Message of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Navaratri day 1 – September 21, 2017
Courtesy: FB Page Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji
Śri Ganeśāya namah
Śri Saraswatye Namah
Śripāda vallabha nŗsimha Saraswati
Śri Guru Dattatreyāya namah
Worshipping the Supreme Almighty as a Mother has its own specialities! This is because mother is an embodiment of love. Her heart overflows with love and warmth towards her children.
It is possible perhaps for a father to be annoyed seeing his child’s mischief, but it can never be the case with a mother, who, at all times, showers unending love upon her children even if they are mischievous by nature. When the frightened child approaches her, she lovingly cajoles the child, dispels all fears, reassures him/her and ensures that a smile is restored in that face.
The Divine Mother too showers unending maternal love upon her children. Freeing them from the shackles known as birth, death, grief and attachments, She permanently elevates them. In those who worship Her with unflinching devotion, She destroys the illusion created by Her and shows to them Her true form as knowledge.
If a person seeks to obtain permanent happiness coupled with prosperity showered by Goddess Lakshmi and knowledge blessed by Goddess Saraswati, he needs extra-ordinary luck. He also needs to undertake intense penance. However, through worship of the Divine Mother, a person is easily blessed not only with prosperity and knowledge, but in addition, is also blessed with every auspicious result that can be obtained. He is freed from every form of bondage.
The fruit that blossoms from the creeper called Vedas is Mother Goddess! If a person is blessed, even once, with an opportunity to relish this tasty fruit, the desire to taste any other fruit gets completely eliminated from him.
Amŗtasya vai putrāḥ- say our scriptures. The truth is that all of us are deathless or immortal (amrita). Enveloped by spiritual ignorance (ajnana) we mistakenly consider ourselves to be subject to death (mrta). Mother Goddess destroys this spiritual ignorance and makes us realize that we are truly immortal. To achieve this, it is imperative to hold on to Her lotus feet.
A worldly mother can cure physical diseases (vyādhi), but in no way can she cure mental diseases (ādi) that afflict her child. The Divine Mother however cures both physical as well as mental sufferings of her children. Discarding the feelings of ‘I and mine’, the person should accept that everything belongs to Her alone! He should thus whole-heartedly surrender to Her and destroy the feelings of ‘I-ness’ (egoism) that exists in him. Only then Her grace will fall upon him.
A person was travelling from one town to another when night fell. As he was stumbling in the darkness, accidently he slipped and fell into a deep well. Much to his relief, he fell on a tree growing in that well. Instantly he caught a branch of that and was hanging from it. He thanked Mother Goddess for having saved him from the jaws of death.
The next morning when it dawned, he noticed that the branch he was holding on to was filled with many edible fruits. He alleviated his hunger by eating those fruits. He now noticed the huge rocks that were situated at the bottom of that deep dry well. Death was certain if he accidently slipped down. He trembled. He now called out for help. Sadly, there was none to rescue him. Believing that Mother Goddess alone could save him from this predicament, he now called out to her, “O mother.”
Divine Mother immediately arrived near the well. Addressing him, She said, “My dear son, do you need my help?” The man replied, “O mother, why are still questioning me? Please quickly pull me out from here”.
Mother Goddess replied, “Surely my son, I am here to help you. Nonetheless, at first you need to answer these questions of mine”. The man agreed.
Mother Goddess asked, “Do you truly have faith in me?” He replied, “Is there any doubt in it, O mother?”
“If so, will you do exactly as I say?” -asked Mother Goddess. “Yes, of course”- he said.
“Ok, then let go off that branch you are holding. I will immediately hold your hand”- said Mother Goddess.
The man was thrown into a dilemma. He thought, “If I continue to hold on to this branch while sustaining on its fruits, there is a chance that some passer-by will rescue me. If I let go off this branch I am bound to fall on those rocks and break my head. If a person truly decides to help me, he/she should use a rope or any other instrument to rescue me unlike this lady who is asking me to let go of this tree on which I am hanging precariously. Could she really be Mother Goddess?”
The man could not get himself to listen to her commands. He continued to hang on to that tree waiting for some help. He did not call her again. Mother Goddess, on the other hand, sat beside the well hoping he would call her and that She could immediately help him. This person however lacked faith in her. Why then would he call her? He kept waiting for some other help.
Let us understand the symbolism in the story. The well represents worldly bondages (samsāra). The tree is the person’s egoism. Holding on to the tree called egoism (I-ness) the individual hangs on to this samsāra. Only when the person places full faith in Mother Goddess and releases his grip over the feelings of I-ness (ahamkara), She will hold his hand and elevate him.
Hence in Lalita Sahasranama the Divine Mother is extolled as:
Oṃ rāgasvarūpa-pāśāḍhyāyai namaḥ
Oṃ krodhākārāṅ-kuśojjvalāyai namaḥ |
These names state that Mother Goddess uses the noose called ‘love’ and the goad called ‘anger’ to uplift people in this creation.
Just as we experience dualities such as joys-sorrows or birth-death, likes and dislikes (love and hate) are another pair of dualities. Feelings of love and hate cause the individual to remember his worldly duties and keep him away from leading a righteous life. Bartŗhari, one of the greatest philosophers of ancient India, has declared that in the presence of anger, fire has no role to play. It implies that anger can burn like fire.
We often hear of persons, who, overcome by mad frenzy, commit heinous violent demonic deeds and fall to unimaginable levels. From this it is evident that harbouring feelings of love (raga) and anger (krodha) leads to sorrows. These dualities when offered to Her, obediently follow Her dictates.
On this first day of Śaran Navaratri, those who place implicit faith in Mother Goddess Gowri and who reverentially worship Her, will no longer be bound by dualities known as likes-dislikes. They will overcome anger. May the grace of Mother Gowri, cause the ahamkara-granthi (knot of I-ness) to be shred in all!
Jaya Guru Datta.