| Saran Navaratri
Wednesday, September 28 - Thursday, October 6, 2011
The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn (fall) are two very
important junctions of climatic and solar influence. These two periods
are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother.
Navaratri represents celebration of Goddess Durga, the manifestation
of Deity the form of Shakti (Energy or Power). Navaratri is celebrated four times a year. They are Vasanta Navaratri, Ashadha Navaratri, the Saran Navaratri, and the Paush/Magha Navaratri. The most imprtant of the Navaratris, Saran Navaratri is celebrated in the month of Ashvina which usually comes end of September or beginning of
October, depending on the lunar calendar. It is said that this
creation is governed by 64 aspects or energies of the Devi, and these
energies are all contained within one’s awakened consciousness. The
celebrations during the nine nights of Navaratri rekindle those
energies, harmonize the environment and bring depth to our lives.
Ratri means "night" and Nava means "nine". At Navaratri ("nine nights"), the Divine Mother Goddess is worshipped in Her various forms as Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Though the Goddess is one, She is represented and worshipped in three different aspects. On the first three nights of the festival, Durga is worshipped. On the following three, Lakshmi and then Saraswati Devi on the last three nights. The following tenth day is called Vijayadasami. Vijaya means "victory", the victory over our own minds that can come only when we have worshipped these three: Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.
Durga
To gain noble virtues, all evil tendencies in the mind must be destroyed. This destruction is represented by the Goddess Durga. Durga is durgati harini: "She who removes our evil tendencies." This is why she is called Mahishasura Mardini, the destroyer of Mahishasura (demon), mahisha meaning "buffalo." Isn't there a buffalo in our minds as well?
The buffalo stands for tamoguna, the quality of laziness, darkness, ignorance and inertia. We have these qualities too. We love to sleep. Although we may have a lot of energy and potential inside us, we prefer to do nothing - just like the buffalo that likes to lie in pools of water. In the Puraanic story, Durga Devi's killing of the Mahisha demon is, symbolically, the destruction of the tamoguna within us that is very difficult to destroy. In the Durga Devi Havana (sacrifice), we invoke that Divine Power within us to destroy our animalistic tendencies.
Lakshmi
For knowledge to dawn within us, we have to prepare our minds. The mind must be pure, concentrated, and single-pointed; this purification of the mind is obtained through the worship of Lakshmi Devi.
In our society today, however, when we think of Lakshmi, we think only of money - counting gold and dollar bills! This is why if one goes to a Lakshmi temple, one will find a crowd. Everybody likes Lakshmi Puja (Lakshmi worship) because they think she represents material wealth. But what is real wealth? Even if we have material wealth but no self-discipline or self-control, nor the values of love, kindness, respect and sincerity, all our material wealth will be lost or destroyed. The real wealth is the inner wealth of spiritual values that we practice in our lives, by which our minds become purified. Only when we have these noble values will we be able to preserve our material wealth and make good use of it. Otherwise money itself becomes a problem.
In the Upanishads, the Rishis never asked for material wealth only. In the mantras of the Taittriya Upanishad, they first asked to have all the noble virtues fully developed in them. "Having gained the noble virtues, thereafter Lord please bring wealth to us". The Rishis express here that in the absence of right values and good qualities, all our money will be wasted, and there are countless examples of this in the world around us.
Our wealth of virtues is our true Lakshmi. Its importance is shown by the fact that Adi Shankaracharya himself, in Vivekachudamani, describes that sat sampati, or six forms of wealth (calmness of mind, self-control, self-withdrawal, forbearance, faith and single-pointed ness) that are to be cultivated to attain wisdom. These virtues are important because our goal is victory over the mind - a victory such that we do not get disturbed by every change that takes place in our lives. This victory comes only when the mind is prepared, and this mental preparation is the symbolism of the Lakshmi Puja.
Saraswati
Victory over the mind can be gained only through knowledge, through understanding; and it is Goddess Saraswati who represents this highest knowledge of the Self.
Although there are many kinds of knowledge in the Vedas - phonetics astronomy, archery, architecture, economics and so on - the real knowledge is in the spiritual knowledge. Lord Krishna himself says in the Bhagavad Gita: "The knowledge of the Self is the knowledge"; and He adds, "It is my vibhuti, my glory." In other words, we may have knowledge of many other subjects and sciences but if we do not know our own Self, then that is the greatest loss. Therefore the supreme knowledge is the knowledge of the Self that is represented by Goddess Saraswati.
Navaratri
Therefore, at Navaratri, Goddess Durga is invoked first to remove impurities from the mind. The Goddess Lakshmi is invoked to cultivate the noble values and qualities. Finally, Saraswati is invoked for gaining the highest knowledge of the Self. This is the significance of the three sets of three nights when all these three are gained subjectively, culminating with the tenth day, Vijayadasami, the day of true victory!
At Navaratri time, the Rasa dance (dance of joy) of Sri Krishna and the gopis is also performed. As the mind becomes purer, calmer quieter, and more cheerful and greater understanding is gained, do we not feel happier? Similarly, the Rasa dance is the dance of joy and realization.
Why is the Navaratri festival celebrated at night rather than in the daytime? Night-time is generally the time when we go to sleep, so the spiritual message is, "You have lived long enough in the sleepy ignorance of tamoguna. It is time to wake up now. Please wake up!"
Special Saran Navaratri homas and pujas will be performed at Amma's Penusila Ashram during this auspicious time. Purify the mind and remove all negativities; cultivate positive virtues; gain spiritual knowledge and transcend limitations by participating in these sponsorships.
- Navaratri 1 Day Poshaka Seva Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 3 Day Maha Poshaka Seva Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 6 Day Raja Poshaka Seva Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 10 Day Maha Raja Poshaka Seva Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri Saptami Saraswati Puja Sponsorship (Oct. 3) - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 10 Day Kalasam Stapanam Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 10 Day Maha Abhishekam to Sri Maha Saraswati Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 10 Day Samputita Sri Sukta Kamala Homa Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri 10 Day Special Abhishekams to Sri Lalita Devi and Other Deities Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship details.
- Navaratri Lakshya Modaka Sri Ganesha Homa Sponsorship - please click here for sponsorship.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
May All Be Peaceful
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May All Be Happy
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