Namaste,
Before I begin, I’d like to give a warm thank you to Captain Nemo for pulling off yet another dream come true. You did it my brother :). Thank you for constantly changing our lives for the better, for making the impossible possible and for making the world a more beautiful place day by day. We love you man.
The supreme goddess, mother as the creative aspect of Brahman, Mahadevi (or more commonly known as Adi Parashakti, Rajarajeshvari, Jagadamba or Srimata in India). In her formless and nameless “form” she is known as Shakti or Vimarsha. The Sacred mother of all mothers; the Seer, the Seen and the Seeing.
The name Mahadevi is made of two Sanskrit words, “Maha” and “Devi”. ‘Maha’ meaning Great and ‘Devi’ meaning Goddess. All Hindu goddesses are said to be a manifestation of The Great Goddess.
If we study her name as Srimata (pronounced Shreemaahhtreh), you will begin to see how she truly is all Hindu goddesses…
Sri : Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or diffusing light, much like the English word “illustrious". Auspicious.
Mata : Means progenitor of all, Mata is the one from which all the beings are born. Mother.
Sri Mata : The Great mother. She is the Mother of all the mothers. Mother of the whole universe, Nature, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Sri Mata is the first name in Lalitha Sahasranamam, a sacred text from the Brahmanda Purana which lists the thousand names of the Hindu mother goddess Lalita Devi, a manifestation of the Divine Mother.
Lalitha Sahasranamam begins by addressing Lalitambika as the mother of all, which emphasizes her compassion for the universe and all its beings. Since She is addressed as Sri Mata, this nama refers to creation, the first act of Brahman.
Among today’s orthodox Vaishnavas, the English word “Shree” is a revered syllable and is used to refer to the Supreme Goddess Lakshmi. Sri mata is also said to mean the mother of the Goddesses Sri Lakshmi (goddess for wealth), Sri Saraswathi (goddess for knowledge) and Rudrani (the goddess for dissolution).
Vaishnavas consider her to be Lakshmi, Shaivas consider her as Parvati, Durga, and Mahakali, while Shaktas consider her to be Durga, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneswari and Kali… But she is indeed them all and more.
The Saktas worship the Universal Energy as Mother. The word Shakti means “Power” both latent and manifest. When personalised it means the Devi of Power; she is Devaa. The Devi Shakti is the power aspect of the supreme spirit. The name of mother brings the idea of Shakti (Vimarsha), Divine energy and omnipotence. The Divine Mother is the Kundalini sleeping in us; without worshipping Her, we can never know ourselves. All merciful, all-powerful, omnipresent – these are attributes of the Divine Mother. She is the sum total of the energy in the Universe. She can show Herself to us in any form at any moment. The Divine Mother can have form (rupa) and name (nama), or name without form as Shakti; and as we worship her in these various aspects, we can rise to pure Being, having neither form nor name. Every manifestation of power in the universe is the Mother. She is Life, She is Intelligence, She is Love. She is in the universe, yet separate from it.
The Goddess Shakti or Vimarsha is the “power” which pervades the whole of the universe, and from which the Universe has emanated. There is nothing within the manifest world which is not Shakti in its essence. The manifest world is mind and matter, that is to say, all that we call our thought, will, imagination, etc. is mind, and all the realm of nature is matter. She–in her highest aspect–is pure spirit or pure consciousness — as such she is called Chit-Shakti — but her nature and essence become apparent also in all that we are aware of through our senses. So She is matter–substance too–and as such She is called Maya-Shakti. Here is no antagonism between the spiritual and the natural sides of the universe, since she is both of them. In order to illustrate more clearly this important principle of Shaktism.
Vimarsha manifests herself in 5 ways:
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Chitta Shakti: the awareness of God
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Ananda Shakti: the bliss of God
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Icha Shakti: the desire or intention to unite with God
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Gyana Shakti: knowledge of God
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Kriya Shakti: action directed toward God
Her power can be described as follows:
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Chitta Shakti: “I am.”
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Ananda Shakti: “I am blissful.”
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Icha Shakti: “I will” or “I intend.”
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Gyana Shakti: “I know.”
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Kriya Shakti: “I act.”
Shakti is the hidden power that turns matter into life. She is the divine spark, the flow of God’s love.
She is all supreme – Parabrahman. The three names of the Divine Mother – mata, rajni and isvari refer to the three phenomena of creation, preservation and destruction of the universe due to three aspect of the supreme.
She is Maya (illusion), for of her the maya which produces the samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound) is. As Lord of Maya she is Mahamaya. Devi is avidya (ignorance) because she binds, and vidya (wisdom, knowledge) because she liberates and destroys the samsara. She is praktri (matter/nature) and as existing before creation is the Adya Sakti. She is the one who is the Great saviour. Hence in order to attain ultimate freedom, the Moksha. She should be praised.
“O Goddess, who removes the suffering of Your supplicants, be gracious!
Be gracious, O Mother of the whole world!
Be gracious, O Queen of the universe; Safeguard the universe!
You, O Goddess, are Queen of all that is movable and unmovable!
You alone has become the support of the world,
Because You do subsist in the form of Earth!
By You, who exists in the form of water, all this universe is filled,
O You inviolable in Your valor; You are the Gem of the universe,
You are Illusion sublime! All this world has been bewitched, O Goddess;
You indeed when attained,
Are the cause of the final emancipation from existence on Earth!…
O Goddess, be gracious!
Protect us wholly from fear of our foes perpetually,
As You have at this very time saved us promptly by the slaughter of the demons!
And You bring quickly to rest the sins of all the worlds,
And the great calamities which have sprung, from the maturing of portents!
To us who are prostrate be You gracious,
O Goddess, who takes away affliction from the universe!
O You worthy of praise from the dwellers of the three worlds,
Bestow Your boons on this world!- Markendeya Purana, Chandi Mahatmya 10
Audio + Mandala.
she’s beautiful anyways
