Saturday, September 24, 2022

Mother Goddess: Ma Durga Festival (10/5)

Bhadra Balaram das (Mayapur Voice); Ananda, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ma Durga: The Mightiest Mother
There have been attempts to present Mother Durga as a mere symbol of victory of good over evil. The reality, however, is different.

The excellent beauty possessed by her and the formidable weapons held in her mighty arms are a transcendental reality.

If we ever think that strength is only a male’s domain, meet Mother Durga!

She is not only a fearsome fighter celebrated across the three worlds as Mahishasura-mardini for her heroic feat of vanquishing the otherwise invincible demon King Mahishasura, Durga Devi is famed for her exceedingly exquisite beauty that perpetually remains an unsurpassable marvel of Brahma God’s perceivable realm.

With these apparently contradictory and unique characteristics, it is no fault of mortal beings to quickly assume that Durga Devi must be an imagined product of a novelist, storyteller, or poet.

The merciful glance of the divine Ma Durga Devi, a celestial goddess

The modern trend, particularly among scholars and leaders, is to call ancient events "myths" because they are not comprehensible by ordinary human minds. Such a conclusion is a clear sign of a poor fund of knowledge regarding the very purpose of cosmic creation.

There have been even attempts to present Ma Durga as a mere symbol of victory of good over evil. Being the personification of the aggregate feminine principle of material nature, her appearance is inconceivably gorgeous and her activities are enthralling.

The mighty weapons in her hands are presented to her by real celestial beings like King Indra (Sakka, King of the Devas), Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, and Lord Vishnu himself. The ferocious lion she rides on is not symbolic either.

Ma Durga with her celestial weapons
For example, the trishul or trident she holds is a factual weapon she uses to punish big-time miscreants although she does not always use it as she can execute her missions simply through agencies like epidemics, wars, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, droughts, and so on.

Scientists today are able to make remote sensors and perform wonderful tasks from great distances. They have also invented chemical weapons that can make the atmosphere poisonous and kill thousands. If we tiny-brained humans can do this, why wouldn’t higher celestial beings (like devas) be able to remotely dispatch various atmospheric changes and diseases in targeted locations where misdeeds are on rise?

These examples shed light on the possibility of operating natural resources to control this world remotely by various demigods (devas) from greater distance. Phenomena generally considered mythical by less intelligent people are real.

Brahma-samhita explains Mother Durga’s transcendental position in Sanskrit: Sristi-sthiti pralaya-sadhana-shaktir eka chhayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga icchanurupam api yasya cha chestate sa govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

TRANSLATION: The eternal potency Maya [personification of illusion], who is of the nature of the shadow of the mind [chit, citta] potency, is worshiped by all people as Durga, the [threefold] creative, preservative, and destructive agency of this mundane world. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda in accordance with whose will Durga conducts herself (Brahma-samhita 5.4).

In an earlier article, Ma Durga -- busting the biggest myth of all times -- was discussed at length and her divine position from a scriptural point of view. In this article the focus is on her personal features, extraordinary prowess, and transcendental characteristics.

The historical event describing how Ma Durga annihilated Mahish-asura is unique in nature, considering it’s a one-on-one fight between the most powerful male demon of his time, the fearsome son of the demon Rambh and Durga Devi, a stunningly graceful divine female possessing extraordinary powers.

Mahish-asura became extremely powerful after receiving a boon from Lord Brahma that no male would ever be able to kill him. More

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