Guru Gobind Singh was a worshipper of the Divine Mother (Shri Bhagauti/ Bhagawati)
Guru Gobind Singh: Kripa kari hum par Jag Mata
Granth kara puran subh rata Divine Mother of
this universe shower Your blessings on me,
so that I shall be able to complete this Granth
Dear devotees of the Divine Mother,
Namaste – i bow to the Adi Shakti who resides in you!
"The word "Ardas" literally means "prayer." But the traditional Sikh
Ardas has come to represent a specific form of prayer recited in
every Gurdwara program. It is recited before the Guru is transported
or brought into Prakaash, just before the hukam is taken, and again
when the Guru is set into Sukhasaan. It can also be recited before
undertaking any activity of significance, before leaving on a
journey, to give thanks, or as a way of daily remembering the Creator.
The core of Ardas is an invocation which Guru Gobind Singh recited at
the beginning of his epic poem Chandi di Vaar. In it, he calls upon
the power of Adi Shakti in the form of Pritham Bhagauti. He then
calls upon the Spirit of the Guru, elaborating upon the nine
manifestations from Guru Nanak through Guru Teg Bahadur. This part of
Ardas is unchangeable and should be recited in the original Gurmukhi,
if possible. Sikh ministers should be able to recite this short
prayer from memory, and should be prepared to offer Ardas at any
time, at the request of the Sangat." (www.fateh.sikhnet.com/)
The Ardas is often adorned with various passages from the Guru Granth
Sahib. The recitation of Ardas commences with the opening stanza of Var Sri
Bhagauti Ji written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji (The Var Sri Bhagauti Ji
is contained with the Dasam Granth). This smoothly written ode begins
by going through the order of meditation by placing Sri Bhagauti (The
Divine Mother) foremost above all else, and then systematically
referring to each of the other Gurus in turn entreating them for aid
and protection.
The opening verses of the Ardas reads:
Ardaas: Ek Onkar Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. Sri Bhagauti Ji Sahae. Var
Shri Bhagauti Ji Ki Patshahi Dasvin
Ardaas: God is One. All victory is of the Wondrous Guru. May the
respected Shri Bhagauti (Divine Mother) help us! Ode of the respected
Shri Bhagauti recited by the Tenth Guru.
Pritham bhagauti simari kai gur nanak lain dhiai
First call up Bhagauti (The Divine Mother) in your mind, then
meditate on Guru Nanak.
Guru Gobind Singh was a worshipper of the Divine Mother (Shri
Bhagauti/Bhagawati). Not only did he entrench Her in the Ardas as is
evident from his writings, but also sought Her blessings for the
completion of the holy Granth Sahib:
Kripa kari hum par Jag Mata, Granth kara puran subh rata
Divine Mother of this universe shower Your blessings on me, so that I
shall be able to complete this Granth.
In his auto biography he writes,
Hemkunt parbat hai jahan, sapt sring sobhat hai tahan
Vaha hum anik tapasya sadhi, Mahakal Kalka aaradhi
In my previous life, I did lot of penance at Hemkunt, and worshipped
the primordial Mother (Mahakal Kalka).
(Note: Aaradhi means worshipping a female deity.)
V. Wadher in "Guru Govind Rai (Singh) in Line Of Shri Rama And Shri
Krishna" has this to say:
"Govind Singh wrote that in his past life, he was a Rishi who
performed great penances at Hemkunt. He has given a graphic
description of a place in the Himalayas ensconced by twelve mountain
peaks. It was here that he was ordained by the Param Purukh to take
another birth for the specific purpose of uprooting adharma. This
story went well with the kind of life he led and the things he
achieved. He was born to Guru Tegh Bahadur because the latter too was
propitiating God to bless him with a great son. The whole stance of
this story is the same as of Dasaratha who also performed penances in
his earlier birth and was blessed by the Lord that He himself would
be born to him.
In the tradition of Lord Rama, Guru Govind Singh performed a year-
long Chandi Yagna at Naina Devi (the shrine of the Goddess of
beautiful eyes) overlooking Anandpur Sahib before launching upon his
mission. Lord Rama had done the same before marching into Lanka. The
Goddess, pleased with his austerities, had blessed Rama with victory.
Lord Krishna had taken Arjuna to the temple of the Goddess for
seeking her blessings before the battle with the Kauravas.
RULING DEITY
According to tradition, Chandi is the ruling deity of the Jalander
Peeth, the triangle pervaded by the Goddess of which Jalander, Kulu
and Vaishno Devi form the three angles. In Punjab when the Shaktas
(the worshippers of Shakti) ruled the roost, the Mother was known to
be residing in every nook and corner of the triangle, alternatively
known as the Trigarth Peeth. The important shrines of the Goddess in
this region bear testimony to this point. There are Ambala (Ambalaya -
the home of the Goddess), Chandigarh (the fortress of the Goddess),
Kalka (abode of Kali), Naina Devi (in the Shivaliks), Asa Devi (in
the Dhaulaladhars), Hidimba (in the Kulu hills), Vajreshwari (the
Mother of Thunderbolt) at Kangra, Jwala Devi (the Mother of the
Flaming Mouth) at Jwala Mukhi, Chintpuri in Hosiarpur and finally
Vaishno Devi (the Vaishnavi Mother) in the Jammu Hills." (end)
So Guru Gobind Singh kept Shri Bhagauti (Maha Devi) over and above
Nanak and the other Sikh Gurus. Such was his highest esteem towards
the Divine Mother that he composed the Ardas seeking supplication
from Her. Thus all Sikhs, unknowingly or knowingly, are actually
worshipping and seeking the blessings of Shri Bhagauti (The Divine
Mother) everyday. But try telling them that truth and you will be
enlightened by a collective ignorance stretching back centuries.
There are a number of articles by Sikhs trying to depreciate, even
erase, the Divine Feminine (Bhagauti/Bhagawati). i do not wish to
confuse readers by stating all the different interpretations and
reasons given by Sikhs to distance themselves from the Primordial
Mother (Bhagauti/Bhagawati).
Ik sansaaree, ik bhandaaree, ik laa-ay deeban.
The 1430-page Guru Granth Sahib refers to God Almighty (Waheguru) as both Father and Mother i.e., God and His creative aspect Adi Shakti. The Divine Feminine is not only entrenched in the Holy Scriptures of Sikhism and Hinduism but the Bible and Qur'an as well. Shri Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Durga, Mahakali, Saraswati, Nanak, Buddha, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad, etc., are all Her creation. She is your Self and mine too.
Try as Sikhs may, they can neither rid the Bhagauti (The Divine Mother) of their Ardas nor the Aykaa Mayee of the Jap Ji Sahib from the Guru Granth Sahib. Both are daily recited with reverence the world over. Both praise the Divine Feminine--the Aykaa Mayee (The One Mother), Sri Bhagauti/Bhagawati (Divine Mother), the Adya Shakti (the Power of God Almighty)!
But how can the ignorant and conditioned religious masses be made to realize that? How can they wake up when their own gianis (priests) know as much about the Divine Mother as a donkey knows about the Guru Granth Sahib.
regards,
jagbir
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi "Meditation is nothing but the state of remaining in the constant company of the every-loving Bhagawati."
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
"We have also Sikh community. They came to Sahaja, but they said, "We cannot worship Goddess." I said "Why?" Surprised at it, because Shri Guru Nanak has talked about the Goddess, the Devi. The first sentence of His book is Adya. Adya is the Adi Shakti. And for this, if the Sikhs stupidly say, then why do they have a 'Chandi'-'garh'. That's so stupid also, nothing to really compare."
Shri Mataji, 2001 Christmas Puja
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