to dear Kumari ji: ~Durga Puja / Navaratri by Swami Sivananda

[Guest guest]

, "ty_maa" <ds.james@c...> wrote:

> > the passages about Durga and Shiva inspired me so much that I

stood up and started singing and dancing!

 

JAI MAA!!!!

Your inspiration in turn has lit my Divine Fire! This is what Satsang

is Truly All About-- Inspiring one another to sing and dance for

God!!!

Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur Sri Ramakrishna Deva!

Your sister dissolving in Maa's Love,

muktimaa

>

>

> , "muktimaa" <muktimaa@a...>

wrote:

> > Jai Maa, dear family!

> > i found this intersting article by Sri Swami Sivananda on Durga

Puja

> > and Navaratri. It is a bit long, but a very good read. i hope you

> > enjoy it and become inspired; as Blessed Navaratri is just around

the

> > corner. :<)

> > Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! Jai Thakur Ramakrishna Deva!

> > muktimaa

> >

> > DURGA PUJA OR NAVARATRI

> > By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

> >

> > "SALUTATIONS to the Divine Mother, Durga, who exists in all

beings in

> > the form of intelligence, mercy, beauty, who is the consort of

Lord

> > Shiva, who creates, sustains and destroys the universe.

> >

> > This festival is observed twice a year, once in the month of

Chaitra

> > and then in Aswayuja. It lasts for nine days in honour of the

nine

> > manifestations of Durga. During Navaratri (the word literally

> > means "nine nights") devotees of Durga observe a fast. Brahmins

are

> > fed and prayers are offered for the protection of health and

property.

> >

> > The beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are two very

> > important junctions of climatic and solar influence. These two

> > periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the

> > Divine Mother. They are indicated respectively by the Rama-

Navaratri

> > in Chaitra (April-May) and the Durga Navaratri in Aswayuja

(September-

> > October). The bodies and minds of people undergo a considerable

> > change on account of the changes in Nature. Sri Rama is

worshipped

> > during Ramnavmi, and Mother Durga during Navaratri.

> >

> > The Durga Puja is celebrated in various parts of India in

different

> > styles. But the one basic aim of this celebration is to

propitiate

> > Shakti, the Goddess in Her aspect as Power, to bestow upon man

all

> > wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge (both sacred and

> > secular), and all other potent powers. Whatever be the particular

or

> > special request that everyone may put before the Goddess,

whatever

> > boon may be asked of Her, the one thing behind all these is

> > propitiation, worship and linking oneself with Her. There is no

other

> > aim. This is being effected consciously or unconsciously.

Everyone is

> > blessed with Her loving mercy and is protected by Her.

> >

> > Durga Puja or Navaratri commences on the first and ends on the

tenth

> > day of the bright half of Aswayuja (September-October). It is

held in

> > commemoration of the victory of Durga over Mahishasura, the

buffalo-

> > headed demon. In Bengal Her image is worshipped for nine days and

> > then cast into water. The tenth day is called Vijaya Dasami or

> > Dussera (the "tenth day"). Processions with Her image are taken

out

> > along the streets of villages and cities.

> >

> > The mother of Durga (that is, the wife of the King of the

Himalayas)

> > longed to see her daughter. Durga was permitted by Lord Shiva to

> > visit her beloved mother only for nine days in the year. The

festival

> > of Durga Puja marks this brief visit and ends with the Vijaya

Dasami

> > day, when Goddess Durga leaves for Her return to Mount Kailas.

This

> > is the view of some devotees.

> >

> > In Bengal, Durga Puja is a great festival. All who live away from

> > home return during the Puja days. Mothers reunite with their sons

and

> > daughters, and wives with their husbands.

> >

> > The potter shows his skill in making images, the painter in

drawing

> > pictures, the songster in playing on his instrument, and the

priest

> > in reciting the sacred books. The Bengalis save money throughout

the

> > year only to spend everything during the Puja days. Cloth is

freely

> > distributed to the Brahmins.

