MatriTalks 18
MOTHER
& SONS
Questions
& Answers
with
Han Marie Stiekema Sermes
Great Mother
Cosmogony. Everything:
The Divine (white/yellow) and the universe
(green) is born out of Her (black), while
returning in the self-same Eternal Moment.
Q. The title of this talk
intrigues me. Why putting "Mother & Sons" in the center of your attention,
while obviously being very much in favor of a Feminine World View?
A. The chance for implementing
a Feminine World View is very much depending on whether "the sons" are going to
support it.
Q. In your earlier writings,
you classify the existing "great" religions as "Sons
of the Mother". In which way this could offer a perspective for the future?
A. Male identity is built on
denial of the mother. This can be observed on various levels. In the psychological realm,
the male has to separate himself from the mother in order to become a boy. In history
patriarchal religions have established themselves at the expense of the Mother
Religions.
Q. The ego has to deny the
mother in order to exist? Is that what you mean?
A. The greatest fear of the
(male) ego is to fall back into the primordial "chaos" of the Womb. Hence, the
latent enmity (conscious or unconscious) of males toward the mother figure, eventually
projected into females in general.
Q. Thus this is explaining a lot...
A. There are three types of
male ego-attitudes toward the mother. First of all, there is the "normal"
development as described above. It is resulting in an ambivalent (hate-love) relationship
with the mother. Secondly, there is a development based on an inferiority complex. This is
resulting, either in a life long "mother child", a weak adult who still feels
dominated by the mother or in its opposite: a male, who is overcompensating his weakness
by blowing himself up. (The latter often become macho's or dictators). Thirdly, a
hypothetical possibility is that of a child, that has been supported in preserving its
Inner Light. In such a case "fear of Nothingness" will not be there, resulting
in a harmonious relationship between the boy and his mother.
Q. Would you suggest, that these examples find
their parallel in the origination of the current religions as well?
A. Absolutely. The "great
religions" were (are) a reaction against the dominance of the Mother. In order to
establish themselves they had to suppress Her. It explains the ambiguous attitude
of these religions toward femininity. On the one hand they deny, oppress etc. it, on the
other hand they cannot exist without. Some religions deny Her totally, while others have
preserved some distorted image of Her (Mary), in order not to upset their believers.
Q. The Great Mother will not be altogether
happy with this situation.
A. One main reason why the
Mother has intervened right now, is Her concern for the future of religion as a whole.
Q. On the other hand, these are patriarchal
religions, the ones that have put Her aside. These religions don't recognize Her. They all
worship a male God.
A. The Mother is not at all
against worshipping God. The revolutionary thing is, that She is beyond God. "Not God
created the world out of nothingness, but Nothingness (the Cosmic Womb) is continuously
giving birth to both the Divine and the world". Through emptying Herself in Her
inconceivable Bottomlessness, the Divine is born out of Her, while the visible world is
born out of the Divine. All continuously return to the Mother. It is through the nature of
the Vacuum, that the dynamics of birth and death can be understood, revealing the core
mystery of life....Thus, you can imagine Reality consisting of three parallel
"layers": The Vacuum (Essence of the Mother); the Divine (Her Light Body) and
the visible world (Her Material Body). The Divine as Her Light Body is Her Eternal
"Son".* Thus, by worshipping "God", people in fact are worshipping the
Light Body of the Great Mother. This breakthrough in religious understanding is the
beginning of A New Era. Moreover, it is the main reason, why the Mother is concerned about
the increasing intolerance among the religions. They all seem to have their own
"God". For instance Christians are claiming that their "God" is the
"God of the Bible". This is a contradiction in itself. How can God be possessed
by a book, however sacred? It is impossible. God cannot be possessed by anybody. He
exceeds every description, limitation etc. Hence, the Mother being "Unity in
diversity", emphasizing, that there is only One God, being Her Divine Son.
* "God the Father" turns out
to be the Son...
Q. This is dazzling me a little. Are you,
through the backdoor of the Mother, encouraging people to remain loyal to the existing
religions?
