|
The Mother- Worship of There
are two principles in the creation. At the union of these two fundamental
principles, this universe has taken shape as lila,
the divine play. Purusa and Prakrti – these are the two
primal principles of the world-mystery. What is Purusa and what is Prakrti?
Purusa is Being and Prakrti is Force. Purusa
is the immobile and inactive knowledge existence behind the creation. Prakrti
is the impulse and the force of Delight by which the world is born and
moves and adopts constantly new creative impulses. Purusa is the
existence and Prakrti is the motion. Purusa "is" and Prakrti
"is in the process of being." The other name of Purusa is
Siva while the other name of Prakrti is Adya Shakti or the "Primal
Power." Man
can proceed Godward in two general directions,
resorting either to Prakrti or to Purusa. Vedanta proceeds with Purusa,
and the Sakti-sadhana with Prakrti. The aim of Vedanta
is to raise Prakrti into Purusa and immerse Her in the calm existence and oneness of Purusa. The
aim of the Sakti-sadhana is to make Purusa descend into
Prakrti and to reveal Her most intense and
highest play. The ultimate aim of Vedanta is Samadhi, trance – the
final plunge
Page – 215 into
the Supreme. The main aim of the Sakti-sadhana is to establish
a supreme Beauty, Victory and Vibhuti in the living existence. The
revelation of Purusa in man and creature is the ego-sense: 'I', or 'I
exist.' The revelation of Prakrti is the person, adhara, and
the power that is at play in the person. The follower of Vedanta takes
his stand on the sense of 'I'-ness and proceeds on the path of negation:
"I exist and my person exists; I am not this person; I am not the body; I
am not the vital; I am not the mind; I am merely a witness, and if I take away
my regard from these things, they will not exist for me. I will go still
higher. I will go to my real status, to my Siva-Self, the One without a second.
I will sunder all ties of Prakrti and be united with the original
essence of creation." The
spiritual practice of the devotees of Sakti has for its pivot not the ‘I’-ness
but rather the Power active in the Adhara or the instrumental being. The 'I',
the absolute Brahman, is not so important to the followers of Sakti as
it is to the followers of Vedanta. Those that follow Vedanta take
the ‘I’ as a means to attain to the supreme existence of the great Self. The worshippers of Sakti see the ‘I’ as a
channel for the joint play of Siva-Sakti, for myriad ways of their
manifestation. To the votaries of Sakti, the 'I' is but a part of the person:
it is to be dealt with in the same way as all the other parts. Knowledge
is the road leading to the Vedantic realisation. It is the path of
discrimination, conscience and 'I'-ness. A sadhaka
devoid of the sense of personal effort cannot tread this path. On the
contrary, surrender is the path leading to Sakti-sadhana. Here
the attainment of spiritual perfection comes in effacing absolutely the
ego-sense. In fact, the Mother-worshipper himself is not the sadhaka. He
has sacrificed himself and his ‘I’-ness completely at the Feet of the Mother,
the Primal Power, and so Prakrit Herself is the sadhaka
in him. The followers of Vedanta want
Page – 216 to
conquer Prakrti like a hero with the power of Purusa. The worshippers
of Sakti, the Mother, want to conquer Prakrti by Prakrti Herself.
The followers of Vedanta are averse to the play of Prakrti. Their
purpose is to destroy Prakrti along with her root and rise above Prakrti.
The followers of Sakti have sacrificed all personal effort to the
Primal Power for Her revelation and play in the person according to Her Will. The
Primal Power is the Power whose very nature is consciousness. The Primal Power,
no doubt, has also a power of illusion and, as a result, ignorance,
inconscience and incapacity have come into existence. In his attempt at
avoiding this power of illusion, the votary of Vedanta has avoided the
Primal Power too, and has resorted to Siva for rescue. The followers of Sakti
are aware that in the core of the Primal Power itself
there dwells divinity. There is no need to search for it separately and
exclusively. Leaving aside all other standards of action and principles of
life, they make themselves instruments of the Consciousness-Force of Siva. And
the more one's offering and surrender are complete, the more the power of
ignorance diminishes, and the more a discipline, a rhythm of Knowledge-power of
the Mother, who is but Consciousness, starts blossoming in the person (adhara).
This adhara, itself having been transformed, manifests
itself in a divine frame and a divine fulfilment.
Page – 217 Delight-Power of God, dominates the heart of If
we want our nature to blossom and be fruitful, if human life has to be purified
and moulded into the image of a greater truth, then we must worship Prakriti or
Nature by committing ourselves and our all to the care of the Primal Power.
Otherwise, who will establish law and order in our nature? Nature herself can
formulate her own laws, can manifest the Law of her
true Being. Man's personal efforts can hardly do that, nor can the static and
passive Supreme Being by Himself do that.
Page – 218
|
