1. Dasara

Swami says: Swami says: During the Dasara festival, the three Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi are worshipped according to certain traditional practices. The tenth day of the festival is celebrated as the Day of Victory.

Navaratri means nine nights. Darkness is associated with night. What is this darkness? It is the darkness of ignorance. The purpose of the Navaratri celebration is to enable man to get rid of nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him.

Which of these also represent the purpose of the Navaratri festival?

2. Navaratri And Nature

Swami says:

The Navaratri celebration is an occasion for revering Nature and considering how natural resources can be used properly in the best interests of mankind. Resources like water, air, power and minerals should be used properly and not misused or wasted. Economy in the use of every natural resource is vital.

Why do you think Swami states reverence for Nature as a reason for worshipping Devi?

3. Navaratri, Nature And Humanness

Swami asks: The human body emerged from Nature. Nature has two forms: Apara Prakruthi and Para Prakruthi. Apara Prakruthi includes Ashta Aishwaryas (eight forms of wealth), and Kama, Krodha, Moha, Lobha, Mada, Matsarya and the three mental faculties in man: Manas, Chitta and Ahamkara.

Para Prakruthi (the higher Nature) represents the consciousness in man. Without the Prana (life force) and Chaithanyam (consciousness), man is only a corpse. True humanness consists in controlling the five elements which make up the Apara Prakruthi (lower Nature) and merge in the higher Nature represented by the life force and Chaithanyam (consciousness).

How do you think we should attempt to control lower nature?

4. Tripurasundari Worship and Navaratri

Swami says: During the Navaratri festival Tripurasundari is worshipped. Unfortunately, from ancient times people have been observing only the external forms of worship without understanding the inner significance of these festivals. The entire cosmos is a temple. The Lord pervades the cosmos.

What do you think is the inner significance of the term Tripurasundari?

5. The Three Devis Represent Three Potencies Within Man

Swami Says: When people worship Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi externally in pictures or icons, they are giving physical forms to the subtle potencies that are within them. The unfortunate predicament of man today is that he is not recognizing the powers within him and developing respect for them. He goes after the external, attracted by the physical forms. The relationship between the material and the subtle has to be understood.

The three represent three kinds of potencies in man. Ichcha Shakthi (Will power), Kriya Shakthi (the power of action), and Jnana Shakthi (the power of discrimination). Saraswathi is manifest in man as the power of Vak (speech). Durga is present in the form of dynamism, the power of action. Lakshmi is manifest in the form of Will power.

Swami has explained that these three powers correspond to the three potencies of the Gayathri mantra – vibration, materialisation, radiation.


Which of the three forms of Devi correspond to each of the three potencies?

6. Sublimating Iccha, Kriya And Jnana Shakthis

Swami says: In this world, for man to accomplish any task, ichcha shakthi (will power), jnana shakthi (power of discrimination), and kriya shakthi (power of action) are essential.

Ichcha shakthi refers to the determination to undertake a task. Jnana shakthi refers to the ways and means to be adopted to fulfil the task undertaken. It is not enough if you have ichcha shakthi and jnana shakthi, you need to have kriya shakthi too.

If you want to weave cloth, you need to have cotton. The cotton has to be made into thread, which in turn has to be woven. This relates to kriya shakthi. An enquiry into the type of equipment needed to do this relates to jnana shakthi. Man has got all these three potencies in him, but that is not enough. He needs to bring them together. Here, you have two types of causes: One is upadana karana (primary cause) and the other is nimitta karana (instrumental cause). A goldsmith makes ornaments using gold, but who is the one who has created gold? He is God. So, God is upadana karana and the goldsmith is nimitta karana.

Without the primordial principle, upadana karana (God), nimitta karana is useless. Swami has therefore said each of the three shakthis have to be used to adore Divinity.

Which of the three shakthis (Kriya, Iccha and Jnana) do you think should be converted into a yearning for God?

7. Navaratri and Transcending the Triple Gunas:

Swami says: The world is the triple complex of gunas (attributes) - Sathwik, Rajasik and Thamasik (the balanced, the passionate and the dull). The Upanishads say that thunder teaches a three-fold lesson, da da and da - to the persons entangled in these three gunas.

What do you think Swami says are the qualities indicated by the sounds da, da and da to help us transcend the three gunas?

8. Worshipping The Innate Divinity:

Swami says: The Divine is worshipped as "Devi". The term "Devi" refers to the feminine aspect. The term Sthree is used to denote a woman. There are three syllables in this term - Sa, Tha and Ra. "Sa" symbolises the Satwic aspect of a person.

In the term Sthree, the syllable "tha" represents bashfulness, modesty, self-esteem and such traits which are characteristics of women. Shyness is a predominant trait in women. They attach great value to their honour and reputation. It is because of these sacred qualities that their Tamasic aspect is significant.

The third quality, symbolised by the syllable "Ra", is Rajas. Such qualities as sacrifice and high-mindedness in women reflect the Rajasic aspect of their nature. When the Tamasic elements attempt to subvert the Satwic qualities, they are ready to combat and vanquish them.

To pacify the dreaded Goddess, Her feminine children offer worship to Her with red kumkum (sacred red powder).

What is the significance of the worship of Devi with kumkum powder?

9. Daily Worship Of The Visible Devi

Swami warns: The supreme Shakthi manifests herself in the form of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. Durga grants to us energy - physical, mental and spiritual.

Lakshmi bestows on us wealth of many kinds - not just money but intellectual wealth, the wealth of character and others. Even health is a kind of wealth. She grants untold riches to us.

And Saraswathi bestows on us intelligence, the capacity for intellectual enquiry and the power of discrimination. The Navaratri festival is celebrated in order to proclaim to the world the power of the goddesses.

Who is the visible goddess that Swami says we should adore daily, and not just during the Navaratri?

10. Vijayadasami And Sai Devotees

Swami says: The Navarathri festival, Shivarathri and Sankranthi (festival dedicated to Sun God) are observed as memorable days marking the destruction of demonic forces by the Divine.

Vijayadasami is the day when the evil-minded Ravana, who was well-versed in all the sciences and was very powerful, was destroyed. The Suddha Padyami in the Asayuja month was the day in which the combined powers of the three goddesses, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi (Ichcha Shakthi, Kriya Shakthi and Jnana Shakthi) put an end to the evil forces represented by Mahishasura (the buffalo-headed demon).

Vijayadasami is also the day when the Asura King, Ravana, was destroyed and Sri Rama was crowned at Ayodhya. It is the day on which the great Emperor Vikramaditya ascended his bejewelled throne acquired as a boon.

What is the other special significance of Vijayadasami Day to Sai Devotees across the world?