The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe [Hardcover]

Linda Johnsen (Author), Linda Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

Over the last 1,500 years, the ancient, world-wide religion of the Great Mother has been extinguished everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except India, the one place on earth where the tradition of the Mother of the Universe is still celebrated today on a massive scale as it has been for thousands of years. Linda Johnsen takes us to India today and shows us a Goddess who triumphantly flourishes in powerful temples, ecstatic festivals, and in the hearts of millions of devotees. Through wonderful stories and her own learnings, Linda penetrates the heart of the tradition to reveal that the Goddess belief offers not only an honouring of fertility and feminine values, but an amazing revelation of the limitless potentials of human consciousness. This book introduces readers to the vast wealth of India's Goddess literature, extraordinary mystical text in which the Goddess herself reveals who she is, why she created us, and how we can find our way back to her lap.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Johnson, author of Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India (LJ 6/1/94) and devotee of Amritanandamayi Ma, uses story, myth, and Tantric cosmology to encourage Westerners to heed the rich and varied goddess?traditions of Hindu tradition and to revive the lost or scorned traditions of the goddess within Western culture itself. Dwelling in turn on different aspects of the goddess as exemplified by her different names (Durga for power and so on), Johnson covers an ambitious range of materials, from post-Darwinian evolutionary theory to the Nag Hammadi texts. An interesting and idiosyncratic journey for readers interested in women's spirituality and religious experience, this is recommended for strong women's studies and religion collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A must read for people who want to live with God more intimately." -- Elizabeth Harding, author

"Many will be guided by this book." -- Swami Veda Bharati, author

"She brings the Mother worship of India to us as a living path to help transform our lives..." -- David Frawley, author

"A must read for people who want to live with God more intimately." -- Elizabeth Harding, author

"Many will be guided by this book." -- Swami Veda Bharati, author

"She brings the Mother worship of India to us as a living path to help transform our lives..." -- David Frawley, author

"A must read for people who want to live with God more intimately." -- Elizabeth Harding, author

"Many will be guided by this book." -- Swami Veda Bharati, author

"She brings the Mother worship of India to us as a living path to help transform our lives..." --David Frawley, author --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Yes International Publishers (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936663235
• ISBN-13: 978-0936663234
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,940,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Johnsen is a long-time student of religious philosophy and spirituality and an initiate in the Shaktavaita Tradition. She holds degrees in Eastern and Western Psychology, and has post-graduate training in theology and Sanskrit. She has traveled to India and lived with women saints. She is a writer for several spiritual magazines and a contributor to several anthologies, including The Divine Mosaic: Women's Images of the Sacred Other. Linda is also author of Yes Publishers' Kirtan: Chanting as a Spiritual Path, A Thousand Suns: Designing your Future with Vedic Astrology, Daughters of the Goddess: Women Saints of India, which received Midwest Business Association award for "Best New Age Book of the Year" and The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful introduction to The Divine Mother, April 16, 2000

By 

"balakrishnan_sh" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe (Hardcover)

Coming from the tradition of Divine Mother worshippers myself, i was pleased to see that Linda Johnsen's book has indeed brought out very beautifully various aspects of the Mother. The author also has referred to living embodiments of The Mother like the women saints Ammachi and Sree Ma. Highly recomend this book to all devotees of The Mother aspect of God.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS, June 1, 2000

By 

E. Voves (Philly, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe (Hardcover)

This book blew my mind. I have been reading and studying truth for nearly thirty years. Head knowledge I have....what was missing was the heart devotion.

Linda Johnsen's book provides a feast for both.

She is a scholar , an outstanding writer , has had a moment of knowing herself....and devotion . What more is needed?

I have never run across better explanation of this wonderful, LIVING tradition of the Goddess as worshiped in India for many thousand of years.

Johnsen beautifully explains the deep issues illustrated in what seemed to be simple fairy tails . You'll see Hindu culture much diffirently after reading this book.

The clarity and beauty of Johnsen's writing , plus her deep understanding of the subject, will make this book a favorite. Look for anything from this author . She never disappoints .

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Linda Johnsen is a wise wise woman!, January 8, 2002

By 

a person who reads (U.S.A, EARTH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Living Goddess: Reclaiming the Tradition of the Mother of the Universe (Hardcover)

This book is absolutly stunningly beautiful. Reading it is a spiritual experience in it self.The author has in mind not only the western student of Hinduism but also women of the Goddess Spirituality movement.6 goddesses get entire chapters devoted to them: Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Durga, Lalita, and Kundalini. But through out the book many many Hindu goddesses are covered in depth--including the goddess most misunderstood by westerners: the great goddess Kali.Johnsen points out the mistake made be western pagans of ivoking Kali as the embodiment of rightous anger. We have inherited from the classicists a tendency to assign goddesses a small sphere of influence (ex: "Aphrodite" is always followed by the description, "goddess of love") instead of understanding them as full and complete deities.Kali is first and foremost a Mother. She has many many aspects--one of which is a "slayer of demons"--but she is not an "angry" goddess.This book is enlightening. It is written in language that anyone can understand. It backs up every idea with examples and metaphors to help us understand. The author is incredibly knowledgable in many subjects.Although i did not agree with every word the author wrote--all of her words have enriched my spiritual life. I have come away from this book with a deeper understanding of Goddess. I know that i will read this book over and over again. It is scholarly, reverent, and all around mind blowing.This book contains four color plates of the goddesses Lalita, Durga, Sarasvati, and Lakshmi. It should not only be read by women but is totally accessable to men--and they don't have to worry about being put down or blamed for patriarchal abuses. It is feminist in perspective but in the highest sense of the word. You will also find information in here about the goddesses' consorts.Read this Book!!!