MA

Ma can be used as mantra just like Hri'm (Sanskrit stem is hrydaya – the heart) to worship all ten forms of the tantric divine mother. The divine mother found everywhere and in all thing and  we are thus found in her,  but for us right now she is concentrated in the space of the  spiritual heart a little to the right of where we think it should be!

Ma is also a popular term used by beggars in their address to female foreigners when they travel around India. I like to think they address the westerners by seeing the Divine female energy in them, but I am afraid, I have, as yet to experience a beggar who looks this deeply.

Ma for me is  a natural progression born out of laziness and a certain degree of simplicity  Missus abracadabra is a whole lot of letters to write across a receipt for a customer in a hurry so it became just the first letter of each word  and somehow it fits. From Missus Abrabracadabra am unfolding into to Ma!!

Ma is how to address an older wise woman as a term of respect and endearment.

Ma is mother India.

Ma is the holy cow who will lovingly feed you with no thought of reward.

Ma is the cosmic womb that gives birth to all there is. Kali as Ma creates objects in time (past, present and  future) but Ma as Aditi also creates objects in space (north south east and west). Not only is the divine mother linear time she also governs the directions of space.

Ma creates the space that is created for the coming into being of all things and is the space within the heart where the whole universe is contained.

Ma is also the space within the mind where Maya has a field day creating the unreal to seem like real, so Free the mind and receive Ma.

You can worship and meditate on Ma by concentrating on the space around and between objects rather than on the objects themselves. An interesting exercise to do is to go into the nature by some trees and actually draw the spaces around the trees not the trees themselves - it will help you focus. The space around is not space at all but filled with the energy of the divine mother and by giving undivided attention to her you will be able to connect and identify with her. Remember she is space so the idea is to empty yourself of all thought and let her in to fill the space with whatever she finds fit.

There are of course other techniques but this one is so much fun and she will always surprise you with her creations.

Ma is kriya Shakti (power of action), jhanna Shakti (power of knowledge), and also iccha Shakti (power of love).

Ma helps us defeat the demons within (in the form of obstruction and negativity) so that  we can obtain the the four goals of life: kama  (pleasure and passion), artha (material wealth) dharma (right living), moksha (liberation).

Ma as Durga is the divine warrior she fights all forms of evil. She is our mother and protects us from all harm. Sometimes it may shock us, as a child needs correcting so our divine mother will correct us to keep us on the correct path.

Ma as our mother is the earth we walk on, the sky we see, the water we drink, the sun that shines, the moon that waxes and wanes,  the seasons  that return year after year, and the nights that follow the days and give us the possibility to rest and replenish, she is all these things that we need to live and we must respect her.

Missus Abracadabra is a fair trade shop on Amsterdams Bilderdijkstraat 215 (near the Overtoom). We specalise in fair trade from India, and know all the producers personally and have regular contact with them. Over the years our producers have become our friends and it is always a pleasure to meet with them and do business. We see them more often these days because we use Skype a lot its better for our carbon footprint. We use recycled materials to pack our products. Our webshop Ma-India.nl is open 24 hours a day.

Missus Abracadabra was born many many years ago in a cafe in the Jordan, in the presence of three people. My dear friend Martin van de Velde, my ex, and myself Linda Uma Johnson. Many names were thrown on the table over a bottle of wine that evening. I remember wanting to call our little shop in the pijp  Ohm,  ॐ , and being voted out. Later in the evening I came up with Abracadabra and it was unanimous  Abracadabra was to be the name.

Now let me mention at this stage that Ohm ॐ is Sanskrit for the first sound of the universe. It is the sound of creation.  And now, let me mention something else that I found out years later, Abracadabra is the first word in the bible in the original Aramaic. It means "and God said". It is the word of creation. So Abracadabra and Ohm mean exactly the same, they are the word of creation! Abracadabra is a fitting ode to all who spend their time in the creative process in India making beautiful things for the shop.

Years later there was a really mucky divorce and the wish to do something totally different ... I studied Kundalini Yoga for 7 years and I was lucky enough to have studied with the best teachers in the Netherlands. I was truly blessed. I received the blessing of a place to study at the Bihar school of yoga. Three years fully paid, a bequest from Swamiji Satyananda Sariswati. We have satsang in the shop please phone for more details.

I was so blessed, but my life was not destined to follow this path. I am not born to teach, not in a classical sense anyway. I am meant to work with the downtrodden in India. I have so many friends who are dependant on my work. That blesses me too. India is my passion, my reason for being.