NAVARATRI : DEVI MAHATMYAM : NINTH NIGHT - SWAMI SRI CHIDANANDA

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2022. 07:30.
NINTH NIGHT
THE PATH TO FINAL LIBERATION

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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. The mother is ever eager to take the child into her

arms. Even so the Divine Mother who has set going this momentary play, this divine Drama upon

this stage of the external physical universe is yet in the core of our heart and is at the same time

eager to take back into Her Infinite Bosom those children who have had enough of this play and

who have lost interest in the play and stopping short, they turn back and cry ‘Mother.’ “Mother! No

more of this play for me. Long have I wandered away from Thee. Therefore, bestow Thy Grace

upon me. Take this child back into Thy blissful arms.” This is the cry of the Jiva. This is the

Mumukshutva. This is the aspiration. This is the call of the infinite to the finite. When the finite

individual hears this call, ceases to be interested in this world-play and turning his back upon it as it

were he begins to gaze into the face of the Mother, then it is that the compassion-filled eyes of the

great Mother open for a while and the rays of Her divine mercy fall upon and bathe this child and

once for all the fatigue, the strain and the dust of this play, drop away from him; and he is lifted up

into the subtle heights of spiritual bliss.

Then the child regains the Mother’s arms and for him the stress and the struggle of the play

is over and there is but Pure Bliss, the bliss of having regained his coveted home. For, 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. Mother, though She is Supreme Vidya, yet She has in Her a tinge of the mysterious

Avidya-Maya also and in this aspect of the Avidya Maya She is manifest as the Saraswati Tattva in

Pravritti.

But, 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. It is by a consideration

of the Mother in the inward, Nivritti life, that we shall offer our homage and adoration to Her Lotus

Feet this day. 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. She is the discoveries the scientist makes in

his period of keen research. Mother Saraswati again appears as the inventions, whatever they are,

that flow out of the keen probings of the intellect into the outward nature. She is again all those

various products that result out of these inventions. Mother is also all constructive avocation. She is

all the professions, all the trades; She is the business acumen of the super-salesman. She is

education upon the external field of man’s Pravritti activities. 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. For, in the radiant whiteness of Sattva,

the darkness of Tamas cannot stand. Sattva is a superior, positive force in the life of the being.

Therefore, with the advent of Sattva as manifest by Mother Saraswati’s Grace, Tamo-Guna

decreases and ultimately it is completely overcome by the aspirant. The extremely gross lower

appetites which once were the most pleasure-giving things to him which he revelled and indulged

in, begin to become painful to the aspirant; he abhors them. Grossness is something which becomes

foreign to one in whom Saraswati has come to dwell.

Even so, there happens a change in the Rajo-Guna that is there in the individual. Rajas is

activity springing out of selfishness. It is activity under the urge of greed, covetousness and

selfishness. Activity or dynamism is always good. It is a valuable asset to all beings in every

endeavour and attempt towards any attainment. But then it is engendered by selfishness, greed or

covetousness, when it is directed by these baser elements in being, then Rajas takes the man

outward and enmeshes him in greater and greater bondage; but when the higher pull of a greater

power, the power of Sattva begins to manifest and to work within the aspirant in his Nivritti life,

then surely, its effect and influence are felt upon the Rajo-Guna in him; and this Rajas rather than

being subservient to selfishness and greed begins to be controlled, diverted and canalised into

higher and more sublime channel. The Rajo-Guna, the dynamic power, which is in him now

becomes allied, not to Tamas, but to Sattva. Therefore, it becomes a valuable asset to him upon his

spiritual life. It is controlled and sublimated and diverted to higher, nobler, spiritual pursuits. He is

active now for the good of others; he is animated by noble Sattvic virtues like compassion, mercy,

selflessness, and by the pure desire to offer worship to the visible Lord as manifest in and through

all creature, in the form of Karma Yoga or Seva. Thus both the lower natures of Tamas and of Rajas

are removed from the spiritual path as obstacles. Tamo-Guna ceases to be; it only lurks in him in its

other manifestations like the daily sleep, etc; but in its grosser form it ceases to be. The Rajo-Guna

also begins to be a friend and helper to the aspirant, through the Grace of Mother Saraswati when

She manifests in his Nivritti life in Her aspect as Pure Sattva-Guna.

If you read the Seventeenth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita where the classification of all

qualities and things into these three categories of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas is given, we may

conclude that in this Gunatraya-Vibhaga, Mother Saraswati is that which is declared to be Sattvic.

