The beginning of your life was in the mother’s breath. Your first small words are taught from her lips. She is your first teacher and Guru. It is she who wiped your first tears.
– Swami Sivananda, “Bliss Divine”
As Mother’s Day approaches, I find myself reflecting on the Mothers in my life. I think, of course, of my Mom. I think of my young daughters and the women they will one day become. I think of my grandmothers… the women in my circle of friends, and the women I meet in my yoga classes… and the women I call my Teachers. I think of Mother Nature. And whether or not they are ‘mothers’ in the usual sense of the world, I feel the Divine Mother in all of them. It is a presence, an energy that is hard to sum up in words… an energy that says, “I will take care of you, nourish you, comfort you, teach you. I will love you. I will challenge you to grow and rise up… I may be hard on you at times… I may appear to leave you… but I am always here for you. I will always support and protect you.” I salute the Mother in all of us. She is a beautiful, powerful, courageous, sometimes gentle, sometimes bold, yet always life-giving energy.
If you’ve been reading my blog for some time now, you likely know that I have a great interest in yogic mantras – sacred sounds/words that contain within their vibration the power to heal, transform, and uplift. A few days ago, I came across this mantra:
He Mā Durgā rakśamam
He Mā Durgā pahimam
This is a prayer to the Divine Mother, Mā (“mother”) Durgā (“the invincible”): “Please protect me, please save me.”
As I listened to this mantra being sung, I felt myself transported to another time and place – or perhaps beyond time and place. I felt the longing of a child for her Mother. I felt that small, helpless feeling, that lost, fearful feeling, and that hopeful feeling that Mother will come. Don’t we feel this way sometimes, even as adults?
At the same time, listening to this song, I felt the reassurance that Mother – with her endless strength, comfort, and wisdom – is already here. I felt both the presence of the woman I know as my mother, but also something larger, more universal than that. Dare I say that in the words and melody of that song, I felt the presence of Mā, the Divine Mother. Mā is an energy that can flow through us all of us, man and woman, child and adult – an energy that is always available to us, always around us – a whisper that says, “I am here with you, I will never leave you, we have never been apart, we are One.”
I’m going to learn how to play this mantra on my harmonium! My plan is to share it with you at our next kirtan at Vraie Nature Yoga on Saturday, May 18th, 4-5pm. All welcome! (Not familiar with kirtan? You can find more information about it here.)
And finally, to the many forms of Mā in my life: I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the ways in which you nourish me. Namaste – I bow to you.
