worshipping the feminine nature of divine
The worship of the feminine in divine form is considered one of the most ancient forms of worship on the planet. But as centuries passed, countless goddess temples all over the world disappeared due to a myriad of reasons.
However, this tradition has stayed strong in India, and even today, there are several goddess temples scattered all across India.
The Indian festival of Navratri, which spans nine nights and ten days, is dedicated to the worship of the divine feminine.
The goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati are seen as three dimensions of the feminine, symbolic of the earth, the sun, and the moon, or of tamas (inertia, darkness), rajas (activity, passion), and sattva (transcendence, knowledge, purity) respectively.
Everything in this creation, including us humans, is governed by these three qualities. In the context of human life, they depict states of consciousness — sleep, dream, and wakefulness, as well as states of energy — inertia, activity, and transcendence.
As per the Hindu tradition, those who aspire for strength or power, worship forms of the feminine such as Durga or Kali or Mother Earth. Those who aspire for wealth, passion, or material blessings worship Lakshmi or the sun. And those who aspire for knowledge, liberation, or the transcendence of the limitations of the mortal body worship Saraswati or the moon.
The nine days of Navratri are classified according to these three primary qualities. The first three days of the festival are dedicated to Durga, the next three to Lakshmi, and the last three to Saraswati. The tenth and final day, Vijayadashami, symbolizes the triumph over all these three aspects of life.
Yogi, mystic, and author Sadhguru suggests that the best way to approach the festival of Navratri is in a spirit of celebration. He remarks, “This has always been the secret of life: to be non-serious but absolutely involved. The cultures that traditionally venerated the goddess knew that there is much in existence that can never be understood. You can enjoy it, celebrate its beauty, but never understand it. Life is a mystery, and will always remain one. The festival of Navratri is based on this fundamental insight.”
