LALITHA SAHASRANAMललिता सहस्रनाम MAI SAHASRANAM माई सहस्रनाम
About the visualizations of deities
641) Dhyaan-gamyaa ध्यानगम्या – Perceivable by meditation. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 641
Mother who is otherwise hidden is fully seen in Dhyaana ध्यान or meditation.
By constant praises and thinking about Mother, there comes a stage when all other senses close their relations with other objects of their pleasures and emerge in this one object, viz., Mother. When all senses thus withdrawn from their respective other objects concentrate in Mother, it is meditation and in that condition She is most visibly seen.
As during my experiences of others about the visualizations of deities and about the imagined religiosity which is most exaggeratedly believed to have been attained on the only basis of such visibility , I have seen so many misunderstandings, I wish to deal with this subject at length here.
There is meeting of friends, every one of whom says he has an elephant. Every one is almost proud and satisfied that he is the possessor of an elephant, but they are benighted and there is no conveyance to return home. In the meanwhile one of them who was silent says,” Oh, my elephant has come. Come on and I will give lift to you and leave you one by one at your homes.” The fact was that everyone had an elephant. None was wrong, but one had a paper elephant, another had a cardboard one, still another had an ebonite one, and so on. Only one had a real living useful elephant.
There are many who having some visualization of some sort get deluded that they have reached the proximity of salvation and that this is their last life. I have met so many.The most pitiable misunderstanding !!
One may have a wonderful visualization but Maai-ist must judge evolution BY A REFERENCE TO WHAT HE IS. You see in your solitude a figure of any deities, but you are wrathful, greedy, anxious, full of desires, your faculties are not of the highest type, you are not attractive, you have so many enemies, your conclusions are not correct and your forecast of future do not turn out to be correct. You must in that case conclude that there is something wrong about your visions.
You cannot reach Mother or see Mother, unless you are one of the highest souls with no desires, all readiness to sacrifice , constant remembrance of Mother, high purity, high transparency and great wisdom as to the best way of dealing with and addressing others, etc.
Your having actually seen some deity figure is not denied, but how far that happening means that you are nearer to God or salvation must be judged, more by the permanent conditions of your acquisitions, attainments and developments and righteousness in your living the daily life , than by the mere experience of some vision.
Visualization arises from several sources : – (1) It is simply a thought of mind that creates an impression of your having seen, just as several arrangements of clouds in the sky some figure is sometimes imagined and seen at a certain moment. (2) By still greater intensity and continued thinking and the seeing of a certain conception for a long time a figure is sometimes seen, just as children see something in the dark without there being anything. Numbers 1 and 2 are only mind’s makings. (3) Next, by powerful intensity of thoughts, certain elements in the ether are being drawn together and you have the sight. This is an ethereal vision.(4) There are some invisible mischievous spirits who assume the form of the deity and derive frolic by seeing how the deluded man begins to dance , thinking that he is one of the highest souls who have got Saakshaatkaar साक्षात्कार (direct vision) of God. (5) Next some really good and religious, invisible angelic helper, taking pity on the person pining away for proof of existence or Darshana दर्शन (sight), consoles him and encourages him in his devotion by appearing as a deity. (6) Then comes the deputation of some one by the deity to console and encourage and assist, who appears as the deity. (7) Then comes the one of the invisible disembodied principal devotees of the particular deity (8) Then comes one of the principal actual companions, and constant adherent of the deity and lastly (9) the deity Herself or Himself.
A vision is seen, but that is no proof of the proximity of salvation or deity’s home. It may fall in any of the above nine varieties which I have enumerated.Which class the vision belongs to, should be judged, as stated above, by one’s own personal self-analysis.
Number (4) is generally very common; sometimes such spirits who are opposed to general religiosity play the mischief and stop the further religious progress by creating the feeling of enoughness.
There are limitations and realities, Judge them by where and what you are. Do not get deluded away. Distinguish between mental, ethereal, spiritual and godly visions.
