THE CELESTIAL SAVIOR

In the vast tapestry of Buddhist and Hindu mythology, few deities captivate the imagination quite like Goddess Tara. Her name, meaning "star" or "she who ferries across," evokes images of celestial light guiding lost souls through turbulent waters. But who is this enigmatic goddess, and how did her worship spread across the spiritual landscapes of Asia? Let's embark on a journey through time to discover the origins and rich mythology surrounding this beloved divine mother.

The Birth of a Goddess: Multiple Stories, One Divine Essence:

The origins of Goddess Tara are as varied and colourful as the lands where she's worshipped. Unlike deities with a single creation story, Tara emerges from multiple mythological traditions, each adding layers to her mystique.

• The Tear of Avalokiteshvara:

Perhaps the most poignant origin story comes from Tibetan Buddhist tradition. According to this narrative, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara—the embodiment of infinite compassion—gazed upon the suffering of all sentient beings. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of pain in the world, tears streamed from his eyes. From his right tear emerged the peaceful White Tara, while from his left tear arose the fierce Green Tara. Both aspects of the goddess made a solemn vow: they would work tirelessly until every being achieved liberation from suffering.

This beautiful story speaks to something deeply human—the idea that even divine compassion can be moved to tears, and from those tears, salvation itself is born.

• The Princess Who Became a Star:

Another captivating legend tells of a devout princess who practiced meditation and virtuous acts for countless lifetimes. When monks suggested she pray to be reborn as a man in her next life (reflecting the gender biases of ancient times), she firmly refused. Instead, she declared that she would attain enlightenment in a female form and continue to manifest as a woman to liberate beings throughout the ages.

This princess became Tara, establishing her as a powerful feminist icon in Buddhist spirituality—a goddess who proudly maintains her feminine identity while achieving the highest spiritual realization.

• The Hindu Connection:

In Hindu tradition, Tara appears as one of the ten Mahavidyas, or Great Wisdom Goddesses. Here, she's often associated with the fierce aspects of the Divine Mother, linked with Kali in her protective and transformative powers. Some scholars believe that Buddhist Tara may have been influenced by or evolved from this Hindu goddess, suggesting a beautiful cross-pollination of spiritual traditions that occurred over centuries in the Indian subcontinent.

•  The Tantric Identification with Neel Saraswati:

An intriguing aspect of Tara's mythology connects her with Neel Saraswati (Blue Saraswati), also known as Ugratara or Neela Tara in certain tantric traditions. While the classical Saraswati appears dressed in white, symbolizing purity and knowledge, her esoteric form as Neel Saraswati takes on a darker, more mysterious blue or black complexion—much like Tara herself.

This identification reveals the hidden tantric dimensions of the goddess. In some Bengali and Assamese traditions, devotees worship Tara and Neel Saraswati as essentially the same divine force, representing the secret, transformative aspect of wisdom that goes beyond mere intellectual knowledge. Where white Saraswati represents conventional learning and the arts, Neel Saraswati embodies transcendent wisdom that destroys ignorance at its root.

The connection makes symbolic sense: both goddesses guide seekers across difficult passages—Saraswati across the river of ignorance, and Tara across the ocean of existence. This merging of identities in tantric worship shows how different goddess traditions in India often flowed together, creating rich, multi-layered understandings of the Divine Feminine.

The Many Faces of Tara: A Rainbow of Divine Forms:

What makes Tara particularly fascinating is her appearance in twenty-one distinct forms, each representing different aspects of her divine nature and serving specific purposes for devotees.

Green Tara stands as the most popular manifestation, depicted in a posture of readiness—one leg extended as if prepared to leap into action at any moment. She embodies swift compassion and protection from fears. Devotees call upon her for immediate help in times of danger or distress, believing she responds faster than any other deity.

White Tara, serene and motherly, represents longevity, healing, and serenity. Often depicted with seven eyes—three on her face, one on each palm, and one on each sole—she sees and responds to suffering wherever it exists. Her presence brings peace to troubled hearts and healing to sick bodies.

Other forms include Red Tara (magnetizing and subjugating), Black Tara (protecting against negative forces), Yellow Tara (increasing wealth and prosperity), and Blue Tara (transmuting anger), among others. Each colour carries symbolic meaning, and each form addresses different human needs and spiritual challenges.

The Geographical Journey: From India to the Himalayas and Beyond:

Tara's worship likely originated in India around the 6th or 7th century CE, where Buddhism was flourishing and Hindu tantric practices were developing. As Buddhism spread along the Silk Road and into the Himalayan regions, Tara travelled with it, becoming especially beloved in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, and parts of China.

