Our Divine Parents

Hari Om,

I was reflecting recently that our Divine Parents are such a wonderful couple in every way. Now, we know as Advaita vedanta yogis, that there is only One Supreme Being which is the source of all, present everywhere, that this has become all, that this is beyond male/female/age/life/death....pretty much incomprehensible to our tiny human brains and minds. Something impossible to imagine, whose nature is impossible to describe, but spiritual Teachers all over the world describe this as being of the nature of pure selfless love, sweetness, bliss, peace, wisdom and immortality. This nameless, formless Being encompasses all names, all forms, everything and even more.

Yet this nameless, formless Being takes on names and forms in this world and also celestial forms that resemble human beings  that we humans can relate to and worship. And the purpose behind this is to enable humans to be able to meditate upon these forms and thus attain oneness with this Supreme Being.

So hence the Supreme takes on the male God-the-father "Parameshwara" form and female God-the-Mother "Parameshwari" form. They have infinite Names in Sanskrit each describing them as infinite, immortal, the embodiment of love, bliss, peace, desirelessless, full of wisdom, kindness and every virtue (and equally free of anger/pride/lust/hate and any vice).

So in Hinduism, we learn not only that we have Divine Parents, but we learn of their activities both in the celestial spheres (such as heaven, Vishnu/Siva/Devi lokas etc) but also on Earth (when God assumes a human avatar). We learn about our Parents in this way from ancient scriptures known as the Puranas, not composed by any human mind, but revealed to us by great spiritual Teachers. These Teachers also are only manifestations of our Parents also who in their infinite compassion to beings suffering in samsara, explain to us the way to attain Them...in other words, the way to return home.

Let us examine our Divine Parents in the form of the two most popular couples well known in yoga/Hindu philosophy...They who are worshiped by yogis to attain the Supreme Being (Liberation/Moksha/Nirvana....this state has many names, none of which can really describe it as per the Gurus).

The two couples are Siva and Gauri, and Vishnu and Lakshmi. (Saraswati is worshiped on Her own by yogis seeking moksha, but worship pf Her consort Lord Brahma tends to be less common compared to other forms of the Divine).

Each member of both couples represents the all-encompassing Supreme Being describes above, and is therefore worshiped in His/Her own right by yogis seeking liberation.

Even if one is partial to one form out of these, one cannot help but appreciate the sheer beauty and awe-inspiring nature of the other forms too. One is also wonder-struck at the stories of romance and human emotions expressed in the stories of these two couples, but yet, they are woven over the mysterious divine tapestry of Brahman (therefore not a straightforward human story).

Yet for all their similarities in their inner nature, these two divine couples are quite different externally.

For example, Shiva and Durga are the ultimate power couple. Shiva exudes power, strength, yogic self-control, desirelessness, lack of interest in wordly things, self-contentment, fearlessness, withdrawal of the mind inwards towards the Supreme (He is usually pictured seated immovable in deep meditation).
Interestingly also, though Shiva Himself represents supreme wealth (both spiritual and material), He assumes the garb of one who has nothing- no flowers, no jewels, no pretty clothes. Only snakes as garlands and amulets, a tiger-skin as his robe, the glittering crescent moon decorating his matted locks. Yet, for all His rough appearance, He is simply unsurpassable in beauty.
He is visualised as handsome man with beautiful features, despite being dressed as a beggar. His inner beauty makes Him all the more beautiful. This powerful combination of external beauty and internal beauty make Him absolutely adorable to all. Since time immemorial, his devotees have repeated His great mantra (such as "Om Namah Shivaya") and many others with deep love and fervour, and thereby attained their beloved Siva. Who would not feel bliss repeating the Name of such a great One? After all, He is the very essence of our being, our very own Self.

Durga embodies extraordinary yogic tapas like Shiva. She matches Him in Her ability to withdraw Herself from the world and meditate (in Her famous avatar as Parvati). Like Siva, She combines this with a hugely dynamic energy that destroys evil. When one pictures Durga, one thinks of God manifesting as Power (the Power of good). She is depicted as seated on a lion, holding celestial weapons in her delicate hands, out to protect good and destroy evil. Like Shiva, She is incomparably beautiful....with an exquisite shapely delicate feminine form, but yet tremendously powerful.

