Navaratri: A Celebration of Good Over Evil
I was raised Catholic and really love and appreciate what that always meant to me - a connection with a higher power, an energy that I could pray to, speak to, community, love and ritual. I have always loved the rituals! I also have loved hearing again and again that we are God’s children. That Mary is the Mother of God. Wow - THE MOTHER. I have felt a connection to her always and what she symbolizes.
The traits of purity, strength, fierceness, a young girl, a mom, Our mom, a wife, a daughter, a parent of the most amazing child, the elder one, the one who cried and endured. The list goes on. We were created in Her image, as humans. And yet, she also appears in holy places, answers our prayers and lives in us. She is EVERY mother and son. She is in all of us.
For these reasons - I love the many aspects of the Divine Mother in all her forms.
Each Spring and Fall there is the most wonderful festival in celebration, in honor of the Divine Mother as the Goddess Durga, the slayer of the demons. Based in the 700-verse scripture, the Durga Saptashati, the goddess had nine unique forms.
These exquisite, fierce, yet compassionate forms of the Mother are said to have slain the demons to save the Heavens and Earth. But what this symbolizes is us, mastering the demons of our minds.
The message is the same: These forms of the mother all live inside of us, and understanding their traits can help us conquer our inner negative dialogue, our negative traits, and align with that part of ourselves that is courageous and loving at the same time. Everything in this philosophy has beautiful symbolism.
That’s really where the trouble all comes from, right? Fear, worry, self-doubt, negative self-talk. Our senses are in overdrive and our nerves are shot. We carry traumatic memories and ego that bring us endless problems and suffering.
There are nine different forms of the Divine Goddess in this story - one for every night. So it’s really lovely to study and meditate with the energy of each goddess on her given evening.
When the Divine Mother is at work here, we can lean into her ability to conquer the demons and yet still love them as a part of us, or what we have endured in the past. We can understand that they are also our path to freedom.
If we are able to control the mind and senses, our possibilities are limitless. In other words, our minds are our best friends and our worst enemies. So, maybe we should work on slaying a few of those demons?
Simple Ways to Honor the Goddesses (All the forms of Her)
- Clean your home: Lakshmi, another form of Her, loves a clean house
- Light a candle or lamp each evening with a prayer for Her blessing
- Offer food: Even a small portion of rice, fruit or water, with the intention of offering her nourishment
- Practice mantra: Recite “Om Dum Durgaye Namaha”
- Acts of service: Offering charity to any charity that supports Women
Starting March 19 and for the next 9 nights, we will be meeting live on Zoom (and recorded for those that need a different time) to meditate on her unique form of the evening. We will explore how these same energies live within us and the symbolism we can use to help us align with her.
There is no heavy lifting here. Just a group of meditators honoring the divine that lives within us. Beginners are more than welcome!
And if you think you have done this before - I am sure we will be awakening new and exciting facets of you that you can now see with a clearer view.
I am really excited to share this with you and let our energy as a group help bring peace to the world.
Namaste,
René
