Hari Aum.
The spring Navaratri is upon us and this is a very good time to worship the Divine Mother (there are four Navaratris every year at the onset of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter; the autumn one is the most famous of these but the others are also valuable for spiritual seekers). The coming ten days are highly auspicious to pray for one's own peace and wellbeing, for those we love and for the world as a whole. (This festival also marks the beginning of the lunar calendar in accordance with Vedic astrology and the date this year falls on March 22-- so a very happy lunar new year to everyone).
This festival is dedicated to the victory of good over evil. Let us pray that all wars on the planet come to a peaceful end. I do believe that the Divine Mother listens to our prayers and that She responds appropriately. Many Gurus and spiritual seekers (including many of us) have experienced this and we continue to feel Her grace in our lives.
Let us therefore do some worship, no matter how small, every single day in the coming ten days in praise of Her, to invoke Her benevolent aspect, to pray that She intervenes to bring peace to all.
In the Sivananda tradition, the first three days of Navarati are dedicated to Mother Durga, the second three to Mother Lakshmi and the final three to Mother Sarasvati.
The final, tenth day, known as Vijaya Dashami, is celebrated as the day of victory, the day when the good within and without us, triumphs over negativity within and without. This is a day when the lower ego has been offered to the Divine and devotion has won, truth has won, and peace/divine qualities have won over the opposite.
There is a connection between the festivals involving Durga worship and Rama worship. In autumn, the tenth day after Navaratri is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami and also as Dussehra. The former, Vijaya Dashami, is to celebrate the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura (representing all evil qualities within and without us), while the latter, Dussehra, celebrates the victory of Rama over the demon Ravana.
Similarly, during the spring Navaratri, the ninth day is celebrated as the auspicious day of the birth of Sri Rama, the avatar of Narayana (Rama navami). This is therefore a very good time to worship the Divine Mother and Father together. We need their protection and guidance today more than ever before.
To switch to a depressing but unavoidable and necessary subject, according to various experts, the risk of a nuclear war on the planet currently is the highest in the past forty years. They say that public awareness of what a nuclear war involves, and the consequences including the 'nuclear winter', is generally very low.
(Please see below for a link related to this subject --this presents the results of a recent survey study conducted by Cambridge University which highlights some important points):
Politicians in democracies make decisions based upon public opinion. Our opinion as citizens is therefore very important. And, as the experts say, a nuclear war conducted in one area, will affect the entire Earth's population via the following nuclear winter. Countries that are far away from the war zone will also be very seriously affected.
I am emphasising this only to highlight our duty to pray for peace. This is not just for others, for faraway people who live in a distant land and speak a different language from us. The Earth is our common home, and if a nuclear war takes place (no matter where it occurs), it will affect every one of us and our loved ones-- that is what the experts clearly tell us. We should therefore continue to pray and do spiritual practices for peace.
We can be forgiven for finding this situation completely surreal. Despite the Earth having witnessed much conflict during our lifetimes, most of us grew up in an era where there was a relatively low risk of a nuclear conflict.
To hear military experts and scientists (such as those in the article mentioned above) talk of nuclear war and a nuclear winter that destroys millions of lives all over the planet and say that this is a very real possibility, is truly the stuff of the darkest and most horrific of nightmares. But unfortunately, no matter how many times we pinch ourselves hoping this is not true, hoping to wake up from this awful nightmare, we cannot. This danger is the truth, the reality that we face together today.
The good thing in all of this danger and misery is that yogis tell us that the names and mantras of God have a power far greater than any nuclear weapon. The Divine has the power to protect and transform hearts and minds, and this is what is required to avoid physical destruction on our planet, our home.
We need to pray that we may be transformed, and that all beings may be transformed, into instruments of the Divine (instead of instruments of the diabolical). Our inner wish to change and transform, to give up our personal ego/selfishness, is absolutely essential, no matter how difficult this task may seem, no matter how often we fail (this does not mean that we have to give up our own happiness, only that we also need to take others into consideration, and most of all, the will of God-- this is the key).
And we will fail many, many times, that is inevitable, but we absolutely cannot give up. No matter how often we fall, we must get up and keep trying. That is the nature of the spiritual path, that is why we are all here on this planet today. May peace prevail, may truth prevail, may our divine nature prevail over the opposite.
May the will of God be done, may we all become instruments of the Divine, this should be our most sincere and ardent prayer.
Om Sri Durgayai Namah.
Om Durgam Devim sharanam-aham prapadye.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
P.S.
This is wonderful time to worship Mother Durga via both physical and mental puja. One can offer Her light, incense, flowers (red ones especially), fruits, sweet rice (kheer), kumkum (red turmeric powder). One can worship Her via the famous Sri Yantra, a geometrical structure that represents Her physical nature (this can be done physically or within the mind as manasik puja).
Various prayers and slokas can be used for Durga worship such as the navarna mantra, Durga mantras, the 32 names of Durga, the Mahishasura Mardini stothram, Saptasloki Durga and Devi Mahatmyam.
One can also listen to the Durga sukta, the famous Vedic prayer in praise of Mother Durga (the suktam prayer should only be recited if one knows the correct Vedic pronunciation (incorrect pronunciation may give adverse effects according to the Gurus), otherwise listening alone is adequate and will give both spiritual and material benefits).
Durga suktam
1. Recited slowly with Sanskrit lyrics and English translation (this may help to learn to recite the suktam if one wishes):
2. Recited slightly quicker the traditional way:
Om Sri Durgayai Namah.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
Namaskaram Sister,
ReplyDeleteYes, prayers for "peace" is of utmost importance in the current world. I am currently chanting "Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti" several time during my daily prayers. These vibrations that we utter from our mouths/minds are very powerful and can destroy tendencies of violence in the world. So would request everyone to do any chanting that they can for "world peace". Even a small amount of chanting helps. Oh Divine Mother, may you help peace prevail on this planet. Om Adi Sakthiyai Namaha.