Sharadiya Navratri 2019: What is Meaning of Navratri?
Sharadiya Navratri 2019- Navratri is a sanskrit word which means nine nights. It’s a Hindu festival that spans over nine nights and ten days. Although there are two navratris in a year, Sharadiya navratri is the most significant among them.
When is Sharadiya Navratri 2019: Navratri start & end date 2019
Navratri falls every year in the ashvin month i.e. during the autumn season and is widely celebrated across India. Navratri 2019 is starting from 29th September and will end on 7th October, the next day being the celebrations of Vijaydashmi.
Why is Shradiya Navratri celebrated & what is Navratri Story & History of Goddess Maa Durga?
Sharadiya Navratri is celebrated to honor Goddess Maa Durga. According to Hindu mythology, Goddess maa Durga fought an evil demon called Mahishasura in an intense battle that continued for 9 days. Finally on the tenth day the Goddess beheaded the demon. Therefore the navratri is celebrated over nine days during which nine different incarnations or avtars of Goddess maa Durga are worshipped each day.
Sharadiya Navratri also symbolize the victory of lord Rama, the incarnation of lord Vishnu, over the demon king Ravana. In the northern and western states, Ram Leela is staged over the nine days of navratri, ending on the tenth day when an effigy of Ravana is burned as a symbol of victory of good over evil.
Navratri 2019 Festival: Can we get Salvation by doing Navratri Pooja and Rituals of goddess maa Durga?
- Even though Navratri (Navratri 2019) is celebrated differently in various parts of India, the festival is primarily dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine incarnations.
- The devotees worship (navratri puja) each avtar of maa durga on the specific day during navratri.
- Idols of Goddess maa Durga are installed in homes and prayers are offered for nine days.
- Jagarans are performed during night and devotees stay awake singing bhajans and dancing to devotional songs.
- The devotees also observe strict fast during these nine days consuming only special type of foods or liquids in small amounts and abstain from meat and alcohol to please Maa Durga.
- Another ritual is Kanya Poojan i.e. hosting feast for small girls during the last 3 days of navratri.
- In the eastern states like West Bengal or Assam, Durga Pujas are organized by the communities. Huge pandals are eracted and large sculpture- idols of Goddess Durga are placed there for puja celebrations. Festival songs are played and streets are decked up with lights, priests chant the hymns and devotees gather to attend the aartis. On the tenth day, these idols or images are taken in processions to immerse in any nearby river.
Also Read: Happy Navratri Puja (Parv) 2018 Special Blog : SA News Channel
- But even after doing all these activities, the questions that arise in our mind is: Can we achieve salvation by following all these rituals?
- If not, then what is the significance of Navratri? Why do we fast in Navratri? Who is the supreme power and how can we attain him?
What do our holy scriptures say about Navratri Fast (vrat)?
Let’s take a look in our holy scriptures to know the answer of the question what do our holy scriptures say about Navratri Fast (vrat)?
- Fasting prohibited in Bhagwat Gita In Shrimad Bhagavat Gita Chapter 6 Verse 16, fasting has been forbidden;
- It is stated that – Oh Arjun! This bhakti is neither successful of one who eats excessively, nor of one who does not eat at all, that is, neither this bhakti is successful of a person who keeps fasts, nor of someone who sleeps too much, nor of someone who remains awake a lot.
- Similarly there is no mention of any other Navratri ritual in any of our holy scriptures. Which means all these are just futile activities.
- Even Goddess Durga describes the worship of supreme God and not of herself. In Shrimad Devi Bhagwat Puran, Skand 7, Adhyay 36 (Page 562 – 563, published from Gitapress Gorakhpur)
Real Significance of Navratri 2019: Right way to salvation – worship of Supreme God.
- Let’s take a look on this navratri 2019 about the question “what is the right way to salvation?” and “what is the real significance of navratri 2019”.
Gita Adhyay 18 Shlok 62:
Tam ev sharnm gachchh sarvbhaaven bharat.
Tatprsaadaat paraa shaantim sthaanm praapsyasi shaashvatam.
The speaker of Bhagwat Gita (i.e. braham) in Adhyay 18 Shlok 62 is instructing Arjun to go into the refuge of some other Complete God to attain Supreme Peace and Eternal Place.
- Vedas also sing the glory of Supreme God Kabir Sahib.
Yajurved Chapter 5 mantra 32 describes God as the one who is the giver of Supreme Peace / Happiness. He can destroy all the sins and his name is KavirDev (God Kabir). He is also the liberator.
Hence, to achieve supreme peace and salvation one should worship the Complete God by taking initiation from a complete saint. Because only a complete Saint is authorized to impart the true mantras of God.
- As the speaker of Gita ji says in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 33 to 35.
“Oh Arjun! Go to the Tatvadarshi Saint who have the complete knowledge and the solution of the Purna Parmatma. Respectfully bow to him and ask with courtesy the path to achieve God. Then that saint will tell the way (Satnaam and Saarnaam) of achieving Purna Parmatma, knowing which you will not be deluded by ignorance.”
Shardiya Navratri 2019- What is the Identification of true Saint?
- Must know on this sharadiya navratri 2019 “what is the identification of true saint?”.
The speaker of Gita also gives directions to find a true saint: The distinctive feature of a Tatvadarshi Saint has been elaborated in Gita Adhyay 15 Shlok 1 to 4.
- “A tatvdarshi saint be the one who will give a complete description of the upside down tree representing this universe whose base is Purna Parmatma, trunk is Akshar Purush, branch is Brahm and smaller branches are the three gunas (Rajgun-Brahma Ji, Satgun-Vishnu Ji and Tamgun-Shiv Ji) and the leaves are the people in the world i.e. he will give a detailed description of all the brahmands; he is a Tatvdarshi saint.”
- He will also reveal to you the real mantras given in code words in Gita Chapter 17:23.
- Further, the way of worship given by that Saint will be according to our holy scriptures.
- Therefore he is prescribing us to go to a knowledgeable (Dheeranam) saint who has complete knowledge about the Purna Parmatma.
Conclusion:The conclusion of this blog is that there is no single benefit possible by doing fast on Sharadiya Navratri and we should not celebrate the Navratri festival, because it is not mentioned in our sacred texts. Celebrating Navratri is a useless practise because it is not according to our holy texts. It’s our humble request that in the present time, only Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj is the true and complete saint who gives the complete way of worship according to the scriptures. Salvation can not be attained by futile activities or taking initiation from incomplete saints. It’s possible only after taking initiation from complete Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj.
