Om Ganesha Morning Pujas and Prayers August 20, 1999
My prayers and pujas go out this day to our Mother Chinnamasta.
It is said that this wonderful Mother does not ask for Her devotees blood (devotions) as much as She, the Mother, gives Hers to the devotees.
She decapitates Herself in order to nourish Her devotees.
Bow low to this sacrificing Mother and feel Her love always.
For so many, Hinduism is a strange concept. Yet when the Christ told me to teach all ways and that all ways were His, I could not even begin to find a religion that would willingly accept all ways. Swami then came into my life and at His feet I found the wonderment of difference and diversity. The self unfolds in so many different stages said the great Swami, when one is wide open the veil of ignorance is lifted. One can simply be themselves following the path that they wish. Did not the Mother Mary, sacrifice her son The Christ, by allowing him to fulfill his prophecy.
She did nothing about it and let His love for Gods children prevail.
Chinnamasta and the immensity of Her sacrifice is all for her chelas. As you go about your day think on this wonderful Goddess whom your Ma adores. Her blood nurtures the earth and brings peace to humankind. She is the extreme example of Hindu Tantra and the Smashan or cremation ground. What the Mother is doing is showing one how to live with out the mind and to count on the heart of all. Imagine your self for a moment with out your head. See how freeing that moment can be. With the burden of the mind gone you are free to live in the moment. Who can hurt you with out your mind. This is a popular exercise done in the Tantric way amongst the Agoras in India. One sits before the Guru and the Guru symbolically cuts off the head and the chela is free for a moment or how ever long she can hold it with out thought. Believe me my chelas, your Ma was petrified at the thought of no thought. The one thing I had going for me is that my Swami told me that my Guruji would appear as soon as I the Mother, lived in my heart and not my head. I trusted my Swami and even though I was disappointed that this great one was not my Guruji, I knew my blessed Guru would appear as soon as all thoughts worldly or other wise would disappear.
The power of death held no fear for me, only the thought of living my life with out the feet of the Guru petrified your Ma. Mother Chinnamasta is the Queen of Tantra, She is the headless form of Mother Kali. Yama the king of death and Soma the queen of life all bow to this Mother who loves her children so much, she is willing to give up her head.
This is the time of great courage in our teachings. The courage to go on in this Kali Yuga. The courage to take care of and learn from people living with AIDS. The courage not to fear death and bring the love of Soma in our lives. ( I can feel my daughter Soma, going deeper and deeper into her name right now) Bring your ego to the altar of sacrifice and offer it to the Guru Even the rising of the sun or the setting of the moon can not bring the joy that being at the feet of the Guru can bring. Sometimes when you forget the great beauty of being Brahmacharya just think of giving yourself fully to the Guru and to God. This was taught to me by my own Guru. I wondered at the reason my Guru was telling me all this, when I never wondered for one second why I was Brahmacharya.It was Swami who told me, that I would have to teach the beauty of living at the feet of the Guru in this way. Baba also said that when one is living in such a way, there is so much light around them, that all want to be in their presence. It is only the mind that tells one that they are lonely and lost. When you can remember the Mother Chinnamasta, you can understand what a big part the small mind plays in your life. Eat your own mind by meditation and love of Guru. There are times when the chela chooses not to listen to the words of the Guru. He then loses his place at the feet of the Guru. At first the Guru shares with the chelas and when the chela uses his mind and not his heart, the sharing becomes a teaching, pushing the chela back in time and space or I should say pushing the chela away from the Guru. Once I had a very close chela, who feel in the trap of woman and gold, as the great Rama Krishna would say, the chela fell deeper and deeper in the trap of fear of God and the woman jumped ahead into the arms of the Guru. She now dedicates her life to serving children whom no one wants and is always in Mas circle of love and truth. The man lost the respect of his own children and the Guru. The question, is there hope for the chela who fell in the trap. Only if he gives up and surrenders his mind to the feet of the Guru.
This teaching that we have been living for the past 26 years is about to change in such a way that one has to become Kali with in their own selves and become full in a way that is rich with service. Does this chela love Ma, the answer is, not more than his attachments. Does Ma love this chela. Of course. Yet it is time to give all of our self to the children of God and the Mother. I am in awe of Baba and Swamis teachings. 27 years after meeting my teacher and then my Guru this life, I am still in awe of all they have taught me of love and compassion and truth. Drink deeply of this teaching of service my chelas, and feel the Mother Chinnamasta every moment of your life.
These are my pujas and these are my prayers. I love you. Love, Ma. Jai Chinnamasta Ma Ki Jai