by Sri Ajit Halder
The Hindu Goddess is worshipped in home shrines and in temples with great religious fervour. The Goddess comes in many forms such as Durga, Lakshmi or Kali; these however are manifestations of one divine principle. The Goddess is thus addressed in her unity either as Devi (“the Goddess”), or as Shakti, which is the feminine power or energy that animates the universe. This verse from Sri Sri Chandi says it all:
Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu Shaktirupena Sansthitaa /
Namastashayi Namotashayi Namotashayi Namo Namo //
This sloka states that Devi resides in every
created object as the divine energy, ‘Shakti’ and all devotees offer their
salutations to the Goddess with reverence. In Hinduism every woman is said to
be an embodiment of Shakti, and the aim of this article is to explore this
divine principle.
Among the myriad of Hindu Devis, Goddess Durga is the deity who is most warmly and lovingly worshipped by the Bengalis as a community religious celebration and also through modern householder worship as an integral part of family relations. At a puja venue, the idol of Durga with her four children portrays the tender loveliness of a motherly figure and additionally represents the supreme divine power, Shakti. Devotees stand before the goddess Durga’s graceful image appreciating the loving and benevolent expression that radiates from her divine face. The clay image of Devi Durga, richly decorated and ornamented by the superb artistic skills of the potters, is placed on the platform of a puja venue. To the spectators, the deity does not appear as an inert ‘Mrinmoyee Murti’; they rather view her as ‘Chinmoyee’, full of consciousness and vibrant with divine power, bestowing her blessings as ‘Jagat Mata’ on all her worldly subjects. The entire scenario is so overwhelming that the assembled worshippers with their gaze fixed at the image, become awe-struck as they view the Durga Pratima as a mighty feminine figure in a fighting posture holding ten weapons in her ten hands.
The scripture ‘Devi Mahatmaya’ gives an account of the creation of Durga to annihilate the demon who was threatening Gods in their abode and how ten gods offered their weapons to fortify and strengthen her with their combined power. Devi Durga is engaged in a fierce battle with the demon Mahishasura, and the idol shows her foot delicately poised on the upper part of the body of the vanquished demon. This victory denotes the triumph of good over evil. Besides Ma Durga, the pantheon of Hindu Devis is remembered by the chanting of different names for the one Goddess in the hymns of the Devi Mahatmaya and Sri Lalita Sahasranama in forms such as Sitala, Manasha, Chamunda, Kali and Tara. During a period of adversity, the devotees pray for the holy intervention of the Devis to cure diseases, heal sufferers, and bring prosperity to all.
Devi Chamunda is Goddess of power and fierce strength who is worshipped at times of distress by chanting prayers so that she drives the evils away and protects her followers. Mention must be made of the heavy dark colored Ma Kali who is propitiated to fight and exterminate the evil forces of nature and remove the darkness of ignorance from the minds of her worshippers. The presence of Goddesses is evident even in the Rig Veda through mention of Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom, of Usha, the Goddess of dawn, and many others. Part of the Rig Veda is known as the “Devi Shukta” and is certainly the recognition of Shakti as a cosmic principle. One aspect of the dualistic doctrine: Prakriti (the energy of nature) and Purusha (spirit), is that Shakti cannot exist in a vacuum. Every Goddess has a male companion, a consort, a God who is her ‘Shaktiman’ – possessor of her power. So we have Shri (Lakshmi) –Vishnu, Sita-Ram, Radha-Krishna and other Devi-Deva pairs.
It is felt that the concept of the feminine is the very manifestation of ‘Shakti’ itself. We feel certain that the potential power of all Devis acts for the benefit of the whole world and worldly people. Religious texts mention that in the past, Indian women reached heights of power in philosophy and in spirituality. We read the commentaries of Maitreyi, full of wisdom and deep thought, in the Brihad Aranyak Upanishad thus: ‘Yenaham Amritam Shyam Tenaham Kim Kuriyam’. This sloka means - ‘What use to me the boon by which I cannot become immortal’. This utterance expresses the longing of all Hindus to attain ‘amritam’ which means ‘not to suffer death but to be blessed with eternal life’. As in the past, so also in the present day, Indian women hold important responsible positions of power and authority in government, in the Indian Administrative Service, in politics, education and social welfare services. In this context mention may be made of names like Madam Cama, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi and others.