In Tibet, her veneration reached extraordinary heights. The Tibetan people consider Tara their special protector, and stories abound of her miraculous interventions in the lives of practitioners. The great master Atisha, who brought Buddhist teachings to Tibet in the 11th century, was said to have had a particularly close relationship with Tara, receiving teachings and guidance directly from her.

Interestingly, when Buddhism declined in India, Tara's worship diminished there but continued to thrive in the Himalayan regions, where it remains vibrant today. Nepalese Buddhists and Hindus alike revere her, and in Mongolia, she became integrated into the local spiritual landscape so thoroughly that she's considered a national deity of sorts.

The Symbolism That Speaks Volumes:

Every aspect of Tara's iconography carries profound meaning. Her green or white colour speaks to her life-giving and purifying nature. The lotus flowers she holds represent spiritual unfolding and the ability to remain pure while emerging from the mud of worldly existence.

Her ornaments and jewels symbolize the spiritual qualities and virtues she embodies. When she's depicted with multiple arms, each hand gesture (mudra) represents a different blessing or protection she offers—abhaya mudra for fearlessness, varada mudra for generosity, and so on.

The very posture of Green Tara tells a story. While her right leg extends downward, ready for action, her left leg remains in meditation posture—a perfect balance between contemplative wisdom and active compassion. She doesn't simply sit in detached enlightenment; she's perpetually ready to step into the world to help those who call upon her.

Tara and Tantra Sadhana: The Path of Direct Realization

Within tantric traditions, Tara holds a uniquely powerful position as a deity of direct spiritual realization. Tantra sadhana involving Tara isn't merely devotional worship—it's a transformative practice where the practitioner seeks to merge their consciousness with the goddess herself, embodying her enlightened qualities.

The tantric approach to Tara involves elaborate rituals, visualizations, and mantra recitations performed with precise guidance from a qualified guru. Practitioners engage in nyasa (placing divine energy in the body), mudras (sacred hand gestures), and detailed meditations where they visualize themselves as Tara, dissolving the boundary between devotee and deity. This isn't considered pretense but rather the recognition of one's own inherent divine nature. In tantric philosophy, Tara represents the primordial shakti—the dynamic energy that both creates and liberates. Her sadhana is particularly recommended for practitioners seeking rapid spiritual progress and protection from obstacles on the path. The practice is said to awaken dormant spiritual energies, purify karma, and grant siddhis (spiritual powers), though the goal remains enlightenment itself.

What makes Tara sadhana especially accessible within tantra is her reputation for being a nurturing, responsive deity who readily assists sincere practitioners. Unlike some tantric deities requiring years of preparation, Tara is often described as immediately available to those who approach her with genuine devotion and pure intention. Her tantric worship remains alive today, particularly in Bengal, Assam, Nepal, and Tibet, where lineages of Tara sadhana have been carefully preserved and transmitted across generations.

Tara in Contemporary Practice: A Living Goddess:

What distinguishes Tara from many mythological figures is that she remains vibrantly alive in contemporary spiritual practice. Thousands of people worldwide recite her mantras daily, particularly the famous "Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha," believed to invoke her swift protection and blessings.

Meditation practitioners visualize her form, seeking to embody her qualities of compassion, wisdom, and fearless action. Pilgrims travel to sacred sites associated with her, and artists continue to create beautiful representations of her in paintings, sculptures, and mandalas.

In Western Buddhist circles, Tara has found resonance among women practitioners who appreciate her as a fully enlightened female deity. She offers an alternative to predominantly male representations of Buddhahood, proving that the highest spiritual realization isn't bound by gender.

The Eternal Relevance of Tara:

In our modern world, filled with anxiety, fear, and rapid change, the message of Goddess Tara feels more relevant than ever. She represents the possibility that compassion can be both gentle and fierce, that wisdom includes the willingness to act, and that spiritual attainment doesn't require abandoning the world but rather engaging with it more fully.

Her mythology teaches that tears of compassion can become sources of liberation, that refusing limiting identities is itself a spiritual practice, and that help is always available to those who seek it with sincere hearts. Whether viewed as an actual deity, an archetypal force, or a representation of our own potential for awakened compassion, Tara continues to ferry countless beings across the turbulent waters of existence.

As we face our own challenges and fears, perhaps we too can call upon that star-like quality within ourselves—the light that guides, the compassion that acts, and the wisdom that liberates. In doing so, we honour not just an ancient goddess, but the timeless truth she represents that love and wisdom, when combined with courage, can transform our world.

