The Many forms of The Great Goddess

June 1, 2005

From ancient times the great GODDESS appeared as the source of the three aspects of existence by being worshiped as the UNIVERSAL, OMNIPRESENT MOTHER, full of wisdom. She knew her children well, loved them and wished one day to gather them once again to Herself, to become part of the spiritual elite who not only entered into eternal paradise, but would go the aid of those devotees who needed her power to overcome the material difficulties of this world and other planets.

With her omniscience, she sees and knows everything, visible and invisible. Her energy can penetrate everything - our past, present and future. As the wife of Vishnu, she has the power to intervene to grant our prayers and change treacherous circumstances.

Her second power is to open our consciousness. This is the hidden gift of love, the fundamental virtue of all good mothers. The goddess not only gives and shares her bountiful KNOWLEDGE, (Sarasvati), but she is also the internal guiding wisdom of our microcosm. This wisdom gives us the power to oppose the forces of evil.

Her third power is happiness. She sees with her heart, smiles, pardons and consoles; she cures the miseries and wounds to the spirit and inspires love. She represents interior happiness, which shines forth and communicates itself to us all.

Symbols and different names of the Great Goddess :

SHAKTI or PRACILTI = the POWER of nature or the source of creative energy

Bhagasati : The All Powerful

Devi - Mahadevi : The Radiant

Parvati : The Daughter of the Mountains

She is also called : the three wisdom's (Trayividya), the goddess of language (Bhasha), the Mother of the world (Jagadmata), the giver of life (Bavani), the youngest (Avara), Like a Bee (Bhramani) and the giver of abundance (Anna-purna).

Names of the goddess when associated with Vishnu/Krishna and Shiva

As the wife of Vishnu or the alluring Krisha : she is called "the Peace-of the-Night" (Uma), the "Pale One" (Gaudi) and the "Faithful One" (Sati).

She was also the Messenger of Shiva (Shiva-duti), "Prosperous Times,the goddess of Sleep, (Shiva) the "Sovereign", the "Great goddess" (Maheshvari), "Love" (Kamakya) and the "Universal One". (Sharvani).

Most of the names cited above are taken from the Karapatri and Shri Bhagavati Tattva.

Names of the Sahkti ressembling those of Marie, the Mother of Jesus

The Beautiful one (Sundarf), the "Young Virgin" (Kanya-Kumari), the Mother of the World (Jagaddhatri), the VIRGIN (Kanya), "Our Lady of Kindness" (Sarva- mangala), the "Shining One" (DEVI), "Transcendental Splendor" (Maha-devi), "the Inaccessible One" (Durga), the Infinite One (Ananti), the "Queen of Heaven (Nitya)…

The goddess SHAKTI or Omnipresent energy Source of Life issuing from the Great Being

Brought forth from the Creator, she already had helped with the Creation of the world :

When Brahma created the universe, the Primordial God was divided in two directions:

· Masculine : "Sadha Shiva = the masculine aspect" or the light which comes from the Sun to warm the Earth.

· Feminine : "Adi Shakti = primordial energy", which created the Universe and the Earth.

When the Universe began, the Goddess was alone. From her was born everything beautiful and everything that had energy :

It is She that gives us life: she is their origin:

Water, the egg and the womb, plants and animals;

SHE gave birth to men, it is she who IS,

The One who gives the highest energy... (Bahvricha Upanishad)

Born in the primordial waters (ap)

I filled the entire universe.

I touch the Sky and the Earth… (Rig-Veda)

She is Omniscient,

All-powerful, The Mother of the World,

Present in every corner of the universe... (Karapatri)

Thus the Brahmins express the words of the goddess:

I wander with "the Elements of Life" (the Rudras),

"The Spheres of existence, (theVasus),

The "Sovereign Principles" (the Adityas),

The "UNIVERSAL God", ( the Visve-devas.)

