What do you think?
Rate this book
In Search of the Divine Mother: The Mystery of Mother Meera
A young and undeniably powerful holy woman. A writer whose spiritual longing is gloriously fulfilled while his personal quest is fractured and temporarily subverted. In Search of the Divine Mother is an epic drama revealing, for the first time, the full story of the contemporary mystic known to her thousands of devotees as Mother Meera. Tracing the history and significance of the mysterious Indian woman who is visited by hundreds of people--easterners and westerners alike--each week in her modest German countryside home, writer Martin Goodman reveals how and why Mother Meera, born an uneducated peasant in rural India, is considered by many to be the ultimate incarnation of the feminine divine in our time. A former devoted insider given unique access to Mother Meera's inner circle, Goodman brings his considerable talent to this absorbing and wonderfully literate account of his own mystical encounters with Mother Meera, which began with his first visit in 1991, and the remarkable events that comprise her life and astonishing spiritual work. In 1995, Mother Meera authorized Goodman to write her official biography, granting him unprecedented access to her life and her history. The book he wrote was completely destroyed on Mother Meera's orders. This is the work that rose from the ashes of those burned pages--a deeper, more subjective, and broader ranging volume that layers biography with the mesmerizing story of a true spiritual adventure. Filled with all the beauty and drama of a mythic novel, it yields a remarkable portrait of a genuine contemporary mystic on a crucial mission to bring divine light into the world. Goodman's tale is one of clear insight and profound admiration. Having distanced himself from Mother Meera and her organization, he is uniquely able to provide a truthful and fair-minded reflection of the phenomena that surround Mother Meera and to add new depth to the stories of her that are familiar to readers of such works as Andrew Harvey's Hidden Journey and her own, published works. While he readily admits that she is not infallible, Goodman nonetheless reveals Mother Meera's true gift of opening up the divinity we each hold within us--she exists, he writes, "as an open door through which we can see and meet God." I am walking down a hill toward a German village because people say God lives there. She is at home for the evening and receiving visitors. Born in 1960 in a village in southern India, a sickly child named Kamala is soon "discovered" and guided out of poverty and onto the world stage as an incarnation of the Divine Mother on earth. Mother Meera, as she came to be known, is a figure shrouded in mystery and wonder. She holds court in a small town in Germany, where over 40,000 people from around the world have gone to seek enlightenment in her presence. She teaches only through her profound, silent gaze and remarkable touch, and asks nothing--no money, no allegiance--from those who choose to follow her. For the thousands who have visited her, and the thousands more who have wondered at her power and widespread appeal, In Search of the Divine Mother offers a riveting inside account of one man's search to discover the truth about Mother Meera. Through his beautifully written and richly textured work, celebrated novelist Martin Goodman creates both a magnificent tale of spiritual transformation and a fascinating profile of a true mystic living in our time.
- GenresSpirituality
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 1998
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 13, 2023
A FORMER DEVOTEE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS ACCEPTANCE, THEN REJECTION, OF HER
The back cover of this 1998 book states, “Born in 1960 in a village in southern India, a sickly child named Kamala is soon ‘discovered’ and guided out of poverty and onto the world stage as an incarnation of the Divine Mother on earth. Mother Meera, as she came to be known, is a figure shrouded in mystery and wonder. She lives in a small town in Germany, where over 40,000 people from around the world have gone to seek enlightenment in her presence. She teaches only through her profound, silent gaze and remarkable touch, and asks nothing---no money, no allegiance---from those who choose to follow her. For the thousands who have visited her, and the thousands more who have wondered at her power and widespread appeal, [this book] offers a riveting inside account of one man’s search to discover the truth about Mother Meera.”
