Shodoshi: The Holy Mother's Mission of Grace

By M N CHATTERJEE

Shodoshi: The Holy Mother's Mission of Grace

According to a tantric school, Shodoshi is the highest manifestation of Divinity. In tantra, each deity has a mantra or mystic formula which represents her nature.

In Shodoshi, it is the Trikuta mantra and it has three parts: Vagbhavakuta signifying speech and knowledge through worship of Saraswati , Kamarajakuta representing human will or Kali and Shaktikuta or Durga , the supreme manifestation of divine power and energy.

Shodoshi is interpreted as Jnanechhakriyamayi, symbolising knowledge, will and action. Ramakrishna Paramahansa found in the Holy Mother , Sharada Devi , his wife, Divine essence harmonising the varied manifestations of the Supreme Being. Both of them would fall into a trance, transcending the sense world. She became aware of universal motherhood after she got absorbed in her higher Self.

The paths of bhakti or devotion, jnana or knowledge and karma or action found a synthesis in her teachings. She laid stress on self-effort for spiritual advancement. She would say, "Continue to pray without losing heart. Everything will happen in time. For how many cycles did the munis and the rishis of old practise austerity to realise God and you believe you will attain Him in a flash... Is it so easy to realise God?" Through meditation, worship and japa one can remove the impurities of the mind. There can be no progress in the right direction without purifying the mind.

Sharada Ma said: "The mind is everything... in the mind alone one feels pure and impure... he who has a pure mind sees everything pure." Deprecating fault-finding tendencies as self- destructive, she firmly believed that forgiveness has its own cleansing effect, no less than tapasya or austerity.

An epitome of simplicity, purity and modesty she followed Ramakrishna's advice to "bear and forbear''. If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. See your own faults first. Learn to make the whole world your own. Why compound the world's evils by thoughtless reaction? If a child smears itself with dirt, it is the mother's duty to clean it. Her philosophy is characterised by compassion and mercy.

Many take the name of God when faced with adversity. But one who can offer his mind like a flower at the feet of God even in favourable circumstances is indeed blessed, she said. Even if you feel no attraction for the Lord, you will succeed by only repeating His name. Meditate every day. The practice of meditation will make the mind one-pointed. Discriminate always bet-ween the real and the unreal and try to fix your mind on God. As the wind removes the cloud, so the name of the Lord destroys the cloud of worldliness that obstructs the mind.

As Romain Rolland has said, Hindu tradition lays down that a religious life ipso facto frees a man from every other obligation. But Ramakrishna, in all his humanity, recognised that his wife had binding rights over him. She was, however, magnanimous enough to renounce them and encouraged him in his mission. Romain Rolland finds this a novel aspect in spirituality, peculiar to India. The Paramahansa regarded her as the Divine Mother.

One day the mother of a monk requested the Holy Mother to ask her son to go back to worldly life. She replied, "It is a rare good fortune to be the mother of a monk. People cannot give up attachment even to a brass pot. Is it an easy thing to renounce the world? Why should you worry?'' On another occasion she advised that it is essential to perform spiritual practices in a secluded place. When the plant is young, fencing is necessary. But when it grows big the cattle