LALITHA [ LALITA ] SAHASRANAMAM MAI SAHASRANAMA
281) Unmesha-nimishotpanna-vipinna-bhuvanaa-valih उन्मेषनिमिषोत्पन्नविपन्नभुवनावली –
The series of worlds appear and disappear with the opening and shutting of Her eyes. Worlds include mental universes of the devotees also. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 281
Since the eyes of Mother never close, the expression “opening and shutting,” refers to the influence of the destiny of beings, at Her mere wish.” “ By Her mere wish the whole universe appears and disappears.” ” The creation of the supreme is simply the expression of Her wish.” ” The universe consisting of the seer, the seen and the seeing, with all its parts, existed in Mother before She thought of creation. At the manifestation of the universe at Mother’s own will, Her eyes open and at the destruction of he universe at Her own will, Her eyes shut. “
282) Sahasra-shirsha-vadanaa सहस्रशीर्षवदना -Thousand-headed and thousand-faced. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 282
Mother gives Her devotee, the power of thinking and viewing subjects and objects from thousands of angles of vision and expressing his experience in unlimited ways.
This expression means that the devotees of Mother should have universal outlook.Thousand means unlimited. Mother’s devotees must love all, serve all and not bury themselves into a narrow fold.
283) Sahasra-akshi सहस्राक्षी – Thousand eyed. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 283
Mother looks at Her devotees, with unlimited energy of seeing them and with unlimitedly charitable constructiveness in the matter of seeing their differences and deficiencies.
284) Sahasra-paad सहस्रपाद -Thousand footed. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 284
Mother runs to the succor of Her devotees by thousand legs.
285) Aabrahma-kita-janani आब्रह्मकीटजननी – Mother of all from Brahma to worm.ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 285
Brahmaa means the gross form of humanity taken collectively. Kita means the small insect, which lives on the spider’s thread. The idea is She is the mother of most enlightened and most philanthropic , and of the highest form of life, as also the most ignorant, harmful and lowest form of life.
286) Varnaashrama-vidhaayini वर्णाश्रमविधायिनी – Establisher of castes and orders.ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 286
The relation of the nature of human being, and the community he belongs to, and the family in which he is born, and the relation of the outlook, inclination and mentality, during the different life stages of the living period, are of Her making.
287) Nijaajnaa-rupa-nigamaa निजाज्ञारूपनिगमा- ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 287
Whose commands are explained in scriptures. Scriptures are collection of truths which gives insight into the finalmost object to be attained and the means and the practical directions for the attainment of the finalmost Beatitude and oneness with Mother.
288) Punyaapunya-phalapradaa पुण्यापुण्यफलप्रदा – Giver of the fruits of meritorious and unmeritorious actions. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 288
The respective results of bad and good actions are to be experienced in several fields. Viz.,1) of pains and pleasures; 2) of ignorance and enlightenment; 3) of disagreeable and agreeable environments; 4) of unrighteousness or righteousness; 5) of repulsiveness and attractivity, etc.some here and some in hell or heaven, hereafter.
A very vexing question is, whether a man is a free being or a bound one.
Does he act according to the dictates of his own will and conscience, or that of Mother ? If he acts under the prompting of Mother’s will, why should be held responsible , and suffer for good or bad actions ? Does not happiness of some and miseries of some, lead to an imputation of partiality and mercilessness on the part of Mother ?
The way out of this paradox is this. Do not mix up the two theories. First begin with “You are Master of your own fortune,” “Righteousness and unrighteousness depend on the doer.” “You suffer for what you have done now or before”. During this stage of yourself being the master, when you hear in this country of talks of all shades and opinions, that God does everything, understand it in this sense. “Everyone is able to do what he does, subject to the undoing or prohibition by higher authorities.” Under the same electric light, one is stealing valuables from a safe and other is taking out of purse, for handing it over to a charitable institute Secretary. The thief has succeeded in taking out money and the donor has taken out the purse, both acts being indebted to the electric light. The thief has a serpent bite , and the donor sees before him his son rushing out with a revolver to finish him, if he is going to make him a beggar.
Both are free to act in the manner they like and yet there are some higher powers as well. The man does possess his free will, but it is within certain limits and again subject to circumstances , over which he has little control.
After realisation of the fact, that results are subject to higher control, the next stage for an aspirant should be “Whatever defective , undesirable and undeserved things are done, are done by me; and whatever good is done by me is due to the promptings of the Mother. “
The third stage is “Whatever I do, good or bad, all that I do as prompted by Mother. “
If one has arrived at the third stage by actually wading through varied experiences , by the time he reaches that stage , all evil tendencies and passion have subsided, or even vanished, and it is impossible for him to think or do evil.
If you have honestly reached this stage, when you believe, that everything is done by you on prompting from the Mother, you soon get suspicious about your own wrong thoughts, desires and actions as Mother cannot prompt you to do evil things. Evil suggestions and decisions cannot be but yours.