In the first chapter, he recounts, “In 1991 organization of these evenings with Mother Meera is still loose. People are mostly drawn by word of mouth… That evening there are about sixty of us… The door of the house opens. A woman steps back … to let us enter… This is Adilakshmi… she is almost seventeen years older than Mother Meera… [and she] views Mother Meera as the Divine Mother… The Divine Mother is worshipped in many forms throughout India… For Adilakshmi, Mother Meera is … a direct incarnation of God on earth… We rise to our feel and listen for the first distant whisper of her approach… Mother Meera barely has a dy at all… as she shuffles forward. This is… the entrance of someone who chooses to be lost in a crowd if she has to come out at all… For those of us used to more entertainment than this, the evening will seem long… There will be nothing to distract anyone from a very personal view of the evening’s experience.” (Pg. 4-7)
He continues, “When Adilakhmi kneels in front of Mother Meera, someone moves to sit in this chair and begins ‘waiting.’ That person is next to kneel before Mother Meera after Adilakshmi rises… The person before me rises. I dive to the floor and plant my hands on the ground on either side of Mother Meera’s feet….The lightness of her tiny fingers plays itself about my head… Then the hands are lifted… Sitting back, I open my eyes… This young Indian woman I have never met opens her eyes before me. It is a gesture of astonishing intimacy… The eyelashes … slowly close over her eyes… As I walk back to my chair, her hands have already alighted on another person’s head.:” (Pg. 10-11)
He goes on, “I walk with a young man back... towards … the village where we are staying… ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ he says… The speech seems silly but sweet. I do not know what a divine mother is, let alone feel I have met one. The term ‘devotee’ shocks me… But the young man is well-intentioned and happy, so I smile back… I don’t yet understand the effect of gazing into her eyes… I have just encountered what will grow to become the greatest mystery of my life. Though I will come back to … Mother Meers, part of me is already fixed in the landscape. It never leaves.” (Pg. 12)
He states, “Mother Meera moves and works though silence. She claims nothing, proclaims nothing, asks nothing, demands nothing… There are no urgent missives to the world, no steam of directives channeled from God. She states her job as bring a new light to all creation. I see her as someone who gathers and disseminates power, a power that generates growth in awareness and the force of creation… a bolt of energy can charge from her figure and hit the onlooker with the force of a moving truck. The sight of her smile can suffu8se the body… But in her public appearances she is self-effacing almost to the point of extinction… In this act of vanishing, Mother Meera grows broader… She does not want to attract you to herself, so you simply pass through her… The other spiritual paths I have tried seemed to cramp life’s potential in some way. Mother Meera seems board enough to allow free flow to the full force of life.” (Pg. 36-37)
Later, he observes, “Somewhat like the Oracle at Delphi, Mother Meera tends to stop before her statements have any real substance. They point toward a lesson, but stop short of real elucidation. The oracle offers a riddle rather than guidance. People take its message and hurtle through life until they have discovered the oracle’s wisdom for themselves, often after learning from their mistakes. What wisdom can we take from this brief sentence? One interpretation accords with statements Mother Meera will make in the future…. Mother Meera has moved out of any sense of belonging to the world. She is her own force and has established her own conventions.” (Pg.
108)
He notes that in August 1980, “she announces that she is now a burning force, ‘The Mother of Fire,’ on account of the light she is now transmitting to the earth. The earth itself is more eager for the benefits of this light than are its people. This is the sense of power show now carries with her to the West.” (Pg. 130)
He reports, “A book is being written about Mother Meera during this time. Andrew Harvey began it in 1982… In 1989 the book is nearing completion. He wishes to introduce her to America and arranges an invitation from Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, New York, where he sometimes teaches… This visit is to be the culmination of a celebration of the Divine Mother at Hobart and William Smith College… Adilalshmi sits by her side as Mother Meera faces the assembly of about fifty people, many of them academics. Their questions sometimes take a while, unraveling slowly from their intellects. Mother Meera answers to short phrases.. Many of Mother Meera’s responses on this day form the basis for her 1991 book ‘Answers.’ … Those who have known Mother Meera without knowing her voice are thrilled to hear it now. Accompanying her to this gathering of academics is like taking a loved one home to meet the parents. They come away quite proud of her performance.” (Pg. 147)
He states, “I am told that Sai Baba of Puttaparthi sends people to see Mother Meera and that Mother Meera sends people to see him. It seems spiritual leaders all recognize reciprocal leadership. They want to become what they were, and so hope their chosen spiritual leader recognizes them as an equal.” (Pg. 182)
He acknowledges, “Many who have been close devotees of Mother Meera subsequently claim their distance. There are different reasons. For some, the shift from being single to being married moves their focus to a different relationship. For others, the power of the charge they feel in her presence is too much… There may be a psychological breakdown, perhaps hospitalization… Others part company with Mother Meera to follow a different spiritual path… Others break away from Mother Meera for more violent reasons. Love flips to hatred. The writer Andrew Harvey was very close to Mother Meera, yet he now takes a public stance against her… She states that time will see his return and keeps some distance from the public debate he attempts to begin. When others ask to write in her name to counter his attacks, she does not allow it.” (Pg. 188-189)
He explains, “My own love for Mother Mera also turned into anger and resentment. From the outside, devotion is often viewed as an anodyne experience. People see the shining eyes and switched-on smiles of devotees and are saddened. They see bright people brainwashed into simple-mindedness. They shut doors on smiling faces, and old friends either remove themselves or wait for the crash of disillusionment…. Devotion is like a next. We flap our wings and finally jump off into flight.” (Pg. 190)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying Mother Meera.
