The Divine Demon Slayer

Shakti Sadhana overcomes our inner demons, AVADHOOTA BABA SHIVANANDA tells SONAL SRIVASTAVAShiva and Shakti come together to bring forth Creation, an embodiment of primordial energies.“There is a male energy and female energy. The male energy is present in the form of Shiva, Narayana and Ganapati. They are in harmony with Shakti. Shakti Sadhana is an empowering aspect of spiritual practice and Durga Saptashati or Devi Mahatmyam is the holiest of the holy books,” says Avadhoota Baba Shivananda. The Shiva Yoga exponent says that those who recite Durga Saptashati, emerge victorious by overcoming inner conflicts and demons. They can use beeja mantras such as Hrim in the book to attract positivity and well-being. “The real power is within and we can unlock it by reciting these beeja mantras,” says Shivananda. Those who practise Shakti Sadhana, learn the art of activating this energy. Durga Saptashati addresses different levels of human consciousness. “Its shlokas reveal the battle between the Goddess and the demons. There are always two thoughts within — there is always a conflict between you and a demon, your inner weakness. There is always a fight going on in your inner consciousness,” Shivananda elaborates.Madhu And KaitabhIn the beginning of the book, the Devi helps in the slaying of two asuras Madhu and Kaitabh, who emerge from Vishnu’s ears and threaten Brahma’s existence. The Goddess appears as Yoga Nidra, under whose influence, Janardana or Vishnu is fast asleep. Brahma then invokes the Goddess and asks for her help in awakening Vishnu from His slumber.“Every karmic factor originates from these two demons, Madhu, meaning sweet, and Kaitabh, meaning bitter. Our life’s unresolved issues begin from these two factors. You are sweet to people you think are your friends and you are bitter to those you think are your enemies. This becomes a cause of suffering,” explains Shivananda.“Your attitude towards everybody should be the same. There are no friends or enemies. It’s just our perception; a reflection of what we are inside,” he says. Mahishasura Is The EgoAnother battle takes place between the Goddess and the Mahishasura. Shivananda points out that Mahishasura is the ego and it keeps on changing forms. Sometimes, he becomes a tiger; at other times, he becomes a buffalo. Similarly in life, ego keeps changing forms. You are egoistical about your family and the wealth you possess. You may claim to be a spiritual person, but you may still have an ego. It is the root cause of all our sufferings. When ego disappears, consciousness expands.In another conflict, the two demons Shumbha and Nishumbha overshadow the authority of the sun, moon, Kubera, Yama, and Varuna. The devas feel humiliated, so they call upon the Devi to rescue them. “Shumbha and Nishumbha are symbolic of greed and discontentment. You may have everything, but you are still dissatisfied and feel miserable. We often see one country trying to overpower another. Not being satisfied with what we have creates more suffering,” says Shivananda. The Divine Feminine leads us towards contentment and helps us overcome the demons of greed and envy.Karma CreationOne of the asuras that the Devi fights is Raktabeeja. Whenever drops of his blood touch the ground, new demons emerge from them and they continue to fight intensely. Our karmas dissolve through prarabdha bhoga — we get fruits of our past karmas in our present life — instead of mitigating karma, we go on creating more of them. “There are more Raktabeejas. Durga Saptashati is a scripture of purification. When you purify yourself of negative thoughts, your consciousness expands and you become more powerful,” says Shivananda.The ancients thought that this knowledge must be practised through the guru-disciple tradition. Only the guru would reveal the vidya — beeja mantras to his trusted disciples. So this wisdom began to disappear. According to Shivananda, the beeja mantras in the scripture should be revealed to all so that people can overcome their inner demons and learn to heal themselves.