Shakti:
Realm
of the Divine Mother
(Title
U.S.
Edition)
Sri
Devi Lila
The Play of The Divine
Mother
(Title
Indian
Edition)
Our first relationship in the world is through the
mother. The Earliest memory of any person is that
of clinging to the mother's breast and looking
into her love-filled eyes. The comfort and
security, which the infant gains from this
relationship, lasts with him all his life. In the
mother is centered a whole world of tenderness,
comfort and sustenance. To transfer this concept
to a cosmic being was a natural step, which all
the ancient cultures took. Therefore the concept
of the Divine as the Mother is as old as life
itself. Devi is the Divine Mother, the eternal
womb of all creatures- human, sub-human and
animal. She cradles her children in her loving
arms, suckles them and nurtures them with her
infinite love. Wherever you see maternal love, in
a bird or animal or human, know that to be the
love of the Devi for her children, for she is the
universal mother. This book takes us on ancient
quest to unravel the mystery of the Divine Mother
in all her manifold aspects.
From the Jacket:
How do I love
thee?
Countless are
the ways.
From the
tumultuous locks on thy forehead,
To the tips of
they lotus feet.
Drenched am I in
the radiance of thy form.
Thy arched brows
thy shell-like ears,
Thy upper lip of
exquisite beauty,
The lower one- a
treasure trove of desire.
Soft and sweet
like the petals of a rose.
Thy determined
chin,
Thy slender
neck,
Thy golden
breasts,
The tinkling
bells around thy waist,
Above all thy
doe-like eyes melting with love,
Holding my own
in thrall.
O Queen of
Desire- Kameswari,
Accept this gift
of love,
Filled with the
wondrous tales of thy glory,
Timidly I lay
this book,
This holy book,
At thy golden
feet,
My humble
offering of love.
Reviews:
Shakti:
Realm of the Divine Mother
Sri
Devi
Lila:
The Play of The Divine
Mother
Preface
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1
Prakriti
2
Parameshwari
3 Maha
Devi
4
Rajarajeshwari
5
Maheswari
6
Parashakti
7
Lalitha
8
Tripurasundari
9
Kameswari
10
Durga
11
Chandika
12 Mahishasura
Mardini
13
Chamunda
14
Sati
15
Dakshaayini
16
Paravati
17
Aparna
18
Gauri
19
Ganga
20 Maha
kaali
21 Maha
lakshmi
22 Maha
Saraswati
23
Radha
24
Tulasi
25
Sita
26
Savitri
27
Shivaduti
28 Adi
Shakti
29 Samashan
Tara
30
Narayani
31 Devi
Kundalini
32
Shivani
Glossary of Sanskrit
Terms
Scriptures
Names of Gods
Names of Demons
Names of Goddess
Mantras
Bibliography
I
just completed reading your
book Sri Devi Lila.
I think it is the best
present that I ever gave
myself.
If
"Sri
Krishna Lila" induced me to
learn Sri
Vishnusahasranamam,
Sri
Devi
Lila is a reward for my
learning
Sree Lalitha Sahasranamam.
After
reading
this book, I have started to
cherish every nama of Sree
LalithaDevi. Next, I think I
am likely to start with
another book of yours -
Shiva Lila.
There
is
power in your narration. I profusely
thank you for your efforts
in making every line so much
refreshing and worth
remembering.
Please
accept
my humble prostrations.
-
Nandini
|
Reviews
of
Shakti
Realm
of the Divine Mother
This
Book is a Tremendous Joy to Read
By Vatsala Sperling -
In
Tamil Nadu, India, there is a
tradition of addressing any woman
as Mother. You can call a total
stranger as Ma or Amma. Farther
north, the traditional address for
an older woman is Mata Ji or Devi
Ji, for contemporaries, it is
Bahan Ji (sister) and for little
girls it is `Bitiya' (daughter).
Why? Why address a stranger with
such a deep and endearing word as
Ma? Why not call her Miss, Madam,
Sweetie pie, honey or Hey You and
so on?
This
has
to do with the reverential
position of the feminine in the
old culture of the ancient India.
In its Golden Age, the Indian
culture recognized the
indispensable, undeniable power of
the feminine energy in the ongoing
cycle of creation, preservation
and destruction. The seers and
rishis who were then contemplating
on the eternal truth and receiving
the revelations of Vedas,
recognized that the play of the
gods, leela, is never complete
without an equal input from the
goddesses.
Mataji
Vanamali
brings out this goddess-centered
aspect of the Indian culture very
well in "Shakti the realm of the
Divine Mother". This book (370
pages) is a tremendous joy to
read. It answers many questions
about the goddesses. Not just
that, this book is a deep,
engaging, authentic and accurate
treaty on the subject of goddesses
and a very fit reference source
for anyone interested in
researching the goddess aspect of
the Hindu religion / culture.
The
book
has some poems by Mataji Vanamali.
These poems, devoted to goddess,
have an expression of pure
devotion or bhakti. Sanskrit
language yields very well to
expression of bhakti rasa as it
has very fluid words oozing with
love, devotion, surrender,
romance, affection, and softness.
Mataji Vanamali has composed her
poems in English, but somehow, she
has succeeded in expressing the
flavor of bhakti rasa.
About
twenty-nine
goddesses are described in
separate chapters complete with a
mantra devoted to them. Mataji
Vanamali has used stories from the
ancient Hindu scriptures that go
into the purpose of a particular
manifestation of the goddess. In a
very picturesque manner, the
goddesses are brought to life in
the ongoing process of creation,
preservation and destruction, the
three fundamental and interlinked
gunas that generate the universe
of cause and effect and the great
void beyond that our five senses
find impossible to perceive.
