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We Are the Ultimate Knower
Spiritual Message for the Day – We Are the Ultimate Knower by Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 23 October 2015 21**.08 EST | New York Edition** |
We Are the Ultimate Knower
Divine Life Society Publication: Early Morning Meditation Talk by Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
There are many ways of looking at our life on earth. One way would be that it is nothing except experiences. We experience thirst and the satisfaction of that thirst. We experience hunger and the satisfaction of that hunger. We experience being cold; we experience being hot. We experience being loved; we experience being rejected. We experience being well off; we experience being poor. We experience being happy; we experience being sad. We experience being clear in our thinking; we experience being confused.
Most of these things we have in common with the animal kingdom. But as human beings we also have another experience. We experience a sense of “I”: “I” am this, “I” am that, “I” am cold, “I” am hot, “I” am clear in my thinking, “I” am confused in my thinking. “I” am this person who was born; “I” am this person who is growing older; “I” am this person who will die. This is who I am. It never occurs to us that this “I” is an experience just the same as being hot or cold, having good thoughts or bad thoughts.
If we enquire further, we recognise that something, which we can never find, is knowing this “I”. And if we ask who it is that is knowing this “I”, the only answer we can give is that I am knowing the “I”. This puts us in a peculiar position. If I am something that can never be known, but I am always identifying with something that can be known, that is simply a passing experience, then it must mean that I am divided from myself, separated from myself.
This has to be as unenviable position, because happiness is always in wholeness, not in division. Hell means division, to be separated from. Heaven means harmony. Therefore, we need to have a harmony or union between that which I can never know, but is what knows everything else including the experience of an ego—and the ego “I.” We require a union, a harmony between what we are experiencing and the ultimate experiencer.
How to bring about that harmony, that union? We have to actually bring into our field of experience a new factor. That factor is the knowledge that who we really are is much vaster, much more subtle than what we have been thinking we are. In other words, we must broaden our consciousness, lift ourselves out of ourselves. That is the purpose of all our spiritual practices.
But again, no matter how broad our experience, how sublime our experience, we’ll be caught up in it unless there is a constant reminder that ultimately we are That that knows all experience—no matter how sublime, no matter how universal the experience. This knowledge can only be retained in our consciousness through a spirit of profound humility, of surrender, of knowing that we can never know the ultimate knower. It is this profound humility that is the goal of the spiritual life. It is this profound humility that keeps us in touch with our ultimate truth and that recognises that everything comes from that ultimate, unknowable truth.
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: We Are the Ultimate Knower - Early Morning Meditation Talk by Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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The Great Goal and Its Attainment
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Great Goal and Its Attainment by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 22 October 2015 13.21 EST | New York Edition** |
The Great Goal and Its Attainment
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
Salutations and adorations to the Mother upon this Supreme and blessed day of Vijaya Dasami.
_May Her grace be upon us all. _
TODAY is the glorious day of the celebration of the Mother’s Victory. It is a day of Vijaya, when all the gods rejoice and all mankind is in an exuberance of joy; for they have received the Supreme Assurance that so long as they turn to the Mother in their extremity and distress, there will be no lack of support and of strength. For, Mother is Strength Infinite, Maha-Shakti; and as such we have but to turn to Her and no more will weakness persist in us. The supreme victory over all the forces of darkness, ignorance and nescience is achieved and we shall be partakers together with the Mother of joy of Vijaya.
Vijaya-Dasami is a supreme day of confidence, strength and courage for all seekers.
Till now, during the Navaratra, we worshipped the Mother in Her different aspects as She is manifest in this phenomenal world of human affairs. But when we come to Vijaya, we transcend the Mother in all Her external and Vidya-Avidya aspects and we gaze into Her face as the Pure Vidya-Maya, the Para-Shakti, to gaze at Whom is verily to gaze into the Infinite and the unfathomable depth of Para Brahman Himself.
For, we started at the very commencement of this worship by declaring that Mother is none else than the Para Brahman. The Supreme Being is Itself the Mother. Therefore, in Her Pure aspect as Vidya-Maya, She is Para Brahman Itself; and it is in Her radiant and all-glorious form of the Vidya, the radiance of Atma-Jnana, that we offer our salutations and adorations to the Mother upon this Supreme and blessed day of Vijaya Dasami.
On this day there no longer exists any element of the lower nature. There is no Asuric Sampat at all. There is no trace of demoniacal nature. All that is darkness has been completely annihilated. It has vanished. She is once again that mass of infinite consciousness. To invoke Her in this radiant, all vigorous aspect is to plunge ourselves in the supreme worship of the Transcendent Being. Once for all we reach that supreme abode which is beyond all sorrow, all pain and all delusion. That is the supreme goal of the aspirant, the seeker, of all human beings. All other pursuits are delusions and the one purpose of attaining the Supreme Being is the sole meaning, end and aim of this invaluable and precious human birth.
Guru: The Embodiment of Supreme Power
Upon this glorious day, let us take the opportunity of looking into one very great secret of the spiritual life. We have considered the Mother in Her threefold aspects of Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati, as She is manifest as different movements in this phenomenal existence, as different qualities in the aspirant and also as different forms of living and different phases of man’s life and activities.
The secret of the direct personal manifestation of the Mother in Her supreme aspect of Vidya-Maya and Vidya-Shakti is the Guru to the disciple. She is the Sat-Guru to the seeker. To a spiritual seeker, that spiritual being whom he has accepted as his spiritual preceptor and the Guru is in the completest sense the visible personal manifestation and embodiment of the Supreme Divine Mother. For him the human aspect of the Guru’s personality should vanish; in its stead there should stand before him only the radiant embodiment of the Supreme Divine Power.
The form of Guru is the root of meditation. The feet of Guru are the root of worship. The teaching of the Guru is the root of all Mantras. The Grace of Guru is the root of Salvation.
Upon this glorious day of Vijaya our worship of the Divine Mother in Her victorious Vidya-Maya aspect, this in reality constitutes the adoration of the Supreme Para-Brahman as manifest and embodied in and through the spiritual personality of the Sat-Guru.
The Quintessence of Great Scriptures
Svadhyaya means a very special process to the aspirant. But it is also a practical way of life. The Svadhyaya is meant to mould our aspirations, our aims and ideals and our day-to-day living and actions also. Therefore, these scriptures—Gita, Brahma-Sutras, Bhagavata, Ramayana and the Mahabharata—contain a number of valuable lessons to us upon the spiritual path.
Gita teaches complete detachment; Bhagavata says: attach thyself to and whole-heartedly give thyself in complete oneness of love at the feet of Bhagavan. The Message of the Mahabharata is: even if life is to be sacrificed, do not deviate from the code of Dharma. Stick to Dharma even then. By Dharma one will be able to purify one’s heart and life. In the Ramayana the practical ways in which Dharma manifests itself in all the spheres of man’s life are given. In the Brahma Sutras we are given the ultimate reason for all these things. It shows the supreme goal for which man has come. It says: the one purpose of this life is to reach the imperishable, that which is eternal bliss and to this end all these things are the means. Through the means you reach that Supreme Abode, reaching which there is no more return into the world of pain and death; for, the ultimate conclusion of the Brahma Sutras is that once having reached the Para Brahman through Dharma, Tyaga, Bhakti, Na Punaravartate the Jiva returns no more. He is once for all established in the transcendent, infinite consciousness, immortal existence, the eternal bliss, and perennial peace.
