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CHAITRA Navaratri (From 31st March to 8th April 2014)
Navaratri means nine nights. It begins on a New Moon in the month of Ashwini and Chaitra. There are two more Navratri which called GUPTA NAVARATRI hence after each quarter years there are one Nvaratri. But popularly known are of Ashwini and Chaitra.
Navaratri is a very special time of honoring the Divine Mother.
Story of Navratri is – Maa Durga fought the demon Mahishaasura in her form as Goddess Chamundeshwari and on the 10th day she win. The nine days are nine steps to moksha and the goddesses give our power to find our higher self.
Rahu represents the demon in our chart. Those who want to pacify Rahu; this is the best time. Although this festival is celebrated in a big way, people forget the spiritual aspect of it and its connection to our spiritual development. To fight the fears of Rahu, the rejections of Ketu, it is important to fast during the day during these nine days with the mind set to overcome our inner fears and the resolve to confront and overcome our weaknesses.
These divine mothers are known as the Nava Durga (9 Names of Durga). Each of the days honours an aspect of Divine Mother and step by step the aspirant .
Day One: Sailaputra - Daughter of the Himalayas
Day Two: Brahmacharini - She Who remains celibate
Day Three: Chandraghanta - She Who is Beautiful as the Moon
Day Four: Kusmanda - She Who brings happiness
Day Five: Skandamata - Mother of Skanda, the leader of armies against evil
Day Six: Katyayani - Aspect of Mother Kali
Day Seven: Kalaratri - Kali Night of no Moon
Day Eight: Mahagauri - The Great White Goddess
Day Nine: Siddhidatri - She Who is of great spiritual Powers and knowledge
The days are also subdivided into 3 sets of three days. With each set of three days, you move closer to your spiritual goals.
Kali: The first three days are devoted to Kali, the Goddess of Destruction and Restoration. She is the wife of Shiva. It is a time of purification, a time to let go of all that is not right for your life so that the heart is clear to accept the new energy from the divine. This is also a time to control the demons of Rahu, the desires, the needs , the fears that keep us tied to the world and give rise to more and more desires and therefore disappointments in life.Goddess Kali helps to purify your mind and free it up for new possibilities. The mind has to be free of its old obsessions and desires, only then it is ready to take on new information.
Lakshmi: The second three days are devoted to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity and wealth. She is the wife of Vishnu; it is a time of preservation of your good nature and what is good in your life and acquiring new things ethically that make your life wealthy and prosperous. Think about preserving and acquiring spiritual wealth.Goddess Laxmi help you preserve what is good already and make positive steps to make yourself wealthy both materially and spiritually.
Saraswati: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts. She is the wife of Brahma. This is the time of receiving Divine Guidance on how to properly use all resources.Goddess Saraswati gives the knowledge and the wisdom to embrace the path of Brahman and overcome any obstacles on the path to moksha. If we do this ritual annually then we will slowly but surely find the path to realisation.
Swami Sivananda says that to the sincere spiritual aspirant, the particular division of the Navaratri into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the Supreme Goddess has a very sublime, yet thoroughly practical truth to reveal. In its cosmic aspect, it epitomises the stages of the evolution of man into God, from Jiva, living soul to Shiva, the state of Self-realisation.
Dusehra (Vijya dashami) - 3 October 2014,
Lord Rama fought with the demon Ravana for nine days and nine nights when the Sun went in Virgo all those centuries ago.Lord Rama prayed to Durga to give him strength to fight the demon ago and on the 10th day he emerged victorious on Vijaya dashami also known as Dussherra. Maa Durga fought the demon Mahishaasura in her form as Goddess Chamundeshwari and on the 10th day she emerged victorious.
Dhanteras - 21 October 2014.
Krishna Trayodashi of Ashwin Month Dhan means wealth and teras is short for Trayodhasi, the 13th day of the tithi of the lunar month. Traditionally Dhanteras is an auspicoius day where the people wait for arrival of Wealth. Those involved in the material life tend to think of this wealth in terms of money and the house is decorated to invite the goddess of wealth Laxmi into their houses. The real meaning of Dhan is spiritual wealth and Man`s aspiration for Amrita, the real wealth. Amrita is the nectar of immortality which allows the soul to let go of the shackles of this material life.
Story behind this day is - Once the ocean of milk was churned by the Gods and the Demons in search of Amrita, the nectar of immortality. First came the poisons that threatened to ruin the world. This was drunk by Shiva. Herbs, gems, Moon and Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, all emerged from this ocean. Dhanteras heralds the coming of laxmi but also of Dhanvantri, it is part of the diwali celebrations
Dhanvantri arose during Samudra manthan carrying the pot of Amrita on Ashwin trayodashi. Dhanvantri is the god of Ayurveda and the physician to the gods. Finally Dhanvantri emerged carrying the pot of Amrita and with it the secret of eternal life. Dhanvantri is the god of Ayurveda. He is a demi-god as he can only preserve life, he cannot give eternity.
Dhanvantri was given the task of helping to preserve the health of humans as so that they could fulfill the spiritual mission of this incarnation. Without good health, the soul is unable to follow its path Dhanteras is a good day to consider about your health but also learn to preserve your spiritual wealth and this will inturn give the physical strength to deal with the material but also allow you to fulfill the soul`s purpose in this incarnation.
