Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Navaratri: The 9 Divine Nights



India is a country of festivals and celebration having very rich historical and cultural background. Each Indian festival has a proper meaning, reason and significance behind its celebration.
"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights". It is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga, the deity of Power. Like other festivals of India, Navaratri also has a significance and meaning attached to it. Navaratri is celebrated four times a year. They are:-
Vasanta Navaratri celebrated in the spring season (March–April). It is also known as Chaitra Navaratras.
Ashadha Navaratri in the month of Ashadha (June–July) also called as Gupt Navaratras.
Sharada Navaratri most important of the Navaratris celebrated in the month of Ashvina (beginning of winter, September–October),
Magha Navaratri also referred as Gupta Navaratri, celebrated in the month of Magha (January–February).  
Of these, the Sharada Navaratri in the month of Ashvina at the onset of winter and the Vasanta Navaratri in the month of Chaitra in the beginning of summer are very important.  Each day of the nine-day festival are dedicated to the worship of different forms of Goddess Durga, which unfolds the religious importance of the occasion.

What's the Significance of Navaratri? 

"Whenever evil and demonic tendencies start becoming dominant in society; troubling the pious, righteous and the spiritually inclined, the Divine Energy (Shakti) principle incarnates to destroy these unrighteous elements."

During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga" which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?

We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of us look upon God as mother. In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world, which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute.
Why Nine Nights & Days?
Navaratri is divided into sets of three days and nights to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother Lakshmi is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the infinite wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother Saraswati as the goddess of art and knowledge. Prayers are offered with an aim to seek spiritual knowledge. In order to have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights.

Throughout these nine days, various spiritual practices are performed; such as the recitation of holy verses in praise of the Goddess principle, the continuous burning of a clarified butter (ghee) or oil lamp, garlanding of the Goddesses, etc. Rituals and penances that help in spiritual progress are also undertaken with keen devotion. Thus worship "Ma Durga" during the Navaratri. She will bestow on you wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge, and other potent powers to cross every hurdle of life. Remember, everyone in this world worships power, i.e., Durga, because there is no one who does not love and long for power in some form or the other.
During Navaratri, the Divine Energy (Shakti) principle is about 1000 times more manifest than normal. Therefore one should chant “Durga Stuttis” as much as possible during this period.

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