.

 

That is the glory, the supreme splendour of the transcendental state

which we are all here to strive for, to attain and to enjoy

eternally. Thus, they have given us the goal and the ideal. The goal

is Self-realisation. The means are the Tyaga of the Gita, the Bhakti

of the Bhagavata, the Dharma of the Bharata, and the ideal life of

the Ramayana.

 

We have gone through these supreme scriptures, to bring to our minds

in its most vivid and intense form the aim and goal of human life,

the means of its attainment and the practical pattern of the

spiritual aspirant's life if he should attain the end through

these means.

 

Prayer

 

Upon this day of the Vijayadasami which culminates the nine-days

worship of the Supreme Divine Mother, let us all pray to Her that

She may illumine our hearts as Buddhi, as Smriti. Let us all pray to

Her that as Smriti She may ever keep alive these great truths in our

hearts so that we may base our entire lives, mould our entire lives

and conduct our entire lives upon a vivid consciousness of these

truths. For mysterious is Her power as Bhranti and Maya that even

though we know these truths we hear of them again and again, and we

try to remember them, yet somehow in the twinkling of an eye, She

makes us forget them; She makes us be only aware of these external

objects of the sensual world. We forget those great truths the

moment Her veil is thrown over our consciousness. We become

conscious only of things to indulge in and things that give us

momentary pleasure and bind us to this external world of names

and forms. Therefore, we must pray again and again: " Mother,

manifest to us as the Vidya-Maya. May my consciousness be

illuminated by Thy Vidya-aspect. "

 

As we have seen just now, while reading the Devi Sukta, She is

everything—Nidra, Kshudha, Chaya, Trishna, Bhranti, etc.,—at

the same time She is Buddhi, Daya, Matha. We should, therefore, fold

our hands, bow at Her feet and pray: " Ha, Mother! Manifest

Thyself to me in Thy illuminating aspect and save me from the aspect

of Thy Avidya-Maya. " She will be propitiated; She will be

pleased; and She will open Her radiant eyes upon us; She will smile

upon us. Then all our delusion, all our sorrow, all darkness will

come to an end; and we shall see Her as the Satchidananda Para

Brahman.

 

These ten days we have tried to touch an infinitesimal fringe of the

garment of the Mother. We have tried to see if we may understand a

little atom of the Nature of the Mother. We may go on speaking for

hours and hours through all eternity, yet we shall not be able to

gain even a fraction of an idea of the unknowable nature of the

Mother. All scriptures, all sages from eternity, have failed to

express Her in Her entirety. Therefore, it will be presumptuous for

us to think that through a few words, we have understood even a

little fringe of the garment which the Mother has thrown over

Herself and through which She hides Herself. What we have known is

unto the grain of mustard; what remains unknown of the Mother is

like the vast shores of the oceans. But, it is the love of the child

that would make it approach the Mother and try to grasp Her

hand and to know Her. Therefore, these ten days our attempt at

trying to speak about the Mother has not been in the form of an

endeavour to know Her—if She reveals Herself, then only can we

hope to know—it is an attempt at a little flower-of-feting, a

little worship at the feet of Divine Mother. Worship has been

carried on during these nine days in is various ways. There has been

music, songs, dance, decoration, Puja; and as one part of the

worship, we have offered our adorations in the form of Her own

aspect as Vak, which She Herself has given to us. We have tried to

adore Her with words. And, upon this supreme day of Vijayadasami, we

conclude this worship through words by offering at Her divine feet

and praying to Her:

 

" Mother, accept even this. Thou art love. Thou art compassion.

Thou art illumination. Thou art release. Why to say all this?

Suffice it to say: Mother, Thou art Mother. Therefore, as Mother,

accept this humble offering of love at Thy Feet and may we all be

blessed by Your Grace. Smile upon us, Mother; banish the darkness of

Thy Avidya-Maya. Confer upon us all seekers at the Lotus Feet of

this Divine Personality, our Gurudev, the radiance and illumination

of Atma Jnana and the bliss of Satchidananda " .