Chanting to the Mother Goddess, Ma Durga

On my chanting journey this year I began chanting to Ma Durga on April 10th, the day that I was to embark on a journey of a lifetime to one of the most remote places on planet earth: Easter Island.

My Durga Incense wafting above my alter to the Mother, herself.

I spent the day preparing to leave for my trip by spending time with my dogs, emailing teachers and students, setting things up for my 10-day vacation, and of course, setting up my new alter to Durga. It seems funny to me now that Durga has not been a regular goddess of mine. I chant and create many alters to different goddess to invoke their energies all the time. I had spend lots of time independently with Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and yet, the energy to invoke all of those energies as one - Durga - never came to be for me until recently.

It is said that Durga's primary function is to fight demons who threaten the stability of the cosmos. She is depicted as riding a fierce lion and wielding many weapons. She is also associated with Lord Shiva, as another one of his wives. But she is most known as not being submissive to any male deity, not fulfilling household duties, and that excelling at what is traditionally thought of as being a more masculine function: fighting in battle. I like Durga.

The most famous story of Durga involves a demon named Mahisa. Mahisa was so fierce and strong that none of the other gods could defeat him. So, the gods got together and used their own body parts to create another deity: Durga. They gave her weapons and the strength of the gods in which to destroy Mahisa. And so she did, it is said, "causing the earth to shake."

The Hindu celebration of Navaratri is the 9 nights associated with celebrating Durga in her many forms. I had celebrated Navaratri many times in the tradition of three nights to each of her qualities (Kali, Lakshmi & Saraswati, respectfully). And now I was calling upon her for the first time in her main form, to be with my on my journey and in life.

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I created an alter at home for Durga, but also a traveling alter to take with me to Chile. Each morning after I awoke and prepared for my day, I would chant to Durga. Like the other deities who I began chanting for, I decided to keep it simple at first. After all, I had a lot going on with traveling, and I did not want to feel overwhelmed with long or detailed chants. So I began with her simplest one:

Om Dum Durgayei Namaha - which simply means, "Salutations to the combined powers of Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Kali for protection."

Traveling so far from home as a woman can be challenging. But I always create positive intentions and protection around me when I am abroad. Chanting to Durga gave me the opportunity to start each day with the feminine powers that she embodies: that of strength and individualism. I feel that these were qualities especially needed on my trip to Easter Island. And, in fact, there were several times when I chanted to her in the middle of the day just to help focus my intentions during a difficult moment. There is a funny comment in a video from our trip when my friend is driving in the jeep and we are surrounded by wild horses who do not want to move or get out of our way. What you cannot see on the video is that we just went through a herd of cattle who also were reluctant to move out of our way. My friend was nervous with the pointed horns of the cattle, but was less rattled about the horses. So since the mood was a little lighter, I began chanting out loud to Durga to remove the obstacles in our path. Not more than a moment after beginning my chant, the horses parted and we were able to sneak through them. I like to think that was not by accident.

Durga's strength and courage led me well on my trip until we arrived safely back in the United States. That almost didn't happen one day because I could not find my passport. I always keep a copy of my passport at home and with me when I travel, but I started to think about the realities of what would need to happen in order for me to leave Easter Island, which has no embassies. I started to worry about how long I may be held up there until I could even receive the documents in order to travel home, when I caught myself and began chanting to Ma Durga again. My mind calmed, and suddenly I had a vision that I had left my passport in the top pocket of my backpack from three days earlier when we arrived on the island. I couldn't imagine how I would have left it unsafely in a pocket and not in a safer location where I usually put it. But, that is indeed where I found it...safe and sound.

When I arrived home I thought it was time to up my game. I was definitely feeling the energy of Durga with me, strongly. Now I wanted to create some space to learn her Gayatri Mantra, as I had done for Ganesha. I feel that the Gayatri mantras hold a different power and energy for the deities, one that is more directed towards enlightenment and higher vibrations. Do not get me wrong, I love Durga's strength and fierceness, but that is not an energy that I want to embody on a daily basis, lest my life feel like a constant battle!

Durga's Gayatri is:

Om Mahaa-Dhevyai Cha Vidmahe
Durgaayai Cha Dhimahee
Thanno Dhevee Prachodayath

It translates to:
"Let me meditate on the goddess who is the daughter of Kathyayana. Oh, maiden Goddess, give me higher intellect and let Goddess Durga illuminate my mind."

This is a challenging mantra, so I created space for the mantra "Om Hreem Dum Durgaayei Namaha", which is Durga's bija (seed) mantra. I chanted this 108 times daily as I moved about, dancing, banging my feet not he floor in separate rhythmic patterns, and creating spontaneous movements. I just felt like I needed to shake things up! And I wanted to have some fun with my chanting!

The chanting and dancing was easy, and each day I would try to embrace the Gayatri. But that one took me a while to get. Part of my learning these ancient mantras is that I try to create a melody of my own. I try not to listen to any other versions of the mantra so that when I finally get it - I really get it deep down into my soul. The mantras infuses with me and becomes a part of me forever. When this happened one day, unexpectedly with Durga, I felt this softening around the energies of the Goddess that I had not felt before. I felt a higher level of her and my daily chants became more profound experiences in many ways.

May 19th, Friday, is my final day of chanting to Ma Durga. In many ways she was very easy to chant to for me. Even though she and I are new friends, I feel like a part of me has always embodied her. I am incredibly independent. None of my family or close friends even ever thought I would get married. My husband gives me plenty of space to be myself and never tries to stifle me or my creative or travel urges. He understands my need to feel free and to be my own person, and that is why we work so well together...although, there were times in our marriage when this was not always the case, and in those times, unbeknownst to me, I was embodying Durga.

On May 20th (just a few days before my 49th birthday), I shift my focus to one of Durga's aspects Saraswati: goddess of music, arts, creativity and Divine word. How especially serendipitous as I amp up my writing projects for the summer!

They say that everything happens for a reason. I know that I needed Durga with me for my travel to Easter Island. And now, as I shift to the months ahead and my focus there, it appears that the aspect of the Divine Mother that I am most in need of, I will also be embodying.


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