Meri Ma Durga – My MOM
Today is the last day of #9DaysOfWomanhood Navratri Blogathon and I am going to miss these days a lot. That was one fun crazily motivating Blogathon that I participated for the first time. Today is also the last day of Navratri. And the prompt for today is so apt that it made the atheist inside me jump in excitement. Prompt wants us to write about ‘A woman in your life who is like one of the Goddess’s avatar’. And for me, she’s my mom of course.
It brings me immense pleasure to share that I, along with 24 other bloggers are celebrating #9daysofwomanhood throughout Navratri. I thank Gagandeep Kochar for introducing me. Her blog is named as My Diaries and I loved reading her blog on the prompt for today ‘Talk about a woman as one of the Goddess’s avatar‘.
Hosted By :
#MyLittleMuffin
#TheMomSagas
#Mummasaurus
#TheReadingMomster
Now, you must be thinking how the prompt on God made the atheist in me jump in excitement? Well, I was not a born atheist, I was the firm believer in deities and their supreme power and how they could keep us content and healthy. There was not just a single God, that I used to follow. In fact, I prayed to many Gods and Goddesses whose names I could slip into my little mind.
‘Before starting the actual post, I want to give a little background’
Being a Believer
My mom tells me stories of my childhood where I would go to sleep only after listening to lullabies which were actually the prayer songs. She was the devotee of Ma Durga (we also call her as Shera Wali Mata as she rides a lion) and would go to Vaishno Devi (Holy Temple of Ma Durga) every year without fail. Her devotion made our family follow the same rituals more than anything else.
“Ma Durga is depicted in the Hindu mythology as a fearless woman riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon. The 10-day long Hindu festival, Navratri, is celebrated to offer prayers to 9-Avatars of Ma Durga”.
There are some very interesting tales which made me believe in the power of Ma Durga,
- When my mom was 5 months pregnant with me, she visited Vaishno Devi Temple to pray for her unborn child and get her blessings. She used to say, I was the gifted child from Ma Durga whenever I questioned my destiny and was looked down by other members of our family for being a girl child (my paternal grandparents never loved me for I was a girl and that too only child of my parents).
- My belief got, even more, firm when my mom told me that my 1st birthday was celebrated at the Vaishno Devi Temple, I was unwell at that time and how my condition improved drastically after getting the blessings from Ma Durga. My mom had said this many times, that I was Ma Durga’s blessed girl and she would always take care of me.
Being an Atheist
Now coming back to the present day, I describe myself as a half atheist since I don’t believe in the existence of God anymore neither I believe in prayers offered to idols at temples. However, I do believe in One Supreme Power and have faith in prayers which are done from within. I am not afraid of any God because for me God doesn’t exist. (Why I turned an atheist is a story for some other time).
I BELIEVE IN MYSELF! I BELIEVE IN KARMA!
‘But I do have a Modern day – Ma Durga – in my life and she is – My Mom – and if I believe in any God, that is only my mother’
Some facts about Durga Ma and My Ma as Durga –
Durga Ma – is also identified as Shakti (power), she rides a Lion, which symbolizes unlimited power and she uses that power to fight evil.
My Ma – has been the pillar of our family, I have seen her fighting with the world for underestimating her power as a woman. She was the only working lady in our family full of orthodoxs’. She was the one who wanted me to follow my dreams and always supported my decisions.
Durga Ma – has many hands which depict she protects her devotees from all directions.
My Ma – doesn’t have many hands but she does shield her family from all the evils coming in the way. The way she worked hard for me so that I could get good education, she used to keep awake whole night when I would fell sick and she still comes running to me when I feel lost or scared of some situations which clearly depits how protective she is for us.
Durga Ma – is considered as the Mother of Universe and takes care of everything under it.
My Ma – is now Mother to my husband along with me and also to my baby and is always there for us in the time of need and support. She is the most loving and caring person who is always there for us no matter how far we are, she is in our hearts and is always there in our prayers. We are lucky to have her blessings around us.
Durga Ma – carries a Trishul in her hand which depicts the 3 human qualities – Satwa (inactive state of mind which means more awareness of thoughts), Rajas (energy associated with desires and ambitions) and Tamas (lethargy and stress). They need a balance between them to acquire happiness.
