The love of the Divine Mother
During the Navaratri celebrations in India we worship the many aspects of the Divine Mother. Its high point is the final and tenth day. It is called Vijayadasami – day of Vijaya, the Mother’s great victory over all negativity and ignorance. On this day we should pray to the Divine Mother and our spiritual master to bless us all with the qualities necessary for victory over the ego-enemies within us. First, we should beg for her grace. Without her divine energy surrounding us, we can do nothing. Then we need to ask her for self-confidence, endless strength and courage. Do not lose sight of what the Divine Mother truly is. We call her by many names but she is the supreme Divinity that grants us liberation and freedom from all our karma and suffering. On this special day, we should only think of the great light of the Mother, the destroyer of all pain and anxiety.
Ultimately, you will have to realize that all in this world is maya, illusion. All is impermanent. Everything in your life is temporary. You are not going to live forever. What is the aim of this precious human birth? It is to reach that great place beyond this world and all its limitations. That place is where the Mother is, in all her glory and brilliance. She is the infinite consciousness where there is no pain, no sorrow, no tears, no thoughts, no struggles and no desire. Mother is waiting for you all there with open arms. On this day, let go of all your thoughts and find peace by resting in her. Think of her from morning to night and I can assure you that she will give you beautiful and bountiful blessings.
Many of you have asked me what you should do to celebrate this special day. There are many traditional ways of worshipping the Divine Mother during Navaratri. However, I would really like you to worship her inwardly. If you please your worldly mother, she will be happy and her heart will swell with love for you. Likewise, if you try to please the Mother Goddess by doing what she likes, she will let you know in a spiritual way. Sit quietly and pray to her to illumine your heart and mind. Ask her not to hide her lovely face behind the externals of the sensual world. Ask her to come to you and remove the untruths. Ask her to smile on us and end all the delusions from which we suffer. Ask her to reveal but a fraction of her true nature to help us on the spiritual path.
I hear you all say that this is very difficult and you have a thousand practical and philosophical questions. Do away with philosophy and useless questioning. Simply place yourself at the divine feet of the Mother. Try to feel love in your heart and approach Mother like a small child who wants to hold her hand and receive her love in return. That is the best and most natural approach to the Mother. Mother loves sweetness, genuine simplicity, purity and a child-like nature. Pray to her, “You are my Mother. I want to love you with all my heart. I have only myself to offer. Please accept me, and all my faults. Teach me how to live, how to love and how to see you in all beings. Help me, oh my Mother, and I will do whatever service I can to the beings in this world. I will do it in your divine name. Please come to me and fill my heart with your wonderful love.”
Do this with genuine and honest sentiments and I assure you that she will not be able to resist you. I talk with Mother all the time. She has told me these secrets. I have been graced by the eyes of the Mother. May she also watch over you all, always.
Jai Prema Shanti!
