The festival of Navaratri is one of the most beautiful festivals in Sanatana Dharma. Where else ,but in Hinduism will you find this celebration of the feminine energy in the beautiful Devi forms of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati?
The first 3 days are dedicated to Goddess Durga. She is the mother who came down to kill the demons Mahishasura and many others. Viewed spiritually , it is Ma Durga who gives us the ability to fight the enemies hiding in us ,keeping us away from our true divine nature. The first 3 days are dedicated to cleansing ourselves and facing our enemies whether it is anger or greed or lust or jealousy or arrogance. The next 3 days are dedicated to Ma Lakshmi . She ,the bestower of prosperity of riches, we humbly ask that she fill us with all the virtues of kindness, love, compassion and gratitude. The last 3 days are dedicated to Ma Saraswati. Now that we have cleansed ourselves and adorned ourselves with all the virtues, we are fit for that highest knowledge and that is what the Goddess of Learning gives us , that highest knowledge. The 10th day is Vijaya Dashmi, the day when Rama killed the 10 headed Ravana .Spiritually viewed ,this is the day that we abide in that Divinity which is our own true nature.
In Chinmaya Gurukul ,Navaratri is celebrated with a lot of fervor and devotion. We have 9 days of chanting followed by the celebration of Vijaya Dashmi . This year Navaratri started on September 22nd and it ended on Oct 1st followed by Vijaya Dashmi on Oct2nd . The chanting is led by Sushma Aunty . We have one or 2 puja coordinators who conduct the puja for the day under Aunty’s direction .
The puja team decorated the altar with the 3 Devis taking center stage . Garlands and flowers , a lot of it from our own garden adorned the Devis. Every day Lalitha Sahasranamam was chanted along with parts of Saundarya Lahari and Devi Mahatmyam .Other Shlokas were chanted which included Mahishasura Mardini Shlokam , Meenakshi Panchakam and many more divine chants were heard at Gurukul. Every day ,based on which Devi was being worshipped, the Ashtottharam was chanted with offering of flowers . Anga Puja was performed where specific prayers and flowers would be offered to each individual part of the Devi’s individual form. Aarti would be performed and ‘Jai AMbe Gauri’ would be sung by all. Everyone would be dressed in one particular color and the harmony of colors was a beautiful background to the already divine atmosphere at the ashram . Prasad would be offered at the end and everyone would partake and leave with their hearts full .
Oct 2nd was Vijaya Dashmi . The altar now included Bhagwan Ram, who had just returned after successfully vanquishing Ravana and with Mother Sita by his side, ascended the throne of Ayodhya. Devotees gathered around and after Saraswati Puja, the Rama Pattabhishekham Sarga from Valmiki Ramayan was read with great joy. This was followed by Chatushloki Bhagwatham and Aarti. Prasad was offered and enjoyed by everyone .
Our Bala Vihar kids also got to be part of the fun . For our Friday and Sunday sessions and jchyks, garba was planned by our volunteers. Every class had a fixed slot and they came to the assembly where they swayed to the beats. Of course most kids were shy but the enthusiastic volunteers ensured the dancing did not stop and so did a lot of parents.
Spiritually viewed, the idea of Garba is to always keep Bhagwan at the center of our lives and dance away .
We offer our Thanks to Sushma Aunty for leading us by example. She has been a part of this kind of chanting for 30 years and it is indeed an inspiration for all of us Sadhakas. We also thank the Puja team and all the volunteers and all the devotees who showed up day after day . May this season of festivity lead us higher on our spiritual path.