Prayer
Upon this supreme day of the Vijayadasami which culminates the nine-days worship of the Supreme Divine Mother, let us all pray to Her that She may illumine our hearts as Buddhi, as Smriti. Let us all pray to Her again and again: “Mother, manifest to us as the Vidya-Maya. May my consciousness be illuminated by Thy Vidya-aspect.” She is everything—Nidra, Kshudha, Chaya, Trishna, Bhranti, etc.,—at the same time She is Buddhi, Daya, Matha. We should, therefore, fold our hands, bow at Her feet and pray: “Ha, Mother! Manifest Thyself to me in Thy illuminating aspect and save me from the aspect of Thy Avidya-Maya.” She will be propitiated; She will be pleased; and She will open Her radiant eyes upon us; She will smile upon us. Then all our delusion, all our sorrow, all darkness will come to an end; and we shall see Her as the Satchidananda Para Brahman.
We conclude this worship through words by offering at Her divine feet and praying to Her: “Mother, accept this humble offering of love at Thy Feet and may we all be blessed by Your Grace. Smile upon us, Mother; banish the darkness of Thy Avidya-Maya. Confer upon us all seekers at the Lotus Feet of this Divine Personality, our Gurudev, the radiance and illumination of Atma Jnana and the bliss of Satchidananda”.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: The Great Goal and Its Attainment - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \** **Email to BT Digest Editor** **( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
The Path to Final Liberation
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Path to Final Liberation by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 21 October 2015 13.58 EST | New York Edition** |
The Path to Final Liberation
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
Salutations to the great Mother through Whose Grace alone the Knowledge of the
Ultimate Reality dawns upon the consciousness of earnest seekers.
Salutations to the great Mother who keeps up this mysterious divine Drama of creation, preservation and destruction. May Her grace be upon us all.
Today is the last day, the ninth of the nine-day worship of the Mother. It is through Her supreme compassion and grace that we have been given this precious opportunity and occasion for expressing our devotion and adoration of Her Divine Feet, by doing which we elevate our minds and our consciousness and take one more step forward towards the ultimate goal of Atma-Sakshatkara.
Her grace is infinite. Her compassion and love for all human beings and especially the seekers and aspirants is simply indescribable. We are all wanderers, children who have strayed away from our original home, the Supreme Abode of Satchidananda. To realise that we have strayed far away and long enough and to once again desire keenly to regain that original home of Satchidananda is the entire meaning and the process of the spiritual quest. This is spiritual life and this is Sadhana Marga.
As we know, the great Mother is both Vidya-Maya as also Avidya-Maya. In both these aspects, She has Her play upon this world-stage in Her threefold forms of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Yesterday we saw how Mother in Her Supreme Sattvic aspect as Saraswati, the Omkara-Rupini, the Nada-Svarupini, was manifest upon the external field of human activity in Her Pravritti aspect.
Predominantly Mother Saraswati is Vidya; and in Her glorious Vidya-Maya aspect, She manifests Herself variously upon the Nivritti, the inward life of the Jiva. For Pravritti we have seen She is all creative activity. We have seen how She is all constructive activity. She is at the beginning of all things. She is the research faculty of the scientist. She is the poetic faculty of the votary of the muse. She is the artistic talent of the musician, the painter, the sculptor and all the followers of fine arts. Thus, Mother appears variously in the outside world.
We touched upon a few of Her aspects in the inward, reverse process, the Path of going back from the many into the Supreme Source, the Transcendent One, the Absolute. In the Nivritti path which is the inward life of the aspirant’s soul, which is the inward life of the Jiva on the path of Yoga and Sadhana, we saw how She manifests as the Diksha of the Guru. She is also the Mantra and the Japa of the Mantra, the Sadhana with the Mantra like Anushthana, etc. We have seen how Mother Saraswati is a radiant mass of purest Shuddha Sattva, how She is the purest Sattva embodied as it were. These are symbolised by Her spotless white raiment, as also Her own dazzling fairness.
Mother As Supreme Sattva
As Sattva She manifests in the heart of the spiritual aspirant and as the Grace of Saraswati dawns upon the aspirant, his entire life undergoes a transformation. All the grossness and bestiality that is in him is slowly and gradually, but surely, cast aside.
In the spiritual life of the Sadhaka and the seeker-disciple, Mother is the Yoga and Sadhana and ultimately She is the unfoldment of the consciousness into the radiance of Jnana. As Sattva in the individual activity of the Sadhaka, She manifests Herself as Sadachara. Sadachara as we know is the very basis of success in the entire spiritual life. It forms the foundation. The Yama-Niyama of Raja Yoga are the most scientific expressions of Sadachara.
Guru’s Word Is Gospel Truth
To the aspirant the words of the Guru must be gospel-truth. For they are as Mantra to him: Mantra-mulam Gurorvakyam. Therefore, we must be very cautious in our attitude towards the Guru’s words, to this aspect of the Mother, that they represent. If only we take them in the right spirit and receptivity and carry them out diligently, then the Grace of Mother Saraswati would be utilised properly and profitably.
Svadhyaya: Its Practical Value
In addition to these, She is also manifest in two special aspects of spiritual Sadhana. We have said that Mother Saraswati is actually an embodiment of the Vedas. Vedas mean transcendent knowledge of the Supreme Being. Upanishads are the highest reaches of the Vedas. We have been told how the very quintessence of these Upanishads was given to humanity in the form of the Bhagavad Gita. Therefore, Mother is present to the aspirant in the form of this unique universal scripture, Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Therefore, all great spiritual teachers, Acharyas, have enjoined upon the seekers to regularly, daily, study the Gita.
We find that when an aspirant tries to do Dhyana, the mind wanders. In the beginning stages of Dhyana, this wandering is very powerful. There is one very undesirable thing here; when it wanders, the field of its idea in which this wandering takes place is all sensual, gross and worldly. This wandering cannot be arrested except by gradual practice and Vairagya. But in the meantime a change can be brought about; even if the mind wanders, provided that a whole set of powerful spiritual ideas are daily pushed into the mind through Svadhyaya, the field of ideas through which the mind wanders in its Vikshepa becomes gradually Sattvic.
Speak Little
Let us come to the actual conduct, the Achara, of the spiritual aspirant. Mother, we have seen, is speech. She is manifest in all beings as Vak. She is Vakshakti. As long as the Vak is spent outward, the mind becomes outgoing,—one cannot do the same intense Vichara and introspection. But when the Vakshakti is conserved through Mouna it becomes capable of being utilised for inwardness, for introspection and the practice of Viveka and Vichara.
Speak the Truth
We have to safeguard the sanctity of the power of Mother Saraswati in the form of Vak. We know that falsehood is unspiritual, unclean. Therefore, the aspirant who would aspire to realise the Ultimate Reality, the Transcendent Truth, should always diligently try to manifest that truth in his speech. Truth is the greatest Yoga; it is the greatest Tapas and austerity in this iron age. A man who has got truth has got God. Let us always bear in mind this supreme importance of the Mother as truth. Let us meditate upon it. Let us reflect upon it. Let us always try by every possible means to gradually approach nearer and nearer to an absolute perfection of truth in our thoughts, in our words and in our deeds. May the Grace of Mother help us to achieve this very necessary, but very difficult task.
