Eric and all: ego and Chandi Path

[Guest guest]

Namaste Eric and all: The Chandi Path, translated by Swami, is the

best tool to use to understand the ego in our lives, and ultimately,

to free us from the Ego. I refer here to Swami's comments in the

INTRODUCTION of the text.

While I will quote only several short passages, the entire

INTRODUCTION is a great read.

" What delusion has possessed us, and how do we go about purifying the

ego so as to get rid of this bondage, so we can maintain our divine

perception as Gods and Goddesses in the Garden of Bliss? In the Durga

Saptasati Mother shows us how to do just that: give them {thoughts}

all to Her. The continual recitation of this book is designed to

accomplish this. "

" Every character mentioned in this book is within us: the forces that

impel us to realize our own divinity, filling our lives with Love and

Joy and a sense of meaningful purpose, as well as the forces that

incline to diminish that perception. In the case of the enemies of

the Gods, Asuras, which has been rendered as " Thoughts " .... "

" Thus the Durga Saptasati,{700 verses of the Chandi}, is a practical

training manual. As human beings we have become habituated to being

beset with thought. Through the study and practice of this work,

according to the prescribed procedure, we seek to free ourselves from

this habit, to take the " Ego I " out of thought, to find the remedy to

that all too chronic disease, Attachment, and to expand out awareness

beyond the relationships of this physical body so as to intuit by

direct perception the Bliss of the Universe. "

" Saptasati is a Way. Daily reciting the verses, we offer to Mother

all our troubles, affliction, all manner of thoughts and

perturbations- even the very Ego itself; and one by one She cuts them

down, until we, too, become the One of Intuitive Vision who only

desires the Highest Wisdom that removes the attachments of the Ego "

 

As the story of the Great Ego and Chandi is told, the Ego won the boon

from Shiva, after great tapas, to take over the entire world and all

beings. Initially, He wanted to be immortal, but Shiva could not grant

that boon. So, Shiva gave Him dominion over all beings. Even the Gods

and Goddesses, {you and I}, have to answer to the Ego. Indeed we know

this to be true because we all say, " I am the doer " . All life is " I I

I " , " Me Me Me " . All life is separated one from the other. We do not

perceive the unity of all life, the Oneness of all Existence.

So when the Gods cried out that they were beset by thoughts, and under

the dominion of the Ego, Mother came to them in the form of Chandi,

She Who Tears Apart Thoughts. She manifest because of their great

need. She manifest because of their distress, and because of Her

great love for all beings. She is Divine Mother, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi,

Saraswati-these are all Her Divine Forms.

As the story proceeds, Mother is the Ego's only enemy, the only being

who could destroy Him. And as the story concludes, Chandi destroys the

Ego in battle, and the gods and Goddesses are free of their attachment

to the Ego, and they perceive their Divine Nature. They realize their

Divinity, They are Gods and Goddesses again.

Now, today, Mother Chandi, {Shree Maa},is living in Napa California,

and as we pray to Her, cry to Her, She comes into our hearts to tear

apart our thoughts and fears, and selfishness, in order to re-unite us

with our true nature, Divine Beings of Bliss and Love.

This is the story of our lives. Daily we cry to her, and daily She

comes to rescue us from the Ego.

She is our protector, our Savior, our Guru. She is the Living Goddess

and she hears our prayers and moves swiftly to destroy the Ego.

So, when our friends question us about the Ego, suggest they read the

Chandi in English. See the greatest story of human existence unfold

in its pages, and ask them to open their hearts and minds to discover

that the story is their life too.

 

Jai Maa Jai Swami

 

vishweshwar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- In , Eric Cassils <Quanchula1 wrote:

>

> Namaste Vishweshwar,

>

> Your remark about the the ego is interesting, and I

> resonate with it, however, when I spoke to one of my

> friends who I believe does not understand the pitfalls

> of ego, and mentioned Sri Maa's remark that " Ego is

> the enemy of wisdom. Ego can make you fall' to try to

> help him negate some of the impulsive drives he was he

> experiencing, he just responded by saying " Embrace the

> Ego as God already " and that he is no " hindu

> purusha/prakriti dualist' as if to say that viewing

> the ego as seperate from God is just a perverse form

> of inane dualism. Ego must have been created by God,

> but just because God creates something, does that make

> God's creation equal with God? I replied to my friend

> that I would not embrace the ego as God already, as

> that is simply not my experience of the ego, and I

> much prefered to receive the grace of Maa that slices

> and dices away at persona imbalances such as inflated

> pride, ignorace and pomposity. What do Swami and Maa

> have to say about this idea that ego is God already?

> Much Love, Jai Maa! Jai Svami,

> Eric

> --- inspectionconnection108

> <inspectionconnection108 wrote:

>

> > Namaste Wendy: Thanks for posting from your heart.

> > I truly

> > understand how difficult it can be to be away from

> > Maa. That said,

> > you refused to surrender to the ego and made the

> > effort to stay tuned

> > to Her in your heart. Sure we know She is always

> > there, but we do

> > forget. But She never forgets, She never goes away,

> > She is amazing.

> > She is our Guru. She brings the Light to dispel the

> > darkness.

> >

> > Jai Maa Jai Swami

> >

> > vishweshwar

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > , " way131 "

> > <wendy131@> wrote:

> > >

> > > Namaste Vish,

> > > I am so glad to see the webcam working again. Not

> > having the link of

> > > the webcam has proven to be a very interesting

> > stretch of time for

> > > me -- kind of like my personal Kali Yuga! One

> > thing I saw, close up

> > > and personal, was the working of my ego and my

> > attachments. I hate to

> > > say it, but I will admit that sometimes I felt

> > frustrated by

> > > not 'seeing' life at the Mandir. I knew there were

> > activities going

> > > on, but I couldn't see it, I couldn't hear it, and

> > I felt " left out. "

> > >

> > > One way (there were others as well) I picked

> > myself up and shut down

> > > my ego was to return to Shree Maa's Autobiography.

> > Reading and

> > > rereading that book always seems to have a magical

> > effect on me – it

> > > helps me feel closer to beloved Shree Maa and

> > serves as another

> > > reminder that She is always with me.

> > > So, I guess my studies here have helped me (yes,

> > this is quite an

> > > undersatement!). Previously, it would be easy for

> > me to just get lost

> > > in the daily drama of life and 'forget' about my

> > spiritual practices,

> > > but not this time.

> > > Although at times I may have held on by a thread,

> > I held on!!

> > >

> > > Jai Maa!!!

> > > Jai Swamiji!!

> > >

> > > lovelove

> > > w

> > >

> > > ,

> > " inspectionconnection108 "

> > > <inspectionconnection108@> wrote:

> > > >

> > > > Namaaste: I have been able to log onto the

> > Mandir Temple web

> > > cameras.

> > > > Anyone having problems, let me know the exact

> > description of it

> > > and I

> > > > will ask for help.

> > > >

> > > > Jai Ma Jai Swami

> > > >

> > > > vishweshwar

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

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