Forget Patriarchy - Rama can only be understood through Sita

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“The Liberation of Sita” is an ignorant “feminist” re-telling of the story of Sita, by Telugu writer Volga. Sadly, due to ignorance of native understanding, many such colonized “narratives” abound in contemporary writing.

In this era of post-modern, post-colonial, post-everything scholarship, we observe that many contemporary scholars, both Indian and Western have been extremely fascinated by the Ramayana and specifically Mata Sita. For some, Mata Sita epitomizes the ultimate sacrifice, for others, she becomes the golden albatross they can hang around Bhagwan Rama’s neck. Some westernized feminists all see her as an embodiment of patriarchal oppression, while others try to fashion her into warrior queens and some even make ignorant and quite exasperating attempts at “liberating” her. In this era where only formalized, westernized knowledge is considered worthy and therefore, Hindus who are losing touch with their mother tongues as well as Sanskrit, have completely lost touch with the native, Indic understanding of Ramāyana. It is our hope that this article should make it abundantly clear, how these “readings”, “re-tellings” and “interpretations” are misguided at best, and mischievous at worst.

One common perception of “religion”, characteristic of this contemporary era, is that all religions are about Gods, rituals, symbols, images, dogmas, festivals, saints, shrines and so on. After all, all cultures in the world believe in existence of an entity/entities that lead to creation of this vast arrangement called Universe and those entities are considered as the cause of everything one sees or perceives. Therefore, at the end of the day, all religions are the same. This too, perpetuates a situation where only the secular understanding of Ramayana is encouraged, which in turn requires studying it like a story with characters, but without its true meaning (Bhaava). Today, on this auspicious Diwali day, we shall attempt to study, Ma Sita’s true nature as interpreted in Maharishi Valmiki’s Ramayana.

What is God?

The Vaidika people, who consider Veda as highest authority put forth an interesting question. They wondered, that if Īshwara (ईश्वर) created everything, it should mean that he also created Jñana (ज्ञान). If he created Jñana, was he without Jñana, i.e. without knowledge, and therefore, ignorant before its creation? If Īshwara was ignorant, how could he create anything?

Therefore, the only possible solution to this paradox is to conclude that Jñana is not created by anybody, therefore, it is Apaurusheya (अपौरुषेय) . This means that Jñana (knowledge) can neither be created nor destroyed. 

Our sages also address this through the concepts of ātman (self) and brahma in Upanishads. The entirety of creation is an epiphenomenon due to existence of brahma.

ज्ञान स्वरूपमखिलं जगदेतबुद्धयः।

अर्थ स्वरूपं पश्यन्तो भ्राम्यन्ते मोहसम्प्लवे।।

Vishnu Purana- 1.4.40।।

(All that exists is nothing but Jñana, ignorant sees the diversity due to his attachments.)

All rules, rituals and actions (karma) prescribed by Shastras are tools to know and understand the ultimate reality. If your karma is not in harmony with this Goal of the Vedas, its mere labour. Thus,  Manu in the conclusion of his  Dharma Shastra says-

सर्वेषामपि चैतेषां शुभानामिह कर्मणाम् ।
किं चित्श्रेयस्करतरं कर्मोक्तं पुरुषं प्रति ॥12.84॥
सर्वेषामपि चैतेषामात्मज्ञानं परं स्मृतम् ।
तद् ह्यग्र्यं सर्वविद्यानां प्राप्यते ह्यमृतं ततः ॥12.85।

“From among all these good acts, is there any one act which has been described as more efficacious in securing to man his Highest Good?”—(84)

Of all these, Knowledge of the Self has been declared to be the most efficacious; since it is the best of all sciences, as Immortality is attained by its means. (85)

Thus, comparing the Vaidika Dharma with other religions, particularly, Abrahamic religions is a fallacious argument. The God, Īshwara for Vaidikas, is not an extra-terrestrial entity seated in heaven, but in fact, it is their own self. It is this SELF that has been glorified as Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Indra, by various sages, in various texts. 

"अयं स भगवानीश:  स्वयंज्योति: सनातन:।

अस्माद्धि जायते विश्वमत्रैव प्रविलीयते॥

Suta  Samhita 2.10.35।।

(This ātman is bhagwān, īshwar, immortal, self-illuminated. From it, the world arises, in it, the world is dissolved)

"अयं ब्रह्मा शिवो विष्णुरयमिन्द्र​: प्रजापति।

अयं वायुरयं चाग्निरयं सर्वाश्च देवता:॥"

Suta Samhita  2.10.36

(It is Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra and Prajāpati. It is Vāyu, Agni and all the devtās.)

Understanding the relationship between Brahma and Māyā

The energy or power of Brahma is called Maya.  Brahma and Maya are like Sun and its Rays. Rays exist because there is a Sun. Similarly, Maya exists because there is Brahma. It is a worthless exercise to understand them as separate entities. 

परास्य शक्तिर्विविधैव श्रूयते स्वाभाविकी ज्ञानबलक्रिया च ⁠।⁠। 

(Shvetashvatara Upanishad- 6.8)

It had diverse inherent energies of knowledge, force and action.

Just as Sunlight causes illusion of water in sky, same way all states of existence are there due to Brahma and  Maya - 

तेजो वारिमृदां यथा विनिमयो यत्र त्रिसर्गो मृषा-

Bhagvatam-1.1.1. 

(In reality, this atman does nothing. It simply exists, and everything else is perceived due to its existence.)  

It does nothing-  

साक्षी चेता केवलो निर्गुणश्च

Shvetashvatara Upanishad – 6.11. 

But its mere existence induces Maya, which is nothing but its energy. Energy enough to create thousands of universes. 

And in fact, there is no difference between the nature of the Jīva and Īshwara.

मायासंबन्धतश्चेशो जीवोऽविद्यावशस्तथा ।।

Kath Rudra Upanishad-39।।

(In relation with Maya, atman is Īshwara, In relation with Avidya its Jīva).

मायाविद्ये विहायैव उपाधी परजीवयोः ।

अखण्डं सच्चिदानन्दं परं ब्रह्म विलक्ष्यते ॥ Adhyatma Upanishad- 32।।

(On rising above Māyā and Avidyā, Reality is known).

Who are Rāma and Sīta in Mahāṛishi Vālmikī’s Ramāyana?

The same atman has been glorified as Rama by Maharishi Valmiki in is Ramayana, at the very beginning of which, he says- 

वेद वेद्ये परे पुंसि जाते दशरथात्मजे ।
वेदःप्रचेतसादासीद् साक्षाद् रामायणात्मना।। 

Valmikī Ramayana -1.1.1।।

(The Supreme being who is known through Vedas, descended as son of Dashrath, Vedas were rendered in form of Ramayana by son of Pracheta Valmiki.)

वेदोपबृंहणार्थाय तावग्राहयत प्रभुः || 

1.4.6- Valmiki Ramayana

(epic Ramayana is composed only to reinforce the import of Veda)

This shloka of Sundarkand  is clear indicative of Divinity of Rama

सर्वान् लोकान् सुसम्हृत्य सभूतान् सचराचरान् ||

पुनरेव तथा स्रष्टुम् शक्तो रामो महायशाः।।  

Valmiki Ramayana- 5.51. 39

(Illustrious Rama can put an end to whole creation along with its creatures, and can again create them, such is his potential.)

Valmiki Ramayana is full of such shlokas, for anyone who would attempt to see it.

Ancient seers were wise enough  to understand the difficulties regarding knowing the real nature of the self.  Thus, they described the reality in a manner that would allow us to perceive reality through each of our faculties, our mind and our sense. 

Without understanding the existence, one cannot understand the reason of the existence. Therefore, without understanding the how Maya works, one cannot understand the maya-pati Bhagwan. 

In other words without knowing the Goddess (mahamaya), one cannot understand the God. This is the beauty of the Vaidika Dharma.  If you want to know Rama, you have to know Sita.   

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Thus Maharishi Valmiki named the Saga of Rama as 

सीताया: चरितं महत्- 1.4.7- The Sublime Legend of Sita.

अप्रमेयं हि तत् तेजो यस्य सा जनकात्मजा- Valmiki Ramayana- 3.37.18

That resplendence (Rama)  is not measurable which/who has daughter of Janaka-Sita.

In fact, Mata Sita herself says:

अनन्या राघवेणाहं भास्करेण प्रभा यथा। 

Valmiki Ramayana- 5.21.16

(I am inseparable from Rāghava, like radiance from sun)

 She continues,

अहमौपयिकी भार्या तस्यैव वसुधापतेः।।5.21.17।।
व्रतस्नातस्य विप्रस्य विद्येव विदितात्मनः।

"I, alone, am the righteous wife of the Lord of the Earth. Like the knowledge of the Vedas which rightfully belongs to a wise one who has realised the self after having had his graduation bath, having observed the righteous vows during the period of his study.