> >

> > The woman of Bengal welcomes the Goddess with a mother's love and

> > sends away the image on the last day, with every ceremony

associated

> > with a daughter's departure to her husband's home and with

motherly

> > tears in her eyes. This signifies the parting of Durga from Her

> > beloved mother.

> >

> > Durga Puja is the greatest Hindu festival in which God is adored

as

> > Mother. Hinduism is the only religion in the world which has

> > emphasised to such an extent the motherhood of God. One's

> > relationship with one's mother is the dearest and the sweetest of

all

> > human relations. Hence, it is proper to look upon God as mother.

> >

> > Durga represents the Divine Mother. She is the energy aspect of

the

> > Lord. Without Durga, Shiva has no expression and without Shiva,

Durga

> > has no existence. Shiva is the soul of Durga; Durga is identical

with

> > Shiva. Lord Shiva is only the silent witness. He is motionless,

> > absolutely changeless. He is not affected by the cosmic play. It

is

> > Durga who does everything.

> >

> > Shakti is the omnipotent power of the Lord, or the Cosmic Energy.

The

> > Divine Mother is represented as having ten different weapons in

Her

> > hands. She sits on a lion. She keeps up the play of the Lord

through

> > the three attributes of Nature, namely, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas.

> > Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride, are all

Her

> > forms.

> >

> > You will find in the Devi Sukta of the Rig Veda Samhita that Vak,

> > symbolising speech, the daughter of the sage Anbhirna, realised

her

> > identity with the Divine Mother, the Power of the Supreme Lord,

which

> > manifests throughout the universe among the gods, among men and

> > beasts and among the creatures of the deep ocean.

> >

> > In the Kena Upanishad, you will find that the Divine Mother shed

> > wisdom on Indra and the gods and said that the gods were able to

> > defeat the demons only with the help of the power of the Supreme

Lord.

> >

> > The worship of Devi, the universal Mother, leads to the

attainment of

> > knowledge of the Self. The story in the Kena Upanishad known as

> > the "Yaksha Prasna", supports this view. It tells how Uma, the

Divine

> > Mother, taught the Truth to the gods. Goddess Shakti thus sheds

> > wisdom on Her devotees.

> >

> > Devi worship is, therefore, worship of God's glory, of God's

> > greatness and supremacy. It is adoration of the Almighty. It is

> > unfortunate that Devi is ignorantly understood by many as a mere

> > blood-thirsty Hindu Goddess. No! Devi is not a vicious demoness

nor

> > is She the property of the Hindus alone. Devi does not belong to

any

> > religion. Devi is that conscious power of God. The words Devi,

> > Shakti, etc., and the ideas of different forms connected with

these

> > names are concessions granted by the sages due to the limitations

of

> > the human intellect; they are by no means the ultimate

definitions of

> > Shakti.

> >

> > The original or Adi Shakti is beyond human comprehension.

Bhagavan

> > Krishna says in the Gita: "This is only My lower nature. Beyond

this

> > is My higher nature, the life-principle which sustains the

universe".

> >

> > The Upanishad also says: "The supreme power of God is manifested

in

> > various ways. This power is of the nature of God, manifesting as

> > knowledge, strength and activity".

> >

> > Truly speaking, all beings in the universe are Shakti-

worshippers,

> > whether they are aware of it or not, for there is no one who does

not

> > love and long for power in some form or other. Physicists and

> > scientists have now proved that everything is pure, imperishable

> > energy. This energy is only a form of divine Shakti which exists

in

> > every form.

> >

> > A child is more familiar with the mother than with the father,

> > because the mother is very kind, loving, tender and affectionate

and

> > looks after the needs of the child. In the spiritual field also,

the

> > aspirant or the devotee--the spiritual child--has an intimate

> > relationship with the Mother Durga, more than with the Father

Shiva.

> > Therefore, it behoves the aspirant to approach the Mother first,

who

> > then introduces Her spiritual child to the Father for his

> > illumination.

> >

> > The Mother's Grace is boundless. Her mercy is illimitable; Her

> > knowledge infinite; Her power immeasurable; Her glory ineffable;

and

> > Her splendour indescribable. She gives you material prosperity as

> > well as spiritual freedom.

