Do what is in your heart...

[Guest guest]

Namaste ALL esp EC,

Shree Maa, Swamiji, Ramakrishna, and Sarada Devi certainly can pack a

wallop of insight into a few words. You quotes below from Sarada and

Maa are representative of the way they have of setting a person back

on track easily, quickly, lovingly, and simply. Your posts keep me

thinking long after they flash across my screen.

Dhanyavaada,

Karen

-

ecjensen_us

Friday, September 17, 2004 6:48 AM

Re: Maha Maya Question of Karen's

OM NAMAH SIVAYAKaren, to quote The Sri Sarada Vynanagita, "Is the mind

the cause of troubles only? Even when you try to attain to Brahman,

you shall have to carry with you the mind too. At the present stage

the assistance of the mind is very necessary. It is the pure mind

that shows man the path." the paths are many, the truth is one.once

caught in a loop of self doubt, dying to move from my head to my

heart, questioning whether my sadhana was "right" or if i should be

doing more or different, i emailed Shree Maa to ask her what to do.

she answered me, "Do whatever is in your heart, love God, you cannot

fail, and keep going! god bless you." such simple advice.your post

on silence said you do the spiritual practices past masters have

done. and have faith and trust that a practice is "good." it seems

judging ones spiritual progress or evolution in a linear fashion

seems unproductive. there is an old yogic saying, AS YOU THINK SO

YOU BECOME. i guess then, remember God and become.JAI MAPS. all of

us householders know that "mood making" can go along way towards our

"thoughts" becoming reality. they can go "all the way", if you know

what i mean. , "Karen Borak"

<karenborak@e...> wrote:> Jai Maa!> > Ekta, Verse 1, talking about

Maha Maya exerting a powerful force, even on people who are very

wise...how far can reason and intellect take us in understanding

duality? Can those who have not realized the Supreme Self perceive

the oneness of all beings? Is perception the same as realization or

is perception the intellectual attempt to understand? Is "trying" to

act upon the reasoned comprehension that all is one "mood making?" > >

Namaste,> Karen> > Many thanks for sharing your knowledge on the Durga

Saptasloki.> > > - > Eleathea

Barraclough > > Thursday,

September 09, 2004 1:16 PM> Durga

Saptasloki> > > Jai Maa!> > Recently I mentioned the Durga

Saptasloki, and I thought it might be nice to> post some discussion

on these seven verses. What I have heard is that these> seven verses

contain the essence of the sound energy of the Chandi, as well as>

the essential spiritual significance of Chandi as a scripture. I

believe 5 out> of 7 of these verses occur in the Narayani Stuti

(which forms most of chapter> 11 of the Chandi). I found Swamiji's

translation of the Saptasloki posted on> the Internet somewhere,

but I can't verify the accuracy because I don't have> the Chandi

book on hand right now. I've added commentary in terms of teachings>

I've received on the verses as well as any thoughts that come to my

mind. The> commentary is a mixture of teachings and personal

thoughts, so it should be> taken with several grains of salt! I

have included the Sanskrit verses in a> rough form, although it's

not accurate for pronunciation because I can't use> diacritics in

the emails. > > Verse 1 > jnaninamapi cetamsi devi bhagavati hi

sa > baladakrushya mohaya mahamaya prayacchati > > Swamiji's

Translation: She, this Supreme Goddess, the Great Measurement of>

Consciousness, attracts the perceiving capacity of all sensible

beings with> such force as to thrust them into egoistic attachment.

