Worshipping the divine

Yaa Devi Sarva Bhuteshi Shakti Roopena Samasthita
Namastasyai- Namastasyai -Namastasya -Namo Namah

Religious observances and traditional worship at times have more than one significance ~ apart from being mere adoration of the divine, they commemorate stirring events in history and are even allegoric when interpreted from the occult standpoint, writes Arunayan Sharma

When the scents of shiuli fill the air and kaash sway with mirth, its time to celebrate Durga Puja. Pujor gandho can be felt when sky is blue and happiness fills your heart. New clothes, decors, pujobarshiki and pujor gaan adds to the fun of the festival. Durga Puja is the biggest and the most important festival for all of us. People wait for Durga Puja to gorge a variety of traditional delicacies. It’s time for pandal hopping and adda sessions beyond midnight and dawn filled with the sounds of dhaak. According to the Hindu mythology, Durga is a fierce form of Devi, the Mother Goddess, the all-powerful almighty goddess. The hour of the Goddesses is at hand and Bengal awaits them expectantly. Once a year, in the month of Ashwin, she comes home with her four children Ganesh, Laxmi, Karttik and Saraswati and enjoys all the love and attention. Durga comes to earth on the seventh day after the autumn new moon. Seven days before her arrival starts the Devipaksha. The day is being observed as Mahalaya, the day of invocation. In the dark night of amabasya (new moon), people pray to goddess Durga to arrive in the earth to ward off all evils. On the dawn of Mahalaya, homes in Bengal resonate with the immortal verses of the Chandipath (chanting of the hymns of chandi). Unfortunately, this visit lasts only three days, and on the fourth day she starts on her journey back to her husband’s abode in the Kailash.Durga Puja, is celebrated to worship Shakti - the devine power. It is celebrated throughout the state, but with great grandeur in Kolkata. It commemorates the victory of Durga over the demon Mahishasura. The familiar sound of dhak, dhunuchi nachh the mild fragrance of shiuli, gives a familiar tug at every Bengali heart. In the past, it used to be organised and financed by the landlords and the business barons and was participated by all sections of people.According to the Atharva Vedic saying, it is concluded that Devi is the supreme Mother. She is the primal cause of this universal flux. Durga is revered with bhakti, with puja and archana and through the specific anushtthanas. A fine exposition of Durga is seen in the Markandeya Purana, Devi Bhagwatam and the Tantra Shastras. Durga is the beauty of Vishnu, creativity of Brahma and the tandava of Rudra. She is Uma, “light”; Gauri, “yellow or brilliant”; Parvati, “the mountaineer” and Jagatmata, “the-mother-of-the-world” in her milder guise. The terrible emanations are Durga “the inaccessible”; Kali, “the black”; Chandi, “the fierce”; and Bhairavi, “the terrible.”Durga, a beautiful warrior seated upon a tiger, was the first appearance of the goddess. The circumstance of her miraculous arrival was the tyranny of the monster-demon Mahishasur, who had acquired invincible strength. The gods were afraid of this water-buffalo bull because neither Vishnu nor Shiva could prevail against him. It seemed that the joint energy of Shakti was only capable of vanquishing mahisha, and so it was the ten-armed Durga who went out to do battle. She went to battle on her ferocious mount lion, armed with the weapons given to her by the other gods. Durga is one of the angry and aggressive aspects of the goddess Shakti, whose role in Hindu mythology was to fight and conquer demons and also personify the Shakti or female aspect of any male deity. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura and restored heaven to the gods. Since then the goddess is invoked for protection from the powers of evil. Her literary references are chiefly the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Puranic texts, and she is mentioned by name in Vedic literature. In general, Durga is regarded in northern India as the gentle bride epitomising family unity while in southern India she is revered more in her warrior aspect. Durgapuja has outgrown its religious connotations to a large extent of people. There are various ways in which Ma Durga is worshiped. The rituals and customs vary due to vast difference in the culture of different states. But, all these follow the century old tradition and practice that intermingle with historical ethos. In Maharashtra, Durga Puja is performed each day, but devotees don’t remove the flower garland that is put each day on the idol or image of the deity. After nine days all nine are removed together. Young girls are invited to eat, play games, dance and sing. An elephant all decked up with rangoli adds to the fun. People of Punjab strictly observe Navratri. Some Punjabis have only milk for seven days before breaking the fast on Ashtami or Navami. They worship Durga and perform aarti at home. At the end of the fast they feed beggars or worship little girls who spell the Shakti of the Mother Goddess. In Gujarat, Navratri is devoted to Amba mataji. For some, images of mataji are worshiped in accordance with accepted practice. This is also true of the temples, which usually have a constant stream of visitors from morning to night. The most common form of public celebration is the performance of garba or dandia-ras, Gujarat’s popular folk-dance, late throughout the nights of these nine days in public squares and open grounds. In Kerala, Durga Puja signifies the beginning of formal education for every child aged three-five years. While puja goes on in the temple for all ten days, it is only the concluding three days, which are really important. Ashtami is the day of Ayudya puja, when all the tools at home are worshiped. Custom dictates that no tools be used on this day. On Navami, worshiping the books and records at home honors Goddess Saraswati. Thousands throng the Saraswati temple at Kottayam during this period to take a dip in the holy pond whose source is yet unknown. Large gatherings are also seen at the famous temples at Thekkegram (Palghat), in which there are no idols — only huge mirrors. A devotee finds himself bowing before his own reflection, which indicates that God is within us. Although Hindus are a minority in Jammu and Kashmir but they celebrate all Hindu festivals with grandeur. The popular deities of Kashmir are Lord Shiva and Serawali Ma Durga. Pundits and Muslims alike vouch that Navratri is important. But, no big pandals are made instead each house-hold perform puja at home. Kashmiris grow barley in earthen pots. They believe that if the growth in this pot is good, there is prosperity all through out the year. The most important ritual for Kashmiri Pandits is to visit the temple of guardian goddess Kheer Bhawani on all nine days. On the last day of Navratri, an aarti is performed at the temple after which people break their fast. And finally on Dussehra or Vijaya dashami, Ravana’s effigy is burnt. And last but not the least, Bengalis celebrate Durga puja without religious inhibitions. It is more of a socio- cultural celebration that tends to renew kinship with friends and relatives. (The author is director, Centre forEcological Engineering, Malda.) source: the statesman