This is not surprising. Mahadev Shiva reveals this Secret to Devi Parvati in the  Adhyatma Ramayana, which is part of Brahmanda Purana. Hanuman-Sita  dialogue is narrated by Shiva. Hanuman enquired about Rama and Sita replied- 

रामं विद्धी परं ब्रह्म सच्चिदानंद अद्वयं।

सर्वोपाधिविनिर्मुक्तं सत्तामात्रमगोचरं।। 1.32।।

Know Rama as non-dual Brahm, free from all attributes about which only this much is known that ‘it is’

तत्सान्निध्यान्मया सृष्टं तस्मिन्नारोप्यतेऽबुधैः । अयोध्यानगरे जन्म रघुवंशेऽतिनिर्मले ।।३५ ।।विश्वामित्रसहायत्वं मखसंरक्षणं ततः । अहल्याशापशमनं चापभङ्गो महेशितुः ॥ ३६ ॥मत्पाणिग्रहणं पश्चाद्भार्गवस्य मदक्षयः । अयोध्यानगरे वासो मया द्वादशवार्षिकः।। ३७ ॥ दण्डकारण्यगमनं विराधवध एव च । मायामारीचमरणं मायासीताहृतिस्तथा ॥ ३८॥ जटायुषोमोक्षलाभः कबन्धस्य तथैव च । शबर्याः पूजनं पश्चात्सुग्रीवेण समागमः ॥ ३९॥ वालिनश्च वधः पश्चात्सीतान्वेषणमेव च । सेतुबन्धश्च जलधौ लङ्कायाश्च निरोधनम् ॥ ४०॥ रावणस्य वधो युद्धेसपुत्रस्य दुरात्मनः । विभीषणे राज्यदानं पुष्पकेण मया सह ॥ ४१॥ अयोध्यागमनं पश्चाद्राज्ये रामाभिषेचनम् । एवमादीनि कर्माणि मयैवाचरितान्यपि आरोपयन्तिरामेऽस्मिन्निर्विकारेऽखिलात्मनि ॥ ४२॥ रामो न गच्छति न तिष्ठति नानुशोचत्याकाङ्क्षते त्यजति नो न करोति किञ्चित् । आनन्दमूर्तिरचलः परिणामहीनो मायागुणाननुगतो हि तथा विभाति ॥४३ 

In these  verses Mata Sita narrates  the Ramayana and reveals to Hanuman that from the moment of Rāma’s appearance before Kaushalya  to RajyAbhisheka of Rama, everything has been done by Mata Sita herself.

Rāma does nothing – 

रामो न गच्छति न तिष्ठति नानुशोचत्याकाङ्क्षते त्यजति नो न करोति किञ्चित् ।

आनन्दमूर्तिरचलः परिणामहीनो मायागुणाननुगतो हि तथा विभाति ॥ 43।।

Rama doesn’t go, doesn’t stay, doesn’t mourn, doesn’t long, doesn’t shun, doesn’t do anything.  Rama is bliss, unperturbed, unmoved, unchanged. 

Thus its established Rama is atman and Sita, his Shakti. Thus, the lovable Saguna Bhagwan is available to us via the virtue of Bhagwati only.  From an atom to Virat Hiranyagarbha, everything is Sita - The Goddess.  This creation, its innumerable creations, this profusion of the galaxies, everything is Mother Goddess. From the vantage point of creation, Sita and Rama are two entities and from the vantage point of non-duality, They are One, like flame and its heat. 

त्वं विष्णुर्जानकी लक्ष्मीः शिवस्त्वं जानकी शिवा । ब्रह्मा त्वं जानकी वाणी सूर्यस्त्वं जानकी प्रभा ॥

 Ayodhya kand. Adhyatma Ramayana।।

Rama, you are Vishnu, and Janaki (Sita) is Laxmi. You are Shiva and Janaki too, is Shiva. You are Brahma and Janaki is Vaani, You are Surya and Jaanaki is radiance. 

Goswami Tulsidas too, agrees - 

श्रुति सेतु पालक राम तुम्ह जगदीस माया जानकी।
जो सृजति जगु पालति हरति रूख पाइ कृपानिधान की।।  

O Rama, the protector of Shruti, you are the Īshwara and Janakī is Maya, who creates, sustains and destroys because of you.

This is the true essence of “श्रीयते हरिणापि या सा श्री”- the one who is worshipped or served by Hari/Bhagwan is Shri .  

Thus, the Shrī in Jai Shrī Rama, is Mata Sita as Shri Devi herself, the Supreme Mother, the Divine Feminine, who has been extolled by Vedas and Puranas.  

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 One must have pity at the misfortune of those who see the glorious proclamation of Jai Shrī Rama as a “masculine” or “patriarchal” war cry. We have even come across ignorant narratives of how Mata Sita was dropped from colloquial “Jai Siya Ram” to make it patriarchal “Jai Shri Rama”. For after all, it is they, who are truly ignorant of the Glory of the Divine Mother who pervades all creation as Shakti. It is fundamentally impossible to drop Mahamaya Devi Sita from anything pertaining to Rama, for he cannot be understood without her. It is therefore, also our ignorance to assume that Ma Sita was “victimized” or “oppressed”.

This Diwali, let us vanquish ignorance with the knowledge that Ma Sita, the Mother of all creation, needs no “advocates”. She is the Divine Feminine, the Shakti, the reason of all existence and inseparable from our Glorious Bhagwan Rama.

Let us proudly proclaim:

Jai Shri Rama!

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about the author

Aditya Sharma

Aditya is currently pursuing BBA LLB and is an avid reader of Vaidik literature. He is also an occasional poet. You can follow him on Twitter @aadii009

Karva chauth: A celebration of family and community

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When we were children, there was a festival that came around this time of the year, on the fourth day of Kartika month of the Hindu calendar, also called Karva Chauth. For Gregorian Calendar, it usually falls between late September and early October. Mothers and fathers prepared for this holiday by buying all the seasonal vegetables and fruits. In addition, there were three kinds of desserts. One made at home, usually faniyan kheer, an alternative version of the classic Indian rice pudding, and two were bought from the local Halwai — Peshawar Sweets.

Mom and Dad woke up early on the day of the festival. Mom had half-prepared a few dishes already, the night before. Before six in the morning, we were woken up, and asked to bathe before we could join the feast that was prepared.

Dad gently woke Papaji, our grandfather, and asked him to join us.

‘Sargi is ready!’

He’d freshen up and join us.

Sargi thali prepared for Karvachauth. Image: Google

It was a complete meal – and while we could eat it all day, Mom was to eat and drink only before sunrise, and after seeing the moon that evening. And yet, that morning ritual was turned into a family feast every year for all at home. A special treat for this festival was faniyan – the vermicelli kheer. This special vermicielli, made in desi ghee, was sold only during this festival, so we all looked forward to it.

The preparation of the food was supposed to be done by married women in the family, meaning my grandmother and my mother. But unfortunately, my father had lost his mother when he was a child, and my mother had never met her mother in law. So both my mother and father took over the organization of the festival. For the rest of the two meals, mom would cook a large amount of rice, even though we are mainly wheat eaters, to accompany dal and dahi, so that she could take a break from the cooking, rest, and/or have fun with her friends. For about twelve hours, that day she fasted. But those twelve hours were a celebration of life and family. Other than being good for health, that fasting day for women in our neighborhood was spent almost as a ‘women’s day out’. Those who stayed at home had certain activities planned during the day, those who were working joined in the festivities and fun of the evening. Women of the neighborhood usually went for a movie. When VCRs and DVDs arrived, women got together and watched two movies at a go, before getting ready for the evening party.

Women dressed in wedding reds for karvachauth. Image Credits: Unrealistic Trends Blog

The evening party was something we children looked forward to. All the aunties of the neighborhood draped themselves in red and gold, symbolic of life and prosperity, most likely something they got married in. They did add the latest accessories, bought after several visits to markets close and afar. But it was the fact that our slightly plump and very blushing aunties dressed in their wedding saree/lehnga that made it so special. On the day of the festival, many women got their hair done, and almost everyone put henna in their hands the day before. So in essence, the preparations started with the anticipation of the day, adding joy to the women’s lives for days if not weeks even before the day arrived.

And that evening of the actual celebration, women of all ages became brides again, as they proudly exhibited their joy at being a part of the community, being a married woman, a mother, and a daughter-in-law. Women consciously (and/or subconsciously) acknowledged and participated in the festival that affirmed their role as a life giver, sustainer of community and tradition.

The festival was a confirmation of family and the joys it brought to all those lucky to have one. Very aware that families came with their issues, women also understood that family provided them both emotional support, and a way to contribute towards society, with or without gainful employment. While many of the women in the neighborhood were working women, their biggest contribution to the neighborhood was raising us collectively. They were the aunties, who were sometimes called Chachis and Maamis, even when we were not related to them. All of us grew up under their watchful eyes, listening to their wisdom, eating meals cooked by them, and sometimes being helped with our homeworks. They were a part of our growing up, sometimes by handing-down used textbooks from their children, if they were older than us, and other times by sharing memories, that even the ones our parents may have forgotten, and bringing us some forgotten stories from our childhood.

Their biggest influence on us was that all of us went to pursue higher education, never got into trouble, and learnt to respect our elders. These women, who celebrated womanhood, by revering the families they were married into, were our role models. That family life can be filled with extreme work, much sacrifice — both for men and women, does not take away from the fact that at the most basic level, family provides security for the young, who are the foundation of any country’s future.

This particular festival was much more than a mere ‘fasting day’, it was a celebration of these women. Refraining from food and water for twelve hours was undertaken consciously, knowing that the day was an acknowledgement of several sacred bonds, and not just between a husband and wife, as is often portrayed.

One of many purposes of festivals is to break the monotony of everyday life. This half a day fast for the women became a nearly two-day celebration — one in anticipation and preparation, and the day of celebration.

