God as Mother : 16. Sri Swami Chidananda.

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Sunday, March 06, 2 10, 2022. 6:00. AM.

Essence of Devi Mahatmyam

16. The Evolution of Man to Godhead

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But, as it has been said in the Gita: 

to the man of the spirit everything operates in exactly the opposite direction as it does to the man of the world who is immersed in matter. That which is day to the man of the world is night to the man of the spirit and to those things to which the man of the world is awake as it were in his perception the man of the spirit is asleep and does not recognise them. To those things to which the man of the world is asleep in his perception to all those higher things of the spirit, the man of God is fully awake. 

What the worldly man perceives the Yogi turns away from and does not perceive; what the worldly man fails to perceive the Yogi perceives in his state of spiritual awakening. In accordance with this law, when the self-same divine power begins to act in the inner realm of the spiritual ascent in the realm of evolution as opposed to involution, the seeker adores the power in a contrary way. He first invokes the Mother in Her destructive aspect so that She has to destroy the whole of matter which is upon the Jiva having involved into grossness, having involved into matter, having become immersed in nescience; therefore, the first process is to break free from the grip of matter, to shatter the shackles of nescience and delusion and to attain victory over that which is gross and to rise up into the realm of the pure, the subtle and the spiritual. 

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.

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The Eight fold 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 earth plane. 

We have the conception of Mahalakshmi in Her eight fold forms and the Hindus refer to Her as the Ashta-Lakshmi. 

For the sustenance of life upon this earth the most important thing is food. All beings live upon this physical plane through the nourishment derived from physical food and the chief source of food upon earth is corn that is cultivated. Grain is Dhaanya. Therefore, Mother is worshiped as Dhaanya-Lakshmi. 

It is a common sight to see upon a particular day in the year set apart for this specific purpose, the cultivator and all the people worshipping the freshly-cut sheaves of golden corn that has been gathered at harvest-time. It is a very joyous festival. The first crop of golden corn which has filled the field is cut, taken up with great ceremony, with music and rejoicing and it is brought to the house wherein all the ceremonial worship due to a deity is offered to it. Thus Mother in Her universal aspect as life-sustaining corn is regarded as the most important factor and in this form Lakshmi is manifest in this world of ours.

Secondly, for all human dealings, in society, both intra-national and international, money or wealth is of paramount importance. Without wealth man cannot live with happiness, prosperity and success. He cannot undertake any works; and therefore, Mother is also conceived of as Dhana Lakshmi. 

It means wealth in any form—in the form of coins, goods—all valuable things. Thus wealth also is revered and worshiped in society.

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The Mother in these various forms is worshiped by different classes of people in India. The Hindu society is based upon the beautiful plan of Varnashrama. 

There is a general division of labour in the whole society as it is and different aspects of national life are entrusted to different sections of the community and in Her eight fold aspects as :

 "Dhaanya-Lakshmi, Dhana-Lakshmi, Dhairya-Lakshmi, Vidya-Lakshmi, Jaya-Lakshmi, Veerya-Lakshmi, Gaja-Lakshmi and Saubhagya-Lakshmi," 

Mother is worshiped 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 worshiped as any deity would be worshiped 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 worshiped 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 worshiped 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 the Hindu society in these various ways.

Next - The Sadhak’s Attitude to Lakshmi

To be continued .....

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