abhyAsa : mAtru dEvO bhava : Recognising divinity in mother and others.
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mAtru dEvO bhava : I have had the greatest trouble with this. Mom is directly concerned only with my physical well-being which translates to overfeeding and over protecting and such like. madhvAs say that parents are our “vairis”or enemies because they firmly turn your focus away from your highest goal or God. Today I understand that we need to practice seeing divinity in all and it is as a general rule easier to see divinity in the selfless love of your mother than say in Rahul Gandhi or the planning commission. But the target/goal/state is to see the paramAtma in all beings. Even the idea of paramAtma in all, makes you quiet and not inclined to “take off and do stuff”. I do not believe that mAtru dEvO bhava can mean obediently “eat to death”. It means the recognise the divinity in her.
mAtru dEvO bhava – does not mean blind obedience to one’s mother. It means recognise first the unmanifest purusha in your own mother, then your father and then guru. This maybe tougher than blind obedience, but methinks this is right.
jagadOddhAraNa maganendu tiLiyuta purandara viTalana lAlisidaLu yas’OdE : I used to smile at the innocence of Yashoda, who treated Krishna as a little baby in need of her protection. As a mother I am just the same and do not recognise unmanifest purusha in my children (son, students, nieces and nephews, young friends). I am forever being “over-protective” at least in my head even if I cover it up a little. I worry. Like Yashoda, I see jagadOddhAraNA in them as my children. They are here to do great things and benefit the world and fulfil their destiny, I fear that they get hurt because I care only about their physical well-being. A guru focused on their spiritual well-being eg Kunda Miss, would think differently. I am far more mom than guru.
Once I cast off the false identification, and see the divine principle in my elders and youngsters who I know and love, it is easier to focus on my divinity and on my goal and do with undivided focus what I am supposed to do. Fulfill my own destiny. And this is harder than the rest – because of centuries of “you are not good enough” teaching, reinforced by friends and the minds of all who “look” at you and see only your body-mind sanghaata. All those who were my support and guides with me materially are now no longer so, because the goal is different. Then your only friend and guide is your guru, who firmly and detached-ly sees the divine principle in you and allows you to identify and connect with it. No wonder s’ankarAcArya was so much in love with his guru.
Words are tools to deal with feelings. Just as putting ideas into mathematical symbols reveals spectacular truths., putting feelings into word symbols leads to insights.
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