In Durga Puja the Goddess Durga is worshiped for nine days for spiritual cleansing, upliftment and enlightenment. Worshiping Goddess Durga in spiritual sense is to attain Moktsa –liberation from Samsara, and in mundane sense Durga Puja is an occasion to draw inspiration from Goddess Durga, have right understanding and perception, and aspire to attain excellence.
Goddess Durga, is primeval, absolute and complete. Devi Kavacha, an auxiliary of Devi Mahatmaya describes nine aspects of Goddes Durga and her three primary aspects. The three primary aspects of Goddess Durga are Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. In Durga Puja all the three are revered, which makes Durga Puja unique and of immense importance.
Durga Puja is an occasion to awake, rise and realize the goal of life. It is an occasion of spiritual journey to: (i) self-purification, (ii) self-transformation and (iii) self-realization.
The first three days are devoted to self-purification, the next three days for self-transformation, and the last day for self-knowledge.
Self-purification
During the first three days, Goddess Durga is worshiped in her forms that destroy all imperfections and faults in us and purify us such that we are ready as receptacle for her divine blessing. To gain noble virtues, it is imperative that all evil tendencies in our mind and heart are destroyed.
Goddess Durga is “Durgati Nasini –She who removes our sorrows.” She is invoked to eradicate Tamo-Guna –the negative tendencies that haunt us as demons obstructing our way to peace and prosperity.
Self-transformation
In the next three days, Goddess Durga, in her prosperity bestowing form of Goddess Laximi, is worshiped for positive attributes and divinities in our mind and heart. Goddess Laxmi, not only bestow material prosperity but also grant spiritual values. For her blessing in the form of mental preparedness and knowledge to dawn within us, we have to prepare our minds. Our mind must be pure, concentrated, and single pointed.
Blessing of Goddess Laxmi enables us to re-orient our consciousness, and cultivate and preserve moral, ethical, and spiritual values. The spiritual values of self-discipline, self-control, calmness of mind, self-withdrawal, single-pointedness, forbearance, loving kindness and compassion are the real values with which Goddess Laximi is embodied.
Self-Knowledge
During the last three days, Goddess Gurga is worshiped in her form as Goddess Saraswati -the true light of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The real wisdom is to know ourselves and have the Self-knowledge and remain aware of it –self awareness. When we know ourselves inwardly, at the deepest level of our inner consciousness and remain aware of it, our outer consciousness –the ego, dictating our mind and heart are purified and transformed.
Saraswati, as Goddess of Learning, embodies knowledge, skills, intelligence, creativity, splendor, harmony and wisdom. She gives the Sara -knowledge of our own Sva- Self. Goddess Sarasvati is Brahma-Jnana, the knowledge and Wisdom forever victorious over ignorance and delusion.
Goddess Saraswati bestows us self-realization which sets us free from illusion and ignorance. Goddess Saraswati manifest as one of the forms that confront Mahishasura, at the time of its annihilation. Goddess Saraswati does not actually destroy, but the moment she manifests in the glory and brilliance of her light, all the demons, manifesting the evil thoughts and actions get destroyed as the root causes of evil thoughts and actions are dispelled, the darkness of ignorance annihilated.
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