Navaratri & the 9 Durgas
On day one of Navaratri, we worship Shailaputri Maa. This Durga is the Mother of Inspiration and it is from Her that we find our initial motivation for sadhana. She is the daughter of the mountains and the spouse of Lord Shiva. In this form, She is Parvati and the mother of Ganesha and Kartikeya or Skanda. She rides upon a bull and carries a trishula, or trident. As the first of the Durga’s, She is most powerful and creates within us our inspiration for worship. She is the Goddess ruling the Muladhara Chakra and the origin of our vital energy. She is our foundation and the root of our existence.
When I think of the word inspiration - I think of it as breathing in Spirit. I'm taking into my being, through the prana of my breath, the tools for living how I want to spend this life (or at least the next few days.) My mind becomes inspired with the tools, and my heart becomes inspired by the bhakti. Mother is whispering in my heart and calling me to Her. Each day brings ever greater gifts as we dive deeper and deeper into Mother's love.
May this first day bring you inspiration!
Day 2 is the day we worship Maa in Her form of Bramacharini - the Goddess of Sacred Study. Yesterday we were inspired to know more about our Divine Mother and today we take up our study of Her!
If I think about Her manifestation in my personal life, I might recognize Her as my inquisitive brain wanting to know more and more. She is known as the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge, but Her lesson isn't about knowing more - She is teaching us to keep our attention on what is important. When we are inspired we want to know more about the object of our inspiration, so we study, attempting to understand Mother and our relationship with Her.
A Brahmachari is one who practices moderation - who walks with God. The word “Brahm” contains within it the sadhana of tapasya, intense practices that require rigorous and heated spiritual engagements. Therefore, in this case Bramacharini is one who, through Her practice of tapasya and devotion, is walking with Shiva. Mata Bramacharini is the Goddess of the second Chakra, or Svadhistana. By keeping our attention on Divine Nature, we become unconcerned with the events and circumstances of human experience, devoting ourselves instead to awakening the Kundalini sleeping at the base of our spine.
May our tapasya bring us closer to God!
On the third day of our Navaratri worship, the Goddess Chandraghanta encourages our delight in spiritual practice. First, we become inspired and embark upon our path of sacred study, and then we begin to achieve the fruits of our efforts, experiencing the Delight of Practice through Her grace.
This Mother lifts us into the Manipura, or third, Chakra, establishing our minds in peace, tranquility, and prosperity. She is the bestower of bravery and the strength to overcome the asuras, or bad thoughts, that we are plagued with in our daily lives. She offers us peace, blessing us with serenity, bliss, and the removal of all our difficulties.
Martin Luther said, "The busier I am, the more I pray." Because sadhana is "negative time," doing it actually adds more time to our day. It is as if sadhana allows our perception of time to lengthen so that the more we pray (meditate, do yoga...) the more time we have to do all of what we need to do. Regardless of how busy life seems to be, giving time for prayer in no way takes away from our experience of how much time is available to us. This is due to the grace of Maa Chandraghanta. She brings peace and tranquility so that we have the strength to overcome all that keeps us from delighting in our worship!
May we find delight in sadhana!
The 4th day of Navaratri is devoted to Maa Kushmanda - the Goddess of Purifying Austerities. Her name refers to the small energetic egg from which all of creation arises. Once, when the Universe was a void of darkness, Maa Kushmanda smiled; and as the rays of the Sun light up the sky, the beauty and warmth of Her smile bring light to all of creation.
What does it means to purify austerities? If austerities, intense and rigorous practices, are to be pure then I must pay attention to two things: the intentions and motivations for my practice, and my attitude while practicing. Am I practicing to attain some benefit, or for any reason other than a pure desire to be with the Divine Mother? When I am acting as a lover of God, and my sadhana is a practice of pure intent and pure love, then where once my personal universe was a "void full of darkness" it now becomes a world of light and possibility.
Kushmanda Maa leads us into the fourth, or Anahata Chakra. She is opening our hearts to love and purity. When we worship Her in our hearts, our ailments and difficulties are removed.
May our austerities be practiced with pure love and delight!
Day 5 is the midpoint of our sadhana and on this day we worship Maa Skandamata - the Goddess who Nurtures Divinity.
Skandamata, a form of Parvati, is the mother of Lord Skanda and depicted carrying his infant form on Her lap. One hand is raised in the mudra offering boons while in the other hand She holds a lotus.
This Mother is nurturing Divinity as the wife of God and mother to His children! So how does Her message apply to our sadhana? So far we have been inspired to practice, taken up our studies, delighted in our sadhana, and purified our intention. Now, our practice has moved beyond gestation but is still in an infant form, a child of our hearts to be nurtured and encouraged. The Divine impulse growing within us has become the spiritual child born of the union of Shiva (Consciousness) and Shakti (Energy) then given to us to be attended to and nurtured. Skandamata teaches us to approach our sadhana with love and care, just as a mother cares for her child.