One way of judging what class the vision belongs to, in addition to the general self-analysis is to see after effects and after conditions. If you are over-powered with a feeling of ecstasy, the feeling of being perfected, being much better than what you were, feeling that you have nothing more to wish or love for, there is a reason to believe the vision to be of a superior class. You feel you should have vision again and again. The other clue is to see how much of whatever is said or spoken by the vision figure comes out to be true. Judge the plane of purity which such speech proceeds. Decide the strength of sublimity and sanctity of the speech and emotion and knowledge during the vision.
Have a very correct analysis of what you are, how you live and what you do. Your vision can not be above what your plane is . If you are a true disciplined disciple , Gurus appear. If you are a devotee, devotees appear.If you are a world-worm with a little hypo-critic appearance of religiosity and doing something here and there , ordinary spirits appear. If you are entirely uncared for and do not know your way out from a calamity, sometimes your dead relation and friend spirits appear.
The fact is that the way is Infinite. Best that has been said till now by way of instructions by the best people and best founders of all religions is but the first furlong formula. It is useful only for the first furlong of the long, long unknown infinite way. Let people be happy with their respective elephants according to their maximum conceptions. Do not discourage them or break their heavens. Let all be happy by Mother’s Grace.
It is not that the Infinite way is made through by the struggling soul. He is himself unable to explain, record or even know how he reaches the goal. It is Mother and Mother’s Grace that lifts him up and places him at or on the Goal.
All talk of wisdom of ” Do this and do not do that ” except Mother’s Grace is mere prattling. It is good in it’s own sphere, and many times much better than nothing or the reverse thing, but nothing beyond it.
A multi-millionaire thrusts himself suddenly into the house of his poorest friend and says,” My Rolls Royce is waiting. I am going to Mahabaleshwar महाबळेश्वर. Send one of your children with me.” He is extremely quick. He turns his eyes and says,” Yes come on,Bhaktiprasad.” Catches Maai-sharan, drags Premsvarup, beckons Sevak and puts them all in the car. The car is off in a moment before other children think or even father replies.
Dear reader !! I am very free with thee and much out of the way. The above explains what the Mother’s Grace is . It is not the children that go to Mahabaleshwar. What each child’s part in the achievement is its purity, amiability and cheerfully self-surrendering mentality. A neatly dressed, happy looking, contended, lovely, serving, obedient, individuality-submerged child.
Be Mother’s child. It is not possible for you to wade through the Infinite unknown way. Mother will take you. You only remain prepared with best though little you have.
Reduce your own individuality. Love, service, devote and surrender . The best musician that visits you will take in his lap the worthless hand harmonium in preference to the most costly one, if the latter though with supreme tunes has one tune of itself, which will go on sounding whether the player wants it or not.
Be prepared to be dealt with by Mother in any way She likes you; you will be the first to be in Her lap for being played with.
Resign yourself to Her. Try to the extent you can.
642) Aparichhedyaa अपरिच्छेद्या – Unlimited as to place, time and law of causation. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 642
643 ) Jnaanadaa ज्ञानदा – Bestower of knowledge. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 643
That knowledge which causes modifications of the feeling of joy and sorrow to rise inwardly and outwardly towards sensual objects and which develops a network of dualities and which ensnares a man, is called knowledge leading to bondage. One who is bound by this bondage , is forever in the samsaara संसार (worldliness), and a worldworm, living and dying in bondage. Mother in the bestower of knowledge which is reverse of this knowledge.
644) Jnaanavigrahaa ज्ञानविग्रहा – Whose body is formed of atoms, every one of which is permeated with knowledge.ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रनाम क्रमांक 644
Jnaana ज्ञान alone is the supreme liberator, Jnaana ज्ञान lone is the supreme binder. This universe consists of knowledge. There is nothing beyond knowledge . Jnaana is both Vidyaa or liberating knowledge and Avidyaa, or binding knowledge.
