Many times, Guru ji, would liken Lord Shiva as a representation of cosmic consciousness and Shakti Ma as cosmic energy.
He used to say,
“Your real parents are cosmic consciousness and cosmic energy.”
In those early days, as a teenager, I loved whenever he said that.
I was thrilled with the concept that my real parents were some other more together set.
But as time went on, and I got older and wiser and after I'd patched things up and came to understand my parents as real human beings doing their best to grow and guide, I’ll admit, I felt a little guilty at embracing Guru ji’s above statement.
Luckily, he said it many times, which gave me a chance to reflect on it's meaning more at different growth points in my life.
“Your real parents are cosmic consciousness and cosmic energy.”
In time, I stopped embracing the statement from a rebellious teenage place, I also stopped contemplating it from a fru fru fantasy place, and started to dig in to understand what he was truly saying.
Once I grasped it, I worked to integrate that understanding into my bones.
I actually took time to sit with what he'd said.
I wondered…
My real father is cosmic consciousness?… Hmmm…
My real mother is cosmic energy?… Hmmm…
Then I'd think, what does the heck does that mean?
I meditated on it, walked down the street with it, had lunch with it, got bored with it, I hung out with it again, jotted it down on paper, and got curious about it. In time, with persistence, the meaning of the statement opened up.
Shakti in this context signifies the mother.
The Sanskrit root for Shakti (Spelled Śakti in transliteration) is Śak, which means to be capable.
Shakti, as a noun, means capacity, energy,
basically the juice.
The scientists tell us that everything in the manifest world is made up of energy.
As manifest beings, moving through embodiment, we are Shakti.
Shakti, cosmic energy, is always in a unified ecstatic dance with Lord Shiva, cosmic consciousness.
It’s a kind of poetry meets myth meets modern life.
ya gotta decode the puzzle.
The statement doesn’t devalue our manifested human parents.
It seeks to wake us up to our real nature beyond body and mind.
It wants us to understand and feel our true source: Energy and Consciousness.
We do that by Meditation, Asana and Chanting.
Chanting to Shakti, Cosmic Mother, as Durga, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Kali,
and all the forms of the mother, helps up gain more conscious access to our own inherent energy.
This is our cosmic energy that's united with source, called Lord Shiva. Through chanting, we unify bringing our energy and consciousness together.
You may say, “Uh thats interesting, but what's the value in that?”
If that resonates with you I say, the question is like asking, what's the value in knowing myself? What's the value in understanding my true nature? What's the value in understanding my real source?
To which I will reply,
What's the value in cultivating grounding, inner quiet, access to innate wisdom and real confidence born from practice?
©2023 Luminous Shabda & Manorama