Today is the last day, the ninth of the nine-day worship of the Mother. It is through Her supreme compassion and grace that we have been given this precious opportunity and occasion for expressing our devotion and adoration of Her Divine Feet. Thereby we elevate our minds and our consciousness and take one more step forward towards the ultimate goal of Self-realization.
Her grace is infinite. Her compassion and love for all human beings and especially the seekers and aspirants is simply indescribable. The mother is ever eager to take the child into her arms.
We are wanderers, children who have strayed away from our original home, the supreme abode of Satchidananda.
The meaning and the process of the spiritual quest is to realise that we have strayed far away and long enough and to desire keenly once again to regain that original home of Satchidananda. This is spiritual life and this is the path (sadhana marga).
"Mother! No more of this play for me. Long have I wandered away from Thee. Bestow Thy Grace upon me. Take this child back into Thy blissful arms." This is the cry of the embodied soul (jiva). This is aspiration. This is also the call of the Infinite to the finite. When the finite individual hears this call, ceases to be interested in this world-play, and turning his back upon it as it were, he begins to gaze into the face of the Mother, then it is that the compassion-filled eyes of the mother open for a while and the rays of Her divine mercy fall upon and bathe this child and once and for all the fatigue, the strain, and the dust of this play, drop away from him; and he is lifted up into the subtle heights of spiritual bliss.
Then the child regains the Mother’s arms and for him the stress and the struggle of the play are over and there is but Pure Bliss, the bliss of having regained his coveted home.
Vriju has expressed some of the emotions I am feeling about how these days have passed. Each day of Navratra the children from all over the world gathered around the courtyard and took joy in celebrating these days together.
I was feeling sad and upset that these days are going to end and that we will no longer have the satsang we had these past days. However, I was reminded of an incident from Mathur’s life.
Mathur was Rani Rasmini’s son-in-law and a householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Mathur decided to celebrate Durga Puja when the Master was there. Towards the end of the festival he was asked by the priest to offer pranam before the statue was to be immersed in the Ganga. Mathur was angry and refused to let it happen. He was ready to continue with puja everyday. Quickly they called Sri Ramakrishna and told him about the situation. The Master walked into Mathur’s room and as soon as Mathur saw him said “No Father, I will not let them take away the Mother” The Master told him, “Are you afraid that the Mother will no longer be with you? The Mother has accepted your offerings these past days in the statue but from now on She will accept your offerings seated in your heart. Can the Mother be away from her son?”
In a similar way I want to reassure myself that the Mother is always seated in our hearts and accepting our offerings. We are all Her children, can She ever stay away from us. I have enjoyed these 9 days and would look forward daily for the postings. May the Mother bless each one of us is my prayer to Her.
I know you all join me in expressing our deep gratitude to sister Jayanti for her devotion and tireless effort in creating and maintaining the Holy Mother's Courtyard where we can all join together in a cyberspace sat-sang and inspire one another.
May the Divine Mother shower Her choicest blessings on our dearest sister Jayanti is my prayer!