 

May all beings find refuge in the compassionate embrace of Tara, the mother of liberation.

THE MARKETPLACE AND THE MONASTERY

 Introduction:

Seven in the morning. The alarm rings. You drag yourself out of bed, make coffee, scan the news, get ready for work. The day unfolds in meetings, emails, phone calls, pressing deadlines. Evening arrives with family duties, bills to pay, maybe some television, then sleep. This is our reality - hurried, relentless, packed with demands.

Yet something nags at you. Despite the constant motion, there's an emptiness. In the quiet of night, questions surface: "Is this really all there is? Isn't there something more?" Part of you craves stillness, depth, meaning. You think about trying meditation, maybe yoga, perhaps visiting the temple more often. But where's the time? And even if you carve out time, another question lingers - can spiritual practice coexist with worldly responsibilities? Or does seeking inner peace mean abandoning everything else?

This struggle isn't new. For centuries, people have wrestled with it - should I focus on my career or pursue spirituality? Action or contemplation? Family life or renunciation? But perhaps we're asking the wrong question. The real inquiry might be: how do we bridge these two worlds? How do we discover the monastery within the marketplace? How do we find stillness in the middle of chaos?

This piece explores that very search. You won't find perfect answers or life-changing formulas here. What you'll discover is a direction - how the outer world and inner journey can weave together. How meditation can happen at your office desk, and how that inner depth can actually make your work more meaningful.

Let's explore how we find ourselves in the space between these two worlds.

When the Outer World Meets the Inner Journey:

Grasping how outer life connects with inner practice changes everything. Modern thinkers observe that we live caught between two forces - the pull of worldly success and the whisper of spiritual depth. The office demands our attention, efficiency, results. The prayer room invites stillness, reflection, letting go. Life swings between these extremes like a pendulum. Think of it as breathing - we draw in the world's energy; we release into quietness. The real challenge isn't picking one over the other but learning to honour both without fragmenting yourself.

The Empire of Getting Ahead:

Contemporary society worships external achievement above all else. We chase promotions as if our worth depends on them. The whole system revolves around metrics, comparisons, climbing ladders. Every goal becomes urgent - miss it and anxiety floods in. We live like warriors in an endless battle, measuring ourselves against everyone. Even coworkers become rivals in this game. And here's the irony: we bring this same competitive mindset to spirituality. Meditation turns into another box to check. Enlightenment becomes the ultimate trophy. Inner peace? Just one more thing to acquire. The achiever's mentality dominates life's opening chapters. We rule kingdoms of perpetual wanting, never quite satisfied.

The Philosophical Browser:

Eventually, something shifts. Maybe through burnout, loss, or simple fatigue with the endless race. Suddenly, big questions surface. What's the point of all this? Is there more to existence? The person starts reading spiritual texts, attending talks, sampling different practices. Every tradition gets examined, every concept dissected. Questions multiply faster than answers. The mechanics of meditation, the logic behind karma, the purpose of rituals - all become subjects of intense investigation. But notice something: it stays mostly in the head. Understanding increases while transformation lags. The seeker collects spiritual concepts like stamps in an album, fascinated but unchanged at the core. Knowledge grows, but the heart remains untouched.

When Inner Buds Open:

Then comes a watershed moment, usually born from experience rather than study. The shine of worldly success dims somewhat. Achievements still matter, but they stop being everything. Something unnamed starts stirring inside. Mornings feel different. Silence holds unexpected richness. Brief moments of meditation reveal glimpses of something vast and peaceful. Spring arrives in the inner landscape. Old questions transform from intellectual puzzles into lived inquiries. What once seemed like philosophy becomes personal and immediate. The spiritual realm stops being a concept and becomes a direct experience. Those early morning hours before the world awakens start calling with irresistible magnetism.

Living in Two Worlds:

Now the real work begins. The seeker faces the genuine challenge - maintaining both dimensions simultaneously. Morning meditation, then email. Deep breathing, then deadlines. Contemplation, then commute. The tension between these worlds creates friction initially. How do you stay present during a stressful meeting? How do you maintain equanimity when deals fall through? The practice extends beyond cushion and candle. Every interaction becomes a test. The spiritually inclined person discovers that marketplace pressures reveal exactly where inner work remains incomplete. Irritation exposes attachment. Anxiety shows lack of trust. Competition reveals ego. Both territories demand full engagement now - neither can be abandoned or faked.

