Navratri as per meaning signifies are the nine nights which are dedicated to the Divine Mother or Shakti. This festival is celebrated in the month of Ashvin Sud from 1 to 9 (September- October). Navratri is the longest celebrated Indian festival.

 

Navratri History : The practice of goddess worship was prevalent in India since the time immemorial even before the advent of Aryans. Our ancestors have always placed Devi or Stree  into the highest pedestal of the prevalent social system at that time and they worshipped her as Shakti. There are references in our Shastras which confirms the existence of such practices. There are several myths and legends associated with celebration of this Navratri Festival.

 

The celebration of Navratri is praised with petitions and jollity toward the start of  winter and the start of  spring. This period is a period for self-reference and returning to the source. During this season of change, nature sheds the old and gets revived; creatures sleep and life arises back anew in the spring.

‘Ratri’ signifies night and night brings revival. Matter returns to its unique structure to reproduce itself over and over. The creation is repeating, not direct; everything is reused naturally – a nonstop course of restoration. The human psyche, be that as it may, falls behind in this normal pattern of creation. Navratri is an event for one to return the psyche to its source. The searcher returns to the genuine source through fasting, petition, quiet and reflection. It gives alleviation at the three levels of our reality – physical, inconspicuous and causal. While fasting detoxifies the body, quiet purges the discourse and carries rest to the jabbering brain, and reflection brings one profound into one’s own being.

 

The internal excursion invalidates our negative karmas. Navaratri is a festival of the soul or prana which alone cannot annihilate the evil presences – dormancy, pride and disgrace and outrageous types of longing for and revolution. They are totally alternate extremes, yet correlative. Dormancy, profoundly imbued negativities and fixations, irrational rationale and obscured vision can be defeated exclusively by raising the degree of prana shakti; the life-power energy.

The nine days of Navratri are additionally a chance to cheer in the three early stage characteristics that make up the universe. However our life is administered by the three gunas, we only here and there perceive and ponder them.

 

The pith of this information is respected by commending the 10th day as Vijaydashmi. However Navratri is commended as the triumph of good over malicious, the real battle isn’t among acceptable and evil. According to the Vedantic perspective, the triumph is of the outright reality over the obvious duality. In the expressions of the extraordinary sage, Ashtavakra, it is the helpless wave which attempts to keep its personality separate from the sea, however without much of any result. The Mother Divine is perceived as the splendor of mind (buddhi), yet additionally the disarray (bhranti); she isn’t simply wealth (lakshmi), she is likewise hunger (shudha) and thirst (trishna). Understanding this part of the Mother Divine in the whole creation drives one to an underground government of Samadhi. This offers a response to the well -established philosophical battle of the Occident.

Through astuteness, commitment and karma, one can achieve advaita siddhi or flawlessness in the non-double awareness. Kali is the most ridiculously horrendous indication of Nature. Nature represents excellence, yet it has a horrendous structure. Recognizing the duality acquires an all-out acknowledgment the brain and reassures the psyche. However the microcosm is very well inside the universe, its apparent separateness is the reason for struggle. For a gyani (savvy), the whole creation becomes alive and he perceives life in everything similarly kids see life in all things.

 

The Mother Divine or the unadulterated awareness itself invades every one of the structures and has every one of the names. Perceiving the one godlikeness in each structure and each name is the festival of Navratri. Subsequently, unique pujas regarding all parts of life and nature are performed during the most recent three days of Navratri.

 

A few things that Navratri teaches us :

 

• THE ULTIMATE MULTITASKING MOM

As the universal mother, Goddess Durga is ready to take on the dark forces, with her many arms—nearly 18 of them—ready with weaponry and other instruments. As Sailaputri, astride a white bull, she blesses her children with a lotus flower in one hand, her three eyes symbolising the elements—the sun, the moon and fire. Even as she rules the world with an iron hand, she looks out for her children’s interests. She is the ultimate multi-tasker!

 

• SHE KNOWS HER MIND

As Goddess Brahmacharini, she did severe penance for Lord Shiva as a husband and a father who would respect him. It’s a lesson to women to know their minds and stick to their guns when it comes to the choice of a life partner, no matter the obstacles. If goddess Parvati could do it, why can’t you? Though this doesn’t mean you have to spend eons surviving on berries and walking barefoot in forests.

 

• SHE WALKS THE PATH OF PEACE

Mounted on a tigress, as the powerful goddess Chandraghanta, she carries weapons along with a lotus in her 10 hands. While she has all the world’s forces at her command, she chooses the path of peace, chasing away negative energies. The lesson is for us to pick our battles and keep our eye on the ultimate prize—welfare for all.

 

• A POSITIVE, SPIRITUAL FORCE

Luminous like the sun, as goddess Siddhidatri, she helped the sun disperse its energy, becoming known as Kushmanda. She is said to have sparked the entire universe into existence just with the hint of a smile. Despite possessing eight arms, which sport weapons, her real power lies in her spiritual strength. The lesson? You can radiate positivity and conquer the world with a smile!

 

• HARNESSING HARD AND SOFT POWER

Goddess Durga knows when to alternate between hard and soft power. As goddess Skandamata, she is a compelling image, astride a lion with baby Murugan in her lap. She is perfectly in tune with her warrior as well as maternal instincts, with no desire to give up one for the other. It’s a lesson in fighting gender stereotypes and forging life on one’s own terms, without apologies.

 

 

• THE DEMON-SLAYER

The colour red stands for Katyayani, who slayed the mighty demon Mahishasura, a feat that is celebrated till today. Born out of the collective fury of the devas or gods, she shows us that we can fight and conquer our demons, harnessing the power of our inner strength.

 

• KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

As the fierce Maa Kalaratri, the goddess spelled doom for the demon Raktabeej. She also dispels darkness and destroys dark forces. She stands for calm and fearlessness in the face of a storm. The lesson is to keep calm and carry on! Shun darkness and move towards the light.

 

• A STRONG SENSE OF PURPOSE

Women praying for a good husband have been told to meditate on Mahagauri, the consort of Lord Shiva, but there’s more to her than this. The goddess symbolises the energies of balance and creation, washing away the sins of all those who look up to her. The lesson is that intelligence and clarity of purpose can clear one’s path of obstacles like a bolt of lightning.

 

• ASPIRE TO GREATNESS

Maa Siddhidatri, worshipped not just by mere mortals but the gods as well, leads one towards spiritual fulfilment. While the goddess has the power to dispel pain and obstacles, the key is to remember that the actual goal is divinity. We should set out on the path of true liberation, from fear and narrow, personal greed.

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Also published on Medium.