Pt. Dr. Umesh Persad, Spiritual Leader, Gyaan Deepak Kirtan Mandali
Maa
Maa is a mantra that is very powerful. The m sound represents maataa or mother, the caregiver. Maa is also the root of maaya, which means ‘to measure’. Time and space can be measured. The external world can be measured. The sound m also refers to the source, the origin of everything, as well as the end. In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says, “I am the a, the initial seed sound.” A expands to aa, the divine bliss that is available to us at all times and places.
Maataa also means a covering. Every individual was at one time covered or contained in the body of a mother. We were sheltered by our mothers. We all started life as cells inside the womb of maataa. The words, maataa and atma, are a pair: maataa gives rise to the atma. We owe everything to the Divine Mother and the physical mother.
In English, m refers to ‘me’ and ‘myself’. When we eat good food, we say, “Mmm.”In the mantra purusha, the m sound relates to the belly or stomach area, where the mother carries the child. Chanakya said, “Satyam Maataa,” or “Truth is Mother.” Satyam is also another word for God. The truth is that everything is Consciousness.
Durga
Durga means inaccessible or invincible. The root, durg, means ‘a fortress’. It is difficult to defeat. Gam means ‘to go through’. Durga represents ichha shakti or willpower. Ichha Shakti is the energy that motivates us to persist.
Durga, that which is inaccessible, is the Self. It is not the body or mind, it is the witness or seer. Deep inside of us, there is something that only witnesses: the body, the world, the thoughts and the transient emotions.
Lakshmi
The root laksha means a goal, aim or objective. With e added to it, it is the power of achieving your goal, aim or objective. Durga, the Self, is the ultimate goal, but there must be a means of achieving the goal. Lakshmi is the energy of knowledge or resources required to achieve the goal. In the rajasic sense, Lakshmi represents gyaan shakti, the power of knowledge. In the sattvic, it is spiritual wealth. Dharma, artha, kaam and moksha are the four aims of life, but the ultimate aim is to discover our true self. The true purpose of life is atma anubhav, the experience of your true self. Lakshmi, the Self, is the ultimate goal and the means of achieving it.
Saraswati Devi
Saras means ‘to flow’ and vati is ‘possessing’. Saraswati means having the ability to flow. The rajasic meaning is creative activity. Sar also means ‘the essence of’ and swa means ‘one’s Self’. Thus, the sattvic meaning of Saraswati is ‘the essence of one’s Self’.
Kaali
Kaal means time; it is the changing nature of the world. In the rajasic sense, Kaali is the power of transformation in the world. The sattvic meaning is that Devi that is beyond time. The Self, pure awareness, is changeless and timeless.
Each Devi represents a cycle in the context of time but also each represents the true Self within us. There is a temple in India called the Chidambaram Temple with the Chidambaram rahasya or secret. Inside that temple there is an altar with a curtain in front of it. Behind that curtain, it is said there is Shiva and Parvati. At special occasions, the pundit opens the curtain for the devotees to make offerings. When the devotees open the curtain they see nothing. Chid means the energy of consciousness and ambar is a covering. It is said the secret behind the curtain can never be revealed to anybody but it must be realised by the individual. We must try to discover who we really are, Devi, the Self.