The new brides in the neighborhood got all the attention. They were put at the center of the circle that the women formed during telling of the story related to the festival, and welcomed them into the neighborhood (including kitties and clubs).

Women dressed up for Karva chauth. Source: Indiatoday

When my mother returned from the celebration, she offered the thali filled with sweets and home made goodies to my grandfather, who always gave his blessings to my parents for a long and healthy married life, and returned all the offerings back to her, including the money. Some years the offering would also include a piece of clothing for him, which he touched with his forehead and accepted graciously. The offerings that women made to their in-laws are the same as the felicitations bestowed upon a head of an institution, who initiated a process that lead to many becoming a part of a community.

For women, it was a way of thanking their in-laws for creating a family they could be a part of. For it was through the family that the world became meaningful. Children were born and raised, allowing women to exercise their maternal instincts, and many times it was due to their in-laws that they could continue their careers since they took charge of looking after the children when their parents were at work. The elders were acknowledged and valued. Wonder if that added to a sense of significance for many elderly in our community? Otherwise in so many cultures the older generation is forgotten and often suffers the negative emotional consequences of feeling irrelevant, once the children are grown up. Karva Chauth provided an opportunity to express appreciation towards the in-laws, and added a link of gratitude and love between two generations.

For us, the festival meant good food, and seeing our mother dressed up like a bride again. We would fuss over her, get her flowers for her hair, and pester her to buy new shiny bangles to match her saree.

Later on the same day women would gather again, with a sieve and a glass of water in their hands, looking for a sight of moon. The first one to sight the moon would inform others on the phone. Some women would have to visit their neighbors because the moon was not visible from their house.

The sad part is that men did not have a day like that, where they could honor the feminine and indulge in a day of dressing up and male bonding. May be that is why many of them fervently bow to the Goddess only a few days before this festival –as a way of saying ‘you fast for us, and we honor you, there are no men without you Devis!’

Around this time, people of a certain persuasion, who have been taught to see everything from the lens of oppression, start to talk about why ‘only women’ and ‘not men’. There are several answers and arguments, but taking the discussion about the festival, in that direction is reducing the joy and happiness that the day sprinkles on families, it is to take away from the livelihood of mehndi artists, who make extra money during this season, it is to hurt the shops that sell everything from jewelry to sweets around this time. But most importantly, it is to say that we must do away with this one day, when women break away from the quotidian and slip into outfits that make them feel like queens—to be replaced with what?

Continuing the monotony of everyday life? Or celebrating ‘modern’ festivals that do not acknowledge the fact that our lives are always intertwined with others (I have met women who forgo taking antibiotics when sick because they are planning to go clubbing with friends – choice / stupidity / peer pressure / social oppression?). Today, many women observing the fast do partake a snack and a cup of tea during the day, often urged by their in-laws to do so. And, many men fast along with women.

But to turn the day into a gender war, and focus only on questions such as ‘who and why’—while ignoring the cheer it brings, is what is called ‘framing’, when only one aspect is focused on and the other overlooked.

This Karva Chauth, allow women the freedom to celebrate, honor those who are brave enough to celebrate it even when ridiculed, and recognize that Karva Chauth though seen only through the act of women fasting for their husbands’ long life, by the naysayers, is actually a celebration of life, of families and the beautiful bond of commitment between a man and a woman.

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About The Author

Charu Uppal

Charu Uppal is an Assistant Professor at Karlstad University, Sweden. She obtained her Ph.D. in Media Studies from Pennsylvania State University in 2003. Prior to Karlstad University, she taught at University of South Pacifc (Fiji), Pennsylvania State University (USA), Clarion University of PA (USA) and Indiana University of Bloomington (USA). Her research interests include the representation and formation of cultural identity in the developing world in the global era, and the role of media and technology in mobilizing citizens towards political and cultural activism. Presently she serves as a Track-head for Global Media Studies at Karlstad University (Undergraduate Program).

This article was first published in Boloji blog. It is reproduced here with the permission of the author.

Ma Shakti, the Divine Feminine vs Colonial Demon: An ongoing war...

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Rishi Yajnavalkya and Gargi Vachaknavi, the Brahmavadini, debating in King Janaka’s court.
Image: BAPS

Once the ancient Rajarshi (Philosopher King) Janaka conducted a Yagya (Yajna), at the end of which, all the scholars and philosophers who had assembled to attend the Yagya and exchange ideas, started a discussion on the nature of Brahman. Several great Rishis and Brahmajnanis like Aswala, Bhujyu, Usasta Pandita, Yajnavalkya, Kaholaka, Gargi, Uddhalaka and Sakalya were present in the court. Rishi Yajnavalkya defeated many great philosophers in argument. Then Gargi, the Brahmavadini, rose and challenged him. She confronted him with existential questions about the ontology of the universe. When she continued questioning disregarding the proper method of inquiry into the nature of the deity [1], Yajnavalkya warned her: "You are questioning about a deity that should not be reasoned about, but known only through its special means of approach, the scriptures. Therefore do not, O Gārgī, push your inquiry too far unless you wish to die." Upon hearing this, Gargi Vacaknavi fell silent. The third chapter of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad further explains the eventful debate in the court of King Janaka. Gargi, a learned Brahmavadini, fell silent because she realised the greatness of Rishi Yajnavalkya, and from there on merely tried to learn from him about the Supreme Reality instead of trying to challenge him or examining his knowledge. On the other hand, Sakalya, who arrogantly kept questioning the nature of Brahma, despite Yajnavalkya’s warnings, encountered a tragic and bizarre death, when his head fell off.

Gargi was warned by Yajnavalkya about what shall happen, and being a wise woman, she took cognisance of the warning while Sakalya did not pay heed and ended up paying the price. However, the self-professed “subaltern” academia interprets this incident as an example of Brahminical patriarchy and try to portray the advice of Yajnavalkya to Gargi Vacaknavi as a threat. Mainstream historians and Indologists are reluctant to acknowledge that women sharing deep philosophical debates along with men in great conferences was common in Bharat. Instead, the academia portrays Gargi as an exception, a revolutionary who "embarrassed" Sage Yajnavalkya with daring questions. In order to paint a faux-gender conflict, they cleverly refrain from mentioning what happened to Sakalya. Independent India’s mainstream academia, especially “subaltern” studies, are proudly continuing the legacy of the colonial-era “historians” in misinterpreting and maligning the status of women in Hinduism, the worst victim of which has been the Goddess worship system, or the Shakta sampradaya, because it stands as the biggest obstacle in their artificial gender-conflict story. In this essay, we will show that the relentless misinterpretation campaign, started by the imperialist and colonialists, and continued by independent India’s “academia” can be directly held responsible for the Judeo-Christian morality that dominates our judicial system, which leads to verdicts like the recent HC verdict banning Mrigabali for Maa Tripurasundari, the Mother goddess of Tripura, in the North-Eastern region of India.

shakti as Kuladevi, a proud tradition across india

Shakti worship system, once prevailed across ancient Bharat , through centres of Shakti worship, known as Shaktipeethas. Shaktipeethas are the places where Sati Devi's body parts are believed to have fallen in Satya Yuga. As a result of Islamic invasions in the medieval times, colonial laws, reforms, and partition of India, free practice of Shakti worship has been weakened in many of these historical centers of Goddess worship in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tibet and Nepal. While several centres of Goddess worship physically fell before the brutality of Islamic marauders, the warrior spirit of various Hindu communities posed relentless resistance due to their ardent ritualistic worship of the Devi.

A warrior must not be afraid of death and bloodshed. He must carry the courage to tread into dangerous fights and persevere to win. Kula Devi is the real protectress of the clan members. She is understood as a mother with a wide variety of virtues by the worshippers. She is there for her family in all sorts of family and social problems. Her kula (family), in return, have staunch faith in her. These deities, it is believed, can become angry if they are not offered regular worship.

What the “subaltern” academia won’t tell you, is that most of these Goddess-worshipping warrior communities are today classified as Dalits or OBCs. Most Dalit communities even today, are strong followers of the kuladevi worship tradition. Sadly, violent invasions and forced exoduses broke the continuity of worship in several of these places.

Ma Danteshwari Temple in Dantewada, Chhatisgarh

Source: Official website of Chhatisgarh Tourism Board, Visitcg.in

Tribals carry Danteshwari Devi's procession on Dussehra, 2015

Source: Chhatisgarh Tourism, Twitter

Women participating in Dussehra procession of Bastar

Source: Blog on unique bastar dussehra tradition

Danteshwari Temple, Dantewada

Source: Flickr

Danteshwari Devi, is the kuladevi of entire Bastar region, in Chhatisgarh, which is home to some of the oldest tribal communities in India. Every year during Dusshera, thousands of tribals from surrounding villages and jungles gather here to pay homage to the goddess, when her idol was taken out of that ancient Danteshwari temple and then taken around the city in an elaborate procession, now a popular tourist attraction part of the 'Bastar Dussehra' festival [wiki]. The Dussehra procession, in fact, is not about Lord Rama and his victory over demon Ravana, but about the glory of Mother Danteshwari. [read more]

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Colonialists systematically demonized Goddess traditions

The real threat to the indigenous Goddess worship came from the skewed worldview of the Abrahamic religions concerning women.