> >

> > Approach Her with an open heart. Lay bare your heart to Her with

> > frankness and humility. Be as simple as a child. Kill ruthlessly

the

> > enemies of egoism, cunningness, selfishness and crookedness. Make

a

> > total, unreserved, and ungrudging self-surrender to Her. Sing Her

> > praise. Repeat Her Name. Worship Her with faith and unflinching

> > devotion. Perform special worship on the Navaratri days.

Navaratri is

> > the most suitable occasion for doing intense spiritual practices.

> > These nine days are very sacred to the Divine Mother. Plunge

yourself

> > in Her worship. Practise intense repetition of the Divine Name,

> > having a regular "quota" of repetitions per day, and the number

of

> > hours spent on it.

> >

> > Devi fought with Bhandasura and his forces for nine days and nine

> > nights. This Bhandasura had a wonderful birth and life. When Lord

> > Shiva burnt Cupid with the fire of His "third eye", Sri Ganesha

> > playfully moulded a figure out of the ashes, and the Lord

breathed

> > life into it! This was the terrible demon Bhandasura. He engaged

> > himself in great penance and on account of it obtained a boon

from

> > Lord Shiva. With the help of that boon, he began harassing the

> > worlds. The Divine Mother fought with him for nine nights (the

demons

> > have extraordinary strength during the night), and killed him on

the

> > evening of the tenth day, known as the Vijaya Dasami. The

learning of

> > any science is begun on this highly auspicious day. It was on

this

> > day that Arjuna worshipped Devi, before starting the battle

against

> > the Kauravas on the field of Kurukshetra.

> >

> > Sri Rama worshipped Durga at the time of the fight with Ravana,

to

> > invoke Her aid in the war. This was on the days preceding the

Vijaya

> > Dasami day. He fought and won through Her Grace.

> >

> > In days of yore, kings used to undertake ambitious expeditions on

the

> > day of the Vijaya Dasami. Those kings who did not go on such

> > expeditions used to go out hunting in the deep forests. In

Rajputana,

> > India, even up to this date, people arrange mock attacks on some

fort

> > on Vijaya Dasami.

> >

> > This day, however, has much to do with the life of Sri Rama.

Nowhere

> > in the history of the world can we find a parallel to the

character

> > of Sri Rama as a man, son, brother, husband, father or king.

> > Maharishi Valmiki has exhausted the entire language in describing

the

> > glory of Sri Rama. And, we shall be rightly celebrating the

Dussera

> > if we make honest efforts to destroy the demon of our ego, and

> > radiate peace and love wherever we go. Let us all resolve to

become

> > men of sterling character. Let us resolve and act. The story of

Sri

> > Rama is known in almost all parts of the globe, and if we but

succeed

> > in following even a hundredth part of His teachings, we shall

make

> > our lives more fragrant than the rose and more lustrous than gold!

> >

> > Dussera can also be interpreted as "Dasa-Hara", which means the

> > cutting of the ten heads of Ravana. So, let us resolve today to

cut

> > the ten heads--passion, pride, anger, greed, infatuation, lust,

> > hatred, jealousy, selfishness and crookedness--of the demon, Ego,

and

> > thus justify the celebration of Dussera.

> >

> > Religious observances, traditional worship and observances at

times

> > have more than one significance. Apart from being the adoration

of

> > the Divine, they commemorate stirring events in history, they are

> > allegoric when interpreted from the occult standpoint and,

lastly,

> > they are deeply significant pointers and revealing guides to the

> > individual on his path to God-realisation.

> >

> > Outwardly, the nine-day worship of Devi is a celebration of

triumph.

> > This nine days' celebration is offered to the Mother for Her

> > successful struggle with the formidable demons led by

Mahishasura.

