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JAI
MATAJI
AMBA
MATA - Idol at Manav Mandir, Ahmedabad
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Story
of Nine Days & Three Obstacles 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.
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NAVRATRI
& DUSSEHRA
An overall view 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.
 As the Navratri tale says Shakti, goddess Durga is
Shiv’s consort Parvati, daughter of Menaka and the Himalayas. Shakti, the female
energy of Shiv, she is mild and fierce too with names like Uma (light), Gauri (brilliant),
Kali (chandi), Jagaddhatri as Amba, Bhadrakali and Bhairavi (terrible). When the gods
after a long war were defeated by the demons headed by Mahishasura, the buffalo demon,
were driven away from heaven, they approached Brahma who took them to Vishnu and Siva.
Durga took the task of ridding the world of oppression and in the fierce combat, she
killed the powerful demons and then came to face with their kind Mahishasura, who was
considered invincible. Mahishasura changed his form from buffalo to a lion. When she
chopped him, he turned to human form and when he was struck with her sword, he became an
elephant, again to resume his buffalo form. Finally, trapped under her foot as her spear
pierced his chest. This Mahishasura represents the animal instinct in man which is
sometimes too powerful to control but must be controlled by supreme god. Greed,
temptation, gossip, bickerings, self centeredness and any evil disguises are to be
overcome otherwise it is the end like Mahishasura. The goddess reflects the noble
intentions and kind deeds, determination to end exploitation and stand by the
righteousness. This is the faith that is built in the human heart, a message of Navratri,
the killing of evil thoughts, Mahishasura. Rama is said to have performed Durga Puja to
invoke the blessings of the goddess before he left for Lanka to fight for Ravana. Hence,
Dussehra, the winning of ‘Good over Evil’
Religion is a holistic approach.
Significance of the deities pointing the need for deriving solutions to problems and as
believed, Durga triumphs over evil, Saraswati removes ignorance and Lakshmi brings
prosperity. And then, there is this Faith – Spread the love, banish hate, shrug off
the black seeds of anger, selfishness and malicious ways and Faith makes you perform the
right deeds. Keep the Faith. |