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Judeo-Christian theology declared women as inferior beings responsible for all of the world’s sin and dictated that woman should always remain subservient to man. Medieval Islamic doctrines considered women as naturally, morally and religiously defective. Such discrimination is mainly because of their faith in the only one God who explicitly said about women: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.": Timothy 2-12 . Since the Judeo-Christian God created man in his image and woman was created from the rib of Adam, these puritanical colonizers, found the very idea  the idea of Goddess worship, offensive and “barbaric”. This was not the case, only in India. Various pagan sects across the world that worshipped the all-encompassing Mother Goddess and had women clergy in their religious life, had to face brutal violence during their encounter with the Abrahamist religions. The Council of Elvira in ca. 305 CE imposed stringent bans on various activities by women aimed at control of their sexuality. Women were denied property rights in the West until the 20th century. Women were not allowed to pursue art and learning. Women, who weren't living in piety, as per the rigid puritanical morality, were branded as prostitutes. The infamous witchhunt of pagan priestesses in medieval Europe was inspired by the very same Abrahamic worldview.

Around the time Europeans came to India in the late 16th century, women were being burnt all over Europe for believing and practicing Goddess and Nature worship. As such, the Shakti worship and freedom of women in India was perceived as a shocking obscenity by them. 

Soon after, a law was passed in Goa prohibiting rituals and sacrifices during wedding ceremonies of Hindus. Hindus were forced to celebrate the wedding ceremony behind closed doors. (Flight of the Deities: Hindu Resistance in Portuguese Goa, PAUL AXELROD AND MICHELLE A. FUERCH, Ripon College, Wisconsin) [2] The Portuguese in Goa, the French colonials, and the British used the charges of blasphemies, impiety, sodomy, necromancy and witchcraft to persecute the adherents of Shakteya tantra and other traditional ritual worship practices. At first, the ill-educated western missionaries in their bigotry against indigenous religions, misinterpreted Tantra sadhana.

Shaktism practitioners were the worst-hit victims of such intellectual efforts to restructure the Hindu psyche into a monocultural-monotheistic caricature of itself. British colonialism, through its legal frameworks as well as its intelligentsia, targeted the indigenous forest tribes who resisted the colonial advances and religious conversion efforts in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of these warriors who fought for their self-respect were adherents of their clan's Goddess (KulaDevi). By branding over 200 communities as tribes with 'criminal tendencies' under the former Criminal Tribes Act (1871), the British aimed to "control and reclaim" communities "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences". This inhuman and bigoted criminalization of tribes was supported by depiction in their arts and literature. The depiction of superstitious, savage criminal tribes who often indulged in human sacrifices for the Goddess has been a common feature of many literary works of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is also possible that such stereotypes by the orientalists inspired Steven Spielberg to make the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Following the violent resistance by Pazhassi Raja and the Kurichya, Nair warriors in Malabar, Veluthambi and Nair warriors in Travancore, the British enforced severe punitive measures against the Kalaripayattu practitioners in Kerala. Kalaripayattu is a martial tradition belonging to the Shakteya worship system. Persecution of the Kalaripayattu practitioners and regular raids in these families for weapons by the British Police was a severe blow to the martial art as well as the valour of the Goddess worshippers. The efforts to weaken the Goddess worshipping martial traditions hastened even further, after the uprising of 1857. All those that were branded as “martial races” by the colonials were Goddess worshipping communities.

The demonization continues in Independent India

A beautiful depiction of Ma Tripurasundari by Pratyasha Nithin

After a couple of centuries of colonial education, we see even an average Hindu in independent India parroting the same atrocity literature narrative, propagated by the Abrahamists. Modern Indian State too, uses colonial era morality to adjudicate Hindu tradition and practices. Hindus are no longer attuned to their beliefs, are getting boxed into straight-jacketed thinking that would even shame a modern Britisher, today. This is also the reason why we don't hear any word of protest from Hindu organisations to repeal the  Anti Superstition laws such as the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013. Aghora practices are an age-old tradition that as you can probably tell by the name of the law, have been caricatured and maligned as “superstition”, in continuance with the legacy of the British colonials. The recent High Court judgement on Ma Tripurasundari Shaktipeetha in Tripura, deeming Pashubali, the animal sacrifice ritual as not “essential practice” must be seen in the same light.

The Economist in its reportage about supposed 'witchcraft' in Assam wrote: "The arrival of Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants and the spread of Christianity among the tribes by American Baptist missionaries has not dispelled local superstitions: villagers still practice rituals aimed at warding off evil spirits."  This sentence itself is a naked display of bigotry with which Hindu practices are seen even today, by erstwhile colonials and their modern day descendants even in India. Two days ago, a prominent newspaper in Malayalam carried an article describing Aghoris as necromancers. 

JNU Tribal Student’s Forum has repeatedly protest against using Santhal name to malign Ma Durga, but the disinformation campaign continues.
Source: Indiafacts

Goddess worship have also been regularly demonised in independent India’s academia and popular media. The abuse of Ma Durga as a prostitute and lionizing of demon Mahishasura [4] in the name of Santhal tribe, despite their various protests against this claim, as she is the primary deity of the tribe [5][6], the depiction of tribal warrior Unniyarcha as a lustful, disempowered woman [7] are all systemic efforts to deny Feminine Divinity and her warrior spirit. Adherents of the Shakta tradition, even today, are often portrayed as sexual predators and performers of “distasteful” rituals and a missionary zeal to “reform” the Divine Feminine out of them, is often seen in the intelligentsia. The Abrahmic-contempt inspired bigoted laws and stereotypes that were put in place by the British, proudly continue to find space in modern academia. The irony of demonization of these Goddess worshipping tribal rituals of India by “feminist studies”, “subaltern studies” and “indology” is surely overwhelming!

TantraShastra or Agama has always been very much an integral part of the essential Hindu scriptures, yet, the shaming process guided by victorian morality enabled rejection of the practical ritualistic methodologies of Shaktism as “occult” and “superstition” by the colonial subjects.

John Woodroffe, the leading Orientalist, who wrote under the pseudonym, Arthur Avalon, quipped in 1918: "Some English-speaking Bengalis of a past day, too ready to say, "Aye aye," to the judgments of foreign critics, on their religion as on everything else, and in a hurry to dissociate themselves from their country's "superstitions," were the source of the notion which has had such currency amongst Europeans that, "Tantra" necessarily meant drinking wine and so forth." [Shakti and Shâkta, by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) [1918]]. In modern independent India, the anglicized Indians have taken over the colonial intolerance to the diversity and inclusiveness promoted by the Hindu way of life. Several states in India passed anti-superstition law banning several Vamacara rituals practised by the worshippers of the Mother Goddess. Yes, it is a fact that the post-colonial Indian state carries colonial contempt for the Divine Feminine. 

the way forward…

The feminine vigor of the Hindu heritage has to be diminished so that the white man's burden to “civilize the savage polytheists and save their women from the brutality of the native men”, can be achieved by showing them the “light”. However, Hindu society has always been a lot more egalitarian and balanced than Abrahamic cultures. But the emancipation of the Hindus into the universalist program of the global monotheistic philosophies can only be possible if the Female Divinity is undermined. The sad part is how Hindus themselves parrot the victorian narrowmindedness and define the colonial interpretation of dharmic philosophy and traditions as Sanatana dharma.

Girl child being worshipped as Kaumari, on the 9th day of Navratri. Image Credits: Ekabhumi Elik

In Devi Mahatmyam, we read the story of Ma Amba, and how she, having emerged from the shaktis of all devatas, fights the demons. She creates a thousand swarupas but when demon Shumbha chastises her for fighting with the help of so many female warriors, she shows him that those are nothing but her forms as they all merge into her. Similarly, Devi Mahatmyam also states that Hindu women are embodiments of the devi [Ch 12, verse 10], so perhaps it is time that Hindu women realize their Shakti within, and fight this multi-headed demon of colonialism, for Amba, for Shakti, the Divine Feminine.

In this journey for the self-rediscovery of the Shakti — the feminine within every Hindu woman, Shaktitva insists on the application of the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma in everyday stories of women.

Shaktitva aims to redefine the women's narrative in post-colonial society abiding by the principles of Dharma. Join us, in fighting the fight for the Divine Feminine against the colonizing forces that still permeate our society. The war, is far from over…

further reading: 

• https://zeenews.india.com/news/jharkhand/santhal-durga-puja-symbolises-revolt-against-british_659842.html

• http://indiafacts.org/tribals-worship-goddess-durga

• The Marginalization of Women: A Biblical Value We Don’t Like to Talk About, Christopher Rollinston, Huffpost, 2012
  
  
  

Anjali George

Anjali George is an activist and a writer who is extremely passionate about the preservation of Indic way of life and indigenous cultures. She is one of the pioneers behind the ‘Ready To Wait’ movement, that was launched to ascertain the rights of the indigenous women in opposition to a politically motivated attack on the tradition of Sabarimala temple. She serves on the Board of Frankfurt City's Council of religions.

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Gaurav for my Devi: Navratra Musings

A while ago, I had a conversation with an acquaintance of a different religion, who remarked “God cannot possibly be a woman”. I really wasn’t prepared for this, but something immediately started boiling inside me. I couldn’t find the appropriate words in that moment, so I retorted, “maybe in your religion, but not mine”. The anger of that moment, though, peaked long after that conversation was over. In a way, I was angry at myself. “If  I had had any sense I would have forced him to apologize for offending my religious beliefs”, my train of thought continued, “Why am I so naive?!”. It was in that moment that I decided to never let anyone degrade Devi in my presence. 