Suppose that you have begun developing the idea that you are merely an instrument and that therefore you have left off censorship of your thoughts and actions, and further suppose that still some undesirable actions pass through your hands. In that case , if you are true to your belief, you have no right to question “why” when you suffer. To claim authorship of whatever good passes through your hands and to believe that the promptings of evil actions are from Mother, and to further claim that you should not suffer for them, on the ground that those promptings are from Mother, is simply unreasonable, unjust, foolish and selfish. If your action is of Her own will, your suffering also is of Her Own Will.
Be either wholly Hers, with cheerful and unconditional surrender to Her divine will, without questioning or hold yourself responsible for whatever happens to you. To reach from the latter inferior stage to the former superior stage ; there is an immediate supreme stage of “All good is Hers, All evil is mine.”
The former belief is that of Sharnagati शरणागती or Prapatti प्रपत्ती . There you should stop thinking, and be prepared to live enjoy or suffering of Mother’s desires. Say to yourself “Thy will be done.”Even this suffering may have a lofty purpose, which Mother alone knows.” “Mother will do nothing that is not finally for my welfare.” “I am not a true Sharanaagata, if I ask why and even if dissatisfied with my lot. On the top of everything be positive and say” My joy is to see Her Divine Will satisfied, and to lay no claim to any concession, exemption or exception, making or raising a complaint of injustice or mercilessness.”
Man is bound in the larger circle and free in the smaller circle. He is given a certain field, certain capacities and certain latitudes and limitations. To give capacities that are much beyond what is possible for every human being to utilize, would be a waste and often a source of burden, repentance, dissatisfaction and misery. How to utilize those capacities, how far to use them or allow them to rest or waste, is the matter of the free will of the man.
What playing cards you get, is a matter beyond your control, and yet if you are a good or a bad player, you often win or lose within certain limits.
Given the same circumstances, it is up to the man, to ascend higher or to descend lower. In that sense he is free. In the sense however strongly he may will, it is impossible for him to go beyond certain limitations, he is bound.
It is just like two sons leaving home with the equal amount of capital, but one returning with rich and the other a pauper.
With the same body, means and intellect, you can be busy with worshipping or breaking a idol. You cannot do either if light or body fails and yet neither the light nor the body is responsible for your worshipping or breaking the idol.
“What you have” is Hers. “How you use is yours”. If you use well, you will be given better “have”s.
289) Shruti-simantaa-sinduri-krit-paadaabja-dhulikaa श्रुतिसीमन्तसिन्दूरीकृतपादाब्जधूलिका – ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 289
She, the dust of whose Lotus feet forms the vermilion dust, spread on the different path-ways, formed by different partings of hair in the heads , of the deities representing different Shrutis and Smrutis i.e. parts of Vedas.
This means that Scriptures-deities use the dust of Mother’s Lotus Feet, to serve as vermilion in the different hair-partings. What is conveyed is, that Scriptures personified as deities, not only hold Mother as Saviour but they cling to the Mother’s Lotus Feet, and place their dust on their heads , most reverentially and worship-fully. Scriptures also are incapable of expressing Her directly and describe Her by negation”Not this, Not that” etc.
The negation can be poetically described thus : A prince who ascended the throne, decided to find out his mother, who was reported to have escaped and remained incognito, to avoid danger from enemy. Possible mothers were being introduced to the prince and he went on saying “not this, not that” till finally, at once there was a dead silence. There was ceasing of even such words, “not this” or “not that”. Outside people concluded that the prince had found his mother.
290) Sakalaagama-sandoha-shukti-samputa-mauktikaa
सकलागमसंदोहशुक्तिसंपुटमौक्तिका – ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 290
Mother’s nose-ring pearl is enclosed, well preserved, in the shell of the collection of the various scriptures of different religions. Sakalaagama सकलागम means all scriptures, not of the Hindus alone.All scriptures, with all their highest efforts to try to fathom the nature and truths about the Mother, have been successful enough, just to be able to describe not Her nature, not even Her body, but simply the pearl of an ornament of Hers. That ornament is also not one, that is in contact with any of Her limbs, but the pearl of a nose -ring.
“Mother ! Everything that all religions have to teach and everything that all the great men of past of all nations have to give ; both put together, goes to form only the first Furlong Formula , to the way-fairer on the long long infinite way to Thee, I have never come to Thee, tracing my way, Thyself has lifted me away to Thy mysterious mansion.”
I refuse to learn, but from Thee. Lead, Thou lift, Thou shed Thy Grace, Thy Will, Thou make me follow, Thou, make Thy wicked son to lie, in Thy Lotus Feet.
EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK : MOTHER AND MOTHER’S THOUSAND NAMES
AUTHOR : MAI SWARUP MAI MARKAND
MAI NIWAS, SARASWATI ROAD END, SANTA CRUZ WEST MUMBAI 400054 INDIA
God as Mother and Father in MAIISM AND HINDUISM 