Shri Mahalakshmi

It’s the day of Mahalakshmi Puja night, not only of Lakshmi Puja; there’s a difference between the two. Mahalakshmi is one of the main powers of Adi Shakti. As you know: Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati, Mahakali. Now these powers have powers at a material level also, at a subtler level also. So Mahalakshmi power is achieved after Lakshmi power, as you know. There are eight powers of Lakshmi.

This Lakshmi was born or came out of the sea, the great sea, which was churned thousands and thousands of years back. And She came out of the sea because She is the daughter of the sea. That's why She's called as Neeraja. Neera means 'water' and ja means 'born out of.' This has happened thousands and thousand years back that She was born. So what is that? What is this Lakshmi? See symbolically, what is it expressing? It is expressing the awareness. Lakshmi expresses awareness, and She came out of the sea, you know that; the awareness first started growing in the sea. The life started existing in the sea, to begin with, and then it grew out. Without the life there is no awareness. First the life, because everything is jarda, everything is dead, and when it becomes life it means it has awareness. So the awareness started growing in the sea.

This is the symbolic expression. In the gross level you can understand this way. But actually the subtle level, it is the other way round. But because we see things from the gross level, we say that "that is symbolic,” but actually from the other side if you say, “this is symbolic.” Do you understand this point? So for me it is symbolic to see how the life came into being in the sea and that it became aware. For me it is symbolic and for you it is symbolic the other way round. I mean if I see something from this side, I see this way and while you see from that side you see this way. Do you understand this? If you want to paint something on a glass, how do you paint it on the glass? Have you any idea? You start painting first the outermost things that you have to paint. For example if you are painting the Goddess, first you will paint Her ornaments, then Her sari, then Her body. Like that it will be moving deeper from this side, if you are painting it on the glass, because you have to see it from the other side. But supposing you have to paint it on a canvas, you’ll paint it the other way round. You first paint the body, then the sari and then the ornaments. So to one thing it is symbolic because they think this goes from their angle, to the other person who is from the other angle this is absolutely symbolic. And surprising that everything is so symbolic and so much just the same, that whatever you may say, the subtle remains subtle and the gross remains gross. The one who is at the subtle level sees the gross as a symbolic expression of his subtle attention.

Now She was born in the sea. She was called as Neeraja. Or Neera that means “water.” My name is – one of them is Nira as you know; out of Nirmala one name is Nira, Neema and Neela, like that I've got three names, four names I should say the big one is Nirmala. So this Nira part means what, that She was born in the sea, that… the name of Mary is also the same. Miriam or Mary, I don't know how you say in English, but Maria comes from Marie, the word Mari. Mari itself comes from the word Meri. So this Mahalakshmi, Mary is named, and She is, because She was born in the sea and that's how Her name was Mary. Mariana they call Her, some people call Her Mariana, sometime call Her Miriam. All these words are indicating that She was born in the sea. So She is Mahalakshmi. Now Mary is Mahalakshmi and Ganesha is the child. Now see how symbolically it works, that only in Diwali the Lakshmi and the Ganesha are worshipped, only these two personalities. Can you understand that?

The symbol of Mahalakshmi for me is Mary, for you it is Mahalakshmi is the symbol. And the symbol of Ganesha outside is Christ. He is symbolizing Ganesha. So, both of them are worshipped only on Diwali. Actually this is the Christmas. This is the real Christmas that was before also, and this was the time baby Christ was born, not the 25th of December. Tho it's a misunderstanding, doesn't matter, keep it up. Doesn't matter, whenever He’s born, because there used to be a very big festival, and after the festival He was born, called as Valaanan. I don’t know what you call in modern times, that time it was called like that. And then this child was born and that was the time Christmas was celebrated. It was just tallying with that, but somehow it shifted, I don't know how, how it shifted. And there might be somewhere you'll find out that real Christmas was shifted. ...

Now the awareness that was seeking up to Lakshmi, means you achieve money, achieve position for achieving Grace, once you have achieved the Grace of this, you want to achieve God. And this new awakening within you that you have to achieve God now, is the power of Mahalakshmi. By the power of Mahalakshmi only, you achieve your saintliness, your Realization. That's why She came on this earth as the Mother of Jesus Christ. That was Mahalakshmi, not Lakshmi but Mahalakshmi.

May God bless you.

H.H.Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, extract from Shri Mahalakshmi Puja, Hampstead, London, 9/11/80