Shakti pervades all religions and is entrenched in their scriptures.

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

i have posted a series of lectures that are most priceless in

comprehending Brahman/God Almighty, way over and above all that

religious organizations have taught over the centuries. It is also

the deepest truth that humans will ever realize - that the Shakti

within is part and parcel of Brahman/God Almighty.

 

Spiritual experience that dissolves karmans accumulated over aeons

/message/6552

 

Not through discourse, intellect or study of scriptures can the Self

/message/6556

 

Stages of Spiritual Development by Prem Prakash

/message/6422

 

" Papa, do not leave me alone on Earth. "

/message/1047

 

There are more articles at:

http://www.adishakti.org/forum/archives.htm

 

Perhaps it may allow us to understand why all the prophets and

messengers of various religions meditate without exception on the

Shakti in the Spirit World.

 

Shakti pervades all religions and is entrenched in their scriptures.

Over the years the Devi has given ample evidence that She is the One

above all, the active creative Power of Brahman/God Almighty. She is

the Christian Comforter who explains about Jesus' teachings and, as

the Holy Spirit, the source of the Cool Breeze (vibrations) of all

who are born of the Spirit during the Last Judgment. Shakti is the

Spirit who explains and commences the Resurrection (Al-Qiyamah), the

Ruh within who makes " your hands speak " in order to guide, and

issues forth the Cool Breeze (Winds of Qiyamah) to confirm you are

taking part in the Resurrection. Shakti is the Aykaa Mayee who,

entrenched in the Japji Sahib and pervading the Guru Granth Sahib,

now rises yet again to claim Her supremacy after five centuries of

suppression. Shakti is Shri Lalita in all Sahasraras, witnessed

thousands of times, and Her 1000 Names is the Divine Nectar that

liberates us from ignorance and grants moksa.

 

But why do all - Shri Ganesha, Jesus, Hanuman, Sita, Rama, Buddha,

Radha, Krishna, Shiva, Prophet Muhammad, Guru Nanak and others -

meditate only on the Shakti/Spirit? The answer is Brahman/God

Almighty and His Shakti/Spirit are one and the same.

 

Brahman/God Almighty exists within us as The Light which is always

above His Shakti/Spirit. At all times Shri Ganesha, Jesus, Hanuman,

Sita, Rama, Buddha, Radha, Krishna, Shiva, Prophet Muhammad, Guru

Nanak and others meditate on Brahman/God Almighty (Father) and His

Shakti/Spirit (Mother).

 

Shakti and Brahman are one and the same like the sun (Brahman) and

its light (Shakti).

 

 

Worship Of Devi, The Universal Mother

 

The worship of Devi, the universal Mother, leads to the attainment

of knowledge of the Self. The story in the Kena Upanishad known as

the " Yaksha Prasna " , supports this view. It tells how Uma, the

Divine Mother, taught the' Truth to the gods. Goddess Shakti thus

sheds wisdom on Her devotees.

 

Devi worship is therefore, worship of God's glory, of God's

greatness and supremacy. It is adoration of the Almighty. It is

unfortunate that Devi is ignorantly understood by many as a mere

blood-thirsty Hindu Goddess No! Devi is not a vicious demoness nor

is She the Property of the Hindus alone. Devi does not belong to any

religion. Devi is that conscious power of God. The words Devi,

Shakti, etc., and the ideas of different forms connected with these

names are concessions granted by the sages due to the limitations of

the human intellect; they are by no means the ultimate definitions

of Shakti.

 

The original or Adi Shakti is beyond human comprehension. Bhagavan

Krishna says in the Gita: " This is only My lower nature. Beyond this

is My higher nature, the life-principle which sustains the universe " .

 

The Upanishad also says : " The supreme power of God is manifested in

various ways. This power is of the nature of God, manifesting as

knowledge, strength and activity " .

 

Truly speaking, all beings in the universe are Shakti-worshippers,

whether they are aware of it or not, for there is no one who does

not love and long for power in some form or other. physicists and

scientists have now proved that everything is pure, imperishable

energy. This energy is only a form of divine Shakti which exists in

every form.

 

A child is more familiar with the mother than with the father,

because the mother is very kind, loving, tender and affectionate and

looks after the needs of the child. In the spiritual field also, the

aspirant or the devotee-the spiritual child-has an intimate

relationship with the Mother Durga, more than with the Father Shiva.

Therefore, it behoves the aspirant to approach the Mother first, who

then introduces Her spiritual child the Father for his illumination.

 

The Mother's Grace is boundless Her mercy is illimitable; Her

knowledge infinite; Her power immeasurable; Her glory ineffable; and

Her splendour indescribable. She gives you material prosperity as

well as spiritual freedom.

