Guest guest Posted October 19, 2008 Report Share Posted October 19, 2008 Dear worshippers of the Divine Mother, i would like the forum to be Silent for one week in homage to Consul B. John Zavrel's " The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe " , a priceless gem of enlightenment. i would also want to thank Violet for again sustaining this extraordinarily illuminating 2008. This post is indeed a great spiritual gift for me, as today is the birthday of my son Kash ............... who 15 years ago on Diwali, 13 November 1993, meditated for the first time and entered his Sahasrara, the Abode of the Great Devi, and awakened me from a deep sleep to unconditionally surrender myself at Her Feet to seek refuge, liberation and the eternal afterlife by first freeing myself from the immensely intoxicating and overpowering maya of this material world: The Spiritual Monsoon Begins It was in early November 1993, that the drizzle of Divine Consciousness began. A Sahaja Yogi friend, Bhupinder, asked permission from the father if he could teach his sons Kash (13 year-old) and Shah (11 year-old) how to meditate. To allay any fears he explained that it was a simple, extremely harmless, newly discovered method of spiritual awakening. Both children were given Self-Realization after which all three of them meditated. When they finished Kash went straight to his father and exclaimed that he had reached a beautiful land far away. The father skeptically listened, occasionally glancing at his friend to see if it made any sense to him. Kash told that the very instant he closed his eyes and went into meditation, he found himself standing on a soft carpet of clouds — hues of blue and white not seen on Earth — spreading in all directions as far as the eye could see. Some distance away there was a very bright Light shining above and illuminating the entire vastness. In spite of its dazzling brilliance he could gaze at it without hurting his eyes. He just stood and looked around in amazement and awe at the tranquillity and stunning beauty of the surroundings. For a long time he continued gazing around this strange serene land, wondering where he really was. Kash did not even take one step in any direction. The sheer splendor of this awesome scene illumined by a single dazzling Light and his inability to comprehend where he was kept him mesmerized and rooted to one spot. After gazing around for about twenty minutes Kash closed his eyes again, and descended back to Earth. His ignorant father just took it as a figment of a child's imagination. Unknown to him his Sahaja Yogi friend had just awakened his son's Kundalini, the potential divine energy residing within humans (Holy Spirit). (This is nothing short of a stupendous revolutionary spiritual breakthrough achieved by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, who bestows such priceless powers to any human desiring a Higher Consciousness.) This very first spiritual experience of a child immediately after Self-Realization — human connection with the Universal Spirit through the awakening of the Kundalini — by another Sahaja Yogi irrefutably confirms that all devotees of the Great Supreme Spirit have been endowed with the spiritual power to give the " second birth. " This fact absolutely confirms what Shri Mataji has proclaimed to the world — That She is the One who will emancipate humankind! The Kundalini can be awakened by any Sahaja Yogi — This Revealed Truth is Absolute. It is imperative that all readers understand the sheer strength of spiritual empowerment that this simple statement wishes to convey. The Great Adi Shakti bequeaths the gift of Self- Realization to those desiring it. They in turn are empowered to impart the same spiritual transformation on others. Ordinary humans will have the powers of baptism that ancient prophets like John the Baptist and Jesus had, powers of genuine second spiritual birth far greater than the most powerful pope, satguru, dalai lama, or ayatollah. An en masse spiritual transformation has been triggered to self-empower humans to empower others, and this chain will now never ever be broken. This Divine Power of giving second birth (Kundalini awakening) is available free of charge to all desirous of freeing themselves from the mental monotony of lifeless religious regimes. The Spirit has nothing to do with the contradicting, debilitating dogmas of organized religion and we have the confidence and faith to say that a single Self-realized individual has more spiritual powers than all the combined might of the religious Idols. Why? Not only none of them have any idea of the Kingdom of God within despite centuries of searching but — in case they suddenly claim to discover it in future — also absolutely no power to lead their prisoners there. Humans will become their own masters without any external authority of any kind. They will seek the KINGDOM OF GOD within and all the Idols will be powerless to stop this mass exodus in the next century. This you must know. " The difference between a saint and a Yogi is that the saint himself is righteous, himself is holy, but he doesn't know much about the Kundalini. But the Yogi knows about the Kundalini. The difference between a Yogi and a Sahaja Yogi: . . . Sahaja Yogi has Powers, a Sahaja Yogini has Powers to give Realization to others. A Yogi can cleanse himself but he cannot cleanse others, while a Sahaja Yogi can cleanse others and cleanse himself. So this is