Speak Sweetly
Language can be used to construct and to build as well as to destroy and to annihilate. We have seen how the great Mother as Saraswati is the essence of all constructivity. Harsh speech, speech that pains, should be completely eliminated from the speech of the aspirant. One should speak sweetly. When it becomes difficult at any juncture to speak sweetly, it is better we remain silent. Of course, the next best, the third class, would be to immediately make up for any harsh word spoken, by expressing regret at once and trying to ask the forgiveness of him towards whom this harsh word is uttered. We should always aspire to belong to the first grade, Uttama Adhikari; our speech should always be sweet. Bear these three in mind: Mita-Bhashana, Satya-Bhashana, and Madhura-Bhashana.
Guard Your Tongue
Once again, as the constructive force in the world, Mother Saraswati should be used for helping others through our speech. If we speak, let us speak about the Lord, about the great ideal things, and also in order to console, to encourage, to inspire, to enlighten, to educate or to help in any way those with whom we have to speak with the power of Mother Saraswati. Idle-gossiping should be completely eliminated, in the life of spiritual Sadhana and the spiritual quest after Reality. Idle-gossiping is an insult to the Mother, as She is manifest in us as the mighty force of Vak or the spoken word.
Declare: “I am neither mind nor body; Immortal Self I am.” “Shuddhoham, Buddhoham, Niranjanoham, Samsara Maya Parivarjitoham,” “Deho Naaham Jivo Naaham Pratyagabhinna Brahmaivaaham,” “Satchidananda Svarupoham.” These declarations are the spontaneous utterances of the seeker who has adored Mother Saraswati with all his heart and obtained Her Grace and has become illumined with the transcendent light of the Supreme Atman whose First Emanation Mother Saraswati is.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: The Path to Final Liberation - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \** **Email to BT Digest Editor** **( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
Creation: The Music of Mother’s Veena
Spiritual Message for the Day – Creation: The Music of Mother’s Veena by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 20 October 2015 13.50 EST | New York Edition** |
Creation: The Music of Mother’s Veena
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
Salutations and adorations to the Blessed Divine Mother, the source, sustenance and the ultimate goal of all creation. Salutations to the Blessed Mother in Her knowledge-giving aspect, the originator of the entire phenomenon as well as the culmination and conclusion of all knowledge and of all creative processes.
May Her grace be upon us all.
Maha Saraswati, the first manifestation of the pure transcendent being, in the form of the Shabda Brahman, is at once the origin and the conclusion of the entire evolutionary process of the Jiva and all phenomena. As the Brahma-Shakti, She is the Great Power that presides over the commencement of creativity. She presides over the commencement of all manifestation and all projection of names and forms from the Supreme Tattva, viz., nameless, formless, beyond the reach of the mind and the senses. And as such, She is the origin of the entire life-process, but then, as this life-process flows forth from the Akhanda Ekarasa Satchidananda and progressively involves down into greater and greater grossness of matter, becoming the countless millions of Namarupa and appearing in the realm of Maha Maya, as the illusory world-play, She recedes into the back-ground and allows the task of this progression to be carried on by Her other aspects as Vishnu Maya and the Divine Durga.
But then, when the grace of the Supreme starts the return of the Jiva and commences the completing process of this evolutionary circle and the Jiva once again commences the ascent upon the inward path of Yoga, shedding and casting back the different layers of its grosser consciousness and ascending into higher and higher stages of purity, Sattva, Daivi-Sampat and spirituality once again at the very pinnacle of his ascent in Yoga, Mother manifests Herself to the Jiva as Maha Saraswati, the Light of pure Knowledge and manifesting within his consciousness as the Knowledge of Atma—Atma Jnana or Brahma Jnana, She completes the circle of evolution and once again the Jiva is merged in the Para Brahman. Thus, as creativity, Mother Saraswati is at the origin of this process of involution from the nameless and formless Para Brahman, from the One into the many as the ultimate Jnana-Dayini as the ultimate manifestation in the form of pure Knowledge. She completes the circle. Thus we have in Her the completion of this entire world-play, and in both of these aspects the Mother is worshipped, and to the seeker—to the Sadhaka and to the Yogi—especially, the Mother is particularly significant and important as the bestower of Supreme Wisdom and Jnana by which he attains Kaivalya Moksha.
Theory and Practice of Yoga
The form of the Mother, we find, expresses this supreme dual function of Mother Saraswati. She has in Her hand the Veena, and in Her other hands we find the Mother having the spotless Sphatika Mala and the Veda Grantha (the Book). Pustaka and Mala are the two things She holds, and these signify for us the fact that Mother holds in Herself the entire knowledge of the Apara as well as the Para Tattva. The entire Vedas, as they embody the fullest knowledge of all created things as also the fullest knowledge of the Ultimate Source and Origin of all creation, i.e., Para Brahman,—this She holds in Her hand for She is the dynamic counterpart of Brahma from whom the Vedas have first emanated. Brahma is the Veda-Pita and the Veda-Data.
The Mother as Saraswati, is but the Shakti of Brahma, the Chaturmukha Brahma, and therefore She is the expression of the Vedic knowledge which Brahma represents, of which He is the supreme original repository, and as such She bears in Her hand the book of the Vedas, embodying the theory of Brahma-Jnana. In the path of Realisation, the actual Abhyasa of this Vedic knowledge of the truths thus got from the Vedas directly from the books as also from the lips of the Guru,—the theory of this knowledge thus obtained has to be made, converted, into Anubhava through Abhyasa and Nididhyasana and this practical Abhyasa of Vedic truth in the form of Yoga Sadhana is represented by the pure Sphatika Mala in the right hand of the Mother. The significance of the Mala is to be equated to Yoga Abhyasa in its practical form. So She embodies the power as it is in theoretical form of the Vedic knowledge and also the dynamic power as it is expressed in and through the practical process of Yoga and spiritual Sadhana.
Mother Is Absolute Purity
Mother is represented as being spotlessly clad in the purest white raiment and also She is Herself the spotless and unblemished and fairest of the fairest beings. Her fairness is likened unto the spotless fairness of the lily, and of the Moon as also the eternal virgin snow-chains represented by the Himalayas. This is to bring out the fact of the Mother being a mass of absolute Suddha-Sattva, because She is the first original emanation from the Para-Brahman.
Mother Is All
We know that according to the Vedas, the first original emanation from the bosom of the Absolute, the Unmanifest, the Nirakara Nirguna, was in the form of the Pranava. The first spandan, the mysterious vibration, that took place with the origination of the pure satsankalpa, the first will of the Transcendent Divine, which the Vedas express in the form of Ekoham bahusyaam prajayeya “I am one, may I become many.”
