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Part 1: The Divine Mother's Story: Devotion, Demons, and the Call to Awaken Śuruvāt Karthī. Śuruvāt Karthī.... Samarāsvara Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Amalaiśvara Parahaṁsa Maheśvarānandajī Sattva Gurudeva. Guru Mahāmaleśvara, Svāmī Maheśvarānandajī, Satta Gurudeva, Kī Jaya. What is impossible for a true devotee of the Guru? Whom should we fear? We should fear no one. In the same way, what is impossible for a devotee of the Goddess? The Goddess does not refuse; She will indeed fulfill our wishes. We just have to be mindful whether the wish is good or bad. That is why we should pray: ‘Isko Pūraṇ Kare, Jo Merī Bhūrī Icchā Hai, Isko Nāśṭ Karo’—may She fulfill my good desire and destroy any bad one. For even a bad wish can be granted, but its consequence will fall upon us, it will come back upon our own heads: kyoṁki bhūrī icchā bhī pūrā kar saktī hai, lekin us kā pariṇām hamāre pīṭh pe āyegā. Hamāre pīṭhche āyegā. Kālī Devī Durgā Jī kī janam huī, aur unkā keval agar āpko... Unkī Svarūp Batāte, Jo Jo Likā Hai, Vo Ādhā Ghaṇṭā Ho Jayegā Usme Itnī Sundar Rūp, Phir Bhī Sundar Ek Side Se Aur Bheṅgkar Dusri Side Se. Just see: a woman with eighteen hands, and in each hand a weapon. Whatever She holds is a weapon; every hand bears a weapon: Ab Dekhiye, Ek Strī Aṭhārah Hātho Ke Sāth, Har Hāthme Ek Śastra. Kuch Bhī Penā Huā Hai To Śastra To Hogā. Har Hāthme Ek Weapon Hotā. So today we will hear the killing of Mahiṣāsura: To Āj Āge Jo Huā Mahiṣāsur Kī Katā, Hum Sunenge. We continue the story of Devī, the Divine Mother, which began yesterday with Mahiṣāsura. Yesterday we heard about the birth of the Divine Mother in Her beautiful yet terrifying form: eighteen hands, each holding a weapon, adorned with splendid jewelry—a simultaneous expression of beauty and terror. Now let us proceed. Please, Ācāryajī, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān. Ratna seṅga sanasthaṁ dorbhi pāśāṁ kuśabhja bhara vaya manīṣaṁ candra maulitra netraṁ dhyāye chantar dhamiśaṁ gaṇapati mamalaṁ śrī sametaṁ prasannaṁ yaśvāyaṁ śukrutīnāṁ bhavaneśmalakṣmī Pāpātmānakṛt Dhyardheṣbuddhi Aṁtwanatāśma Paripālaya Devī Viśvaṁ Ātmātaṁ Girjamatī Sahacārā Prāṇa Śarīraṁ Graha Pūjate Viṣyopabhogirachanāṁ Nidrā Samādhisthati Sarvajuhava Putrititanmayatayā Tarbho Vineduṣ Tamsarva Bhūtrādayam Muniman Toṣmi Namostu Te Vyāsa Viśālabuddhe Pulārvindāyatapatranetra Mahābhārata Tailapūrṇa Prajvālito Jñānamaya Pradīpa Viṣṇu Miśvara Gurur Sākṣāt Parabrahma Tasmi Śrī Gurube Namaḥ Siyāsabh Jagjanī Karhu Praṇām Joḍī, Jog Pāṅ, Bholī Jagdambī Mātā Kī Jaya, Bholī Satye Darbāra Kī Jaya, Bholī Śrī Deviśvara Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Śrī Devpurī. Now we were listening to the story of Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṁsa, renowned in India and abroad for his devotion. Śrī Śrī... Once, a man came to him and Rāmakṛṣṇa asked, “Where is the mother who gave you birth?” The man replied, “She is in another village. I am here, working and earning money.” Rāmakṛṣṇa said, “You left your own mother to earn money—so how will that other Mother come? Do you remember her? Do you speak about her? Do you do anything for her, or have you just put her aside?” Then he dropped the thought. They were walking beside a river. Rāmakṛṣṇa said, “I will give you the answer, but first let us wash ourselves.” In India this is called ḍupkī lagānā—ritual bathing. People go to the Gaṅgā, or any available river or lake, and while remembering God they dip into the water again and again. So they decided to take a dip. When the man dipped into the water, Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṁsa held him down and did not let him come up. The man struggled and struggled but could not surface. Finally Rāmakṛṣṇajī released him, and after the man had calmed down from his anger, the Master said… Mahāprabhujī, Karatā Mahāprabhujī, Karatā... Mahāprabhujī, meaning buffalo. Why is it that the cow is represented by gods and goddesses, while the buffalo represents demons? Everyone must be represented. The cow is very intelligent. And in our country buffaloes are not so easy to see, but here in India they are commonly found on the roads and everywhere. If you drive during the day and honk at a buffalo, he will just look at you and do nothing; you have to drive all around to find a way. At night, because it is dark and the buffalo is black, you can easily have an accident. So buffaloes represent tāmasic energy, our negative energy, the rākṣasa quality within us. The cow represents all divine energy, all goodness. And there is always imbalance; there is always the fight. We want to achieve something, and our laziness, our sleepiness, creates obstacles. Even now, it is very hard to go somewhere when we go to satsaṅg. The first thing that happens when we attend satsaṅg is that we start to yawn. Sleepiness suddenly comes. How is it that when we go to the cinema, sleepiness never comes? Do you see anybody yawning in the cinema? But in satsaṅg, when you listen to a lecture by Swāmījī or any other guru, you can see many people yawning and struggling to stay awake. Of course, there are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that we are actually asleep. When we call the Mother, when we call God, we are not trying to wake Her up—the Divine Mother is already awake. We are waking ourselves up. Now we continue with the story. Chholam Bhusaṇḍi Śira Saṅkham Saṃdaddhi Karishtra Niyam Sarvāṅgabhūṣa Vratam Nīlāśma Dutimāśpadi Daśikām Seve Mahākālikām Yamastu Swapito Haro Kamalju Hantu Madhu Ketabham Boli Sache Darbār Kī. The area where the Mother killed these demons stretched from Punjab to Jammu—that is why the Śakti Pīṭha is here—and Himachal was also among those regions where the demons were slain. The Devī Mā we study at home, even Mārkaṇḍeya Jī has narrated her story. The stuti in the Devī Bhāgavata of Mātā is spoken by Vedavyāsa Jī and Sūta Jī. In this account, which passes between Devī Bhāgavata, Vyāsa Jī, Janamejaya, and Mārkaṇḍeya Jī, it is Mārkaṇḍeya Jī who is narrating the story to us. Svarociṣ Mananturme Surat Nām Ke Rājā The, Chaitra Vaṁś Me Utpād Hue The, Aur Purī Prajā Ko Apne Baccoṁ Kī Tarā Mānte The, Usī Samay Kola Vidhvāṁsī Nām Ke Kṣatriya Unke Śatru Ho Gaye, Surat Kī Dhaṇḍī Nīti Prabal Thī, Unkā Śatruoṁ Se Saṅgrām Huā, Aur Surat Yuddh Me Hār Gaye, Yuddh Me Haar Kar Ke Jab Nagar Ke Aur Lot Raye The, To Saari Jagah Par Unke Shatruon Ka Adhikar Tha, Unho Ne Usraar Ka, Unho Ne Usraar Ka,... Unhoṁ ne usrār kā rājā sūrat ākramaṅ kar diyā, rājā kā balvī chīn ho gayā, unke duṣṭ balvān, durātmā mantriyoṁ ne, unkī rājdhānī meṁ jo bhī thā, voh sab kuch hathiyā liyā. Yani ki unke hī logo ne, āp ne dekha hogā kabhī daṅgā chedtā hai, yā kahīṁ pe koī gadar hotā hai, to bolte achanak vardā te badh jātī hai, Bagdād mastī hai, vardā te voh bol ek achanak chor kahīṁ se āyī the, āyī nahīṁ the, Amar Inder kahīṁ chor jāg jātā. Hai, bheed me da kamukhī, āsan ho jātī hai. Bheed ke andar chorī aur lūṭ-paṭ, balātkār jaisī ghaṭnā achanak jāg jātī hai, kyō ki sab ke bītar śaitān soyā huā hai. To us rājā ke jo sāth me din rādhā hājirī bajāte the, voh bhī us sāvakt us kī daulat ko lūṭ lete, aur yeh kaṭā us sāvakt kī nahīṁ, āj kī bhī hai. Sab aisā hī kareṅgī. Chupchap akele jaṅgal me chalāyā gayā, aur jaṅgal me us ne vahāṁpar Medhā Muni kā āśram dekhā. To be in the forest, in a temple, in an ashram means there is a great deal of pain. If a person does a lot of devotion, understand that there is also a lot of pain, brother, a lot of trouble. Otherwise, who would go to the temple, who would go to the ashram, and who would go to the forest? It is said, “I was born in a very wealthy family, and my name is Samādhi. My wicked sons and daughters threw me out of the house out of greed for wealth.” The one who takes money, society extracts it from him. This is an amazing system. The father who takes money, the grandfather who takes money—the same burden is placed on them later. This is our story, brother. This is our story. The one from whom one takes birth, the one with whom one stays—now he is the same guest in the house. This is the story of everyone. Otherwise, who would ever think of making a home? The king said, “You were a commoner, I was such a great king.” Now a question arises. The king told the Vaiśya, and the Vaiśya told the king, that actually there is one good thing: when people looted us, we came to know how our friends really were. At least we learned this much. Now what is there to worry about? If it is the same, then we should not worry. So the Vaiśya says, “What to do? I know that my children, my wife and her children, my grandchildren—all have abandoned me, yet still I think only of them, and my mind tries