Mantra of Dhanvantri Pooja - Om Vasudevaya Vighmahe/Vaidhyarajaya Dhimahi/Tanno Dhanwantri Prachodayat
This mantra prays to Dhanvantri for his blessings.
DEEPAWALI - 23th October 2014
The Diwali festival starts on the last day of Ashswini month and the first Day of kritika. The new Moon, Amavashya tithi is the month of kartika month when sun is in Libra is considered very auspisious . Libra represents balance and harmony. Shukra(Venus), the ruler of Libra, was the advisor to the Daityas and Rakshasas . Daityas and Rakshasas are spiritual and highly evolved beings who have lost their original pure soul. They are involved in pleasures of life and propitiating the theory of personal self and egos. Shukra or Venus as a wise seer has the mission to steer us towards our true path. Venus represents immense wisdom and insight into the ordeals and traumas which face the human ego in it?s earthly pursuits. Libra is the fulfilment of our material dreams but the start of our spiritual ones. Sun, the representative of our Soul, is debilitated in Libra. The soul is encased in the sheaths of materialism. Diwali represents a symbolic lighting of a light within our internal darkness to show us the light to direct us towards our true path.
Other story of Diwali is - The safe return of Lord Rama from his 14 year Exile after killing the demon Ravana. Lamps were lit in the darkness to show him the way. The lamps also represents the celebration of the coming of light after years of darkness while Rama was away.
PROCEDURE OF DEEPAWALI POOJAN :
Take some rice in right palm pray to lord Ganesha and invite him to present and witness this pooja and then put this rice at nicely cleaned place if it is wooden pice cover with red cloth then fine. After prayer and putting rice then place picture of Idol of lord ganesha on it. An recite following Mantra 108 times :
OM GUM GANPATIYE NAMAH
Again take pices of rice and pray and invite Goddess Lakshhami and put the rice in left side of Lord Ganesh and Put the picture of Goddess Lakshhami on it and invite her by following Mantra :
OM VIJAYA LAKSHHAMI DAVYE NAHAM VIJYA MAA AHVANAM STHAPYAMI
Then recite following mantra min 108 times :
" OM SREEM HREEM SHREEM SHREEM SHREEM HREEM SHREEM FAT "
During pooja keep lighted a lamp filled by Cow’s GHEE.
Offer lotus or any pink or red flowers, insence and sweets with fruits etc.
Deepawali is celebrated on Dark Moon, Amavasya tithi in the month of Kartika month when Sun is in Libra. This is considered very auspicious by the business people who start their financial year on this day . Prayers are held for Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth to facilitate the good financial energies. This time of the year people pray for direction and abundance in material matters. It also represents a point in life where we begin searching for our spiritual selves.
Libra is one of sign from zodiac and represents the balance and harmony of life. In Sanskrit it is called Tula- meaning a scale or Taraju where the critical balance of life is reached. This is the stage where individual egos become aware of the loss of their inherent spirituality, having become too involved in the darkness of material pursuits. Shukra(Venus), the ruler of Libra, was the GURU of Daityas. Daityas are spiritual and highly evolved beings who have lost their original pure soul. They are involved in pleasures of life and propitiating the theory of personal self and egos. In many ways they reflect the human who in their pursuit for materialism have lost direction. The true goal of each soul is to look for spiritual quest and break the bondage to human attachments. We are struggling to re-gain our natural purity. Shukra or Venus as a wise seer has the mission to steer us towards our true path. The start of the journey towards higher wisdom and consciousness is represented by Libra. Libra guides us towards achieving the fine balance between spirituality and materialism. Libra is the fulfillment of our material dreams but the start of our spiritual ones. Sun, the representative of our Soul, is debilitated in Libra. The soul is encased in the sheaths of materialism.
Deepawali represents a symbolic lighting of a light within our internal darkness to show us the light to direct us towards our true path.
There are many story behind the Deepawali out of them one very popular story is –Deepawali is celebrated for the safe return of Lord Rama from his 14 year Exile after killing the demon Ravana. Lamps were lit in the darkness to show him the way. The lamps also represents the celebration of the coming of light after years of darkness while Rama was away.
For a spiritual aspirant the darkness of materialism lifts and a new light is lit, to guide towards their inner light. This is an important day to focus on your spiritual needs and to work on the higher self through devotion to knowledge and light.
This is a major festival all over India and is celebrated by many religions including Sikhs and Jains. The foundation of the Golden Temple, Amritsar was laid on Deepawali in 1577. The whole of India is lit up by lamps and lights. It is a beautiful sight as the lamps light up the darkness of the amavasya sky. It is a visual interpretation of Jyotish. While the lights are lit show outer light, the study of Jyotish ( Vedic Astrology) lights up our inner world and show the direction to the soul to find their source of eternal light. So aspirants should treat this as a special day - however dark their world - we all are able to bring light to it. This is why the diwali festival also is the time when Dhanvantri and Laxmi came to earth. They brought a new joy to the world that was stuck in darkness. Diwali is the New Year, so let go of the past and concentrate on a new tomorrow- where there is joy and light. This is a good day to make donation to the poor and feed the wise.
TULASI VIVAH
Tulasi vivah is celebrated after 10 days of Deepawali on ekadashi tithi of the kartika month and in Shukla paksha (waxing moon). This is considered very auspicious celebration where tulasi mata have marriage with shaligram dev. This day is specially known for spiritual awakenings.
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