Maa Durga --- Happy Navrathri

JAI MA JAI MA JAI JAI MA || JAI MA JAI MA JAI JAI MA || JAI MA JAI MA JAI JAI MA

Rituals are Means to an end. The Means should not eclipse the End.India celebrates Dusherra in various styles in different parts of the country. I am fascinated and at awe seeing the Divine Mother. From my childhood days I have always questioned the blindly followed rituals, but we don't get the exact answer that would widen our horizon, do we ? I came across this book called " Our Heritage" published by Chinmaya mission in the late 60s. It has cleared few of my questions and here I share a synopsis of what Durga PuJa is all about.

During Dusherra the three forms of Goddess, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshiped. Dusherra is celebrated for 10 special days, which ends with Vijaya Dasami, followed by Visarjana, culmination of Puja.

Durga means the Un-Attainable. She is worshiped as Mahishasuramardhini, the conqueror of the buffalo demon, Mahisha.There is a buffalo in each and every one of us, the slow beast symbolizing ignorance ( Tams), a demon that is hampering our spiritual growth. Buffalo is the vehicle of the God of death, in other words death rides on ignorance. Worship of Durga helps us to conquer ignorance and throws light on the fogged mind and soul. Tremendous of spiritual exercise is needed to attain this Magnificent goddess, DURGA . Many life births and numerous experiences leads us to her. Once we have seen a tiny peek of this Glorious DURGA there is no going back. Sri Ramakrishna Pramahamsa was one of the great souls who conquered Ma Kali or Durga. Once Durga is achieved, Pure Knowledge (Goddess Saraswati) and Abundance of Wealth( Goddess Lakshmi) will surrender to you. But on the contrary when one has seen the Magnificent Light of Durga, “the feeling of the materialistic want” undergoes a sea of change. Prosperity does not depend on the bank balance but our contended attitude towards life is the measure of our prosperity.

The Ritual to attain the unattainable Durga is called the Pu-Ja. Pu ( means purification of the soul and redemption of all sins) and Ja (means putting an end to the endless cycles of birth and death). Puja and all the rituals that go along with it, if performed with right attitude, faith and devotion, will purify our mind and lead us to the final destiny.

Once we begin to aspire for this glorious condition, we would naturally be exuberant. This is the victory of the higher self over the lower self. In each ones life, the day we throw light on our ignorance and see beyond illusions to what is REAL, that day will be the true "Vijaya Dasami" Vijaya Dasami signifies ones victory over the 10 senses, Five senses of perception (Jnanendriyas) and Five organs of action (Karmendriyas).

During the Visarjana (Immersion) ceremony, which is the culmination of all the Pujas, huge idols of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are immersed in the river Ganga (literally means, flow of knowledge). God is Infinite and we are only finitely equipped to understand part of the Truth / God. How can we measure the infinite with the limited resources we have? So, we try to bring down the Infinite Formless God within our limited compass by giving a form and a name. We go from known to the Unknown, from forms to Formless and ultimately knowing thyself which is no different from Thee. This enlightenment leads one to see the we whole world as one homogeneous family and rise up with unconditional love.

Our ancestors knew the right path to the inner self. They introduced this to the society, so that the future generations would evolve mentally, intellectually and spiritually. Did we assimilate their experience? We have only picked up the superficial content and thought that was the complete truth, due to our limitations. All we can do is, ask the Divine Merciful Mother for forgiveness of our ignorance, for we know not what we do and nor what we ought to do.

- Janhavee

Asato Ma Sat Gamaya

Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya

Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

Translation:

Lead Us From the Unreal To Real,
Lead Us From Darkness To Light,
Lead Us From Death To Immortality,
Aum Let There Be Peace Peace Peace. -

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.