to obtain their love.” This is very strange. The one who gives us love, we do not want to receive his love; and the one who does not want to give, we want to take his love. Vyāsa Jī is saying to Janamejaya, and Mārkaṇḍeya Jī is saying to all of us. The king said that both Surat and Samādhi started to serve the sage. And he said to them, “Tell me, why is my mind so restless? How is it so passionless? The state that is gone, everything is gone—even then, my affection has not left me.” Here the Vaiśya also says, “I have been insulted by my family, and all my relatives have left me. Even then, why does my mind disobey them?” The sage replied, “Son, the knowledge of the Vaiṣaya path is with all living beings. In the same way, the Vaiśya is also different for everyone. Kuch prāṇī din mein nahīṁ dekhate, aur to koi rāt mein nahīṁ dekhate. Tathā kuch aise jīv hain jo din aur rātri donoṁ mein dekh lete hain. Paśu pakṣī, mṛg, sabhī prāṇī samajdār hote hain. Manuṣyoṁ kī samaj bhī vaisī hai jaisī un paśu pakṣiyoṁ kī hotī hai. Dekho, pakṣiyoṁ ko dekho, ve bhī apne baccoṁ ko khānā khilāte rahte hain. Pakchī bhī khilāte haiṁ, ādmī bhī apne bachchoṁ ko khānā khilāte haiṁ. Mahāmāyā is the one who creates the relationship between these two. All these people are the masters of Mahāmāyā. The king asked, “Who is this Mahāmāyā?” So here he told about Mahāmāyā. This is the same Mahāmāyā whom Brahmājī, when Lord Viṣṇu was sleeping and he heard the sound of Madhu, prayed to; by receiving power from Mahāmāyā, the Lord vanquished Madhu and Kaiṭabha. To Mahāmāyā, se bal pākar ke, Bhagavān ne us madhur ketab kā vād kar diyā. Ye vohī Mahāmāyā āj Mahiṣāsur ke vād ke liye pragat vohī hai. Mahiyā ne ākar ke jor kā siṅgh nāḍī se nāḍī kiyā. Us se Mahiṣāsura jahāṁ baiṭhā thā, vahīṁ kā vahīṁ ghabrā gayā aur bhayabhīta ho kar ke Bidal nāmak daitya lakhoṁ kī saṅkhyā meṁ jāte haiṁ Mahiṣā se yuddha karne ke liye. Mahiśvarānanda Purījī, Siddha Pīṭha Paramparā, Mahānirvāṇī Akhāṛā, nāhaṁ karatā prabhu dīpa karatā. He separated the head and the trunk of his body. Say, “Jagadambī Mātā kī jai.” When the Mother killed him, the Devī Bhāgavata says that after that, for a long period of time, Satyayuga was established upon the Earth. As soon as everything on Earth calmed down and all was well, the seed of blood went away to pray; it escaped into the abyss. It had come out with Mahiṣāsura but did not fight alongside him, because it also needed more power. For some time, the earth remained very calm after the death of Mahiṣāsura. After the death of Mahiṣāsura, there is another chapter of the Mother in which She kills Śumbha and Niśumbha. Sumbha and Niśumbha, in ancient times, were the greatest ascetics. And you ask, when there is peace on earth, where do these demons go? They all go to the underworld and sit quietly. They have a kingdom there, a place in the underworld where serpents and all such beings live together. When their time is right, they come back with the help of Śukrācārya Jī. Sumbha and Niśumbha did penance for a thousand years. And where did they do penance? In Puṣkara. In Puṣkara, for a thousand years, both of them performed intense penance. Even here, the power of the Mother is present in penance. The one who is steadfast in yoga practice sits in one place for ten thousand years, not merely a thousand. And what do they ask? ‘O God, make us immortal.’ So, Rāmaṇa boltā hai amar kar do, Kaṃsa boltā hai amar kar do, sab ke sab amar honā cāhte hai, koī bhī marnā nahī̃ cāhtā, jīveṣṇā kehte hai aise—nobody wants to die, and only Gurūjī can give this nectar, this amṛta, to us. When you realize, you see that nobody can kill you; nobody can give you this knowledge except the Guru. The Guru is able to give this knowledge. We are immortal. Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... He gives me a false date many times. He says it was not this. No, no, no. One year before, one year later. Oh brother, you will tell me the wrong date—how will you tell Yamarāja? If you look at the horoscopes of fifty women, at least seventeen or eighteen of them, sisters, mothers, will say that the date is not right. He is older by age—not only in the West, but here in the East, in India as well. And this intelligence, this devilish intelligence, the demon does not believe in anything else. Hiraṇyakaśipu also said, ‘I don’t want to die.’ Hiraṇyakaśipu, the great demon, also said, ‘I don’t want to die.’ So who kills? Viṣṇu and Śiva kill. He said, ‘Give us such a boon.’ So this time the demons said, ‘What boon should we ask for?’ Hiraṇyakaśipu was killed by Narasiṁha. ‘We will not die from any man; we will have a woman kill us—but we will not die from a woman. A woman is beautiful, and that woman must also be beautiful, so a beautiful woman is not terrifying.’ Purījī, Purījī... Shabun, this is happening, and these big companies are run by big demons, and no one else can run them. The way of killing—that’s why you see there is a lack of man in science. Now see, devatā, manuṣya, mṛg and pakṣī: none of the male species could kill us. They started saying sumb and nesumb. And after a few days, Sukrācārya made himself their Purohit and worshipped them. And on Tattvasād Uttam day, Purījī, Purījī... Aadmi ki sadid ki chitta ke saath me sona chala hoge to sona to bachi jayega. To chalo, itna hi satisfaction. Hum nahī̃ rahenge, gharwāle yād kahenge, ye merī pardādī kā kaṅgan hai. Main nahī bachū, merī cīje to bache, ye bhī amar hone kī bhāvnā hai. To jo ādmī jitnā rākṣasī hogā, utnā sonā ekatthā karegā. Because gold does not perish, Rāvaṇa built Laṅkā with all kinds of gold. Ye sonā kī dauḍ nahī̃ hai, ye sumbha aur nisumbha kī dauḍ hai. Ye maiśāsura kī dauḍ hai. Where was Kaliyuga sitting? It entered and sat in the gold of Parīkṣita. When Kaliyuga began to enter the kingdom of Mahārāja Parīkṣita, Parīkṣita said, “Go away! No entry here,” just as some people say, “We will not let him in.” Parikṣit said, “Go away from here. This is my kingdom of dharma, where I sit on the throne of my Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” Kalyug said, “From your place nobody goes away empty-handed. Now you are the grandson of Yudhiṣṭhira, a wealthy man, so give me four or five places to sit.” You know where he sat—in gambling, in dice, in juā. Whatever matches there are, they are juā. When a match is played, what is happening? Day and night, gambling goes on: who will win, who will lose. Gambling is openly rampant, and violence sits in it. Where does Kaliyuga Maharaj sit? Wherever violence occurs, violence is directed at those weaker than oneself—beat them, slap them. The biggest man commits violence against the smaller. That is Mahā Kalyug. And in Mathurā, in Nāsā, Kaliyuga also sat in Nāsā. And what is Nāsa, Mātājī? Someone took out a 1000-rupee note, turned it around, and placed it before Bhagavān. Look at the Nasa of a 1000-rupee note. I gave a 1000-rupee note to Bhagavān. Then I gave one lakh, so I will write my name on the stone. I built a temple. Oh, Bhagavān made the whole creation, but did not write His name. You made a temple of Govinda and wrote His name in it. What a wonderful person you are, Bhai. Bhagavān ko bhī mātā pitā ban gaye, kī maine banāyā. So Bhagavān is in nāsā, and where is nāsā? Where there is madh. The definition of madh: when we forget our true nature, our īśvaratva, and get lost in nāś—that is called madh. Nāsā is in everything. Kanak, kanak te so guṇa mādhak tā adhikāī, te dekhe borāī, te khāe borāī. Kanak means ‘gold,’ and also ‘grain.’ In the harvest of grain, kanak can also mean gold. So, Mahārāj, this is the situation. In the end, Kaliyuga said, “Let me sit in gold as well.” So Kali Yuga is also sitting in gold. Keep this in mind. Kaliyuga is also sitting in gold, so gold becomes his throne. He built a great palace of gold, made a bed of gold, and everything else—Sumbha, the king, did the same. Along with that, Dhūmra Locana, with his powerful army, became his commander. When Dhumrochan and Sumbha-Niśumbha became the commanders, see what they did. They gathered their strength and went to their guru. At that time, they snatched the earrings of Mātā Aditi, snatched the umbrella of Varuṇa, and seized the city of Indra, pushing Indra out. Indra became very frightened. All the devas cried out, “Mā, we bow to you. O Mother, danger has come upon us again. There are two demons named Sumbha and Nisumbha who have taken everything from us.” Until this crying arises, we will not go to the jīva; we will rather go to the lawyer by paying money, but we will not go to God. Go to God and see—all the gods have gone to God, and there is no shortage there. Go to dharma and see, there is no shortage. Dharmāiyake jāke dekh degī tujhe darśanī maiyatun sar ko jhukāke dekh, agar āj mānā hai pyāre to āj māke dekh. He is the one who is innocent and kind in this world, the one who is kind to the people, the one who is kind to the people, the one who is kind to the people. Part 2: The Divine Mother's Triumph over the Demonic Forces We begin with the auspicious words: Boli satya jyotā vālī mātā āpakī sadā hī jaya, boli satya darbār kī. O Mother, who are the very form of bliss, what can I offer to you? Ānanda rūpa mayyā kyā maiṁ tujhe chāḍhauṁ? Shall I offer you a pitcher of water made from the oceans of all the seven worlds and the rivers of all the seven worlds? Sāto jaha kī sāgara, sāto jaha kī nadiyāṁ māṁ āpne banāya pānī kā eka loṭā, kyā maiṁ tujhe chāḍhauṁ? Shall I offer you all the flowers, all the blossoms, all the wealth of the entire universe? For Mahāprabhujī alone is the doer: Mahāprabhujī dīpa karatā he kevalaṁ. Mahāprabhujīp karatā he kevalam... Satya, Satya... Jyot jalai Maa kī, so it burns with truth. In this spirit, the narrative unfolds. He who took the seed of blood along with him—indeed, the two armies of the Akhāṛā, born from that very seed of blood, also sided with him. Such beings conquer Kuvera, overcome Candramā, even defeat Yamarāja, and then take upon themselves the work of Vāyu. This is called demonic intellect. It seeks to overpower the entire body. Kansa used to do the same: Kamar ṭoṛ ke kām karao, gardan nīcī rakhavāo, aisī hālat banā do, ādmī bhāg na sakhe kahīṁ pe. This, indeed, is a demonic patent. They take patents. Multinational companies take patents. They declare, “We shall even control the air—now there is AC, there are fans—but they go straight to the core point.” Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā Mahāprabhujī kī Karatā... From the body of Bhavānī emerged Kauśī, who was later called Kālī because of her dark complexion (Kṛṣṇa Varṇī). This Kālī is known as Kālarātrī. She went forth alone to fight them. Ambikā, who is Kālī, the embodiment of one undivided power, smiled and said to the Devas, “You are independent. I will kill your enemies.” Thus Bhagavatī went out to battle those demons. At that time, two servants named Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa, sent by Sumbha—terrible demons—came to fight the Mother. They saw that she was singing; a divine song was resounding. The talk was on beauty. Now Vyāsa Jī is saying, Janme jai ko, and Mārkaṇḍeya Jī is narrating to us. And this very tale you all will witness in the presence of Satī, with Medhātā Ṛṣi narrating to King Surat and the Vaiśya. Thus it has come into your homes. Indeed, the messengers of all satīs first go to the Mother, and the messenger, upon going, speaks to them in a different way, convincing them. But the Mother says, “I know both the good and the bad. They have won over all the gods and killed all enemies; they are masters of all qualities—I agree. But knowing this, I came to this region with the desire to see that great demon. Just as a swan approaches a gem to enhance its luster, I have come from afar to see my husband. If he can be my husband, he will have to fight me. I have seen all those who have paid respect to every deity in the world, and all those who appear beautiful to the demons—I have seen them all. They are all terrified of Sumbha’s terror, so afraid that they tremble. Therefore, I have come to behold the qualities of Sumbha and Nisumbha.” The messenger urged her to accompany him, but the Māyā refused. Sumbha and Nisumbha then commanded Dhūmralochana, who led a great army, saying, “Go, brother.” Dhūmralochana was exceedingly beautiful, with a complexion that changed in myriad hues—much like people who change their clothes many times a day. When a man buys a new car, he looks at it with his neck stiffened in jealousy; the eyes become different. Body language books describe this, and our Nīti Śāstra also says: when greed arises, a man starts biting his lower lip; when he wakes up, he chews his upper lip; and when jealousy surges, he looks askance with raised brows. Different emotions—anger, greed, jealousy—provoke distinct bodily distortions. Now, Vyāsa Jī says, “See here, Dhūmralochana has come and spoken to Bhagavatī Kālī.” Dhūmralochana said, “Come with me. If you do not come, my master has instructed me to first request you with skillful words, and if you still refuse, then I am to drag you by your hair with anger.” And how did the Mother kill him? She uttered Hūm, and with that very sound—Hūm—she slew him. Karīṇe vā taṁ vā sma sachakāraṁ bhīkaṭaṭa. How did she kill him? Hūm. Now, how much did she kill him? She just had food. How did she kill him? This is the sound of Hūm in the Nābhi Cakra. You must be doing Brāhmī Prāṇāyām. You close your ears and keep your nose open. Oṭho ko bīc karke jab āp karte hain. With her nails she tore him apart, and with the slap of the lion, the worlds began to fall. He Chanda, he Munda, bale birhuti biribarto chasam samaniye tam lagu. When Sumbha and Nishumbha learned of this, they commanded two great demons named Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa: “Bind him, bring him, unleash the entire demon army, seize the lion, and return after killing them. Say, Jagadambā Mātā kī jai!” In the Śabda-cintāmaṇi, the 7th Dhyāna thus begins, and in the Pañcama Skandha, the 25th Dhyāna of the Devī Bhāgavata. The meditation on the killing of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa is as follows: Chandramund ke vadh kāṭ dhyāyam ratna pīṭhe śukkal pathitam śṛṇvanti śyām laṅgī śaśi cakal dharam vallayak kī vāda yantim. Mātaṅgī Śaṅkhapatra Madhuna Madhumadham Jatra Kodbha Śilābham. Mārkaṇḍeya Jī has thus meditated upon her form, her complexion, and her garments. The Mother also fought with Raktabīja, and that description follows. Obeying Sumbha’s order, Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa advanced with their fourfold army—elephants, horses, foot soldiers, and warriors bearing weapons. All this caturāṅginī senā came to fight the Mother. And Mother, smiling softly, said, “Into the jaws of death they come to be tormented; the Mother saw them arrive.” This is the form of Dhanuṣ Taṇḍiyā, and this is the form of Mother Kālikā. Now, the Mother, filled with immense wrath against those enemies, turned her face away, and a strange, terrifying Vikrālamukhī Kālī appeared. Her face became so vast—ati vistāravadana jvālanā bhīṣaṇa—that there was no going further. All of them began to disappear into her face, and their words got lost in her roar. This Kālikā Devī herself broke upon the head of that army alone. She seized someone’s hair, crushed someone’s throat, trampled someone underfoot, and as this happened, the earth shook. Jagmur vinaśam suraḥ dant graha vihar tasta. In a moment, she destroyed the entire army. Chhand bhar mein shaari sena ko nasht kar diya. Thus the Devī annihilated that whole army in an instant. Seeing this, Chaṇḍa ran toward Kālī Devī, and Muṇḍa also began showering arrows upon the Mother from the forest. Countless discs entered the Devī’s mouth, appearing as if numerous orbs of Sūrya were merging into a mass of clouds. Filled with extreme fury, she laughed a great aṭṭahāsa, and from within her terrifying mouth, from the mountain of teeth that could be glimpsed, everyone fainted. Then the Devī, wielding a massive sword, roared haṁ, and with the fifteen phases of the moon, she cut off his head and held it in her hand. This head of the moon is in Mother Kālī’s hand. Seeing Chaṇḍa slain, Muṇḍa too rushed toward the Devī, and in anger, the Devī also felled him with her sword. Mother held the head of Chaṇḍa in one hand and the head of Muṇḍa in the other—not merely holding in the hand, but indeed the heads of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa in Māyā’s hand. Everyone was terrified. A great deity named Prachaṇḍa approached Caṇḍikā and said, “O Devī, you have encountered Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa, these two great beings. Now in the war, you should kill Śumbha and Niśumbha yourself.” The sages prayed to Māyā: Chamuṇḍeti tato loke khyātā devī bhaviṣyati. This Kālī became famous in the future by the name Chāmuṇḍā—the destroyer of Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa. Chāmuṇḍā Mātā kī jaya! Aruṇaṁ Karuṇaṁ Tāraṅgī Pakṣī Gurdāpaśaṁ Kuśacaṁ Bhāṇacāpahastaṁ. When Chaṇḍa and Muṇḍa had been killed, Sumbha’s mind burned with great anger, and he sent Raktabīja to fight Jagadambā. This Raktabīja, who rules the world, had received from Brahmā Jī the boon of immortality: no man could kill him. This was the strategy of the demons at that time—they asked for such boons that they would not die at the hands of a man, because Lord Viṣṇu kept incarnating again and again to kill them. Then Raktabīja came to battle Jagadambā. Raktabīja fought