HIMALAYAN HERITAGE NEWSLETTER
July/August 2006 Issue No.8
Shakambari Devi – She Who Nourishes
by Lily Diamond
You may know Ma as Kali, Tara, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Lalita… but
do you know the Mother as Ma Shakambari? Amarananda Bhairavan translated
her name for me as, “She-Who-Is-Clothed-In-Leaves-And-Twigs.” Swami
Veda Bharati in his essay, “Shakambari Devi: The Bearer of the
Greens,” suggests that this goddess become the symbol for international
ecology.
The epic poem, THE DEVI MAHATMYAM, (Glory to the Goddess), otherwise
known as The Chandi and as The Durga Saptashati, is chanted during the
fire ceremony conducted at the end of “Durga Puja,” or “Navaratri,” the
annual ritual celebration of the Divine Mother. In the sacred text, Durga
prophesies that when the earth has been dry for a hundred years, the
wise ones who continuously meditate upon her will cause her to be born
in a superhuman fashion and she will bring forth from her body; fruits,
flowers, vegetables and herbs to take away our hunger and thirst and
our fear of death. She calls herself, Shakambari. The Devi Mahatmyam
is well-known as powerful tool for personal transformation and is intended
through its esoteric meanings and its sonic vibrations to alleviate suffering
and restore balance during times of natural disaster, war, famine and
disease. Many saints and sages make a practice of chanting it daily.
Storing wisdom-energy in rituals, objects and locations is a significant
aspect of all the spiritual traditions of medicine and healing I have
studied. These containers create portals for transmission of the energy
and the practice of chanting from The Chandi is a perfect example of
this phenomenon.
Discovering Shakambari has been part of a mystical journey for me, connecting
with the eternal power of the Divine Mother as She carries out Her mission
of bringing enlightenment and restoring balance to the earth. The Studio
City Public Library was the setting for one of Mother’s messages
to me several years ago. Helping a computer-illiterate neighbor, aptly
named Faith, I performed a title search for the play, The Autograph Hound,
on the L.A. County’s library catalog and the words, “THE
DEVI MAHATMYAM” unexpectedly appeared on the computer screen. This
title consistently reappeared after attempting several times to search
for the completely unrelated document, and a later check proved that
there is no copy of The Devi Mahatmyam in the system’s catalog.
The first day I recited, The Chandi, another synchronicity occurred.
In Chapter Eleven, I recognized the words I’d sung every morning
for seven years which I’d been divinely guided to do in another
extraordinary experience. The words came to me originally from Krishna
Das’ recording, “Devi Puja,” the hymn sung in praise
of Ma by the Gods, known as The Narayani Stuti, which precedes the appearance
of Shakambari. Her story immediately kindled a spark in my heart, and
I vowed to write a musical composition. In preparation for receiving
a melody to fit the meter of the verses, I made a pilgrimage to Ojai
on the day of Autumn Equinox. I sat in the dry riverbed with a friend,
playing the harmonium and chanting. When I sang out, “Shakambari,
Shakambari… Shak-amba-ri!” a red-tailed hawk flew straight
at us, a foot off the ground, made a sharp, low turn to avoid colliding
with our bodies, then perched in the nearest tree until the song came
to an end.
Once the song “Shakambari Devi” was recorded, Ramamurthy
Prabhakaran found it while surfing the internet. Ramamurthy of Chennai,
India, is a man so profoundly touched by the hand of the Goddess, he
started a temple, Shakambari Purim. We have developed a friendship and
one day the stories of our encounters with Shakambari will be told. In
the meanwhile, here in the West, through chanting in kirtan we summon
her, “She Who Nourishes… Hey Ma! Shakambari Ma! Hey Ma Durga,
Jaya Devi Ma!”
Lily Diamond leads kirtans and workshops throughout the Southern California
area. Her concert at Jyoti Mandir in March, 2006 was surcharged with
the energy of the Divine Mother. More information about Lily, her activities
and her beautiful CD, A Heart in Harmony, may be found at her website:
www.lilydiamond.com.
“ And whosoever with a concentrated mind shall pray to Me constantly with
these hymns, I shall without a doubt put an end to their every trouble.”
