Women are often conditioned to be overly conscientious, adaptable to a fault, and even compulsive harmonizers and do-gooders, often forgetting our Higher Self and Greater Purpose, in the process. We forget our own dreams way too often, to support the ideals of those we wish to please or rescue. We hide our own power that we possess, to enhance someone else's perception of their power. We sometimes forget ourselves to the point of abandoning ourselves and harboring inner enemies which are the negative, self-diminishing thoughts.
Women also often falsely conclude that they must hold themselves back for the sake of others or that they can only express themselves in certain ways at certain times. However, in truth, women are not limited to any stereotype (apart from what they hold onto in their own minds). By facing our own false beliefs and fighting our own habit of voluntary subjugation, everyone can awaken from our unconscious agreements to force-fit themselves into roles and stereotypes for the sake of others.
A lot can change when we stop submitting to weary and depleting feminine stereotypes and reinvent ourselves to be who we really are. And to do that women worldwide can take the help of a universal goddess archetype from India: Durga, who represents soul-courage. She is a Hindu goddess whose mythology shows her to be an out-of-the-box persona, forever reinventing herself, especially when faced resistance.
Many modern women have internalized diminishing beliefs, and Durga’s iconography and mythology can offer us insights into how to work with our psyche and unearth our hidden power, to overcome our demons of guilt, low self-worth, and needing approval to be who we are.
In the mythical battle, Mahishasura, the half human-half boar demon, represents our own ego, stuck between its own greater evolutionary imperative to embody higher humane consciousness (dharma) and its lower, animalistic, self-gratifying, self-serving, greedy, lusty, and arrogant brute consciousness (non-dharmic). We are torn between our light and our darkness, our expanding self-awareness and our petty-mindedness, our selfish and selfless motives. Durga in this battle represents our own highest Self, our Goddess, who comes in and annihilates the two-faced dragon of our self-betraying ego. Afterward, all that remains is Durga and her soul qualities expressing in the now-purified mind, qualities such as universal love, self-love, non-violence (except in self-defence), compassion (not just for others but the self too), and a non-dual vision of oneness (that does not leave you out of it) reverberating with joy.
She can be or become anything she wants. When she is bent on annihilating evil, she becomes the angry, ruthless Goddess Kali. And in happier, and more relaxed times, Durga becomes Lakshmi, the goddess of peace and prosperity, empowering happiness, and creativity. And for those of us who are ready to quest for the ultimate truth, Durga becomes Saraswati. In this form, Durga imparts spiritual knowledge, music, art, wisdom, and learning. Her blessings heal and purify our hearts and open doors to spiritual liberation.
In Roar Like a Goddess, I write: “Durga is not limited to stereotypes: mean or nice, logical or emotional, selfish or accommodating, virginal or erotic, married or single. She can be who she wants, as it suits her, as is needed in the moment, and always in service to a greater consciousness. This is a potent teaching about connecting to our feminine power. Goddess Durga dares all women to be who we are, even if it means we are different from the norm.”
Indeed, feminine power, known as Shakti, is a creative power able to morph into what you desire. Within each of us lies this same power to return to our authentic nature, unearthing the layers and layers of socially approved behavior and feminine guilt, to uncover who we truly are within. This can be a difficult task without liberating archetypes to refer to and be inspired by, such as Durga.
How To Return Home to Self
One reason we don’t dare to be different—or rather, we remain stuck as we are—is because we are afraid of our power.
Some women relinquish their power over to another, stuff it far down inside as to forget its presence. To own your power means recognizing your divine, true goddess-like nature of wholeness and self-fulfilment. You are enough. You complete yourself. “The more you survey the battlefield of your mind as the goddess you are, the more your increasing awareness will allow you to overthrow inner enemies like dependency and need for approval. You will regain your freedom to think like a sovereign goddess and always dare to be different. You will triumph over your negative, self-doubting, self -betraying, self-limiting thoughts and false shame, unnecessary fear and doubts, and any kind of self-betraying or conditioned thoughts.
As Durga teaches us through her myth, the courage to wield our power comes within. Those who are self-fulfilled don’t even necessarily need the companionship or security of a partner, least of all so desperately that it begins hurting them and making them lose self-value. Durga inspires us all, regardless of gender, to pursue the life and relationships we desire by first and foremost, taking our power back.
Get rid of negative thoughts
It may feel like a big scary leap to start acting like Durga. Perhaps a more manageable first step is to begin “thinking” like Durga. Overcoming self-belittling negative thoughts can be a challenge. But with persistence, you will soon be roaring like a goddess, beaming with the joy of self-reinvention. Once you connect with your own inner goddess, and become at ease with who she is, as she is—how she looks, talks, and acts—you automatically will connect with something profoundly wonderful, your own self-approval and inner permissions to reclaim your inner Durga!
Learn more about Acharya Shunya's book, Roar Like a Goddess.
Explore Acharya Shunya's online global wisdom community, The Vedic Way for systematic teachings of Vedic wisdom of Self discovery.
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