Mother’s Day: Celebration of the Goddess, by V. N. Gopalakrishnan
Mother’s Day is an annual celebration that recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds, in addition to the positive contributions mothers render to the society. By raising children and inculcating good qualities in them, mothers carry out the vital responsibility of building and molding tomorrow’s leaders. All around the world, people take Mother’s Day as an occasion to reflect on the importance of mothers and to appreciate the many sacrifices they make.
Mother’s Day came into being due to the efforts of two American women, Ms. Julia Ward Howe and Ms. Anna Jarvis. In New York City, Ms. Julia Ward Howe led a ‘Mother’s Day’ anti-war observance on June 2, 1872, which was accompanied by a Mother’s Day Proclamation. The Resolution that created a dedicated Mother’s Day was signed by US President Woodrow Wilson on May 8, 1914. Most countries, including the US, Australia, Canada and India, celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May.
The idea of worshipping the divine as the Eternal Mother has been in the Hindu tradition from time immemorial. Goddesses, such as Lakshmi, Saraswati, Parvati, Durga and Kail, are worshipped as forms of the Universal Mother. The concept of Mahadevi as the supreme goddess emerged as a term to define the powerful nature of female deities. Women are considered manifestations of the Divine Mother. According to Manusmruti, “The daughter is the highest object of tenderness,” and “The mother is revered a thousand times more than the father.”
Personal God is worshipped in various forms in Hinduism, and this has led to the formation of various sects that all fall under Hindu Dharma. Siva is the supreme deity to Saivites, and Vishnu is the absolute deity for Vaishnavites. For Shaktites, Shakti manifests as Mother or Devi. The idea of worshipping God as Mother finds expression in the Vedas and the Upanishads. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa always referred to God as “my Mother.”
There are traces of Mother worship in the Indus Valley civilization. The female terracotta figurines found at Mohenjo-daro are comparable to similar artifacts found in Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, Baluchistan and Egypt. The generally accepted view is that these figurines represent the Great Mother whose worship under various names and forms is still prevalent in India.
The origin of the idea of Mother Goddess in the Vedas is difficult to be pinpointed, but deities like Aditi and Saraswati are described as “motherly.” This shows that the idea of the Mother underlying such Puranic deities as Uma, Durga, Parvati and Lakshmi is of Vedic origin. The Vedic concept of the Mother Goddess is found represented in Aditi who is referred to in the Rig Veda several times. This tradition of Aditi being the mother of the gods is found in the Puranas as well. Agni is conceived as the Divine Mother in the Durga Sukta of the Taittiriya Aranyaka. In the later Puranic texts, night is described as originating from Maya, and is called Bhuvaneshwari, the sovereign mistress of the worlds. Devi Sukta gives the concept of the Divine as Shakti, and Mother Goddess makes her appearance in the Kenopanishad as Uma Haimavati. Devi Bhagavatam describes this legend elaborately and records Lord Indra’s adoration of the Supreme Mother.
The Mundaka Upanishad speaks of seven female powers which are personifications of the flames of sacrificial fire. The first chapter of the Ramayana, the Balakanda, refers to the story of Goddess Uma, the youngest daughter of Mount Himavan, who was married to Rudra. The Mahabharata also refers to Pradyumna’s worship of Goddess Katyayani and Aniruddha’s hymn to Goddess Chandi.
It is a universally accepted fact that there cannot be a creation without the union of two elements-the male and the female. The linga and yoni representing the masculine and feminine aspects have been the symbols of Shiva and Shakti. It was observed that the Supreme Being is responsible for the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe.
Purusha and Prakriti are two independent realities. In the Puranas, Prakriti is conceived of as Purusha’s female counterpart. In the Puranas, the concept of Shakti as Mother Goddess attained remarkable development. The Devi Bhagavatam is devoted to the exploits of the Great Goddess whereas Devi Mahatmyam describes the concept of Shakti as the Great Mother and is regarded as a sacred text of the mother worshippers of India.
Durga is worshipped as Annapurna, the provider of food, and as Jagaddhatri, one who upholds the world. In the Devi Kavacha, Devi is conceived as Nava-Durga in nine forms, such as Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri. The Devi is also conceived of in three forms according to three gunas such as Maha Saraswati (Sattva), Maha Lakshmi (Rajas) and Maha Kali (Tamas). The ten Mahavidyas are another set of representations of the Devi such as Kali, Tara, Shodashi, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Matangi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagala and Kamala. From this, it is clear that the concept of Mother as a divine personality has been prevalent in the Hindu tradition from time immemorial.
The author is a social activist and Director, Indo-Gulf Consulting. He can be contacted at telegulf@gmail.com
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May 31st, 2010 04:37
This is a very informative, easily readabla and understandable summary of the glories of Universal Mother who is the basis of not only the creation but designed a figure called Mother for all of us who carrys for nine months even before we came to this world with greatest pains and shows our father the first time as our first Guru whose debt nobody in this world could repay in any number of births.
This should be read by all humans at least once in life and to do seva to Mother while alive and the name of the Mother should dance on our tongue all the time.
‘MATRU DEVO BHAVA’