Womanism to Shaktism

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.

 

We understand and conceptualise this Shakti-power through the life of Holy Mother who merely practised the modesty, chastity and duty of an ideal wife with unwavering devotion and sincerity. The result of which was the elevation of Her outlook to that of Divine Mother, where the highest respect was accorded to her not just by the monks of the order but society and the world over.

 

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.

 

May I take this opportunity in wishing all Mothers a Happy Mothers Day and may the Divine Mother bless each of you with Her grace to help you transcend Womanism to Shaktisim. A world of Shaktis will usher in a new era of peace and tranquillity.

 

With sincere prayers and love

Yours truly
 
Yogan Naidoo
www.sudarshanavidya.blogspot.com
www.google.com//+YoganNaidoo