In Hinduism, the Supreme Being is considered as known, unknown and beyond the unknown. Our scriptures tell us to consider our parents and our Guru as Gods. These are the known Gods; we interact and bond with them. We know of the forms and activities of Shree Raam, Krishna, Durga Maa, Lakshmi Maa and Shivaji but we do not really know them personally; they are unknown to us. Beyond the unknown forms of God is the infinite Brahm that is indescribable, inexpressible, without beginning, middle or end and without differentiation. It is that substratum of all existence. It is neither female nor male. God is beyond everything. That God cannot be known because that would imply a state of duality, the existence of a subject, verb and object: “I know God.” The infinite Brahm identifies with various qualities to manifest as the known world.
Once, Parvati Ma asked Shivaji, “Lord, what have you been meditating on for thousands of years? Can I reach to that state?” Bhagavan Shiva then guided her in performing meditative actions. He asked her what she was seeing; she described her experience and he said, “Go beyond.” Many times he asked her, “What are you seeing? Go beyond.” Eventually, Parvati did not answer. She had reached that state of Oneness and non-duality.
All our scriptures teach us that our journey in life is to realise who we are in reality, that Supreme Being. The Vedas declare, “Aham Brahmsmi”: Each person is divinity embodied. Adi Shankara has said, “Chidananda Roopaha Shivoham Shivoham”: I am not the body, I am not the mind. I am that eternal knowing bliss, Shiva, love and pure consciousness. In the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 13, Shree Krishna says, “I am the soul in each person.” Many people quote Sai Baba as saying, “I am Raam, I am Krishna.” He also says, “You are Raam, You are Krishna.”
The scriptures also state, “Yatha Pinde Tatha Brahmande.” As in the microcosm, so in the macrocosm. In a holographic projection, the object projected is identical to the original object. Brahm is the universe and the individual is the projection. We are all projections of the universe and the Divine. We are divinity embodied and the ultimate objective of life is the realisation of the Divine Self. It is a realisation that nothing in this world is real and that everything is changeable and impermanent. Only the level of experience and spirituality you have developed in this life is carried on to your other lives. Achieving self-realisation is a process that we must all experience over many lifetimes before we reach that ultimate objective.
In the journey to self-realisation, Devi Maa represents the individual’s intense longing for God. Devi is also the personification of energy and power. There are many types of energy in this universe: electromagnetic, heat, sound and light. The whole world is energy vibrating at various frequencies and Hinduism has personified each type of energy, in the form of a Devi. The many forms of Devi represent the infinite characteristics of Supreme Consciousness that have made creation possible. They reflect the dynamic unity of existence in which all aspects of life, the purest, the forceful and the inert are combined to form a whole and diverse vision of reality.
