Yoga for Universal Motherhood : June 2022

 “Asato ma sadgamaya, tamaso ma jyotirgamaya, mrithyor ma amritham gamaya..” These are three simple but profoundly meaningful utterances or ‘keys’ our Seers have supplied for total emancipation of man, for his ascent to Divinity. Swami Vivekananda has, in his own inimitable way, expressed them for our easier understanding, stressing on ‘expansion’ which is the central theme of Yoga. To quote Swami Vivekananda- “Expansion is life, contraction is death, Knowledge is life, ignorance is death, Love is expansion, hatred is death”.

This expansion from the micro to the macro level is the essence of human life, exemplified by all the four Yogas- Karma, Bhakti, Raja, Jnana yogas. If a woman can understand this essence of Yoga and model her life based on that she would raise herself into a Universal Mother- the ultimate goal of womanhood.

Normally a woman is steeped in plurality and duality- projecting herself to attract attention and adoration. Marriage changes a wee bit of this attitude as she learns to share her joys and sorrows with her husband, the love for whom becomes the very essence of her being. There starts her journey from plurality and duality towards oneness or Advaita, the crest jewel of human thought. When she attains motherhood, her ‘duality’ slowly starts melting away and to the extent she is unselfish in her love and identified with her family- through love, sacrifice and service, her motherhood starts blossoming effortlessly, spontaneously, ie, she sets herself on the path of expansion, transforming herself into a Yogini. Selfish motivations which characterized her earlier life drop away as love in its purest form starts engulfing her. As she starts tasting the glory of true motherhood, divinity manifests in her slowly but surely elevating her on the ladder of evolution. She is on the way to acquire the halo of “SRI MATA”. That is not all. Her ‘Yoga’ is still not complete. She has to discover another dimension in her life- “Devakaryasamudyata”, ever engaged in upholding Satya and Dharma, the cardinal principles of Sanatana Dharma. This is the ‘devakarya’, entrusted specially to the mothers. It is they who should make Advaita satya practical in life through her love, sacrifice and service and pass these cardinal values on to the next generation. It is then that she becomes worthy of being the Queen of her home. Next elevation is, she is recognized as Simhasaneswari- the Queen Empress adored by the world at large for her universal qualities. This amazing evolution of an ordinary girl through wifehood, motherhood and on to Divine Motherhood is the most glorious of all Yogas. This supreme Yoga is what we see exemplified in the life of Holy Mother Sarada Devi, the Divine Consort of Sri Ramakrishna. 

Every woman has in her sparks of Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Parvathi. It is up to her to make them sparkle in her life- through her actions, words and thoughts, creating wealth, knowledge and happiness all around. The woman who has mastered this great Yoga of the ‘Science and Art’ of being a true woman is indeed the rarest of being. All glory to Motherhood.

                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                            Dr M Lakshmi Kumari