Om Sri Durgayai Namah!
Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya!
Om Namo Bhagavate Krishnanandaya!

Namaste!

Strive For The Ideal -- 1954
by Sri Swami Sivananda

The nine-day worship of the Divine Mother has just been celebrated by millions of Hindus. It is but meet that one should refresh one’s memory about the significance of this worship of the symbolic Power of the cosmic Consciousness, which we call variously as God, the Providence, the Immortal Spirit, and rededicate oneself for the realization of the goal.

The Divine Mother is symbolised as the transcendental dynamism of the Absolute, which governs this universe. The law of gravitation, of cause and effect, of evolution, are all representative of this cosmic dynamism. It is the symbolic Power behind creation, preservation and dissolution; the whole universe is the manifestation of this Power.

In the early dawn of civilisation, the Hindu mind conceived of the symbol of the eternal Consciousness in the idolisation of the Mother Divine, which was a more appealing, comprehensible, filially close and intimate, emotionally satisfactory and domestically affable conception than that of a vague, formless, unqualitative, ungraspable, ethereal ideal that could be one’s goal and support of life.

All the world is gigantic imagination of the mind; says the Sruti. Yet, it has vivid, decisive and relatively substantial reality so far as one’s physical, emotional, intellectual and subconscious entities are concerned. Likewise, any concept featured out of imagination, enlivened by faith and devotion, and magnetized by concentration and meditation, can certainly have a physically substantial, mentally responsive, materially reciprocative, intellectually conceivable and spiritually transformative reality, which can have a far-reaching effect in the human life in its evolution towards Self-realisation.

The Pauranic anecdote of the Mother Divine represents the triumph of the Divine Power over the myriads of dark forces of negativity—too well-known in all human lives—in the struggle between the dual factors of good and evil, truth and untruth, virtue and vice, freedom and involution, light and darkness. The occasion, therefore, is an annual reminder to the aspirant of the great Cosmic Law that the divine will always prevail ultimately over the undivine.

Read complete article

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The following article has been posted at Sri Swami Krishnanandaji's site:

• The Appearance of Space-Time

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17th October to 24th October is the holy nine-day worship of the Divine Mother known as Navaratri. The tenth day, Vijaya Dasami, concludes the nine-day worship.

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We have opened our bookstore for international orders albeit to a selected number of countries due to the corona virus situation and availability of flights to these countries. Kindly help to report any issues, bugs and improvements to me. Please visit The Divine Life Society E-bookstore.

 

Yours in the service of Gurudev,

Pannirselvam

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

The Devi Mahatmya
by Sri Swami Sivananda

The Devi Mahatmya or the Durga Saptasati is a unique book in this world. It is the base and the root of the religion of the Saktas. It is a Kamadhenu for one and all; it gives whatever man wants. It gives Bhakti in this world and Mukti afterwards. It is a powerful reservoir of Mantras from the beginning to the end. Every verse of this text is a dynamic force which acts powerfully in overhauling the nature of man.

The conception of the Infinite as Mother is not an altogether meaningless one. The Rigveda bears testimony to the fact that even in such ancient times, there was the persistent belief that the Ruler is the All-compassionate Mother. Further, Mother is the personality that appeals most to the human heart, not so much the Father who is considered a hard task- master. Moreover the conception of the Divinity as Devi, Durga or Sri, is not merely a theory but a practical way of life. It is a particular view which cannot be set aside. It is as important as any school of religious belief, and is one of the most important reigning branches of Hindu religion--Vaishnavism, Saivism and Saktaism. Even a subtle philosopher cannot dispense with the conception of Sakti, for he is essentially an embodiment of Power, and he has love for power. The highest Intelligence and the most speculative metaphysics is only a manifestation of Jnana-Sakti and is not outside the range of Saktaism. Let us therefore adore and worship the Glorious Mother for the purpose of attaining Wisdom or Self- realisations.

For more information, please see: The Devi Mahatmya

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LOVING FORGIVENESS: In 1948, a senior Swami of the Ashram left after some trouble. He had even forged the Master’s signature and the Master had to appear in court. After the Swami had been away for some years he came back.

The Master was sitting on the roadside when another senior disciple happened to pass by. He called to him and said, “You know, Swami X. has come back. He is a big man now. There was some story about him before.”

The Master had one of his eyes closed while he spoke. The disciple wanted to relieve the Master from telling him about it, and said, “Yes, Swamiji, I have heard it.”

“Oh! You know about it? But that was before. He might have changed now. A bad man is not always bad.”

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“Commence your journey on the Divine Path from today. All your anxiety and worry will end then and there.” – Swami Sivananda

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