Finding Your Feet in Both Realms:

With time and practice, something remarkable happens. The apparent contradiction starts dissolving. You realize renouncing the world isn't necessary, and neither is abandoning inner development. Both can coexist. Both must coexist. The person stops trying to be exclusively spiritual or completely worldly. A new balance emerges. You want financial stability and inner spaciousness. Professional competence and spiritual depth. Material comfort and existential clarity. The either-or thinking falls away. Office and temple stop being opposing camps. You discover they're different expressions of the same life. The internal struggle quiets down. You become a citizen of both worlds, comfortable in each.

Where Opposites Meet:

At some point, the division simply evaporates. Inner and outer aren't separate anymore - they never really were. Actions flow naturally from awareness. The witness consciousness operates whether you're in a board meeting or sitting in silence. You stop categorizing experiences as spiritual or mundane. Everything becomes charged with presence when you bring full attention to it. Washing dishes reveals the same depth as formal meditation. A business negotiation carried out with integrity holds the same sacredness as temple worship. You're no longer torn between competing demands. The old conflicts dissolve because you've stopped creating them. Life becomes one seamless movement. You embrace paradox easily now - there's nothing to defend or prove anymore.

The Flowering:

Real maturity shows itself through integration, not separation. Insights emerge not from escaping life but from diving deeper into it. Each day brings new understanding. The old patterns persist but they're infused with fresh awareness. After years of internal warfare, you stumble upon natural harmony. Action happens, but there's space around it. The body stays busy while the mind rests in calm. Not through effort or control, but through relaxed alertness. Weather shifts, circumstances change, challenges arrive - but something in you remains undisturbed. Not because problems vanish, but because you've found a different relationship with them. Major breakthroughs occur: peace amid chaos, causeless joy, unconditional acceptance, freedom within structure. These arise when you stop dividing reality into neat categories. Boundaries blur and finally disappear. Life transcends labels.

 

What Actually Is:

The marketplace and meditation aren't adversaries - they're collaborators. Your job shows you where reactivity still operates. Your practice gives you tools to work with that reactivity. Relationships expose your blind spots. Spiritual work helps you see and heal those spots. Money highlights your fears and attachments. Inner development loosens those grips so you can relate to money more healthily.

When you bring complete attention to any task, it becomes meditative. When you approach spiritual practice genuinely, it prepares you for more skillful living. The assistant typing mindfully embodies meditation as much as any meditator. The shopkeeper serving customers with full presence demonstrates spirituality as authentically as any ritual. The parent responding to a child with total availability performs the most sacred act possible.

The split exists only in confused thinking. Reality itself knows no such fragmentation. Breath flows in, flows out - both necessary. The heart beats in systole and diastole - both essential. Consciousness moves between inner awareness and outer engagement - both sacred. Wisdom isn't about choosing sides. It's about participating fully in the whole dance. Not running away but waking up right where you are. Not escaping the world but illuminating it with consciousness.

Spiritual work doesn't remove you from ordinary life. It gives you newer eyes for seeing what was always there. The office contains the ashram. The struggle holds the teaching. The mundane conceals the miraculous. When this clicks, you recognize something startling: you were never split from the totality. Outside was always inside. The world was always holy. The life you were already living was the spiritual path you were searching for all along.

The photos used in this blogs are Paintings by Rudradev Sen

DIVINE LIVING IN THE MODERN AGE: PATH BY A TIMELESS YOGI

Ancient Light for the Modern Soul

In an era marked by material affluence but spiritual drought, humanity finds itself thirsting for inner peace, ethical clarity, and higher meaning. Global crises — from mental health epidemics to environmental collapse — have not only challenged our social structures but have also exposed a deep existential vacuum. Amid this dissonance, the timeless voices of realized masters continue to echo, offering solace, direction, and liberation. One such luminous guide is Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963), whose life and philosophy illuminate a path that bridges ancient wisdom with the modern world.

A visionary sage, Swami Sivananda embodied the rare union of deep mystical realization and practical wisdom. A doctor by profession, he became a monk out of compassion for human suffering, transforming his medical concern into a universal spiritual mission. Through his more than 200 books, the founding of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, and his tireless service to seekers of all backgrounds, he reshaped 20th-century Indian spirituality — not by founding a sect, but by reviving Vedantic truths for householders, professionals, and ascetics alike (Sivananda, 2001; Chidananda, 2000).

This blog explores the multi-dimensional teachings of Swami Sivananda — not merely as a historical account, but as a living roadmap to navigate today’s inner and outer challenges.