Navratri: The 9 Divine Nights-Love and Love alone.... Parts received from others

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Wish you happy Navratri and Dussehra. May Maa Durga bless us all.

 

Navratri: The 9 Divine Nights

 

5 Things you need to know about

 

" Nava-ratri " literally means " nine nights. " This festival is observed

twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset

of winter.

 

What's the Significance of Navratri?

 

During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of

the universal mother, commonly 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. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti

re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It

cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.

 

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?

 

We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the

mother of all, and all of us are her children. " Why mother; why not

father? " , you may ask. Let me just say that we believe that 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. In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world,

which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because

we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute.

 

Why Twice a Year?

 

Every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are

two very important junctures of climatic change and solar influence.

These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for

the worship of the divine power because:

 

(1) We believe that it is the divine power that provides energy for

the earth to move around the sun, causing the changes in the outer

nature and that this divine power must be thanked for maintaining

the correct balance of the universe.

 

(2)Due to the changes in the nature, the bodies and minds of people

undergo a considerable change, and hence, we worship the divine

power to bestow upon all of us enough potent powers to maintain our

physical and mental balance.

 

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 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.

 

Why Do You Need the Power?

 

Pleasae join your parents, friends, near and dear in worshipping " Ma

Durga " during the Navaratri. She will bestow on you wealth,

auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge, and other potent powers to

cross every hurdle of life.

 

Let us all take a resolve, this Navaratri, to spread peace, harmony

and knowledge in this world and strengthen our commitment to making

this world a better place to live.