the most superior state which you achieved through your great punyas I should say. So many of you have been searching the Truth in previous lives, and now here you are to achieve what you have been searching for. All that has happened now, so beautifully. You are not even aware what has happened to you automatically. Spontaneously you have got the Powers within your central nervous system in a split of a second. " Shri Udara-kirtih Shri Nirmala Devi How It Was All Decided, Sahasrara Puja, Fregene, Italy — May 8, 1988 Note: On February 16, 1997, at 6:45 p.m. Kash was asked if he was aware on this first day of meditation that only a few minutes earlier he was on Earth. He replied that he knew that he lived on Earth, but could not comprehend what actually transpired. He himself was wondering how he came there, fully aware that he was not dreaming or hallucinating! But where was this Heavenly Paradise? He had absolutely no idea. Earth Is A Conscious, Living Mother The next evening Bhupinder gave Kash specific instructions and a mantra to recite before going into meditation. As directed, he put his right palm on the ground and uttered the mantra four times: " Om Twameva Sakshat Shri Ganesha Sakshat Shri Adi Shakti Mataji Shri Nirmala Devi Namoh Namah. " The dormant Kundalini energy inside his sacrum bone sprang into life, coursed through the central nervous system, and pierced the Sahasrara. At that very instant, for the first time, he felt the Mother Earth breathing. She was breathing very gently and every heave of Her breath felt on his palm, going slowly up, and then down again. As he continued repeating the Mighty Mantra of Shri Ganesha the sacred Shri Bhumidevi (Mother Earth) continued inhaling and exhaling to reveal Her true nature. Her superconscious child was sure beyond all doubts that Earth was breathing. This is truly the Dawn of Aquarius and human awareness will never be the same again. Mother Earth is alive — This Revealed Truth is Absolute. The Earth Mother is alive: We have to feel Her, sense Her, hear Her, talk to Her and, most important, protect Her. We must defend Her for She is our Mother. She is a Conscious Being, a living cell of the infinite Universe. We have to transcend our debilitating ignorance, our destructive lifestyles, our cold selfishness, and transform ourselves into Higher Beings. It is time to begin the Great Journey that all Holy Scriptures, all Messengers, and all prophecies promised. Awaken, humans, awaken! We are indeed at the crossroads of spiritual Eternity! Awaken and become masters of your spiritual Destiny! Awaken to bask in the first rays of the Millennium of Light! Let there be Love! Let there be Healing! Let there be Freedom! Let there be Justice! Let there be Transformation! Let there be Spiritual Evolution! Let there be Universal Truth! Let there be Collective Consciousness! Let there be Cosmic Bliss! Let there be Light! Let there be Light! Let there be . . . Mother Earth: The Womb Of The Universe " Though I was in a Christian family, that before touching the Mother Earth, getting up from the bed, we use to say, " Oh, Mother Earth, please forgive us because we are touching you with our feet. " It's the respect for the Mother Earth and for Nature — is built-in within us; it's part and parcel. We are part and parcel of this Whole, we can call it, a whole Universe. But when you get into this nonsensical idea of freedom then you are leaving your Mother Earth. Your gravity itself reduces. This Mother Earth has to teach us. While we are plundering now, this, everything. " Ecology, ecology " , people are crying. Whatever is outside is also inside. If you want to exploit your Mother inside or if you want to trouble your Mother inside, you can also trouble this Mother Earth. Now, what has replaced our understanding is very simple is that we are paying more attention to money. If you can cut a tree, say, to get money, then it is hurting the Mother. But if you are cutting a tree for beautifying Her, then She's happy. Her discretion is so great. See the way She produces flowers, different, different types of flowers. In different, different countries, different types of flowers. Like Me, I saw in My country that flowers are extremely fragrant, very fragrant and She understands so much. . . . It's so remarkable how the Nature is so much within us and how this whatever is within us guides outside and receives the blessings. We are not something separate. This Mother Earth is our home. We have a home in Her and She has a home within us. I said today, that for Shri Ganesha, He had the body of the clay, just ordinary, so you can imagine, you can really think of it, how this whole Universe has created us. All of it is within us and when we try to hurt something, then we are hurting ourselves. The intelligence of Mother Earth I have seen from My childhood. It's such a beautiful thing to know the Nature and the Mother Earth. That's why all the saints, in India especially, use to go and live in the forest. Only in the forest you could see clearly how this primordial bondage was absolutely obeyed. Absolutely obeyed, naturally by the Nature. For us, it is difficult. We are rather free. . . . I hope you understand our relationship with Nature, with Shri Ganesha and with our Kundalini, is like absolutely identified with each other. Absolutely. If you start loving the Nature, all these ideas of spoiling your innocence will be finished. I am the Primordial Mother and