with Jagadambā. What did you see on TV? What did you study yourself? At that time, Vaiṣṇavī, Brāhmaṇī, and Pārvatī, seated on their haṃsas, on Garuḍa, and on Vṛṣabha, wanted to kill that blood-seed, but the more blood was shed, the more the whole earth got filled with blood-seeds. The deities prayed to Jagadambā, “O Mother, give up killing him; simply swallow him straightaway, otherwise it is impossible.” Then Kālikā Devī began to drink the blood of those words; the other three goddesses together cut them down. The deities themselves became vessels at that moment. In the vessel-like forms of the deities, Mother Kālikā drank up all that blood. Kamaṇḍalu jala chepā haṭā vīryaṁ haṭā ujāsā Brahmāṇī cakaro chunna yen yenish Mādhavatī Maheśvarī trīśūlī ne tathā cakreṇ Vaiṣṇavī. Detyan, Janghan, Kaumari, tatha Shakti, Aarti, Gopna, Trasooli lekar ke Maheshwari, yāni Pārvatī, unko mār rahī hai. Aur Sudarśan Cakra ke dvārā Vaiṣṇavī unkā vināś kar rahī hai. Isī prakār Kamandalu se jal chedakar ke Brāhmaṇī unke parākram ko naṣṭ kar rahī hai. Even water was being used to strike, O great king. The water, empowered, destroyed every kind of power. In their own unique ways, all were fighting: Nakhāvīdāra, Iṣṭa, Janāyana, Bhakṣiyantī, Mahāśvara, Nārasiṁhī, Cācarāja, Nādapūrṇa, Digambara. In this war, the mothers, using various means, fought and destroyed the great demons. In the end, Mother herself drank all the blood that was produced from the blood-seed. Kālī herself cut off the head of that blood-seed. Ke katora mein bhar kar ke uske rakta ko pīne lagī, uvāca Kālī Cāmuṇḍī, vistāraṁ vadanāṁ kuru, and she extended her body so much that not a single drop of blood fell elsewhere. In this way, she swallowed all the demons born from the blood. Jagana Rakta Bījam Tum Cāmuṇḍā Pīṭha Sonitam. And in the end, the entire blood of the blood-seed was drunk by Mother Kālī. Thus all the demons and the seeds of blood perished. So the deities brought various kinds of offerings, gave flowers, and bowed to Mother Kālī. Say, Cāmuṇḍā Mātā kī Jaya, say, Ādhyā Mātā kī Jaya. Bandhuk Kañcanībhāmam Rucirākṣamālā. Vibhraṇam Induśakalā Bharaṇam Trinetra Maradhām Vikeśa Manīṣām Vapuraṣṭra Yāmi. Here, in the ninth chapter, Niśumbha will be killed. So, the form of Māyā, which Mārkaṇḍeyī Jī has told us, is the form of Ardhanārīśvara—half man, half woman. Māyā kā Ardhanārīśvara vigraha hai. At the feet of such a Mother, we all bow, praying that she may inspire our intellect on the right path. The Ṛṣi says, “In the battle, when blood was shed and other demons were slain, the anger of Sumbha and Nisumbha knew no bounds.” Along with him were the chief asuras; they struck Caṇḍikā with countless arrows. The Mother herself caught those arrows in her own mouth: mahāprabhudip karatā, mahāprabhudip karatā he kevalam. She killed Niśumbha with a stick and shattered his weapon. Then she whirled the donkey and placed it on Caṇḍikā, but it was cut off by the trident of Bhavānī Devī. After seeing Niśumbha carrying the axe in his hand, Bhagavatī wounded him with arrows and laid him to sleep on the ground. As Niśumbha was about to die, he flew into a rage and went ahead to kill the Mother. Seated on his chariot, adorned with excellent weapons, with his eight incomparable arms he covered the entire sky and began to drink Soma. Āth bhujai kar re, āth bhujai kar re... Aath. Here in the Devī Bhāgavata, a very beautiful mantra has been given. Sometimes in life, the situation of war comes. Here the mantra has been given: O Mother, destroy the evils, destroy the sinners, glory to you, glory to you, return our kingdom to us. This is what all the people have read from the Bīja Mantra. Meanwhile, Niśumbha regained consciousness. He took the bow in his hand and wounded Kālī and the lion. Then that Devatīrāja created ten thousand arrows and restored Caṇḍikā with the help of cakras. Bhagavatī Durgā cut off all his cakras with her arrows. Seeing this, both Niśumbha and Chaṇḍa fought with Māyā. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā... After witnessing this, Śumbha praised Lord Śaṅkara greatly, and from that day, Durgā Mātā was named Śiva Dūtī—because she sent Śiva as a messenger. Lord Śaṅkara departed, and the Mother immediately killed Niśumbha by humiliating Śaṅkara Bhagavān. Puri Jagadambi Maa Te Ki Jai. In the tenth chapter, it is said that when Niśumbha died, Śumbha became extremely angry. Oṁ Tat Tahe Marūci Ravi Candra Vahni Netrāṁ Dhanuśaray Yuktāṁ Kuspaśa Śūlam Rām Mīr Bhojeśca Dadāti Śiva Śakti Rūpāṁ Kāmeśvarī Hṛdi Bhajāmi Gratendu Lekhāṁ. Here Śiva and Śakti become one form. The Mother became Ardhanārīśvara. The Devī said, “O wicked one, I am alone. In this world, whom have you seen besides me? All these are my own vibhūtis, who are entering into me. Today the Devī says to the demon: ‘Through my divine glory, I have appeared here in countless forms. I have not manifested any separate form; now alone I shall fight you. Stand still.’” Divyāṁśatraṇi śataso mūcchan yatambikā babanchatani detrindh saṅghrāti pratighāṭa kartavī. At that time, Ambikā Devī cut hundreds of divine weapons into small pieces, and Dettirandh Nisumbha cut them with his weapons. In the same way, the divine weapons that Śumbha used were destroyed by Māyā with her ego. Now the war was about to end. With her sharp arrows, the Devī cut apart the vimudgara hurled by that asura. That demon king attempted to strike the Devī’s chest with a punch. The Devī, in return, gave him a slap on his chest. Receiving the Devī’s slap, the demon king Sumbha fell to the earth, rose again, and began fighting in close quarters. Ambikā fought with Sumbha for a long time; finally, she lifted him, whirled him around, and dashed him to the ground. After being thrown and landing on the earth, he rose again to penetrate Caṇḍikā. Then Sumbha, the king of all the demons, fought with the Devī using his own śūla weapon. Struck by the edge of the Devī’s śūla, he was slain; the Devī killed him with her spear. Holī Jagadambā māte kī jaya. Upon his death, all the Devas came forward; the wind became auspicious, and the lamps that had been extinguished lit themselves spontaneously. Vāyu puṇya sāthava, pra suprabhubhudiva kar jajvala, uṣāgāne śānta śānta, jagajanita svāhā. When the asura people became peaceful, in the homes, in the homes of the Brāhmaṇas, the sacrificial altars for yajña which had been closed were lit. The lamps were extinguished; the lamps lit by themselves, and all the Devatās prayed to the Mother: Hai He Bāla Ravindu Timindu Kīrtitaṁ Tuṅga Ko Chama Naya Traya Yā Yogitaṁ Smīra Mukhiṁ Vardāma Kuśa Pāśaṁ. Bhīti Karam Prabhje Bhuvaneśum Bhīti Karam Prabhje Bhuvaneśum. Here, with great devotion to the Devī, all the deities recited the stuti. We should all recite the Stuti of Ekādaśaskhaṇḍa. By reciting this Stuti, Devī Mā manifests herself in our lives, and the problems that arise due to the temporary actions of prārabdha or sañcit karma—Mā also destroys those karmas and the reasons for those karmas. Come, let us bow at the feet of the mother for two seconds, then we will enter into the next story. This is a spiritual lecture about Yoga in the Indian tradition. We have tried to listen to the 13th chapter of your satsaṅg in detail. Devī Bhāgavata will continue. Today, Devī Bhāgavata was the same kind of satsaṅg which we should listen to every nine days of Navarātri or get it read. We will try one day, if not nine days, then one day with the method. Why don’t you all sit and listen to its satsaṅg and also do the āratī pūjā of Mā? Which limbs of the Mother are worshipped with which items, with which substances—I will explain later. Now I would just like to request to you, Mahāmaṇḍaleśvar Jī, please explain a little with the story of this. Big battle between all the demons and Maa Durgā. And I implore you all: please listen, and close your eyes and involve yourself in karatā Mahāprabhujī, karatā Mahāprabhujī, karatā he karatā Mahāprabhujī, karatā. Involve ho jāte, ṭāliyā̃ bajāne meṁ kyoṁ śarm āte? Why feel shy in clapping? Ye to bahut ajeeb sī bāt kyoṁ ke jab... Isme śaram ne āte, phir upar ḍalte me usme śaram ne āte, ṭāliyā bajāne me kyā śaram āte? This specially applies to men, and when they clap, they clap like this. And now, as the seven, seven, all the floors, play, Purījī, Purījī... Now, Āchāryajī is taking our test again and again. Dās is telling stories, and he is saying that you have to interpret it, how to do it. Okay, even then I will try. Because as much as you people are sitting here, there is only this much sitting there. And your English will be filled with knowledge. There is only benefit for both. Siddha Itna Raya Bhagavān Akhīch. Now we were listening to two very similar stories. One story started yesterday about