Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Drishtikone

Home
Hindu
Navratri: Celebration of the Devi, the Feminine Divine

Navratri: Celebration of the Devi, the Feminine Divine

Last updated on: October 5, 2013 at 6:17 pm by Desh Kapoor

Navratri: Celebration of the Devi, the Feminine Divine 2013-10-05T18:17:49-05:00 Desh Kapoor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Femininity and Masculinity are taken as two qualities of the existence in Hinduism and in most Eastern traditions. Eastern mystics called it Yin and Yang. In Hinduism, this is posited as Purush and Prakriti – and the highest of all beings – Shiva – is said to be an Ardhanareshwar. Half man and half woman. But he is called so not because ONLY he was a combination of Feminine and Masculine; but because in him the two qualities were completely balanced and more importantly, he was the first to realize them in him.

As Sadhguru Jaggi says “That you are a man is a fact, but that you are both man and a woman is the truth”. For, it took one half of a man and one half of woman to make a complete you.

Femininity has been described as the flowering aspect of the creation. The nurturing, the art, the music, the love, the blossoming. Masculinity is the survival aspect. The Fight, the Violence, the Economics, the Production and Manufacturing, the ability to stand your ground.

Whatever is the highest virtue in a society, that becomes the idea of the Divine. In the early Nature-oriented pagan societies, everything from Food to Earth to Rivers were called Divine. As long as Femininity is considered high enough to be divine, the nurturing and the blossoming will never go away from a society. When openly or intrinsically, the Masculine rules over and destroys the Femininity, only Survival becomes the sine qua non of the society. Since the advent of the Abrahamic religions, the concept of Femininity as Divine has been systematically and deliberately destroyed.

It is only in India today that Feminine as Divine is still alive as a concept and a practice. Unfortunately, religious aspect has been bastardized by people who look at God as a mere “Deal Maker”. I will do “this” for you, O’God.. so you gotta do “that” for me. Devotion for the aspects of our live which were aligned with Divine has all but ceased. So, despite the fact that Goddess, the Feminine as Divine, is still alive in concept and practice in many places; Women are mistreated. For, its not that there is a special disregard for the Devi in India, but there is a complete disregard for the Divine as the life force itself!

It is in this context that Navratri – the Nine Nights of the Devi – assumes importance. This is the time of celebrating the Devi. The Goddess. The Divine Feminine! Today, October 5th, starts the 9 nights of the Navratri Celebrations!

Sadhguru discusses the importance and significance of Navratri in detail.

Sadhguru has also created a special deity of the Devi, the Linga Bhairavi. Those who are devoted to the Devi, the Bhairavi – can approach the Devi, in a way that will help them connect to the deepest dimensions of existence.

For those who wish to connect with Linga Bhairavi, a simple but powerful Navaratri sadhana is being offered for ladies, to experience Devi’s Grace at home. The sadhana is to be practiced every day from 5th to 13th October, by doing the following:

Light a lamp.

Chant a minimum of three cycles of the “Jai Bhairavi Devi”stuthi in front of a photo of Devi, Linga Bhairavi Gudi, Linga Bhairavi Yantra or Avighna Yantra. It is advisable to chant eleven cycles. (One cycle is the recitation of all 33 names of the Devi, as listed below)

Make an offering. There are no restrictions on what can be offered.

Celebrations

Above all, this is a time of celebration. Unbridled celebration of the creation and the creator. The Mother. The Shakti.

Personally, in my life as I look at the times I have spent during these Nine Days and Nights, I found Gujarat to be the most beautiful place to be in. Every night, celebrations start as Garba dhol (drum) starts off in almost every other locality and colony. It brings people out in their best dresses and make up. People dance away through the night to the wee hours of the morning! Here is one such Garba programs in Gujarat.

Here are some beautiful pictures from various Navratri celebrations.

Image Credit: Navratri Utsav/sheetal saini

Image Credit: Atham Havan & Yagna / Pramal

Related articles from External Sites

Previous Post

October 2, 2013

Buddha and Ananda: Sit by the side of your Mind to be meditative

Next Post

October 13, 2013 Vijay Dashami: Ram's war was NOT against Ravan, but FOR Sita

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aarti Achievement and Leadership AfPak Africa Annual and Year-end Asia Audio Australia Behavioural Sciences Bhagwad Gita Bhagwad Gita Blogging Blogs Business Business Intelligence Business Strategy Cannes Careers Chanakya China Conservation Corruption Creative Daily Links Desh Poems Development & Welfare Devotional Audio Devotional Songs Drama Earth Economics Education Entertainment Environment Europe Everyday Quotes Featured Articles Featured Songs Finance Flickr Pictures Food Geo-Political Global Warming Globalization Health & Medicine Hinduism Historic History Humour India Indian Culture Indian music Indian Weddings Israel Issues Legal Link Love Minorities Misc Motivation and Personal Development Movie Lists Movie Reviews Movies Mumbai terror attacks Natural Disasters Nature News Outsourcing Pakistan Parenting Personal Philosophy Poetry Politics Poverty Quotes Recipe Regular Blog Post Relationships Religion Religious/Spiritual Audio Sciences Showcase Slideshow South Asia Special Stories Spiritual Quotes Spirituality Sports Stories Strategy Technology Technology Terrorism Travel Uncategorized US Video Women Women_s Rights Worship Yoga

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 September 2014 August 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Psalm is often read at funerals: "Even though I walk through the valley..."?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalm 90 Psalm 23 Psalm 51 Psalm 137