> > Commentary: Divine Mother, in Her form as Maha Maya, exerts an

overwhelmingly> powerful force even on people who are very wise,

such that they perform> egoistic actions out of the delusion that

duality exists. Maya cannot be> equated with the external world

itself; rather, it is a force that expresses> itself as a mental

tendency to think in terms of "I" and "other". Out of this> sense

of duality, which creates the sense of a separate ego, all the inner>

negativities arise. > > Only if we feel that we are separate from

others, will we hate someone else, or> be attached to someone else,

or be jealous of someone else, or be angry at> someone who has

thwarted our own personal desires. We will overcome this force> of

maya only when we perceive that all beings are part and parcel of the

same> Supreme Self. When we have realized the Supreme Self, we will

feel nothing but> love for the entire universe, and all of our

actions will be rooted in that> love, and not out of any egoistic

motivations. > > Verse 2 > durge smruta harasi bhitima

seshajantoh > svasthaih smruta matimativa subham dadasi >

daridrya duhkha bhayaharini ka tvadanya > sarvopakara karanaya

sadardrachitta > > Swamiji's Translation: Oh, reliever of

difficulties, remembering you the fear> of all living beings is

dispelled. When remembered by those individuals in the> harmony of

spiritual growth you increase their welfare and intelligence. Who is>

like you, Oh dispeller of Poverty, Pain and Fear, whose sympathetic

demeanor> always extends compassionate assistance to everyone?

Exposer of consciousness,> we bow to you. > > Commentary: For any

being who is fortunate enough to remember the most> compassionate

Universal Mother, fear is completely destroyed. Not only will the>

fear be destroyed, but Mother will replace the fear with all

auspicious and> bright qualities. The entire life of one who

constantly remembers Mother will> be very bright and full of the

highest divine qualities, leading eventually to> liberation. There

is never any question for Mother, "Does this child really> deserve

my help?" She is so unfailingly compassionate, this question never>

enters Her mind. Her very nature is to always help Her children, for

She always> possesses the perfect awareness that all beings are

part of the one Supreme> Self. All are part of the same universal

family, and all deserve Her help. Even> the cruelest demons end up

being liberated by Mother as She vanquishes them for> the benefit

of Her peaceful children. The demons are also Her children, and>

Devi doesn't have the heart to reject anyone, ever. > > Not only

external poverty is destroyed by Her, but also the inner poverty.

Lack> of sweetness, devotion, sincerity, enthusiasm, intelligence,

all these "lacks"> are removed by the rays of grace that flow

ceaselessly from Her eyes. > > Verse 3 > sarva mangala mangalye

sive sarvartha sadhike > sharanye tryambake devi narayani namostu

te > > Swamiji's Translation: To the Auspicious of all

Auspiciousness, to the> Accomplisher of all Objectives, to the

source of Refuge, to the Goddess who is> Rays of Light, Exposer of

Consciousness, we bow to you. > > Commentary in form of prayer: "O

Mother, You are the essence of everything that> is kind, sweet, and

good. You radiate the most auspicious light and fulfill the> noble,

heartfelt wishes of Your children. I wish to take refuge in the most>

compassionate Divine Mother who watches over Her children with Her

three> beautiful eyes, which have the power to protect, nourish and

purify with a mere> glance. O Narayani, I salute You with joined

palms out of the reverence and> love in my heart."> > If we want

to always have Devi's auspicious presence in our lives, we should>

take refuge in Her. Spiritually, taking refuge can mean that we make

every> effort to act according to the divine virtues of love,

compassion,> selflessness, truthfulness, and discrimination. Here,

"taking refuge" means> that we acknowledge the ultimate power of

dharmic behavior. We rely on dharmic> thoughts, speech, and actions

for the well-being of ourselves and others. If we> want to take

refuge and receive Her protection, then we must follow Her divine>

rules, not the rules of the selfish ego.> > Verse 4 > saranagata

dinarta paritrana parayane > sarvasyarti hare devi narayani namostu

te > > Swamiji's Translation: For those who are devoted to you and

take refuge in you,> even though helpless and perplexed, you save

them from all discomfort and> unhappiness. All worry you take away,

Oh Goddess, Exposer of Consciousness, we> bow to you. > >

Commentary in form of prayer: "O Mother, You are the unfailing

support and> refuge for all who call out to You in distress. You

are the one who looks after> the most helpless of Your children.

