Navratri 2011: Celebrating The Mother Goddess During The Festival Of Nine Nights (PHOTOS)

Navratri is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin. In 2011, Navratri starts on Sept. 28 and lasts until Oct. 6. Durga Puja celebrations begin on Oct. 1, 2011.

Navratri is the Hindu festival of nine nights dedicated to the glorification of Shakti, the feminine form of the Divine. During these nine nights, the mother goddess is worshipped in nine different forms. Navratri culminates on the 10th day with the festivities of Vijayadashami, also known as Dusshera. A common greeting during this festival is Shubh Navratri (Happy Navratri).

Navratri is celebrated all over India and among the Hindu diaspora with great fanfare. Prior to the festival, skilled artisans prepare clay models of the goddess in her various manifestations. Many Hindus take part in special ceremonies, rituals, fasts and festivities. People buy new clothes, prepare delicious sweets and buy gifts for family and friends. During Navratri, many Hindus in Gujarat and elsewhere wear colorful costumes and perform a special type of vigorous dance known as garba. Traditionally, garbas are performed around an earthen lamp or images / statues of the mother goddess.

In eastern India and in the Bengali diaspora, during the last six nights of Navratri, the goddess Durga is worshipped in a grand manner. She is venerated in the form of a fierce, but kind many-armed goddess riding atop a lion or a tiger, and stamping on the demon Mahishashura. On the 10th day following Navratri, the statue of the goddess Durga is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with singing and dancing to be immersed in a river or the sea.

In north India, Vijayadashami, also known as Dusshera is the 10th day following Navratri. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil, and marks the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. Huge effigies of Ravana are burnt on this day.

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Comments

[iLdoRight]

08:30 AM on 11/23/2011

Caption suggestion; " Doesn't This Prove We Are Something ? "

[Jonny Boy]

12:54 PM on 10/04/2011

Navarati is not just about Indian celebration. It is celebrated by Hindus all over the world. I was in Nepal (worlds only Hindu nation) once during this festival and they have their own way of celebrating the nine days. It is called Dashi and it is their national festival. Had some good foods and great time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasain

[DoesItMatter]

07:25 PM on 10/04/2011

Nepal is no longer a Hindu country.

[Iron100]

03:13 AM on 10/08/2011

neither is india

[DoesItMatter]

12:19 PM on 10/04/2011

Indian dresses are possibly the hottest thing any woman could wear. Such a variety, so many styles and color. Wow.

[Neil Swaminarayan]

08:08 PM on 10/01/2011

The Surest Way To See God
The most essential ingredient in the spiritual world is faith. No matter how weather-beaten you struggle, faith should always flourish. At the end of the Second World War the Allied forces as they swept across Germany found these words scratched on a crumbling wall by a victim of the Holocaust:
I believe in the Sun - even when it does not shine
I believe in Love - even when it is not shown
I believe in God - even when he does not speak.
However there is one sure and absolute route to seeing and communicating with God. A genuine aspirant, carrier of unswerving faith and unflagging determination, if he surrenders unto the enlightened spiritual guru, the vision and knowledge of God is revealed to him. A classic example is Narendra Nath, a brilliant young brain burdened with a thousand doubts. He questioned Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
"Have you seen God?"
"Yes," came the reply
"How?"
"As I see you."
That was it. Enough to cure his agnostic deformity. The short answers sparked across a divine impulse of honesty and surety. A fresh flower of faith sprung alive within him, which he plucked and offered to Ramakrishna, his spiritual Guru from thereafter. The young man was to become Swami Vivekanand.
Thus to see and experience God one must seek out an enlightened Guru and implicitly serve him. And today there are thousands of people who confidently testify of having touched God through Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

[Doug Sandlin]

03:25 PM on 10/01/2011

A good overview of the symbolism of Ma Durga, the Mother Goddess celebrated during the nine nights of Navratri:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga

The name Durga means "inaccessible" - and it points to some of the deeper wisdom available via Hindu symbolism:

The reason Durga is hard to reach is because she is what we are reaching *with* -- Durga is consciousness; experiential subjectivity -- and, so, she can never be reached as an object separate from ourselves -- and thus, is .... inaccessible, in the way that term is usually used.

It's a powerful pointer to the reality that all spiritual traditions at least mention: that deeper / higher consciousness and (thus) awareness are realized by turning inward, not seeking outward.

[gypsynomad]

01:00 PM on 10/01/2011

Fron tomorrow starts the bigest celebration of five day festival of the mother goddess "Durga".

[Jahnabi Barooah]

10:54 AM on 10/01/2011

A very happy Navratri to all who celebrate it!

