Navaratri - Day 1

Gist of Pujya Guruji's Discourse on 8th October, 2010

Today we have all gathered here with great joy to adore the Divine Mother during these nine auspicious nights of Navaratri. Yesterday was the dark night of the new moon and today the waxing cycle begins, as the nights get progressively brighter and Navaratri culminates in victory over our vices on Vijayadashami. Like the darkness of the night is transformed by the radiance of the moon, so also a special element should enter our lives every year. This special element is knowledge. Just as our age increases year by year, our knowledge or Jnana should also increase. Knowledge should begin to bloom in us from Navaratri and culminate in total transformation on Vaikuntha Ekadashi, three to four months from now. These nine nights are set aside by Devi for the rejuvenation of our heart and spiritual knowledge. For this to happen, all of us should participate in Navaratri with the feeling - "Something new should come into me today." It is to empower us with knowledge and guide us on the spiritual path that our Sages began the spiritual tradition of the Guru Parampara or the lineage of the Gurus.

If we look at our lives today, all of us are suffering from ignorance or ajnana. If we think we know something, we actually know nothing in life. In fact, in most ways, animals are much better than us. They don't change their qualities for any reason. A lion does not try to act like a mouse and a rabbit does no try to behave like an elephant. A lion remains a lion and a rabbit remains a rabbit. However, we are not like that. We keep changing every second. Some times we have noble and divine qualities, sometimes we have ordinary human qualities and at other times we even descend to the level of base, animalistic tendencies. Since our qualities and characteristics are always changing, we are never what we are supposed to be. It is easy to understand an animal because it is predictable, but it is impossible for us to understand ourselves because we are so ignorant about our own nature. We don't know who we are and we don't know how to accept circumstances and receive them in a divine way or how to interact with people. We don't know how to be our true selves in different places, with different people and different situations. We behave differently with our family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and strangers. We keep modifying our behaviour based on our experience. What do the Vedas, Shastras and Sages say about this? They say - "The very fact that you have to think, act and express yourself in different ways with different people, in different situations is itself ignorance. You must behave in the same way all the time. You must always remain your true self without changing with the circumstances in your life. You must be just yourself - ever true to your Self."

When the Sages were asked how this could be done, they explained - "How does God appear to everybody? He was the same when your forefathers worshipped Him centuries ago, He is the same now and He will remain the same centuries from now. That is how you should be." The scientists may refute this statement by saying - "Since the deity of God that you worship is made of stone, it will naturally remain the same. How do you expect Him to change physically?" Yes, just as God appears hard and unchangeable outside because the deity is made of stone, the stability of our heart and mind should be fixed and firm. Since we are not like this, this is ignorance. The knowledge that we are ignorant is the wonderful nugget of wisdom that Devi is giving all of us today. Do we need any knowledge greater than this? We have brought our ignorance with us from our past lives. We experienced it then and we are still experiencing it now.

How and why did we first begin to experience ajnana or ignorance? This was the question asked by all the venerable Sages who had gathered in the subtle realm of Naimisha Aranya in Badarikashrama [now known as Badarinath] in the Himalayas. In response, Sage Suta Romaharshana, also known as Suta Muni began to narrate this episode that took place in Vaikuntha, the abode of Mahavishnu long ago - "Once as Lord Vishnu was reclining in Yoganidra [Meditative Trance] on the coils of the seven hooded serpent Adishesha, in the middle of the Kshirasagara or ocean of milk, two pieces of wax fell from His ear into the milky ocean. The Chetana or vibrant energy of the Kshirasagara vivified this inanimate wax. This can be compared to the process of sepsis and inflammation setting in when we have a wound on the body. It can also be likened to the way too many good things in life get converted to arrogance in us. If we are immature, too much success in life leads to the accumulation of unwanted dirt called ahankara or ego. In the same way, these pieces of wax began to bloat up with arrogance and became asuras or demons called Madhu and Kaitabha. Seeing Lord Vishnu reclining on Adishesha, they asked - "Who are you?" [From here began the ignorant custom of asking 'Who are you?' instead of probing into 'Who am I?'!!!]

Since Lord Vishnu was in Yoganidra, they received no response. However, Lord Brahma who was seated on the thousand petalled lotus that emerged from the navel of Lord Vishnu was alarmed at the menacing appearance of these huge demons. So, He prayed to His Creator and invoked that Energy. Devi Adiparashakti, comprising of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswathi appeared before Him as scintillating radiance and asked what He wanted. Lord Brahma said - “These two evil forces are bothering Me. Please wake Lord Vishnu so that He can vanquish them." Devi removed the element of inertia from Lord Vishnu and He emerged from His Yoganidra. Devi gave Him a prompt through Lord Brahma - "These are evil doers. Vanquish them." So, Lord Vishnu battled with them for 1000 earthly years [1000 days according to the timescale of Devaloka where each terrestrial year is equal to one day.]. This shows us that those who obtain the Grace and blessings of God and then become asuras or demons are very powerful and difficult to vanquish. There are many examples of such demons in our scriptures like Bhasmasura, Hiranyakashyapu and so on. After Lord Vishnu vanquished Madhu and Kaitabha, He was very tired. So, as He stood leaning against His bow, He slipped into a deep sleep.

Let us now move back a little in time. Much before the demons Madhu and Kaitabha were born from Lord Vishnu's ear wax, He was once seated in Vaikuntha with His consorts Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Bhudevi. He saw a glimpse of His own future where He was being beheaded. Accepting this as a part of Devi's Leela or sport, He smiled to Himself. At this moment, Goddess Lakshmi turned to look at him with a loving smile and She saw Her Lord smiling cynically and making a disparaging noise as if to say - "So what?" Thinking that He was sarcastically mocking Her love, Goddess Lakshmi cursed Vishnu saying - "May you lose your head for derisively scorning my love in this way." What Lakshmi meant was that Vishnu's ego should be destroyed. However, when a God or Goddess curses, this curse gets implemented at all levels - physical, mental and spiritual. Not in the least worried about this, Lord Vishnu continued to smile as He said - "May it be so."

