Navratri

Today is the start of Navratri, a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us.

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights and ten days. Navratri is celebrated twice each year, in the spring and fall, because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Spring (Chaitra) Navratri begins the day after the new moon in late March or early April, and is celebrated as a request to Shakti for a good growing season.

Agenda:
1- Make a rangoli design
2- Plant grain seeds
3- Set up an altar for Mother Nature
4- Morning meditation on strength
5- Make channa sundal (spicy chickpeas)
6- Evening visualization and prayer
7- Durga mantra

1- Make a rangoli design:

Rangolis are rice flour designs, made on the floor or sometimes on a metal plate. 

At Navratri, Hindus make a new design each day- with dots, squares, flowers, steps, birds, the names of Shakti, designs from Shakti's hands, patterns of her trident and, on the ninth day, the Lotus of the goddess's heart. 

Today I made a rangoli on the plate that holds my diya lamp.

For more information about rangoli, and how I made the colored rice flour, see my page Rangolis and how to make them.

2- Plant grain seeds

My three grains, soaking overnight.

Most Hindu households sprout a bowl of seeds for Navratri, called the Nava-Dhanya (nine cereals), each a symbol of a different planet. 

I usually put three kinds of grain seeds in a bowl of water to soak overnight: Wheat for the sun, rice for the moon, and corn for the earth (corn is not a Hindu grain but it's important to me!)

The sowing, sprouting and growth of the grains is intended to bring peace, abundance, and joy to the household-- as they sprout during the nine days of the festival, they will remind me of the vibrancy of life and the creative energy of the Shakti.

3- Set up an altar for Mother Nature:

I made an altar to honor Mother Earth, with my Noruz sabzeh and spring flowers. My altar is in no way authentically Hindu- I make it for my own use, to remind me of the work I am doing. If you want to see an authentic puja, watch this video.

4- Morning meditation on strength:

During Navratri, Hindus work on their vyavhaar (behaviour) and acharan (character). Each of the three goddesses marks a stage of the spiritual journey we all go through: 

• Durga’s strength and energy creates an opening, 
• Lakshmi’s success and fortune nurtures growth, and 
• Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace.

For the first three days the Mother is invoked as Durga, goddess of strength and courage. Durga is a warrior, rides a fierce tiger, and has 10 arms, which hold weapons and a lotus flower. The dish of soil is a symbolic form of Durga- the image is of the womb of the earth and her creative energies.

On each morning of Navratri I light a small white candle, center, and feel myself fill with thankfulness for all I have now in my life. For the first three mornings I meditate on my strengths- the ways that Durga shines in me- and the qualities or habits I wish to let Durga destroy.

5- Make sundal: 
Many Hindus eat only vegetarian foods during Navratri; often a different sundal (dry legume dish) each night, such as Channa Sundal, with chickpeas- spicy and good! The recipe is here.

6- Evening visualization and prayer
For these three nights I honor the creative / destructive aspect of the Mother.

I pray “Thank you, Mother, for providing energy for the earth to move around the sun, causing spring to come again, and for maintaining the correct balance of the universe. You are the earth. You nourish support, protect, and mother all creatures, all beings. I ask you to help me recognize those aspects of myself that are not helpful. Give me the strength and courage to maintain my physical and mental balance, and to destroy my vices and defects so that what is good and pure has room to unfold.”

Then I picture Durga entering my heart riding on a tiger. I see Her wipe out my anger, greed, laziness, procrastination, indifference, pride, defensiveness, and jealousy.

7- Durga Mantra:
I focus on my image of Durga and chant-
Om - the primordial sound, 
Dum - the energy which protects from all negative influences,
Dur-ga-yei - goddess of strength, 
Na-ma-ha - I pray.

(You might want to chant along with someone who knows how. Many YouTube versions exist, and my favorite is here.)