We began this article with a reference to Devi Durga and we end this piece by reminding ourselves that Goddess Durga is the mother of her children (Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh), the wife Parvati of Lord Shiva and daughter Uma of the mountain king Himalaya. On the human level, the power of Shakti, the feminine principle, is directly present in the form of our mothers, wives, daughters and sisters. Our devotional prayer and worship of Durga Ma establishes a holy bond between Ma Durga's divine family and the human family of her devotees.
Among the myriad of Hindu Devis, Goddess Durga is the deity who is most warmly and lovingly worshipped by the Bengalis as a community religious celebration and also through modern householder worship as an integral part of family relations. At a puja venue, the idol of Durga with her four children portrays the tender loveliness of a motherly figure and additionally represents the supreme divine power, Shakti. Devotees stand before the goddess Durga’s graceful image appreciating the loving and benevolent expression that radiates from her divine face. The clay image of Devi Durga, richly decorated and ornamented by the superb artistic skills of the potters, is placed on the platform of a puja venue. To the spectators, the deity does not appear as an inert ‘Mrinmoyee Murti’; they rather view her as ‘Chinmoyee’, full of consciousness and vibrant with divine power, bestowing her blessings as ‘Jagat Mata’ on all her worldly subjects. The entire scenario is so overwhelming that the assembled worshippers with their gaze fixed at the image, become awe-struck as they view the Durga Pratima as a mighty feminine figure in a fighting posture holding ten weapons in her ten hands.
The scripture ‘Devi Mahatmaya’ gives an account of the creation of Durga to annihilate the demon who was threatening Gods in their abode and how ten gods offered their weapons to fortify and strengthen her with their combined power. Devi Durga is engaged in a fierce battle with the demon Mahishasura, and the idol shows her foot delicately poised on the upper part of the body of the vanquished demon. This victory denotes the triumph of good over evil. Besides Ma Durga, the pantheon of Hindu Devis is remembered by the chanting of different names for the one Goddess in the hymns of the Devi Mahatmaya and Sri Lalita Sahasranama in forms such as Sitala, Manasha, Chamunda, Kali and Tara. During a period of adversity, the devotees pray for the holy intervention of the Devis to cure diseases, heal sufferers, and bring prosperity to all.
Devi Chamunda is Goddess of power and fierce strength who is worshipped at times of distress by chanting prayers so that she drives the evils away and protects her followers. Mention must be made of the heavy dark colored Ma Kali who is propitiated to fight and exterminate the evil forces of nature and remove the darkness of ignorance from the minds of her worshippers. The presence of Goddesses is evident even in the Rig Veda through mention of Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom, of Usha, the Goddess of dawn, and many others. Part of the Rig Veda is known as the “Devi Shukta” and is certainly the recognition of Shakti as a cosmic principle. One aspect of the dualistic doctrine: Prakriti (the energy of nature) and Purusha (spirit), is that Shakti cannot exist in a vacuum. Every Goddess has a male companion, a consort, a God who is her ‘Shaktiman’ – possessor of her power. So we have Shri (Lakshmi) –Vishnu, Sita-Ram, Radha-Krishna and other Devi-Deva pairs.
It is felt that the concept of the feminine is the very manifestation of ‘Shakti’ itself. We feel certain that the potential power of all Devis acts for the benefit of the whole world and worldly people. Religious texts mention that in the past, Indian women reached heights of power in philosophy and in spirituality. We read the commentaries of Maitreyi, full of wisdom and deep thought, in the Brihad Aranyak Upanishad thus: ‘Yenaham Amritam Shyam Tenaham Kim Kuriyam’. This sloka means - ‘What use to me the boon by which I cannot become immortal’. This utterance expresses the longing of all Hindus to attain ‘amritam’ which means ‘not to suffer death but to be blessed with eternal life’. As in the past, so also in the present day, Indian women hold important responsible positions of power and authority in government, in the Indian Administrative Service, in politics, education and social welfare services. In this context mention may be made of names like Madam Cama, Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi and others.
We began this article with a reference to Devi Durga and we end this piece by reminding ourselves that Goddess Durga is the mother of her children (Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh), the wife Parvati of Lord Shiva and daughter Uma of the mountain king Himalaya. On the human level, the power of Shakti, the feminine principle, is directly present in the form of our mothers, wives, daughters and sisters. Our devotional prayer and worship of Durga Ma establishes a holy bond between Ma Durga's divine family and the human family of her devotees.
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