| Sunflowers ~ The Thousand Suns of Durga |
In last evening's raging storm, the twelve foot, twenty nine headed sunflower plant was uprooted from the
garden. In viewing the fallen giant, it struck me what a dear place it had in my heart, and the power of each
flower, each head in constantly turning to the Light while alive. I decided to cut the stems and bring the flowers
inside. Then I was reminded of the story of Durga.
"The world stood poised on the brink of destruction once before. Rivers dried up, plants refused to grow. People
starved. There was war everywhere. Slaughter prevailed. Dancing stopped, even singing was forgotten. The
demons, known as the asuras, were loose in the world, raging unchecked across heaven and earth, drunk with
destruction. No one could stop them, not even the gods, who had been defeated, one by one.
Humiliated, the gods withdrew to the heights of the Himalayas and took counsel amongst themselves, to no avail.
Their dilemma was insoluble. They had lost all power against these demons and could only leave the world to its
inevitable destruction. Then it was remembered that this time had been foretold--a demon would come to destroy
the world, and only a woman could defeat this demon--only a woman could save the world.
At this, the gods shot forth streams of fire, and their fiery streams converged into a towering pillar of flames, as
high as the Himalayas themselves. Out of this fire came the Great Goddess Durga herself, blazing with the light
of a thousand suns, radiating her splendor thoughout the universe. Riding a lion, wearing the crescent moon,
smiling serenely, Durga had ten hands and arms, powerful and ready with weapons given to her by the gods
themselves." (excerpt from The Bond Between Women a Journey to Fierce Compassion by China Galland)
garden. In viewing the fallen giant, it struck me what a dear place it had in my heart, and the power of each
flower, each head in constantly turning to the Light while alive. I decided to cut the stems and bring the flowers
inside. Then I was reminded of the story of Durga.
"The world stood poised on the brink of destruction once before. Rivers dried up, plants refused to grow. People
starved. There was war everywhere. Slaughter prevailed. Dancing stopped, even singing was forgotten. The
demons, known as the asuras, were loose in the world, raging unchecked across heaven and earth, drunk with
destruction. No one could stop them, not even the gods, who had been defeated, one by one.
Humiliated, the gods withdrew to the heights of the Himalayas and took counsel amongst themselves, to no avail.
Their dilemma was insoluble. They had lost all power against these demons and could only leave the world to its
inevitable destruction. Then it was remembered that this time had been foretold--a demon would come to destroy
the world, and only a woman could defeat this demon--only a woman could save the world.
At this, the gods shot forth streams of fire, and their fiery streams converged into a towering pillar of flames, as
high as the Himalayas themselves. Out of this fire came the Great Goddess Durga herself, blazing with the light
of a thousand suns, radiating her splendor thoughout the universe. Riding a lion, wearing the crescent moon,
smiling serenely, Durga had ten hands and arms, powerful and ready with weapons given to her by the gods
themselves." (excerpt from The Bond Between Women a Journey to Fierce Compassion by China Galland)