Those who surrender to You with 100 percent> faith are carried to

the goal of Liberation without fail. O Mother, I am not> the only

one who needs Your help, and my prayer is not for myself alone!

Won't> You give Your love and compassion to all Your suffering

children? I wish for> all beings to be elevated to the ultimate

state of peace and bliss, because I> know that all beings belong to

my Supreme Self, and I belong to all beings. O> Narayani, I am

supplicating you with joined hands on behalf of all of Your>

children." > > The divine power hidden in this sloka is capable of

giving peace to the entire> universe. If we pray to Devi for

universal peace using this powerful sloka,> peace will manifest.

This is the essential sloka for the Chandi, and it is> placed in

the very center of the Saptasloki. So the essence of Chandi is that>

Divine Mother is always there for us, She is perfectly capable of

removing> every last bit of negativity or limitation that threatens

to keep us from our> true nature and destiny - Liberation or

Enlightenment. In fact, this is what> She most wants to help us

with. It doesn't matter what our situation is> externally, we just

need to call out to Her from the bottoms of our hearts, and> She

will come running to help us in the way that is best for us.> >

Verse 5 > sarvasvarupe sarvese sarvasaktisamanvite >

bhayebhyastrahi no devi durge devi namostu te > > The Intrinsic

nature of All, the Supreme of All, and the Energy of All as well;>

you remove all fear from us, Oh Goddess, Reliever of Afflictions, Oh

Goddess,> we bow to you. > > Commentary in the form of prayer: "O

Mother, You are the inner essence of every> manifested form in Your

entire Creation. You alone rule this entire cosmos full> of

beautiful planets, stars and galaxies. When it is only You playing

all the> parts in Your divine drama, of whom can I be afraid? O

supremely compassionate> Mother, I pray to You to remove my sense

of ego, which makes me fear what I> perceive as "other". Let me

perceive the truth that all are One in the Supreme> Self, for then

fear will no longer be able to touch me. Let me see only You>

shining in all forms as the pure, eternal light of Truth!" > > In

this sloka there are two ideas juxtaposed, one that Mother is the

very> essence and energy pervading all beings, the other that She

removes all of our> fear. The way that She removes our fear is to

bless us with the understanding> that She is the all-pervading

presence in every form of Nature. If we can> connect with Her

presence in every form, we will have no need to fear any harm.>

When we reach a level of Realization where we perceive Her clearly in

all of> existence, we will lose all fear. We don't lose the fear

because we are more> powerful or we have a powerful protrectress

watching over us. We lose the fear> because we gain the awareness

that Maa is dancing in every form throughout the> universe, and we

have nothing to fear from Maa. > > The obstacle to perceiving Her

everywhere is the ego-habit. Over multitudes of> lifetimes, we have

quite naturally thought in terms of "I, me, my". This is our>

heritage, and the only way to remove the sense of I-ness, me-ness,

and my-ness> is through steady sadhana. Sadhana will purify our

consciousness and lift us> out of the limited awareness of you

versus me, us versus them.> > Verse 6 > roganaseshanapahamsi

tusta > rusta tu kaman sakalanabhistan > tvamasritanam na

vipannaranam > tvamasrita hyasrayatam prayanti > > Swamiji's

Translation: When you are pleased you destroy all infirmities, and>

when you are displeased you frustrate all desires. No calamity or

disease> befalls those who take refuge in you, and those who take

refuge in you> invariably become a refuge to others. > >

Commentary: In the first line, we should not think that Divine Mother

is> "pleased" or "displeased" with us by mere whim. If we have some

problem or> disease, we dont' need to think that Mother is angry

with us, and that She is> therefore causing us some problem. The

source of the problem is our own karma,> which is the result of our

own actions from previous lives. We should feel that> Mother is

waiting anxiously for us to return to Her, to return to our own>

natural state of blissful oneness with Atman. As we suffer, we can

rejoice that> we are burning off all of our karma so as to return

to our natural state of> perfection. If we suffer intensely, we

will attain the goal that much more> quickly by accomplishing a lot

