Aum Sri Ganeshaya Namaha! Sarva vigna haram devam, Sarva vigna vivarjitam, Sarva siddhi pradhadaram, Vandeham Gananayakam I bow to Lord Ganesha, Who removes all obstacles, And gives all knowledge. Ambikahridayanandam Mathrubi paripalitam, Bhaktapriyam madonmatham, Vandeham Gananayakam I bow to Lord Ganesha of supreme intellect, Who is the delight of his mother Ambika, And beloved by his devotees. Aum Sri Adbhutacharitrayai Namaha! Amale Kamalasana sahide, Adbuda charithe, Palayamam. O Amala! Who sits on a lotus, Whose stories fill us with wonder, Pray protect me. Dedicated to my beloved daughter Amala Aum Brahmanyai Namaha! I meditate on the beginningless Brahmavidya, who is of the nature of All Consciousness (Satchidananda Swarupini). May She stimulate our intelligence to the realization of THAT. Contents Foreword by Swami Kriyananda Introduction 1 Prakriti 2 Parameswari 3 Maha Devi 4 Rajarajeshwari 5 Maheswari 6 Parashakti 7 Lalitha 8 Tripurasundari 9 Kameswari 10 Durga 11 Chandika 12 Mahishasuramardini 13 Chamunda 14 Sati 15 Dakshayini 16 Parvati 17 Aparna 18 Gauri 19 Ganga 20 Kaali 21 Lakshmi 22 Saraswati 23 Radha 24 Tulasi 25 Sita 26 Savitri 27 Shivaduti 28 Adi Shakti 29 Maha Maya 30 Sri Chakra 31 Devi Kundalini Appendix 1. Poems on the Divine Mother Appendix 2. Hindu Scriptures Appendix 3. Names of Goddesses Appendix 4. Names of Gods Appendix 5. Names of Demons (Asuras) Appendix 6. Alphabetical List of Mantras Glossary of Sanskrit Terms Bibliography Footnotes About the Author About Inner Traditions Books of Related Interest Copyright Aum Ambayai Namaha! Foreword Mata Devi Vanamali—Mataji, as I shall refer to her hereinafter—is a fit person to write about the Divine Mother of the universe. Mataji is a deep devotee who is also filled with India’s ancient concept of wisdom or jnana. Because my own devotion to God finds particular expression to the Divine Mother, I was deeply touched when Mataji asked me if I would write a few words of introduction to this beautiful book. There are two aspects of the important subject of the cosmic mother: the scriptural and the experiential. Mataji has rightly given us the scriptural slant on the subject. In this age, when most of us think of God as “He,” it is necessary to point out, as Mataji has done, that God is neither He nor She, and at the same time God is both! In the words of a great Kaali bhakta (devotee) of Bengal, Ram Prasad, “A thousand Vedas declare my Tara [a name for the Divine Mother] is nirakara [without form].” Yet religion in these times has become too rationally formal and therefore too rational altogether. Years ago in America, the inspiration came to me to spread the concept of God as mother and not only as father. I wasn’t thinking of the Virgin Mother only, as is more common in the West, but of the formless infinite in its motherly aspect. I went to many Western shrines dedicated to the Divine Mother and worshipped in them. I received in each of them great inspiration and love. And I say now, is it not time for dogmatic religion to be replaced by devotion and love? There has been too much thinking about God. Mankind must learn to love Him, to talk with Him, and to experience Him. And that “Him” needs to be understood first in its higher impersonal aspect and then brought down to earth in its more truly personal aspect as the Divine Mother. For God is inherent in “His” different aspects, though each in essence is different from every other aspect. It matters not only how we ourselves look upon God and define Him in our minds; it is also a question of how God views us. If we invoke God as the Divine Mother, She comes closer to us. The infinite —which is beyond all sexual differences, comprising the maternal as well as the paternal principle—opens its heart to us when we appeal to it as mother. There is a story from the life of that same poet, singer, and saint Ram Prasad. He was mending the fence in front of his house. At one point, his daughter came up to him and offered to help with his job. He had been singing. She said to him, “Whom have you been singing to, Papa?” “I’ve been singing to my Divine Mother,” he replied. “But she’s very naughty. I keep calling and calling her but she won’t answer!” “If she doesn’t answer, Papa, why do you waste your time calling to her?” The little girl then ran off with a childish laugh. When Ram Prasad came indoors later on, he told his wife how their daughter had come and helped him with the fence and talked to him playfully. “But that’s not possible,” answered his wife. “Today she’s visiting on the other side of our village.” “But I know it was her,” he exclaimed. Later on when their daughter returned home, he pressed her, “Wasn’t it you helping me with our fence today?” “Why no, Papa. You can ask anybody. I was with friends on the other side of our village.” Thus did Ram Prasad come to know that the Divine Mother herself had come to him and teased him. “O my Mother!” he cried. “What a naughty dear you are! Though you pretend to be inaccessible, you are ever near me and, Mother, ever dearest to me.” All aspects of God hear us when we pray, but the Divine Mother listens to us —I don’t say more so but more particularly. For we are her children. She cares for each one of us specially. When we err, she spanks us through the law of karma. But when we love her, she also forgives. For she is ever anxious for us to understand that we may return with outstretched arms to her lap of infinity! SWAMI KRIYANANDA (J. DONALD WALTERS), FOUNDER OF THE ANANDA COMMUNITY AND AUTHOR OF THE HINDU WAY OF AWAKENING