Navaratri Festival - Worship of Mother Goddess

Divine wishes of Navaratri festival to all the Gurukripa readers.

Navaratri festival is starting from tomorrow 28^th of Sep to 6th of Oct. This festival starts from Ashwin Shukla Pratipada that means first day of Ashwin month from the 15 days in which full moon night comes. This festival is called as Sharadeey Navaratri. Sharadeey means the Navaratri which occurs in Ritu Sharad.This festival is known as Durga Puja in West Bengal.

Navaratri is the word formed from Nav + Ratri. Nav means nine and Ratri means nights. Thus Navaratri means nine nights of Ashwin in which worship of mother Goddess Durga is performed.

I started getting seriously involved in this festival when I heard in some spiritual discourse by Hindu Spiritual leader (can't recall the name. Sorry!)that these days are very special for worship and Tapasya. We will grow spiritually more than the worship in other days. Tapasya can be explained in simple words as the control of mind from the worldly desires and worship which makes us grow spiritually. This may be scientific. Then I observed and felt that, this is really true. The wind, the weather, the days, and the evenings everything looks so spiritual filled with a divinity in these nine days. Mind becomes devotional naturally in these days. On the other hand, normally we see it is difficult to control mind or turn it to spirituality. I request you too, to observe this difference. I can’t guess what must be changes in other countries in these days, but I think this must be the same as described above.  Bharateey (Indian) Culture and traditions are for all without any boundaries. So I think, anybody can experience highest devotion in these nine days of Navaratri Festival if they worship Mother Goddess Durga.

It is said in one dhun that,

“दुर्गतिनाशिनि दुर्गा जय जय| कालविनाशिनि काली जय जय||”

“Durgatinashini Durga Jay Jay| Kalvinashini Kali Jay Jay||”

This prayer says, “Mother Goddess Durga is always victorious. Mother Durga always destroys all our problems which would have lead to sorrows, dangers and tears, in this life and also after death. She easily brings our lives on divinity, prosperity and bliss.”

The next part of the prayer says that,

“The Mother Kali (another form of mother Goddess) is always victorious, she destroys the Kal. I think this means she protects us from unnatural and dangerous death. Death is inevitable, but it should be such that while leaving this material world we should feel peace and bliss and no pain should be in the mind and the body. Mother Kali protects us from all these pains. ”

So worship The Mother Goddess for not only these nine days of Navaratri Festival but for the whole life. Some simple ways of worship which are called as Vratas,

1. Chant the name of Mother Goddess like Durga, Kali for days and nights.
2. Keep Maun that means silence or avoid unnecessary chatting, gossips, speaking lies. 
3. Read or discuss the stories of Mother Goddess. It is really very interesting and devotional to read these stories from DeviBhagwatam and Saptashati which is from Markandeya Puran. 
4. Many people do fast also for nine days. Fast is really meaningful if we follow the above Vratas.
5. The dandiya which is very popular in this festival is the worship with devotional songs and traditional dance called as Garba. To dance on filmy songs has nothing to do with worship. It is just to increase the material desires. Navaratri festival or any devotional festival is basically to control our material desires and lusts. So while performing Vrata and Worship please spread these things and make the people aware.

Again wish you all dear readers, brothers, sisters and friends a very happy and divine Navaratri Festival. Please share your thoughts about Navaratri too.

Know the Mother Goddess Kali...Jai Mahakali in last year's article.