Purusha (the masculine) commands
these three processes, but without
his partner, Prakriti (the
feminine), the mere Purusha is a
pointless, brute force. It is the
goddesses who bring spark and zest
to the gods!
I
read the story part of the book to
my 11-year old son and he "got
it". The language is clear and the
stories are easy to follow. The
few Sanskrit words that are used
are all explained in a glossary at
the end. All the names of the
gods, goddesses as well as the
demons are explained in the last
pages of the book.
In
the
last two chapters, Vanamali has
gone into the detailed explanation
of how charkas and kundalini help
us understand the inherent
presence of the goddess within and
all around us.
In
my
view, this book is a must read for
scholars as well as regular,
inquisitive folks who are keen
about understanding polytheistic,
goddess-centered world view of the
Hindus that makes them build
temples and worship Lakshmi, Kali,
Saraswati, Parvati, Durga and so
on, and give its people humility
to address their woman as "Ma".
This book is also a great
reference for the Indophiles and
Indians when they are asked about
`ill-treatment' of women in India.
`Ill-treatment' of women,
unfortunately, occurs all over the
world, in all the countries and
cultures, not just in India, but
unlike every other religion that
has banished the feminine from its
scriptures, India has and
continues to honor the feminine
force by worshiping the goddesses.
This aspect is brought out clear
and strong in the book and it is
supported with relevant references
and quotations from the scriptures
as well as explanations of
meanings and nuances for those not
familiar with the Hindu
philosophy.
I
would strongly recommend that this
book be included in the school and
university courses that teach
about Hindu religion. This book is
also a positive, must-read for
women so that they realize that a
spark of the divine mother, the
sacred feminine, Shakti, feminine
lives within them.
Oh,
such
a positive review...how about
making it well rounded by
highlighting at least one negative
aspect of this book? Sorry. No
matter how critically I looked, I
could not find anything wrong with
this unique, deep and smart book
written from the heart. Well done,
Mataji.
Vatsala
Sperling
Author
of:
A
Marriage Made in Heaven
How
Ganesh
Got His Elephant Head
How
Parvati
Won the Heart of Shiva
Ram
the
Demon Slayer
Hanuman's
Journey
to the Medicine Mountain
Karna:
The
Greatest Archer in the World
Dearest
Mother Vanamali:
I
can't
tell you how much I have been
enjoying reading Shakti. Your
telling of the legends of Bharat
Mata (Mother India) is unique, in
that you constantly emphasize, that
the demons symbolize the negative
aspects of mind, that everyone deals
with. This takes the legends to
another level of profundity for an
age that is searching for ways to
deal with its shadows...
Secondly, your constant perspective
is the stand-point of illumination,
seeing God at every turn as both
eminent and transcendent...
You never miss a chance in your mask
as sacred bard, to remind us that
God is the world and the world is
God. I loved your books Sri Shiva
Lila and Sri Krishna Lila for your
devotion and the profound
authenticity of your writing.
Shakti is a rare jewel among the
translations of the ancient wisdom,
that truly does justice to the
enlightened consciousness that is
the hallmark of the Sanatana Dharma
(Perennial Philosophy).
ABB 2009
April 2009
Feminist
Review
Review
by Sunitha Jayan
Nov 2008
Shakti:
Realm of the Divine Mother
By Vanamali
Inner Traditions
As the name suggests Shakti: Realm of the Divine
Mother is about Devi—the ancient, eternal
Prakriti and mother of universe—and her various
forms. There are an increasing number of books
about the incarnations of gods and goddesses,
but what makes this book different is that
Vanamali goes beyond the stories of over thirty
avatars in order to discuss the esoteric
significance of each incarnation. Vanamali has
accomplished the gargantuan task of bringing the
many different aspects of Devi into a single
book. It has been spectacularly researched with
references to the Devi Bhagavatam Purana,
Markandeya Purana, Ganga Mahatyam, and Bhagavad
Gita, along with other sources. Every chapter
begins with a hymn (mantra) to Devi and ends
with a verse from the poem "Savitri" by Sri
Aurobindo. The appendix of the book contains
more poems on divine mother, names of gods and
goddesses, and a glossary of Sanskrit terms and
Hindu mythology.
Devi is called many names (Maha Maya, Maha
Shakti, Maha Prakriti, Lakshmi, Parvati, and
Kali, to name a few), and she is portrayed as
the universal expression of power, which is both
gentle and forceful. Vanamali explains the
concept of Maha Maya, one who causes delusion in
the minds of humans, as the production of
phenomenal world. Maha Maya herself is the sum
total of all and is worshiped as the mother, the
life energy of the gods and all other creatures.
Vanamali writes that, according to the Devi
Bhagavatam Purana, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are
born of Devi’s gunas. Hence, the author states,
"Wherever you see maternal love, in a bird or an
animal or a human being, know that to be an
aspect of Devi’s love for the universe, for she
is the universal mother.”
Vanamali points out that the worship of god as a
mother is found in all civilizations and was
later repressed. The book accounts around thirty
incarnations of Devi, some of which are gentle
and peaceful (Lalitha) while some are ferocious
and frightening (Kali). Others still depict the
ideal housewife (Parvati) and yet others are
shown as fierce warriors (Durga). Shakti: Realm
of the Divine Mother thus provides an
invigorating view of feminine power. This book
is a great asset to the Hindu household or to
anyone interested in the Hindu religion and its
philosophies.
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