Some years ago when I visited Her temple beside the Lake in Nainital, I looked for a book on Her in stores
nearby. I found a small one in Hindi by Dr. Kiran Kumari. There was a need for another one in English
describing much more about Her and Her place in the Universe.
Therefore I decided to undertake this task. My background is one from Science
yet I have had deep interests in the mystic side of life. Therefore when I
wrote this book it was from this combined perspective. It must be admitted that
the task was a difficult one and although the first attempt resulted in a book,
it had shortcomings.. The loving Mother Naini Mata let her child try his hand at this homework on his own without active help. Parts of it were difficult to understand, even
confusing. Therefore, recently I began work on new edition again. This new
version has now been released at Amazon and other stores around the world in
both paperback and electronic formats. It was also an opportunity to improve
the format and layout of book and include a few images.
While in many parts of the world God is viewed as both
Father and Mother, in the Christian world it had been mostly Father God until
the mystic Dame Julian of Norwich around 1400, the first woman book author in English language
came and explained to Christians that God may be viewed as a Mother too (See Wikipedia for more on her). It is
worth noting that one of her most ardent follower in recent centuries Robert
Llewellyn came and lived in Nainital for many years as the principal of a
famous local school – Sherwood
College.There he became a family friend of this author's family. When after
retirement he returned to England
he spent his remaining thirty years in the service of Dame Julian at her sanctuary in England. More
can be found on him at:
Rather than write more about the book here I am reproducing
the book description as at Amazon here:
The book begins with a description of Nainital, a beautiful town built around a pristine lake in the Himalayas and the Mother Goddess that presides over the lake since ancient times. The book then goes on describe relationships between gods and humans, origins of life on earth based on recent scientific discoveries, the purpose of life and the journey of a soul. Dr. Ashok is both a scientist and an ardent follower of mysticism and this reflects in presentation of contents that are vast in scope even in a compact book. In the new revised version of 2017, he has reviewed and reorganized the contents in a manner so that even some of the difficult parts are easy to understand by the average reader. The book should interest all, not just thinkers and those interested in spiritual science.
An extract from the book, Page 5
A finite human mind may not know fully all the mysteries of
the universe. It is not possible for humans to know all of that which is not
directly accessible to senses or even scientific instruments and that which is
infinite in extent i.e. God. However one may feel some of the essence of the
divine in one’s heart directly through faith, love and devotion. Whatever is
experienced cannot be described in words for others accurately in a language
born of a finite mind. Perhaps it is because of this that the great poet Saint
Kabir has said,
From reading many volumes, knowledgeable became none
Just Two and half words of love is enough to become one
Therefore, to write anything about the divine and mystic
side can never be fully accurate. However it serves the purpose of satisfying
the curiosity of those interested in the subject. It gives them the initial
information necessary for their own personal spiritual pursuits. For scholars
on the subject, it offers additional material to research and debate and
hopefully improve upon it. For spiritual seekers it may offer new directions to
explore, some that might have escaped their attention, in their spiritual
journey through the universe.
Through a life full of many events and adventures, many a
time I foolishly did wrong things as perhaps most of us do or came close to
grave danger but all those times a mysterious force, a loving hand, saved me
from trouble. I recognize that now as the Love of God in his various facets and
manifestations, a prominent one among them being Naini Mata, the goddess of
Nainital.
The Infinite Almighty has no form that can be comprehended
but those who love him have tried to do so in various names, forms and symbols.
This is perfectly all right as long as one realizes that God is not limited to
that name and form but it is just one of his infinite facets. As the female
side of the Lord who is neither male nor female, humans recognize the Almighty
as the Mother Goddess.
The Mother Goddess has an infinite number of shapes and
forms and a devotee may choose any that he or she becomes familiar with. In the
Himalayas the mother goddess has been recognized as the snow white Parvati, or
indeed in many hues and colors as the goddess Tara in Tibet, as the goddesses
Nanda and Sunanda, as the goddess Durga, Kali Ma or as Naini Mata the goddess
beside the lake in Nainital.
Jai Mata ki
Link to the book in US Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Naini-Mata-Nainital-Ashok-Malhotra/dp/1461159229/
For those in India and other countries, please order from the Amazon store in your country or one nearest to save on shipping charges.
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