Mother Saraswati is Pranava-Rupini. In Her we find manifest the two aspects of this Shabda-Brahman or the Nada-Brahman. The Shabda is the Pranava; Nada is its original sound-form. The Mother is referred to as both Veena Vani. She has got the instrument which produces the pure sound and She is Herself the origin of all articulated Name and in this form She is Vani. The entire Jagat, all creation, is nothing but the manifest form of the music that flows forth perennially through the Veena of Mother Saraswati. For, we know that all the visible universe is made up of form. Whatever we can see, touch and observe through our senses is in the shape of form. Rupa is the ultimate way in which the world is known to us, and each form in this universe is expressed through a certain name. These names are but a combination of certain letters or Aksharas. The Aksharas that go to make up the innumerable, different, names or Namas, are nothing but the articulate expression of sound. Sound articulated becomes manifest as Akshara, and these mysterious Akshara Swarupas when combined go to form Nama, the meaning of which springs forth in the form of Rupa. That is the Drishya-Jagat. This Nada or sound which each one of these letters or Aksharas are articulate expressions of,—this Nada is ultimately in its essence pure vibration, and this vibration is the movement of the Veena of the Mother.
She is the power behind this music. She is the Supreme Suddha Sattva, the ultimate Tattva by meaning into which we immediately pass on to a state of pure transcendence and Absolute Existence. This is what Mother is to us. Her Veena is, therefore, the Omkara Rupa and the entire world is therefore the manifestation of Her Power expressed at the origin through Her Veena in the form of pure Divine Nada.
The Light Before Which Darkness Vanishes
The Mother in Her aspect as Maha Saraswati, does not actually destroy, but by Her mere appearance Ajnana—darkness, gets destroyed by itself. Therefore the Samsara Chakra is stopped and She once for all puts an end to even the last remnant of Jadatva in the Jeeva. The Jeeva becomes one with the Suddha Chaitanya Brahman. The mere appearance and the manifestation of Maha Saraswati in the field of consciousness is enough immediately to annihilate all the darkness of ignorance, to end all Jadatva, and destroy death itself and annihilate the entire process of “Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam”, and thus Mother by Her mere appearance bestows on the Jeeva the fullness of Brahma Jnana. Thus, the entire universe is nothing but a direct expression and manifestation of Her Power expressed in the first instance as the Supreme Divine Sound. Therefore, whatever we see is but the power of Mother Saraswati become crystallised in form. While we offer our adorations to Mother, we shall be propitiating that aspect of the Supreme Power by whose grace alone we shall be ultimatelly released from the clutches of darkness of ignorance, and we shall be taken to the Transcendent Abode of Immortality, Infinite Knowledge and Perennial Bliss.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: Creation: The Music of Mother’s Veena - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \** **Email to BT Digest Editor** **( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
Lakshmi: The Supreme Sustainer
Spiritual Message for the Day – Lakshmi: The Supreme Sustainer by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 19 October 2015 15.39 EST | New York Edition** |
Lakshmi: The Supreme Sustainer
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
Salutations to the Supreme power of the Almighty Being manifest as Saraswati!
Salutations to the Power manifest as Mahalakshmi and that Primal Power manifest as Durga!
Involution of Spirit in Matter
First Mother in Her aspect of the Power and Force to destroy the grossness and the influence of the material world is invoked; and then when one rises up into the path of Yoga and spiritual life it is Mother as Lakshmi who is invoked next so that She may bestow upon him all that is necessary to sustain the spiritual life, whereas in the involution She becomes necessary to sustain the material life and to protect and preserve the life in this external physical world of matter. We have to remember that the Motherhood of God is always conceived of as the twofold Shaktis, Vidya-Maya and Avidya-Maya. It is in this aspect of Vidya-Maya She now comes to be adored and invoked by the seeker and therefore Lakshmi in Her aspect as Vidya-Maya sustains, nourishes, protects and preserves the seeker’s spiritual ascent, his Yoga and his Sadhana.
When he passes on still higher beyond the path of Yoga, he invokes the great Mother in Her aspect as the first emanation from the transcendence of Supreme Being, which is nearest to that, and in Her aspect as Mahasaraswati She is the first emanation and She is the bestower of Knowledge. She makes the Jiva unite with the Paramatma or Para Brahman and attain the universal cosmic consciousness, the consciousness of the Infinite Atma. It is in Her aspect as Vidya-Maya that the seeker worships the Mother in exactly the reverse way so that She may achieve for him the return back from matter into the original state of Pure Spirit.
The Eightfold Lakshmi
When we come first of all to consider Maha Lakshmi in Her cosmic aspect as Avidya-Maya who has to preserve the world-process which has evolved out of the Supreme Being, we find that She is conceived of as all the various things that are necessary to have a prosperous and successful life upon this earthplane. We have the conception of Mahalakshmi in Her eightfold forms and the Hindus refer to Her as the Ashta-Lakshmi.
in Her eightfold aspects as Dhaanya-Lakshmi, Dhana-Lakshmi, Dhairya-Lakshmi, Vidya-Lakshmi, Jaya-Lakshmi, Veerya-Lakshmi, Gaja-Lakshmi and Saubhagya-Lakshmi, Mother is worshipped in the form of life-giving corn, of wealth, of Apara-Vidya (knowledge of arts and sciences which is very essential if one must live a civilised and happy life—all knowledge pertaining to this material universe is Mother in the form of Vidya), of Dhairya (to utilise wealth and knowledge one must have enterprise), of Veerya (vitality or virility), of Gaja (royal power or the power of royalty), of Jaya (the power of victory over adverse circumstances, obstacles that stand in the way of a happy, prosperous and successful life) and of Saubhagya (prosperity in general). In these eight aspects, the power of the nourisher and sustainer Lakshmi is manifest in the world of human beings.
The Kshatriya worships the Mother in the form of victory-giving weapons; to him the sword and all the other weapons are the victory-giving manifestations of Mahalakshmi. To the Vaishya who belongs to the third social order, who carries on commerce and business in human society, the great power is the power of money; therefore, a day is set apart to specially worship Goddess Lakshmi in this aspect of money, by them. It is a common sight on Deepavali and Lakshmi Puja, especially in wealthy cities like Bombay, when silver coins would be put into a heap and worshipped as any deity would be worshipped by the devout Hindu, as the visible manifestation of Divine Mother Lakshmi Herself. The fourth class, Sudras, worship Lakshmi as grain which they help to produce. By the Brahmin who is the trustee of knowledge and who is to impart knowledge to all people Mother is worshipped in the form of Vidya and as books. Implements of machinery, every sort of Ayudha that help to keep life going upon earth, are also worshipped on Ayudha Puja day. The conception of the Motherhood of God in its aspect as the preserving and life-sustaining form is thus practically demonstrated in these various ways.
The Sadhak’s Attitude to Lakshmi
The Sadhak who devoutly worships the Mother in the form of wealth and all the good things of the world simultaneously admits the fact that once his aspiration for the divine realisation has begun to manifest within himself, this very aspect of Lakshmi which is most important in this work-a-day world of ours has to be resolutely brushed aside, and renounced. Thus he turns his face away from the material things of this world, gives up wealth and takes to the path of renunciation; because he admits that as long as one is deeply concerned with desire and its fulfilment, he has to accept the all-powerful nature of Mother in Her aspect of the things of this world. But the moment he has had enough of these things and he has realised their temporariness, their transience and their perishable nature, and the moment his heart is set upon the eternal thing, he bids adieu to this aspect of the Mother and he invokes the other aspect, viz., the Vidya-Maya.
