Dear Editor,
The very sacred and most auspicious period of Nav-Raatri will commence on March 31. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.
Navraatri is a period of nine days that we utilise to worship the mother aspect of God or Maha Shakti. Shakti literally means ‘energy’ or ‘power’, and the universe is an expression of this Divine Energy.
During these nine days the Mother aspect of God in the forms of Durgaa, Lakshmi, and Saraswati is extolled and worshipped. Divine Energy operates in three planes, as Kriyaa Shakti or the Energy of action, as Ichhaa Shakti or the energy of Will and as Gyaan Shakti or the energy of Knowledge.
Corresponding to these three major aspects of energy are the three Goddesses – Durgaa through whom the energy of Action operates; Lakshmi who is the embodiment of the energy of Will; and Saraswati who is predominated with the energy of Knowledge.
The first three days are dedicated to Goddess Durgaa the destroyer. Anger, greed, hatred, violence, pride and other such gross sentiments are represented in Tantric literature as demons, and very interesting stories are told about them.
The demons once waged war against Goddess Durgaa, and assuming a Divine form, She rode a lion and destroyed them. During these three days when the Kriyaa Shakti is in predominance, we resolve with a positive will of the mind to destroy all negative emotions and rid ourselves of all demoniac vices such as uncleanliness, anger, passion, pride, jealousy, hatred, violence and all such evil propensities.
One worships Goddess Durgaa on these days and imbibes her divine qualities. The second three days are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi the purifier. Having emptied oneself of all the evil qualities, one is to cultivate purifying thoughts and fill oneself with positive qualities such as patience, love, kindness, compassion, tranquillity, humility, one-pointedness of the mind, non-violence, etc.
During the worship of Lakshmi, the Ichhaa Shakti is in motion. During these three nights Lakshmi is worshipped not merely through a ritualistic process but by lifting one’s consciousness to the highest level of existence.
The last three days are devoted to the worship of Goddess Saraswati – the bestower of Divine Wisdom, and by whose grace the merging into Divine Consciousness becomes a reality.
When the gross impurities are removed by Durgaa, and life is filled with divine qualities by the grace of Lakshmi, the last phase of spiritual movement is illumined by Goddess Saraswati. Goddess Saraswati is the very personification of Divine Consciousness.
She bestows Divine Consciousness and Divine Wisdom upon her worshipper and leads them to final beatitude. Nav-Raatri is observed twice a year: once in the month of Chaitra (March-April) and then in Ashwin (September-October).
Let me encourage you to observe this sacred period with faith and confidence and you will be blessed by the Divine Mother.
Pandit Rudranauth Sharma
General Secretary, Priest in Charge
Radha Krishna Mandir