> > But, to the sincere spiritual aspirant, the particular division

of

> > the Navaratri into sets of three days to adore different aspects

of

> > the Supreme Goddess has a very sublime, yet thoroughly practical

> > truth to reveal. In its cosmic aspect, it epitomises the stages

of

> > the evolution of man into God, from Jivahood (the state of

> > individualisation) to Shivahood (the state of Self-realisation).

In

> > its individual import, it shows the course that his spiritual

> > practice should take.

> >

> > Let us, therefore, examine in detail the spiritual significance

of

> > Navaratri.

> >

> > The central purpose of existence is to recognise your eternal

> > identity with the supreme Spirit. It is to grow into the image of

the

> > Divine. The supreme One embodies the highest perfection. It is

> > spotless purity. To recognise your identity with That, to attain

> > union with That, is verily to grow into the very likeness of the

> > Divine. The aspirant, therefore, as his initial step, has to get

rid

> > of all the countless impurities, and the demoniacal elements that

> > have come to cling to him in his embodied state. Then he has to

> > acquire lofty virtues and auspicious, divine qualities. Thus

> > purified, knowledge flashes upon him like the brilliant rays of

the

> > sun upon the crystal waters of a perfectly calm lake.

> >

> > This process demands a resolute will, determined effort, and

arduous

> > struggle. In other words, strength and infinite power are the

prime

> > necessity. Thus it is the Divine Mother who has to operate

through

> > the aspirant.

> >

> > Let us now consider how, on the first three days, the Mother is

> > adored as supreme power and force, as Durga the Terrible. You

pray to

> > Mother Durga to destroy all your impurities, your vices, your

> > defects. She is to fight with and annihilate the baser animal

> > qualities in the spiritual aspirant, the lower, diabolical nature

in

> > him. Also, She is the power that protects your spiritual practice

> > from its many dangers and pitfalls. Thus the first three days,

which

> > mark the first stage or the destruction of impurity and

determined

> > effort and struggle to root out the evil tendencies in your mind,

are

> > set apart for the worship of the destructive aspect of the Mother.

> >

> > Once you have accomplished your task on the negative side, that

of

> > breaking down the impure propensities and old vicious habits, the

> > next step is to build up a sublime spiritual personality, to

acquire

> > positive qualities in place of the eliminated demoniacal

qualities.

> > The divine qualities that Lord Krishna enumerates in the Gita,

have

> > to be acquired. The aspirant must cultivate and develop all the

> > auspicious qualities. He has to earn immense spiritual wealth to

> > enable him to pay the price for the rare gem of divine wisdom. If

> > this development of the opposite qualities is not undertaken in

right

> > earnest, the old demoniacal nature will raise its head again and

> > again. Hence, this stage is as important in an aspirant's career

as

> > the previous one. The essential difference is: the former is a

> > ruthless, determined annihilation of the filthy egoistic lower

self;

> > the latter is an orderly, steady, calm and serene effort to

develop

> > purity. This pleasanter side of the aspirant's Sadhana is

depicted by

> > the worship of Mother Lakshmi. She bestows on Her devotees the

> > inexhaustible divine wealth or Deivi Sampath. Lakshmi is the

wealth-

> > giving aspect of God. She is purity itself. Thus the worship of

> > Goddess Lakshmi is performed during the second set of three days.

> >

> > Once the aspirant succeeds in routing out the evil propensities,

and

> > develops Sattwic or pure, divine qualities, he becomes competent

to

> > attain wisdom. He is now ready to receive the light of supreme

> > wisdom. He is fit to receive divine knowledge. At this stage

comes

> > the devout worship of Mother Saraswathi, who is divine knowledge

> > personified, the embodiment of knowledge of the Absolute. The

sound

> > of Her celestial veena awakens the notes of the sublime

utterances of

> > the Upanishads which reveal the Truth, and the sacred

monosyllable,

> > Om. She bestows the knowledge of the supreme, mystic sound and

then

> > gives full knowledge of the Self as represented by Her pure,

dazzling

> > snow-white apparel. Therefore, to propitiate Saraswathi, the

giver of

> > knowledge, is the third stage.