Skandamata governs the Visuddha Chakra, located in the throat, and asks that we surrender our personal will to Divine will. From here on, we exist in the realms of the Divine where our Mother cares for and nurtures us, just as She nurtures all of Her children. She encourages our ability to communicate, express, and nurture the Divinity in our hearts and in the hearts of those that we are in relationship with.
May your Divine Creation be nurtured always!
On the sixth day of Navaratri, we worship Maa Katyayani - the Goddess who is Ever Pure. She came into being when the Gods combined their powers in order to slay Mahishasura - the Great Ego. This battle between the Goddess and the army of asuras is described in the Devi Mahatmyam, or Chandi Path.
She is the epitome of Love and the defender of righteousness and Dharma. It is through Her grace that we are able to achieve the Four Goals of Life: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Without Her to take away our ego we are limited in what we are able to achieve in life. She is the Goddess who purifies our desire for union with the Divine. Just as the Gopi's worshipped Her in order to obtain Lord Krshna as their husband, when we worship Her we are seeking a relationship that is pure love and divinely inspired; one where we are willing to give all of ourselves, including our ego, over to Her.
The Purity of Katyayani Maa lifts our consciousness to the Ajna Chakra, to represent this She is depicted with a third eye. This chakra leads us to forgiveness and compassion; and allows us to release hatred and anger while removing our fear and all that we resist in our spiritual pursuits. that we resist.
Oh Divine Mother - I offer my head to you today!
On the seventh day of our Navaratri celebration, we worship Maa Kalaratri - the Goddess of the Dark Night of Overcoming Egoism.
This Goddess removes our spiritual ignorance of the Unity of Life. In the Chandi Path, She kills Raktabija, the asura known as the seed of desire. Whenever a drop of his blood falls to the ground, a new desire is born. Kalaratri destroys these desires, encouraging and protecting us from all that keeps us from our goals. She is dark in color and removes from our consciousness all that is unclean, purifying us even further.
Even after our ego was finished off on the 6th day of our sadhana, we may still be troubled by our thoughts and desires. However, by Mother's grace, every day we are becoming more and more established in our devotion. Maa Kalaratri is here with us, taking from us the darkness remaining in our minds, giving us time to realize that we are safe within Her fierce heart. Worshiping Her lifts us to our Sahasrara Chakra, opening us to the direct experience of Spirit.
Because Maa is here with me, I allow myself to go deeper into my fearful heart. Knowing that She is protecting me during my darkest times, taking away all that is unnecessary, all that is covering my light, I find peace and confidence in life!
Jai Maa Kalaratri, Jai Jai Maa!!!
On the Eighth day of Navaratri, we worship Maa in Her form of Mahagauri - the Goddess of the Great Radiant Light!
After Her battle with the asuras and performing austerities, the Divine Mother was dirty and dark. Lord Shiva came to Her and lovingly washed Her with water from the Ganges. From then on, She was beautifully clean and purified. Through our worship of Her, our karmas are washed away and we are purified in all aspects of life. Mahagauri is intelligent, calm, and peaceful, imparting those qualities to us as well.
After completing our first 7 days of sadhana and tapasya, we attain the fruit of our devotion and the blessings of Mahagauri. Our karmas are washed away and Her light shines upon, and within, us. Through the worship of Her we attain a calm and peaceful bhava within ourselves. Our meditations have shown us that there is nothing to fear. Although the dust of human existence covers us, we only need Shiva to wash us clean. Mahagauri shines Her light through us when we adopt Her attitudes of fearlessness and peace. She teaches us that our austerities and devotional practices DO make a difference; not just in our personal lives, but in the lives of all beings. Perseverance in our sadhana grants us the fruits of beauty and light that Maa Mahagauri has to offer us.
OM Jai Mahagauri - may I be the lamp that holds your light!
We began our Navaratri journey with the inspiration to take on this practice on Day 1 and the beginning of our studies on Day 2. Next, we took delight in our sadhana on Day 3, and purified our austerities on Day 4. We nurtured our Divinity on Day 5, were purified on Day 6, overcame our egoism on Day 7, and learned that we are pure light on Day 8. Today, on Day 9, the final day of our Navaratri sadhana, we meet the Goddess who grants Perfection!
We dedicate the ninth day of Navaratri to Maa Durga in Her form of Goddess Siddhidatri. She is the Goddess who grants perfection and endows upon us the realization that She is all of existence. Always blissful and happily surrounded by her devotees, within Her lies all mystical power and knowledge.
Worshipping Her activates our consciousness and spiritual awareness. We are liberated from our karma through our devotional service to Her.
The result of this worship is that our hearts become the altar of love built by our austerities. In the perfection Maa has granted to us, we find the fruits of worship - the siddhis and achievements attained through the practice of yoga. Our lives are united with the One Life of Maa Siddhidatri. Our Mother has brought us home in perfection.
And... speaking of perfection! Today we also celebrate the birth of Lord Rama - the epitome of perfection!
May our days be perfect in every way - and may we know it to be so regardless of the dharma and drama of our lives!