by Michael Ketterhagen
“You are my child.
When you place your trust in me,
I allow no-one to harm you,
no-thing to confine your spirit….
I come to you now, with the moon at my feet,
and ask you to put your trust I me.
I will help you outgrow that which no longer serves,
so that what you struggle to attain now,
through effort,
in time will come naturally to you.”
--Alana Fairchild, Mother Mary Oracle Guidebook
The Samkhya philosophy of India, which is the theoretical foundation of Yoga, believes that Consciousness is the Unmanifest Creator of the Universe. Brahman is the Sanskrit name for Consciousness, that one God. That God manifests itself as the material universe and has the energetic qualities of both aspects of life—the masculine (the direct, light, task-oriented realities of life) and the feminine (the nurturing, protective, receptive realities of life).
Through the ages of human existence, humans have called this consciousness by two names, Father or Mother. Each culture has emphasized one or the other label for the Source of Life in order to relate to that powerful, creative, sustaining, nourishing reality called God (in the English language).
It was hard for the yogis and yoginis to relate to all the aspects of creation as “Consciousness.” It is such a sterile, abstract label for all those realities, so they attached human characteristics to those parts of creation, like Jatavedas, or Lakshmi, or Ganesh, or Shiva. They even attached masculine or feminine qualities to each these aspects of reality. Sometimes, like the name Shiva, those characteristics were considered both masculine and feminine.
As time passed, each culture focused on one aspect of the Creative Source of Life—either the masculine aspect, which became known as God the Father, or the feminine aspect called the Divine Mother.
Today, the Yoga Tradition’s labeling of our human experience of God as the Divine Mother is very significant to me. Our culture, and even the Catholic Christian religious tradition (which I cherish) is in need of the loving, nurturing, nourishing understanding of God—the Divine Mother. The depth of tenderness and security that is needed in the arms of the Creator of Life, the Source of Life, is an intense longing for all the people of the world.
We as a planet, as a people, as life forms long for peace, justice and fulfillment. We no longer need the masculine image of a “judging” Father/God, or a stern director of life, who will bring us into union with Himself if we follow His rules or who will send us away from Himself for all eternity if we deviate from the laws. People are suffering too much under this masculine, power-oriented, leader/parent image.
I think that is why the practices of the matriarchal Native America Traditions, and the Catholic prayers to Mary, the Mother of God, and the rise of women in the politics and even the movement to empower women and mothers have risen to prominence in our world today. We need to understand that the creative, controlling force/Source of Life is a nurturing, tender, protective reality that will really take care of us if we “trust” Her.
She really knows best for us all because She is the Mother of all of Life’s children. We need to know that the Divine Mother is with us and is helping us grow. It is all a matter of “surrendering” to Her loving care! It is all a matter of knowing that the Source of Life is Our Loving Mother.
I pray to the divinity in you!
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