Under the posting ‘maya, the illusion’ we have seen that we cannot get rid of maya. All along we have been discussing that maya has to go before realising the Brahman. These two statements contradict each other. There could be no spirituality (spirituality is different from religion) without Shakthi, as She is the kinetic energy. Without being kinetic knowledge cannot be obtained. Assuming that you are always at home, doing nothing, how can you attain knowledge, at least in the initial stages? Once you gain knowledge out of experience, you can become static to extract the Truth from the knowledge you have gained. Being kinetic, gives you material knowledge and extracting the truth out of the material knowledge gained, you have to use your mind. Here we notice two aspects, one is material and the other is mental. The one without the other is just not possible.

This combination of material and mental aspects is called Shakthi and She is also known as maya. This being the fact, why we should think of getting rid of Her? More so, when we call Her as the Divine Mother. Can we afford to get rid of our mother? The concept of maya is a complex issue and needs further study. When we say Shiva and Shakthi are one, it also implies that maya and the Brahman are one. We also know that neither Shiva nor Shakthi can independently function. Brahman is the cause for creation, sustenance and dissolution. When all the acts of the Brahman cannot be executed by any of them independently, none of them can be called as the Brahman in their individual capacity. But there is a difference between Shiva and Shakthi. Shiva does not undergo changes whereas Shakthi undergoes changes. Just because Shiva does not change, he still cannot be called as the Supreme Brahman. Shiva has dual aspects. One is that He is static and another is that He does not undergo changes or modifications. Therefore, it is appropriate to call Shiva as nirguna which means without qualities or attributes. He does not act nor concerned about any acts that happen in this universe. He is simply witnessing the acts unfolded by Shakthi and does not interfere in Her acts.

Let us assume that our father does not care for us, what could be our position. Either mother has to take care of us or we grow on our own. But Shiva is not an irresponsible father. To take care of His children (the universe) He created Shakthi. The entire responsibility of nurturing us devolves on Shakthi. That is why Shakthi is called Sri Mata, the Divine Mother. As a dutiful, caring, affectionate and at the same time a tough and disciplined mother, She manifests in various forms and performs Her duties to Her children. That is why She has to be kinetic. She is like a successful boss of a major manufacturing unit who walks down length and breadth of the unit to know what is happening in the unit under his control. If the boss always sits in his chamber, he cannot be an effective boss. This we have practically witnessed during the present global recession. The word ‘successful’ is used to emphasize the fact that nobody can be successful unless he/she knows what is happening around him/her. Since Shakthi is aware of what is happening around Her, She continues to be a successful mother. Apart from being a successful mother, She is also an exemplary wife, as She executes the wishes of Her husband Shiva without any demur. This discussion will continue.