He prays to the Mother that She may release him from the lure and the attraction of Her own deluding power in the form of wealth, prosperity, domestic happiness and all the good things of the world; and thus he makes a deliberate departure from Mother Lakshmi in Her aspect of Avidya. Herein lies the main difference between the man of the world and the seeker. The man of the world worships the Mother; and at the same time the seeker who has renounced the world also worships Lakshmi. To the surface-observer it would seem that both are carrying on the self-same worship; but once this conception of Lakshmi both in Her Avidya and Vidya aspects is known, then one would see underneath the surface and go beneath the apparent worship, and he will find that for one and the same worship of the self-same deity, Mother Lakshmi, there is a total difference of view or point of approach and the total difference of Bhava or mental attitude between the materialist, a man of desires, and spiritual seeker or the man who has turned away from desire, who has commenced to aspire for the Eternal.
Yet the figure is the same, Mother is the same; and because She is the prosperity-giver and the preserver, the form of Lakshmi is always full of auspiciousness. She is gorgeously dressed. She has got golden ornaments. There is always that symbol of power and pomp, the elephant, which is by Her side. She lives upon a lotus and She holds two lotuses—and these flowers are in full bloom. The significance of these will become apparent when we reflect upon what they stand for. Full-blown lotus represents the fullness in all aspects. Even so, the elephant represents two things: the highest state of prosperity, regal splendour, royal pomp; and at the same time the highest knowledge—elephant represents the fullness of wisdom.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: Lakshmi: The Supreme Sustainer - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
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Manifestations of Durga in Spiritual Sadhana
Spiritual Message for the Day – Manifestations of Durga in Spiritual Sadhana by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 18 October 2015 16.31 EST | New York Edition** |
Manifestations of Durga in Spiritual Sadhana
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
PROSTRATIONS again and again to the blessed Divine Mother,
the ultimate goal and destination of all spiritual aspiration
Mother in Her aspect as Durga, Kali the Terrible, is in reality the all-compassionate and all-benign Mother who destroys in order to build, who takes away in order to give in abundance, and who is in reality the one who ultimately reveals Herself to us as the Light of lights, the Eternal Light of the Atman, after having helped us annihilate the dense darkness of ignorance.
In the Saptashati the origin of the name Durga has been given in one verse where we have it described that She, who saves us from all that is calamitous, She who saves us from danger and trouble, is known as Durga. Because She saves Her devotees from all sorrows, dangers and calamities, She is called Devi Durga. She being conceived of in this peculiar aspect of an all-destroying power is not only capable of being esoterically interpreted and explained that She destroys all that is undesirable but also it is based upon universal experience.
Manifestations of Durga in Spiritual Sadhana
Mother Durga manifests Herself in and through the form of the Guru, in the form of an aspirant in the aspirant himself to rise to a higher plane, in the form of a ruthless self-criticism and a self-examination; and when this analysis reveals to the seeker the picture of his lower animalistic self in all its detail then the Mother has to be invoked by him as a strong resolution and a strong determination to completely root out these evil tendencies because this aspect of the Mother is absolutely necessary if one has to start progressing upon the path of Yoga. To be unaware of the defects is the first great obstacle; and then if we get over this and become aware of our defects, but if we do not do anything about them in spite of our knowing our defects, the defects will remain and we will not progress. The next stage is, we must have a fiery determination and a strong power of will to completely break down this lower nature within us. Once this determination is invoked, the Mother manifests Herself as a strong will-power and a resoluteness in the aspirant to conquer and attain victory over his animalistic nature.
Next She has to manifest Herself in dynamic will. This will has to be translated into dynamic action, as Sadhana-Sakti, in the aspirant, so that day by day he begins to fight these evil tendencies in all moments of his daily life, in his actions, in his dealings with others, in his thoughts and motives and in his attitudes; this is done by the Sadhana-Sakti aspect of the Divine-Mother. Thus the Sadhana must proceed. For doing his task successfully he has to generate the power of the Divine Mother as Sadhana-Sakti and all the different processes of Yoga. If he is prey to certain lower appetites, he has to completely destroy those appetites, by a series of Sadhanas like Tapascharya, leaving off certain things, denying himself the gratification of those appetites.
It may be said that the denial of certain appetites may drive them underground as it were, to overcome man at some propitious moment, in the form of temptations. Here we have to put forward a certain great truth. It has been found out that to try to overcome an appetite by feeding it is the most impossible thing upon earth; because sense-cravings are likened to a huge conflagration or fire—and if we try to satisfy them, they say, this process acts as ghee poured into the fire. So that we actually give it something to consume; and by consuming it the fire blazes forth all the stronger and more furiously. It is on the other hand, by withdrawing the food to this blaze of sense-cravings that they die a natural death. Therefore, Tapascharya is another form in which Mother Durga manifests Herself in the aspirant.
In order to bear the rigour of Tapascharya, one must develop the power of Titiksha, the power of enduring things which may be very unpleasant and which may be very difficult and undesirable to the lower side of man. Titiksha in its various forms like fasting, vigil, etc., and self-denial in its various forms like giving up those things which the mind likes best for some period of time, e.g., saltless diet, taking tea without sugar, non-using shoes, come under this category. Methods by which we check some natural downward tendency and control some sensual appetite which draws the personality towards the objective world, have to be intelligently thought over and thus a whole programme of Sadhana has to be worked out by every individual Sadhaka or spiritual aspirant. It is the sum-total of these expressions of the Mother in the Sadhaka that ultimately enable him to transcend the first stage of spiritual life and Sadhana and completely attain victory over the lower nature in him.
The animal sacrifice, as it were, is achieved through the invocation of the divine Power within us in its evil-destroying, darkness annihilating, and Tamas-overcoming aspect. This is the significance and meaning of the worship of Mother Kali in the spiritual life of the aspirant.
It is impossible for anyone to cover the entire field of the manifestation of the Mother in Her aspect as Durga in the life of the aspirant. It is naturally a process which each one has to think out and work out for himself. It is only in its general form that we can say that Mother has to be manifested in the form of a ruthless self-analysis, a firm determination and a dynamic attempt to give expression to this resolution and the qualities like austerity, endurance, self-denial, fasting and the various other aspects of Yoga Sadhana, that we will be able to give it while dealing with the question in a general way.
Sadhak’s spiritual life is achieved through the grace of the Mother, with the attainment of identification with the Cosmic Supreme Being.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: Manifestations of Durga in Spiritual Sadhana - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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The Puzzling Kali – Destroys to Save
Spiritual Message for the Day – The Puzzling Kali – Destroys to Save by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 17 October 2015 18.48 EST | New York Edition** |
The Puzzling Kali – Destroys to Save
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
PROSTRATIONS again and again to the blessed Divine Mother
who is the source, substratum and the ultimate goal of all creation.
