But when I came to know that every goddess has limited and specific powers and they generally do not go beyond those, I tried to know in details about the powers of goddess gayatri & meaning of the mantra and realised that Gayatri Devi basically only inspires our intellect (Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat) for making best possible efforts in acquiring absolute peace, tremendous fighting spirit and enriching abundance but she has no function and therefore no power to grant us these qualities or intervene if required. When I realised like this, I am finding myself exposed to this world, completely dependent only on my own efforts and no assured grace from my Ista Devta – Goddess Gayatri in the event my efforts fall short in leading a beautiful life.
This whole episode has affected my devotion and the quality of mantra sadhana. I even thought of shifting to worship different deities according to their powers like Saraswati, Lakshmi, Durga, Ganesh etc because I strongly believe that a common man’s efforts have their many limitations and he will always be in need of divine grace to sail through life
You can deal with this dilemma in two different ways. First is that though each god or goddess has a certain limited function, the overriding factor of faith is very important in spiritual matters. Because behind the gods and goddesses is the Supreme Divine and He knows your true seeking. It is He who ultimately grants everything and can indeed use any channel for fulfilling your deeper aspiration.
Second way is to take it thus that goddess Gayatri, knowing your heart has inspired you to go beyond her so that you can directly connect with the Supreme Divine who dwells in every heart as the Gita says. Meanwhile during the transition you can continue to use the Gayatri Mantra as well as add a mantra of the Divine Mother as the Supreme Shakti, such as the one, ‘ya devi sarvabhiteshu shaktiroopena sansthita. Nanastasyei namastasyei namastasyei namo namah’ . All aspects of the Divine Mother are included in it. Or else, if you feel inwardly inspired you can take up the mantra of the Supreme Mother given by Sri Aurobindo,
Om Anandamayee, Chaitanyamayee, Satyamayee Parame.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
