Shakti - the eternal feminine - 2

The mother Durga had made a proclamation in Durga Saptashati. She said to the gods, "Ittham yada yada vadha danavottha bhavishwati tada tadarvatiraham kariswami arisamsayam" - Whenever and wherever evil forces raise their heads and create obstacles, then and there I appear and destroy them. This is similar to the famous and oft repeated verses in Gita - "yada yada hi dharmasya..." Durga is found as reference in many ancient texts and elsewhere around the world. In Cyprus there was an ancient goddess names Virgo whose image depicted a female riding a lion and killing a demon. It is believed that Egyptian goddesses like Isis have their origin in the worship of eternal feminine. The same goes with Astarte or Ishtar who was the goddess of fertility and was worshiped but almost all ancient races like Assyrians, Egyptians, Phoenicians and had lion as one of the symbols. Scholars argue that the worship of the goddess arose from worshiping mother earth for a bountiful harvest. It may be so in Semitic culture which later forcefully eradicated the Goddess worship and promoted one “male” God, but not so in ancient Indian culture. In India, we find that Rig Veda has two beautiful hymns on the Goddess – Devi Sukta and Ratri Sukta, both eulogizing the Supreme Being, one as the grand cosmic principle that pervades everything and is behind every action, and the other as dispeller of ignorance and darkness. Ratri Sukta comes up with the profound thought that both light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance, which later came to be known as vidya and avidya in Vedantic parlance, are characteristics of the great mother. The dawn of knowledge or Usha dispels darkness, its own sister – the tamas of ignorance, so that sages can rest safely in the arm of the mother. Devi Sukta by Vak is the first utterance by a woman rishika on Advaita. She realizes her union with the Supreme Being and identifies herself as the grandest cosmic principle, later known as Shakti, pervading everything and being the cause of everything. According to Swami Vivekananda, the Goddess worship in India started as a reverence for mother, unlike that in the Semitic tradition where it started as a worship of the mother earth. In any case the logic behind was same. Mother is dearer to her children. She nourishes and sustains. A child cannot live without her mother. So the mother Goddess is more compassionate. She takes care of her children as a real mother would. Rig Veda also worships goddesses Saraswati and Aditi – manifestation of Supreme Being as knowledge and wisdom and mother Universe resp. From Aditi sprang all the Adityas and hence she is the universal mother. In Kena Upanishad we find reference to Uma Haimavati as the Supreme Brahman who is the Shakti, without whose power even fire cannot burn, wind cannot move or other gods cannot perform their resp. functions. Even in Durga Shaptasati the same truth is proclaimed by Durga. In response to Sumbhasura’s wrathful and arrogant challenge she says, Ekaivaham jagatyatra dvitiya ka mamapara, Pasyaita dusta mayyeva visantyo madvibhutayah – In this universe I alone exist, who else is there beside Me? See, oh wicked soul, all my powers are being indrawn within myself.

In Mahabharata we find many references to goddess Durga or Uma as the spiritual consort of Shiva, the Lord of all Gods and the eternal feminine power who is Adi Shakti. Mahabharata is gateway to the Puranas which later developed into worship of Supreme Being as the Devi or mother of the universe. From Aditi to Durga to the Shakti, it is not an evolution of mother goddess, but with the advancement of spiritual knowledge and with more enlightenment, the cosmic principle has been further revealed to the rishis. God as mother is kindness personified, she is gracious to her children, her devotees, she protects them from all evils and destroys the evil forces. Therefore the Supreme Being as the Mother of the Universe became more than a spiritual consort or universal power. She became that primal source of all powers from where universes originate and dissolute. However in Semitic tradition she gradually lost her place by more aggressive male principle as the entire Semitic tradition was based on aggression and warfare. One Semitic tribe had to dominate over others and hence a kind, compassionate mother would not have suited their social purpose. Hence mother worship was rejected in favor of a male God. Advent of Christianity tried destructing paganism but ended up assimilating many of the pagan principles which remained hidden in it. The Mother of Universe was manifested in the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit of the Trinity of some sects. However later some Christian sects, esp. the Protestants had more aggressively adopted the Semitic traditions like Islam and discarded all traits of mother worship from their rituals. However it is very difficult to get rid of age old traditions and therefore in these cultures also there are traces of mother worship, like the spring festival in Europe. Some scholars says that even Easter is a derivative of this spring festival, heralding the advent of the mother nature as the benign protector when she brings summer and warmth to her children, when she bestows upon them bountiful harvest yet again.

However Indian tradition still revers the mother of the universe, even after thousands and thousands of years and she would continue to rule the hearts of people. In the words of Sri Ramakrishna, who very recently upheld the worship of mother of the universe and saw her reflection in all women, the divine mother is playful. The world is her sport, leela and she would play it in her own way. However sometimes she takes on her lap those who are tired of the play and who actively and sincerely seeks the mother. With others, she continues her play. It is she who is Durga, or Kali or even for that matter all male principles, i.e. it cannot be said for sure whether she is male or female. Since mother and child enjoys a special bonding she would always be the eternal mother to her children who would like to see her in that way. She, like the worldly mother, would offer different types of food to children of different temperaments. She would reveal her non dual real nature to only those who have transcended her realms.