But this incident, in fact, led me to think deeper about my relationship with Sanatan Dharma, as well as my relationship with the feminine in both its spiritual and physical sense. I was actually baffled at that person’s comment, it is after all, a woman that brings you into this world, a mother is the child’s world! So if that isn’t divine, I honestly do not know what is. Even today, I struggle with to understand how is it that some people can only see divinity as male, as if it is only a man that is worthy of worship while  a woman is seen as something to be ashamed of. 

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva seated on lotuses with their consorts, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Paravati respectively. ca 1770. Guler, India. Source: Wikipedia

Our shastras impart knowledge with a different outlook in relation to what my high school English teacher called “the woman question” - that is, the question of what to do with our women. From an early age, I was taught that Venkateswara is nothing without Lakshmi, as depicted in the story of the Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy. The depiction of our Gods highlight the complementarity of the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine. The three Gods, also known as the Trimurti which comprise of Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh (Shiva) represent creation, sustenance and destruction whereas the Goddesses, Saraswati, Laxmi and Parvati knowledge, prosperity and motherly benevolence. Furthermore, they are paired so beautifully together, that it leads to a natural appreciation of the importance of the feminine. After all, there is no creation of value if it is not done with wisdom; one cannot sustain themselves if they do not prosper; and destruction could end creation without the guiding light of a mother’s compassion. Even as we pray to  Vishnu and Shiva, we remember the Divine Feminine of Shri and Shakti with them. 

This led me to question why it is that in today’s world of political correctness, someone would dare make a statement of that sort about my religion, and my way of life. This made me wonder whether I was voca enough about my own beliefs, which inspired me to analyze the way Hindus react and interact with the world around them. A very important aspect of a people’s identity is whether they are a proud people.

This pride, or gaurav, comes from an inherent knowledge of one’s identity, and one’s history, the struggles one’s people have faced and the tribulations they have overcome.

This gaurav neither appears nor disappears overnight. It is either accumulated through years of activism or stamped out through years of subjugation to the “white man’s burden” mindset. For too long, Hindus have allowed the fairest of the world to teach them their own barbaric ways, and have then been taught practices that were (re)discovered and have existed for as long as the vedas and the rishis have.

As worshippers of Devi Saraswati, it is shameful that all of our knowledge has been pilfered from our people and is being fed back to us in a white-washed, clean package.

Turmeric Latte is now sold at Starbucks in US and Europe. Image Source: Starbucks

The clearest example being the rise of turmeric or haldi-based beverages being popularized in the suburban American market. Why must it always be America or Europe who reinstall our faith in our own traditional knowledge? Why is it that the only way for indigenous faiths to get credit for our knowledge, is only through prolonged, intense, ugly fighting? I mean, this is a problem we’ve had since ancient times! Our modern day numerical system should be called the Hindu Number System, but it is commonly known as Arabic Number System. Why? Why must the Hindu adjective be dropped? Some claim that this is a result of the credit going to those who propagate the knowledge or the product and not those who create it. So then, by the same logic, we should be thanking Office Depot, not China, for the invention of paper, and Kroger, not farmers, for the produce that we eat everyday? This notion is as absurd as it sounds, but we Hindus, are now used to absurd arguments being peddled out to us, just so we can be robbed of our knowledge, while the world can continue ignoring the word “Hindu” from the name of our numerical system.

However, if you furthered this argument in any setting, you would immediately be stamped with some political label which will be compared to fascism. Why is it that we Hindus are not allowed to be proponents of our own knowledge? But more importantly, why don’t most Hindus push back? Are we really that scared of showing Maa Saraswati’s genius to the world? Are we afraid of being laughed at? Scores of scientists and linguists and philosophers were ridiculed for decades before proven correct by later generations. What are we Hindus waiting for? We must learn once again, to have gaurav for all of the toils our ancestors went through to seek the kind of knowledge we take for granted.

It is a disgrace to Devi Saraswati to let others take credit for and preach ideas and practices that our great culture has granted to us.

Moreover, it is disrespectful to ourselves to allow western consumerism to steal our ancient wisdom for profits. As a society, we cannot give into the modern white man’s burden anymore. Our ancestors had so much wisdom, and we are on the brink of losing it all. Kali yuga, to me, not only means a growth of evil, but the demise of knowledge and the growth of ignorance.

This Navratri, I would urge you all to please educate yourselves and your children about the wonders of our culture and the complexity with which we choose to explain our multidimensional world.

Our religion and worldview is not reductionist, like most religions, but an advocate of different thoughts, spiritual practices and most importantly, an accumulation of knowledge accrued over millennia.

It is high time we held ourselves accountable, if not for our own sakes, for our Devis - for they represent all that is sacred in the world and if we can’t respect them by respecting ourselves and our great heritage, our lives won’t amount to anything.

I refuse to be the last Hindu generation, and I refuse to let Maa Saraswati down by forgetting everything she has taught us. 

There are so many modern - day incarnations of shakti keeping the flame of Hinduism alive, that it is becoming hard to count, and that, to me, is the most garvakaran there is. Today, there are authors who write the tales of young and old Hindus, about their adventures, loves and thoughts. We are slowly learning to embrace our culture again, through the age old way - stories. Stories have the power to impart knowledge without a lecture, and they become a crutch in times of need. Our Hindu authors of today are reminding Hindu women of the shakti they possess within themselves through the stories of Draupadi, Aru Shah (a fictitious character who goes on adventures with the Hindu gods and goddesses at her side), Sita and many more.

A grandmother with granddaughter, India.
Image Credits : Nithi Anand, Flickr

However, the biggest upholders of our ancient knowledge are the elderly within each family. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have grown up hearing the tales of the Pancatantra, the Ramayana, Mahabharata and many other puranas from grandparents on both sides. Grandparents carry so much wisdom within them, and you generally do not realize it until it is too late to thank them for imparting their knowledge so generously. My Ammamma (my mother’s mother) knew about the secret of the book “The Secret”, before even the author did, I’m sure. When I was younger, my Ammamma taught me that all I should do, if I am ever in need of help, is ask. She taught me that “yaa devi sarva bhuteshu” can be my call to the universe. When I was younger, I used to think that practicing Sanathan Dharma makes one’s life perfect, but I have since understood that practicing Sanathan Dharma gives one the strength to succeed in an imperfect world. My Ammamma taught me that asking for help shows that you have strength. I never understood the importance of this sloka until I came to college, away from my family, and away from my mother. In times of stress, I call out to my Devi and ask for strength. Let us all repeat to ourselves today:

yaa devi sarva bhuteshu, shakti rupena samsthithaa

namastasyai, namastasyai , namastasyai namo namah

(Hey Devi you pervade all creation, in all living and unliving things, in all aspects of creation, in the form of Shakti. I bow to thee, I bow to thee, I bow to thee, mother!)

This one sloka has helped me understand that the Devi is my Divine  Mother, and she will take care of me even when I am far away from the  Devi incarnate, my own mother. This Navratri, I want to take the time to appreciate all of the shaktis and devis in my own life, as well as the Mahadevi herself, in all her glory. 

From my family to yours, Navratri Subhakankshalu!

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Krishna Sarvani Desabhotla

Krishna Sarvani “Vani” Desabhotla is a sophomore Honors Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Houston. She is from The Woodlands, TX, and she loves to frequently visit home to catch up with her family and eat lovely home-cooked Indian food. Hinduism, to her, means having gratitude for everything in the universe and doing good. She hopes to live in a world in which the practice of bringing back ancient Hindu wisdom becomes commonplace.

माँ शक्ति

अन्धकार की चादर में मुँह छुपाये तीव्र गति से भागती रात्रि, उसके पीछे स्वर्णिम रश्मियों से सजी नववधु की भाँति आहिस्ता क़दमों से प्रवेश करती भोर, पक्षियों का कलरव और दूर कहीं सुनाई पड़ती घण्टा ध्वनि व शंखनाद के साथ "जय अम्बे गौरी, मइया जय श्यामा गौरी....." की आरती की स्वर लहरी ...... ऐसे होता था मेरे बचपन का सवेरा ।

उत्तर प्रदेश की राजधानी के 'चौक' का वो स्थान जहाँ मेरा जन्म हुआ। वहीँ घर के निकट माँ काली का प्रसिद्ध भव्य मन्दिर था। आँख खुलते ही प्रतिदिन 'शक्ति' की विविध उपासना के स्वर कानों से सहज ही टकराते और मुंदीं आँखों में भी शक्ति स्वरूपा माँ की तस्वीर साकार हो जाती। तब मन सोचता कि कोई है जो सर्वशक्तिमान है, जो थामे है हम सबकी डोर। इधर घर में भी प्रातः अन्य कार्यों से पूर्व नज़र आता घर का वह कोना जहाँ एक प्रज्ज्वलित दीपशिखा के सम्मुख दिखाई देती भीगी अलकों और मुंदी पलकों के साथ नतमस्तक मेरी माँ। तब मन में फिर ये प्रश्न उठता कि कौन है वो जिसके समक्ष करबद्ध खड़ी है मेरी जन्मदात्री?

