What Is Navaratri Sharad? The Nine Nights of Mother Divine

What Is Navaratri Sharad? The Nine Nights of Mother Divine

[00:45] Q – What is the meaning and relevance of Navaratri Sharad?

So we’ve just entered Navaratri, the Nine Nights of Mother Divine. I’d love to hear you speak about its meaning, significance, and relevance to us.

[01:00] A – Mother Divine’s Protective Power

In India, as of last night, began the celebration of that aspect of the celestial world which is supreme in the celestial: Mother Divine.

Mother Divine is celebrated at two times of each year in a very formal fashion. She’s probably celebrated many, many times less formally. The one that we’re experiencing right now is called Navaratri Sharad. Sharad means autumn. The autumn nava, nine, ratri, nights. The nine nights of autumn.

And very specifically on one particular apparition of Mother Divine known as Maha Durga Devi. Maha Durga Devi is encapsulated like a little cocoon inside of the totality of Mother Divine, and she emerges from her fort. Durga. The word Durga in Sanskrit, it means a fort. Durga is she who resides in the fort. And what is this fort? She’s like in a cocoon. She’s embryonic, and it is said that in the Navaratri Sharad, Mother Divine is invited out of her cocoon to examine the world and see what it is that needs to be done.

[02:47] Motherly Protection In Action

This aspect of Mother Divine really is a mother in this following regard.

Remember being a mischievous child once? And all of you were, without exception. And when you were a mischievous child and you had to be mischievous without your mother finding out, then you would carry out your mischief.

Maybe you wanted to play with the power outlets or something, because you saw your mother putting a vacuum cleaner thing in there, or the housekeeper, or your father, or your brother, or whoever. And you thought, “You know, it’s really interesting. That must be a source of energy. Let me put my hairpin inside there.” And you go to put your hairpin inside there, and you’re just about to succeed when suddenly you hear Mother behind you saying, “No, don’t play with that.”

And you say, “Okay, I won’t.” “Come on, let me have it.” And you let her have it willingly because you have a second one hidden in your pocket. And when she goes away, you decide to get a little mischievous again.

And now Mother comes around, catches you, and before you electrocute yourself, you know, by inadvertently violating the laws of Nature between electricity and a human child hand, Mother comes in a little more strictly this time. Let’s use the word strident. So she’s strident, but she’s still lovable. She’s not screaming or shouting, but she might even rather forcibly move you away from your favorite little toy that you think you’re going to play with and move you to another place at a distance.

This kind of more strident, more active, more assertive version of the mother consciousness is what is expressed in Maha, Maha means great, Durga, the one who lives in the fort, who comes out of the fort, Durga, Devi, Maha Durga Devi, that aspect of Mother Divine.

[04:51] Seasonal Change And Restoring Nature’s Laws

And why in this time of the year? In autumn, it’s a big transitional period because it’s the in-between between two major seasons, summer and winter, and it’s massively transitional. There’s another Navaratri, but it happens in the spring.

For nine nights, she’s invited, invoked, and she has an opportunity to examine the world and see what has been achieved and what is yet to be achieved. And in her looking at the world and seeing the relative world and seeing what’s been achieved and what’s yet to be achieved, then on the tenth day, the day after Navaratri Sharad, comes what we call Vijaya Dashami.

Vijaya means the day, not a night anymore; it’s the day. Vijaya Dashami. Dashami means the day, it’s day 10, day 10 of the nine nights. The last, after the ninth night, it’s a day that’s celebrated, the Vijaya Dashami, the day of victory.

And the day of victory is the day that all of the changes that need to occur, that need to be fertilized, that need to be lubricated, that need to be made active come into play.

So, Nine Nights of Mother Divine, followed by the tenth day, the Vijaya Dashami day, which is the day of action, the day of execution of that which needs to be done to bring about a restoration of the laws of Nature and the interaction between the laws of Nature and humanity. Vijaya Dashami day.

[06:46] Celebrating The Divine Feminine

So India is made up of about 1.3 billion people, of whom about 1 billion are celebrating all of this right now. So if you feel some kind of a thrill through the population, you know, the largest number of human beings on Earth in this next nine nights are going to be celebrating the Divine Mother.

And so then what’s the message to us humans? We also have to celebrate the feminine. The feminine, whether it’s actually effectively a mother or not, nonetheless is the Divine Feminine.

And this is the time where we give special respect, special attention to, and we really give a special nod of the head to the role of the infinite organizing power of feminine consciousness in every form, but particularly mothers, particularly mothers.

And so if you have an opportunity to show your mother, or any feminine, how much you appreciate their femininity, now is the time. It’s considered to be a time that lends itself in a very ripe fashion to both women appreciating women, but also that other species, males, appreciating women.

Jai Guru Deva