HAPPY DUSSERA AND VIJAYA DASHAMI

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Navratri is celebrated from the first to ninth date of

Ashwin Shukla Paksha of the Hindu Calendar for the

worship of Goddess Amba, a festival of worship, dance

and music celebrated over a period of nine nights.

Goddess Durga is believed to exist in many forms like

Goddess Bhavani, Jagdamba, Mahakali etc. The Goddesses

are believed to be known as " Shakti " as the tales

narrate their power over killing of demons.

Parvati, the wife of Shiva is said to have taken

different forms of goddesses. Devotees perform the

'devi-sthaapna' in their homes wherein they invite the

Goddess and perform 'pooja-path' for nine days without

consuming any food. Navratri is a time for gaiety and

dance. Garba and Dandiya Raas are the main attraction

among young and old. These dances reflect traditional

gujarati performances..Young men-women wear colourful

traditional dresses and play Garba with great

enthusiasm. The mood of Navratri is very colourful &

unique.

 

In West Bengal, Navratri is celebrated as

'Durga-pooja' which is the most important festival in

that part of India. Celebrations of Durga-pooja in

Bengal are similar to celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi

in Maharashtra. Idols of Goddess Durga are worshipped

for nine days in beautifully decorated 'pandaals'. It

is a public festival. On the tenth day, the 'Visarjan'

or immersion of idols in seawaters is performed.

 

In various parts of India, the 'Ram-Leela' is

performed during Navratri. Ram-Leela is a stage

enaction of Ramayana, the story of Lord Rama. The day

after Navratri, i.e., tenth day, is observed as

'Dussehra' or 'Vijayadashmi'. It marks the victory of

good over evil. It is believed that on this day, Lord

Rama had killed the demon Ravana. So, on Vijayadashmi,

effigies of Ravana are burnt all over India.

 

It is a fact that man seeks pleasures in the pursuit

of various desires and objects and still remains

dissatisfied. The great goal of life according to

Vedantic philosophy is the attainment of Bliss by

knowing self. This spiritual emancipation is known as

God realisation or Moksha. The Devi Mahatmya is a

magnificent poem in Sanskrit describing the epic march

of the human soul to its freedom. In the spiritual

march, man is faced with hurdles of vasna,

impressions, acquired from previous lives which act as

obstacles in our journey. The three main are Maya,

desire and anger. Vikshepa, tossing the mind and

Avarna, ignorance. The Devi Mahatmya describes these

three stages of transformations.

 

It begins with story of Raja Suratha, defeated by his

foes and he takes refuge in the ashram of Rishi Medha.

He broods over his lost kingdom and new rulers. In the

ashram, he meets a merchant named Samadhi, who has

also run away from home after losing his wealth. Both

face similar situations. They discuss among themselves

and sort for advice of Rishi Medha. The Rishi defines

Maya and says that the Lord, through this power, sets

going the Universal Drama of creation, preservation

and ultimate dissolution of all names and forms and

back into its state of pure being.

 

Thus, all our festivals have a deep spiritual meaning.

The nine day festival of Navratri is the worship of

the Divine Mother. The first three nights, she is

worshipped as Durga or Kali, the succeeding three

nights as Mahalakshmi and the last three nights as

Maha Saraswati. These three are not different Devis

but one Devi worshipped in three different forms or

aspects as depicted in the Devi Mahatmya. When Maha

Vishu, the Lord of Preservation, was merged in Yoga

Nidra during dissolution, two demons - Madhu &

Kaitabhu, emerged from the dirt of Vishnu's ears and

attacked Brahma who was projected from Vishnu's navel.

Adi Shakti, the divine Mother was invoked to wake

Vishnu who then killed the demons who had come out

from dirt, representing lower nature. Maya, desire,

(kama) and anger (Krodh).

 

In the second stage, as Maha Lakshmi, (Amba) she kills

the demons Mahishasura and Raktabija. Mahishasura,

when attacked, changes his forms to elephant, then a

buffalo and a bull, then back again as demon until he

is ultimately killed. This represents Vikshepa, the

tossing of mind, and its desires manifest in some form

or other exemplified by demon. Raktabija who when

attacked by Devi, gives rise to thousands of demons

like himself upon his drops of blood touching the

earth. So Kali had to spread her tongue throughout the

earth in order to suck all his blood. Similarly, our

desires which are deep rooted have to be destroyed at

the root instead of chopping the branches.

 

The third stage is when the demons, Shumbha and

Nishumbha are destroyed by Maha Saraswati who

represents the highest power of wisdom to remove

Avarna or Ignorance.

 

Ancient Religious philosophy says that to cognise the

self, a pure mind, Antahkarna is required to overcome

the three obstacles of Maya, by karma actions

performed with an attitude of worship, Vikshepa by

Upaasna, mental worship and Avarna by Nidhidhyasana,

Meditation.

 

The tenth day, Dussera, is the victory of three

undesirable obstacles in our spiritual path by the

Divine Grace of Maha Saraswati. This is the esoteric

significance of Devi Mahatmya in relation to the

Navratri Festival.