By Annandi Merhai
Vasant Navratri is a Hindu festival of Nav (nine) Ratri (nights) dedicated to Shakti (energy or power) in the form of Mother’s Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. During Navratri, devotees observe a fast, and prayers are offered for the protection of health and prosperity.
Dr Budhendranauth Doobay
Devotees avoid meat, alcoholic drinks, grains, wheat, and onion during this fast. Navratri is also a period of introspection and purification; it is traditionally an auspicious and religious time for starting new ventures.
For the first three days, the Goddess is worshiped as Durga in order to destroy all our impurities; the fourth to sixth days as Lakshmi, the giver of spiritual wealth and prosperity; and from day seven to nine as Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship. After Archana and Aarti are performed, the temple’s normal tradition is to light a Jyot from the lamp that is placed in front of the Mother to another diya situated on a bed of fruits known as a Chowki.
The Jyot has origins from the Punjabi culture and is a representation of Mother Durga in the form of fire. Last Sunday night being the third night, as the Jyot was lit by Dr Budhendranauth Doobay, who was just honoured by the Canadian government for humanitarian service, at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, a light in the form of an “Aum” was captured on camera by photographer Annandi Merhai. Devotees were given a glimpse and many were in awe. Truly, these are the blessings of the divine at work.
By Annandi Merhai
Vasant Navratri is a Hindu festival of Nav (nine) Ratri (nights) dedicated to Shakti (energy or power) in the form of Mother’s Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. During Navratri, devotees observe a fast, and prayers are offered for the protection of health and prosperity. Devotees avoid meat, alcoholic drinks, grains, wheat, and onion during this fast. Navratri is also a period of introspection and purification; it is traditionally an auspicious and religious time for starting new ventures. For the first three days, the Goddess is worshiped as Durga in order to destroy all our impurities; the fourth to sixth days as Lakshmi, the giver of spiritual wealth and prosperity; and from day seven to nine as Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship. After Archana and Aarti are performed, the temple’s normal tradition is to light a Jyot from the lamp that is placed in front of the Mother to another diya situated on a bed of fruits known as a Chowki. The Jyot has origins from the Punjabi culture and is a representation of Mother Durga in the form of fire. Last Sunday night being the third night, as the Jyot was lit by Dr Budhendranauth Doobay, who was just honoured by the Canadian government for humanitarian service, at the Vishnu Mandir in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, a light in the form of an “Aum” was captured on camera by photographer Annandi Merhai. Devotees were given a glimpse and many were in awe. Truly, these are the blessings of the divine at work.
