Navratri and its Spiritual Aspects

 

Photo Credit: Pinterest | Selfshine on BK Shivani

Navratri and its Spiritual Aspects

Navratri is a festival celebrated by Hindus all over the world – this is a period of nine nights which transform the negative energies of life into positive energies. Navratri means the nine nights of a spiritual festival in which the nine chakras are awakened and harmonized in the mind-body and spirit system. It is that time in which one connects the individual consciousness with the divine and auspicious collective consciousness

The main essence of the festival is for celebrating the victory of good over evil and above all embracing the spirit of joy and oneness, and leaving behind and letting go of all that is limiting and hindering our spiritual growth. The dances which take place during this festival are for inculcating a spirit of freedom, bliss, joy, happiness and fulfilment in a manner which is natural and quite effortless.

Navratri indicates the change of seasons – seasons have different effects on one’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. A divine power controls the movement of the stars and celestial bodies. It makes the earth rotate around the Sun causing night and day and climatic changes, creating a perfect abode for sustaining life. This festival is devoted to the Goddess Durga and her nine forms – during this period many chakras and nadis get purified.

The first set of nights are spent meditating upon the Divine Feminine in her powerful and destructive aspect known as Durga or Kali. We ask the goddess to help us identify and eliminate those aspects of our self that are not helpful, skillful, or productive, such as greed, envy, procrastination, laziness, lying, gossiping, etc. We also ask her to protect our spiritual practice from its many dangers and pitfalls.

The second set of nights are spent meditating upon the Divine Mother in her spiritual wealth-giving aspect known as Lakshmi. We ask the goddess to help us develop and maintain helpful qualities, such as patience, forgiveness, compassion, loving-kindness, and integrity.

The third set of nights are spent meditating upon the Divine Feminine in her spiritual wisdom-bestowing aspect known as Sarasvati. We ask the goddess to help us to achieve self-realisation and understand universal truths such as our divine nature and the interconnectedness of living beings. The tenth day is spent offering gratitude to the Divine Mother and is spent celebrating in a state of sat-chit-ananda or truth-consciousness-bliss.

This is the significance of the festival and if we practice it in the manner indicated it truly helps us connect with our deeper consciousness and become one with it. Spirituality in India is ingrained in the DNA of all the people, all that has to be done is to awaken it from the centuries of slumber which was caused by invaders and foreign rule. It is all slowly and steadily coming back into the forefront of our day-to-day life – this is the only way we can get peace in our world – first with individual inner peace and then the collective inner peace – ultimately leading to Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam – the world as one family!