Aum
Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam
Aum
Namo Narayanaya
To
write or discuss the magnificence or glory of Motherhood in the light of Swami
Vimokshananda’s latest post on Mother Sita -which was nothing short of a
superbly crafted masterpiece that eruditely exposed and cajoled the feminine
idea and characteristic of the absolute- shall be as futile as raising a candle
flame to the glorious Suryan. Notwithstanding this grave ineptness, my puerile
attempt gains some credibility by the mere mention or thought of the Divine Mother.
It was in the first section of Maharaj’s blog that He dexterously carved out
the value in reading and emulating the life of Mother Sita, as explained by Saint
Tulsidas... as the sweet medicine for worldly diseases. Patriarchal conditioning
of many civilisations polarised women from various platforms of operation,
leadership and influence... what to speak of recognising them as God? The
philosophy of Hinduism however has been quite liberal and generally took the
egalitarian approach on the matter with some quarters also raising the feminine
aspect to the highest level of being, declared the supreme consciousness. In
light of this... female leadership, their doctrines and contributions to the
reservoir of Hindu ideals is very prevalent and is viewed and studied with much
reverence and respect.
 |
| Divine Mothers: Ma Sarada, Ma Sita, Ma Kali, Ma Lakshmi |
Those
who are familiar with the Ramakrishna order or have read the literature of the
Movement will find resonance with this concept. It was Sri Ramakrishna who set
the unprecedented standard of literally raising the level and consciousnesses
of women from Womanism to Shaktism. His total surrender to Mother Kali as the
supreme Brahmin and the worship of His wife Mother Sarada as the embodiment of
the all-pervading-Shakti shook to the ground the false conceptions and belief
that God was gender bias towards male. It no doubt ushered in a new era of bhakti that oozed with compassion,
affection and love which readily flowed between a mother and child. It was
definitely easier to transcend the earthly planes to the ecstatic divine
experiences through the portal of a heart that was suckled by the Mother’s
infinite grace, love and compassion.
Our
country has just successfully and peacefully completed the National Elections
which was rather historic, when for the first time the “born frees” (referring
to those born post-1994 into a free country) were casting their vote. In the
structured free society that we live in, we have the freedom to choose our
government, the place we reside, the career to sustain ourselves, the friends
we socialise with and many other liberties that were won through the great
sacrifices made by heroes and heroines of the freedom struggle. It seems that
we are now spoilt for choice for many things.
On
one issue though, choice seems to have no presence and that is in respect of
who your mother and father are. We cannot choose our parents. Through their
prayers and our past actions, the divine play facilitates the host to your
arrival on this earth. Through time and the decay in the moral and ethical
fabric of society, the principles of parenting may have veered off at a
tangent. Parents may not always play the role as historically prescribed due to
various circumstances. In many instances, children are born without the
knowledge of who their Fathers are. But every child will always feel the love
of a Mother. The foetus who is attached biologically to the Mother for nine
months... feeds off her nourishment, emotions, compassion and love. The bond
that is forged is so formidable that even after it is biologically severed, it
emotionally grows exponentially that even a man’s love of his life shall take
second place to his Mother.
In
the world today, this great portal for life has been reduced to mere body with
anatomical variances from her male counterpart, an object of lust and a maid
servant to undertake chores. Women themselves revel in the attention and place
no significance on the dictum and demeanour as portrayed by divine incarnations
like Mother Sita, Holy Mother, Andal, Mother Meera and others. Thus their
outlook remains as woman and fails to ascend to the status of Shakti. The
respect and reverence that should be accorded to our women is thus lost of
account of this.
It
is only when women claim this space in the society, as proclaimed by Swami
Vivekananda, will that society or world progress. When that universal love as
displayed by Holy Mother when she said, “remember child whenever you are in
distress, say to yourself I have a Mother” is expanded across humanity and
creation... hunger, sadness and all other negativity shall vanish from the
world.
With
sincere prayers and love
Yours
trulyYogan Naidoo
www.sudarshanavidya.blogspot.com
www.google.com//+YoganNaidoo