In Bengal, the whole of the Dussera worship is the worship of Durga and Mahakali. To very many people Kali is a name that strikes terror. We Hindus even think that Kali-worshippers are Tamasic and that Kali is a dread deity. I can say from my own personal experience that if a picture of Mahakali with Her dark body, lolling red tongue, with Her garland of skulls, dressed in a skirt made of severed human hands, with a sword dripping blood in Her hand—if such a picture is kept in an orthodox South Indian house, the ladies of the house will see that the picture is forthwith removed from the house. If their feelings about the divinity as Kali was right, then how comes this conception of Kali as the mother? How can you worship Her?
It is a natural mistake which requires to be corrected. Mother is never terrible, never fearful, is always all-loving and all-compassionate. The explanation for the divine Mother Parashakti being conceived of, among other aspects, also in Her aspect as Kali is a very simple one. It is not difficult; it is not deeply metaphysical; it is not obscurely philosophical; it is very natural and very simple.
I shall first start by giving a very up-to-date and modern, and therefore, easily graspable analogy. You take penicillin and it goes and destroys all the germs; and by thus annihilating and destroying these germs, the disease is removed and you become well. Would it be correct to call these life-saving antibiotics very destructive? If it were right to call them destructive and terrible, then you may also be equally right to call Kali the mother, terrible and destructive.
Destroys to Save
For, She destroys but to save. She destroys ignorance, nescience, in order to bestow knowledge. She destroys darkness so that we may realise light. She destroys all pain, all sorrow, all misery and all the earthly travails and tribulations; and bestows upon us bliss, joy and immortality. Thus She is a destroyer of all those factors that bind the Jiva to this terrible Samsara. She is a terrible destroyer of all terrible things and the benign bestower of blessedness and beatitude. Thus it is that the Mother is conceived of as the destroyer of one of Her own aspects; just as by the power of will—and will is also a portion of the mind—we overcome certain weaknesses and evils in the same mind. As Vidya-Maya, Mother using Her aspect as Kali, destroys Avidya and takes us to the transcendental Brahman.
Thus we find that Mother Kali stands for a glorified being, a Mother who is intent upon giving deliverance from delusion. It is in this aspect that the lover of the Mother worships Her as Kali. He calls upon Her: “Oh compassionate Mother! I am at the mercy of this all-powerful mind. I am tyrannised by the ego and the senses. I have become enslaved by the Shad-Ripus and this whole army of Vasanas, Vrittis and Samskaras. They are ever battling against me. Therefore, Thou alone can’st save me from these terrible foes.” He invokes Her aid and power to help destroy all these factors, so that when he cannot battle and overcome them, he gets the strength of the Mother and She graciously comes to his aid and in Her symbolically terrible form She helps him overcome the senses and attain mastery and victory over the mind.
This indeed is the content of the Durga Saptashati, the scripture which we read during these nine days. It contains thirteen chapters which describe this process of the Mother giving battle to, on behalf of divine beings, and destroys the entire array of cosmic nescience, of wickedness, of all that is a negation of the Supreme Truth. Each aspect of this negation of truth is depicted in this great scripture which is a wonderful allegory, by some particular demon; and these demons are given appropriate names and forms according to those aspects of nescience. And the thirteen chapters describe how Mother using numerous forms annihilates all the aspects of evil, of nescience, ignorance and this cosmic delusion. And at the end the Supreme Victory to the powers of wisdom and knowledge is achieved and the Jiva is freed for ever from ignorance.
This is not peculiar to the Shakti cult or Devi-worshippers. We will find this allegory in all the religions of the world. We have God and Satan in Christian theology; Satan represents the antithesis of all that is divine, all that is of Light. We have the Ariman and Ahura Mazda in the Zoroastrian religion; and in that religion Ariman stands for forces corresponding to the conception of Satan in Christianity. We have the Mara in Buddhism. Even so we have in Hinduism the force of evil, call it Maya, ignorance or Asuric forces, which stand for all that is the antithesis of light, knowledge, wisdom and Atman. They are called in Vedantic parlance the Anatman, to be overcome by the Knowledge of Atma. That is the central theme of this great scripture—the Saptashati—where Mother enables Her sons to do away with Evil with the help of Her aspect as Mother Kali.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: The Puzzling Kali – Destroys to Save - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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Delusion and Deliverance
Spiritual Message for the Day – Delusion and Deliverance by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 16 October 2015 22.13 EST | New York Edition** |
Delusion and Deliverance
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
SALUTATIONS again and again to the blessed divine mother, the Supreme Inscrutable Power, the mysterious Achintya Shakti of para Brahman. Salutations to the great Devi who is the source of all manifestation and embodiment. Salutations to the great Divine Power, Divya Shakti, from whom have flowed forth all the countless, innumerable universes, in whom all manifestations have their being and into whom all names and forms dissolve and vanish, and through whom all beings attain their eternal union with the great reality, the Supreme Transcendental Being, Para Brahman.
Today we shall devoutly offer our humble worship at the Mother’s Blessed Feet. In doing this, let us ever be aware that even this privilege of worshipping Her; glorifying Her and dwelling upon Her greatness is only due to Her compassion and Grace. Without Her Grace, most difficult it is to get an opportunity to think of Her, to remember Her, and to speak of Her, and to utter Her glorious names, calling upon Her as Mother.
The Mother is whatever is. The essence of pure existence is the Supreme Being or Para Brahman. Mother is whatever is that we know. That which is beyond our knowledge, that is the Purusha, the Supreme Being, the transcendental Para Brahman. That which we know through our mind and senses is nothing but the manifestation of Mother. She is not only the Universe which we know, this little world and the countless stars, the sun and moon—all these the terrestrial and the stellar, the lunar and the solar systems that comprise this little universe; all this is but an infinitesimal speck in the vastness and infinity that Mother is. Innumerable such universes have their rise and fall within Her infinite nature. She is all-power and also the great transcendental power at the back of all manifestation, the primal cause for all manifestation and embodiment. She is the very creatrix not only of this world but even the creator, preserver and dissolver of the world. Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara have their being in the Mother. She is the Mother of all, countless Brahmas, Vishnus and Maheshwaras. In as much as She is all-power, all powers are Her play; and therefore all the three dynamic manifestations Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara also are modifications of Mother as Adi-Shakti. She is also Brahma-Shakti manifest to us in and through the form of Saraswati, Vishnu-Shakti manifest in and through the form of Lakshmi, and also Siva-Shakti manifest in and through the form of Parvati.
Delusion and Deliverance
In this aspect of all power, She has a twofold form. There is wonderful depth of significance in this conception of Mother in Her twofold aspects—that of the Cosmic Delusion as well as of the Cosmic Deliverance! She binds down all to this mysterious illusory appearance, this world-play, and turns them in her own playful manner in the wheel of birth and death. As such She is known by the name Avidya, the delusion that is opposed to spiritual wisdom or knowledge. She is also the Cosmic Deliverance. In this aspect She smiles upon Her children and She releases them from the delusion of Her other aspect Avidya. In Her aspect as this Cosmic Deliverance, we know of the Mother as Vidya-Maya. Artists have therefore visualised Her in the form of a radiant being, a Goddess, having in one hand a noose or a type of rope by which She binds, and in the other hand a sharp knife by which She snaps the bondage if She is propitiated. Thus she is a mysterious combination of Avidya Maya and Vidya Maya. Therefore, She is called Indescribable.
