Navratri

Every Hindu festival has a spiritual message for the sadhaks. This nine-day festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil. In fact the theme of the entire Vedas is reflected in the Navratri festival: first remove all negativities; then purify the mind and cultivate positive virtues; finally, gain spiritual knowledge and transcend all limitations. (You can also read our blog on the 9 Navratri Essentials) ‘Nava‘ means ‘nine’ and ‘Ratri‘ means ‘night’. During these nine nights, the Mother Goddess is worshipped in her variously manifested forms as Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.

Why ‘Navratri’ or Nine-Nights?

The spiritual message of night-time worship is that “you have lived long enough in the sleepy realm of tamas, it is time to get up now. Please, wake up!!” On the first three nights, Durga is invoked for her strength and ferocity which are required to cut out from the mind it’s strong-rooted, deep-seated negative tendencies. Goddess Lakshmi is (then) worshipped on the next three nights. She is invited to bring in her wealth of noble values to nourish and purify the cleansed mind. Finally, Goddess Saraswati is invoked on the last three nights to bestow the Higher Knowledge of the Self possible only after cleansing and purification have taken place.

After Navratri comes Vijayadashmi

With the dawn of spiritual wisdom, the little ego is destroyed. This destruction is commemorated on the 10th night with the burning of an effigy. This 10th day is called Vijayadashmi (Vijaya-victory, dashmi-ten); or Vidhyarambha (Vidhya-wisdom, knowledge, rambha-joy) Victory Day or the Joy of Enlightenment respectively. At Navratri time the Rasa (dance of joy) of Shree Krishna and the Gopis is also performed. As the mind becomes purer, calmer quieter, a greater understanding of the nature of the Inner Self is revealed, giving rise to joy and happiness which is expressed in this dance of Realisation.

Durga – The Power Terrible

Man the imperfect is riddled with negative thoughts, fears, and prejudices which are the cause of selfishness, jealousy, hatred, anger, etc. Mother Durga represents the Power Terrible. Her ferocious sword and other destructive weapons are employed to annihilate these negative forces. She is also called Mahishasura Mardini the destroyer of Mahisa (buffalo) Asura (demon). The buffalo symbolizes Tamas, the quality of darkness, ignorance laziness and inertia which must be overcome before spiritual progress can be made.

Lakshmi – Goddess of Wealth

Purification of the Mind is obtained through worship of Lakshmi Devi. Contrary to popular belief, Mother Lakshmi is worshipped not for material wealth, but for good and noble values (spiritual wealth). More important than material wealth is the inner wealth of spiritual values such as love, kindness, sincerity, self-control, self-discipline, etc. By the practice of such spiritual values in our daily lives, our minds become purified. The lotus on which the Goddess is seated symbolizes the Supreme Goal of Self -Realisation.

Saraswati – Goddess of Knowledge and Learning

The Vedic Tradition in India has given women the highest place of respect and recognition. The Bhagawad Geeta is known as Mother Geeta; Knowledge itself is personified as a feminine deity – the Goddess Saraswati. The Goddess represents the ideal Guru, sitting on a lotus holding the sacred scriptures in one hand and a mala in the second hand. With the other 2 hands, she plays the Veena (an Indian flute). (Read why is the lotus so special.)

• Sitting on the Lotus symbolizes that the teacher herself is well established in the subjective experience of the Truth.
• Holding the Scriptures – indicates that she upholds the knowledge of the scriptures which alone can lead to the truth.
• The 4 Hands – represents the 4 aspects of the inner personality – Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (conditioned consciousness, memory) and Ahamkara (ego).
• The Veena – The suggestion is that the guru tunes up the mind and intellect of the seeker to be in perfect harmony with the universe, and thus he surrenders his individual conditioning and ego.

Source: Why do we celebrate Navaratri? – Talk by Swami Chinmayananda (Watch Now)