The back cover of this 1998 book states, “Born in 1960 in a village in southern India, a sickly child named Kamala is soon ‘discovered’ and guided out of poverty and onto the world stage as an incarnation of the Divine Mother on earth. Mother Meera, as she came to be known, is a figure shrouded in mystery and wonder. She lives in a small town in Germany, where over 40,000 people from around the world have gone to seek enlightenment in her presence. She teaches only through her profound, silent gaze and remarkable touch, and asks nothing---no money, no allegiance---from those who choose to follow her. For the thousands who have visited her, and the thousands more who have wondered at her power and widespread appeal, [this book] offers a riveting inside account of one man’s search to discover the truth about Mother Meera.”
In the first chapter, he recounts, “In 1991 organization of these evenings with Mother Meera is still loose. People are mostly drawn by word of mouth… That evening there are about sixty of us… The door of the house opens. A woman steps back … to let us enter… This is Adilakshmi… she is almost seventeen years older than Mother Meera… [and she] views Mother Meera as the Divine Mother… The Divine Mother is worshipped in many forms throughout India… For Adilakshmi, Mother Meera is … a direct incarnation of God on earth… We rise to our feel and listen for the first distant whisper of her approach… Mother Meera barely has a dy at all… as she shuffles forward. This is… the entrance of someone who chooses to be lost in a crowd if she has to come out at all… For those of us used to more entertainment than this, the evening will seem long… There will be nothing to distract anyone from a very personal view of the evening’s experience.” (Pg. 4-7)
He continues, “When Adilakhmi kneels in front of Mother Meera, someone moves to sit in this chair and begins ‘waiting.’ That person is next to kneel before Mother Meera after Adilakshmi rises… The person before me rises. I dive to the floor and plant my hands on the ground on either side of Mother Meera’s feet….The lightness of her tiny fingers plays itself about my head… Then the hands are lifted… Sitting back, I open my eyes… This young Indian woman I have never met opens her eyes before me. It is a gesture of astonishing intimacy… The eyelashes … slowly close over her eyes… As I walk back to my chair, her hands have already alighted on another person’s head.:” (Pg. 10-11)
He goes on, “I walk with a young man back... towards … the village where we are staying… ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’ he says… The speech seems silly but sweet. I do not know what a divine mother is, let alone feel I have met one. The term ‘devotee’ shocks me… But the young man is well-intentioned and happy, so I smile back… I don’t yet understand the effect of gazing into her eyes… I have just encountered what will grow to become the greatest mystery of my life. Though I will come back to … Mother Meers, part of me is already fixed in the landscape. It never leaves.” (Pg. 12)
He states, “Mother Meera moves and works though silence. She claims nothing, proclaims nothing, asks nothing, demands nothing… There are no urgent missives to the world, no steam of directives channeled from God. She states her job as bring a new light to all creation. I see her as someone who gathers and disseminates power, a power that generates growth in awareness and the force of creation… a bolt of energy can charge from her figure and hit the onlooker with the force of a moving truck. The sight of her smile can suffu8se the body… But in her public appearances she is self-effacing almost to the point of extinction… In this act of vanishing, Mother Meera grows broader… She does not want to attract you to herself, so you simply pass through her… The other spiritual paths I have tried seemed to cramp life’s potential in some way. Mother Meera seems board enough to allow free flow to the full force of life.” (Pg. 36-37)
Later, he observes, “Somewhat like the Oracle at Delphi, Mother Meera tends to stop before her statements have any real substance. They point toward a lesson, but stop short of real elucidation. The oracle offers a riddle rather than guidance. People take its message and hurtle through life until they have discovered the oracle’s wisdom for themselves, often after learning from their mistakes. What wisdom can we take from this brief sentence? One interpretation accords with statements Mother Meera will make in the future…. Mother Meera has moved out of any sense of belonging to the world. She is her own force and has established her own conventions.” (Pg.