In both these aspects She has set up the Drama of universal phenomena. Lovers of the Mother who have worshipped Her and obtained Her Grace and have been vouchsafed with a vision of Her real nature have lovingly depicted Mother and Her play in this secret way. We all know that as children when in a group we gather together, we wish to play; and not knowing how we may carry on this play we approach the grandmother of the house. Lovingly she consents to show us a game; and thus she sets going a game of hide-and-seek. She tells the children: Children, run about and play. The children engage themselves in play. They run; they catch each other and the game of hide-and-seek goes on. But, then, should some child feel that it has had enough of the play and wish that it may be released from the play, tired of running here and there it has only to run up to the grand dame and lay its hand upon her. One who touches the grand dame cannot now be caught. Even as the grand dame brought about this play, watches the play in progress, and takes care of the children at play, and in the end touching her the child is released from the play,—even so, this universe is but a child’s play to the great Mother. Anyone who is fed up with this constant running about in this wilderness of the sense-world and longs to be out of the play, he has but to run up to this great Mother and touch Her; and once for all he is released from the bondage of this play. Thus have devotees of the Mother sweetly and intimately conceived of this world-play with the Mother as both; one who initiates it and one who ends it.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: Delusion and Deliverance - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
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This Moment
Spiritual Message for the Day – This Moment by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 15 October 2015 23.19 EST | New York Edition** |
This Moment
Divine Life Society Publication: Ponder These Truths by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
Radiant Immortal Atman! Beloved and blessed children of the Divine! Satsanga of the spiritual family of Holy Master Swami Sivanandaji into whose presence we come during this morning hour, day after day, to directly receive his benedictions and his spiritual force to keep us upon the noble way of life we have chosen to live. May he give us the realisation that at this moment when we are thus under his glance of grace, when we are thus recipients of his guru kripa, may he also further grant us the insight and the grasp of the truth, that this moment is the only effective moment of our life.
True life is made up of “now.” True life is not made up of bygone yesterdays or uncertain tomorrows. What we have is like a lump of clay in a sculptor’s hands or a piece of gold in a goldsmith’s shop. We can create out of it what we will. At this moment, what are we doing with the time we have? Are we thinking of something else? Are we forming opinions of people who are sitting beside us or of the person speaking to us? Or, are we engaged in making our life sublime, enriching ourselves, uplifting ourselves, drawing nearer to the Divine, and awakening within, unfolding ourselves, shining with the awakened light? What are we engaged in doing in this moment?
This moment, this concept, this word, this fact, this truth is the most tremendous truth of life. Life is made up of this moment and this moment only—not of dead yesterdays nor of unborn tomorrows. But your life to each one of you is not even today. It is this moment. This moment is what we effectively have. Other aspects of time are what you imagine you have. Other aspects of time are present in your mind as ideas and concepts. They are most deceptive ideas.
If you make this moment all that it ought to be, it will bring something improved the next moment. Because you have already enriched yourself this moment, the next moment will be built upon it and therefore be one step higher and maybe one shade brighter. Each moment can be an ascending step, a manifestation of a brighter light from within you. Moment by moment illumination is attained. Moment by moment enlightenment is brought about. Moment by moment is liberation ultimately experienced. Moment by moment is the supreme Goal achieved.
You do not have to wait for any moment; you do not have to exercise patience. On the contrary, the moment does not wait. It comes before you with each breath. Therefore, great mystics have said: “O Lord with every breath may I remember You. With every breath of my life may I ever seek to draw nearer to You.” Because the moment does not wait, it does not tarry. If you take it and live it, then you have it. If you daydream, allow yourself to be diverted elsewhere, get bogged down in something else, then you lose it. It is no longer yours; it is gone forever.
Each moment is your real wealth, more precious than gold, diamonds and precious stones. Each moment is your very life. Each moment is what you are and what you can be. There is nothing that can compare to it. The tremendous importance of the moment, the incomparable value of the moment, is the most important insight and understanding that a living individual must have. “My wealth is each moment that is before me now. It is now I have to live my life, not in yesterdays or tomorrows. I have but this moment to live, to mould and to fashion, to make something out of it. This is my effective life.”
Remember, we do not have to work for it, we do not have to ask for it. It is constantly being given, constantly. It is always immediate. It comes. It does not delay, but you cannot ask it to wait. You cannot afford to allow it to pass by and then imagine you can do something about it. When it has passed, it is no longer yours. When you confront it, it is yours; you are master of the situation, you have full claim. It allows itself to be taken by you and made use of in any way you like.
Hence the adage uttisthata jagrata (arise, awake)—come, come, slumber not, be up and doing, arise, awake. For they knew this truth: that life is now. There is no other life but now. They knew that the only thing the individual soul has for his highest evolution, his supreme blessedness, is this moment.
Ponder, ponder well this great, all-important truth of your life. Go on pondering it and never stop deeply pondering this truth. For it is the most important truth. If it is grasped, life is yours; there is nothing that is withheld from you. If you do not grasp it, life is in vain. A hundred things will come and clutter up your consciousness, and your consciousness will lose the most precious of all things—the now, the moment, here. Wherever you are, at whatever time, you are at that moment in charge of the moment, in charge of your life. If you allow it to pass away, then no lamentation can bring it back, no effort can recall it.
Therefore the need of perennial wakefulness, vigilance and constant readiness for action. When we were children, the British government encouraged the Boy Scout movement. And the Boy Scouts’ motto was “Be Prepared.” If you are prepared, then you grasp the moment. If the moment comes and you are unprepared, you cannot blame the moment. It has done its duty. It has presented itself saying: “Here, here I am. I am life. I am your wealth. I am your highest salvation. I am all that you have. Come, here I am.” If you are unprepared, next moment it is lost.
You all know the story that the Master Jesus told about the wise and foolish virgins. The wise were wise because they were prepared. They anticipated the moment, they were prepared even before it came, they were in a state of readiness. They looked forward to the moment. And when the moment came they were ready and grasped it immediately. And so they became one with the Divine. The foolish were foolish precisely because they did not do what the wise ones did. They did not keep themselves in a constant state of preparedness in spite of seeing the wise ones doing all that was necessary for that great moment. The lesson was lost upon them.
Not without reason therefore uttisthata jagrata—arise, awake, attain illumination. The one who is awake, alert and ready—that being alone attains illumination. There is a very famous Hindi bhajan that says: “He who is awake, he attains, and he who is asleep, he loses.” And all of you know the old, old adage: “Time and tide wait for no man.”
Therefore, enrich yourself with what you have. Do not lose your life through daydreaming, building castles in the air, fantasy and imagination. More than anything, do not lose your life by dwelling upon the dead past. For although you imagine you have it, you do not. What you have is now, what you have is this moment. Life is this moment. This moment is your only wealth. This moment is your effective life, having which you can do anything, losing which you lose everything.
Therefore they say: “Grasp time by the forelock.” Even before it is before you, have it in your hand. For the moment is all that you have, but that is more than enough. If you take care of the moments you have your whole life. Life will take care of you. And there is no limit to what you can attain if you take care of this moment, this now. For it becomes a dynamic moment, full of power, full of potential, full of unlimited possibilities—this moment. Live now, live effectively. Make this moment your wealth, be enriched, and move towards your great divine destiny.
