Story Of Navaratri
by Jaya Asthana

Navratri is known as the Festival of Nights. It begins on the first day of the Hindu month of Ashwin and is dedicated to honoring the three Devis – Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Total worship lasts for nine days, out of which the first three are dedicated to Durga (the Devi of Strength and Valor), the next three to Lakshmi (the Devi of Wealth and Prosperity) and the last three to Saraswati (the Devi of Knowledge). The images of Devi Durga are created, worshipped and immersed in a sea or lake. In Gujarat, Garbha dance is performed. In the South, houses are decorated, and toys are displayed.

The invocation of various forms of Devi is not without significance. Devi Durga is known as the one who killed the demons that terrorized devoted religious seekers. So also in our minds are the monsters of passion, lust, greed, jealousy, which must be annihilated before we can reach spiritual fulfillment. By invoking Durga/Kali we are invoking our own power to destroy negative forces within. Think positive and remove negative forces from your mind to achieve success.

Durga is a manifestation of an aggressively good person. Her basic nature is good. She uses her intellect (ability to discriminate between right and wrong) continuously. Such a person studies facts, foresees consequences and reasons carefully.

As a mother goddess, she is usually addressed as Maa Durga and in the Bengali Tradition, is also known as the mother of Kartik (the warrior-god), Ganesh (the elephant-headed god), Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth and prosperity), and Saraswati (the goddess of learning).

Durga is the most splendid manifestation of the Devi. Virginal and sublime, contained within her are the powers of all the gods combined. She is the invincible power of Nature who triumphs over those who seek to subjugate her. Goddess Durga is also known as "Mahamaya", the Mother of the Universe who embodies the primeval source of all power.

The name Durga means Invincible / Unconquerable / Unattainable / Beyond Reach. Durga is depicted as a warrior woman of dazzling beauty and energy, with 3 lotus-like eyes, hair in the form of black pearls, a golden glowing skin and riding a lion with ten powerful arms carrying weapons and assuming mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. This form of the Goddess is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy (Shakti).

Full of superstition and misunderstood tradition, some people believe that the scriptures ask us to be docile, passive people. India has been ruled for a thousand years due to such misunderstanding. The scriptures ask us to be aggressive if the cause is noble. If protecting our country means we must be aggressive, so be it.

Having destroyed the negative forces, we should move to the positive aspects. That is done by Shree Lakshmi Pooja. Lakshmi is the Devi of wealth, both material and spiritual. In our country people worshipped wealth with religious fervor, and thus it is not surprising that as long as the tenets of the Vedas were nicely prevalent in our country India was the richest country in the world, attracting traders from all over the world.

However, the culture which asks us to respect wealth, also symbolically shows the place of wealth in life. Lakshmi is shown sitting at the feet of Narayan, serving him. Wealth should be used for goodness and pursuit of the truth. However, Lakshmi does not represent the external wealth only but the inner wealth too, like the qualities of love, kindness, devotion, patience, charity etc. At the end of the second phase of the festival, these divine qualities should have replaced the negative thoughts.

Having developed these divine traits, next is the invocation of Saraswati, the Devi of Knowledge. It is only when one has eliminated the negatives in one's mind and inculcated some positive virtues that realization of truths and facts is possible. The summum of Indian traditions, values, culture and philosophy is to make everyone more awakened and knowledgeable. Knowledge alone is the singularly most potent factor to make the real difference in our lives, for our professional success and our inner contentment. Invocation of the blessings of Devi Saraswati involves concrete steps to pursue knowledge, like going to the teacher, study of the Shastras, reflection and meditation.

STORY

Once in a small village in India, there lived a poor farmer. He was very religious and devoted to Devi. The small village had a temple for the Devi and held the Navratri festival every year. One year, the poor farmer decided to go to the temple during Navratri. People from far and near offered valuables like money, fine clothes and jewelry made of gold and diamonds to the Devi. The poor farmer wanted to offer something nice to the Devi. He decided to offer her his scythe and sieve. He went to the temple and made his offering. After the pooja was over, he continued to sit in the temple. He had just offered his tools to the Devi and had no other way of earning even his food. After everyone had gone, Devi came and asked him why he was still sitting in the temple. "I offered you my scythe and sieve. I have no way of earning a livelihood and cannot even afford food for my family." The Devi was touched by his plight and his selfless offering. She gave him a basket and said, "You and your family will never go hungry. Take this basket and it will provide you with the choicest of foods."

The overjoyed farmer took the basket and thanked the Devi for her kindness and went home. He asked the basket to provide him with some rice and daal. The basket gave him the tastiest daal and rice. He ate the rice and daal and next asked for some potato curry. The basket obliged giving him the most delicious potato curry. He then asked the basket for some sweets, rosogulla and Sandesh, and lo and behold the basket gave him the sweets that were the most delectable.

The poor farmer had never been able to entertain anybody. He was so happy, and he wanted to share his happiness with everyone. He invited the whole village for a feast. The head of the village told him that the King was visiting the village, so he invited the king and his entourage too. Everyone knew how poor the farmer was and were astonished at the invitation, nevertheless they went to his house for the feast at the appointed day and hour.

The basket worked its magic, and everyone had the most sumptuous lunch. The King was curious as to how the farmer was able to feed the large crowd. His courtiers soon found out about the magical basket. The king thought, "this basket should belong to the king and not a peasant." He instructed his soldiers to snatch the basket and take it to his palace. He was not a very good King and was mean.

The basket gone and the scythe and sieve gone, the poor farmer was now again concerned about feeding his family. He went to the Devi temple and prayed to her the whole day and night. At last, the Devi came and asked what had happened. "Mother, the king took away the basket you had given. I have no means to feed my family." The Devi knew what had happened and gave the farmer another basket. She then asked him to invite the king again for a feast.

The farmer did as he was told and invited the king for a feast. The King was anxious to go to the feast. The earlier basket that he had taken from the farmer was not producing the same results. It was coughing up a few very bitter grains. The king and his entourage arrived at the farmer's house and seated themselves. The farmer then came out with the second basket and said to the king, "You know how this basket works. Just ask the basket whatever food you want, and it will provide." The hungry king began asking a long list of items. The basket suddenly rose up in the air and began giving the King all his courtiers a very sound thrashing. The King grew frightened at this strange behavior of the basket. He ordered the farmer to stop the basket, but the farmer could not. The basket just would not stop. After everyone was thoroughly beaten up, the voice of Devi said, "O King, I am very angry with you. You are supposed to provide for your subjects and take care of them. Instead, you have been greedy, and you snatched this poor farmer's basket. I know that the basket does not work for you any more. This thrashing is for your greediness. Learn your lesson and return the basket to the farmer. Rule your kingdom wisely." The King begged for Devi's forgiveness and returned the basket to the farmer.

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