THE DESTROYER OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

THE DESTROYER OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES
y:a dðv:i s:v:üB:Üt:ð\:Ø S:eVt:-p:ðN: s:öesT:t:a .
n:m:st:sy:ò n:m:st:sy:ò n:m:st:sy:ò n:m::ð n:m:H ..
yà devã sarvabhåteùu ÷aktiråpeõa saüsthità |
namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaþ ||
SALUTATIONS again and again to the blessed divine mother, the Supreme Inscrutable
Power, the mysterious Achintya Shakti of para Brahman. Salutations to the great Devi who is the
source of all manifestation and embodiment. Salutations to the great Divine Power, Divya Shakti,
from whom have flowed forth all the countless, innumerable universes, in whom all manifestations
have their being and into whom all names and forms dissolve and vanish, and through whom all
beings attain their eternal union with the great reality, the Supreme Transcendental Being, Para
Brahman.
This conception of the great power, the Cosmic Spirit, as the Mother is very easy to
understand. For the first impression of any soul who has come out into this world is that of the
mother. The earliest recollection which a being can ever have is that of lying in his or her mother’s
lap and perhaps looking up and gazing into the love-filled eyes of the mother. To the child, in the
mother is centered a whole world of tenderness, of love, of nourishment and of care. It is the ideal
world from where one draws sustenance, where one runs for comfort, which one clings to for
protection and nourishment; and there he gets comfort, protection and care. Therefore, the ideal of
love, care and protection is, in the conception of the mother. Therefore, this notion transferred to the
Cosmic Being is the most natural, most logical and most easy-to-be understood step, and thus it is
that the glorified conception of the great mother who loves all, nourishes all, cares for all and
protects all, has come into being in the philosophic conception of the Hindu.
Today we shall devoutly offer our humble worship at the Mother’s Blessed Feet in the form
of a few words describing some aspects of Her glory. In doing this, let us ever be aware that even
this privilege of worshipping Her; glorifying Her and dwelling upon Her greatness is only due to
Her compassion and Grace. Without Her Grace, most difficult it is to get an opportunity to think of
Her, to remember Her, and to speak of Her, and to utter Her glorious names, calling upon Her as
Mother. All-gracious is She, infinitely compassionate is She; love is her Nature and thus She has
bestowed upon us all this great blessing and the joy to dwell upon Her in thought and through word
to devoutly adore Her upon this most auspicious and glorious day.
The Mother is whatever is. The essence of pure existence is the Supreme Being or Para
Brahman. Mother is whatever is that we know. That which is beyond our knowledge, that is the
Purusha, the Supreme Being, the transcendental Para Brahman. That which we know through our
mind and senses is nothing but the manifestation of Mother. She is not only the Universe which we
know, this little world and the countless stars, the sun and moon—all these the terrestrial and the
stellar, the lunar and the solar systems that comprise this little universe; all this is but an
infinitesimal speck in the vastness and infinity that Mother is. Innumerable such universes have
their rise and fall within Her infinite nature. She is all-power and also the great transcendental
power at the back of all manifestation, the primal cause for all manifestation and embodiment. She
is the very creatrix not only of this world but even the creator, preserver and dissolver of the world.
Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara have their being in the Mother. She is the Mother of all, countless
Brahmas, Vishnus and Maheshwaras. In as much as She is all-power, all powers are Her play; and
therefore all the three dynamic manifestations Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara also are
modifications of Mother as Adi-Shakti. She is also Brahma-Shakti manifest to us in and through the
form of Saraswati, Vishnu-Shakti manifest in and through the form of Lakshmi, and also
Siva-Shakti manifest in and through the form of Parvati.