To premarupa on the 3 X 3 celebration of Navaratri

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premarupa wrote:

 

> Some of the Indian devotees here celebrate Navaratri as

> 3 days of Lakshmi, 3 days of Saraswati, 3 days of Durga.

> Could someone explain this?

> Also, why isn¹t Kali celebrated?

 

 

 

Dear Premarupa ~ this is also from the discourse by Swami Sivananda, which I

posted yesterday (I think ~ I"m losing track of time). I didn't put in the

entire post because it was so long. But this is a beautiful explanation of the

division of the 9 days of worship into three segments. I will address Kali in

a separate email. Jai Durga, Jai Kali, Jai Laksmi, Jai Saraswati ~ Linda

 

FROM DISCOURSE BY SWAMI SIVANANDA

"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."