Divine Mother

In Hinduism, the Divine Mother is the female polarity of the Godhead, the Shakti or Adi-shakti.

The supreme Shakti or Citi is the original cosmological principle from which the entire universe emerges. This is in keeping with the tendency in Hindu philosophy in general, in which the world-process or phenomenal reality (maya, prakriti) is identified with the female polarity.

Some say that Shakti power is under the will of the male counterpart of Divinity.

In addition to this cosmological context, there is a theological context, with the various Hindu goddesses and deities identified with the Mother. For example Ramakrishna was a devotee of the Divine Mother in the form of Kali. Shaktism, one of the main branches of Hinduism, and the source of most of the tantric texts and practices, is concerned with the worship of the Supreme Mother.

Cybele was referred to as the Magna Mater or Great Mother, and with Isis was one of the great mother goddess of the Roman Empire. The term "Divine Mother" is also used in Catholicism to refer to the Virgin Mary, and was originally used in ancient Egypt to refer to Isis.

See also

• Mother goddess
• Shaktism
• Purusha

Music

• Divine Mother by Mutriba

References

• Avalon, Arthur (Sir John Woodroffe), Shakti and Shakta, Dover Publications, New York, 1978
• Dash, Durgamadhab God as Divine Mother, Orissa Review, vol LXI, no.3 October 2004
• Gupta, Sudhir Ranjan Sen. Mother Cult. Firma Klm Private Ltd.: Calcutta, 1977
• Singh, Jaideva, Pratyabhijnahrdayam – the Secret of Self-Recognition, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 3rd ed. 1980

External links

• Reflections on the Divine Feminine by John Nash [Presentation to Southern Coptic Conference, Johnson City, TN, May 1, 2004].