God as Mother : 18. Sri Swami Chidananda.

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Thursday, June  09,  2022. 6:00. AM.

Essence of Devi Mahatmyam

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FIFTH NIGHT -18

18.THE PATH OF PROSPERITY:

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Divine Mother, the life of our lives, the sole support of our existence, the very essence of our being, the inmost core of our consciousness, the goal and ultimate destination of our life, the glorious fruition of our Yoga Sadhana, the Pure Existence-Knowledge and Bliss. We bow to Her again and again as Mother Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. May Her Grace be upon us all.

Mother in Her aspect as Lakshmi is the one great Power upon earth that makes life possible and bearable here. Were it not for blessed Mother Lakshmi, life upon earth would be a journey of sorrows and pain. It will be a vale of tears; for due to the transient nature of things and due to the all-pervasive aspect of Mother Durga, destruction is ever haunting the footsteps of the Jiva from the moment it sees the light of day upon earth until it reaches the grave. Verily, life on earth is a life of pain and death.

It is the shining, radiant and joy-giving aspect of Lakshmi Devi that makes life bearable by balancing the pain and destruction that pervades this earthly existence with the sweet elements of light, love, rejoicing, prosperity and happiness in all its various forms. Mother pervades all aspects of human life as auspiciousness. She is Kalyani. She is Mangalam. She is Saubhagyavati. Both in the wider sphere of national life as well as in the intimate sphere of a being’s domestic circle, Mother manifests Herself in all Her radiance and good cheer so that life is sustained through Her light, through Her charm, and Her Grace. Thus, Mother Durga and Mother Lakshmi keep up the balance in this Samsaric life and make it possible for the Jiva to forget the harsh realities of this transitory passing existence and to partake of the good things of life with some extent of joy.

Signs of National Glory :

It is a very interesting and very useful task to try to be aware of the Divine Mother as Lakshmi in both these spheres so that we shall be in a position consciously to work towards the maintenance of the presence of Mother Lakshmi in these spheres by doing which we shall be able to fill this terrestrial life with happiness and prosperity. In the wider sphere of man’s social and national life, Mother appears as those modes which counteract and counter-balance the terrible modes of the divine Shakti in its aspects as Durga Devi. We have seen how in order to sustain the very life upon earth Durga manifests Herself in aspects of very necessary destructivity and annihilation, how but for Her benign breaking down process life upon earth would end in absolute chaos and ruin, catastrophe and calamity. Thus in Her terrible aspects as war, epidemics, famine, natural catastrophes like flood, fire, earthquake, Mother Durga destroys in order to save, in order to see that life continues. Lakshmi Devi manifests in this life as modes which counterbalance and counteract this activity of Her own aspect as Durga, by appearing as peace instead of war,–when Lakshmi is propitious there is peace in the universe, peace amongst nations and mankind, and there is freedom from all civil strife–as plenty, fertility, abundant harvest and, as the counterpart of disease and epidemics, Lakshmi graces society in the form of health, well-being, welfare of the children and of the women, and of a good standard of the nation’s health. In Her aspects as the preservative forces like the medical profession, hospitals, the fire brigade, police, etc, the power of Vishnu-Shakti, Divine Mother Lakshmi, appears to counteract the calamities of nature and to protect the life and welfare of men and their properties. Therefore, to the politician, to the administrator, to the leaders of society, these aspects are the signs of Lakshmi being present in the social structure.

Where these things are neglected, we find that the happiness of the people is destroyed. Their progress is arrested; and prosperity leaves that nation and that society. Therefore, the ancient law-givers laid down that every true administrator must have in mind these aspects of the Mother and he should always diligently try to see that he does what all he can in order to increase these factors in society, through which Mother Lakshmi manifests Herself and in which this benign progressive aspect of Vishnu-Shakti dwells. Temples, schools, playgrounds, parks, flower-gardens, tanks–all these factors in human society are so many manifestations of the Vishnu-Shakti. They are all Mother Lakshmi being visible through these symbols. Therefore, we find that in this land of Dharma, Bharatavarsha, there will be no place without a temple. It may be the most insignificant village, a mere hamlet, with a handful of houses; yet without even the dignity of a pucca structure, at least under the shade of some tree there will be a village deity that is worshipped by that community. Where there is a village without place of worship, there no religious man will set foot. They will say: “This place has no Lakshmi therein.” They will avoid such a place. Where there is no good provision for water, for people and cattle to drink, there people will say that Lakshmi does not dwell; and holy men will turn away from such a place. All Dharmic people, people of wealth, ever tried to utilise their God-given wealth for setting up these visible expressions of Lakshmi throughout the land. To plant trees, to dig wells and tanks, to donate gardens and playgrounds, to build new temples where there are none and to renovate old temples which had fallen into disrepair, and to start choultries where travellers may come and rest themselves, to have feeding houses where weary pilgrims, holy men, men of God, mendicants and the religious students may get food–all these were considered and even now they are considered to be works of Dharma, of great merit, which will bless the giver with happiness here and hereafter. Education also was a visible expression of Lakshmi in Her aspect as Vidya-Lakshmi which is one of the eight aspects of Ashta-Lakshmi. Thus the expression of Mother Lakshmi in all these forms was regarded by our law-givers as something which every man, every citizen should try to increase in the country and in the society so that a state of prosperity may always prevail in the land.

Next : The Foremost Duty of National Leaders

To be continued ....

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