Festivity in true Spirit

Today in India begins the season of festivity and joy, with the arrival of most auspicious days in Hindu calendar the Navratras which means nine auspicious days starts the festive season which would eventually end by 20th of next month. This is the season of festivity, joy and most importantly the symbolic win of good over evil.

With the onset of navratra the first of the slew of festivity starts with Durga Puja, (reverence to goddess Durga). As we celebrate this event at home I happen to intently listen a prayer chanted quite often in goddess Durga’s reverence and I realized that the importance that the our culture gives to the female is immense even to the extent that the prowess of female overpowers any force in the universe.

Devi or the divine feminine is an equal or more then the counterpart to the divine masculine, and hence manifests herself as the Trinity herself - the Creator (Durga or the Divine Mother), Preserver (Lakshmi, Parvati & Saraswati) and Destroyer (Mahishasura-Mardini, Kali & Smashanakali ).

In the contemporary times though, the whole idea of female aspect has taken a shift and today viewed in a complete travesty of what it was traditionally. Too much adaptation of the western ways, a consumerism lifestyle devoid of means to achieve the end is what I believe has led to the shift.

The process of metamorphism has worked wonders for us and much can be attributed to this influence that has ultimately led to the eradication of Caste System, Sati and other negatives from our society but in the osmosis process of cultural exchange we have to be careful to weed out the negative influences.

As Mahatma Gandhi had once said “I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice” let the spirit of Durga Puja (worship) once again rekindle this emotion among all.

Sac...