Tao (Great Mother) is an entirely approachable, comforting, and universal idea

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>

> , " jagbir singh "

> <adishakti_org> wrote:

> >

> > In the Hindu context, the worship of the Mother entity can

> > certainly be traced back to early Vedic culture, and perhaps

> > even before. Today, Devi is seen in manifold forms, all

> > representing the creative force in the world, as Maya and

> > prakriti, the force that galvanizes the Divine Ground of

> > existence into self-projection as the cosmos. She is not merely

> > the Earth, though even this perspective is covered by Parvati.

> > All the various Hindu female entities are seen as forming many

> > faces of the same female Divinity.

> >

> > Shaktism

> >

> > This form of Hinduism, known as Shaktism, is strongly associated

> > with Vedanta, Samkhya and Tantra Hindu philosophies and is

> > ultimately monist, though there is a rich tradition of Bhakti

> > yoga associated with it. The feminine energy (Shakti) is

> > considered to be the motive force behind all action and

> > existence in the phenomenal cosmos in Hinduism. The cosmos

> > itself is Brahman, the concept of the unchanging, infinite,

> > immanent and transcendent reality that is the Divine Ground of

> > all being, the " world soul " . Masculine potentiality is

> > actualized by feminine dynamism, embodied in multitudinous

> > goddesses who are ultimately reconciled in one.

> >

> > The keystone text is the Devi Mahatmya which combines earlier

> > Vedic theologies, emergent Upanishadic philosophies and

> > developing tantric cultures in a laudatory exegesis of Shakti

> > religion. Demons of ego, ignorance and desire bind the soul in

> > maya (illusion) (also alternately ethereal or embodied) and it

> > is Mother Maya, shakti, herself, who can free the bonded

> > individual. The immanent Mother, Devi, is for this reason

> > focused on with intensity, love, and self-dissolving

> > concentration in an effort to focus the shakta (as a Shakti

> > worshipper is sometimes known) on the true reality underlying

> > time, space and causation, thus freeing one from karmic cyclism.

> >

> > In the Devi Gita the Devi proceeds to describe her essential

> > forms. The Devi declares that prior to creation, She is the only

> > existent entity, the one supreme Brahman and is pure

> > consciousness. The Devi Gita is clear about salvation and

> > attainment of eternal life: " Even when a person performs bhakti,

> > knowledge need not arise. He will go to the Devi's Island

> > (similar to Brahmaloka). Till the complete knowledge in the form

> > of my consciousness arises, there is no liberation. " 1

> >

> > The majority of shaktas, including SYs, are constantly engaged in

> > external worship (idols/images/photos) and rituals (food

> > offerings/lemon and chilly treatments). It is only when Devi is

> > meditated upon and understood as Consciouness, both within and

> > without, will one be liberated. Meditate on Her without any

> > external aid or rituals no matter what ignorant SYs tell you to

> > do.

> >

> > jagbir

> >

> > 1. http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Great-Goddess

> >

>

> 6

>

> The Tao is called the Great Mother:

> empty yet inexhaustible,

> it gives birth to infinite worlds.

>

> It is always present within you.

> You can use it any way you want.

>

> Tao Te-Ching 6

>

>

> 20

>

> Stop thinking, and end your problems.

> What difference between yes and no?

> What difference between success and failure?

> Must you value what others value,

> avoid what others avoid?

> How ridiculous!

>

> Other people are excited,

> as though they were at a parade.

> I alone don't care,

> I alone am expressionless,

> like an infant before it can smile.

>

> Other people have what they need;

> I alone possess nothing.

> I alone drift about,

> like someone without a home.

> I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

>

> Other people are bright;

> I alone am dark.

> Other people are sharper;

> I alone am dull.

> Other people have a purpose;

> I alone don't know.

> I drift like a wave on the ocean,

> I blow as aimless as the wind.

>

> I am different from ordinary people.

> I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.

>

> Tao Te Ching 20

>

>

> 25

>

> There was something formless and perfect

> before the universe was born.

> It is serene. Empty.

> Solitary. Unchanging.

> Infinite. Eternally present.

> It is the mother of the universe.

> For lack of a better name,

> I call it the Tao.

