Narayani Namastute!
Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Matru rupena samstitha Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Shakti rupena samstitha
The Supreme Divine Mother resides in all beings as mother aspect, dynamic prana, ego, intellect, wisdom, ignorance, knowledge, sleep, desire, creative forces and as destructive forces.
Every being in this universe, be it human or animal or a bird, operates through these aspects of the divine mother but under ignorance think that they operate based on their own individual aspects and thus suffer pain, sorrows, disappointment and depressions.
Chaitra Navratri is an occasion to worship the divine mother and get rid of this ignorance and get freed from the clutches of karma caused by the actions under ignorance.
Navratri denotes nine nights and these nine nights are divided into three nights each representing the universal feminine powers named as Sarsawati, Lakshmi and Durga. Saraswati is the giver of knowledge and wisdom, Lakshmi is the giver of peace and wealth and Durga is the giver of freedom from negative forces and moksha.
Each of these three Devis have three aspects and they are creation, sustenance and destruction so for each Devi three days are earmarked for worship hence the nine-day worship festival is celebrated during Chaitra Navratri.
The whole universe is basically emanated and operated through static consciousness and dynamic consciousness. Static consciousness is the male aspect and dynamic consciousness is the female aspect of the creation.
Without the female aspect nothing can be created. Hence, in the Hindu religion this dynamic consciousness is worshipped as the Divine Mother.
A tree with its trunk, branches, roots etc could be termed as male aspect and the leaves, flowers, fruits etc could be considered as female aspect. Without leaves, flowers and fruits a tree looks dull, dead and ugly and only with leaves, flowers and fruits it looks beautiful, meaningful and fruitful. With leaves it can give shade, oxygen and with flowers and fruits it can quench the hunger and spread fragrance of happiness all around.
Similarly, without the female aspect in the creation the whole universe would have been dull, boring, dead, meaningless, purposeless and bland. It’s only because of the female aspect that the universe looks so beautiful, meaningful, and purposeful. Without the female aspect procreation also would not have been possible and the lifespan of universe would have been very short.
The universe grows because of the female aspect of creation. Smile, joy, happiness, festivals, celebrations, variety, variations, moods, desires etc are the major attributes of this female aspect of the creation and the creation sustains because of them. So, to offer gratitude to this female aspect of creation, the Divine Mother is worshipped during Navratri with fun, food, pomp, gaiety and fervour.
The first day of Chaitra Navratri is also considered to be the day when Lord Brahma created this universe and hence the day is called as Ugadi in South India (or Yugadi — meaning start of a new year) and Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra meaning New Year.
Lord Ram was also coronated on this day as the kind of Ayodhya after he completed his 14 years of exile during which time he even killed Ravana and freed the world from his draconian rule.
On the ninth day of this Navratri, Lord Ram was born as is celebrated as Ramnavami too all over the country. Some legend also believes that on this ninth day Lord Ram and Goddess Sita were married hence Kalyanamahotsav too is celebrated on this day in the major temples of Lord Ram.
May Goddess Durga and may Lord Ram bless every jeeva (soul) of this universe with peace, prosperity and harmony. May everyone live in complete harmony with the nature and let others too live happily.
The writer is a modern age spiritual guru and the force behind Poorna Ananda, a Hyderabad-based centre for spiritual evolution and joyful living. He can be contacted at www.poornaananda.org