I have to do the job of awakening the Primordial Nature, the Dharma, within human beings and that's what I have to do and nothing else. But for that I don't do anything. I mean, I am Nishkriya. I don't do anything. Really, I don't do. Is done by the Nature, done by Shri Ganesha, Vishnu, Maheshwara, everybody — they are doing it. But, then what is the relationship? The relationship is they're all in My Body and they're all bound by their own Dharma and this is the relationship, spontaneous, automatic, like a built-in relationship. All of them are related to Me and they have a tremendous protocol, tremendous respect that if I say anything they will not finish it. See, this thing is that very, very deep thing that I am telling you, that you are a human being, that there is built-in within you are your Dharmas and if you go against your Dharma then you'll be finished. They're all built-in within you. They're all there. " Shri Mahi Shri Nirmala Devi Shri Ganesha and the Innate Dharma, Ganesha Puja, Cabella, Italy — September 7, 1997 The Woman Of Great Beauty As he came through the celestial clouds and opened his spiritual eyes, the Great Ancient Matriarch was there to receive him. The sight of Her standing right in front stunned the young child. Who was this beautiful, young Woman who had appeared out of nowhere in this peaceful Paradise? Who was this dazzling Being, all dressed in a stunning red and white sari, who had come to greet him? In the first place where was he? Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi smiled and held out Her Hands, with open, upturned palms. Shri Maharajni Shri Nirmala Devi told him to do the same and put his downturned palms over Her's. As Kash did so he found himself being levitated a few inches off the ground. Both began traveling towards the extremely brilliant Light, quickly reaching their destination and slowing down to a standstill. A short distance away was a majestic golden Throne. Kash realized it was the same place he had seen the day before, for it was still under the same Light. The Great Sacred Mother walked to the Throne and sat on it. Kash followed and squatted before Her, the luxuriant clouds providing extreme comfort. He did not even bow down to Her for he had no idea what to do. All he knew that he had been meditating on Earth and now he was in some strange land sitting before a very beautiful Woman on a majestic Golden Throne. He was sure that he was not dreaming, but just what was going on? Shri Sarvaruna Shri Nirmala Devi then told him that they would meditate. Both simultaneously raised their Kundalinis and Kash realized that the Mater Sanctissima (Most Holy Mother) was repeating the same method of Kundalini awakening he had been taught by his father's friend. She brought both Her Hands together and from the Mooladhara Chakra continuously encircled the left with the right, slowly rising all the way to the Sahasrara Chakra. Shri Maha Avatar Shri Nirmala Devi then tied a knot just above the Brahmarandhra (top of head). This was repeated two more times. Then SHE opened HER left palm, resting it on the left knee, and with the right hand drew a protective arch over the entire body from left to right. This was done seven times. She then joined both palms in Namaskar and closed HER eyes. Both lapsed into meditation. The attainment of the state of Sahaj Samadhi came instantly to Kash. The onrushing bliss was beyond description as the thoughtless state intensified the indescribable Joy. Wave upon wave of Paramchaitanya buffeted him into spiritual ecstasy. The spirit had merged into the Spirit. The human had become the Divine. The drop had become the Ocean. The individual consciousness had become the Universal Consciousness. Time lost its essence and he could have easily remained suspended in this bliss for hours, even days. After about 20 minutes the Spirit of the Living God, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi tapped him on his shoulders and immediately he came out of Nirvana. She told him that it was time to go. Kash did not even thank Her, so dazed was he by this spiritual experience. He just closed his spiritual eyes and descended through the thick layer of clouds, back to this planet known as Earth. When he opened his physical eyes he was at 3495 Ivan Franco 107, Lachine, Montreal, Canada. Shri Adi Shakti: The Kingdom Of God, page 77-84 Maharajni (2nd): The Great Empress. In this name the second act of Her, `Sthiti' is indicated. `Yena Jatani Jivanti': By whom all creatures live — Taittiriya Upanisad 3.1. She, who rules the entire Universe and, is its law and its execution. Every law or truth that man discovers is just a glimpse of that great will or law of that Great Empress. Sarvaruna: (50th): From head to foot She is faultlessly beautiful. ------------------- The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe By Consul B. John Zavrel I bow to the Supreme Goddess who abides in all beings in the form of the Mother, To that great Mother of all things, I pay homage again and again! 