>

> It flows through all things,

> inside and outside, and returns

> to the origin of all things.

>

> The Tao is great.

> The universe is great.

> Earth is great.

> Man is great.

> These are the four great powers.

>

> Man follows the earth.

> Earth follows the universe.

> The universe follows the Tao.

> The Tao follows only itself.

>

> Tao Te Ching 25

>

>

> 52

>

> In the beginning was the Tao.

> All things issue from it;

> all things return to it.

>

> To find the origin,

> trace back the manifestations.

> When you recognize the children

> and find the mother,

> you will be free of sorrow.

>

> If you close your mind in judgements

> and traffic with desires,

> your heart will be troubled.

> If you keep your mind from judging

> and aren't led by the senses,

> your heart will find peace.

>

> Seeing into darkness is clarity.

> Knowing how to yield is strength.

> Use your own light

> and return to the source of light.

> This is called practicing eternity.

>

> Tao Te Ching 52

>

>

> " Scriptures: Tao Te Ching (the Classic of the Way and its Power),

> according to tradition written by Lao-Tzu.

>

> Key concepts: the Tao, introduced in the Tao Te Ching as

> follows: " The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; the

> name that can be defined is not the unchanging name...There is a

> thing inherent and natural, which existed before heaven and earth.

> Motionless and fathomless, it stands alone and never changes; it

> pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted; it may be regarded

> as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am

> forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it supreme...

> Man follows the laws of earth; earth follows the laws of heaven;

> heaven follows the laws of the Tao; and Tao follows the laws of

> its intrinsic nature. "

>

> What is this Tao? The concept transcends the powers of reason and

> must be grasped intuitively, it is beyond words, beyond all

> differences and distinction, it is the unchanging, permanent

> reality of constant change, it is the ground of being and

> nonbeing, it is akin to the Hindu concept of the Brahman. "

>

> Taoism

> http://www.usao.edu/~usao-ids3313/ids/html/taoism.html

>

 

 

" While Tao is comparable to the highest deities of the world's great

religions and mythologies, it is especially unlike the Christian

concept of God. There is no anthropomorphizing of Tao in the text,

yet it is an entirely approachable, comforting, and universal idea.

 

Great Tao flows everywhere, / It extends to the left and to the

right. / All beings receive It in order to live and to be free. / It

works out perfectness in them although It possesses not a Name. / It

protects them with love and sustains them, but does not claim to be

Ruler of their actions. -- ch. 34

 

One very good method for furthering our understanding of any

philosophy is to compare new findings with ideas that are already

familiar to us. Students of religious texts or philosophies will

recognize some quite striking parallels between these verses and

those found in other traditions. One of particular interest has to

do with Tao, which creates yet remains apart from its creation or,

as mentioned above, " sustains them but is not ruler of their

actions. " We can find this idea practically verbatim in the ninth

chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita; likewise in the Vishnu Purana; " He,

though one with all beings, is beyond and separate from material

nature (Prakriti), from its products, from proper ties, from

imperfections " (Bk. 6, ch. 5).

 

Taken independently, any of these sources of ancient truth expresses

itself profoundly and suggestively, but when they are coalesced into

one study, our comprehension is greatly increased. The nature and

method of creation, the purpose of being, and a sense of divine

impersonality, are just a few thoughts that arise in our minds as a

result of this single inquiry into the nature of Tao. In chapter 51

we read: " It gives them Life, but does not possess them. / It gives

them activity, but does not depend on them. / It urges them to grow,

but does not rule them. " Tao governs its creations not with threats

and fear, but with the knowledge that all life is infused with its

life, and that the expression of life is mutually beneficial for the

enlightened and unenlightened alike....

 

It is a rare thing to find an entire philosophy expressed in so few

words. The Chinese language being a very concise one, especially as

applied in the Tao Teh Ching, has the dual quality of being

refreshingly direct and profoundly subtle. Because of its economy of

words, this ancient classic has maintained its integrity down

through the ages, rendering itself to us in an inspiringly modern

way. In the end we perceive Lao-tzu's message as a highly mystical

one. It is perhaps on this level that we can best identify with it,

for it reaches us out of our shared antiquity, that timeless past of

ageless being. "

 

Sunrise magazine, October/November 1990