108)
He notes that in August 1980, “she announces that she is now a burning force, ‘The Mother of Fire,’ on account of the light she is now transmitting to the earth. The earth itself is more eager for the benefits of this light than are its people. This is the sense of power show now carries with her to the West.” (Pg. 130)
He reports, “A book is being written about Mother Meera during this time. Andrew Harvey began it in 1982… In 1989 the book is nearing completion. He wishes to introduce her to America and arranges an invitation from Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva, New York, where he sometimes teaches… This visit is to be the culmination of a celebration of the Divine Mother at Hobart and William Smith College… Adilalshmi sits by her side as Mother Meera faces the assembly of about fifty people, many of them academics. Their questions sometimes take a while, unraveling slowly from their intellects. Mother Meera answers to short phrases.. Many of Mother Meera’s responses on this day form the basis for her 1991 book ‘Answers.’ … Those who have known Mother Meera without knowing her voice are thrilled to hear it now. Accompanying her to this gathering of academics is like taking a loved one home to meet the parents. They come away quite proud of her performance.” (Pg. 147)
He states, “I am told that Sai Baba of Puttaparthi sends people to see Mother Meera and that Mother Meera sends people to see him. It seems spiritual leaders all recognize reciprocal leadership. They want to become what they were, and so hope their chosen spiritual leader recognizes them as an equal.” (Pg. 182)
He acknowledges, “Many who have been close devotees of Mother Meera subsequently claim their distance. There are different reasons. For some, the shift from being single to being married moves their focus to a different relationship. For others, the power of the charge they feel in her presence is too much… There may be a psychological breakdown, perhaps hospitalization… Others part company with Mother Meera to follow a different spiritual path… Others break away from Mother Meera for more violent reasons. Love flips to hatred. The writer Andrew Harvey was very close to Mother Meera, yet he now takes a public stance against her… She states that time will see his return and keeps some distance from the public debate he attempts to begin. When others ask to write in her name to counter his attacks, she does not allow it.” (Pg. 188-189)
He explains, “My own love for Mother Mera also turned into anger and resentment. From the outside, devotion is often viewed as an anodyne experience. People see the shining eyes and switched-on smiles of devotees and are saddened. They see bright people brainwashed into simple-mindedness. They shut doors on smiling faces, and old friends either remove themselves or wait for the crash of disillusionment…. Devotion is like a next. We flap our wings and finally jump off into flight.” (Pg. 190)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying Mother Meera.
November 18, 2014
3.5- a seemingly genuine story of the author's spiritual journey in which his interaction with Mother Meera was a catalyst. Before reading this book, I had never heard of Mother Meera, a modern mystic of Hindu origin.I am not sure what I believe at this point but I would like to share a few quotes from the book and if any interest you then I would recommend that you read the book.
"I learn that spiritual experience does not have to be channeled through religious institutions. It is open to direct, individual perception." p.38
"God is everywhere, in everything we do, so we must let that consciousness of God flow into our daily actions"p.110
"The passage through life with Mother Meera takes work. It is not a passive submission to divine grace. It is a readiness to commit all that life has to offer, topry one's grasp away from all one holds on to, to listen when one's life begs for the freedom to fulfill itself." p210
"We must give to God what belongs to God and to our spiritual figures what belongs to our spiritual figures.We need not confuse the two." p.225
"What is the job of spiritual leader? their job is to dislay their quality of openness to the divine.That is the example that we can learn from.If we rummage through other aspects of their lives seeking more and more to copy , we are as foolish as the person wanting driving lessons from a great chef."p.217
Interesting,I feel that I should always be open to new ways of thinking about life.
"I learn that spiritual experience does not have to be channeled through religious institutions. It is open to direct, individual perception." p.38
"God is everywhere, in everything we do, so we must let that consciousness of God flow into our daily actions"p.110
"The passage through life with Mother Meera takes work. It is not a passive submission to divine grace. It is a readiness to commit all that life has to offer, topry one's grasp away from all one holds on to, to listen when one's life begs for the freedom to fulfill itself." p210
"We must give to God what belongs to God and to our spiritual figures what belongs to our spiritual figures.We need not confuse the two." p.225
"What is the job of spiritual leader? their job is to dislay their quality of openness to the divine.That is the example that we can learn from.If we rummage through other aspects of their lives seeking more and more to copy , we are as foolish as the person wanting driving lessons from a great chef."p.217
Interesting,I feel that I should always be open to new ways of thinking about life.
August 30, 2007
beautiful prose. a deep, authentic journey into the guru-disciple relationship and the search for the feminine face of God, by a gay man. this book was so full that i had to take a nap after every few chapters just to digest it. at the same time, the sentences are spare and finely crafted, never overdone: a high accomplishment when writing about visions, loss, communion with the divine.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews