My bequest of this Navaratri

The mellow sunshine , the hide and seek of pestering rain and the sudden pinch of chill in evening air , a collective combination of familiarities precedent with the arrival of autumn and puja fervor. Every thing is the long awaited delight –the most cherished familiarities-to our bodies and cells . Still something inside questions, “are that all about the puja fervor”?

This Navaratri let’s listen the voice of self and gift the ourselves something really precious and permanent which can stay with us through out the year. Build the inner strength as a souvenir of autumn annually as it gives strength to brave the life successfully.

The epitome of entire creation is Ma Durga as the name implies –the fort, the Durge-which one harnesses as the blessing of Goddess after appeasing her.The built up inner strength , acts as Durge –a fort to protect the adept during the hardship.

Every year through the smoky ambiance of haven ,throbbing crowd and pulsating vibes of dhakies we glance the divine -Ma Durga. Beside the idol of Ma Durga we find idols of Ma Saraswati, Lord Kartkey, Ma Lakshmi and Lord Ganpati. The idols of Ma Saraswati , Lord KartiKey (the lord of purity and justice) are placed at the left and Ma Lakshmi and Lord Ganpati at the right. What all these holy figurines symbolize and make the sight worth cherishing ?

The nine days of Navaratri is the time to build the inner strength and to come out victorious (strength ful) as mother divine- Ma Durga- after healing negative attributes of ours .

During the autumn the nature replenishes and discards all rotten and non functional. Relying on the insight of the best teacher- the nature we too prepare ourselves to rejuvenate by discarding all negative attributes that is restricting our strength and growth.

When we successfully discard the negativity. The next step is to create a shield of mental and spiritual strength in which sound health resides – an indispensable to fight the hardships of life.

The Mercurial God Ganpati represents our mental attitude as mind is the subject of change with ever changing thoughts and emotions like the planet mercury. When the mind is not in balance it brings indecisiveness and rigidity which act as hindrance to success, growth and prosperity.

Ma Laksmi is the epitome of fertility, prosperity and peace( the calm attitude of being). Ma Lakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu (the sustainer of life). She signifies that the power of creation( Lord Vishnu) stays with adept when peace(Ma Lakshmi) reigns in the life.

The prosperity comes with the power of creation as the peace gives awareness and clarity to thoughts. In awareness one gets clarity and then takes right decision. The right decision leads to prosperity. So the peace gives the power of creation- the ultimate tool of prosperity.So where is Ma Laksmi (the peace and good luck)- the Lord Vishnu (the sustainer) will stay.

The Ma Lakshmi is worshipped with Lord Ganesha in Durga Puja Festival. Lord Ganpati represents the mercurial brain. When Lord Ganesha- the mercurial or indecisive brain is healed(discarding negative thoughts like indecisiveness ,fear..) then Ma Laksmi -the peace comes in mind. In this way to worship of Lord Ganesha with Ma Laksmi make a sense. To make peace a reality a decisive brain is needed.

When these two aspects get healed– Ma Laksmi (the peace) and Lord Ganpati (right decision), the intellect blossoms- Ma Saraswati makes her way into the life of adept.

During the autumn the nature replenishes itself by decomposing the rigid and non conformals.
So it is perfect time to surrender ourselves in the deep ocean of self and getting ready to heal ourselves by discarding all negative attributes of ours- the inertia, pride, shame, craving and aversion.

Raising our inner strength and elevating the power of self from tamoguna (depression, fear, and emotional instability) –is like acquiring Ma Laksmi. So the first three days adept spends in the worship of Ma Laksmi.

The next three days are devoted to work on rajoguna (which engulfs us in anxiety, feverish possession and sensual gratification). Once the futility of hoarding is healed, the intellect blossoms. The intellect imparts us the perception of the right and wrong- thus the presence of Ma Saraswati manifests.

The last three days adepts devote to attain strength of Ma Durga (a fortress of strength) ,standing on the right ground of sattva (a place of peace and dynamism) after beating the inertia, craving and aversion (the tamoguna) and rajo guna ( the possessions and sensual gratification).

The path is long and arduous, better to take one step a day and start now, after all how many years we already missed only witnessing the outer melee of lights and decorations. This Navaratri let’s gift the self with inner strength.
Have the happiest gift of life and Happy Navaratri!