My Ma – doesn’t carry a Trishul but knows how to maintain that balance among these qualities. I have seen her early morning sitting in a meditative pose for hours which she says helps her in being aware, I have seen her working till she got retired and still she has desires and ambitions for which she stays active and I have also seen her stressed keeping awake whole night as she tries to figure the way out of it.
Durga Ma – carries different weapons in her hands which convey that different weapons must be used to destroy different kinds of enemies.
My Ma – has many weapons of virtues like honesty, kindness, loyalty, compassion, courage, modesty, patience, self-dicipline to name a few which she use to fight demons like negativity, arrogance, aggression, fear, judgement, rejection and self-doubt.
I am sure you all agree now, that my mom is no less than Goddess Durga in today’s time. And if I have to worship a God, then she is the only One. Meet my Ma Durga –
- I look up to her for inspiration.
- I get most of my motivation from her.
- She made me learn how to be thankful in any situation.
- My mom showed me how to face my fears and fight them.
- My friend for life, I got my friendship lessons from her.
- She taught me how to laugh away all the pain.
- Showed me the value of a family and described the meaning of true love.
- Mom made me realize what a Mother-child bond is all about.
- She is always there beside me, holding my hand and making the walk easier.
- I am confident as I know she will catch me if I ever have a fall.
Do I need any God when I have my Mom with me always?
Thanks for reading this post. I hope I didn’t hurt anybody’s feelings by mentioning anything negative or wrong about the Goddess. There are many people who have divine faith in the power of Gods and Goddesses. But I didn’t mean in any way to hurt their sentiments. The views and beliefs are my own and personal.
I want to thank Wiki (Wikipedia) for proving some mythological content to help complete this post!
I also want to confess to the hosts that this was the most difficult of all the prompts. But I still enjoyed writing about it. Thanks for arranging this Blogathon!!!
And my lovely friends and readers if you liked this post, please shower some love in the comments section below. And feel free to share this post. Thanks!
Now, I would like you to meet Sumira Bhatia, my friend, and co-blogger who blogs at cuckoosnest-sumira.blogspot.in. Go check her awesome blog to read what she thinks about today’s prompt.
Very well written Neha!.. ???
Thanks Gagan 🙂
I now think all our mothers are incantations of the Ma!! Loved this post.
Oh yes…they are. Thanks Sumira 🙂
Amazing..I’m happy that I participated here and got to read your blog?
That’s a big compliment for me Uttara, Thanks for the love. I loved reading your blogs too.
Firstly ….Bravo! For writing such a controversial topic (especially in India) so meaningfully. U r right….mom’s are God..I second you.
You r a very positive soul.. (credits to auntyji). Pay my regards to her.
Happy blogging.Love?
Thanks sweetie, there’s no fun in hiding the truth from readers. Mumy will be so happy to read your comment :*
Dear u explained the power of a mother n different roles of a mother perfectly . I have faith in God and d supreme power, as I witnessed so many incidents which made my belief strong. But yes me too believe that mother is God on earth, to whom I can talk, touch, enjoy her support n love. God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers…..?
Absolutely true…if we didn’t have mothers we would not have found the right path. They are our real God. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
That comparison is spot on! Mothers play such a key role in the directions our lives take.
Thanks Akshaya 🙂
Wow…
I too believe in supreme power more than idol worship. Loved your post.
Thanks Khyati 🙂
Rightly said. Why go searching for God when you are born to one! ❤️
Absolutely, Thanks Anjana 🙂
It’s the word motherhood which bestows the best of the powers in the world..
So true Anu 🙂
Lovely post 🙂
Thanks dear 🙂
How beautifully you described a mom and daughters relationship. Moms are the best and no less than a God.
Thanks Deepa 🙂
Lovely post, and I agree if there is God it is in our mothers! It was wonderful reading how you view your mother, in our busy lives we often forget these points. It served as an reminder to me of everything my mother has done for me.
Thanks for liking this post 🙂
Very well put! I agree that people around us can sometimes be so inspiring, we look up to them the same way others would look up to God.
Thanks Mahak 🙂
Beautiful.piece!
Thanks for stopping by Penelope 🙂
Well written and inspiring post…Motherhood is a beautiful relationship and i really loved the way you have expressed it beautifully well
Thanks a lot Melani for reading and liking the post 🙂
I would love to support your thoughts