When the earth awoke
So too did all the plants and beasts
Being of the Mother as are all things.
As the beasts gave voice
In ten thousand tongues
In the deepest most primal center of the jungle
The hoary and horned lord of three faces arose from the heart of Ma
Skin of fur and bark, sinews of vines and mighty branches
Hooves of grey stone and curved horns of moon
He opened his eyes of starfire and howled
He chirped, screeched, bellowed, roared, trumpeted
Giving forth the voice of every wild animal for so he was
And all the beasts of the jungle paused and were given their voices
Then they began to come to him who had given voice
Birds and furry creatures soon hopped amidst the vines and tangled hair
That covered his head and body
Serpents wrapped about his limbs, deer and elephants touched his shoulders
He cawed and hissed and rumbled and barked to each in turn
For he was of them and they of him and they were one
Skin of green-covered earth and breath of jungle mist
His three faces were aglow with feral wildness and moonlight
One face a new born beast, the other the skull of one long dead
The eyes of his middle face opened in pure awareness
And as a beast he was Now; all time and space and being.
At that moment all animals shared this all-time-is-now as they still do.
Born of the will of MA he centered the jungle cosmos
He touched the earth and sunk his roots deep into the underworld
And his skull face hissed for all things died
He raised his other hand and extended his horns and branches
up into the cosmos and the heavens spun and united
And his silent face smiled, for all things were alive.
He vibrated the heart of Ma for he was this vibration
OM emanated from the core of his being and rippled out.
The matrix of life erupted in a swirling spiral, embracing all
The beasts gathered about him danced and sang along
Trees and vines sprouted flowers writhing like ecstatic serpents
The sun and moon, clouds and stars moved about his for, the nexus mundi
All weaving and flowing undulating waves of Om
And all the beasts stood about him and bowed
As he meditated for an aeon
The infinite life about him danced and changed and multiplied and evolved
He dreamed the spinning cosmos of life and death and change and joy
And the Mother of All cradled his web, his matrix, his beautiful song.
Then: from the beasts and the infinite primal jungle of MA
Arose all the the Spirits, called forth by the Lord of Beasts;
The wild Ganas and Rishis, and vampires and Demons and Gods and Nagas,
the Yakshis and demigods and every sort of dream beast and entity
All bowed before MA and The Lord of Beasts, AN
And honored them as Devi and Deva who were One
with leaping and their various feral songs and cavorting and wild ecstasy!
Ripples and rings and vibrations of life and living echoed out
AN was the heart of Wildness and filled the ecstatic world
as MA who was and is All Things hummed with pleasure, with love.
As all vibrated with the OM of her heart, her Center
Her Beastman-Self manifest: AN, Lord of the Beasts.
Then all became still.
At Sunset AN lowered his hands to his rough furred knees closing his eyes
Entering nothingness manifesting as an infinity of swirling being
Centering and becoming the heart of all Beasts he meditated
Disolving into the infinite Wildness, the pure spirit of Nature
The green and brown, red and black ecstasy of life and death and One
He was a star reflecting MA, the fulcrum of all creation, MA
In samadhi, in union with all, he awoke to being the universe!
He howled and, he bellowed and hissed and uttered every wild feral sound
He shook his moon-crescent bull horns and called the primal beasts to him!
As each beast came he blessed and honored that being
as a part of himself, a flame of wildness, a part of the the cosmos
First came the primal Elephant who had been before all things born of Ma
Then the Tiger and the lion, who were the primal fierceness of MA
Then came the Bull, the mount of AN and the steadfastness of MA,
Next came the Rhino, the guardian of AN and protection of MA
Then came the glowing the Sun Bird, the song of MA and fire of AN,
Then the great wise Naga serpent, the secrets of MA and wisdom of AN
Then, each in turn, all the primal Wild Beast ancestor powers came,
and each in turn was honored and blessed as they gave homage
And each spoke and was spoken to by AN the voice of MA
and empowered with the shaktipat of MA
And last came the Monkey-primate king and queen
And AN reach out and touched them as MA supported them
Upon them was laid a special blessing of great power-
They were given awareness and told- You are all my Beasts, but:
All the Wild ones shall BE and you shall KNOW-
And together you will dance and live and love one another
You will learn from each other, live with and honor each other,
Live and die with one another, but always with respect and gratitude,
for you are ALL Beasts of MA but informed and guided by Me
For I am the Lord of the Beasts.
Oh Lord and Lady Primates, as you awaken to your own Beastness-
Ignore this compact, abuse your wild beastly brothers and sisters
And I shall awaken as the Red Howler, the Dance of Force and Fire
As MA will awaken as Destroyer, wearing bones and blood and sword!
For you are all of us, none greater or lesser! So MA has decreed.
Thus said the Lord of the Beasts, known as Pashupati Deva or AN
Voice and vibration of the Eternal Mother of All things, MA.
So it was, so it shall be.
Svaha.
- Shiva Ratri 2/22/2020