-Devi Mahatmyam, Chapter 12, verse 1-2
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FURTHER ENCOUNTERS WITH SHAKAMBARI (Shakambari Devi Part
II - from Himalyan Heritage Newsletter)
In 2004, Ramamurthy Prabhakaran wrote to
me requesting a copy of my song, Shakambari Devi. He told
me this wonderful story of how he came to be surfing the
internet looking for information about Shakambari. Here is
an excerpt from his email:
 "Let
me narrate you the incident that let Maa Shakambari spring
herself into my life. Until that time, not only me, in
fact several generations of my ancestors had no idea
that Shakambari was for real and temples for her did
exist. We had no idea about her at all but for her name.
I have had many such experiences and the one below was
my first! As a school teacher, we used to take our students
on tour to different places, in southern India. In the
year 1999, almost a year after my father’s demise,
the students of class XI were to be taken to Mysore.
It was supposed be my Head of Dept., Computer Science,
who must have accompanied them, but was unable to do
so due to the illness suffered by his mother. I was deputed
in his place. We reached Mysore (three other teachers
and myself along with around 65 students) on 24-9-1999
and we were going to a temple, built around 1652. We
boarded a bus at 4.00 pm, and I was seated right behind
the driver, looking at the road ahead of us. I developed
a severe headache and giddiness and yet was not suffering
from it.
 I
had my eyes closed, and I could see a clear picture
of a very old temple, in its grandeur, and a
4 foot tall idol of a goddess standing, holding
maize, harvested rice, fruits, etc. in her hands.
This image I could see, upon opening my eyes,
in front of the windshield, as the bus was plying.
(Photo Somnathpur Temple built 1652)
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Upon reaching the spot, it was the very temple
that I saw while in the bus, and there she
was…standing…as I had seen her…with
her hands full of harvest, fruits, vegetables,
etc. That was the first encounter I had with
Maa Shakambari, without actually realizing
anything about her or her identity. It was
my guru, who later told me that it was SHAKAMBARI,
and I have been destined by her to build a
temple for her. I am into the process since
then, and I hope that I will succeed with her
blessings."
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I decided that
I wanted to record the kirtan version of Shakambari
live for Ramamurthy, and the opportunity arose
on December 31st, 2004, at the Ojai Foundation,
a retreat center where the residents live hand-in-hand
with nature. The tabla player, Leonice Shinneman,
and I arrived and found ourselves ourselves being
guided in the dark along forest paths, with our
instruments in wooden carts, as if we were on
a trek. Rain came powering down on the yurt as
I introduced her to the group and translated
the meaning of the Sanskrit. We sang through
the sonic shower and recorded Shakambari’s
call-and-response bhajan for Ramamurthy, with
a special touch --- in the middle of the song,
my Durga alarm clock went off, playing the traditional
arthi “Om jaya jagadishare…”!
Later, I carefully packaged
up the CDs, one with the live recording of
Shakambari, and a copy of "A Heart In
Harmony," for Ramamurthy and shipped them
off. He contacted me by email several times,
wanting to make sure that the CDs would arrive
on time for the annual celebration. It was
a great pleasure to read the email he wrote
after the CDs were delivered.
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“I received your
CDs today, 17 January, 2005 – right on the first
day of Shakambari Navarathri, at around 2.20 p.m. I was
at school and my mother rang me up informing me of the
arrival of your CDs. Once home, I played both of your
CDs in front of MAA SHAKAMBARI! You would be surprised
to know that the pendant that hung on her chest began
to sway mildly as your song on Shakambari started playing.
It was if she was dancing to the song. Thank you for
the CDs. The songs were very vibrant, and invoked immense
mental pleasure and peace.”
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Shakambari
Devi of Shakambaripurim
Chennai, India
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Shakambari
of
Shakambari
Purim in Chennai, India
January
14, 2006
Shakambari Devi is presently installed at Shakambaripurim,
the home of the Prabhakaran family. Plans have been
made for her temple, a trust is in process. Donations
for purchase of land and building of the temple may
be sent to: Ramamurthy Prabhakaran, Shakambari Purim,
OLD NO.8, NEW NO.6, THIRUVALLUVAR STREET, BHARATHI
NAGAR, SELAIYUR, CHENNAI TAMILNADU 600073, INDIA.
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Jai Ma Shakambari Devyai Namaha!
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