PAGE 9: GODDESS DURGA ENTERS OUR LIVES

                            GODDESS DURGA ENTERS OUR LIVES

Since the day Guru Ma was seen and decorated as Goddess Durga at our place, the Navratras began to be observed by us very religiously each year. It was much later that I realized that not only these holy days are spiritual in nature, they are immensely scientific in occurrence! I would devote some space to this. 
The most common calendar used throughout the world  is the English or Georgian whereas calendar system used by Hindus is the Vikrami Samvat named after King of Ujjain, Vikramaditya who started it and Samvat is the Sanskrit name for ‘year’.
Chaitra  happens to be the first month (starting just after Holi, the festival of colours or to say with Holi Purnima, the full moon day)  and Phalgun month (which has Holi in it) is the last month of  Hindi calendar , just as January happens to be the first and December the last month of English calendar.

Samvatsaraor a period of roughly a year is the time during which the planet Jupiter with its average speed moves through one sign. While transiting in the Zodiac, Jupiter at different times is at varying distances from the Earth, so it is under different celestial influences during a cycle of sixty years. Keeping this fact in mind  wise ancients in India gave distinct name to each Samvatsara..

 
Let us take an example of the name of the Vikrami Samvat - 2070 which started from 11th April 2013. It was named ‘Prabhava’(influence). The new Vikrami Samvat each year starts from the 1st lunar date of the Lunar month of Chaitra.   We may further understand like this that though every new month in the Hindi calendar starts from Purnima (the full moon day), the  Hindu new year does not start from Purnima of Chaitra.  It starts 15days afterwards, at the beginning of moonlit nights fortnight and that is the beginning of the Vasant or Chaitra Navrathra too.

          Navratras are celebrated twice in a year. Second Navrathra of the year falls in the month of Ashwin which starts after Shraadha or Pithrupaksh fortnight- as it is called (dedicated to the remembrance of our ancestors who have left the planet).  This Navrathra is known as Sharad Navarathra and starts from the first date of the moonlit fortnight of Ashwin month.  Now the question is why do we have Navrathras during these two months only?  The answer could be that during these two periods there is a visible change of seasons, bringing the names Vasanth and Sharad which usher significant change of season and are also at the confluence of two difficult weathers,  that is extreme summer and extreme winter.  This is balance in life and the regimen followed during these Navrathras brings a control over ones external and internal faculties besides overall purification. Join it with naturopathy or see it with the eyes of any religion- FASTING WORKS.  One more thing is to be noticed that the Navrathras are always falling during the moonlit fortnight and not in the dark fortnight.  Do you know why? Because in the moonlit fortnight there is an increase of light day by day signifying knowledge and life, whereas in the other one there is an increase in the darkness signifying   ignorance and death.  Thus we say -

Asatho ma sadhgamaya,

Tamso ma Jyotirgamaya

Mrityormam amritamgamaya

FROM THE UNREAL LEAD ME TO THE REAL

FROM DARKNESS LEAD ME TO THE LIGHT

FROM DEATH LEAD ME TO IMMORTALITY

PS: Since I'm a permanent member of Esteemed Delhi Gymkhana Club, I have  written an article on this subject with the heading "Touching Our Roots" in its inhouse magazine Clublife February 2014 Issue dedicated to the memory of my best friend in Gymkhana Sardar Amarjit Puri who passed away in December 2013, while I was in Australia!!

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