86. Om kanthadhah kati paryanta madhya kuta svarupinyai namah: I bow down to Amma who from Her neck to Her waist is of the form of the madhyakuta (the middle six syllables of the panchadasakshari mantra)
The neck to the waist. Where the heart resides. In Tantric descriptions, Devi resides in the heart. I bow down to Amma who resides in my heart. Our body is a temple because Amma lives in our hearts. Each beat is our obeisance to Her. Our heart beats are really a symphony of the heart: An Ode to Amma. Thus the gargantuan task of keeping our souls and hearts immensely clean. Just as we clean the area Amma is going to visit, or the peetham Amma will sit on; or take immense care with the cushion Amma will rest on, so also we must take immense care with the heart She resides in.
But we're only mortal beings and we forget this simple lesson. We take a dash of envy, a generous helping of anger and a cupful of hatred and mix it with sufficient vitriol, into our hearts. It's the equivalent of throwing muddy slush onto Amma's chair or putting dirt into the the room She will occupy. We would never, ever think of doing that now, would we? So why do we sully the very heart She actually lives in??
Because we can't actually see Her living there! But maybe if we bring in all the goodness we can gather in the cup of our hands, into our hearts, then Amma would enjoy Her stay there! Give me the strength, Amma, to keep myself as spiritually clean as possible. To have the fortitude and ability to look a tempting vice in the eye and say: No! I will not succumb.
As I stood in the pandal during Durga Puja, all I saw was You! Your power, Your magnificence, Your overriding divinity. May I have the eyes to see it everywhere I look and the sense to feel it in everything and every person.
Om Amriteswariye namah!
The neck to the waist. Where the heart resides. In Tantric descriptions, Devi resides in the heart. I bow down to Amma who resides in my heart. Our body is a temple because Amma lives in our hearts. Each beat is our obeisance to Her. Our heart beats are really a symphony of the heart: An Ode to Amma. Thus the gargantuan task of keeping our souls and hearts immensely clean. Just as we clean the area Amma is going to visit, or the peetham Amma will sit on; or take immense care with the cushion Amma will rest on, so also we must take immense care with the heart She resides in.
But we're only mortal beings and we forget this simple lesson. We take a dash of envy, a generous helping of anger and a cupful of hatred and mix it with sufficient vitriol, into our hearts. It's the equivalent of throwing muddy slush onto Amma's chair or putting dirt into the the room She will occupy. We would never, ever think of doing that now, would we? So why do we sully the very heart She actually lives in??
Because we can't actually see Her living there! But maybe if we bring in all the goodness we can gather in the cup of our hands, into our hearts, then Amma would enjoy Her stay there! Give me the strength, Amma, to keep myself as spiritually clean as possible. To have the fortitude and ability to look a tempting vice in the eye and say: No! I will not succumb.
As I stood in the pandal during Durga Puja, all I saw was You! Your power, Your magnificence, Your overriding divinity. May I have the eyes to see it everywhere I look and the sense to feel it in everything and every person.
Om Amriteswariye namah!
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