Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Sri Devi Navaratri Day 1 – September 29, 2019 – Mysore
Compiled by Parimala Eshwarla
Kunḍali kumāri kuṭilē chandi carācara Savitri Chāmunde
Guṇini guharaṇi guhye gurumurte tvām namāmi kāmākshi
O Divine Mother! You are the Kundalini serpent that is coiled. To remain angry is
your nature. You are the mother for all moving and non-moving entities. You are
endowed with attributes. You are the destroyer of demons Chanda and Munda.
You are the form of Guha, You are the arani (used to ignite fire). O Mother! O
resident of the cave (Guha)! I bow to you in reverence.
The Divine Mother is known as Sampradaayeshwari. Sampradaya i.e, traditions
passed down from generations, are deeply loved by Her. Those who abide by
these customs and traditions are very dear to Her and hence, very quickly She is
pleased with them.
As the inner Self for every entity, She naturally is the dearest relative for one and
all. She responds instantly when called and fulfills the desires of the devotee.
‘Patram pushpam phalam toyam- i.e., leaf, flower, fruit or water, anything that is
offered lovingly to Her is accepted by Her. She considers even a trivial insignificant
offering made by the devotee to be a supreme offering and hence lovingly
accepts the same.
When we are totally submerged in enjoying worldly comforts, She gently awakens
us. When we are engulfed with sorrows She cajoles and pacifies us. Thus, in both
the situations, She remains by our side holding our hand and instills courage into
us.
She is the foundational support and the refuge for every living entity in this
creation. Hence it is imperative to develop implicit faith in that Mother who is our
dearest well-wisher. With feelings of total devotion, we must worship Her.
When we lovingly call out to Her as ‘Mother’, the necessity of calling out to a
mother (worldly mother) no longer exists. This is because with this call She
merges us into herself sparing us from the shackles of rebirth. No rebirth implies the necessity of drinking mother’s milk no longer arises. We obtain relief from
rebirths.
Yet, the chance to think or offer worship to such a Divine Mother is not so easy!
Not everyone obtains such fortune. Only after the completion of innumerable
births, only after having abundantly worshipped other Gods, the entity is
bestowed with the rare fortune of offering worship to Mother Goddess! This was
stated by Lord Hayagriva to Maharishi Agastya.
Srimata, the Supreme Mother, is an embodiment of both Goddesses Lakshmi and
Saraswati. Hence, by worshipping Her, we earn the grace of Mothers Lakshmi and
Saraswati. Furthermore, we are bestowed with eternal bliss.
In order to make known to this world, the supremacy and glory of this Divine
Mother, in order to ensure that the denizens of this world understand and
worship Her, and realizing that Her grace is extremely crucial for the sustenance
of this creation, Maharishi Agastya worshipped Lord Hayagriva.
This prayer resulted in Srividya upasana, the elaborate worship of the Divine
Mother, becoming popular all through the world. The world got to understand
about Mother Goddess and of Her glory.
The truth is that we are immortal. Due to ignorance and having forgotten the real
truth, we consider ourselves to be entities subject to death. Srimata drives away
this ignorance. Filling us completely with knowledge, she makes known to us that
we are immortal.
This Supreme Mother enables us to conquer time. She also enables us to conquer
lust and other desires. In this context, let us understand a secretive conversation
that took place between Shiva and Parvati.
At one time, Lord Brahma accompanied by all the Devatas went to Kailasa and
prayed to Lord Shiva, ‘O Lord who has conquered death (Mrutyunjaya)! With your
gaze you have burnt down the God of cupid. With your leg you have shoved away
the Lord of time. Hence there is none greater than You in creation’- having thus
praised the Lord, they returned to their abodes.
Shiva was supremely pleased with these praises. He looked at the Divine Mother
in great delight. She looked at him and laughed. Shiva was angered. ‘Why do you laugh mockingly at me?’- he asked. She replied, ‘My Lord, I do not know of any
great achievement that you have accomplished. Hence I am unable to contain my
laughter.’
He said, ‘Why do you say that? I was the one who kicked the Lord of time with my
feet’. She replied, ‘I agree you kicked the Lord of time. But it is important to know
with which leg you kicked him. Please elaborate’.
The Lord innocently replied, ‘Why? I kicked him with my left foot’. Mother
Goddess replied, ‘But your left leg is actually my leg. That is why I am laughing’.
(The left half of Lord Shiva’s body is Mother Parvati).
Hearing this, Shiva too began to laugh. He said, ‘I understand. I forgot that aspect
completely. This left leg is your leg’.
From this it is evident that Shiva and Shakti are not different entities but that they
have a non-dual existence. What is important is to realize is that by worshipping
Mother Goddess, one attains victory over time and over all forms of desires. This
Divine Mother Srimata showers such crucial boons upon the devotee who lovingly
worships Her. She takes responsibility for His wellbeing.
May all your desires be fulfilled with that Mother’s grace! May Her grace flow
towards all of you!