The Divine Mother

A Letter from Deepak

The divine mother is an essential nurturing, life-giving energy. She represents the power of beauty, the power of intuition, the power of creativity, the power of compassion, and the power of love. In many Eastern traditions, this dynamic, potent energy is known as Shakti, which means feminine power. This power doesn’t reside only in women, however; Shakti is the divine spark and the flow of God’s love within each of us.

Etymologically, the word Shakti is related to the word Shekinah, which in Hebrew means “the feminine face of God.” For thousands of years, human beings have largely ignored or denigrated the feminine aspect, while focusing on domination, struggle, and ego. As we continue our evolutionary journey, it is absolutely important for both men and women to embrace feminine power. In fact, this may be our best hope for inspiring global change. Gandhi and Lincoln were markedly feminine in their image and vision; so were Jesus and Buddha. Their love, forgiveness, and wisdom transformed the lives of millions.

We can begin at an individual level by recognizing and cultivating the qualities of the divine mother within ourselves:

Understanding. Shakti goes beyond the illusion of separation and sees the unity behind all diversity.
At the deepest level, we are all aspects of the same infinite Being in different disguises. Instead of imposing, Shakti communicates and seeks to understand.

Patience. Rather than forcing an answer or solution, Shakti has patience and waits for the solution to emerge. In this willingness to accept uncertainty, answers spontaneously emerge from the confusion and chaos of any situation.

Compassion. Instead of ignoring or suppressing emotions, Shakti pays attention to the emotions and signals of her body and can tell when someone else is ready to listen and act. She allows love and compassion to guide her.

Peace. Shakti is peaceful and allows herself and those around her the freedom to be as they are. No situation ever requires force. She accepts each moment as it is, knowing that the whole universe is as it should be.

Creativity. Shakti creates solutions where none were seen before. She knows that she has the ability to fulfill all her dreams because her essential nature is pure potentiality.

Wisdom. Shakti is wise. She sees the cosmic perspective, which always comes from love. She lives from the domain of spirit, which asks, “How can I help, how can I serve?”

Since most of us are conditioned to believe that we are separate, limited beings who have to fight and compete to survive in a hostile world, fully embracing our divine feminine may be a slow, gradual process. But it is an essential one. Shakti is the life force itself, the hidden power that turns matter into life, and the source of all passion and creativity. When we honor the feminine energies inherent in all of us, we can achieve anything.

Love,
Deepak