The body is inert without the breath of life, but the goddess Shakti is life, the will and power which animate the eternal gods. She possesses the principle necessary for development of the cosmic embryo (the egg from which Creation was born).

The word Shakti means energy and its synonym in the Vedas is Saci, the power which is personified by the wife of Indra.

An invisible spiritual entity, Shakti is the force behind Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and even the apparent rebirth of nature in the spring. This force is the substance of all and is omnipresent.

As a cohesive force, Shakti is the wisdom and conscience of Krishna, the immensity of Brahma and the feminine Yoni of Shiva.

Through his union with this energy, Shiva- the Eternal Lord of Sleep, can become the active, fertile principle. The feminine driving force, Shakti is the necessary complement to the divine masculine force of SHIVA. She initiates creation and procreates.

Thus speaks the Great Goddess in the Devi-sukta of the Rig-Veda, (where she is described as the supreme immanent Goddess) :

" I am the kingdom which gives prosperity to all. I know all and my empire is immense. The gods have given me numerous dwellings and I live everywhere (Devi-sukta of the Rig Veda). From me is born everything that eats, sees, breathes and hears. Those who ignore me are destroyed, so meditate carefully on what I say: I am the joy of the gods as well as of men. I can give everyone that which he desires, I fight for the people, I am present in the earth and sky and give birth to the father. " (Rig-Veda)

Hymn to the Great Goddess (Brought up to date by Nag Hamadi)

Thus spoke the Great Goddess, mother of men :

" Here I give voice to my thoughts, they call me : the invisible idea, the voice that never changes."

"I am Unique and without sin." (Nirmala) All consciousness is in me, I speak through all creatures and I am known by the "All-Powerful One."

Son of thought, listen to the voice of your mother, for it is you who are worthy of this mystery (the inner spiritual life). This has been hidden since Eternity, so that you may become perfect.

I am the image of the invisible Spirit, it is from me that the "All-Powerful One" received his being; it is the light from the Mother that illuminates the Virgin, who is inaccessible and whose voice is imperceptible and immeasurable.

I alone am the ineffable, immaculate, incomprehensible Word of God. I am the hidden light giving the fruit of life, bringing forth "living water from an Invisible Source." I am " the Source of All", the beginning of the energy of life, the breath of power, and the eye of the three homes of the body…(The Adi Shakti)

These are amazing sayings that resemble those of Mary, Mother of Jesus. She who was called to Lourdes (France): who experienced the Immaculate Conception.

After much suffering, Mary once again became QUEEN OF HEAVEN, consoling those who pray to her; and in lands where medicine is lacking, many people rely on her as their ultimate hope!

The words of the Great Hindu Goddess end with a prophecy :

" But they did not know me, those who cling to their senses; for I am imperceptible, I will bring my seed to the divine light, to an inaccessible silence. "

SARASVATI, goddess of knowledge and culture

Daughter and wife of Brahma, she is the goddess of the spoken word, the union of the power and intelligence from which the WORD was created. The goddess of eloquence, wisdom and knowledge, she reveals to us the beauty in music, writing and poetry.

Represented as a graceful white woman sitting on a lotus flower, she has a crescent moon on her forehead.

Vac, the goddess of the word

Vac, the word or the exchange of knowledge, is the mother of all communication which gives intelligence to those who love her. The wife of the King of the Sky, She is the mother of the Vedas. All the world is contained in Her - that is why "the WORD is ALL" (Aitareya a Aranyaka)

The many faces of the Lakshmi or Shri : the goddess of Prosperity

As the Power of the Immanent, Lakshmi represents the power of multiplicity. She is also called Shri, the goddess of beauty.

The Wife of Vishnu, she accompanies him in each of his incarnations as an Avatar: She was the Lady of the Lotus when Vishnu was a dwarf; she became the Earth when he was Rama-with an axe, (she was swallowed up by the Earth as Sita); she became the goddess Rukmin when Vishnu appeared in the form of Krishna, and became KALKI when Vishnu descended to destroy and change the world...

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