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 Happy Dasera or DussheraModerators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
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Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098   Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | This is a busy week. I wanted to wish you guys a Happy Dasera/Dusshera in advance and also give you a little insight on its meaning so that you would know what was happening in the Hindu world. This is my favorite time of the year....and then of course, Deewali comes later on this month. The festival of Navaratri is a glorious time of the year, filled with joy, celebration, and also with great lessons for our lives. Navaratri means "nine nights." This festival occurs twice a year, at the change from winter to summer in the Spring, and again at the change from summer to winter in the Autumn. The Autumn festival is celebrated from the first day to the ninth day of the bright half of Ashvina (September-October), while the Spring Festival is celebrated in Chaitra (April -May). The two Navaratri celebrations are known as Rama-Navaratri in Chaitra and Durga Navaratri in Ashvina. The celebration of Navaratri is in honor of the great Mother Goddess. The festival lasts for nine days, signifying the nine glorious aspects of the Divine Mother. Additionally, during the time of Navratri and Dusshera, particularly in the state of Gujarat, there is a special tradition of Garba dancing. This is a special type of group dance which is typically performed in a circle, along with clapping of the hands or of sticks. The garba dancing is typically performed at night, in an open space, and it is believed that not only is the dance to the Mother Goddess, but also that the Mother Goddess is part of the dance itself, and that the dancers are dancing with Her. There are different pujas and ceremonies performed on each of the nine days, most notably is fasting on the eighth day and then the immersion of Goddess Durga's image in holy rivers on Dusshera, which falls on the day right after Navratri ends (the 10th day). WORSHIP OF THE DIVINE SHAKTI Indian tradition is one of the few traditions in which the Feminine aspect of the divine is worshipped with as much reverence as the Masculine aspect. Throughout India you will see thousands of temples dedicated to various manifestations of the Divine Mother. You will find hundreds of thousands of people who are "Shakti worshippers." Shakti is the energy of the Lord. Without the divine Shakti, even God is powerless. The creative aspect (Lord Brahma), the sustaining aspect (Lord Vishnu) and the destructive aspect (Lord Shiva) all have their respective Shaktis who provide the cosmic energy and omnipotent power needed for these great feats. Additionally, everything for which we pray - knowledge, prosperity, love - these are all manifest in the Divine Feminine. Goddess Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge. Maha Laxmi is the Goddess of prosperity. This shows that without the Divine Mother, our prayers would be in vain, and our wishes would go unanswered. So, Navaratri is the time of worship of the Divine Mother. Beautiful pujas, havans and aartis are performed for Her. Through singing Her glories we pray that She will purify our lives and bring us health, happiness, peace and prosperity. Navratri is celebrated as the time that Goddess Durga (Shakti) conquered the evil demon, Mahishasura, thereby saving the world from his vicious tyranny. It is said that Mahishasura was reigning terror over the world and none of the gods was able to destroy him. Thus, they all approached Goddess Durga, Shakti, together and gave Her their weapons. Thus armed with Divine Shakti and the most powerful weapons, She conquered the demon and ended his tyranny after fighting for nine straight nights. On the tenth day, Vijaya Dasami, the demon was slaughtered. This victory, and other beautiful stories associated with Goddess Durga, are celebrated with great fervor throughout different parts of India. Shakti puja is performed in elaborate and lavish ways. WORSHIP OF DURGA The nine days of the festival also represent the three stages through which one passes on the spiritual path. During the first three days, the Mother is worshipped in her powerful, destructive, terrifying aspect. Many people, when beginning the spiritual path, have an inherent fear of God; therefore this first phase of Navaratri represents the first stage of a spiritual path. During these three days, the devotee prays to the Mother to use Her destructive power to destroy his imperfections and his faults. He prays for Her to make him pure enough to receive the divine energy. Additionally, this terrifying aspect of the Divine is the one who protects the new spiritual seeker on his path. Thus, the first three days of Navratri are devoted to annihilating the negative tendencies of our minds and hearts. WORSHIP OF LAKSHMI The second three days of Navaratri are days in which the Mother is worshipped in Her prosperity-bestowing form. Once the negative tendencies have been annihilated, one is ready to begin developing a positive, spiritual personality. These are the days that positive attributes replace the negative attributes which were removed. These days are the worship of Maha Lakshmi, the bestower of prosperity. On the spiritual path, after people overcome the fear of God, they frequently pray for material wealth or external prosperity. They pray for success in their ventures and for the removal of obstructions in their path. The prosperity Maha Lakshmi bestows is not merely material prosperity, but it is also all of the qualities which a sincere spiritual seeker craves - calmness, peace, equanimity, compassion, love. WORSHIP OF SARASWATI During the last three days, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped as the bestower of true wisdom and understanding. Once the devotee has been purified by Goddess Durga and has had his vices annihilated, and once he has had the spiritual wealth of inner peace, calmness, compassion and love bestowed upon him by Maha Laxmi, then he is ready to receive the true light of understanding. This wisdom can not come unless the devotee has passed through the first two stages. Just as one would not pour divine nectar into an unclean, broken and impure cup, one can