 

The Divine Mother, Devi, Mahesvari or Para-Shakti is the supreme

shakti or power of the Supreme Being. Shakti is the energy aspect of

the Lord. It is inherent in God. Just as you cannot separate heat

form fire, so also you cannot separate shakti form God, the Shakta,

or the possessor of shakti. Shakti and Shakta are one. They are

inseparable.

 

Devi, Kurga, Kali, Bhagavati, Bhavani, Ambal, Ambika, Jagadambe,

Kamesvari, Ganga, Uma, Chandi, Chamundi, Lalita, Gauri, Kundalini,

Tara, Rajesvari, Tripurasundari, etc., are all forms of Shakti.

Radha, Durga, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, and Savitri are also five names of

the same Shakti. She is worshiped during the nine days of Navaratri

as Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati.

 

Manifestations of Shakti

 

Shakti is symbolically female; but It is, in reality, neither male

or female. It is only a Force which manifests Itself in various

forms.

 

Electricity, magnetism, heat, light, the five elements and their

combination, are all external manifestation of Shakti. Intelligence,

discrimination, psychic power and will are all Her internal

manifestation. She keeps up the lila (play) of the Lord through the

gunas-sattva, rajas and tamas. She lies dormant in the muladhara

chakra at the base of the spine, in the form of serpent power or

coiled-up energy known as the kundalini shakti, She is at the center

of the life of the universe, She is the primal force of life that

underlies all existence. She vitalizes the body through the sushumna

nadi and nerves and nourishes the body with bile and blood. She is

the energy in the sun, the fragrance in the flowers, the beauty in

the landscape, the Gayatri or the blessed Mother in the Vedas, color

in the rainbow, intelligence in the mind, potency in homeopathic

pills, power in sages, devotion in bhaktas, samyama and samadhi in

yogis.

 

Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride are all Her

forms. Her manifestations are countless. Devi or Shakti is nature

Itself. The whole world is Her body, mountains are Her bones, rivers

are Her veins, ocean is Her bladder, sun and moon are Her eyes, wind

is Her breath and fire is Her mouth.

 

The Divine Mother

 

Devi is the Mother if all. The pious and the wicked, the rich and

the poor, the saint and the sinner are all Her children. In this

world, all the wants of the child are provided by the mother. The

child's growth, development and sustenance are looked after by the

mother. Even so, all the necessities of life and its activities in

this world, and the energy needed for it, depend upon Shakti or the

Universal Mother. The human mother is the manifestation of the

Universal Mother. All women are forms of the Divine Mother.

 

You are more free with your mother than with anybody else. You open

your heart more freely to your mother than to your father. There is

no God greater than the mother. It is the mother who protects you,

nourishes you, consoles you, cheers you and nurses you. She

sacrifices her all for the sake of her children. She is your first

guru. The first syllables which almost every quadruped or human

being utters is the beloved name of the mother: " Ma " . A child is

more familiar with the mother than with the father, because the

former is very kind, loving, tender and affectionate, and looks

after the wants of the child. Whenever the child wants anything it

runs with outstretched hands to the mother rather than the father.

If she hears the cry of the child she leaves her domestic work and

runs immediately to attend to the child. In the spiritual field

also, the aspirant or the devotee (the spiritual child) has a more

intimate relationship with Mother Durga than with the father, Shiva.

 

It behooves, therefore, that the aspirant should approach the Mother

first, so that She may introduce Her spiritual child to the Father

for its illumination or Self-realization. That is the reason why the

devotees have placed Radha, Sita, Gauri etc., first in the jugal

(combined) names, such as Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama, Gauri-Shankar,

Uma-Shankar, Bhavani-Shankar, Lakshmi-Narayana.

 

Mother's grace is boundless, Her mercy is illimitable, Her knowledge

is infinite, Her power is immeasurable, Her glory is ineffable, Her

splendor is indescribable. Approach Her with an open heart. Lay bare

your heart before Her with frankness and humility. Be as simple as a

child. Kill ruthlessly egoism, cunningness, selfishness and

crookedness. Make a total, unreserved, ungrudging surrender to Her.

Sing Her praises, repeat Her name and worship Her with faith and

unflinching devotion.

 

Worship of the Divine Mother

 

Worship of Devi or the Universal Mother gives not only prosperity,

but liberation from all bondage. It leads to the attainment of

knowledge of the Self. The story of the Kena Upanishad, known as the

Yaksha-Prasna, supports this view.

