Mother Goddess viewed from Nainital

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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:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1578344/The-Reverend-Robert-Llewelyn.html

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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