Goddess Tara
At this time our attention is being brought to the goddess Tara. Tara is a Tibetan goddess and a female Buddha and bodhisattva. She is a universal mother who offers compassion and protection, and fierce, loving mother energy. As an enlightened bodhisattva, Tara is here to help all of us on the journey to becoming free from suffering. A bodhisattva is one who vows to reach enlightenment so that they can help others become enlightened and be free from the suffering of samsara, or in other words be free from the conditions that lead to the suffering of human existence.
Tara became enlightened as a woman, at a time when it was not believed that women could even become enlightened. When the men of her time wished for her to be reborn a man in order to reach full enlightenment, she vowed to always remain in female form to show the spiritual equality of men and women, and that women and men equally can become enlightened and reach Buddhahood. We can thank Tara the female Buddha and goddess for helping the rise of the Divine Feminine.
Tara has 21 forms signifying her 21 different specialities or energies that she can use or appear as to help us. We don’t need to understand all of her forms or history, we just need to understand that she is a loving mother energy who is here to help us all, and we must call on her to invite her help and presence in our lives. We can call on Tara to protect us and our loved ones, and to bring about blessings and help us grow. Tara comes to us with a message of compassion, protection, encouragement, and an invitation to pray to her so that we may receive her blessings and divine intervention and assistance in our lives.
Whatever is arising in your attention, both personally and in regards to the world and universe, imagine Tara as the ideal mother, or as the ideal best friend or guide if mother is too triggering, who is there to support and help you and bring about your highest good and the highest good for all.
When we pray to and acknowledge Tara, we are able to open our hearts to her so that we can receive her blessings and feel her effect in our life, as well as pray for others so that they may be blessed and protected by Tara. Tara is known for her swift acting compassion, and is able to act in our lives immediately. She wants all beings to be free from suffering, free to live life fully embodied in their highest good, and free to transcend karma and human reincarnation altogether to become enlightened if they wish. Her personal decree is to help us do so. She is able to reach us each personally and to reach the core essence of our suffering so she can meet our personal needs and can help us transmute our suffering into enlightenment. Praying to Tara benefits the whole world.
How to pray to and connect with Tara? There are tantric teachings and initiations that connect us with the goddess. For more informal connection, or for those of us not ready or able to dedicate an entire practice to Tara, of course we can still pray to and connect with Tara. She is for all of us and we are all her children and are innately worthy of her love and compassion. We can connect with Tara by singing and/or playing her mantras out loud, or thinking of the meaning of her mantras. We can connect by looking at images of her. We can think of her and imagine that she is here with us and we are having a conversation with her, and we can open up to her about our troubles and fears and hopes and dreams. We can simply imagine her showering her love and compassion over us.
Each of the 21 emanations of Tara has her own mantra. Green and White Tara are the most famously known. If you feel called to explore the different Tara colours and what each of her represents, I encourage you to do so and see how your relationship with the goddess deepens and see what she has to express to you. (Here is one resource to learn from.) Know that Green Tara represents and connects us to all of the Taras. The Green Tara Mantra connects us to the full essence of all the Taras, and is the mantra shared here.
Green Tara Mantra: Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha(or Soha)
Pronounced: Ohm Tar-ray Too-tar-ray Tur-ray Svaha(or Soha)
If you are interested in a meditation, this meditation on Tara and compassion by Davidji is helpful for hearing the pronunciation of the Green Tara mantra and a nice introduction to learning about and connecting with the meaning of the mantra.
Heal With Dyisha 