Re-Membering
When we no longer recognise that All of life is Sacred and have forgotten that Divinity is present through the entire fabric of experience, we deny the living wisdom and primordial energy which endlessly births creativity into creation.
We have forgotten the Divine Feminine Principle, the Great Mother, the Goddess.
Sri Lakshmi can help us to re-member. Her presence is the abundance of Sri, the luminosity and radiance inside of our heart and in the world. She is the bounty of both our Soul and of the Earth and the field of dynamic Love that is all encompassing and continues to grow and expand through the act of simply birthing more Love unto Herself and all of her children. Yet, if we fail to truly see, to revere Her living presence, She retreats unto Herself.
Samudra Manthan & Rebirthing Lakshmi
The Samudra Manthan, the great story of ’The Churning of the Milky Ocean’ tells of a time, a long long time ago, but not so long ago, as it is happening here right now, when the world was in turmoil. There was utter chaos and the earth was plagued by war and fighting, greed, the devas (gods), led by Lord Indra, in endless battles with the asuras (demons) to protect the lands and people.
Unfortunately the chaos worsened when Lord Indra had failed to recognise Sri, Lakshmi, within a garland of flowers gifted to him by the sage Durvasa. This was a blessing of good fortune yet with his arrogant nature he had tossed aside the garland and not only had Indra and the gods been cursed and denied their powers by Durvasa who was deeply insulted but Lakshmi herself was also upset retreated to the bottom the ocean for many many years.
The battles between the devas and theasuras continued but chaos ruled as the devas were powerless. Equally the blessing energy of Lakshmi was gone, the world was dried up and empty of abundance and good fortune, left infertile and hostile. This ancient story a clear mirror for how humanity still now have forgotten to honour Life and Earth and are caught up in power hungry tyrannous battles of control and greed.
The Devas were desperate for the return of their powers and of abundant life and wealth. Seeking advice from Lord Vishnu there are told they must ‘churn the milky ocean’, yet there is a catch, for this to be successful they are required to come together, as One, with the Asuras to churn together.
Vishnu gave one condition to the task, you must churn the ocean with your enemy, all coming together, gods, goddesses and demons, just as it is within, all the parts of ourself, loved and rejected, seeking to be embraced.
The churning of the ocean is the churning of our heart, it is the sādhanā , the effort, the tapas, the fire, the sweat, where not one part of ourselves can be rejected. The yoga, the tantra, is this journey of reclamation, a process of integrating consciousness and returning to wholeness.
It is a huge ask, but the devas agree and they start to churn. Slowly, all sorts of things start to emerge from the great ocean of consciousness – the rains, the moonlight, the green of trees and abundance of crops, jewels and precious gifts of nature and so much more that had dissolved away and dried up.
But then there was a surprise, the Halāhala, a terrible noxious poison ~ and this is just like when we begin to meet parts of ourselves and others which have forgotten, denied rejected. The temptation in that moment can be to turn away, to distract or numb out but then we deny ourselves the most potent alchemical work and potential for radical growth.
In the story Lord Shiva drinks the Halāhala and chants the mantras, the the power of the mantras transforms the poison to nectar.
The Devas and Asuras are able to keep churning the milky ocean and Lakshmi eventually ascends from the milky depths on the lotus flower with the sweet hum of the honey bees. The amrita, the nectar of immortality also appears and a drop is poured on the tongue of each god and goddess and fertile life, abundance and beauty are restored to the world.
Reflections
The practices of yoga and the inner work, this churns the heart, we will discover many gifts and we will also unearth poisons and challenging encounters along the way, but these will also be gateways to growth and empowerment and further transformation.
The work will strengthen us, awaken courage and provide the necessary ground for us to be deeply rooted in our own abundant soul beauty and able to see that same beauty in another and in all of life. Our sādhanā is the pathway and the anchor, revealing all the parts of ourselves, both the loved and rejected, to be seen and bathed in the light of loving awareness.
As we purify we become strong and clear to re-member and hold our completeness and to be channel of that Loving Awareness and of Creative Wisdom, so that we may co-create with and be in service of Life.
Lakshmi also holds the teachings of Bhukti-Mukti, worldy fulfilment and spiritual liberation, the re-memberance that Spirit and Matter are not separate and the . Our body is holy, the earth is Sacred and our complete experience is an expression of the Divine. God(dess) is within each of and All of Life.