similarly not expect to have divine wisdom granted unless the vessel has been purified and made divine. Frequently on the spiritual path, seekers wish to attain divine knowledge without first purifying themselves and attaining positive qualities. This is impossible, however. The true light of Divine Wisdom can only be bestowed once the seeker has annihilated his negative tendencies and begun to develop a positive, spiritual attitude. Therefore, Navaratri should be a time of not only celebrating Goddess Durga's triumph over the evil demon, but rather it should also be a time of praying to Goddess Durga to remove the evil from within us, not only the evil in the external world. We must pray to her to annihilate our inner enemies - our ego, our greed, our anger - just as she vanquished the evil demon. These traits inside us are just as powerful, just as insidious, and just as deadly as any of the Asuras or Rakshasas (demons). Let us note also that Goddess Durga wears red, which symbolizes divine action. The Goddess is never idle. She is always busy in the destruction of evil in the world. As we vow to remove the evil from our own hearts and our own lives, we must be just as vigilant, just as active and just as conscientious. We must never become complacent; for anger, greed, ego, and lust are always present, always lurking, and always ready to make home in welcoming hearts. DUSSHERA The day after Navratri (frequently referred to as the 10th day of Navratri) is Dusshera, which commemorates the day on which the 10-headed demon King Ravana was killed. On this day, Bhagwan Rama defeated the 10-headed Ravana, thereby rescuing his wife Sitaji who had been kidnapped by this evil ruler of Lanka. The story of the war and Lord Rama's victory is re-enacted with great fervor on this holiday. There is a beautiful tradition of Rama-lila, which is the dramatic depiction of the story of Bhagwan Rama, along with song and dance. People love to watch the victory of Bhagwan Rama over Ravana and to celebrate the safe return of Sitaji. However, embedded within this scriptural epic are vital messages for our lives today. We must not let the deeper lessons and meaning get overshadowed by the joyous festivities of the day. ANNIHILATION OF THE 10-HEADED DEMON WITHIN The word "Dusshera" refers to the cutting off of the 10 heads of Ravana, or symbolically of our own Ego. The ten heads represent passion, pride, anger, greed, infatuation, lust, hatred, jealousy, selfishness and crookedness. As we celebrate this holiday, as we revel in Bhagwan Rama's victory, let us ask ourselves, "Has the Rama in us been victorious over our own Ravana? Is the good in our hearts conquering the evil? Have we decapitated the 10-headed demon within us? Have we annihilated passion, pride, anger, greed, infatuation, lust, hatred, jealousy, selfishness and crookedness from our own lives?" Dusshera is not only a holiday about Lord Rama and Ravana. Rather, it is a holy day, about examining ourselves. When faced with a choice of how to act, do we act like Rama or like Ravana? HAVE WE CONQUERED OUR EGO? After the battle in Lanka, when Lord Rama was showing Sitaji the battlefield, he did not say, "This is the spot where I slaughtered the evil Ravana." Rather, he said, "This is where Ravana died." Even after achieving the momentous task of killing Ravana, Lord Rama was still humble. On the other hand, in our own lives, we usually crave the attention, the praise and the respect of others. We are so quick to point out our own achievements and to give ourselves credit. We are so quick to put ourselves in the center. Let us take this beautiful lesson of how to remain humble, pious and selfless. "This is where Ravana died," not "Look this where I bravely defeated Ravana." Also, while Ravana lay dying, Bhagwan Rama did not revel in the victory. Rather, he sent his brother Lakshman to learn from the dying demon king. For, Ravana was a great scholar, a peerless Vedic master who - due to this own pride, ego, vanity and insatiable desires - became a demon. So, Bhagwan Rama sent Lakshman to go and listen to words of Vedic wisdom from Ravana as the latter lay on his death bed. Bhagwan Rama knew that, although Ravana's vices had brought about his own downfall (just as our own vices eventually yet inevitably bring about our downfall) he still was a venerable scholars and one from whom great wisdom could be obtained. Further, we must remember that the war of Lanka was won because Bhagwan Rama had built a bridge to Lanka, a bridge to the enemy's kingdom. This is also an important lesson. In our lives, we should learn to build bridges between ourselves and others, even with those whom we may consider enemies. Rather, than isolating ourselves from others, let us learn to build bridges which will ultimately lead to a cessation of fighting or to a victory of good over evil. So, on this day when we celebrate the demise of Ravana, let us ask ourselves if our inner Ravana is dead as well. Let us pledge to remove the evil 10-headed demon from our own lives. Let us pray to God for the strength to be pure, selfless, humble, loving and honest every day of our lives. Let us take steps EACH DAY (not only on Dusshera) to become more and more like Lord Rama rather than more and more like Ravana. Let us build bridges between ourselves and others, even those whom we deem "enemies." At the end of every day, when we introspect and examine our actions, our thoughts and our words, let us open our own balance sheets and see whether we are becoming more like Rama or more like Ravana. Let us vow that, at this sacred time, we will strive to bring forth the inner Rama and to vanquish the inner Ravana. May God bless you all and your families at this holy time. | ||
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| kulkarnn |
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| Dear Cyndiben: What a wonderful description you have written! I am speechless and bow down to you, and of course other Durgas! | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | NB, I am so happy that you became speechless. However, you don't have to bow down to me, as I did not write all this. I borrowed the description because it was so perfect that I wanted to share it with you guys. Again, wishing you many Durga blessings NB. CB | ||
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