While Shiva is generally pictured in the mind's eye as serene and motionless, seated in meditation (except in His highly energetic tandava form), Durga is almost always seen as a form with great energy and great activity....activity to win the battle for good over evil.  Unlike Shiva who appears withdrawn, Durga appears completely involved.
Shiva and Durga complement each other beautifully. They are both depicted as extraordinarily beautiful in form, fierce (in a loving parent way), yet infinitely compassionate and loving. Durga is no demure shy female....She is power embodied, strength embodied....She is the One to go crying to if one is feeling scared of anything at all in the world, for She is afraid of nothing, and all the bad guys tremble at the very mention of Her Name....She grants absolute security to Her devotees and makes them pure in mind and heart....

And how romantic are the stories of Shiva and Durga....one is simply wonder-struck by the sheer beauty of the romantic Lilas of our Divine Parents as this couple. And what is even more fascinating is that underneath all the seeming romance, there is no lust at all....only pure selfless love, the love that is divine in nature. There is absolutely no lewd, crude lust here. On the contrary, it is all pure, desireless, deep true love.....a love that loves for no reason, because it is simply one's nature to love.

Now moving on to Vishnu and Lakshmi and some of Their avatars in human form.
Vishnu is depicted as equally handsome as Shiva (unsurprisingly, as they are of course, two forms of the One Parameshwara, God as male). He has all the inner qualities of Shiva, but His external garb is different. He is dressed charmingly with exquisite flower garlands, jewels, clothes - all these ornaments obtain their beauty from Him.
He is jut as beautiful and alluring as Lord Shiva, but just in a different way. Unlike Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu does not appear withdrawn from the world. Like Durga, He is seen as actively involved in our human world and all worlds (Shiva is too of course, but just appears to be deep in meditation most of the time). Lord Vishnu is the One who takes human form as avatars, such as the well-known Sri Rama and Sri Krishna.

His consort Goddess Lakshmi is the embodiment of sweetness and virtues. She is portrayed as lovely, delicate, demure and shy....quite different from Her other form as the fiesty Mother Durga. She is the Mother who is prayed to for material and spiritual wealth, children and both earthly and spiriual attainments. She is symbolic of all that is good and pure in the world.

Both Vishnu and Lakshmi take on avatars as humans at the same times, forming complementary couples. Sri Rama is the ideal married man and human being, His wife Goddess Sita is the embodiment of a loving dutiful wife. Sri Krishna is the Purna Avatar (full avatar of God), He is handsome, cheeky, humorous and playful. His lovely consort Sri Radha is more serious in temperament than Him, and is also fiesty (She freely tells Him off when She is not amused by His humorous behaviour). She is the embodiment of devotion, pure love for the Divine, the ideal devotee.

Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laksmi exude sweetness, traditional beauty and tender love.
Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga exude energy, unconventional beauty and fierce love.

Both are stunning Divine Couples and one feels fortunate to belong to a spiritual tradition where one is taught not only that one has Divine Parents, but also has the chance to read about Their activities (known as 'Lilas' in sanskrit).

Not only this, one knows, as a child of the yogis, that one can oneself meet and experience these forms of the Divine. They are not made up characters by some talented author. No, yogis from time immemorial have retreated into caves (or indeed into one's room in a modern house), and devoutly worshiped the male and female forms of the Divine described above. They have then been blessed with Their Vision ('Darshan' in Sanskrit) and been granted supreme bliss and wisdom or moksha/nirvana.

 Shiva, Durga, Vishnu and Lakshmi are perfectly real. They are, in fact, more real than you and I. You and I are temporary beings on this earthly planet. We are here today, gone tomorrow. But these forms of our Divine Parents have existed since time immemorial and will continue to exist for eternity....worship of Them holds the key to Their eternal realm, our true home.

Hence the strong traditions in yoga that have existed forever.....each based on which of the three (Siva, Vishu and the Goddess) is chosen as the main deity for worship (yoga advises developing undeviating love and devotion to one form of God of one's choice while respecting other forms of God of course).
 Therefore there exists the tradition of Siva-worshipers (Saivites), Vishnu-worshipers (Vaishnavites) and Goddess-worshipers (Shaktas). All in truth worship the same One Supreme Being, but only in different external forms.

We are indeed fortunate to be able to hear of and admire our Divine Parents in such exquisitely beautiful forms (externally and internally) as Siva, Durga, Vishnu/Rama/Krishna, and Lakshmi/Sita/Radha.

Sivananda says the path of devotion (one of the four main paths to God in the yoga tradition) is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the middle and sweet in the end. Other paths certainly have their merits and are also good.... but he and many Gurus, say that the path of bhakti reigns supreme in terms of easiness to practice as a sadhana, as well as efficacy and the joy experienced throughout.

May Siva, Durga, Vishnu and Lakshmi (or whichever form of God we worship) grant us supreme devotion, love for love's sake for Him/Her in this very lifetime.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.