'Two thousand years of male dominated religion is enough. The 21st century is dawning. It's time to tear down the No Trespassing sign from the Garden of Eden, find those forbidden trees and fearlessly eat fruit of Knowledge and Life. Mother Sophia is waiting. In the past 2,000 years, Christians and Muslims, and most recently the Communists, conspired to wipe out our memories clean of tens of thousands of years of Goddess spirituality in the Americas, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central and East Asia, and Australia. I offer this book as a small token of my overwhelming gratitude to the people of India, who in spite of continual invasions by hostile cultures seeking to impose their own religions on the subcontinent, fought to keep the light of inner traditions of the Mother of the Universe alive. I bow especially to the masters, the great yogis and yoginis, who embodied the Mother's light in their own lives, and demonstrated by their own example the possibility of the enlightened life. Again and again I offer my loving respect to the Shakta teachers who took me and my husband under their care and brought us into the living presence of the Mother Divine.' With these words, the American writer Linda Johnsen closes her new book, The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe. The central theme of her latest book is a comprehensive and loving look at the worship of the Mother Divine during the course of history of mankind. It has happened only in the last 1,500 years that the ancient religion of the Goddess has been extinguished almost everywhere on earth. Everywhere, except in India, the one culture where the Mother of the Universe is still worshipped today as she was throughout the world for most of human history. Linda Johnsen takes us to India to reveal a continuous stream of living Goddess spirituality still flourishing in exotic temples, ecstatic festivals, and in the hearts of millions of devoted worshippers. In this ancient mystical tradition the Goddess herself reveals who she is, tells why she created us, and shows how we can find our way back to her lap. At the core of this tradition lies an amazing revelation of the limitless potentials of true human consciousness. In the mid-1970, Swami Rama of the Himalayas, a well known Shakta master, attacked Darwin's theory of evolution. 'We have been watching apes for thousands of years. Who has ever seen an ape turn into a man? Never believe it!' Swami Rama was not a primitive fundamentalist. He was an advanced yogi who, under laboratory conditions, demonstrated extraordinary conscious control over his heart beat, body temperature and brain waves. He respected the methodology of modern science, but he completely rejected the notion that evolution is driven by chance or blind necessity. Swami Rama, like all Shaktas, believes the cosmos is consciousness. There is a living, intelligent organizing principle which drives evolution in this world as well as in all the subtle worlds that coexist with ours. Shakta scriptures, based on traditions thousands of years old, agree with Western science that the Earth is billions of years old, but when human beings or any other species come into existence, it is because the divine force wills it, not because an ape randomly mutates into human form. The Mother of the Universe is more than a genetrix to Shaktas. She is always brimming over with ananda lahari, 'waves of bliss,' something very much like what we humans call love. Shaktism can be traced to neolithic times. Major Shakta texts surviving to the present day include the Devi Bhagavatam (Ancient Annals of the Luminous Goddess), Tripura Rahasya (The Mystery of the Triune Goddess), Lalita Mahatmyam (The Greatness of the Goddess) and Saundarya Lahari (Waves of Beauty and Bliss). Actually, there are thousands of other scriptures in the tradition, a treasure trove of mystical literature devoted to the Goddess. In her book, Linda Johnsen devotes a chapter to several of the major forms of the Goddess, as She has been worshipped in India for thousands of years: Sarasvati, the goddess as wisdom and inspiration; Lakshmi, the goddess as wealth and good fortune; Durga, the goddess as conquering power; Lalita, the goddess as consciousness, and Kundalini, the goddess as the illuminating energy of awareness. In the Goddess tradition of India truth itself is called Shiva, and the living experience of truth is called Shakti. In one of the major Goddess lineages the perfect unity of Shiva and Shakti is called Maha Tripura Sundari, the Supreme Goddess or, literally, 'the Supreme Beauty who dwells in three cities.' The three cities are the physical, subtle and causal planes of existence, or on the human level, the physical, mental and spiritual components of our being. Often she is simply called Lalita, 'she who plays.' The borderless cosmos is her playground. We are her toys. At every moment, whether we have the eyes to see it or not, we are totally immersed in and surrounded by and filled with and guided by Supreme Beauty. Satyam shivam sundaram: 'Absolute Truth is Ultimate Good is Supreme Beauty.' In the Goddess tradition therefore, the sages are those pure souls who remain in a state of constant delight. They do not experience ugliness anywhere. It is not that they don't recognize the sorrow and evil the rest of us see all around us-they see through it. Suffering is part of the play. In theater, everyone knows the greatest dramas are the tragedies. In India, Goddess sadhana, 'spiritual practice,' is rooted in asceticism and nonattachement. This sadhana begins with Ten Commitments, a set of do's and don'ts that form the foundation of yogic life: 1. Don't harm others. 2. Don't be dishonest. 3. Don't take anything that isn't yours. 4. Don't overindulge in sensuality. 5. Don't be greedy. 6. Do cultivate physical cleanliness, emotional purity and mental clarity. 