WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAVRATRI FOLLOWED BY RAM NAVAMI FESTIVAL

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAVRATRI

FOLLOWED BY RAM NAVAMI FESTIVAL

In the Hindu Religion, to ward off the obstacles that may happen in the work, be it puja (worship) or something else, Lord Ganesha is first worshiped always. You will find the mantra that is usually chanted to be as below:

vakratunḍa mahākāya suryakoṭi samaprabhaḥ

nirvighna kurume deva sarva karyeṣu sarvadā

Mantra itself is self explanatory why He is first worshiped. The simple meaning is as below:

You are large bodied with a curved trunk and as radiant as billion suns. Oh d\Deva! make every work free from obstacles always!

This blessing is for all my friends, acquaintances, and near and dear one all over the Globe:

This Navratri, may you be blessed with good fortune as long as Ganeshji’s trunk, wealth   and prosperity as big as his stomach, happiness as sweet as his ladoos and may your trouble be as small as his mouse. Happy Navratri!

Those empty spaces were my silent prayers, asking Maa Durga to guide & protect you All always, in whatever YOU do & wherever YOU are!

Significance of "Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights." This festival is observed twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset of winter.  This is basically celebrated by the Hindus all over the Globe.  But let me also tell you that in Thailand the Buddhist also celebrate this festival (in fact they are the followers of many of our Hindu Festivals).  

During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga," which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?

We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children.

"Why mother; why not father?", you may ask. Let me just say that we believe that God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of us look upon God as mother. In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world, which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute.

Why Nine Nights & Days?

Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the Supreme Goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshiping the Mother as the Goddess of wisdom, Saraswati.  In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine Mother; hence, the worship for nine nights.

Thus, I suggest you join your parents in worshiping "Ma Durga" during the Navaratri. She will bestow on you wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge, and other potent powers to cross every hurdle of life. Remember, everyone in this world worships power, i.e., Durga, because there is no one who does not love and long for power in some form or the other.

"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights."

Most of the devotees celebrate this festival by making fast for whole nine days or first and last day of the Navratri to get the full blessings.  Hindu people celebrate it as a 9 days festival by organizing religious bhajan, havan, ritual kirtan and they also enjoy the Dandiya Dance and then distribution of prasad after the puja and Aarti at 9th day.  The final day of the Nava-ratri is known as the festival of Ram Navami (this festival is during this period of the year - Summer).

Ram Navami is a religious and traditional festival, celebrated every year with great enthusiasm by the people of Hindu religion. It is celebrated to remember the birthday of the Lord Rama, son of the King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya, of the Ayodhya kingdom. Lord Rama was the 7th avatar from the Dashavatar of the Lord Vishnu, a Hindu God.  According to the Hindu calendar, this festival falls every year in the Shukla Paksha at 9th day in the month of Chaitra. Ram Navami is also called as the Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami which ends as nine-day long Chaitra-Navratri celebrations.

He had vanquished Adharma from the earth and maintained the Dharma all over the earth by destroying all the Asura including Ravana. People of the Ayodhya were very happy from his new King Rama and started celebrating his birthday every year with big joy and enthusiasm as Ram Navami which is still traditionally and religiously celebrated all over the India by the people of Hindu religion.

Parsan Narang

Kolkata

7th April 2016