नवरात्री के पर्व पर सजा हुआ निशि श्रीवास्तव के घर का मंदिर

फिर धीरे- धीरे अपनी माँ के सानिध्य में देवी पूजा और प्रत्येक शाम मन्दिर आने-जाने के साथ ही जैसे 'शक्ति' की वो दिव्य मूर्ति हृदय में स्वयं ही प्रतिष्ठित होती चली गई। इस प्रकार बाल्यावस्था से ही उस 'शक्ति स्वरूपा देवी' के प्रति आस्था, विश्वाश और श्रद्धा ने उनके प्रति एक अनुराग सा बना दिया। फलस्वरूप अपनी माँ द्वारा किये जाने वाले सभी धार्मिक अनुष्ठानों में मेरी प्रमुख भूमिका रहने लगी। लेकिन जैसे-जैसे नवदुर्गा पर्व का आगमन निकट आता मन में एक अलग ही हलचल, उत्साह, ऊर्जा का जन्म होने लगता और मन उस अलौकिक शक्ति स्वरूपा माँ की आराधना से रोमांचित हो उठता। नवरात्रि में सजे माँ के दरबार व अदभुत पाण्डाल बालपन में आकर्षण का केंद्र होते तो माँ का फूलों से श्रंगार करना कहीं अंदर तक आह्लादित कर देता। जितना समय देवी माँ की आराधना, उपासना में लगता मन उतना ही अधिक उनके निकट होता जाता और माँ के शक्ति पुंज मेरी आत्मा में गहरे समाते चले जाते।

वस्तुतः शक्ति की उपासना का ये पर्व आदि शक्ति के नौ रूपों की पूजा का पर्व है, जिसे 'नवदुर्गा' कहते हैं।

"दुर्गा का आशय ही जीवन से दुखों का नाश करने वाली होता है।"

सूक्ष्म मानव मन और वह शक्ति जो समस्त ब्रम्हाण्ड में निरंतर व्याप्त है, इस प्रार्थना, उपासना द्वारा उस 'शक्ति' को जगाने का नाम ही 'नवरात्रि' है। वो शक्ति जो सबकी पालनकर्ता है, जो कोमल और पालक होकर भी समय आने पर माँ काली के रूप में दुष्टों और कष्टों की संहारकर्ता बन जाती है।

नवरात्रि का ये पर्व आश्विन (शरद) और चैत्र (वसंत) मास के प्रारम्भ में मनाया जाता है। अगर ध्यान दें तो इस वक्त प्रकृति भी नवीनीकरण की प्रक्रिया में होती है। नवरात्रि में भी उपासना, प्रार्थना, मौन और उपवास के द्वारा मन अपनी वास्तविकता से साक्षात्कार करता है तथा अंतरात्मा की नकारात्मकता का संहार करता है। शक्ति के आह्वान से जहाँ मन की अशुद्धियों का विनाश होता है वहीं उपवास की क्रिया शरीर को शुद्धता प्रदान करती है जिससे 'सात्विक ऊर्जा' की वृद्धि होती है।

प्रकृति के साथ चेतना के उत्सव नवरात्रि में शक्ति के तीन रूप दुर्गा, लक्ष्मी, सरस्वती की आराधना की जाती है। शक्ति के ये सभी रूप नकारात्मकता से रक्षा के लिये एक 'कवच' का काम करते हैं। देवी के इन रुपों के स्मरण मात्र से ही मन 'आत्मकेंद्रित', निर्भय और शान्त होता है। इन नौ दिनों में जब हम देवी दुर्गा के विभिन्न स्वरूपों की उपासना करते हैं तो वे गुण हमारी चेतना में समाहित होते चले जाते हैं।

दुर्गा पूजा यद्यपि देश भर में मनाया जाता है फिर भी इस पर्व का आकर्षक रूप और परम्परा की खूबसूरती पश्चिम बंगाल में अधिक देखने को मिलती है। ये नौ दिन पवित्रता, सत्यता, भव्यता और तेजस्व की अलौकिक आभा लिये होते हैं। शक्ति का ये पर्व बताता है कि झूठ कितना भी बड़ा और पाप कितना भी शक्तिशाली क्यों न हो आखिर में जीत सच्चाई और धर्म की ही होती है। इस प्रकार शारदीय नवरात्र अधर्म पर धर्म और असत्य पर सत्य की जीत का प्रतीक है।

नवरात्रि के पर्व पर स्थापित “कलश” और बोई गई जौं।
चित्र श्रेय: नेहा श्रीवास्तव

उत्तर भारत में शक्ति के नौ स्वरूपों की पूजा का प्रारम्भ कलश स्थापना के साथ करते हैं जिसे 'घट स्थापना' भी कहते हैं। इस कलश पर नौ दिन तक जलने वाली एक अखण्ड जोत प्रज्ज्वलित की जाती है। ये घट स्थापना वस्तुतः शक्ति की देवी का आह्वान है।

नवरात्र में कलश स्थापना के साथ जौं बोने की परम्परा भी सनातन धर्म में सदियों से चली आ रही है। धर्म ग्रन्थों में जौं को ब्रह्म स्वरूप माना गया है। पूजा में इसका सम्मान करने का अर्थ अन्न का सम्मान करना ही है। नवदुर्गा में माँ उनके घर पधारे इसके लिये श्रद्धालु घर के मुख्य द्वार के दोनों ओर कुमकुम या रोली से स्वास्तिक व रंगोली भी बनाते हैं। लाल रंग को शास्त्रों में शक्ति का प्रतीक माना गया है। इस प्रकार नवरात्रि नौ शक्तियों के मिलन का पर्व है।

मेरे लिये नवरात्रि इसलिये भी महत्वपूर्ण हो जाती है क्योंकि माँ का शक्ति रूप मेरे मन के भीतर अदम्य ऊर्जा का संचार करता है जिसमें एक 'विशेष बल' होता है। इस तरह शक्ति की उपासना शारीरिक, शैक्षिक और बौद्धिक बल प्रदान करती है। उन नौ दिनों में मन माता के जिस स्वरूप की पूजा करता है उस गुण का प्रवेश मन में सहज ही समाहित हो जाता है और आत्मा सकारात्मक ऊर्जा से भर उठती है। मेरी दृष्टि से नवरात्रि शारीरिक, मानसिक शुद्वि का पर्व है।

इस तरह बचपन से अब तक इस उपासना के कारण 'शक्ति स्वरूपा माँ' से सहज ही एक आत्मीय सम्बन्ध स्थापित हो गया। जैसे कोई बालक अपनी माँ के गुणों को अपने आचार-विचार व व्यवहार में उतार लेता है वैसे ही समय के साथ अनजाने ही निडरता, स्नेह, क्षमा, दया, मानवता और संकटों से लड़ने का साहस सहज ही 'शक्ति' की कृपा स्वरूप मेरे स्वभाव का हिस्सा बनता चला गया। जहाँ एक ओर माँ के सम्मुख प्रज्ज्वलित दिव्य ज्योति मन के भीतर अन्धकार रूपी तमाम बुरे भावों का विनाश करती वहीँ माँ का तेजस्वी रूप शत्रुओं के सामने अडिग खड़े रहने का साहस देता, तो माँ का लक्ष्मी और सरस्वती रूप आत्मा में बौद्धिकता व सात्विकता का संचार करते।

संक्षेप में बस इतना ही कि 'शक्ति' से अपनी आत्मा का जो अदभुत रिश्ता नवरात्रि में स्थापित हो जाता है वह शक्ति की वो अनुभूति है जो लहू से लेकर अन्तरात्मा तक की नकारात्मकता का संहार कर सकारात्मक ऊर्जा को प्रवाहित कर जीवन की दिशा का नवोन्मेष करती है।

ऐसी है मेरी शक्ति स्वरूपा माँ और उसका नवदुर्गा पर्व।

जय माँ,जय शक्ति।

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Nishi Srivastava

Nishi is an academician, a writer, a Hindi scholar and a poet. As a poet, she draws inspiration from life and the experiences around her.

When we wake up to our Shakti, We are unstoppable

In every century, every era, it has always been up to the individual to realize her or his own Shakti and do what it takes to get what one wants.

Is there really a battle between genders? Are women being suppressed by men? Do women have no free will? Growing up as a Hindu female in India, I have realized that the narrative of the battle between genders has often been a false one. When issues are looked at holistically, there are so many layers that the gender narrative fades away in the Hindu context.

Take the narrative that women in India do not have the right to make their own decisions regarding their lives. When one digs deeper, one finds that in every century, every era, it has always been up to the individual to realize her or his own shakti and do what it takes to get what one wants. The society makes norms based on its realities – during the Vedic period, women were debating over complex philosophical tenets, composing shlokas, performing yajnas either solo or with their husbands; and there were no strictures on them to conceal their bodies. The principles of dressing in unstitched clothes called antariya (lower garment) and uttariya (upper garment) were the same for men and women.

The Jauhar of Rajput women at Chittorgarh as shown in Akbarnama, V&A Museum, Public Domain.

In later periods, due to violent invasions, restrictions were put on women’s freedoms in order to protect them from rapes, kidnappings and conversions. From the 10th century onwards, when Muslim invaders began to control different parts of India it became common for Indian prisoners of war, especially women to be enslaved and sold in slave markets. Practices such as Jauhar-Shaka became common, where women jumped into fire rather than allow themselves to be raped and sold by barbarians. The society was in turmoil. Women were the easiest targets to inflict humiliation on entire communities. The natural tendency in such situations is for male members in families to cast a protective net around the females. Women’s clothing became more conservative. 

