Narendra Mishra recounts his divine experience with the Divine Mother and the lesson she taught him.
The Divine Mother Is Real
Awakening Spark, 22/3/2023
The Divine Mother is the All That Is. She is the Prime Source, Prime Creator. All that exists is of/by/through Her. She is the ultimate reality.
What do I mean when I say she is real? I mean she is as real in the flesh and blood as she is as a transcendent Consciousness. She is both immanent and transcendent.
This is an account of the Divine Mother appearing to me in physical form. I confess this is a difficult piece for me to write for I have held this experience so very close to me for so many years that it is difficult to let it out. Yet, it is Her Will that I share this now. It is only to Her Glory that I do so.
It is fitting, poetic even, that this account of the manifestation of the Divine Mother be shared now as we celebrate the Navratri, the nine night festival of the Divine Mother, commencing March 22, 2023. It is also the beginning of the Hindu New Year, celebrating the arrival of Spring- the dawn of the solar year. However, it was not during a Navratri festival that the Divine Mother appeared.
Rather, this took place during the Ganesh Chaturthi, at the Devi Mandir which my family runs in Chaguanas, Trinidad. We were celebrating the birth of the beloved Hindu deity, Ganesh, considered to be born of the Divine Mother as Uma or Parvati, and the Divine Father as Shiva.
At the time I was in the role of musician, accompanying my father who was discoursing from the scriptures. I was seated on the temple carpets, engrossed in the hymns and my accompaniment on the tabla– the Indian drums.
My head was bowed with my eyes closed, oblivious to the queue of devotees who had now gathered in front of the murti (consecrated statue) of Ganesh, waiting patiently to make their offerings of love in the form of fruits and sweets. As was the custom, some of them would move on to also offer Arti– the waving of the sacred lamp, to the Pundits (Hindu priests) present, myself included, as a sign of respect. It was then that it happened.
My head bowed, eyes closed, focussed on the music, a voice from within suddenly spoke in my mind,
“Shiva and Parvati are doing your Arti.”
I looked up, stunned. Dressed as an unassuming, elderly East Indian couple was the Divine Mother and Divine Father standing in front of me, offering Arti to me. (2)
It’s funny how the mind can sometimes notice the simplest detail when in shock. The Divine Mother was of slight frame, and wore a simple black dress with small floral prints of white, pink and blue in the fashion and cut that only the elderly would wear, with a traditional head scarf adorning Her head.
The Divine Father was of a slightly heavier build, complete with a healthy stomach. He wore brown dress pants, hems rolled up above the ankles as elderly men would sometimes do, and a simple blue shirt jacket. His eyes were half-closed, and he was not looking at me as he stood to the side of the Divine Mother, hands touching Hers as she made the offering of Arti.
The Divine Mother was looking at me directly, never once breaking Her gaze from my eyes as she completed the Arti.
Oh the Joy! The Love! The Sparkle and Twinkle in Her eyes!
Her eyes were knowing and mischievous, speaking of a secret as of two lovers on either ends of a room, sharing a secret knowing between them with only the look in their eyes. She seemed to respond to my thoughts, now a maelstrom as I took it all in.
“Oh my God! It is Shiva and Parvati! Here! In the flesh! Doing my Arti! What should I do? Bow before them? Stand up and announce their presence to everyone?”
The loving look in the Mother’s eyes said it all. I was to stay silent and do nothing. So I sat and continued playing the tabla, mentally prostrating myself instead. She smiled in acknowledgment.
“Oh what a wonder is this,” I thought, “That the Divine Mother/Father One will come to honour Ganesh on His holy day, and even do Arti to me, embodying the teachings and practices of the scriptures.”
I was humbled. Completing my Arti, they left the temple. Needless to say, I have never seen them before, nor since.
Even in the whirlwind of my thoughts the symbolism of the clothing they chose was not lost on me. Here was Shiva, dressed in blue- a colour often associated with Him as the Blue-Throated One. Furthermore, His eyes were half-closed, as is often depicted in the many pictures of him in meditation.
The Divine Mother wore colourful floral patterns against a black background, as if to show that She emerges from the Eternal, Unmanifest Void that is the Divine Father, in all Her colour, glory, and splendour.
It seemed as though they chose clothing that would convince my skeptical mind, were it even a possibility that I would be in doubt. That voice, however, speaking from within me, from depths far, far beyond the mind and intellect, brooked no doubt. This was the Divine Mother and Father, here now in form.
What were my emotions at the time, you may rightly ask. I’m embarrassed to say I felt very little emotion at the time. Perhaps my mind got in the way, or perhaps it was a managed spiritual experience.
Now however, as I write this piece, I relive the experience and my heart opens. What I did not feel then I feel now. I am flooded with tears of joy and gratitude. My soul soars in adoration and glory to the Divine Mother as I dance in the ethers, singing Her praises. I join in the chorus of song, incessantly sung by every Sun, Galaxy, and Universe, sung by each and every atom of creation that adores Her. I bow to Her on all sides and directions, awed by Her Beauty and Magnificence. She is the Divine Mother, She is the One, and She is Real.
All Glory to the Divine Mother. Jai Maa!
Footnotes
(1) I believe that spiritual experiences may be managed by the Divine Mother and the company of heaven. Perhaps this is why I am meant to share this experience now- to experience the heart opening aspect of it that I could not have had earlier for some reason. See for example this article by Steve Beckow of Golden Age of Gaia,
Enlightenment: A Managed Experience?