 

Shakti is all. She can do anything. She can make or mar, She can

mend or end. For the sake of the continuance of Her divine play

here, She Herself, as the veil of ignorance, has veiled the truth

from you and bound you to this samsara (worldly existence). When She

is propitiate through the practice of sincere devotion and

unconditional self-surrender, She, as knowledge, removes the veil

and enables one to perceive the Truth.

 

No one can free himself from the thralldom of mind and matter

without Mother's grace. The fetters of maya are too hard to break.

If the aspirant worships Her as the great Mother, he can very easily

go beyond the phenomenal world though Her benign grace and

blessings. She will remove all obstacle in the path, lead him safely

into the illimitable domain of eternal bliss and make him absolutely

free.

 

The aspirant thinks that the world is identical with the Divine

Mother. He moves about thinking his own form to be the form of the

Divine Mother, and thus beholds oneness everywhere. He also feels

that the Divine Mother is identical with Brahman.

 

Worship of the Divine Mother, intense faith, perfect devotion and

self-surrender will help one to attain Her grace. Through Her grace

alone can knowledge of the Imperishable be attained.

 

Durga: Lakshmi: Sarasvati

 

Divine Mother is everywhere triple. She is endowed with the three

gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas; She manifest as will (ichcha

shakti), action (kriya shakti) and knowledge (jnana shakti); She is

Brahma-shakti (Sarasvati) in conjunction with Brahma, Vishnu-shakti

(Lakshmi) in conjunction with Lord Vishnu and Shiva-sakti (Maha-Kali

or Durga) in conjunction with Lord Shiva.

 

Sarasvati is cosmic intelligence, cosmic consciousness, cosmic

knowledge. Lakshmi does not merely mean material wealth like gold,

cattle, etc., but all kinds of prosperity, glory, magnificence, joy,

exaltation or greatness come under Lakshmi. Durga (Devi) is the

transformative power of Divinity, the power that dissolves

multiplicity in unity.

 

Devi (Durga) assumes many aspects according the tasks to be

performed by Her-sometimes sweet and tender, and at other times

terrible and devouring. She is always kind and gracious to Her

devotees. Arjuna, the Pandava hero, worshipped Her before starting

the fight against the evil-minded Kauravas. Sri Rama worshipped Her

at the time of the fight with Ravana, to invoke Her aid in the war.

He fought and won through Her grace. When Vishnu and Mahadeva

destroyed various demons, the power of Devi was behind them. Devi

took Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra and gave them the necessary shakti to

proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction.

 

Navaratri and its Significance

 

During Navaratri the whole of India adores the Mother and worships

Her with great devotion. (Dussara, Durga Puja and Navaratri are one

and the same.) On the first three nights, Durga or the destructive

aspect of the Mother is worshipped. On the succeeding three nights

it is the creative aspect, or Lakshmi, that is adored. On the last

three nights the knowledge aspect, or Sarasvati, is invoked. The

tenth day is " Vijaya-dasami day " or the " day of Victory " .

 

There is a special significance in this arrangement. When the Devi

is worshipped by a devotee in this order, as Durga She first

destroys the evil propensities that lurk in his mind. Then, as

Lakshmi, She implants therein the divine qualities conductive to

spiritual unfoldment. Then, as Sarasvati, She bestows true knowledge

on him.

 

The tenth day commemorates the victory of knowledge over nescience,

goodness over evil. It is the day on which boys start their

schooling. Aspirants are initiated on this day. On this memorable

day the carpenter, the tailor, the mason, the artist, the songster,

the typist and all technical workers do puja to their instruments

and implements. They behold and recognize the shakti or power behind

these instruments, and worship the Devi for their success,

prosperity and peace.

 

The incarnation of the Adi Shakti/Devi/Divine Mother is still on

Earth. She is Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (who has now withdrawn from

public life due to an advanced age). Whether you are a Hindu, Sikh,

Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, or Muslim it is time to seek and

meditate on the eternal, ever-youthful, omniscient, omnipotent and

omnipresent Adi Shakti/Devi/Divine Mother within. She is the One

pervading the Puranas, Vedas, Guru Granth Sahib, Bible amd Qur'an.

You are free to choose Her according to your inherited religion. But

She cannot be found in temples, gurdwaras, churches, synagogues or

mosques but within. So, discarding all inherited religious ignorance

and conditionings, learn to merge with the Adi Shakti/Devi/Divine

Mother within without taking a single step in any direction. If you

miss this priceless chance of moksa (liberation) your soul will

return and helplessly whirl all over again in the ceaseless wheel of

transmigration - birth, disease, sorrow, pain, old age and death.

 

Jai Shri Mataji,

 

 

jagbir