demons who were meditating. Demons are very famous for meditation and doing tapasyā. This still I have to find out: why the demons are very famous for that, why the gods are not very famous for tapasyā. And once the gods do tapasyā, after that, they are just relaxing. So, in the first story, there was Rambhā and Karambhā. They are very interesting names, Rambhā and Karambhā. And they were meditating and wanted to have a darśana of God Brahmā, because Brahmā is the one who gives whatever boon they want, whatever desire they want; Brahmā is fulfilling. Now, Indra Dev, who is the main law keeper in the whole universe, is getting worried. When anybody is doing any tapas, anybody is doing any yajña, Indra gets worried. Part 3: The Eternal Cycle of Demons and Divine Intervention, and a Glimpse of Mahāprabhujī’s Grace Somebody is shaking my throne. Maybe something will happen, you know? He has spies everywhere, checking who is doing what. So he saw that Rambha and Karambha were performing tapasyā. Rambha was doing tapasyā near the peepal tree, where many Yakṣas and other beings dwell, and Karambha was performing it in the water. Indra seized the opportunity and thought, “Rambha is protected, but Karambha is not.” So he transformed into a crocodile, grabbed Karambha by the leg, and drowned him. One demon was gone. Upon seeing that, Rambha became so angry and distraught that he grasped his own head by the hair, took a sword, and was about to cut off his head and cast it into the fire. At that moment Agnideva, the god of fire, appeared and said, “The greatest sin you can commit is to kill yourself. Please do not do that. Ask whatever you want, because taking one’s own life is the gravest sin.” Rambha said, “I want a son who will be powerful enough to slay all my enemies.” And so it was granted: “Let it be so.” Afterward, when the period of tapasyā was over, a huge desire arose suddenly in Rambha upon seeing a female buffalo. Since he was a rākṣasa, he turned himself into a male buffalo, and they entered into a love affair. But then, because this was the animal kingdom, another buffalo saw Rambha in his buffalo form, attacked him, and succeeded in killing him. When the she‑buffalo saw that her husband was dead, she fled to the peepal tree where Rambha had been worshipping, and the Yakṣas and other beings slaughtered the rival buffalo. She cried, “I cannot live without my husband,” and placing him on the fire, she threw herself into the flames with him. The moment she entered the fire, a young boy emerged from it. That boy was Mahiṣāsura. And because of love for his son, Rambha could not stay dead, so he returned as a rock on the beach. This, in essence, was the beginning. I will try to keep the names to a minimum, as there are so many. As they always do, the demons then performed tapasyā, and during that penance—yesterday I mentioned this—Mahiṣāsura asked that no woman could kill him. Subsequently, the gods created Durgā Devī, and when Durgā Devī came forth, she finished him off. After they destroyed Mahiṣāsura, the remaining demons ran away and hid. They hide during those ages when the gods reign, when Satya Yuga is present and truth and honesty prevail on earth; they go to Pātāloka along with the snakes and all manner of other beings, hiding until their time comes. Thus, after a long, long golden era on earth, the time for change came again. Once more two rākṣasas were born, and this time their names were Śumbha and Niśumbha. Their stories are so similar that I am telling them in parallel. Śumbha and Niśumbha meditated at our very famous holy place, Puṣkara, near Brahmājī’s temple, hoping that Brahmā would appear, give darśana, and grant what they desired. After a thousand years of intense meditation, Brahmā finally appeared. He said, “Ask me what you want.” And you will notice that every time there is a single question and a single desire: “Make me immortal.” Again and again, Brahmā gives the same answer: “Whoever is created must die. Even the mountains, even the rivers and oceans—everything must dissolve. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśa—even I must die. So how can I grant you immortality?” So they began to scheme, discussing with each other how to frame a boon that would bring near‑immortality. Since Viṣṇu and Śiva had repeatedly incarnated in different forms and killed demons, they said, “Let no man, animal, or anything kill us. Only a woman can kill us. And as you know, a strong woman is usually not beautiful—just see the Olympic Games and everywhere. So let the strong woman who can kill us also be beautiful.” They thought they had secured an excellent deal. Brahmā said, “No problem.” There is also a story in which Viṣṇu and Śiva complained to Brahmā: “Brahmā, why do you say ‘Tathāstu’ so quickly? Why are you so quick to say yes?” Brahmājī replied, “I try to fulfill their wishes as quickly as possible, because if I let them speak at length, they will pile up more and more wishes, and in the end I will still have to say, ‘Let it be so.’ So we keep it as short as possible.” Whatever the case, it was done. Now what happened? As usual, there was a change of kingdoms. They decided to attack King Indradeva, and after a long fight they chased everyone out of heaven. They seized the kingdom and ruled over all three lokas. Naturally, they began to replace everyone: their own person became Vāyu, their own became Agni, and so on. Whenever someone performs a yajña or a pūjā, the fruit of that worship goes partly to the deity being worshipped and partly to the one holding the highest seat. There are actually two paramparās, two lines of tradition. One is very well known in the Greek line, and the other is completely different. On one side we have Indra Deva, Agni Deva, Vāyu Deva, and the other devatās; on the other side we have Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Śiva, and so on. Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Śiva do not depend on our belief. They exist whether we believe in them or not. Devī does not depend on whether we believe in Devī or not; Devī simply is. But Indra, Agni, Vāyu, and the like depend on our pūjā. They depend on how many people believe in them and how many worship them. Fundamentally, they are the rulers of the world and must maintain the world’s balance. They are not separate from us; they are part of the balance, preserving equilibrium. And the demons are the ones who bring chaos and imbalance. As soon as the demons placed their own people in leading positions, all the pūjās—just like all the taxes we pay to the government—went to the one at the top and then filtered down through the ministries. Empowered in this way, the demons grew so strong that they began to believe, “We are immortal; we can do whatever we want.” This is always the problem. As long as the balance is somehow maintained, there is peace. Then the people start to rebel. So the gods began to pray, and of course they prayed to Mother Kālī, the Divine Mother, the Prime Śakti: “Please help us remove this imbalance, help us remove these Śumbha and Niśumbha, so that balance may return to the earth.” And as always, the Mother is merciful. She created one of her forms, Ādi Śakti, half male and half female. From that form she then generated other forms because there were so many rākṣasas. When there are rākṣasa kings, they typically go to their guru and say, “Now we have such and such boons, so no one can kill us. Let us go and rule the world.” The guru of the rākṣasas is Bhṛgu, more famously known as Śukrācārya. When other demons heard that Śumbha and Niśumbha were being crowned as kings, they came out of Pātālaloka, from their hiding places, to assist in the fight. Two of them were also famous as Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa. And Raktabīja from the earlier story also joined the battle against the gods. When the Mother was born, a tremendous sound came from her navel, and everyone was terrified. They were checking who was dead and who had survived. Sound is very powerful and can also destroy us. Thus it is illustrated how, through sheer sound, the Divine Mother simply annihilated the demons before us. Just as when we chant with Aum we destroy negative vibrations within ourselves, in the same way we destroy the inner rākṣasas. So let us move through the story more quickly. Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa were huge rākṣasas—all of them mighty asuras—and they had obtained very great boons from Brahmā himself, making them almost impossible to kill. When Śumbha learned that a new Devī had appeared to kill him, and when he discovered how beautiful she was, he naturally tried to marry her. First he sent them as ambassadors: “Please marry him, for he is the Lord of the World.” But she said, “I can only marry the one who defeats me in battle.” Naturally the king was not pleased with this answer, so he ordered, “Ask her once more politely. If she does not agree, then bring her by force.” They tried, and the Devī destroyed them. Why is this important? Because it gives rise to the name Caṇḍamuṇḍā, one of the names of Kālī that is very famous throughout India. She is depicted as a mother holding the two heads of these demons in her hand. Afterwards they sent another demon, and she dispatched him just as swiftly. The truth is, if we made a movie, I think The Lord of the Rings would be nothing compared to the battles described in the Purāṇas. All these modern films find it very difficult to capture what is written in the scriptures: the kind of fights, the kind of weapons that were used—atomic bombs and things of that nature. At one point, it is said, she opened her mouth so wide that she swallowed the entire army that was advancing upon her from the other side. She simply looked at them and incinerated everything. There are so many such things. Then another rākṣasa came who caused them immense trouble: whenever he was cut and any blood touched the earth, new rākṣasas sprang to life. This was extremely difficult. As he bled profusely during the fight, suddenly thousands—even tens of thousands—of the same person came alive and fought against them. How to deal with this? The instruction was: “Do not allow a single drop of his blood to fall on the ground.” That is why you see in pictures that Kālī is drinking the blood from a skull or drinking the blood directly from the rākṣasa. This actually has a practical parallel: if you have a contagious disease, even a small drop of blood in your house can cause contagion for all the members. That is why it is so important not to wipe needles—to sterilize everything. This is actually how sterilizing instruments came into being. She successfully eliminated Caṇḍa, Muṇḍa, Raktabīja, and many other rākṣasas. Finally there was a fight between the two kings, and at the end of a huge battle with immense destruction on both sides, she emerged victorious. As soon as she won, the gods began chanting her glory and planting the flag of victory. We, on the other hand, just keep buying more and more chocolate, and our bodies deteriorate. Truly, there is a great battle between the Devī, who is our Mother, and the demons, who are our own desires. And usually the Mother wins. Then our body returns to normal because we had fallen sick, and now we are slowly, slowly recovering. This is just an extreme example I have given you, but all things are possible. Nothing is impossible. There is a possibility that there was actually a real demon doing all this and the Mother really incarnated. And there is a possibility that everything is happening now, inside. It is up to us to decide what we can learn from the story, for from every story we can learn something. After this victory, we heard the final ślokas and some bhajans that described the qualities of the Divine Mother. It was, in essence, the glorification of the restoring of balance, after which the golden age begins again. Everything starts a new, excellent and balanced—until we decide that it is time, until our ahaṃkāra, our ego, says, “Let’s try this. I don’t like this; it’s too boring.” This and that, and again the changes come, and again another demon is created, and again we find ourselves in the same situation. And then again we begin to pray to the Divine Mother, or the devatās pray—not we, the devatās are praying. So depending on the occasion and the problem, we pray to the appropriate authority. If we think the mother will be more effective, we ask the mother. If we think the father is better, we pray to the father. If we think it is better to ask the brother, we ask the brother; if the sister, then the sister. That is how we are. We like to ask whoever will fulfill our wishes. There is a story from Līlāmṛta about the meeting of the Divine Mother and Mahāprabhujī. This story I would like to tell to our dear friends who are sitting here. Of course we know it, because we are reading Līlāmṛta. So I will continue a little in Hindi. I have seen this as a difference between us, because we do not have such a habit. And I find it strange that when you read the Devī Purāṇa, then Devī’s mahimā is Devī’s mahimā. When you read the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, then Viṣṇu’s mahimā is Devī’s mahimā, and the rest is Hari’s mahimā. When you listen to Śivjī’s Kathā, then it becomes like this, and the rest is Hari’s Māhima. So actually it is a Līlā. It is Bhagavān’s Līlā. Because Bhagavān is one and Rūpa is one. What I saw, what I had said earlier, Devī Bhāgavatam is a very old story. Everyone can listen to it. How many thousands of years, how many lakhs of years of old story, and we say that it doesn’t happen today. Now open any serial and see, then you will know directly what is the... Value of the mother, now you don’t have to watch the serial, just watch at home. So I will give you a little introduction that you people don’t know, our tradition. One of our Devpurījī Mahārāj, who is in the picture, he was born in a village 7 km ahead of Kāṭhushyāmjī, today the name of the village is Kailash. He had so much power. Why was he called Yogeshwar? Because he had everything. And, like Śivjī, he did not have much patience. When someone used to come to him and talk a lot, he used to go away. We don’t listen to any of this. Say it in one sentence. Okay, if not, then go to Aryam. That’s why our Mahāprabhujī, why we call him Mahāprabhujī, that’s a different story. A boy was born in Harivasani, Nagar district, in the middle of Chhoti Barikatu village. He was so miraculous, he achieved so much in his childhood, that we considered him an avatar. Isliye maiṁ, yahāṁ bhī baiṭhe, sab ko karo, āj kā purāṇa mat parho, āj bhī jo log, jo sannyāsī log, jo sādhu log, jo mahant log baiṭhe, unko bhī thoṛā sā dekho, ham log kyā kar sakte, nīce se nīce, pahle acchā thā, jo hamne nahīṁ dekhā, vo acchā thā. Abne sunā Mahiṣāsur kī kahānī, vo acchā thā, nīce nīce, vānī jānā acchā thā. Mahiṣāsur ke bād meṁ jānā cāhtā, vo to ṭhīk hai. And why did Nārāyaṇa give? Because he had patience. Log unke pās jāte the, sunte the, sab ko sunte the. Devpurījī jaisā bagate ne the. Maiṁ short meṁ batā rahā hūṁ, kahānī to lambī hai. Then his disciples—there were many disciples, but his special disciple, who is running his tradition, our Dādā Gurujī, who is the third idol, the second idol, we call him in the name of our Holy Gurujī, Mādhavānandajī Mahārāj, Hindu Dharma Emperor Mādhavānandajī Mahārāj. He wrote this Līlā Amṛt, which is this book. He wrote the Līlā of his Guru. But Mahāprabhujī, whose face you can see here, gave this permission after leaving. He said, “When I give up my body, then you can write our story.” First, you cannot write. Siddha māna kar ye, kī kherā, meharā prachār, kī dher niyonā chāye thik hai. Jo bhī hai ab point meṁ ārā ho ek bār, varikatu me jo, Dev Dungrī Sannyāsa Āśram me jūṁkī, wo citra āp wahā dekh sakte kone pe wahā āgayā, ik buḍhī aurat āge. Yā, agar isko pāsan niye to, ek aurat āge āgayā jo vṛddh avasthā meṁ hai, aur jab melān hoā to unhone bāra bār parikramā karke daṇḍavat sāṣṭāṅg daṇḍavat praṇām karke kyā? Mahāprabhujī ne kahā, “Tū lakṛī leke ā.” Unhoṁ ne kahā, “Okay, I will go.” Mātājī ne kahā, “Maiṁ sāth meṁ calūṁgī.” Holī Gurujī ne kahā, “Māf karle nā.” Ab yahī baiṭhe raho, maiṁ āke phir āpse milūṅgā. Mātājī ne kaha, “Merā tension mat lo, I will go.” As soon as he started to run, Mātājī came forward. Then he started to walk very fast, what is called a brisk walk. Mātājī came forward, then she started to run. Mātājī also came forward. He kept on running and running, and Mātājī came forward. Finally, Mātājī stopped. She was near the wood. She said to him, “You said that you are walking very fast, very slowly.” He said, “Okay.” He didn’t say anything. He came back with a stick. Then he spoke to Mātājī, Mahāprabhujī. And he spoke the same language, which he had never heard before. He didn’t have English. He didn’t have Rajasthani. He didn’t have Hindi either. He didn’t speak any language. He didn’t speak Sanskrit either. I don’t know which language he spoke. Part 4: The Glory of the Divine Mother: Teachings on Worship and the Story of King Suratha After passing that test, Śabar Mahāprabhujī called the Holy Gurujī and said, “Place a palanquin within it. Place a red cloth within it. Place flowers within it.” Then the chant arose: He Kevalam He Kevalam He Kevalam... Mahārāj Jī offered his salutations to Mātā Jī, and I wish to read to you a little of the answer that Mātā Jī gave. Then Śrī Mahāprabhu Jī spoke: “Bhadra Mātā, Īśvarī, āp to Mahāśakti hain, Ādi Śakti hain, Viśva Vyāpinī hain.” (Please pardon my Hindi a little.) “cār khaṇḍ, caturbhuja, svarga, mṛtyu, pātāla, candra, sūrya, tārā, brahmā, viṣṇu, maheśa, sarva loka, sarva deva, nāma, rūpa, sarva padārtha, dṛśya mātra, āpkī hī racanā hai, sattvaguṇa, rajoguṇa, tamoguṇa, pañca tattva śarīra. Śaṭ Cakra Kuṇḍalinī, Jyoti Ādi, Āp kī hai mahān se mahān śūra vīr kā bhī ahaṅkār patan kar saktī hai. Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavad Gītā... Bhandan kar vibhin prakār kī yogiyoṁ mein ḍāltī ho asur, rākṣas, daitya ādi to āpke khilonā hai, āge aur cāl rahā hai samāī lagnā, isliye cāḍā nī bholuṅgā.” In this way, Mahāprabhujī praised Mātājī. Then the Mother answered him. O Satguru! All the ṛṣis in the world — Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśa, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, all the avatars, all the deities — they have all been worshipped at the Satguru’s feet. And it continues like this: between Śiva and Viṣṇu, Śiva runs after Viṣṇu, and Viṣṇu runs after Śiva. The Mother runs after Mahāprabhujī, and Mahāprabhujī runs after the Mother. For both have come from the same source. Both are the same, and in any case, both will remain the same. Only their work differs, their names differ, their forms differ. So why did I want to share this with you? Because even today, in this world, India is regarded as great precisely for this reason — because this is a matter of forty or fifty years ago, yet even now you will find such men and such women. If you go to Palit district, there is a temple of the Mother, and even today I cannot fathom why there are so many Mothers, so many Mother mantras. That is why I tell you that most people believe in Mothers, for mothers are kind and mothers give. From today, I request you to spend ten minutes more — I noticed your time is tight; you speak at three o’clock and leave at three. So allow him also to stay ten minutes longer, if our Ācāryajī permits. You see, it is enjoyable to speak when someone is ready to listen, and enjoyable to listen when someone is going to speak. If one disappears, then you turn on the TV; there is no other solution. But those who turn on the TV see the picture of tomorrow, the picture of the day after tomorrow, the picture of years ago — there is nothing of today. What you are hearing right now is today’s knowledge, even if it was written thousands of years ago. And I guarantee you: if you write on a piece of paper at least fifteen points from today’s story, you can note that in your life today there exists the very situation described in that Purāṇa. If it is not yours, then it is in your service or somewhere nearby. I guarantee you, you can easily write it down. If you simply reflect, it will become visible; if you think otherwise, nothing will appear. Isliye Yān, main āp se bahut abhārī hū̃, āpko bahut bahut dhanyavād denā cāhtā hū̃ ki, āpne tapasyā kis ko kehte hai? Vahā̃ baithnā jisme āp baithnā nahī̃ cāhte hai, āp bācchā nahī̃ hai, kyūnki bācchā ek jagah par baithnā, itnī unkī kaṭhor tapasyā hai baccoṁ kī. You all must be satsaṅgīs, that is why you are gathered here, so please sit for ten more minutes, because you came late — I know, I count — some always arrive exactly on time, like you five Mātājīs, and a few men; the rest come half an hour or an hour late. Even so, those who keep coming will gain some knowledge over three hours; that is a good thing. So please stay an extra ten to fifteen minutes, then we will perform Mātājī’s āratī. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Devādhī Deva Mahādeva Kī Jaya, Dharma Sahāra Ātmākṛṣṇan. Bhagavān Kī Jaya, Viśvaguru Svāmī Maheśvarānanda Satya Gurudeva Kī Jaya, Jagadambā Mātā Kī Jaya. This is the story we were listening to today — the tale of Maheśvara’s death, the death of Raktabīja, the story of Caṇḍa and Muṇḍa, Dhūmralocana, and the liberation of Sumbha and Niśumbha. In this story, we find the first character of the Mother, the middle character, and the most excellent character of the Mother. Mā Kā Uttam Caritra, Sarva Śreṣṭha Caritra, Bhītar Ke Sāle Kaluṣ Ko Mithāne Ke Liye. All the deities gathered their own powers and brilliance at one place — that which is the root of material nature, the primordial cause of the universe, called Ādi Śakti and Sadāśiva in our eternal culture. That is the incarnation of Durgā, and from that Durgā, Kauśikī Kālī emerged to destroy Raktabīja. This story was narrated by Muni Sumedha to King Suratha and the merchant Samādhi. Muni Sumedha lived in the forest, so some believe that if you wish to perform Mātā Kī Sādhanā, you must go to the forest, for there you will attain it. In today’s world, people head to the forest to worship the Mother. So take a small decision. If the Mother appears in the forest, Mātāṅgī — She is present there; Her name is Van Devī. If the forest remains safe, the Mother will be there. If we build a cement forest, where will the Mother come? Therefore, let the trees grow; only then can we worship the Mother. One growing tree is as meritorious as ten sons. A tree is vast. Now, when we listen to the entire story of the death and destruction of the demons, we find that they performed devotion to the Mother for three years. After three years, the text describes the worship and its method — three years of meditation. Yesterday we heard a story in which meditation was performed for nine years. Here, both the Kṣatriya king and the Vaiśya merchant carried out the worship, guided by a Brāhmaṇa. Thus, for Brāhmaṇas, Durgā is self-manifest; Brāhmaṇas are Her officials, and Kṣatriyas and Vaiśyas should receive direction from them — that is the rule. Now I will briefly outline the method of worshipping the Mother. First of all, take a bath, wear a sacred cloth — bathe thoroughly. Today we are not at peace; we carry knots within us. How many? And because we are not at peace, our grandfather used to say, “Hey, after sunrise, mosquitoes come.” After sunrise, mosquitoes come. So pray at four o’clock; as far as I can tell, you will not be troubled by mosquitoes. For at four o’clock, these mosquitoes sleep. At four o’clock, no one wakes up. And I sleep at four or five, so for me there is no question of waking up! This is the pūjā method I am telling you: Then I instruct you to perform Prāṇāyāma. Gather all the articles of worship together. After reciting the mantra, purify all the pūjā materials. All items should be washed as well. And you must enliven the Devī image with prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā. Next, after doing Deśa, Kāla, and Ucchāra, perform Nyāsa. We do Nyāsa with these mantras: Hṛdayāya Namaḥ, Śirase Svāhā, Śikhāyai Vaṣaṭ, Kavacāya Huṃ, Astrāya Phaṭ. Then the paṇḍit would come and conduct the pūjā. The poor paṇḍit would draw the octagonal diagram. He would chant mantras while you kept your desire in your head: “Oh, let this work be done, let that be done.” The paṇḍit chants, you make a wish, and the task is accomplished — such loose calculations go on, but it does not work that way. See, the octagon must be properly drawn, and the nine-lettered yantra must be invoked. Ka, yāni kī, beech me likhnā chāhiye, sāvadhān ho karke, Āgama Śāstra pe batāye huī vidhi se navan mantra kā jab karnā chāhiye, jab kā daśāṁśa hum karnā chāhiye, hum kā daśāṁśa tarpaṇa karnā chāhiye, aur tarpaṇa kā daśāṁśa brāhmaṇoṁ ko bhojana karanā chāhiye, aur pratidina tīnoṁ caritra kā — prathama caritra, Madhyama Caritra, Uttama Caritra — kā pāṭ karnā chāhiye, aur iske bād visarjan karnā chāhiye. Ye cār navarātrī diye āpko hai na? Now, after this, if anyone wishes to understand better, then not now but tomorrow at two o’clock — or you can let me know your convenience; you may come. After coming, learn the method in detail. And if that is not possible, then do one thing. Just now a thought came: Vyāsa’s feet work like a radar — many thoughts pour in. You come, fix a single day. On that day, all of you perform the complete rituals and worship. Let anyone who wishes to participate know beforehand that you will join in such and such a manner. Then we will explain all the arrangements to you. At what time? Today is the fifth day. Mother, please bless us so that we may successfully perform these rituals and ceremonies. Sometimes what happens is that the paṇḍit says, “Main toh bas bhāv se kar lete hain, tulsī dāl caḍhā dete hain, dho pusab caḍhā dete hain, aur bas kumkum kā cīṭā lagā dete hain.” But kumkum does not need grinding, whereas sandalwood paste must be ground, and saffron must be brought — perhaps fifteen or sixteen year old, by the kilogram. How much does saffron cost — who knows the bhāva? Now who will grind and bring saffron ready-made? Yet in other tasks we do not act this way. When it is a birthday, we celebrate it grandly; whatever else it is, we observe it with even greater care, making it better and better. But in festivals we must maintain a certain formality. Gun Govind Gayo Nahi, Janam Akarth Ki, Koh Nanak Bhajre Mana, Jehi Sumire Gato Arre. Do it well, or do not do it at all. And I will tell you one more thing: in kāmya karma, you should fully observe the procedures and rules, and thereby you will become desireless. On that day, there will be no need to do anything separately, for every action will have become worship. Har sāns merī, pūjā tumhārī, har kadam pradakṣiṇ terā, har vacan merā jaya jaya tumhārī. Then whatever you speak, O Lord, will itself become worship. Yad Yat Karam Karo Mitat Tadakilam Sambho Tava Rādhanam. But this worship of the Mother — if we sit in the world of māyā, then to go beyond that very māyā we must take refuge in māyā. Sit in the māyā. And it is said: O King, one who desires a boon should observe fasting during Navarātri in the auspicious times of Āśvina and Caitra, O Mother, and should begin it after receiving initiation from a worthy Guru-Brāhmaṇa. Śarkarā, Ghee, Madhu, Miśhrit, Pavitra, Kīrche, Vistar, Purok, Havana... Janmantare Ambikā Bhakti Bhāvatīya Vyabhicāriṇī Janmau Tavukule Prāpyaśādācārī Bhaved Viśva. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā, Mahāprabhujīp Karatā — the person who does not worship the Divine Mother becomes a candidate for hell. He Veṣṭyā Śreṣṭha, āp bhī āj se samasta kāmanā ko dene vālī sṛṣṭi saṁhāra aur karaṇa bhūta viśveśvarī mahāmāyā kī ārādhanā karo. Thus Sumedha instructed that kṣatriya king and the vaiśya. Now these two did not perform Navarātra for just one or two days but for three full years. They completed twelve Navarātris — secretly as well as openly. With a peaceful mind, absorbed in meditation, exercising such patience, after one full year they gave up eating fruits and lived only on leaves. The king and the merchant ate dry leaves for an entire year — a tremendously severe austerity. You will merely hear about it; actually doing it is far more demanding. After practicing such tapasyā for three years, both the king and the merchant, with hearts yearning for the direct vision of the Goddess, grew restless. The body is merely a machine for producing excrement and urine. Even a cow’s dung is useful, and when an animal dies, its skin is useful too. But nothing from a human being is of any utility. Therefore, one should perform austerity with this body. It is precisely for undertaking such tapasyā that one has received it. Aisa hī Bhāgavat meṃ batāyā hai, aisa hī Devī Bhāgavat meṃ batāyā hai, and fasting is the best means to recognise the body’s strength. A person cannot live without food and sleep. When these three are controlled, that is called awareness. What is awareness? It is when these three things are taken away from the body. This is a practice of Haṭhayoga. Think and apply it. It is not that you missed fasting for two days and then you are heading to the hospital. Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā. He says, “Bring your falsehood here; in return, I will transform it and hand you the truth.” Abandon falsehood, abandon hypocrisy — leave it entirely. That is why it is said: the one with the true light. It is the true light, not the false light. Leave aside everything of duality. Give up all other things, renounce lies and deceptions, and you will attain the Mother. This is the principal method of worshipping Goddess Durgā. Simply make a decision, make up your mind: we will never compromise with darkness, with negativity. Have you ever seen light move downward? It moves upward. Even the sun rises upward. One is called Brahman who progresses in the direction of Urdhva Gati, not the one moving in a lower direction. The king performed sādhanā for three years, and it is said that when after three years he still had not obtained darśan, what did the king do? He started cutting the flesh of his own body and letting the blood flow. And at that very moment, the Mother appeared there. Varam Varya Rajnam Yate Manasivaan Chitam. Now, do not engage in such extreme acts, for among people I have seen numerous masochists. Ask them to give up something, and they will give up sugar, they will give up rice — but they will not give up lying, they will not give up ego. What does it cost to abandon these things? I will only request: you may eat onion and garlic, but do not consume anyone’s rights. Mahāprabhujī Karatā, Mahāprabhujī Karatā, He Kevalam Mahāprabhujī Karatā, Mahāprabhujī Karatā. I request you — Pañcamaskand, Pañcamaskand Mateti, Pañcamaskand. Today is the fifth day of Vīram. Here in the Sixth Skandha comes the very same story. In the Śrīmad Bhāgavata, Viśvarūpa — whose name is mentioned here — had his three heads cut off by Indra, and to avenge the death of his son, Tvaṣṭā Ṛṣi created Vṛtrāsura. Vṛtrāsura extracted a promise from Brahmā and defeated all the gods. To destroy that same Vṛtrāsura... Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā. If you wish to do it for your well‑being, contact Mahārāj Jī, Mehend Jī, or Dinesh Jī at our āśram, and we will explain how and when to do it. I would prefer to do it on the last day; that will be fine. Looking at the auspicious time is also extremely significant. There are such auspicious moments that half an hour of work becomes equal to a year’s effort. This is the fruit of Jyotiṣa. And just as you may be a foreigner, we are all foreigners in this world — we simply do not know. How can we know what the sun is saying, what the moon is saying, why there is Śukra Aṣṭā, why there is Maṅgala Aṣṭā, why Sūrya becomes Vakrī? These are the ways. Now, you will come to know which planet is strong. When you worship that strong planet, that planet will assist you. Otherwise, the planet will trip you with its foot. You will sit down to worship, and you will receive such a telephone call — you will get angry. It happens. You sit to worship, and... if your mind is filled with many days’ thoughts, you will get angry, you will flare up... Purījī, Purījī... Mahāprabhujīp Karatā Mahāprabhujīp Karatā... Yāni kī māyā se vohī basaktā hai jispe māyā svayaṁ kṛpā kare. Ghar ke andar rakhī vo cīj chhoṭe bachche ko tabhī miltī hai jab mā̃ cāhe to. Yeh sansār meṁ koī bhī cīj tabhī miltī hai jab mā̃ cāhe. Bolī jagadambā mā̃ te kī jaya āye. Now the āratī is being prepared; until then let us surrender at the Mother’s feet. So, now there was a story. There was a king, and as always happens, sometimes it goes up, sometimes down. The stories are usually about the down part. The king was robbed by his own family, by his own ministers, by his own loyal subjects, and he fled to the forest to save his life. Crying in the forest, he roamed here and there and came across a person. Then he learned that this person was a very successful businessman who had also been robbed — not by strangers but by his own family — and he never complained, saying, “It is no problem that we are robbed by our own family and our own kind. I don’t see the problem because I still wish to be with them. I still miss them. I want to go back, and I want us to live together with that same family that actually robbed us.” How to solve this problem? So they came to an āśram, and the Gurujī there advised them to recite the Devī Bhāgavatam. They performed tapasyā for three years, observing Navarātri in such a way that at first they ate only leaves... Purījī, Purījī... They said, “Alright, if I want to have darśan, then I will do this.” Even nowadays, here in India, people do the very same thing physically. And, of course, things did not go very well for them. So, do not take these stories literally. First, reflect. And the best way to go through any story is to find a guru, to find someone who can explain the meaning behind the story to you. The rest was actually about how we should perform pūjā, how we should pray to Mātājī. And even here, to do it in India, you need a really good paṇḍit. It is very difficult. For those of us from the West, it is nearly impossible. But for us, there is always a solution: just do it with an open heart. Whatever you do with an open heart, when you do it with bhakti, then everything becomes worship. Then there are no rules and regulations. But as soon as you take up a mālā and start thinking about something else, that bhakti and everything else is basically finished. So, with one hundred percent devotion, the pūjā is accomplished. To learn the details of the pūjās and so on, you can read in the Bhāgavatam. The details for today: here we will stop with our webcasting. It is already a little over time. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān Kī Jai Devī Śarmā.