The festival of Navratri is celebrated with prayers and gaiety at the beginning of the Ashwin (autumn) and the beginning of Chaitra (spring).‘Ratri’ means night and night brings rejuvenation. Matter reverts to its original form to recreate itself again and again.

Navratri is an occasion for one to take the mind back to its source. The seeker gets back to the true source through fasting, prayer, silence and meditation. The inward journey nullifies our negative karmas.  The nine days of Navratri are also an opportunity to rejoice in the three primordial qualities that make up the universe. Though our life is governed by the three gunas, we seldom recognise and reflect on them. 

The first three days of Navaratri are attributed to tamo guna, (it leads to depression, fear and emotional instability) the second three to rajo guna (this leads to anxiety and feverishness) and the last three days to sattva guna (when Sattva dominates then we are clear, focused, peaceful and dynamic). Our consciousness sails through the tamo and rajo gunas and blossoms in the sattva guna of the last three days. The three primordial gunas are considered the feminine force of our magnificent universe. By worshiping the Mother Divine during Navaratri, we harmonise the three gunas and elevate sattva in the atmosphere. Whenever sattva dominates in life, victory follows.The essence of this knowledge is honoured by celebrating the tenth day as Vijaydashmi. 

Recognising the one divinity in every form and every name is the celebration of Navratri. Click To Tweet

The Mother Divine is recognised not just as the brilliance of intellect (buddhi), but also the confusion (bhranti); she is not just abundance (lakshmi), she is also hunger (shudha) and thirst (trishna). Realising this aspect of the Mother Divine in the entire creation leads one to a deep state of Samadhi. This gives an answer to the age-old theological struggle of the Occident. 

Through wisdom, devotion and nishkama karma, one can attain advaita siddhi or perfection in the non-dual consciousness. Kali is the most horrific manifestation of Nature. Nature symbolises beauty, yet it has a horrific form. Acknowledging the duality brings a total acceptance in the mind and puts the mind at ease.  Though the microcosm is very well within the macrocosm, its perceived separateness is the cause of conflict.

For a gyani (wise), the entire creation becomes alive and he recognises life in everything in the same way children see life in everything. The Mother Divine or the pure consciousness itself pervades all the forms and has all the names. Recognising the one divinity in every form and every name is the celebration of Navratri.