Shakti is ever changing as a vibrant force of the Brahman

[Guest guest]

God As Mother by Durgamadhab Dash

Orissa Review * October - 2004

 

" Ramakrishna Paramahansa called the Divine Mother by more than a

dozen names as if to demonstrate to the world that the particulars of

any dogma and tradition are all but meaningless expositions compared

with the vision of Mahamaya who may be Kali at one time and Durga at

another. But the Mother in any form is indeed that monotheistic deity

who creates the universe and holds it within Her being and yet

resides within the living beings and objects. Be that as it may,

behind the veils of the myriad deities in human forms and

personalities, there is formless God who is one for the entire

universe and known as Brahman, the Satchidananda in the linking of

Existence (Sat), Knowledge (Chit) and Anand (Bliss).

 

Descriptions of the Shakti and the Brahman are exactly the same

except on one particular point. While the Brahman is infinite, the

Shakti is ever changing as a vibrant force of the Brahman. This

vibrant force is the cause of the creation of the universe. In this

sense the Brahman and the Shakti are inexplicably interrelated. The

two are thus one like fire and its power to burn.

 

According to the Eastern Indian Cosmology, the Devi's creative force

brings out and develops this universe. The said creative force also

draws back in to itself the whole of the universe on to the blissful

unchanging being of the Brahman, only to spew out again after an age

(Yuga) in the cosmic game of evolution and dissolution. This is what

is known as the process of expansion and contraction of our creation.

The expansion is akin to evolution of the universe and the

contraction is equal to dissolution of the universe. All this happens

due to the personification of the primal energy of the Devi. This is

known as the Maya Shakti of the Brahman. We worship the same Maya

Shakti during the Navaratri Puja in the month of Aswin. " Devi Mata "

is also known as Mahamaya, the mother of the universe. According to

scriptures She is the supreme divine will. She veils our vision of

the Brahman, the Absolute Reality of the universe. Again She is also

throb of His grace which rends this veil, leading us to realize the

identity of Jivatma with Paramatma.

 

Ramakrishna Paramahansa had envisioned this sacred prowess by using

his own descriptions. He has spoken in his various conversations on

the close and the unchangeable link between the Shakti and the

Brahman. In Ramakrishna's phrase, the " Brahman is without change. The

Shakti is the creative energy. She is ever changing. But both are one

like the two sides of the same coin " . Ramakrishna knew from his own

experience that all the different forms of God are different

perspectives of one unchanging Godhead. But Ramakrishna spoke most

frequently of the Mother because this was the prospective that he

most cherished in his life. Ramakrishna's experience and the

experiences of the other mystics assure us that many of the

perspectives of the Godhead open up to a Mother Goddess, who functions

in the lives of Her devotees, as their protector, companion and

mentor.

 

The conception of the cosmic spirit as the Divine Mother is very easy

to understand. The Motherhood of the Supreme Being is a spontaneous

urge of every human being who comes to this world in the natural

order of the evolutionary process. Love of the Mother is most logical

in every human being. It is an easy step to god realization. That

which is beyond our knowledge is the transiently Para Brahman. That

which one can know well in the spiritual order through our mind is

the Mother in the manifestation of Her various forms. She is the Maha

Shakti at the back of Her every manifestation. She is the Brahma

Shakti manifested to us through the form of Saraswati. She is Bishnu

Shakti manifested to us through the form of Lakshmi. She is also

Shiva Shakti manifested to us through the form of Parvati.

 

The Devi Mata is the combination of both Vidya and Avidya in Her

supreme form. As the symbol of Avidya, She is omnipresent in the form

of Cosmic delusion. And, at the same time as the symbol of Vidya, She

is adored as the supreme force of cosmic deliverance, leading the

Jiva from the mysterious spiritual deliverance to spiritual wisdom.

What is the significance of the sharp knife and the noose, She holds

in Her divine manifestation? The noose represents the concept of Her

binding force. The noose is the symbol of Maya, which binds us to

our material surroundings. This casts a veil on our conscience for

which although we know our goal, we are ultimately away from it,

because of the binding force of Maya. The knife She holds represents

the weapon, which can snap the noose and lead the Jiva on the path of

God realization. So the Devi Mother is the embodiment of both the

concordant forces of Vidya and Avidya. The devotees who worship Her

in the spiritual order achieve Her grace and attain Mokshya and

remain free from the bondage of birth and death in the wheel of human

procreation. The Supreme Mother leads them safe and sound on the path

of spiritual knowledge. But those who are mesmerized and struck by

Her binding force of Maya, lead an awful life full of sarcasm and are

born again and again on this earth with endless trails of material

agonies. This is the Para and the Apara forms of the Divine Mother a

la the two sides of the same coin. We should understand the Devi in

this way and worship Her divine prowess as Para Shakti full of all-

loving and compassionate Spirit. "

 

God As Mother by Durgamadhab Dash

Orissa Review * October - 2004