In our forgotten life, beyond time and space,
all opposites dwell in harmony. Love embraces the masculine and the feminine,
hard and soft, hot and cold, yin and yang. In the material world, where
separation creates competitiveness, the balance of opposites has always been
precarious. When humanity first ventured out in physical bodies, women were
held in higher esteem than men because the miracle of birth amazed everyone.
After a few million babies had been born, the process of childbirth lost some
of its fascination, and some societies became more egalitarian with men and
women appreciating the contributions of the opposite sex.
As humanity’s memory of oneness grew fainter,
the separation between men and women became more distinct. Man envied woman’s
ability to create new life, and woman envied the freedom of man unhampered by
the needs of their children. The human desire for power was out of control, and
while every man could not hold a lofty position in society, every man could have power over his wife,
daughters, and maid-servants. Men discovered how easy it was to use their
physical strength to enforce laws that gave them power over women, and so they
did.
Love has always been unhappy to see one part
of creation being oppressed by another; so the divine feminine spirit has been
manifesting in various forms throughout time, to remind us that women and men
are equally important where Love is concerned. There is a myriad of goddesses
watching over humanity, making sure that our neglected feminine traits are not
forgotten altogether. To each part of
the world, Love has assigned goddesses that suit the culture and temperament of
the people who live there.
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| The Goddess Isis |
The goddess Isis first entered the world in
ancient Egypt, where she taught mothers how to care for their children with
loving firmness, how to domesticate men so they would make good husbands; and how to grind corn, make bread, spin flax
and weave cloth. Isis also appeared in ancient Greece and Rome, and she was
deeply loved by the people of all three areas.
Isis was a
good friend to Demeter, Greek goddess of the bountiful harvest, who was known to the Romans as Ceres. Isis and Demeter shared an interest in
nurturing Love’s children. Together and separately, they appeared in homes and
fields to show people how to grow different varieties of grain, how to preserve
it; how to bake it in nutritious breads, and cook it in cereal.
Isis and Demeter
share tips and recipes with Annapurna, Hindu goddess and symbol of the nourishment and care that
mothers provide for their children. Annapurna has the ability to supply food to
the hungry in unlimited quantities; just as Jesus fed the five thousand with
five loaves of bread and three fish; just as a human mother feeds her own child
an endless supply of milk and love. Isis, Demeter, and
Annapurna promise that we humans will one day learn that the secret to a
boundless supply of nourishment lies in our ability to give from the heart,
without reservation.
Isis and
Demeter have been largely forgotten, along with most of the other ancient gods
and goddesses who were replaced by the Judeo-Christian image of one Father-God.
But Annapurna and her sisters are still revered in India. Followers of the
Hindu religion recognize that the Supreme Being envelopes both masculine and
feminine traits and Hindus know that one has to understand the feminine aspect
of the divine, in order to know the ultimate truth. Love has rewarded this faith by providing the
Hindus with many goddesses, each one portraying a unique characteristic of the
divine mother, Shakti.
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| The Goddess Saraswati |
Saraswati, another favorite
Hindu goddess, is a patron of the
arts, music, knowledge, and wisdom. Saraswati, divine consort of Lord Brahma,
creator of the universe; grants the powers of speech, wisdom and learning to
the devotees who call on her. She chooses to fly on the back of a swan rather
than the peacock that preens for her attention, because the white bird
symbolizes spiritual purity, while the peacock reminds us of those self-focused
humans to whom material things are all-important.
Saraswati shares much in common with Athena, Greek
goddess, who was called Minerva by the Romans. Athena was known for her wisdom,
and she imparted to humans her knowledge and skill in weaving, pottery, music,
and horsemanship. Like her divine sisters, Athena was relegated to the pages of
mythology books when the Christian Church Fathers decreed that the godhead must
be confined to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, Athena’s anonymity does
not prevent her from participating in the affairs of humans who continue to
need more divine assistance than they realize. And Athena maintains a close
friendship with Saraswati, meeting with her frequently to discuss the needs of
their charges.
When Saraswati and Athena need advice about helping
people to discover the feminine wisdom within themselves, they consult with
Tara, Mother of all the Buddhas. Unlike other goddesses, Tara was once a human:
a princess whose name was Moon of Wisdom-knowledge. She was a deeply devoted
disciple of Buddha, and longed to attain enlightenment herself so that she could
relieve the suffering of all living beings. When she achieved this goal through
meditation and pure desire, the monks who knew her suggested that she might be
more effective if she was reborn as a male. The princess responded to their
suggestion with these words: “There are many who desire enlightenment in a man's
body, but none who work for the benefit of sentient beings in the body of a
woman. Therefore, until the Wheel of Suffering is empty, I shall work for the
benefit of sentient beings in a woman's body."
Like Saraswati, Athena, and the other goddesses, Tara understands that
much of the world’s suffering is caused by an imbalance between masculine and
feminine, and the strict division that separates the two. Love’s
representatives: angels and archangels, goddesses and gods, divine lords and
ladies -- all weep when they see men pushing women to the back of their places
of worship; husbands beating wives; fathers raping daughters. Whenever one
faction of humanity oppresses another, the result is more suffering for the
whole. The oppressor prolongs the
brokenness of the world with his inability to love and honor all of creation,
and he, too, lives among the fragments of the life he has shattered.
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