[LintLass]

03:30 PM on 09/30/2011

(Slight sidebar, but I've been wondering why, since the change of ownership of Huffpo, we've stopped seeing any Pagan/earth-centered articles here, and far fewer of nearly anyone else but the usual Monotheists-and-monotheist-minded-atheists for content here. Obviously, there's a lot of material here to cover. ie, ....everything about everyone else. )

[capscorp]

02:50 PM on 09/30/2011

too many Muslims trying to preach here ... copy pasting Muslim quotes and trying to rip apart Hinduism in Hindu section is ridiculous and offensive to followers... go to the Muslim section and post w/e you want.. no one will care anyway !!!

[Jay Patel]

12:05 PM on 09/30/2011

To both my Hindu and Muslim Friends--
Sri Ramakrishna achieved enlightenment through the practice of Vedanta, Islam, and Christianity.
Whats the point--To the Hindu friends who have a problem with monotheisms--Ramakrishna lived the monotheistic traditions and achieved enlightenment. It wasn't merely discursive learning that led him to say all paths to God are valid. Hence, either they are valid paths to God or Ramakrishna was deluded. Last I checked I haven't met one person of the Hindu faith who would be so arrogant to remotely accuse Ramakrishna of being deluded.
To the Muslim Friends--The issue of Idolatry isn't as simple as it is made out to be, specially when it comes to the Hindu Tradition. Hindu tradition is the first and the only living Primordial tradition.
I take Frithjof Schuon's position that the multiplicity of religions simply cannot be reconciled on the human plane which is why his famous work is titled "Transcendent Unity of Religions" and not "Immanent Unity of Religions" since at the level of relativity it is very hard to reconcile this issue.
Peace!!

[sandalwood]

12:54 PM on 09/30/2011

Ramakrishna showed that any number of ways exist to focus and still the mind, and which is the primary lesson, not that adhering to this or that faith is the key.

The issue is the fruits of the various paths in this world, historically. It is clear that the evangelizing monotheisms have a lot to answer for in terms of violence against the 'other', and which STILL goes on worldwide, and which is due to the metaphysics believed in, as if anything other than stilling the mind is necessary.

[Jay Patel]

01:35 PM on 09/30/2011

Sandalwood,

The issue was of the validity of the different paths which I believe they all are. Ramakrishna has additional force since he actually lived the paths and said they all lead to the same Source, which is what I believe as well.
Curious as to your thoughts on the 2 other paths of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. What is your opinion on Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga?

[sandalwood]

02:34 PM on 09/30/2011

It is the immanent unity of ways to focus the mind. The belief systems, which people get caught up in are besides the point. Thus, its not about there being some transcendent unity of belief systems (religions), but an immanent unity of ways devised to focus the still the mind. For this reason, Hindus accept all ways as potentially useful, as long as they are ethically sound. It would've come as a shock that Muslim invaders did not understand this, and instead held out their way as the perfected, final way etc. etc. etc.

[Jay Patel]

04:17 PM on 09/30/2011

Sandalwood,

I think we are saying the same thing in different ways. In principle we agree that all paths are valid.
The Transcendent Unity Implies that the Source of these paths are the same though they appear to be different and rightfully so as they come at different times and are addressed to different people under different circumstances. Hence, the goal is the same and the One as well.

[Jay Patel]

09:41 AM on 10/02/2011

Sandalwood,

Good sunday morning!! Im enjoying my metaphysical bliss:) Come join me:)

[Pradip Gangopadhyay]

10:06 AM on 09/30/2011

What is the relationship between Hindu Deities like Ma kali and Brahman? I am posting below a poem by the Sakta Master Ramprasad who says that the Mother is the same as Brahman!!!

How are you trying, O my mind, to know the nature of God?
You are groping like a madman locked in a dark room.
He is grasped through ecstatic love, how can you fathom Him without it?
Only through affirmation, never negation can you know Him;
Neither through Veda nor through Tantra nor the six Darshanas.

It is in love's elixir only that he delights, O mind;
He dwells in the body's inmost depths, in everlasting joy.
And for that love, the mighty yogis practice yoga from age to age;
When love awakens, the Lord like a magnet draws to Him the soul.

He it is says Ramprasad, that I approach as Mother;
But must I give away the secret, here in the market place?
From the hints I have given, O mind, guess what that being is!

(English Translation by Swami Nikhilananda)

[LintLass]

11:15 AM on 09/30/2011

*smiles.* Well, blessed be. :)

[Pradip Gangopadhyay]

09:22 AM on 09/30/2011

What is the point of idol worship?

