Divine Mother, Blessed Mother

Abstract Analyzing six Hindu and Christian hymns, Clooney asks questions such as: How have Hindu theologians made room for a feminine divine alongside the masculine, and why? How has Christian thinking about divine gender differed from Hindu thinking? What might contemporary feminists, including goddess worshippers and experts in the field of thealogy, learn from the goddess traditions of India? It begins by looking at three specific goddesses as they are presented and addressed in religiously and theologically rich hymns from the Sanskrit and Tamil traditions: Sri Laksmi, the eternal consort of Lord Visnu and life-giver to Him and all the world, praised in the Sri Guna Ratna Kosa (“Treasury of the Jewels That Are Sri’s Qualities”) by Parasara Bhattar (61 verses; 12th century); the great Goddess Devi, in whom the world and gods too exist and flourish, praised in the Saundarya Lahari (“Wave of Beauty”) attributed to Sankara (100 verses; c. 10th century or before); the lovely Tamil Goddess Apirami, who illumines the innermost mind and heart, praised in the Apirami Antati (“Linked Verses for Apirami [the Beautiful One]”) by Apirami Bhattar (100 verses; 18th century). Set alongside the Hindu hymns are three Marian hymns, the ancient Orthodox Christian Akathistos hymn to the Mother of God (6th century); the Stabat Mater, picturing Mary standing by the cross of her son (13th century); the Mataracamman Antati (“Linked Verses in Honor of the Queen among Women, the Goddess [of Mylapore]),” a Tamil hymn praising Mary as the (new and real) mother of Mylapore, a center of Hindu orthodoxy in south India (19th century). Clooney shows how Goddess traditions can be drawn into fruitful conversation with Christian tradition, taking a fresh look at the veneration and theology of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of God, as displayed in three famous Marian hymns from the Greek, Latin, and Tamil traditions. The further question thus arises, How might the study of Hindu goddesses affect Christian thinking about God and Mary? This is a book to read for its insights into the nature of gender and the divine, for the power of the hymns themselves, and for the sake of a religious adventure, an encounter with three Goddess traditions and Mary seen in a new light.