Inner Realm of PatriaAntarbhumi Ramrajya

Devi prapanarti hare prasida
Prasida matar jagato'khilasya
Prasida vishveshvari pahi vishvam
Twam ishvari devi characharasya.
Devi, removing the suffering of those who have taken refuge in you, manifest your purity (prasida); mother of the entire universe; Vishveshvari (all-governing), protect the world; you are Ishvari (supreme Goddess), Devi, of all that is animate and inanimate.

Vishveshvari twam paripasi vishvam
Vishvatmika dharayasiti vishvam
Vishvesha-vandyam bhavati bhavanti
Vishvashraya ye tvayi bhakti-namrah.
O ruler of the universe, you protect the universe. As the essence of the universe, you support the universe. You deserve the praise of the Lord of the universe. Those who are surrendered in devotion to you become the refuge of all.

Sarva mangala mangalye shive sarvartha sadhike
Sharanye tryambake gauri, Narayani namostute.
I salute the three-eyed Divine Mother Narayani, who brings auspiciousness and who fulfills all the spiritual and material desires of Her devotees.

Jai Mataji! Welcome to the Divine Mother's home page. This page is presented as a public service of the Ministry of Dharma of the Inner Realm of Patria.

Saraswati, pictured at the top of this page, is, by act of the 44th Congressus Patriaë in 1992, Queen, Head of State, and Ishta-Devata, the "favourite" or presiding deity of the Inner Realm of Patria. She is the patron and protector of the Sanskrit language and of all who study it.

Saraswati is the shakti, the power and the consort of Brahma the creator. Hence she is the procreatrix, the mother, of the entire creation.
Literally Saraswati means "the flowing one". In the Rigveda she represents a river and the deity presiding over it. Hence, she is connected with fertility and purification. Here are some of the names used to describe her: Sarada (giver of essence), Vagishvari (mistress of speech), Brahmi (wife of Brahma), Mahavidya (knowledge supreme), etc...The "flowing one" can represent speech also if taken in an allegorical sense. Perfect speech supposes power and intelligence. Hence Saraswati represents power and intelligence from which organized creation proceeds.
She is considered as the personification of all knowledge - arts, sciences, crafts and skills. Knowledge is the antithesis of the darkness of ignorance. Hence she is depicted as pure white in colour. Since she is the representation of all sciences, arts, crafts and skills she has to be extraordinarily beautiful and graceful. Clad in spotless white apparel and seated on a lotus seat, she holds in her four hands a vina (lute), akshamala (rosary), and pustaka (book).
As usual, the four arms show her unimpeded power in all directions or her all-pervasiveness.

Swami Harshananda, Hindu Gods and Goddesses, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1981.

The path of Sanatan Vedic Dharma is so broad indeed, that it not only encompasses the mind and the intellect, and the male aspect of God (Shiva, Purusha), but the creative energy (Shakti, Maya, Prakriti or Kundalini) of the entire universe embodied in the female aspect of God. Even those with only a rudimentary knowledge of Hinduism are likely to know of the three gods of the Trimurti, the so-called "Hindu Trinity": Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Sustainer or Preserver) and Shiva (the Transformer or Destroyer). Each member of the Trimurti has a female counterpart, a consort, yes, even a wife. Without them, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva would have no ability whatsoever to create, preserve and transform the universe. If Shiva or male energy is symbolized by fire, Shakti or female energy is that fire's power to burn. Brahma's consort is Saraswati, illustrated and described above. Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, Goddess of prosperity and good fortune. She is pictured at left, seated on a lotus flower, with gold coins flowing out of her hands. She is especially worshipped at Diwali, the Hindu "festival of lights" in October or November.

Krishna, an avatara (incarnation in human body) of Lord Vishnu, is often pictured together with his beloved consort Radha, the Queen of the Gopis (cowgirls). Together Radha and Krishna represent the female and male energies of the universe. Krishna's flute is a call to surrender to the will of the Lord, to be "God's instrument".

The consort of Shiva is known generally as Shakti (but note that shakti, lower-case, is a generic term for "female" energy or any female aspect of the divine) and takes many names and forms: Parvati, Uma, Gauri, Maheshvari, etc. But she is best known, and most widely worshipped as Kali and Durga. The path of Hinduism that centers on worship of the Divine Mother is also known as Shaktism since most devotees on this path worship Kali or Durga as their Ishta-Devata.

The Divine Mother awakens our love and compassion from our hearts and souls. The mother and child relationship is the ideal that the devotee aspires to achieve with the Lord. Notwithstanding almost 2000 years of patriarchy and "Heavenly father" dogma permeating the Western/Christian world, it is easy to understand how our emotions and feelings are evoked when the divine is viewed as a mother. As the Divine Mother, Durga is full of love, warmth, compassion, guidance and protection for all of us - her children! She rides a tiger or lion and carries an assortment of weapons to symbolize her power and strength, and has eight arms, symbolic of the 8 limbs (ashtanga) of Yoga: yama (restraints), niyama (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), samadhi (transcendental state, a.k.a. nirvana).

Kali is the terrible, black goddess, dripping with blood and wearing a garland of skulls. Yet She is very kind and gentle to Her devotees, although She expects total devotion and obedience from them. Not surprisingly, as a goddess so attached to death and destruction, Kali seems to be very beloved among taxi drivers and truckers in India! :-)

Of course, Hinduism has not cornered the market on worship of the Divine Mother. The Goddess is alive in many spiritual paths. However, one has to wonder about the credibility of a church that can produce such beautiful representations of the Divine Mother, but still will not let women have abortions, use birth control, or become priests!

Mata Amritanandamayi, born in India's Kerala state in 1953, is revered as a modern-day incarnation of the Divine Mother. She is affectionately known as "Ammachi", which means mother in Malayalam. (The language of Kerala; also a good word to know if you're looking for a 9-letter palindrome!)

Karunamayi Bhagavati Sri Sri Sri Vijayeswari Devi is considered by her devotees to be an incarnation of Saraswati. Like Mata Amritanandamayi, she brings the Divine Mother's love and blessings to everyone she sees. On May 29, 1998 Karunamayi addressed a session of the 45th Congressus Patriaë as the Honorary Speaker of the House and, one month before Inauguration Day, led the lame-duck 45th Congress in chanting the Saraswati mantra: Om Aim Srim Hrim Saraswati Devyai Namaha. She returned to Patria on July 9, 1999 but was unable to address the 46th Congressus Patriaë, as Congress had recessed for the northern hemisphere summer. Two years later, on June 25-26, 2001, Patria once again received Karunamayi's blessings.

"Bapuji" Swami Kripalvananda (1913-1981), the spiritual inspiration for Kripalu Yoga, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and the Amrit Yoga Institute composed many bhajans (devotional songs and chants) in Gujarati, his native language. The following is one of Bapuji's bhajans to the Divine Mother:

Yantra graphic and Durga image on this page courtesy of Hindu Tantra Home Page. Visit this site to learn more about the Divine Mother of Sanatan Vedic Dharma: rituals, Sanskrit prayers, etc.

If you would like to learn to read, write and speak Sanskrit, the American Sanskrit Institute offers weekend and month-long Sanskrit training programs and home-study cassettes.

Hinduism Today, an excellent magazine published by the Himalayan Academy in Hawaii.

For a general introduction to Hindu beliefs, deities, etc. click here.

Sample some Sanskrit and Hindi bhajans online.

More bhajans by Swami Kripalvananda

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Many of Patria Post's snail-mail postage stamps portray the Divine Mother.
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