Why Worry? Ma is Here!
Why Worry? Ma is Here!
Teachings of Anandamayi Ma, Abhinavagupta, and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Why Worry?
A certain Swami Nirgunananda served as Anandamayi Ma’s secretary for the last three years of her life. I met him while he was visiting his niece in Oregon. He shared with me a phrase commonly uttered by Ma: Māāchhen. Kiser chintā?1
Swamiji translated this as: Ma is here. Why worry?
When a mother rushes to comfort a small child, usually she says: I am here. Everything is fine now.
As adults, we receive the news “I am here,” for instance when a friend attends us in a time of need, as an indication that we can relax. We are not alone. The world may be big and bad, but we have a sympathetic friend.
“I am here” in its ordinary sense is on a continuum with Ma’s “I am here.” But she means something more thorough and ever-present.
Avatar
Anandamayi Ma is an avatar. Such beings are called “lotus born,” in Tibetan Buddhism. I’m sure there are names for this phenomenon in many traditions.
An avatar in Hinduism is a direct emanation of Vishnu — the principle of maintenance. Some of the other avatars of Vishnu are Krishna and Ram.
Avatars appear at critical junctures when us ordinary folk need some assistance in maintaining the proper order of things in the game of life. So, for instance, Lord Krishna appeared at the juncture of the Dwapara and Kali Yugas to shepherd in that transition.
The signal quality of avatars in both Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism is that they are born totally awake. They have no karma and don’t need to do any sadhana. Avatars are unbound embodiments of the natural state of enlightenment.
So when Ma says: I am here. I am present. Why worry?, she means that already-enlightened, compassionate Self is present before you in this form and also in everything, including difficult circumstances.
I am here
As did Lord Krishna, Ma comes in the form of Guru, in the form of a human, in the form of a spiritual friend. She plays the game of duality for her own delight and out of compassion for those who as of yet know nothing else.
But for those who can experience her real nature, she shows us that:
I am present in everything, as everything. There is nothing but the Supreme Self.
I am your successes and pleasures and your difficulties. There is nothing but the Supreme Self playing all of the roles and embodied in all of these circumstances.
If every happening is nothing other than I, why worry?
I am your body, your life, your karmas, and your sadhana. You are never alone or apart.
I am Supreme Self as and in manifest life, in everyday life. All of this is me. So why worry?
These are not concepts. The presence of the Supreme can be experienced directly by anyone who is constant in doing sadhana. This living, self-aware, tender presence can be felt, seen, embodied, and followed.
Self calls to Self and always answers in the appropriate form. When we call out for Mother or Guru, she inevitably arrives.
So why do we worry?
Worrying is one of the main “tools” we use to try to grab on and stop the flow of life. Worries live in our mind, filling up the void that we wish to avoid.
It doesn’t matter what we are worrying about: simply to engage in the distracting, controlling activity of worrying is why we worry.
It is possible to live in the world, troubles and all, without worry, without continuously holding on, if we remember Ma is here. She is the ocean of consciousness and compassion. We can relax and take refuge in Her.
Teachings on worry from Abhinavagupta and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
I always feel a thrill when I find teachings in Trika Shaivism that are identical to Ma’s teachings. That gives me even more confidence in Trika. Here, Abhinavagupta is saying that everything, everyone, and all circumstances are the self-experience of the Self, created by the Self, and made of itself.
sarvaṁ svānubhava svabhāva vimalaṁ cintāṁ vṛithā mā kṛithāḥ
Why worry and why worry?
And I leave you with this. Jetsunma Tenzing Palmo offers a practical teaching from the famous verse on worrying by Shantideva in The Way of the Boddhisattva.2
We may want to put on our Trika hats and add that if we don’t know whether or not there is a remedy, why worry because either way is the way of pure wisdom. We just do our best to respond open-heartedly and skillfully to whatever is happening.
This is how Swami Nirgunananda wrote it down. I’ve seen it spelled a number of other ways. Google translate for English to Bangla has it like this: Mā ēkhānē. Cintita kēna?
Used with permission of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, a bhikṣuṇī the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and an author, teacher, and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India.