Navaratri
During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, 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.
Navaratri celebrates the slaying of Mahishasura by the goddess Durga. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit; Nava meaning Nine and Ratri meaning nights. The Navaratri festival or ‘nine night festival’ becomes a ‘ten day festival’ with the addition of the last day as culmination, where we will be doing a Maha Yagna. During all nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi i.e. female divinity are worshipped.
Why Worship the Mother Goddess?: The mother is the creative aspect of the absolute. The creative life energy is a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. "Why mother; why not father?" 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.
Why Nine Nights & Days?: Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as the powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the Divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights. During the final part of the celebration, nine small girls will symbolize the Mother (most of the time, when the mother appears physically, she appears as a small girl).
We open up our hearts to let the grace of the Mother touch us. She grants freely whatever we ask from her. We ask for Her blessing to fulfill all our wishes, especially our spiritual wishes, but also our material wishes, so we can concentrate on the spiritual path rather than hanging onto things that obstruct us from reaching the Divine. We ask for the purity of the heart, inner freedom, an ego-free state and humility, so that we can really surrender to God, the Divinity in us, to realize our true Self, and the truth about each one and everything.
Impressions of Navaratri 2011
>> many Videos
Impressions of Navaratri 2010:
>> Youtube: Day 1 Intro and Shailaputri
Impressions of Navaratri 2009:
>> Flickr Picture Set: Days 1-3
>> Flickr Picture Set: Days 4-6