The beginner's point of view about Idol worship or more correctly worship of God using an image is that the image is used as an aid for concentration. Another view is that the image is a symbol of God.
The more advanced person views the consecrated image as an image of spirit. God, of course, exists throughout the universe as consciousness. There is, however, a special presence in the consecrated image. This can be actually seen and felt by the advanced Yogi.

[Pradip Gangopadhyay]

09:17 AM on 09/30/2011

Are Hindu Deities real?

The answer is that Hindu Deities are projections of Brahman onto the mind. So they are as real as Brahman is real. I quote below a conversation recorded in Ramakrishna Kathamrita (translated as The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna):

Ramdayal (to Shashadhar):"The scriptures speak of Brahman's form as a projection of mind. Who is it that projects?"
Shashadhar:"It is Brahman Itself that does so. It is no projection of man's mind".
Pratap:"Why does Brahman project the form?"
Sri Ramakrishna:"You ask why? Brahman doesn't act in consultation with others. It is
Brahman's pleasure. Brahman is self-willed."

Are Hindu Deities Personal Gods?
There is no such thing as Personal Gods. Hindu Deities are personalities without being persons. I give a quote below to make this point:

Think of Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, as a shore less ocean. Through the cooling influence as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has frozen at places into blocks of ice. In other words, God now and then assumes various forms for His lovers and reveals Himself to them as a Person. But with the rising of the sun of knowledge, the blocks of ice melt. Then one doesn't feel any more that God is a Person, nor does one see God's forms. What He is can not be described. Who will describe Him? He who would do so disappears. He cannot find his 'I' anymore.
----- Sri Ramakrishna

[capscorp]

05:21 PM on 09/29/2011

peter010908

tat is exactly the point you don't want to learn or listen to other viewpoints.. just want to pass time by trolling around..

since you are so set against polytheism I thought you would have valid arguments and done your home work.. BUT how convenient.. no GOD.. no reason to read or learn or use your brain !!!
just another lousy person whose last reason to hate any religion blindly is argument of Atheism..

P.S. Atheist aren't sooo into hating any religion they are just not into religion.. so tat makes you either a Muslim or Christian hater...

[kodimirpal]

12:07 PM on 09/29/2011

The Creator is body-less and pure. "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship Sambhuti." Yajurveda 40:9

What is Sambhuti?

It means all sorts of created things including statues and idols.

The Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being:

"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone." [Rigveda 8:1:1]

"Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator." [Rigveda 5:1:81]

"He is One only without a second." [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]

"There is no likeness of Him" (Svetasvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19)

"Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."

"There is no likeness of Him." "His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."

there are many layers of believers in all religions, in the case of Hindus far too many people in india follow the above monotheistic ideas and many illiterate who worship the idols, statues( not as symbols) as real powerful gods.

Ignorant Muslims who go to the shrines of saints and worship the graves are in the same situation.

But at the higher level-that of Swami Vivekananda and Dr. Radhakrishnan, Hindus are monotheists believing in Brahma or Ishwar as the one and only God and they do not practise idolatry

Some are overwhelmingly philosophising some of the wrongs unfortunately

[Tenjikuronin]

02:24 PM on 09/29/2011

There's nothing wrong with worshiping idols.

[kodimirpal]

02:06 AM on 09/30/2011

The following may help to enhance your understanding on worshipping idols

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry

[Goutham Vishy]

02:42 PM on 09/29/2011

Hindus are not monotheistic, Please try to learn something from the various posters who have been commenting here. And please stop quoting verses which seem to agree with ideas that support your beliefs. Hinduism is 'MONISTIC'. Stop using Hinduism to justify or validate the absurdities of your beliefs.
And I wonder why you don't mention the verses that ridicule a personal GOD or what 'Brahman' is defined as in Hinduism.

[LintLass]

04:13 PM on 09/29/2011

What you said. Pretty arrogant of this 'Kodmirpal' to try and project his own demands onto a faith he doesn't understand, and its writings.

[Doug Sandlin]

05:29 PM on 09/29/2011

To be fair, though, some people maybe be unfamiliar with term "Monism", and may use "Monotheism", where they mean Monism.

Example: The mystical traditions associated with the commonly-termed Monotheistic religions -- such as Kabbalah / Judaism, Gnostic and Mystical Christianity, and Sufism / Islam, are clearly Monistic / Non-Dual (Advaitic), especially at the deepest levels of their teachings.

There's a quote from a Sufi teacher that is very monistic in nature, that Sandalwood and I both resonated with quite a bit -- I don't recall if you've seen it; I'll post it in another comment, per length.

Point Being: I tend to see Kodimirpal's comments as being quite a bit less dogmatic than you and Sandalwood do, in almost all instances -- and I've found that if we can cut each other a bit of slack, we're often closer together in our views than may seem to be the case from certain comment-exchanges.