Thursday, March 16, 2006

TARA - The Great Mother

Shrouded in mystery, revealed in wonder, the Great Goddess has been adored for millennia. Sculptural evidence discovered in prehistoric caves of 30,000 years ago finds Her worship to be more ancient than humankind has memory.

Legends and myths of every culture praise She Who Brings Forth Life, She Who Is The Embodiment Of Wisdom, The Great Compassionate Mother, The Star Of Heaven. She has been called by many names, she has been revealed in many forms. Her worship continues to this day in ancient cultures of Asia, and in the 20th century search for the lost feminine.

To the Tibetans, She is their Mother, closer than their heartbeat. She is known as Tara, a Sanskrit word meaning Star. We hear the echoes of Her name in the Latin Terra, Mother Earth. The Druids called their MotherGoddess Tara. An ancient saga of Finland said to be 5 million years old speaks of Tar, the woman of wisdom. An ancient tribe of indigenous peoples in the South American jungles, the Tarahumara, worship the Goddess. The Cheyenne people tell of Star Woman who fell from the heavens to the earth, and that out of Her body all essential food grew. She sent Her people to mate with the more primitive inhabitants of earth, thereby giving them the capacity for wisdom. This legend is echoed in the more modern research of Z. Sitchin who tells of IshTar who came to earth from another planetary system and instructed her people to intermarry with earthlings, making them capable of many things.

To the Tibetans, even higher than a god or goddess is a Buddha, a being who has gone beyond the rounds of birth and death. Such an enlightened one has attained the highest wisdom, compassion and capability. Tara is so highly thought of that she is said to be the Mother of all the Buddhas. Buddhas integrate all aspects and possibilities. They are one with all that exists. They can manifest bodies of light and radiance and they can emanate bodies of form into the world in order to bring benefit to this world of challenges and confusion. Tara is known to the Tibetans as The Faithful One, The Fierce Protectoress, and to this day there are stories carried out of Tibet by refugees, fleeing from the horrors of Chinese occupation, that tell of Her intervention and assistance in their lives. In the system of mind-training practices offered by the great masters of Tibetan wisdom, Tara is an archetype of our own inner wisdom. They speak of a transformation of consciousness, a journey to freedom. They teach many simple and direct means for each person to discover within themselves the wisdom, compassion and glory that is Tara.

21 Taras

Tara is Swift Protection
Tara is Creative Wisdom
Tara is Impeccable Virtue
Tara is All Victorious
Tara is Sublime Intelligence
Tara is Worthy of Honor
Tara is Invincible Courage
Tara Destroys Negativity
Tara is True Refuge
Tara is Joy and Laughter
Tara is the Distributor of Wealth
Tara is Auspicious Beauty
Tara is Irresistible Truth
Tara is Ferocious Compassion
Tara is Serene Peace
Tara Destroys Attachment
Tara is Triumphant Joy
Tara is Transformer of Poison
Tara is Remover of Sorrow
Tara is Radient Health
Tara is Complete Enlightenment

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