When we look at the incidents of men suppressing or abusing women in modern India, these are often examples of “might is right” or bullying which are used by self-aggrandizing and non-spiritual people to display their power and control over others. Even though a gender slant is given to such incidents, they are actually power orgies. Take the case of dowry. Though it is projected as symbolic of the lower status of women in India, the truth lies somewhere else. A voluntary practice of gifting presents by a bride’s parents to the bridegroom’s family with absolutely no compulsion and in the spirit of binding two families was turned into an ugly exercise of power by unscrupulous elements of society. In recent times, with a draconian anti-dowry law in place in India, many women are using the law to blackmail and extort money from their husbands in false dowry cases. Perceiving this as a gender problem is a western construct. So also is the case with rape, domestic violence and subjugation of women. The Indic framework would analyse all these as a problem of poor understanding of Purusharthas; especially of Artha, Kama and Dharma as laid out in our ancient texts. Thus, the only way out of the depravity is to bring back an appreciation of the Purusharthas which is embedded in Vedic learning.

Male and female have always been seen as entities complementing each other in the Indic context, whether at the societal level or at the conceptual level. Women are bearers and nurturers of the next generation – providing for them and protecting them is the Dharma of men and in fact, the entire society or administrative apparatus. But, taking care of material needs is not enough. The Indic worldview gives responsibility to both men and women to preserve and transmit Vedic knowledge; this is why the educational ecosystem was so well developed in ancient India.

Indic wisdom recognizes that equality for the sake of equality is meaningless. Inter-dependence and complementarity of genders by understanding each other’s roles is the only way to move forward. For example, I do not claim to be equal to my husband, nor does he claim to be equal to me. He shoulders the main responsibility of financing my family’s needs while I manage everything else. He tries to support me in every pursuit of mine, I try to support his. This mutual effort did not develop by signing on a piece of paper; or by going through the traditional rituals of a wedding. It evolved with time – over arguments, fights and reconciliations – over thunderstorms followed by calm mornings. It evolved with a progressive understanding that once a couple gets joined in matriomy, the purusharthas have to be achieved jointly as one unit. And of course, nothing ever got achieved without a sankalpa.

Ardhanareeshwara from Lingaraj Temple, Bhubhaneshwar. Source: Flickr

Beyond sexual organs and reproductive functions, at the conceptual level, there is Purusha or Consciousness which is neither male nor female – it is just pure consciousness; still and deep. Then there is Prakriti or Shakti which is female; and she is characterized by creative energy, dynamism and ever-changing qualities. It is Shakti or Divine Mother or Mother Nature who actually creates this whole duality between male and female. In other words the male and female entities as we see them actually spring from feminine energy! As we go deeper into ourselves, the male-female dichotomy vanishes.

In the plane of human existence, there is no inherent conflict in the roles of men and women if both understand their responsibilities, goals and synergies. There is even room for doing things differently. Thus, we see in our Itihasa that even though women have the responsibility of giving birth and nurturing the next generation, there is an understanding that not all women are mentally wired to follow the path. Examples abound of women in ancient India who wished to pursue higher learning and therefore did not marry. Today, there are many husbands who are pursuing their passions while their wives are bringing home the bread and butter.

However, it is obvious that privileges are rarely given on a platter. Women have often needed to fight for what they wanted; they have needed to sharpen their arguments or find the right partners or allies or even just run away to achieve their goals. The same principles apply to men too; after all weaker men get dominated by stronger men and women unless they find their shakti. When we wake up to our Shakti and true potential, we are all unstoppable; there is no gender-divide in the Hindu context. No external empowerment is needed for a woman because she is herself the embodiment of Shakti. This is in contrast with Abrahamic theologies in which women are subservient and therefore need empowerment in the modern context. 

A still from the Hindi movie, Damini

There is a powerful scene in the Hindi movie “Damini” that has stayed with me all these years. Damini, the protagonist had been pursuing litigation against powerful people for their misdeeds and they had succeeded in getting her thrown into a mental asylum. She was subjected to severe mental torture and had lost her mental balance. She sat babbling inanities in the midst of dozens of people with extreme psychiatric problems and then relapsed into silence. It seemed as if she had lost the battle. Her oppressors had broken her. Suddenly, there was a piercing sound of a conch and beating drums outside. The crazed look on Damini’s face began to turn into resolve.  She glanced out of the window grills to see a passing procession holding up a large moorti of Durga. As Damini focused her gaze on the Durga moorti, all feelings of weakness vanished. She remembered the dance of Mahishasura Mardini. She knew exactly what she had to do.

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About The Author

Sahana Singh

Sahana Singh is an engineer, author, and commentator who specializes in water/sanitation issues and Indic history. Sahana is an avid traveler who likes to connect the dots across societies, civilizations and disciplines. She is Director, Indian History Awareness and Research (IHAR), a think tank headquartered in Houston and has recently joined the board of Ishwar Sewa Foundation dedicated to the cause of rehabilitating Hindu refugees. She can be reached at sahana.singh@gmail.com.

Fierce Is Beautiful

The most important force we have to unleash in Hindu society is our women, as Hinduism has never seen women as weak.

That Goddess became very angry with her enemies and her face became as black as Indian ink. From her broad forehead, bent by her curved eyebrows, emerged Kali, armed with sword and a rope. She was holding a very peculiar sword, wearing a garland of human skulls, dressed in the hide of a tiger, with no flesh in her body, with very terrible looks, with a broad face, who looked very fearsome moving her tongue, with sunken red eyes, filling all the directions with roars from her throat.  That goddess went straight and fast, warning the great asuras, and started eating the enemies of devas whom were part of the army. 

She caught hold of huge elephants along with the trainer with his long spear and the hero riding on it and crushed them and put in her mouth. Similarly she started chewing the charioteer along with horses terribly with her teeth. She killed one Asura catching hold of his hair, another catching his throat, another by kicking with her leg and another by pressing his chest. She caught hold of the arrows as well as weapons sent against her by those asuras (Chanda and Munda) and broke them to pieces by her teeth. 

She beat the entire Asura army consisting of big and strong-bodied asuras. She ate some of them and severely others. Some of the asuras were punished by sword, some by Gadgayudha (sword with curved end) and some by her teeth and all of them were destroyed. – Description of Manifestation of Ma Kali from Devi Mahatamyam (adapted from here)

The twin strengths of Hinduism through millennia have been its sublime philosophy and its multiplicity of worship—the worship of multiple deities through multiple paths and methods of worship. The Hindu pantheon is vast, stretching up to 33 crores of devas. The benefits of polytheism (not an exact descriptor for Hindu worship, but close enough for this purpose) are manifold. Multiplicity of worship in the Hindu tradition recognizes that individuals are different and allows them to worship those devas that are most suitable for their spiritual evolution in accordance with their personality and psychological needs. Worship is customized for the individual and is not a one-size-fits-all imposition.

The Hindu way promotes diversity and inclusiveness; heterogeneity of worship promotes heterogeneity of mind and philosophy. It teaches us to see beauty and divinity in all forms, even those that may not readily appear beautiful or divine to us. It teaches us unity through diversity. It also helps us reach balance, by cultivating various good qualities through worship of different forms. All of the powers and forces in the cosmos become accessible to us when we worship them. Unfortunately, the breadth and depth of the Hindu pantheon is under attack. There is a concerted effort to sanitize the Hindu pantheon, to reduce its size and diversity, to prize the saumya (gentle) over the ugra (fierce), to falsely equate spirituality with sattva only.

There is too strong a desire to Westernize, to conform to a monotheistic worldview, driven by our own inferiority complex.

There is a visceral discomfort with the idea of being idol worshippers and polytheists, perhaps out of a fear of being seen as heathen and kafir in Western eyes. There is thus a compulsion to pretend that we are monotheist, and in so claiming, a lot of confusion and misconceptions about Hinduism are created. We are not worshippers of one true God in the Abrahamic sense; to pretend otherwise is to distort our tradition.

In the process, we are destroying that which makes us unique, strong and resilient, that which makes ours the longest continuously surviving religious tradition in the history of the world, the greatest and last of the truly pagan traditions to survive. One of the latest trends in this direction is the makeover of our devas, to make them more peaceful and politically correct. Recently, in Bengal, there has been a push to create more ‘peaceful’ Durga vigrahas for the annual Durga Puja, replacing her traditional weapons with flowers and jewels. Connected to such moves is the selective outrage over bali or animal sacrifice that takes place on some days in some places of Hindu worship—in very limited numbers.

An assortment of environmental activists, secularists and would-be Hindu reformists, who dare not call out for bans on slaughter during Eid, who vociferously promote the basic human right of people in India to eat beef, who see non-vegetarianism as ultra-progressive, but who, in the peculiar double standard that applies to Hindus, are morally outraged if Hindus simply follow their ancestral ways of worship and offer bali. Apparently, it is okay to senselessly slaughter animals for our sensory gratification—for hunting and eating—but haram to do it for sacred purposes. This unwarranted interference in the private religious affairs of Hindus has resulted in the disruption of the ways of worship in many Hindu temples.

This movement to make over Hinduism undermines that which makes Hinduism beautiful, which distinguishes it from other religions, like Jainism and Buddhism. It is an injustice to the oldest living religion in the world to confine it to what we find politically correct and palatable today from a Western perspective. The fierce, the bloodthirsty, the weapon-brandishing, the bloodcurdling forms of our devas are a core part of the Hindu pantheon. The paths of the Tantras and the Natha sampradayas are a vital part of Hinduism and must not be whitewashed away.

