by Michael Ketterhagen
“A mother does not make a decision to nurture the baby in her womb.
It happens naturally and unconditionally.
This is the nature of the divine in our world today.
No matter what we are doing or have done,
we are unconditionally nurtured and loved by the divine.”
--Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
During this season of Advent, a time in which Christians prepare for Christmas, there is a lot of emphasis on the coming of Christ. Actually, Christ in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, has already come and lived and died and rose from the dead. Every year this commemoration of the birth of God’s beloved son, in Christianity, in the form of a baby often overshadows the role of the mother in that birth.
Without a woman there would be no baby Jesus. Every human has a mother.
I sometimes wish we could realize the importance of mothers in today’s world. They are the source of our understanding and experience of unconditional love. A mother doesn’t make the decision to nurture a child growing in her womb. A mother spontaneously nurtures the growth of the embryo into a viable human who walks on the earth. A mother, even when there is not enough food for herself, continues to pull nutrients from her bones in order to insure the growth of the baby in her womb.
Mothers, even though they might punish or scold the child for doing something wrong, continue to love their child. I remember Jeffery Dahmer’s mother saying that even though he committed terrible crimes, he was a good boy and she still loved him. Mothers do that!
Mothers are the flesh and blood manifestation of the unconditional love and acceptance of God. God’s complete compassion and nurturing is always available to us, the child of The Source of Life, just like a mother’s love is always available to her child. God is truly the Divine Mother.
It seems so right, then, for this time of year to give honor, praise and glory to the Divine Mother and not just to the offspring of her womb.
Wonderfully, the Yoga Tradition and the Catholic Christian tradition emphasizes and spends time commemorating the presence of the Divine Mother. In the Yoga Tradition, which has its philosophical roots in the Vedic Tradition, there are 11 different names for the Divine Mother. They are put together into a chant that gives honor and praise to all the dimensions of Her existence. It goes like this: “Jayanta Mangala Kali Bhadrakali Kapalini, Durga Kshama Shiva Dhatri Svaha Svadha, namostuthe.”
In the Catholic Tradition, during this time of the year, the Divine Mother is honored in a very special way as the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and as Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12). Both days commemorate the loving, compassionate, divine nature of The Mother of Life.
Remembering and celebrating the Presence of the Divine Mother at this time of the year is very important for all of us, especially those who are struggling or in pain, because it reminds us not only of the presence of God in the world, the presence of light, justice, peace and joy in the world, but it reminds us of the Source of that human peace and joy…
a woman,
a mother…
Our Divine Mother.
I pray to the Divinity, to the Divine Mother, in you!
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