Sharad Navratri ‘24 : Celebrate The Devoutness Navratri : Nine Days Of 'Divinity' - From 3rd of October ‘24 (Thursday) to 12th of October ‘24 (Saturda

Navratri is the celebration of the Supreme Mother Goddess Devi Durga. Devi Durga is the only feminine goddess that has a school of Hinduism dedicated to her worship. They worship the goddess as Shakti or the divine energy and the school is called Shaakt. Not only the Shaakt school but common Hindu and Sikh devotees also worship the Goddess as the Supreme power that creates, sustains, and even destroys the universe.

Unlike the Hindu trinity of Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh who respectively creates, sustains, and destroys the life or life forms, The Supreme Goddess alone does the duty of creation, sustenance, and destruction. Therefore, her devotees strictly believe that the Supreme Mother has all the power of the universe and even commands the trinity. Her single-minded devotion can fulfill the worldly as well as the spiritual longings of her devotees.

Significance and importance of “Navratri”:

Navratri translates into 9 nights. It is a 9 days long festival which celebrates the different manifestations of Goddess Durga. The Navratri is observed four times a year during different seasons. The four Navratris are named after the Hindu seasons and months they fall in — Magha (Winter), Chaitra (Spring), Ashadha (Monsoon), and Sharad (Autumn).

Out of which only the Chaitra and Sharad are celebrated by commoners. The rest of the two Navratri are gupt Navratris or secret Navratri which are observed by the saints and shamans. The commoners are not allowed to observe the gupt Navratri.

Navratri is the time which is dedicated to the worship of Maa Durga and as the divine mother is both Maya (materialism) and Shakti, she can fulfill materialistic and spiritual desires.

The materialistic devotees worship mothers by worshiping the nine forms of Devi Durga. The spiritual devotees meditate on the chakras associated with the nine forms of the Goddess. It is believed that worshiping the Goddess during midnight whilst keeping the focus on the chakras quickly awakens the kundalini of the devotees.

For the mundane worshippers, the worshiping of the goddess blesses the devotees with all kinds of riches and prosperity.

Significance and importance of “Navratri” festival in India:

Navratri festival is one of the biggest festivals of the majority of Indians. Both the Chaitra and Sharad Navratri are celebrated with great pomp and show. Interestingly, both the Navratri are associated with Lord Ram.

The Chaitra Navratri is celebrated on the waxing moon of the first month of the Hindu Lunar calendar. The ninth or the last day of Navratri falls on the birthday of Lord Ram which is called Ram Navami.

Whereas the Sharad Navratri starts after Mahalaya's new moon and ends with VijayaDashami. According to Hindu texts, Mahalaya is the day when Goddess Durga was created by Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahesh to kill the demon Mahishasur. On the other hand, Vijayadashmi celebrates the victory of Lord Ram over the demon king, the ten-headed Ravana. However, some schools say the Goddess Durga slayed the demon king Mahishasur on Vijayadashami.

The nine nights or days are a time to celebrate and meditate on the 9 forms of Devi Durga. Each day has a special form of the Devi attached to it and the worship of the Devi Durga is done in the same order of days.

How to celebrate “Navratri”?

Since prehistoric times, Indians have worshiped the Adi Shakti. The archaeological sites of Mohenjodaro and Harappa show seals of Lingam and Shakti. Many people say that Navratri is the best time to initiate the worship of Shakti.

The 9 days of the Bhagwati worship are further divided into 3 groups of 3 days. The first 3 days are dedicated to Tamas guna Maa Kali, then 3 days are dedicated to Rajas guna Maa Laxmi and the last 3 days are dedicated to Satva guna Maa Saraswati.

The journey of 9 days begins with triumphing over the Tamasik and Rajasik pravritti or nature to reach the Satvik state of mind.

Most of the devotees read Durga Saptshati to please the Goddess. Durga Saptashati is a poem of 700 verses or Shlokas which is found in the Markandeya Purana. It is written as a dialogue between King Surath and merchant Samaadhi who come across each other while seeking refuge in the hermitage of Rishi (sage) Medha.

Reciting Durga Saptshati brings countless benefits to the reader and some of them are:

●????? Experience of Devi’s presence at the place of recitation

●????? Removal of all troubles

●????? Prevention of natural calamities

●????? Removal of Poverty

●????? Protection from enemies, fire and kingsmen

●????? Protection from planetary impacts

●????? Protection from evil spirits

●????? The bestowal of wealth, prosperity, and children

The goddess is worshiped in 9 different forms. Here is the detailed description of each of the forms of Devi Maa.

1. Maa Shailputri - "Daughter of Mountain"

Click on the link below to read more :

https://www.ekohumm.com/sharad-navratri-2022-celebrate-the-devoutness-navratri-nine-days-of-divinity-15th-oct-to-23rd-oct-2023