The Beej or seed mantra for Durga is “Doom.” It is sometimes spelled “Dum” in an attempt to delineate the subtlety of the pronunciation. However to the Western ear, many people would not pick up the distinction. At first glance it might seem strange that the word for the all-loving, all-protective Divine Mother is Doom. In the English language, that word is quite ominous, as if we are all doomed to some sort of disaster. After all, in the Sanskrit language the sound of the word contains the meaning, and to varying degrees, that principle applies to all languages. Why then would such an ominous word apply to the benefic Mother?
There is no greater love in the universe than a mother’s love for her children. Durga loves us all deeply. Out of that love, she spontaneously annihilates impurity. Impurity means life not in harmony with nature, with Natural Law, with one’s Dharma. When individuals are identified with such impurity, Mother Durga, purging away that impurity, can feel most threatening. So the idea of being Doom-ed is actually being blessed. All the impurities and imbalances in the psyche and physiology are doomed away. So the word “Doom” is a loving beautiful, all-pervading and profoundly benefic sound.
If you can let go of your preconceived conditioned notions around the word “Doom,” and then allow the feeling of that word to permeate your body and soul, you will realize that it is in fact a beautiful sound. It is deeply nourishing and profoundly purifying. It is Mother Divine.
For me this is hard to navigate. When something isn’t going how I hoped or planned. I think about how my cats think I’m trying to kill them when I take them to the vet. They are for sure this it, and cry like death is around the corner. I’m sure I do the same thing with Mother Divine. It is really hard to to see it in the moment. Beautiful and reflective blog. Thank you.
How wonderful… the idea of being Doom-ed is actually being blessed. It sure makes life easier to see the deeper understanding of what is actually going on.
When I heard the sound for the first time from Panditji, it gave me a soothing feeling. Now this blog gave me the intellectual understanding. Very beautiful! Thank you!
I’ve expereinced this Durga mantra as powerful and immediately beneficial. Panditji taught us a few years ago during The Nine Days of Mother Divine at Mount Soma. Thanks for the explanation.
This got my attention
This is lovely. Thank you.
This is a lovely blog. Thank you.
Interesting it is..I enjoy the mantra that was given to us one day in the temple by laxshmi. It starts with dum. I say it often and it is nice to have some reference of origin.
Thank you Brahmarshi wonderful blog
Thank you for this blog. When I think about being Doomed from the perspective you offered here the sound almost feels like the vibration of a cleansing drum.
I love this! Durga is my Ishtadevata and I have experienced her doom from both angles. Usually, like you said the harshness comes from my own preconceived notions of how I think things should be…. Like Tracy said… If I resist it feels like
Punishment but if I surrender to what is and let the impiety fall away it feels like a blessing. Thank you for this beautiful blog.
Out of destruction comes the fertile soil of creation. Doom doesn’t sound ominous to me, only when I read the word do I add the connotation. Seems like some kind of cross realm transference but on a language level?
This is great, thank you, as I’ve recently been given a Durga mantra. Very helpful…Mother Divine, and a beautiful sound.
Cool!It does sound like a deep, powerful drum. Even the sound of a drum makes the body resonate. But if there’s any crud inside, it would just rattle around! We have to be cleansed, hollowed of any riff raff to resonate with power…
that’s sweet on many levels. also interesting to me because i have been rather afraid lately that the country is, well, doomed. dumed.
As I say the mantra dum I can feel it vibrate through me. It reminds me of the dirty bell story. After the bell is clean the vibration is clear.
As a mother, I can relate to this. On occasion I find myself wanting to annihilate the impurities that my children are exposed to. Mother Divine Durga annihilating impurities is beautiful to me.
Fascinating! I really enjoy learning about Sanskrit. It is fun to start recognizing words when you hear the chanting in the Temple.