Extollation of the Devi - The Garland of 16 Verses

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O Devi who abides in all the beings The world in exultation chants Your Praise Protecting Devas and the human race You grant refuge to all since the beginning. Above three gunas and beyond Pralaya Shri Ekakini, all alone You stand When whole wide world is coming to an end You save Your bhaktas from the grasps of Maya. You give us the ambrosia of Your Love: We take and take, still can't get enough - You light the flames of our pure desire. Unequalled, unattached, unborn, supreme, You verily destroy the greatest sins. You take in us the form of Vishnumaya. The glory of Your Holy Lotus Feet, Takes our mind to a complete defeat. Verse 1: O Devi, who abides in all the beings, Whenever evil

had to be eliminated, On Mother Earth ten times You incarnated To slay the demons and bestow peace. When the world was just an ocean, free of fears, Lord Vishnu once lay down and took a slumber, While two asuras Madhu and Kaitabha Sprung into being from dirt of Vishnu’s ears. They sought to kill Lord Brahma, but the Lord Called upon You - Great Empress of the World! Awakening Shri Vishnu from his slumber, You drew Yourself out of Vishnu’s heart And then as Vishnu’s Shakti You took part In killing demons Madhu and Kaitabha. You came to save creation from disgrace. The world in exultation chants Your Praise. Verse 2: The world in exultation chants Your Praise But every praise falls short to tell the story Of Your Compassion, Valor,

Strength, and Glory That human minds aren’t able to embrace. Of yore the hundred-year war was going on Between the hosts of devas and asuras, The lord of demons, called Mahishasura, Defeating devas, took the heaven’s throne. The devas started looking for an action To bring about the means of his destruction. The faces of Shiva and Vishnu expressed the storm When devas came together for a meeting And from each deva suddenly came emitting A light that joined to take Shri Durga’s form. You, Devi, propelled Yourself through time and space, Protecting Devas and the human race. Verse 3: Protecting Devas and the human race Your task was to defeat Mahishasura The devas gave You arms to fight asuras, And all the hopes of the world in You were

placed. In bright red sari, mounted on a lion, Adorned with a brilliant crescent moon, You joined us, O Giver of the boons, Descending from the Holy Himalayas. And just like moths that fly to burn in a flame Towards Your light all the rakshasas came. The battle started. Every sigh You heaved Became a battalion of soldiers of the Divine. And smashing the demon’s army in no time, O Ambika, You made the world relieved! With endless joy the Universe was ringing: You grant refuge to all since the beginning! Verse 4: You grant refuge to all, since the beginning, Who hand You their soul, mind and heart, Whose destiny is to become Your Part, For their sake all battles You are winning. When You hit hard the army of the

demons, Mahishasura came to take his turn. To trick the world he took a buffalo’s form. Yet he could not escape Your wrathful weapons: You jumped high and landed on his back And pressed Your Foot on the buffalo’s neck, And as You hit the animal with a spear, From the buffalo’s mouth issued his head. You struck it off and put the demon dead, And all his army scattered in fear. None can withstand You - who is Mahamaya, Above three gunas and beyond Pralaya! Verse 5: Above three gunas and beyond Pralaya, O Devi, You are free from rules and norms And You can take innumerable forms At any moment as per Your desire. When Shumbha and Nishumbha, two rakshasas, And their servants – nasty, ugly devils, Acquired the authority of

devas To rule over three worlds and all the masses You issued from Yourself nine Devi forms That killed the demons one by one in turns. When Shumbha challenged You about these Devis: "It seems You took some help from everybody!", You swiftly took them back inside Your body And finished alone this arrogant, mighty devil. And then the people had to understand: Shri Ekakini, all alone You stand! Verse 6: Shri Ekakini, all alone You stand. You are the sole basis of creation. You give the start to all civilizations, And You Yourself consume them at the end. Fourteen manvantaras, four yugas and pralaya, There is no exit in the worldly maze Until the seeker sees Your Holy Face Whose shine dispels the mighty fog of

Maya. That’s why, to bring the light to human fate, All devas prayed for You to incarnate Amidst the Iron Age of desolation: “Oh, human beings went off so far astray That we, the deities, cannot mend their ways. Please save the world from coming devastation! O Devi, only You can take a stand When whole wide world is coming to an end!” Verse 7: When whole wide world is coming to an end, Lord Shiva brings about its destruction. But You persuaded him to postpone this action And give the people a chance for their ascent. You took Your birth in nineteen twenty-three, In central India, the town of Chindwara. And in Nargol You opened Sahasrara In nineteen seventy to set the people free: Who longs to end the cycle of

Samsara Shall meditate on You in Sahasrara. Awakened by Self-Realization, The Atma sheds the light on the seeker's way, And his impure habits drop away. The soul gets complete purification. Thus freeing them from sin and low desire You save Your bhaktas from the grasps of Maya. Verse 8: You save Your bhaktas from the grasps of Maya. And now they can save the others too. And as they pass around the flame of truth The whole world gets enlightened by this fire. And every year for Diwali night We gather for the Puja celebration. We celebrate our self-realization With shining rows of the candle lights. We thank You so much for all Your work, For traveling, for giving endless talks, For taking so many

incarnations, For killing Ravan and Narakasur In order to protect us and make sure That we have achieved our self-realization. And then to raise our spirit high above You give us the ambrosia of Your Love. Verse 9: You give us the ambrosia of Your Love - The pure joy, so deep, intense, and precious That all the other interests and pleasures Can no longer stand in our path. And then You take us to our own depth And all our inner essence starts refining. We feel inside the heart our spirit shining, Eternal, and beyond our life and death. When we submit to You and meditate, Then in Your grace You give us Shiva state. Once not attached, we start our introspection. We keep away from people who are false, And rid ourselves of

all our own faults, Improving our power of discretion. You bring such joy to the Sahaja path We take and take, still can't get enough. Verse 10: We take and take, still can't get enough Of Your Darshans, Your Pujas, Your vibrations. Since endless births in countless creations, We were just busy searching for Your Love. This longing burns inside of us like fires. Please grant us a boon, that when we are away, Still we would see Your Face the whole day. O Devi, give to us such kind of eyes. O Mother, give to us such kind of heart, From which Your Lotus Feet will never part. And give to us such constant concentration To fasten our attention with a glue, So it would never move away from You. Please end the hopeless reign of

separation Being one with You is all that we require. You light the flames of our pure desire. Verse 11: You light the flames of our pure desire And we forget all worthless, useless things. When Bell of Destiny within our soul rings. We do Your work without getting tired. On Your command, whenever Your require, We, as Your Army, stand in all full force. And history might have to change its course, But we’ll get done whatever You desire. You made us into Soldiers of the Divine By raising energy throughout our spine. And then You mended us to our perfection To make us soldiers of love and peace. You made us One by bringing piece to piece And blessed us with full Divine protection. You gave us more than we could ever dream

- Unequalled, unattached, unborn, supreme. Verse 12: Unequalled, unattached, unborn, supreme, Affectionate, compassionate, forgiving! Attracted by the Love that You were giving, We came into Sahaj and settled in. And trying to ascend we are now busy. Sometimes we fall, deluded by the mind. O Mother, only You are our guide. Please make our ascent very smooth and easy. Like Shri Ganesh who went around You thrice, As a result of which he got the prize, We pray to You in silent adoration: Give such a special blessing to us all, That by Your grace we’ll never ever fall, And reach the state of God-realization. Please make us good and virtuous from within. You verily destroy the greatest sins. Verse 13: You

verily destroy the greatest sins. You verily bestow the greatest treasures. Omnipotent, beyond all worldly measures, Your mercy is the greatest ever seen. All powers and riches which are there You readily donate to all three worlds, And You fulfill Your bhaktas’ every want. O Mother, You respond to every prayer! Yes, You can grant our wishes, it is true, But all we want, Shri Mataji, is You! And what is left of our desires? When looking at the brilliance of Your face, We only want to sing and sing Your praise, And don’t want to shift away our eyes! O Devi, it is You whom we admire. You take in us the form of Vishnumaya. Verse 14: You take in us the form of Vishnumaya You give us Shraddha, Shakti, Lajja, Buddhi. You dwell

in us as Nidra, Trishna, Kshuddha. Your forms are Chetanyata, Smriti, Chaya. You give us genius -Jati, lustre -Kanti, Activity - Vritti and Tushti - satisfaction. As Kshanti You forgive our every action When we commit mistakes in the fog of Bhranti. O Mother -Matri! Your Compassion -Daya Works so hard to raise our spirits higher. At first You give us wealth as Goddess Lakshmi, But once we get fed up with the mortal world You bless us with the inner wealth threefold. You come to us as Goddess Mahalakshmi. And in the depths of Shanti we can meet The glory of Your Holy Lotus Feet. Verse 15: The glory of Your Holy Lotus Feet Wakes up the world to seek emancipation. Since times of yore the quest for liberation Knocks on the doors of God

with each heartbeat. But in the process of our Evolution We used the mind to find what was best. From noisy thoughts we never took a rest. We always looked for questions and solutions. O Mother, it is only by Your grace That we have entered in thoughtless space. And when You take us into meditation, Conditionings and Ego go away. And effortlessly in the bliss we stay, Escaping daily worries, fears, and tensions. Your melody of peace is so sweet! Take our mind to a complete defeat. Verse 16: Take our mind to a complete defeat. Extinguish the burning pain of separation. This whole world was only preparation To see the glory of Your Lotus Feet. When for Diwali Puja You are present, It’s the fulfillment of our deepest

dreams. With joyful ecstasy our souls brim. For our hearts it is the greatest present! We promise You to cope with any task And with complete surrender we all ask To melt our “I” in Your divine vibrations. When we are lost in the splendor of Your Name, For us, just You and only You remain. We sing Your praise amidst all jubilation. To this Diwali endless joy You bring, O Devi, who abides in all the beings!

 

 

 

Extollation of the Devi – The Garland of 16 Verses. Written by Alla Kulkarni and Rajiv Parashar on occasion of Diwali