Devi means life

Guruji: Temples in Puri, Konark and Khajuraho and all major temples in India depicted the erotic circle rituals practiced in those temples in vivid details combining sensuality, abandon and transcendence. To elicit the love of the divine Mother, love has to be practised, because it is love which makes a woman an affectionate mother. Unsatisfied desire becomes violent and aggressive. The passionate Mother has to cool Her passions to make her kind and give her milk to her devotees”. There are many who say that Devi puja is not for ordinary people, or outright dangerous if Mahanaivedyam is not offered daily etc. Why do people say she is an angry Goddess, and those who worship Her end up having many difficulties? Also, many people accuse "is it necessary to do such long pujas? You must be intending harm to someone. " Naturally people are frightened and don't even think of doing Devi puja. Also, why is Lalita Sahasram made out to be secret, and people are advised by some who ought to know better, that Vishnu Sahasram is "safe" implying that Laita is unsafe? Is there any truth in such fears?

Most of these fears about Devi puja, Shakti puja, and Tantra are rooted in ignorance, I think. The reality is quite different from the fears. Let us try to understand who is Devi, why we should worship Her, and what happens if we do and what if we don't.

The word Devi literally means "that which lights up the world." Now what is it that has the power to create, sustain and destroy the world? Let me give an example.

Suppose there is a dark room, in which we see no objects at all. It has been dark for millions of years, say. We don't know what is in it. Now suppose we take a lighted candle into it. We start seeing the objects in it. We may think: how can this little candle have the power to remove the darkness that has been for millions of years? What would you say? It has, or it does not have the power? You will agree that light has power over darkness. Darkness does not have power over light. Light is knowing, Ignorance is not knowing.

The world has been a dark room for me for millions of years. I never knew what was in it till the little light of life came into me. I didnot know the Sun, Moon, fire, or any living or nonliving objects in
this wide world till I was born, and life started helping me to see. So the word Devi really means life, which helps us to know. see, feel, touch, smell etc. Life is the little candle which lights up the mighty universe that has been unseen, unknown, unexperienced. This little candle is mightier than the whole universe!

So, Devi means life. My life, your life, every living being's life. Now what is there to be afraid of life? If I am worshipping life, I am worshipping Devi. If you receive love, you are happy, are you not? Devi puja really means to make myself happy, loving myself. I am doing puja to myself when I am doing Devi puja. If I have the means, I will offer Her in golden plates courses of 64 delicacies prepared in the most extravagant matter. I will offer Her a perfumed bath worthy of God’s. I will give Her a massage she will remember for life. If I don't have the means, I will be happy with just bread and peanut butter. What do I care as long as I am happy? Being happy is the real Devi puja. Neither Devi cares, because she is my life, she is in me, she is me. She is in every limb of me.

The real point to remember in Devi puja is that it is for your own life that the puja is being done. So whatever it takes to make you happy, all that undoubtedly is puja. Whatever that makes you unhappy is not puja, because puja means adoration love, and happiness. And Devi puja is adoring life, pro-life, not anti-life. It is not against life, so it does not hurt anyone.

People ask "can we keep Devi in home and do puja?" She is already there in you as life. So the question is, "Can you stay in your home?" Surely you can. Can you do puja? The question is saying, can you be happy? Why not? You can do puja, Devi puja most definitely. It is for your own prana, life, that puja is really taking place. So go ahead, by all means. Power flows to you by loving yourself. Puja is expressing your love, to yourself and to all life.

Although life is one, it manifests as different powers in different places. Life in my eyes is the power to see, in ears to hear, in tongue to taste and talk, in skin to touch and feel, in hands to grasp, in feet to run, in genitals to reproduce, in breasts to give milk and so on. If life is missing in a foot like a polio patient, He cannot walk. So power comes from life, power is life.

The concept of Shakti pithas flows from this idea. There is the great puranic story of How Sati, the adorable wife of Siva got angry when Her father did not invite Siva for a fire ritual he was performing. He insulted Siva saying," He is the erect male genital. What is so great about worshipping it?" So Sati got angry and left Her body by Yoga. Siva hears this, becomes angry, and keeping Her corpse on his shoulders, is out to destroy the world. Gods pray to Vishnu to save the worlds from Siva's anger. Vishnu sends his discus, which cuts the body of Sati into various pieces. They all fell at different places, and became Shakti pithas, where power resides alive.