Who does not want strength and power? Who does not wish to be powerful in every way? Who does not wish to possess skill, capability, and success? People love success, power, and prosperity. Everyone wants to be strong, beautiful, wealthy, healthy, attractive, influential, and intelligent. All the abilities that we want are called shakti (power) in Sanskrit. It is possible for capable and hardworking people to acquire shakti by cultivating character within themselves.
Since time immemorial, during the Vedic period of human civilization, worshipping the omnipotent feminine aspect of the Divine in the form of eternal Motherhood as the source of strength (shakti) has been practiced. The Vedic rishis contemplated and discovered how to utilize accumulated shakti (power) for living and serving creation, which is the true worship of the Divine. They harnessed their strength, energy, and power, conserving and preserving power (shakti) in various ways through self-discipline.
In the modern Western lifestyle, emphasis is placed on developing skills to earn power, potential, and capability. These skills are often used to exploit both other people and nature for personal enjoyment. Typically, individuals who possess such power tend to want to pose and impose their views, attitudes, and authority on others.
Western scholars and intellectuals over the last few centuries have studied Indology and attempted to understand India's way of life. They viewed the Vedic worship of the Divine Mother as nothing but nature worship and idol worship. However, the people of the Vedic period were not idol worshippers; rather, they honored and worshipped ideals. They did not worship nature itself; they loved nature and preserved it as the presence of God. They revered only one God, the reality behind all deities. They worshipped one Divine power (shakti) within every aspect of nature. This reverence for nature made them hesitant to abuse, misuse, or exploit nature and the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space. They learned to honor and respect all aspects of nature that were utilized in daily life.
Let us consider our bodies. The body contains seven aspects of energy or power (shakti) activated in the seven chakras, the energy centers in the spine.
The muladhara chakra at the coccyx in the spine represents monetary power (dhana shakti). In the sacral svadhishthana chakra lies the power of physical pleasure (sambhoga shakti). The lumbar manipura chakra contains the powers of eating, digesting, beauty, health, and physical strength (bhoga shakti). The dorsal anahata chakra governs the power to influence or control others with love or strength (aham shakti). In the cervical vishuddha chakra the power of speech and creativity manifests through communication, writing, singing, and philosophical thoughts (vak shakti). In the ajna chakra located near the pituitary gland is the power of the soul (atma shakti), and in the sahasrara chakra at the fontanel is the power of the Divine (paramatma shakti).
One power of God manifests in the seven centers and in different sense organs, such as the eyes, ears, and so forth, thus giving rise to the power of vision (darshana shakti) and the ability to hear (shravana shakti), among others. In other words, human life is a play of power (shakti), pleasure, and perfection.
God brought us into the world to grow and glow and then to finally leave through ultimate emancipation. In creation God has given us the ability to learn, earn, and enjoy. God has provided us with sense organs and sense objects. God has also given us the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong, or good and bad, enabling us to make healthy decisions at every step of life. The choice is in our hands. A wrong decision can lead to a long path back to our Beloved.
Life is not monotonous; it is a continuous joyful celebration. Monotony and mechanical living lead to melancholy and gradual madness. Since ancient times, humans started celebrating to add beauty and bliss to life by breaking the monotony.
Celebration creates flavor and fun. Celebrations transfer wealth from the rich to the poor because the rich spend more on celebrations as active participants, while others share their skills and talents. Since time immemorial India has been a land of celebrations. Every month several celebrations occur that add to the joy of human life. Celebration rejuvenates life. In other words, we can make life a continuous celebration. Then celebration becomes life, and life becomes a celebration.
Every celebration needs elaborate preparation. This keeps our minds engaged with activity and joy. Everyone, from the elderly to little children, can partake in the joyful preparation and observation of celebrations. When our minds are busy with noble activities, our minds are in high spirits, and life is naturally full of joy and contentment. In light of this, sages and saints, seers and seekers, have initiated countless celebrations in India. Among these, Navaratri is quite special and is celebrated several times each year.
Navaratri Has Symbolic Meanings.
Let us understand the meaning and purpose of Navaratri. Navaratri is a compound Sanskrit word formed from nava and ratri.
Nava is defined as nuyate stuyate iti: "that which is appreciated and adored." A few other meanings include "hymn," "prayer," "praise," "new," "youthful," and the number "nine." Ratra or ratri is a beautiful word. Sage Narada (Narada Pancha Ratra 1:44) states, ratram ca jnana vacanam jnanam pancavidham smrtam. "Ratram indicates knowledge, and it can be of five kinds." Ratram is derived from the root verb (to give) and is described as rati dadāti karmabhyaḥ avasaram nidradi sukham va: "Ratram (ratri) is that which bestows rest from all activity and grants happiness through sleep and the like."
The number "nine" is a special number that is considered divine (brahmasamkhya). The digits of any multiplication of nine can be summed up and will equal nine. In other words, the creation of the Divine is the multiplication of the Divine and is permeated by the Divine.
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