... & back to the Divine Mother, again

Kali statue
Originally uploaded by alxindia.

no mother raises good children without being strict. it's not possible. at some point in their development (usually earlier on than not), ALL children transgress the rules we didn't even know existed. if our mothers just let us do whatever we want, we're going to wind up being insufferable brats. so, mom swats us on the butt, or shouts 'no!' at us, or punishes us for screwing up.

the Divine Mother is like that, too, only She's hitting us through our own karmas, our own illusion blocks (like jealousy, egoism, pride, vanity, selfishness, etc.) and She's hitting us in order for us to purify those blocks to knowing our true selves, and to recognizing Her.

so, it's on our shoulders to decipher Her maya, Her illusion, and how deeply engaged in it we are with Her, and to always search for the deeper meaning behind the tests and tricks and challenges She throws at us.

I always think of the way we suffer, unknowingly, in Her creation as analogous to a three-year-old child who is trying to run into traffic -- to the three-year-old, there's nothing wrong with that impulse. mortality isn't really an issue. but to that mother -- my god! it's catastrophic, so she grabs the child, and sternly scolds the kid, telling him not to go running into traffic. ever.

to the child, mom is SO unfair! she's such a bitch! she's not letting the kid do whatever the kid wants to do. obviously, from the perspective of an adult, that mother is not only sensible, but within rights to be freaked out and stern, and even angry with her child. whatever it takes to impress on that child NOT to go running into traffic again -- even though it's a brutal denial of freedom, from the child's point of view!

(grinning here)


it's a tough game with Her, but what the heck, it's the only real game in the Universe (so what if it's rigged!?) -- and of course the final results are awfully blissful...