> >

> > The tenth day, Vijaya Dasami, marks the triumphant ovation of the

> > soul at having attained liberation while living in this world,

> > through the descent of knowledge by the Grace of Goddess

Saraswathi.

> > The soul rests in his own Supreme Self or Satchidananda Brahman.

This

> > day celebrates the victory, the achievement of the goal. The

banner

> > of victory flies aloft. Lo! I am He! I am He!

> >

> > This arrangement also has a special significance in the

aspirant's

> > spiritual evolution. It marks the indispensable stages of

evolution

> > through which everyone has to pass. One naturally leads to the

other;

> > to short-circuit this would inevitably result in a miserable

failure.

> > Nowadays many ignorant seekers aim straight at the cultivation of

> > knowledge without the preliminaries of purification and

acquisition

> > of the divine qualities. They then complain that they are not

> > progressing on the path. How can they? Knowledge will not descend

> > until the impurities have been washed out, and purity is

developed.

> > How can the pure plant grow in impure soil?

> >

> > Therefore adhere to this arrangement; your efforts will be

crowned

> > with sure success. This is your path. As you destroy one evil

> > quality, develop the virtue opposite to it. By this process you

will

> > soon bring yourself up to that perfection which will culminate in

> > identity with the Self which is your goal. Then all knowledge

will be

> > yours: you will be omniscient, omnipotent and you will feel your

> > omnipresence. You will see your Self in all. You will have

achieved

> > eternal victory over the wheel of births and deaths, over the

demon

> > of worldliness. No more pain, no more misery, no more birth, no

more

> > death! Victory, victory be yours!

> >

> > Glory to the Divine Mother! Let Her take you, step by step to the

top

> > of the spiritual ladder and unite you with the Lord!

> >

> > At the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, the following are the regular

> > features during the Durga Puja celebrations:

> >

> > A special ritualistic worship of the Mother is conducted daily,

which

> > includes the recitation of the Durga Saptashati.

> >

> > Laksharchana for the Mother in the temple, with recitation of the

Sri

> > Lalita Sahasranama, is also conducted.

> >

> > All are exhorted to do the maximum number of Japa of the Navarna

> > Mantra, Aim hreem kleem chaamundaayai vichche, or the Mantra of

their

> > own tutelary Deity.

> >

> > An elaborately decorated altar is set up for the evening

Satsangs,

> > with the picture of Mother Durga for the first three days, Mother

> > Lakshmi for the next three days, and Mother Saraswathi for the

last

> > three days. Many sacred verses from the scriptures are recited

and

> > many Kirtans are sung. The Durga Saptashati or the Devi Mahatmya

is

> > recited and explained in discourses. The function concludes with

the

> > formal floral worship and Arati. Sometimes scenes from the Devi

> > Mahatmya are also enacted.

> >

> > Earnest spiritual aspirants fast with milk and fruits only on all

the

> > nine days, or at least once in each of the three three-day

periods.

> >

> > Besides the books representing Saraswathi, all instruments and

> > implements like typewriters, printing machinery, etc., are also

> > worshipped on the ninth day.

> >

> > On the Vijaya Dasami day, all aspirants en masse are given

initiation

> > into various Mantras according to their tutelary Deities.

Deserving

> > aspirants are initiated into the holy order of Sannyas.

Initiation in

> > the study of the alphabets is given to young children, and to the

old

> > children also! New students commence their lessons in music, etc.

> > During the morning Satsang the books which were worshipped on the

> > ninth day are again worshipped and a chapter from each of the

> > principal scriptures like the Gita, Upanishads, Brahma Sutras,

> > Ramayana, and Srimad Bhagavatam is recited.

> >

> > On the Vijaya Dasami day, there is Kanya Puja also. Nine girls

below

> > the age of ten are worshipped as the embodiment of the Divine

Mother.

> > They are fed sumptuously and, amongst other things, presented

with

> > new clothes.

> >

> > On this last day a grand havan is conducted in the temple, with

> > recitation of the Durga Saptashati and other verses in praise of

the

> > Divine Mother."

> >

> >

----

> > ----------