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Devi Stuti · Sutra 4 of 23

The Grace of Sleep

ನಿದ್ರಾ · Nidra. Guruji on the verse that bows to the Devi as sleep.

ಯಾ ದೇವೀ ಸರ್ವಭೂತೇಷು ನಿದ್ರಾರೂಪೇಣ ಸಂಸ್ಥಿತಾ
ನಮಸ್ತಸ್ಯೈ ನಮಸ್ತಸ್ಯೈ ನಮಸ್ತಸ್ಯೈ ನಮೋ ನಮಃ

Yā devī sarvabhūteṣu nidrārūpeṇa saṃsthitā
Namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaḥ

Read in

That Devi who abides in all beings, for a lifetime, in every form of

sleep: salutations to Her, again and again.

The power of this great Devi dwells in all creatures of the world in the form of sleep. To Her our salutations, salutations, every time salutations.

The meaning of this sutra: we can notice the Devi’s power spread through every living being.

Within a seeker there is a web of ambition, and this power frees us from the confusion of spiritual dualities (liberation, clarity). It also helps us understand all the divine stages and levels of life.

The sutra says that the Devi’s power is present in all beings in the form of sleep.

Sleep can be understood in many ways. There is long, deep physical sleep, which happens in the body and is felt there. If sleep does not come, the body gets no rest. It does not heal and has no chance to rejuvenate. So sleep is essential for this body.

Some people, caught in the illusions of life, suffer even in their physical sleep. They believe they should cut down on sleep as much as possible.

Today physiology and psychology have told us clearly, through research, that after about three hours of alert waking we should sleep for an hour, or become empty and relax. Then body and mind stay in balance.

We all know how important physical sleep is. In the same way, mental sleep, emotional sleep and spiritual sleep work at many levels and help release the stress inside us.

This sutra says that the Devi’s state dwells here, and this is Her form. Here we must be with Her in faith, without fighting our dualities.

Every seeker, every traveller on the spiritual path, should search for this power gently, with good conduct and attention, and should come out of unnatural states. (One should not stay in unawareness, in an unconscious state.) Come out of the unconscious state; come out of unawareness.

But you keep fighting and struggling with these states, as if they were all unwanted. That is a misunderstanding.

Whatever you are searching for in your spiritual sleep, even the searching itself is good in its way, because through searching one can receive the vision of the Adi Shakti.

This means that because the power lies merged within sleep, we can watch how it works and what it does. This is called the waking state, the awakening state.

Saying namaste, namaste again and again means: be humble. Do not fight your own unconscious or anyone else’s, and do not attack it. After you wake up, do not condemn those still asleep.

They need their sleep too; that is why they are still asleep.

When you wake up, do not shake everyone out of sleep and make a commotion. That is improper and not good. It interferes with the Devi’s own work.

Spiritual teachers say this is spiritual sleep: such people are searching without knowing it, in unconsciousness and unawareness. In their body and mind, the Devi’s power is expressing itself clearly as consciousness (manifestation), and that power is working in its own way through them.

So one must sleep properly and wake properly, with awareness. Only a mother can put a child to sleep. She knows that only a child who has slept well can wake up calm, cheerful and at ease.

If someone is woken before they have slept enough, then when their spiritual journey begins they may seem awake yet keep dreaming (a daydreamer).

Many seekers, many spiritual people and teachers, live in exactly this dream state. Having forced themselves awake, they go on experiencing a dream. This is very dangerous.

Sleep too is a form of the Devi. Even in the unnatural, unconscious state the Devi’s power is present, so we should have the feeling of bowing to Her, and receptivity.

How does physical sleep come? Without worries and without thoughts, we fall asleep on our own, and in the same way we wake up on our own.

The sutra says that certain bad experiences, harsh insults, wrongs and events snap like a rope or a thread and break away.

The power of the Divine Mother is not condemnation. It is not filling our minds with guilt. The Devi’s power simply does its own work. It is a power and nothing else, the Feminine Mystery, the secret of the Adi Shakti.

This Feminine Mystery is not about worship, waving the lamp, decorating the deity or many other rituals. Accept this power. Whatever path you are walking, accept it and build a good road for yourself. When your sleep is complete, move forward on the good path. Press ahead.

On one side the journey begins in sleep; on the other side the journey of wakefulness begins.

Those who travel in wakefulness should not condemn those who travel in sleep.

Those who are asleep do not know or notice those who are awake. So even when you are awake, stop worrying about those who are asleep.

Walk your spiritual path with awareness.

Translated from Guruji’s Kannada notes on this sutra. The Devi Stuti talks are on the Spiritual Conscious YouTube channel. All 23 sutras are also in a free book, The Devi Within (PDF).

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