Mother’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the auspiciousness of Shakti
Mother’s Day is a powerful reminder in every woman’s life to celebrate the auspiciousness of Shakti, the Divine feminine grace that is the source of all harmony, love, nurturing, cherishing, and universal well-being. Prayer and reverence to Shakti as the creative force of Mother Earth and Mother Nature carries this flow of grace into our daily lives.
Love, hope, trust, compassion and resilience guide us through life’s whirlpools of Maya, with a prayer for touching another’s mind, heart, body and soul to experience the bliss or Divine nectar - not just between celestial beings, but also shared between divine souls existing on this material plane.
I have come to understand that sacred relationships are most precious and treasured. We sustain them when we have a solid emotional foundation, and learn to accept in our hearts for a lifetime the person who shares our deeper wishes and aspirations.
The divine message is for every mother, woman and girl-child to harness the Shakti or Goddess force within, healing and harmonising every aspect of life, tapping a deeper consciousness within. It is the striving to nurture to our best capacity that matters, as not all of us are the perfect mothers in every situation.
We must create a deeper awareness by reminding ourselves that every day must be dedicated to honoring the Divine feminine power, unfolding as a celebration of our innate Shakti force.
Sanatana Dharma, a way of life
The tradition of Sanatana Dharma is strongly connected to nature, which it honors in numerous ways. This universal Dharma is best understood as “the religion or way of nature”, and Dharma itself as natural law. Yet we should understand that in Dharmic traditions nature comprises a deeper consciousness and is not merely an outer phenomenon or material force.
Our most ancient and natural spirituality and Dharma is that of nature itself, which is common to all living beings everywhere in the universe. This understanding of nature stands beyond any historic revelation, personality, institution, scripture or faith. Nature reflects not only our own life-experience but serves as our connection to the greater cosmos and its sacred powers.
Nature permeates every level of our existence and is revered in all ancient traditions as the great world Mother. Nature is the expression of the Mother of the Universe or Great Goddess that is perhaps humanity’s oldest and most enduring form of Bhakti Yoga or devotional worship.
Dharmic traditions personify the higher wisdom or spiritual knowledge in a feminine form like Prajnaparamita in Buddhism or Sarasvati in Hinduism. Dharmic traditions often look to the feminine power to save and guide us as in the Bodhisattva Tara in Buddhism and Ma Durga in Hinduism. Through these great Goddesses the power of nature comes alive within us as a force of protection, nurturing and spiritual growth. Dharmic traditions have many sacred sites in nature that serve to connect with this feminine power like Ma Ganga.
Mother’s Day Shakti sankalpa or sacred intent
We should create a sacred sankalpa or intent for the harmony and well-being of every form of feminine energy – the woman, girl-child, Mother Earth and Mother Nature. Only when we cherish, nurture and sanctify the Divine feminine energy will any true peace and healing be possible for humanity.
For Mother’s day make an offering of flowers and light a diya or ghee lamp to honour the Shakti force in our universe.
We can consecrate this Shakti by planting an herb, tree or flowers to conserve and cherish the powers of Nature. Nature holds a deep healing energy for all creatures. Gifting a plant empowers the healing Shakti in our lives. Nurturing the plant heals and sanctifies our surroundings.
Native cultures celebrate the Mother in the honouring of womanhood, manifesting the strong role of a mother in the family, who binds everyone together. It is the maternal instincts of every woman to care for the hearth in every home. Around this hearth our ancient traditions, teachings and stories have been carried on from one generation to another, with the mother as the first guru for everyone.
In Hindu Dharma, flower offerings consecrate the Divine Feminine form of the Devi in our daily lives. In all our rituals, flowers are intrinsic as they represent Mother Nature’s beauty and abundance.
Carnations are considered traditional Mother's Day flowers in some cultures. Red carnations symbolise gratitude, love and affection. White carnations are offered in memory of those mothers who are no longer living, yet whose remembrance lives on through the flowers. White lilies in Europe symbolize the purity of motherhood. In India, marigolds or roses commonly used to honour the Goddess.
Though Mother’s Day is a modern, rather than a traditional holiday, we can still use it for these ancient customs and rituals to bring the sacred into our lives.
Honouring Shakti is our karma yoga
Cultivating a sadhana with flower offerings, incense, and lighting the ghee lamp draws us into the deeper worship of the Mother Goddess. Honouring and serving every form of the Divine feminine steadies us in Karma Yoga, where serving all we are blessed by all.
Working through our karma is our spiritual responsibility and healing our relationships is most important for our inner growth. Recognising, relating to and nurturing the presence of every moment in our lives with love and light is essential to our inner healing. Even learning to release and let go of relationships can play an intrinsic role to our inner unfoldment. Holding to the flow of divine grace in everything we do is a deep reverence to the Supreme Shakti!
Let this be a day to remind ourselves to make our lives sacred through rituals, prayers and mantras, communicating the power of graciousness through love, compassion and caring.
Jai Ma Guru!