645) Sarva-vedanta-samvedyaa सर्ववेदांतसंवेद्या – Known through all the Vedanta वेदांत ,as the final end. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 645
646) Satyaanandasvarupini सत्यानंदस्वरूपिणी – Who is the ideal of truth and bliss.ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 646
True joy which is not the joy experienced by worldly people, proceeds from full understanding of life, Universe and Mother and full self-control and self-surrender to Mother’s Divine Will.
647) Lopaa-mudra-architaa लोपामुर्द्रार्चिता –Worshiped as by Lopaamudraa. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 647
It may be noted that whatever is stated immediately above is more or less for an individual. Either the desultory progress in the ordinary God fearing usual life, or knowledge or acquisition or practising virtues or trying to regulate mental brain stuff. They all indicate individual efforts and actions.
Next we come to what is done in home life or family life. Here the sense may be taken to be that of worshipping and progressing in the manner of a respectful high class strictly religious family life, say by observances suggested for the householder’s life. Lopaamudraa लोपामुद्रा was , as is often previously stated, the wife of the great Muni Agastya अगस्त्य .
This path includes so many methods of making a slow and steady progress. Vows as Navaraatra नवरात्र, Satya- Naaraayana सत्यनारायण , Poornimaa Vrata पोर्णिमा व्रत, fasting, daily idol worship, Sandhyaa संध्या , temple-going, pilgrimage, charity, saint-service, religious-place-living, Scripture hearing and remembering , supporting Pandits पंडीत and Shaastris शास्त्री , digging wells, constructing dhamashaalaas धर्मशाळा , all this come under this head.
648) Lilaa-klrippta-brahmaanda-mandalaa – लीलाक्लृप्तब्रह्माण्डमंडला –Who formed the world systems as it were in sport. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 648
Devi stava says,” That is done without effort. Even Shiva is powerless to create, preserve or destroy, but Oh ! Mother, the regulation of the universe is but sport to you. Thou art manifesting the universe in Thyself, at Thou own will.”
649) Adrishyaa अदृश्या – Invisible.ललिता सहस्रनाम सस्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 649
It requires Her Grace to be able to see Her working and Her Hand, in the working of the universe and the dispensations, rewards and punishments, awarded to individuals. The proverb runs ” God’s stick has no sound. “
Mother is invisible and it is this invisibility which has been instrumental to her sportivity. It requires many lives before Mother becomes visible to the ordinary man, even in so far as the meaning of visibility may be taken as only admitting Her existence. Next, to some few of these to whom She is visible as existence , She becomes visible as the unfailing enforcer of Karmic Law and the Restorer of Righteousness. To a few of these She becomes visible as Reliever of distresses through devotion. To a few of these when they desist from desiring any favoures , She becomes visible in dreams. When devotees desire nothing in addition to loving Her passionately, She becomes visible in physical form, just as exceptional circumstances of life. When the devotee day and night remembers Her with repetition of names, She is visible to him as residing within himself. When everything else about the universe disappears She becomes visible to the devotee as “He himself “.
When the Founder was in Communion with Mother and became unconscious on the repetition of the Mantra Jay Maai, the couplet that brought him to consciousness was this : MAIYAA, MAIYAA, MAIYAA, KARAKE AAPHI MAIYAA HO GAYAA .- Repeating Mother, Mother, Mother, he himself become Mother. Such is the divine Mother. Once you see Her in any sense of visibility, there is a lift of many lives.
650) Drishyarahitaa दृश्यरहिता – She is invisible and every time She sportively tries to deceive the devotees by trying to create the false notion that his successes are due to his own efforts, chances or some other persons or other deities. ललिता सहस्रनाम स्तोत्र, नाम क्रमांक 650
EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK : MOTHER & MOTHER’S THOUSAND NAMES
AUTHOR : MAI SWARUP MAI MARKAND
MAI NIWAS, SARASWATI ROAD END SANTA CRUZ WEST MUMBAI 400054
God as Mother and Father in MAIISM AND HINDUISM 