WHO ARE THE PERSONALITIES AT
TEMPLE UNIVERSAL?
SARADA
DEVI
Mother of all Beings
Sri Sarada Devi (1853-1920), is affectionately known
in India and the West as Holy Mother. At the age
of eighteen, she lived with with her husband, Sri
Ramakrishna, and shared his monastic way of life.
After Sri Ramakrishna's passing away, it became
apparent to many that she had unusual powers.
Yet here early life was hidden away in spiritual
practice. Few knew of her in her own lifetime.
Today, she's seen for many, as a symbol of universal
motherhood.
In her own words she said,
"I am the mother of the wicked, as I am the
mother of the virtuous. Whenever you are in distress,
just say to yourself 'I have a mother'."
THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE
As a consequence, Sarada Devi or Holy Mother
is often portrayed as the Divine Power and Mother
of the Universe.
She looked on all children born of a woman's womb
as her own.
Many women saints in India are seen in this light.
In India, the Mother Goddess is seen as the Supreme's
shakti (power) who's behind every action and who
is the cause for the existence of this entire universe.
Yet, the idea and worship of the Great Goddess
or Great Mother
was common throughout the West as well.
With the Indo-Europeans invasion of Europe, Goddess
worship was gradually combined with worship of male
Gods to produce a variety of Pagan religions, among
the Greeks, Romans, Celts, etc.
Today, a renaissance of the worship of Goddesses
and Gods and Wicca (White Witchcraft, the benign
religion of the ancient Celts) is growing in importance.
These aren't cult expressions, but the whole idea
has a philosophical foundation.
According to Vedanta philosophy, Ultimate Reality,
the Ground of Creation, is Infinite, Omnipresent
and immortal. It's motionless. It has no place to
go or nothing to do. It rests in It's own Infinite
potentiality.
The whole creative process is carried out by the
dynamic, unresolved energy of Ultimate Being,
called Maya or Sakti in Sanskrit.
GROUND ENERGY AND ITS RELATIVE EXPRESSIONS
The Ground and Its energy are inseparable,
like fire and its power to burn or a gem and its
luster.
Two names are given to one and the same Reality,
according to two different dynamics. One dynamic
exists as the Ground, and the other dynamic exists
as the whole universe of the living and non-living,
projected out of this Ground as creative energy,
like an earthly mother produces living things from
its womb and then nourishes them.
This energy again, withdraws the created beings
into the Ground, releasing them from the bondage
of the world.
Thus, this energy is seen and experienced by many
as the Mother and Savior of all.
Though present in all creatures, and existing as
the womb of the universe, this energy resembles
a woman more than a man. All women are thus seen
as channels of Sakti, and the purer, more open and
loving a woman, the more potent she becomes as a
channel for the Divine.
Sayings of Holy Mother
The grace of God is the one thing that's needful.
One should pray for the grace of God.
Sri Ramakrishna would tell me, “One should
always be active. One should never be without work.
For, when one is idle, all sorts of bad thoughts
crop up in one's mind.”
God is one's very own. The more intensely a person
practices spiritual disciplines, the more quickly
he attains to God.
Even if the mind be not concentrated, don't give
up the repetition of the holy word. Do your duty.
While repeating the name the mind will be steady
like a candle flame in a place protected from the
wind. It is the wind alone that makes the flame
flicker. In the same way, our fancies and desires
make our mind restless.
Have faith in the grace of your Guru and Ishta.
Be sincere in your practice, words and deeds. You
will feel blessed! His blessings are always showered
on all creatures on the earth. It is needless to
ask for it.
Practice meditation sincerely and you will understand
His infinite grace. God wants sincerity, truthfulness
and love. Outward verbal effusions do not touch
Him.
Repeat the name of God always in the innermost
core of your heart,
and in all sincerity take refuge in the Master.
Do not bother to know how your mind is reacting
to things around. And do not waste time in calculating
and worrying over whether or not you are progressing
in the path of spirituality. It is ahamkara (vanity)
to judge progress for oneself.
If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with
others. Rather see your own faults.
Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is
a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own.
Even the injunctions of destiny are canceled if
one takes refuge in God. Destiny strikes off with
her own hands what she has written about such a
person.
To pray to God and meditate on Him for even two
minutes with full concentration is better than doing
so for long hours without that.
Don't relax practice, simply because you do not
get his vision. Does an angler catch a big carp
every day, the moment he sits with the rod. He has
to wait and wait, and many a time he is disappointed.
Difficulties come, but they do not last for ever.
You will see that they pass away like water under
a bridge. The Master used to say, “At the
time of death I shall have to stand by those who
pray to me.” These are words from his own
lips. One's love of God depends entirely upon one's
inner feelings. Love of God is the essential thing.
