Delusion and Deliverance

Divine Life Society Publication: God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda

Om Sri Sadguru Paramatmane Namah

SALUTATIONS again and again to the blessed divine mother, the Supreme Inscrutable Power, the mysterious Achintya Shakti of para Brahman. Salutations to the great Devi who is the source of all manifestation and embodiment. Salutations to the great Divine Power, Divya Shakti, from whom have flowed forth all the countless, innumerable universes, in whom all manifestations have their being and into whom all names and forms dissolve and vanish, and through whom all beings attain their eternal union with the great reality, the Supreme Transcendental Being, Para Brahman.

Today we shall devoutly offer our humble worship at the Mother’s Blessed Feet. In doing this, let us ever be aware that even this privilege of worshipping Her; glorifying Her and dwelling upon Her greatness is only due to Her compassion and Grace. Without Her Grace, most difficult it is to get an opportunity to think of Her, to remember Her, and to speak of Her, and to utter Her glorious names, calling upon Her as Mother.

The Mother is whatever is. The essence of pure existence is the Supreme Being or Para Brahman. Mother is whatever is that we know. That which is beyond our knowledge, that is the Purusha, the Supreme Being, the transcendental Para Brahman. That which we know through our mind and senses is nothing but the manifestation of Mother. She is not only the Universe which we know, this little world and the countless stars, the sun and moon—all these the terrestrial and the stellar, the lunar and the solar systems that comprise this little universe; all this is but an infinitesimal speck in the vastness and infinity that Mother is. Innumerable such universes have their rise and fall within Her infinite nature. She is all-power and also the great transcendental power at the back of all manifestation, the primal cause for all manifestation and embodiment. She is the very creatrix not only of this world but even the creator, preserver and dissolver of the world. Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara have their being in the Mother. She is the Mother of all, countless Brahmas, Vishnus and Maheshwaras. In as much as She is all-power, all powers are Her play; and therefore all the three dynamic manifestations Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara also are modifications of Mother as Adi-Shakti. She is also Brahma-Shakti manifest to us in and through the form of Saraswati, Vishnu-Shakti manifest in and through the form of Lakshmi, and also Siva-Shakti manifest in and through the form of Parvati.

Delusion and Deliverance

In this aspect of all power, She has a twofold form. There is wonderful depth of significance in this conception of Mother in Her twofold aspects—that of the Cosmic Delusion as well as of the Cosmic Deliverance! She binds down all to this mysterious illusory appearance, this world-play, and turns them in her own playful manner in the wheel of birth and death. As such She is known by the name Avidya, the delusion that is opposed to spiritual wisdom or knowledge. She is also the Cosmic Deliverance. In this aspect She smiles upon Her children and She releases them from the delusion of Her other aspect Avidya. In Her aspect as this Cosmic Deliverance, we know of the Mother as Vidya-Maya. Artists have therefore visualised Her in the form of a radiant being, a Goddess, having in one hand a noose or a type of rope by which She binds, and in the other hand a sharp knife by which She snaps the bondage if She is propitiated. Thus she is a mysterious combination of Avidya Maya and Vidya Maya. Therefore, She is called Indescribable.

In both these aspects She has set up the Drama of universal phenomena. Lovers of the Mother who have worshipped Her and obtained Her Grace and have been vouchsafed with a vision of Her real nature have lovingly depicted Mother and Her play in this secret way. We all know that as children when in a group we gather together, we wish to play; and not knowing how we may carry on this play we approach the grandmother of the house. Lovingly she consents to show us a game; and thus she sets going a game of hide-and-seek. She tells the children: Children, run about and play. The children engage themselves in play. They run; they catch each other and the game of hide-and-seek goes on. But, then, should some child feel that it has had enough of the play and wish that it may be released from the play, tired of running here and there it has only to run up to the grand dame and lay its hand upon her. One who touches the grand dame cannot now be caught. Even as the grand dame brought about this play, watches the play in progress, and takes care of the children at play, and in the end touching her the child is released from the play,—even so, this universe is but a child’s play to the great Mother. Anyone who is fed up with this constant running about in this wilderness of the sense-world and longs to be out of the play, he has but to run up to this great Mother and touch Her; and once for all he is released from the bondage of this play. Thus have devotees of the Mother sweetly and intimately conceived of this world-play with the Mother as both; one who initiates it and one who ends it.

Note: Navarathri 2015 – Oct 13-Oct 22

Om Tat Sat Brahmaparnamastu

 Excerpts from: Delusion and Deliverance - God as Mother by Sri Swami Chidananda