7. Do be content with what your karma has brought you. 8. Do discipline yourself. 9. Do study your psychological and spiritual makeup. 10.Do love the Supreme Being with your whole being. The concept of the Shakta universe is vastly different from the Western scientific one of today. The masters of the Goddess tradition perceive the world very differently than you do. If you have no experience with meditation, these concepts may seem challenging. However, if you keep your mind open to the information presented in Linda Johnsen's book, your understanding of yourself, the universe, and the Goddess may shift in surprising ways. In order to understand the subtler channels we begin receiving in meditation, it is necessary to understand one of the most central tenets of Tantra, the 37 tattvas or cosmic levels. Much of today's confusion about higher states of consciousness exists because these categories have been forgotten. Yet it is the ladder of the tattvas which leads to the feet of Lalita, the Supreme Goddess. The ancient Hindu sages did not smash atoms together in particle accelerators in order to understand the nature of matter, though they did have a sophisticated concept of the atom-called paramanu or 'smallest particle' in Sanskrit, described in texts like the Vaisesika Sutra. What they did instead was categorize the world into elements based on subjective experience. For example, we experience solid stuff and liquid stuff and things in the process of transforming themselves, such as fire. There is gaseous stuff like air and then there's space itself, which although it appears to be empty, according to yoga masters is actually a substance. These principles represent the first five cosmic elements with which many ancient civilizations were familiar, usually lamely translated as earth, water, fire, air and space. Linda Johnsons lists the 37 tattvas and explains them in a remarkably readable, understandable manner. For a reader not familiar with these basic concepts, these pages will provide much food for thought. Several color illustrations of the Goddess and many interesting stories make for a fascinating reading, a book which is more than a book. It is a fountain of wisdom and inspiration. 'When I told Swami Rama of the Himalayas, the first yogi I ever met, that I was Norwegian,' recalls Linda Johnsen, 'he laughed and shouted, " We're cousins! " He was referring to our shared Indo- European heritage. Yet in the light of that spectacular heritage, which shone so brightly in the Hellenistic world, [it] flickered out in the first few centuries of our era. In Greek times many slaves could read; after the West entered its Dark Age, even emperors were illiterate. Astronomy, medicine and the other sciences collapsed, and the status of women (who were priestesses and professors in the Hellenistic period) crumbled. A new religion had caught the West in a stranglehold, reaching even Norway by 1000 A.D. The priests of this religion recited the teachings of its founder in a language common people could not understand. This was useful in preventing Europe's beleagured peasants from learning enough about Jesus's words to realize that many of their leaders, both political and spiritual, were disregarding Christ's actual teachings at every turn. Unfortunately, this continues to the present day, as politicians posing as Christians self-righteously press on the American public an agenda which is in almost every detail the opposite of Jesus'. The worst tragedy of Europe's Dark Age of Christianity was not only that thinking was no longer allowed (questioning the church was a capital offense), but that direct personal exploration of mystical states was strictly forbidden. To this day most Christian churches actively discourage involvement in Eastern-style meditation techniques, techniques which help one develop and deepen one's connection with Spirit. Of course not even the church could keep the human soul in chains-some lone saints made extraordinary spiritual breakthroughs. Those who couched their experiences in Christian terms were canonized (after they were safely dead); those who didn't, were executed. Perhaps the inevitable result of severing so many people from their inner spiritual roots was that when Western science began to flourish again in the 17th century, it quickly became completely soulless. 'We Westerners have inherited a drastically impoverished world-view in which the Goddess, and all the cherished feminine values and rich inner experience her worship entails, have been lost,' stressed Linda Johnsen. 'According to the ancient Egyptians, when her husband Osiris was lost, Isis set out to find the scattered parts of his body and restore him. Today it is up to us to locate and restore the tradition of the living Goddess. We would do well to begin our search in India, where for not one moment in all of human history have the children of the living Goddess forgotten their Divine Mother.' In opening up a universe of vibrant Goddess spirituality, this book offers a vision of what our own Goddess heritage must have been, revealing how much the West lost when we turned away from the Divine Mother. Re-lighting our candle from the flames of India's vibrant Goddess tradition, says Linda Johnsen, we can re-ignite the spirituality of the West. http://www.meaus.com/living_goddess.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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