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 :

As the Vak or the Supreme Sound or the Word, Mother is manifest to the aspirant first as the

Guru Mantra which the aspirant receives through Diksha; and if we are to worship with due honour

Mother as the Mantra, then it behoves every spiritual aspirant to diligently practise this Divine

Name which he has received from the Sat-Guru. Neglect of the Mantra, neglect to practise this

Divine Name received from the Guru will be indeed a failure to worship and to give the due honour

to Mother Saraswati. If we thus neglect Her, our spiritual progress will be retarded.

In a more general aspect, She is manifest to the aspirant upon the Path of Yoga and in

spiritual life as the instructions and the day-to-day Upadesha of the Guru. Thus the aspirant must

have the proper attitude of worshipfulness and he must receive the instructions of the Guru in a very

solemn and in a very serious spirit. He should not be heedless. He should not have a very casual

attitude towards the words of the Guru. To the aspirant the words of the Guru must be gospel-truth.

For they are as Mantra to him: Mantra-mulam Gurorvakyam. This lapse of taking the ordinary

words of the Guru in a very light manner or too casually and failing to pay proper heed to the words

of the Guru, are very widely prevalent errors in the aspirant-world. For all Sadhakas and disciples it

so happens that close contact with the Sat-Guru often makes them to be less receptive to the

Saraswati manifest through Him as Upadesha and Vak; and by this heedlessness, they stand to lose

much. 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 must always worship the Mother in Her

form as the Gita, by unfailingly going to the Gita every day and trying to imbibe the gospel of the

Gita gradually into our own lives. This instruction to read the Gita has been specially stressed in the

Dinacharya which Gurudev has given to all aspirants living the divine life at his sacred feet. We also

know that in the Niyama of the Patanjali Darshana, Svadhyaya is one of the important items.

We have seen how Mother Saraswati the Parashabda or the Primal Sound is manifest in Her

various progressive aspects as Dhvani, then the articulate sound or Vak, and the specific Vak in the

form of letters of the alphabet, and combination of letters giving us the Nama or the name and the

Artha of the Nama appearing before us in the form of Rupa. As Mother is thus embodied in and

through the sacred letters of the scriptures, all spiritual books and also Dharma-Granthas and all

scriptures are therefore a mass of Saraswati Tattva. She gives us the knowledge of the Transcendent

Being in and through Her Form as the written letter and the word. Therefore, when we take up the

spiritual scripture and study it as part of our daily routine, we actually come into contact of

Saraswati and try to be instructed by Her directly as She is manifest in the word.

Svadhyaya is an important Anga of daily Sadhana. Its importance to the spiritual aspirant is

manifold; but at least one very significant part which Svadhyaya plays in the realm of Sadhana may

just be touched upon, for it will show us how it helps to increase the Sattva and spiritual qualities in

the thoughts, in the Bhava or consciousness of the seekers. It is in this way. We know the entire

nature and the make-up of the spiritual Sadhana is decided by one’s Samskaras. The mind is

everything; and the mind is but a bundle of Samskaras. These Samskaras are acquired by

Vyavahara. Contact with external objects, moving with persons, the experience of these contacts,

go to form more and more Samskaras in the being. In this external world of Vyavahara, specially so

in the field of Karma Yoga, we find that Samskaras of a totally Anatmic nature, that are totally

inimical to spiritual life and spiritual progress, Samskaras of Vyavahara, of Pravritti, of the

Vishayas are gathered together in abundance every day by the human being in his daily round of

normal external activities. If these Samskaras go on increasing day by day, they become a terrible

downward pull, a force tending to externalise and making the mind more and more Vishayakara.

But they cannot be completely avoided. It is impossible to completely cut off all Vyavahara for the

vast majority of spiritual seekers. Therefore, as a supreme psychological method of counteracting

these Samskaras, these ideas, spiritual ideas are made to get into the mind through daily study of

elevating scriptures. For by daily, diligent and regular study of scriptures, every day the spiritual

aspirant takes into himself a whole mass of sublime spiritualising, life-transforming ideas; and they

form powerful, positive, Sattvic, spiritual Samskaras in the mind of the seeker. Thus, they help to

overcome the unfortunate unspiritual Samskaras that are gathered inevitably during the course of

daily Vyavahara. They have got the power to give a fresh Bhava to the aspirant. They change the

thoughts, the Samskaras and the very Bhava of the aspirant. This daily feeding of the nature of the

seeker with spiritual and Sattvic food in the form of ideas is achieved by our contact with Mother

Saraswati in Her form of sacred scriptures—the lives of Saints, Gita, Bhagavata, Ramayana ... 

Also, we find this creation of a set of powerful positive spiritual ideas in the mind help the

aspirant during Dhyana, during the practice of concentration and inward meditation. We find that

when an aspirant tries to do Dhyana, the mind wanders. In the beginning stages of Dhyana, this

wandering is very powerful. The entire process becomes a see-saw, a sort of tug of war; the mind is

brought to the Lakshya and it wanders again. 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. Instead of wandering in a vicious set

of ideas, the mind has now a field of pure ideas, great ideas, elevating, Sattvic ideas through which it

wanders. The wandering then becomes less harmful to the aspirant. In this way also the daily

Svadhyaya is an invaluable asset to the aspirant.