If you cannot grasp the concept of your divine destiny because it is too high up in the clouds, all right, leave it. Do not think about it, worry about it. Do not bother yourself about it. Take hold of this moment and make yourself an ideal human individual. Thus make yourself a wealth to your own contemporary society, to humanity of now, this moment. Enrich human life by your being. To be is to do.
This moment is God. God comes to you as this moment. He does not descend in some sort of supramundane shape and size with lights flashing and sound emanating. He comes silently as this moment. Now is God. He constantly keeps coming to you as now, as this moment. We have to help God to help us when He comes as kaloham—I am time, I am life.
And what is life and what is time if it is not now, if it is not this moment? Without any distinction of age or sex or caste or creed or race it is given to everyone, saint or sinner. That is the equal vision of the Divine. It is not withheld from anyone. It is given to everyone. God comes to everyone as this moment. This is life. This is the I AM God—here, now. That is the greatest thing. This moment is the most tremendous thing that can happen to you. It is the greatest thing that can be given to you. Be wise. Make use of this moment and bless yourself eternally.
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from:
Ever Onward and Upward - Ponder These Truths by Sri Swami Chidananda
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Essence of Devi Mahatmya
Spiritual Message for the Day – Essence of Devi Mahatmya by Sri Swami Chidananda
| **Baba Times Digest© | 14 October 2015 21.55 EST | New York Edition** |
Essence of Devi Mahatmya
Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah
PROSTRATIONS again and again to the blessed Divine Mother who is the source, substratum and the ultimate goal of all creation.
The Mother is a mysterious, indescribable power of the Supreme Being. She is the dynamic aspect of the Supreme, Transcendent Being, which is infinity, eternity and ineffable peace, beyond the cognisance of the senses and the mind. The Grace of the Mother is an indispensable factor to attain Moksha-Siddhi.
The Navaratra worship of the Devi is eminently a Shakta-worship. The supreme scripture, glorifying the Divine mother, is known as the Durga Saptashati or the Devi Mahatmya. It is known by the name Saptashati because it is a book of 700 verses. People refer to the reading of the Devi Mahatmya as Chandi-Patha. This is derived from one of the names of the Divine Mother Herself who is called Chandika.
The reading of the scripture is done in a very scientific manner. There is a strict procedure laid down by the Shastras. In the first part which was read today there is a detailed exposition of the Devi Tattva. The setting is in the form of a story; and the exposition is given by a sage to a king and a merchant. It is full of deep philosophic truth in regard to the aspect of the Deity, Her nature, how She is and what She is. There are sublime, elevating hymns glorifying the Mother; and the ways of propitiating Her are given. The very reading of the scripture from start to finish is itself a very great and effective Sadhana in the Shakta mode of worship and spiritual practice. I shall just give in a few words the essence of the scripture.
Essence of Devi Mahatmya
A king of the Surya Vamsa to which Lord Rama also belonged, named Suratha, is overcome and overwhelmed by his foes, who compel him to flee his kingdom. He takes shelter in a forest. He is deeply afflicted and dejected, deprived of all his wealth and retinue; and he is wandering forlorn, destitute of everything, in a very wretched condition. His mind again and again goes back to the bitter fate which he has suffered. Thinks of his kingdom, his wealth, his ministers and the way in which the kingdom is likely to be governed under the new rulers. While he is in this state of mind, he happens to come to the vicinity of the hermitage of a great God-realised sage, called Rishi Medha. He sees the hermitage with all its beauty, the disciples of the Rishi—everything pervaded by serenity, calmness and purity; and he stays there.
While he is in this hermitage he comes across a fellow-sufferer, a brother-in-distress, a man named Samadhi, belonging to the merchant community, who has also similarly run away from his home because of misfortune. He had lost all his wealth to his own relatives; and his own family had turned him out of the house. He is thus forced to wander into the forest. He also takes shelter at the feet of the sage.
They find that they are more or less in the same predicament, deprived of their wealth and ousted from their home, with their own people turned against them; and in spite of all this unkindness of their own people, both of them are intrigued and deeply puzzled to find that with all the hostility and enmity of their people, yet their minds go again and again back to these very people, to the very things which have been the cause of their sorrow, of their grief, of their deep disappointment and dejection.
They try to discuss this between themselves; what is this mysterious nature of the mind which harkens back again and again and clings to those self-same things and people from whom they have had nothing but pain and sorrow. Unable to solve this riddle, they go and humbly entreat the Rishi Medha to throw some light upon this problem. They ask the Rishi: “O Wise One, pray throw some light upon this problem; we are greatly puzzled to find this mind still clings to those very objects, is attached to those very persons, from whom it has received the greatest pain and sorrow; it knows there is no pleasure in those things, yet it will not give up its attachment to them—what is the reason for this, how do you explain this peculiar delusion of the mind?”
In answer to this query which, though it has been put into the mouth of Raja Suratha and Vaishya Samadhi, yet is a universal question which agitates the minds of all thinking men and women all over the world, Rishi Medha gives his wondrous exposition of the greatness of the Devi. He says; “O my children! A mysterious delusion dwells in the mind of man, by which his pure reason is blinded, by which delusion he is again and again made to cling and go back to those very objects and persons from which he is subject to so much pain and suffering. This delusion, this veiling power, is really the mysterious power of the divine Mother. It is She who is the cosmic illusion. It is She who is at the back of projection of this very universe itself. It is with Her mysterious veiling Power that the one seems to have become the many, the formless seems to have taken numerous forms and the unmanifest seems to have become manifest and this mysterious power is the indescribable power of the Supreme Being itself. It is Brahma Shakti; it is the Mahamaya or the great Cosmic Illusory Power which emanates from the Lord Himself, and it is through this power that the Lord sets going this universal drama of projection of creation, preservation and once again the ultimate dissolution of all names and forms back into its pristine transcendental state of Pure Being.”
The King Suratha and Vaishya Samadhi want to know more about the mysterious power which Rishi Medha has referred to and to know more about this cosmic power which is at the back of all manifestation. In response to this request of theirs Rishi Medha goes into the detailed exposition of the nature of the divine Mother; and the 700-versed scripture contains this exposition. In the end, having expounded the mystery and secret of the supreme nature of the divine Mother Rishi Medha advises Suratha and Samadhi to go and practise Yoga, worship the Divine Mother, pray to Her and meditate upon Her and propitiate Her. Thus propitiated She becomes manifest to them and bestows Her Grace upon both the king and the merchant and their heart’s desire is fulfilled.
This in short is the import of this supreme scripture of the Shaktas—Devi Mahatmya.
Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22
Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu
Excerpts from: The Worship of the Divine Mother - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \\ Email to BT Digest Editor( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)
If you would like to purchase the print edition, visit: The Divine Life Society E-Bookstore
If you would like to contribute to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge please contact the General Secretary at: generalsecretary@sivanandaonline.org
SEND FEED BACK ON THIS ARTICLE \** **Email to BT Digest Editor** **( dlsusa.org@gmail.com)