The Eternal Feminine

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A woman is not just a form and a figure though her form itself is significant of deep guarded secrets and the capacity to create marvels out of a seed state. The ancient seers saw in her the bridge between creation and the Creator and worshipped her thus. But she is not just a woman that we behold with the eyes of ignorance, but Force, Shakti, Wisdom, Strength, Beauty, Love, Delight that is everywhere and in all beings. This book is not just an attempt to discover and evoke her through myths and legends of India but to unravel the mysteries of the 'Eternal Feminine' with a view to discover the truth behind what a woman truly represents as seen through the awakened eyes of the mystics and the spiritual culture of India.

The author grew up in a family with rich spiritual values surrounded with myths and legends. Subsequent to his MD in Psychiatry from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and his service in the Indian Air Force, his childhood fascination in myths and legends needed a sound footing than merely believing in them as part of his religious tradition. He found this deeper understanding in his spiritual journey through the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo. Though he has written and spoken extensively on various subjects the myths and legends of India, especially the worship of the Divine Mother, Shakti, remains closest to his heart.

India is a land of myths, legends and fables. The fabric of Indian life is woven through these very tales that have nourished the spiritual hunger of its people. They have described India's core values, its very soul. Once the soul was awakened, and the inner being prepared, through the countless seers and sages, the legends and stories, it was then that a wise and mighty nation was given a holistic identity through its seer-kings. Its boundaries were safeguarded by mighty warriors, many of whom, like Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Bhisma, Drona, Arjuna, Ajatshatru, Vikramaditya, were also yogis.

Such is the stamp they have impressed upon the minds and hearts of the Indian people that thousands of years, including the darkest period of foreign rule, have not been able to efface it. Stories of their exploits continue to inspire us and are even enacted worldwide. As civilisation grew, new meanings were discovered, new layers unravelled, new elements added to the old narratives, but never have these stories been discarded. They continue to engage and interest mankind because of their depth, profundity, vastness, and universal appeal. In this book, a short selection has been presented which highlights the tremendous role that women have played, and continue to play, as equals of men in the shaping of a civilisation.

Though the dark ages of mankind saw them being relegated to a secondary and subordinate position, either as someone who had to obey the man, fulfil his wishes and demands, or worse, as commodities of pleasure and marketing, the cycle of Time is turning and we are approaching a New Age when the eternal feminine is rising and dawning upon the horizons like the goddess Usha, who the rishis first aspired for.

Though her glory has been sung in the Vedas and the Tantras, our more modern interpretations of Vedanta as otherworldly scriptures that regard life as an illusion gave too much prominence to the masculine principle of creation, the Iswara, the Deva, the Purusha. But the Deva without Devi is powerless, the Purusha without Prakriti is helpless, the Iswara without His Shakti is a silent witness who can neither intervene nor help our evolutionary journey.

This rejection of the Shakti, the Eternal Feminine, was the main reason for India's downfall, a subtle truth pointed out by Sri Aurobindo, to whom it was given to revive this forgotten Shakti. He did this in a threefold manner.

First, he invoked the Shakti of Mother India through his Bande Mataram, an English-language newspaper and Durga Storra (Hymn to Durga), thereby awakening the very soul of India, one day to lead us to independence and the heights of future glory.

**Contents and Sample Pages**