Speak Little :

Let us come to the actual conduct, the Achara, of the spiritual aspirant. Here we may give a

few hints that will be very valuable for the aspirant in his daily conduct. Mother, we have seen, is

speech. She is manifest in all beings as Vak. She is Vakshakti. Therefore, to conserve speech

through a regular period of Mouna is also the adoration of Mother Saraswati. This energy of the

Mother in the form of Vak, when conserved, becomes an asset to the aspirant to be tapped and

utilised in the Yogic process of Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana; and also the conserved power of

Vak in and through the Sadhana of Mouna becomes very valuable in carrying out Vichara and

self-analysis. This is practical experience which any aspirant may see for himself, by practising

Mouna. 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 :

It is the great duty of spiritual aspirants to safeguard the sanctity of this holy power of Vak.

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. This quality of purity of speech by means of the vow of Truth, Satya, is of paramount

importance. The importance of this great quality of truthfulness cannot be described by speech.

Suffice it to say that if truthfulness is not there in the aspirant, his whole spiritual life is a wash-out.

It is zero. There can be not an iota of real, substantial and lasting spiritual progress, unless one

strives with all his might and all his heart and soul to stick absolutely to truth. In this there is no

half-way house. A man is either truthful or he is untruthful. As long as he is not absolutely truthful,

spiritual progress is only a hope or dream and it cannot be a reality to that aspirant. This is truth.

Therefore, if people are serious, if aspirants are really earnest in their quest, if there is really a

burning desire to somehow break the shackles of this mortal physical existence, this earthly life full

of pain and sorrow, disease and ultimate death, if there is a longing to free oneself and enjoy eternal

bliss, one must become an uncompromising votary of truth. Then only will Mother Saraswati be

gracious and will bestow upon that aspirant Her Kripa; and he will get Knowledge of this Ultimate

Truth. Let us every day unfailingly meditate upon this supreme virtue of virtues, this manifestation

of Mother Saraswati in Her most glorious and most radiant form, this Truth, Satyam. A man must

invoke the Mother as Truth; and he has established the splendour of the Atman in his heart. As long

as that is not there, the light of the Atman cannot shine in that being. Therefore, let us always

meditate upon Mother Saraswati in the form of truth. 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 :

Also language, the spoken word, is an all-powerful thing. It is a mighty force in this world of

men. 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. Therefore, let the seeker

or spiritual aspirant ever be cautious as to how he uses this great power of speech. Let him take a

vow never to hurt even the least of the Lord’s creatures through any unconscious harsh word. 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. It is for those of the third class; but 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. Let not our speech be idle. 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.

Aspirants should never utter vulgar words. Habits die hard; and more so this holds good in

reference to wrong habits. Right habits as sometimes are left behind more easily than the wrong

ones because these wrong ones are firmly embedded in the lower self of the being; and whatever is

there in the gross animal portion is very firmly entrenched through past repetition. Therefore, we

come out of a world where speech is 75% indecent and 25% decent. To a vast majority of people,

vulgar or indecent remarks are part and parcel of the ordinary conversation. They are not felt to be

anything specially improper. But this same criterion should not be applied to the life of the spiritual

aspirant. The aspirant must keep all objectionable words and terms out of his speech. His speech

should be as clean as the flow waters of the Ganga.

These are the ways in which the aspirant can make Mother Saraswati manifest in him as the

Suddha-Sattva. They are all spiritual qualities; they all lead to the increase of Sattva in him and they

all indirectly contribute to his spiritual unfoldment.

Let us remember these various aspects of the Divine Mother as She is manifest in the inner

path of the Sadhaka, in Her Nivritti aspect. These are a few that have been put before us. If we

reflect over these matters, we will find all the various ways in which Mother tries to infill the

personality of the seeker and thus when we come to know what is opposed to the qualities of Sattva,

we shall be able to avoid those things which are against the nature of Mother Saraswati, and we

shall be able to diligently cultivate and develop and increase those aspects of our inner life and our

inner nature in which She is predominantly manifest, avoiding that which is impure and unspiritual

and growing more and more into the form of the pure Sattvic nature. We shall be able to bring about

ultimately the fullest unfoldment of the spiritual consciousness and we shall realise our Svarupa

and attain Svarupa-Jnana. We shall then be able to 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.

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NEXT-

VIJAYADASAMI

THE GREAT GOAL AND ITS ATTAINMENT

TO BE CONTINUED ...

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