The feminine aspect of
the divine is very strong in Hinduism—whether in the many Deities worshipped,
in the theology, or in the number of female saints throughout its history.
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| Representations of the sage Agasthya and Lopamudra |
Classical Hinduism traces
its origins to the ancient Rishis who received revelations, later compiled into
the Vedas, which form the basis of Hinduism’s teachings. These Rishis, some
single and some married, lived in ashrams in the forest and the tradition recognizes
the wives of these Rishis as great spiritual personalities themselves, at par
with their husbands.
Among them is Lopamudra
Devi, the wife of the sage Agasthya. She is credited with great contributions
to the theology of the Feminine, and spread the fame of the Lalita Sahasranama
(the thousand names of Devi, the Divine Mother.) She was expert in the
philosophy of the Divine Feminine and many of her hymns are recorded in the
Vedas.
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| Andal |
The Tamil saint Andal
appeared South India in the pre-Medieval period. A charming story is told of
her appearing in a sacred Tulsi garden and being adopted by her father, the
saint Perialvar. Raised in a deeply spiritual environment, she became famous for
her deep devotion to God. She considered herself to be the wife of Vishnu (an
Avatar of Krishna) and composed many hymns in the mood of a wife in love with
God, the Divine Lover. Her songs are still sung at weddings in the Tamil
country. Her father, realizing that she loved only Vishnu, arranged her
marriage to Lord Ranganatha, a carved-stone representation of Vishnu. To the
wonderment of the assembly, Andal’s body merged with that of the Deity.
Another female saint who
experienced ecstatic love for God was Meerabai,
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| Meerabai |
born in 1498 in Rajasthan, West
India. As a child, she witnessed a wedding procession and asked her mother who
her husband would be. Her mother gave her a statue of Krishna and from then on,
she considered herself to only be the wife of the Divine. Meerabai was born into a royal family, but
showing no interest in the court or family, spent her days in a state of
ecstasy with her beloved Krishna. Finally, in despair, she was ejected by her
family and spent the rest of her life travelling through India, composing songs
of her Beloved, which remain well known, even to this day.
A modern female saint is
Armritananda Mayi, also known as Amma. Born into a poverty-stricken family from
Kerala, in South India, she spent, as a small child, many hours in deep
meditation, experiencing periods of great rapture. She
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| Amritanandamayi |
also had the habit of
giving away the meagre possessions of her family to those in even greater need,
to the consternation of her family. As news of her spiritual attainment spread,
she attracted followers, and despite being born into a lower-caste family, some
of her first disciples came from Brahmin families, causing quite a stir. She is
known as Amma (Mother) because of her habit of spontaneously embracing people
to comfort them.
Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper - A Novel," published by Books We Love.