Animal sacrifice is as important a part of Hindu worship as Satyanaryana puja.

The onset of Navaratri is an auspicious time to remind ourselves of the hallowed place of ugra devatas (fierce/tough deities) and their modes of worship in our sacred traditions. While most devatas have both saumya (gentle) and ugra (fierce) rupas, it is especially in the representation of the various forms of Devi that some of the most prominent ugra forms are found. Navaratri celebrates the worship of the Nava Durga (nine forms of Ma Durga), some of which are exceptionally fierce. For example, the seventh form of Ma Durga, worshipped on the seventh day of Navaratri, is Kaal Ratri. She is dark with dishevelled hair and an expression of utter fearlessness. Her necklace flashes with lightning, and her breath emanates terrible flames.

Similarly, among the Dasha Maha Vidya (the 10 Devis of Wisdom), there is Chinnamasta, the self-decapitated Devi who holds her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in the other. Three streams of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her own head as well as her two female attendants. She stands on a copulating couple. She is depicted naked with disheveled hair.

Then there is Dhumavati, depicted as an old widow who is always hungry and thirsty. She is prone to starting quarrels. She is depicted as old and ugly, thin and emaciated, with a pale complexion. She wears no jewellery but only dirty, old clothes. Her hands tremble, and she rides a horseless chariot.

The iconography of each of these devis is extraordinarily intricate and rich with many layers of meaning. Each and every detail carries meaning and power. These forms have not been created wily nily; they are revealed through the Agamas, Puranas and Tantras with very specific visualizations, iconography and procedures for worship. Changing the iconography of these Devis to suit our aesthetics or whims is especially dangerous—it detracts from the underlying divinity of the nama and rupa and also is a violation of the traditions we have inherited by which we are to worship them. 

This is especially dangerous when it comes to worship of the ugra forms, because it is held that the consequences of mistakes in worship of these fierce deities are especially dire. It is therefore even more important that our shastras and traditions of worship not be tampered with, as one must not play lightly with the devas, especially the ugra devatas. To imagine one can remove the weapons from Devi’s hand and replace it with something of one’s fancy, be it a flower or a flag or a gemstone, is to corrupt and violate the Hindu tradition of worship. It breaks the continuity of tradition from our ancestors thousands of years ago, as passed down generation to generation, linking us to our ancient rishis and forefathers who first had revelation of these divine forms. It turns what is sacred into mere art. It turns vigrahas into mere statutes.

It denigrates our devas into dolls we dress up per our fancy. We must respect our time-hallowed traditions, the injunctions of the shastras as to the specifications of worship, the methods and procedures laid down by our sampradayas and acharyas. That is what gives our worshiped images their power, sanctity and auspiciousness. It is not for everyone to worship the ugra devatas. It depends on adhikara, personal inclination, one’s samskaras and inner qualities. But as Hindus, we must have respect and honour for all aspects and paths within our tradition.

We must not shy away from the fierce, from what appears shocking or ugly or even frightening. We must learn to see the beauty beyond the superficial appearance. It is a mistake to equate spirituality only with sattva. As Sri Krishna instructs Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita,

“Traigunyavishayaa vedaa nistraigunyo bhavaarjuna,”

(The Vedas deal with the three attributes (of Nature) (tamas, rajas, sattva); be thou above these three attributes, O Arjuna!) (Bhagavad Gita, 2:45). 

In other words, one should not become too attached to the quality of sattva—all the three modes of nature are all to be transcended. This is especially important in the situation in which we find ourselves today. What Sri Aurobindo once so eloquently and passionately proclaimed in 1907 still holds true today:

What India needs especially at this moment is the aggressive virtues, the spirit of soaring idealism, bold creation, fearless resistance, courageous attack; of the passive tamasic spirit of inertia we have already too much.

We find ourselves today mired in inertia and passivity, in ignorance and apathy. In such a state, it is not possible to transition to sattva directly. One must go from tamas to rajas to sattva. What is needed now is the passion and energetic activity of rajas, to rouse us from our collective deep tamas. Upasana awakens in the upasaka the vrttis (vibrations, waves) and lakshanas (qualities) meditated upon in the object of upasana.

In other words, we manifest that which we worship. In the current state of affairs for Hindus today, worship of that which is fierce and rajasic will help awaken the qualities in the collective consciousness that are needed for Hindu society today. We need assertiveness, bravery, valour, the strength of conviction, confidence and, as Swami Vivekananda so eloquently said-

vigour in the blood, strength in the nerves, iron muscles and nerves of steel.

For this, we need deities who inspire us to stand our ground and fight when needed, to promote within us the noble values that will make us Kshatriyas who will defend and propagate Dharma. Right now, Hindus are mired in shame and self-hate. Just see what is happening in front of our eyes today. What was an unfortunate incident in Dadri has become a convenient whip with which to beat up Hindus for the crime of being Hindu. Now Hindus are fascists for honoring the cow.

Now Hindus are fundamentalists for wanting to ban cow slaughter. It is okay when secularists protest against dog or horse or polar bear killing–that is lovable and enlightened but we Hindus are primitive barbarians when we seek to protect the cow. We tolerate others’ religious observances without complaint, but we dare not light a cracker on Deepavali or follow the ancient rites of bali that are part of our sacred tradition. The rest of the world is shedding the disease of Western modernism–they are looking to the East for answers, to their own native and pagan traditions for meaning. And we are throwing away the greatest spiritual and civilizational heritage the world has ever seen.

The other day, I saw a fairly recent South Indian film where the hero was dressed in traditional clothes, and in a song, the heroine crooned about how much better he would look in modem dress. Is this what we have come to, to prize jeans and t-shirts over the traditional sari and dhoti, to see beef-eating as secular and progressive, to feel shame at the beauty and power of our ways of worship, to esteem ourselves based on how well we mimic the norms and customs of alien lands? There is nothing more pathetic than self-hate.

In this scenario, where Hindus are mired in this spiral of shame and self-hate, where tamas reigns supreme, too much focus on sattva without an appropriate dose of rajas ends up being nothing more than escapism. The stillness and serenity of sattva is all too easy to confuse with the lazy inertia of tamas. This is where remembrance and honor of the rajasic deities is so important to provide the right balance, to awaken us from the slumber of tamas. This operates both on the collective and individual consciousness.

The darker, deeper aspects of our nature are not to be shunned or suppressed. These recesses of our personalities are storehouses of immense amounts of energy that can be conducive and important to our spiritual and psychological development when appropriately channeled. That which is represented by the ugrata devas and their worship can be instrumental in balancing our personalities and psyches. The most important force we have to unleash in Hindu society is our women. It is a lie to say that our women need to be ‘empowered’. Only the weak need to be empowered. How can our women ever be considered to be weak? Hinduism has never seen women as weak or meek and these ugrata forms of Devi remind us of this truth, that women are the very embodiment of Shakti, that which is the greatest force in all the worlds, that power that is behind all energies, all activities in the cosmos, without which Shiva is but a corpse, without which there is no life, no creation, no leela.

How can we empower that which is power itself? Woman is not to be adored for her beauty alone, for her feminine charms. She is to be revered in all forms, from the most sublimely beautiful to the frightening, from the young girl child to the old crone, from the bloodthirsty to the motherly, from the gentle to the fierce. That is what Hinduism teaches us; Hinduism is itself the best form of feminism. There is something so beautiful and captivating about worshiping Ma in her fierce rupa that can only be understood and felt through experience. Most of the time, I am a Vaishnava, but in every Bengali runs the blood of Ma Durga, and during Navaratri, only Devi exists for me. When we worship Ma Durga during these nine days and nights, it is no dry ritual, no symbolic offering.

Source: Flickr

When we bow before Her, when the conch sounds, when the drums beat, when the ululating reaches its fevered pitch, when we look upon Her golden countenance, the radiance emanating from Her every pore, the sword and all Her weapons poised to vanquish all of our enemies, external and within; when we worship Ma Kali, with Her hair unbound and loose, Her tongue hanging out, the garland of skulls hanging from Her neck, Her foot resting on the chest of the supine Shiva, the blue-black of Her complexion shining brighter than a million moons—there is awe, there may even be a frisson of fear, but most of all, beyond the weapons, beyond the fierce expression, beyond the warrior pose, beyond the fearsome aspects of their visages, is that softness in the eyes, that small smile, that tenderness beyond the fierceness, that fierce compassion of which only Ma is capable, She who slays with a smile.

With this, the beginning of Navaratri, may we remember that fierce is beautiful, that the ugra forms of our devatas are as important a part of our tradition as the saumya forms, that we must never shy away from the ferocious and warrior-like aspects of our deities and our traditions, that we must never compromise on or apologize for the paths and methods of worship that have been entrusted to us by our forefathers, that constitute a core part of our sacred heritage, that our pantheon is not to be compromised or corrupted, that ours is a tradition of multiplicity of worship as much as it is one of unity of philosophy.

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About The Author

Aditi Banerjee

Aditi Banerjee is a thinker, scholar, writer and a practitioner.Aditi Banerjee is a practicing attorney from New York, United States.

She is co-author and editor of Invading The Sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America.Her other published works include Hindu-Americans: An emerging identity in an increasingly hyphenated world - which is included in The Columbia documentary history of religion in America since 1945. Her latest book, “The Curse of Gandhari” was published in 2019.

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This article was first published in Swarajya. It is reproduced here with the permission of the author.