this mountain I must clilmb, the path, it is deep and winding….
The Header Picture to this post shows a painting I once made, “woman with tiger”. I chose it here because Maa Durga is shown with a Lion as her vahana. My woman only has two arms, but then, also in two armed women Durga is ever present. The arms show the greatness of power of the Goddess.
Is it possible that the lessening of puja of Durga Kumari (the child goddess) in Nepal led to the terrible earthquakes in 2015 and destruction of many temples? Is Durga angry because the power of the priests, the power which she had on the king, on the government is constantly reduced?
I dont think so. Durga is a Goddess who fights Evil and not creates Evil. Durga is a benevolent Goddess, she is the Mother Goddess who is creation and creator, She is everything.
In my video I used pictures of the Child Goddess during ceremonies in Nepal, from Internet. I sing the Durga Chalisa, a hymn to Durga.
Worship of a young girl, treating her as Devi, is also a part of Ashtami Puja. Sri Ramakrishna has said that the Divine Mother manifests herself more in a pure-hearted girl and that is why Kumari Puja is done. He used to bow down before little girls looking upon them as manifestations of the Divine Mother. When Durga Puja was done at Belur Math for the first time, Swami Vivekananda worshipped several Kumaris. Now only one Kumari is worshipped. The same kinds of offerings made to the Devi are given to the Kumari also, and finally Arati is performed. Even senior monks offer flowers at her feet (Belur Math). such Girl worship is done also during Durga Puja all over the world.
The blog head Picture is taken from one of These ceremonies.
This is a Hindi song, from a Hindi movie, then used as a spiritual song. I used the theme and adapted it to a new music. I came to know this bhajan when I was a disciple of Sathya Sai Baba.
Sathya Sai Baba is God in a way as I and you are God, perhaps he was spiritually a bit(?) further developed.
Through him I learned playing instruments and singing. I am grateful.
Especially so when I tried to describe a spiritual journey. The Divine Mother is in everything, which is described in the well known hymn Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu. I tried to describe the merging with the Mother in the Dance of a dervish.
I Dance the Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu, starting slow and getting quicker, till in trance I finally merge, like in Flash of divine light…
Here are the lyrics:
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Buddhi rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
coming to us in divine Intuition (Buddhi=Intuition)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Shakti rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Coming to us in the female creative strength (Shakti=Power/Parvati)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Bakti rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Coming to us in our great love to God (Bakt=Lover of God)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Matri rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Coming to us in our love to our mothers (Matri=Mother)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Shanti rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Found in all who search for peace (shanti=peace)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Daya rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Found in all who care for the poor (daya=pity)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Shraddha rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Found in all who trust in God (shraddha=Devotion)
Before your greatness we do bow
We submit ourselves
To you, Namaha
Ya Devi sarve Bhuteshu
Nidra rupena samstitha
Namastasye Namastasye
Namastasye Namo Namaha
O Goddess in all we see around us
Found in all who widen their consciousness (nidra=sleep)
This stotram is hailing the Divine Mother. The Divine Mother is the active part of Paramatma, the infinite timeless Nothing that is in all of us just as the water under the waves, while we are the forms, the waves.
The Divine Mother I compare in this stotram to the strings in string theory. All that we experience here is a realization of the 11 dimensional strings underlying everything. Divine Mother like the formless Atman is in all of us.
We can contact the Deity mentally, we can shape the strings. We can destroy the Devils, such as Mahishasura is destroyed in the stotram, the devils which are in our mind. That is my message about Mahishasura whom Durga/Kali killed.
See also the description in the video in English.
The sculpture in the picture above symbolizes for me the evil thoughts in the head… (Sculpture Museum Mamallapuram)