of purification in a short amount of time.> Intense suffering in a

sadhaka often indicates a strong ambition to make rapid> progress

towards the goal, or to learn powerful lessons that can only come>

through suffering.> > If She frustrates our desires, maybe it is to

make us inquire as to whether we> are doing something wrong or

acting with wrong motivation, so as to guide us> back to the right

path. We need to constantly reflect on our motivation and our>

methods. If we are acting with egoistic or selfish motivation, we

will never> get good results, and our desires will be frustrated.

But She is not angry with> us, She is looking on us with compassion

for our limited state of mind. Her> thought is only to elevate Her

children and bring them out of all limitations.> What is She most

pleased by? Divine Mother is extremely pleased by> selflessness,

including selfless prayer. Through cultivating selflessness in> all

of our activities, we will always be able to please Mother, and She

will> fulfill all of our noble wishes. > > The other key element

in this sloka is that those who take refuge in Mother> will

definitely become a refuge for others. The greatest gift that Devi

gives> to us as we strive to attain Her is that She makes us more

like Her. As we grow> and purify, She permits more of Her light to

shine through us into the world.> We become capable of giving more

and more peace and love to this world. The> pinnacle of dharma is

to offer our lives in selfless service to the entire> cosmos, as so

many divine rishis and saints have done and continue to do today.>

This seems like a daunting task, especially when we all feel

overwhelmed at> times with our own problems, but it becomes

possible when we take refuge in> Mother. > > Taking refuge in

Mother is the first step towards realizing our essential> oneness

and identity with Her. The essence of the Vedas is that "I and my>

Mother are One". The purpose of all the activities enjoined on us in

the Vedas> is to realize this eternal Truth. When we realize our

oneness with Her, we will> be a legitimate source of refuge for

innumerable beings, who will benefit from> simply being in our

presence. > > Verse 7 > sarvabadha prasamanam trailokyasya

akhilesvari > evameva tvaya karyam asmadvairi vinasanam > >

Swamiji's Translation: Oh Spirit of the Supreme Sovereign, terminate

all> disturbance in the three worlds and in like manner remove from

us all> hostility. > > Commentary: We must pray from the bottom of

our hearts for the most loving> Supreme Divine Mother to vanquish

all the dark forces in the world, for She is> the one who is

eternally watching over the three worlds with Her three eyes,>

which see everything. If we pray like this, live according to dharma,

and> practice sincerely, we will become channels for Her grace to

flow into the> world. Every time we pray for peace, chant a mantra,

meditate, sing bhajans, or> recite the Chandi with love and

devotion, we project positive energy into the> Earth's atmosphere.

That energy joins up with the energy of all the other>

practitioners, saints, and subtle beings who are intent on the goal

of> universal peace and happiness. This is how we invoke Mother's

presence in the> world, for the sake of universal welfare (viswa

kalyanam). Sanskrit is such a> powerful language that simply to ask

for Her blessing in these powerful slokas> is to automatically

invoke Her energy for the betterment of the world. Due to> the

divine energy contained in Sanskrit sounds, the asking itself is the>

receiving.> > The disturbances in the three worlds are intimately

connected to the hostility> that dwells in our hearts and minds. If

the world is to be in peace, all the> people must cultivate peaceful

vibrations in their own minds, homes, cities,> and countries. Thus,

we request Mother to remove all the hatred, hostility or> any other

kind of negativity from our own minds. If we purify our minds through>

meditation and other practices, we will radiate that purity to the

rest of the> world. By living according to dharma and practicing

sincerely, we provide a> unique service to the world, out of the

love and compassion in our hearts.> Here, "living according to

dharma" means cultivating positive virtues like> truthfulness,

sincerity, helpfulness, cheeriness, contentment, humility,>

compassion, and so on.> > Jai Maa!> Ekta> > > >

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