A. The main characteristic of
the Mother is, that She is All-Embracing, without exception. Like earthly mothers, She is
deeply concerned about the fate of the world in general and that of spirituality e.g.
religion in particular. Hence, Her call to everybody involved, to acknowledge the fact,
that there are different ways toward the Ultimate, each of equal value. Religions should
develop friendship among each other. It is a main concern of every mother, that her sons
have peace. Obviously, the inclusiveness of the Mother doesn't limit itself to the
"great" religions only. The Mother is cherishing, promoting and protecting all
spiritual/religious initiatives, groups, "sects" and organizations, regardless
their belief, spiritual orientation, practices etc., whether they recognize Her or not.
She loves all people indiscriminately. Hence, the Mother being truly "Unity in
Diversity".
Q. Are there particular ways, through which the
Mother is going to bring the religions together?
A. First of all, it should be
emphasized, that the Mother-Son relationship is a very ancient one. It stems from the time
of the Great Mother religion, in which the Mother/Goddess/Queen used to have a
Son/Lover/King, the latter representing the Vegetation God. Thus, Mother-Son symbolism is
not an invention of patriarchy...On the other hand, this primordial relationship between
Mother and Child could be equally described as one between Mother and Daughter, which
obviously should be leading to the demand for total rehabilitation of women in the realm
of religion (and not only there).
Q. Please, go on.
A. The main task of the Mother
is to call Her Sons - the existing religions - to come Home*. They are invited to look at
the mechanism, through which they became alienated from their Origin. As described above,
their move "toward independence" was one based on "fear of
Nothingness" e.g. the Mother. They had to pay a high price for it. Not only, that
their existential fear has not disappeared, but also with regard to the increasing fear of
their own irrelevance. Religions, like people, are becoming increasingly uprooted. They
cannot offer a home to people, because they are lacking a Home themselves. It is the
Feminine Principle, that is lacking! The latter including inclusiveness, warmth,
wholeness, interconnectedness, acceptance, compassion and love, something the
"Father" has never been able to offer.
* The biblical parable of
"the son who was lost" can be traced back to pre-Christian times. In fact, it
was a mother with her unconditional motherly love, who joyfully welcomed her son.
Q. Please, go on.
A. In particular, the Mother is
calling Her Sons to face their own "fear of Nothingness". She wants to make them
aware of the fact, that in the Depth of Her Womb "death" is transformed into
"rebirth". Up to this very moment, religions are a collective attempt not to be
confronted by the Ultimate. Religion as an attempt to escape from the Divine...However,
once reconciled with the Origin, the existing religions will relax by eventually becoming
themselves.
Q. What perspective could this
offer to believers of the existing "great" religions?
A. Christians, Jews, Muslims,
Hindu's, Taoists, Buddhists, members of an Indigenous Religion, a New Age Sect or whatever
spiritual/religious group you should be adhering to, all keep your own belief and
practices. The only difference is, that you acknowledge the Mother to be the Ultimate
Reality, as the Source from which all religions are emerging. I call this "Mother
Worship" or "The Original Great Mother Tradition". So, you may very well
worship both "God" and the Mother. In fact, large parts of believers of various
religions do practice some form of worshipping the Eternal Feminine already. In the
Catholic Church Mary is called "Mother of God" and "Queen of Heaven";
in Buddhism Kuan Yin has larger groups of followers than the Buddha has; in India the
Mother Goddess (Matri Devi), together with her secondaries like Durga, Kali, Laxmi etc.,
besides the local village goddesses, occupy a central position in the Hindu pantheon
already, in Taoism there is a notion of the Tao as the Eternal Mother...
Q. A Silent Revolution?
A. Once people start
recognizing the Mother as Ultimate Reality, the Mother will save them.
OM
(Original meaning is "Womb")
Hail to the Womb!
Back
Next
| HOME
| Autobiography | Personal
Reactions | Picture Gallery | Poetry | Q & A online
| MatriTalks |