Monday, July 09, 2018

The Goddess Tree

 Neemari Devi

There is a little temple of the Goddess in the route of my evening walk.
It is an intriguing little temple - firstly the murti inside is not of the Goddess as we normally see her but a black stone in the shape of a lingam. So I thought it was a Shiva temple. But outside, at the entrance, were these two beautiful feet - female
So I asked a woman who was worshiping there and she told me that it was in fact the temple of the Goddess and the stone had manifested itself.
But why the neem leaves, I wondered. I researched and got my answer.
The Goddess in the temple was Mariamma as she is known in the South, or Durga or Kali. And the neem tree is considered a manifestation of the Goddess so much so that the tree is often called Neemari Devi and the goddess Mariamman is said to wield the neem leaf as a sword.
So naturally, neem leaves are used to worship this avatar of the Goddes.
And this evening I did.
So, if you have a neem tree outseide your house - like we do - or somewhere nearby, remember that the Goddess is with you, protecting you

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