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| You are here: COL home > Festivals & Religion > Navarathri > Visitor's place | ||||||||||||||||
Durga Mata We have heard the statement: that Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion. Festivals like Navaratri reinforce the strength of such declarations. A festival initially attracts us through the color, gaiety, music and dance associated with it. As we grow older, we start understanding the significance of the festival and turn our mind inwards. The attractive aspects are plenty in the case of Navaratri: colorful dolls representing all aspects of God's creation are bought, dressed up and displayed proudly on nine decorated steps. We worship this sample of creation and the power behind it all by singing songs in praise of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. We invite friends and family to come and share in this celebration and feed them with sweets and shundal and presents! Slowly, we begin to grasp the significance of Navaratri and the symbolism behind the festival. The power behind creation is Shakthi in its three aspects: Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. This power, we are assured by the Rishis-- the Seers, resides in each one of us. We have to invoke this Shakthi to assist us in reaching our ultimate goal which is realization of Oneness with the Divine Self in us. Navaratri aptly starts on the first day after Amavasya, the New Moon day. The moon was steadily waning and reached its last stage of losing all the luster from the bright Sun. In Hindu mythology, the unsteady mind with its varying moods and modes is represented by the waxing/ waning moon. In the ideal state, the mind must be always illumined by Divine Knowledge represented by the Sun. But due to ignorance, we manage to cast upon it the dark shadow of our selfish ego which is bent upon fulfilling its worldly selfish desires. As a result, we progressively descend into the depths of spiritual darkness comparable to the full moon steadily declining over the fortnight into Amavasya or New-moon. Hope still exists because the Sun of knowledge continues to shine in the deep recesses of our hearts. We have only to know this, make a determination and reach it with great effort, overcoming the obstacles in the way caused by our misdirected ego |
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