This is a nine days and nine nights festival, known by the popular name of Durga Puja, as different forms of the same Goddess of power are worshipped. The season is changing and walking on tiptoe enters winter, when no one is looking. These days are full of song and dance, food and festivities. People fast for health, for spiritual gains as well as to adjust their digestive systems to winter food preferences. The festival worships Durga in her destructive, creative, and divinely prosperous forms. The invincible Durga is Lord Shiva’s spouse, and He can manifest His power only through Her. Just as electricity can destroy, sustain or create, so also can Durga, the primordial power. This Shakti (power) functions in different aspects taking on different names and forms according to the job at hand. Some of the names being: Kali, Mahishasuramardini, Bhavani, Chandi, or Shanti Durga (when dressed in white). When fighting a multi-faceted multi-pronged attack, she also takes on the terrible form of a multi-headed, multi-armed, blood drinking Kali. Just as electricity changes its form and function from heat to light to freezing cold when playing through different equipment, so does Durga. In the first three days of this festival she is worshipped as Mother Kali, the goddess of fierce destruction. She is invoked by seekers to destroy all negativities such as lust, anger, greed, etc. In the next three days one invokes Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. She enriches the emptiness with noble qualities like love, compassion and service. Then alone do knowledge and spiritual awakening take place. The last three days invoke Saraswati, the goddess of learning, who makes Brahma Gyan possible. This knowledge destroys our ego, which is symbolically celebrated on the tenth day by burning an effigy of a ten headed and twenty armed monster, our multi-faceted ego. The day is also called, Vidyarambha, the Dawn Of Knowledge.
Prarthna Saran, President Chinmaya Mission Delhi. Email: prarthnasaran@gmail.com