Now let us come back to Lord Vishnu who was leaning against His bow [called Saringa] and sleeping in exhaustion after slaying Madhu and Kaitabha. Remembering how these demons were born the last time Lord Vishnu slept, Lord Brahma was panic stricken to see Him falling asleep again. However, He did not dare to incur a sin by waking Lord Vishnu. So, He called all the Gods and asked them what could be done to awaken Him. The Gods said - "How can we take the responsibility of waking our Lord? Lord Brahma, You are the one with four heads. So, you think of an idea and tell us what should be done."

After all the Gods had so vehemently declared that they did not want to play an active role in waking Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma also decided to pass on the responsibility to somebody else. [This is where our tendency to pass the buck began!!!]

So, thinking that if the support of the bow could be removed, Lord Vishnu would automatically wake up, Lord Brahma summoned the termites. He said - "If you devour the bowstring of Lord Vishnu's bow, I will give you the boon of eating the leftovers of the oblations that are offered during every homa or fire ritual after the Gods have partaken of them." The termites readily agreed and began to devour the bow. As they nibbled at it, the bowstring snapped and the backlash was so forceful that it beheaded Lord Vishnu. His head flew across the Kshirasagara or milky ocean and fell in an unknown realm. Let us pause for a moment at this phase of the story to learn two important truths:

1. Even the Gods did not know what to do to awaken Lord Vishnu. So, the first truth is that all of us are ajnanis or ignorant.
2. Lord Brahma expected that the termites would devour the bow and wake Lord Vishnu, but His plan misfired completely. So, the second truth is that we rarely get what we expect in life. Most of the time our expectations do not materialise.
   To continue with the story, when Lord Vishnu's head flew off, all the Gods were devastated. They put their heads into their hands and said - "Hey Brahma, We thought you had more knowledge than us because you have four heads. However, it appears that we were wrong. Now, don't use your head. Use your heart and tell us what to do to rectify this situation." [The Gods actually use their heads very little and as they are actually based on their heart or Chaitanya. With us, human beings, it is quite the reverse.] However, neither Lord Brahma nor any of the Gods could think of anything to remedy this ghastly situation because as soon as Lord Vishnu was beheaded, the whole cosmos was depleted of Chaitanya or Energy because He was the Sustainer of the Universe. So, they were all enveloped in ajnana or ignorance. This was the beginning of our own ajnana or ignorance.
   Looking at all the disheartened faces around Him, finally Lord Shiva, the dissolver of negativity said - "Brahma, the last time you were in a fix, you invoked our Creator. Why don't you pray to that divine radiance once more and ask for guidance?" So, Lord Brahma invoked Devi Adiparashakti who manifested and began to laugh so loudly that all the seven worlds began to shake. Why? She was actually using Her breath which makes the sound of 'Hoom. Hoom, Hoom," to cleanse the seven worlds of negative vibrations. It also rejuvenated the Chaitanya or energy in the Universe which had come down to zero. So, there was no inspiration, activation or motivation. If we can imagine the world without any air in the atmosphere, we can approximately understand how all the beings in the seven worlds felt without Chaitanya or Energy. When Devi's laughter revitalised the Cosmos, the demoralised Gods were rejuvenated.
   Devi Adiparashakti said - "None of you are to blame. Everything that has happened is My Leela or divine sport." Hearing this, all the Gods are absolutely astounded. From that day till today, whenever we hear something very unexpected, whether the news is good or bad, our whole thinking process comes to a standstill and we call it a state of shock! We think we are so different from the Gods. However, if Gods are harassed by demons, we are also attacked by demons in human form outside and demonic thoughts and feelings inside. Whatever the Gods have experienced or are experiencing, we also experience a part of it. That is why we say history repeats itself. Now Devi continues - "All of you have been blaming Lord Brahma. I assure you it is not his fault. All this is happening only because it is My Will."
3. This is the third truth: Everything happens because it is God's Will that it should be so. Nothing is actually caused by us, our circumstances or the people around us. We are all puppets in the hands of the Master Puppeteer called God. We sometimes think - "I did nothing to harm anybody. Why is this happening to me?" It is just God's Will. So, we should never fill our minds with bitterness, resentment or guilt by indulging in blame games, blaming circumstances, other people or ourselves for anything that has happened or is happening to us. We must constantly be true to our principles, but must never attribute the results of our actions to ourselves or others. We should be aware that the Will of the Divine Mother is always Supreme.
4. The fourth truth is that surrender is the doorway to knowledge. So, whatever we are doing now, whatever has happened to us in the past, and whatever we want in the future - we should not keep this in our minds - we should simply unburden ourselves by offering it all at the Lotus Feet of the Divine Mother. Mother says - "My child, nobody is responsible for anything that happens in your life. Don't blame your parents, spouse, children, colleagues, neighbours or strangers. It is all My Will. So, free yourself of all these burdens by simply offering everything at My Feet and even your most complex problems will be resolved effortlessly through My Grace."
5. The fifth truth is that everything always happens for the best. No matter how bad things may seem to us, it is all happening for our own good. Since we are not yet able to see the full picture because of our ignorance, we sometimes feel that our life is going from bad to worse. If our lives hit a bad patch, we should constantly remember that the Divine Mother's Will is ever benevolent. She will never permit anything that is not in out best interests to happen to us.
   Having restored the Chaitanya of the Gods, Devi said - "Lord Vishnu was beheaded because of Goddess Lakshmi's curse. That again was not Her fault. It was My Leela. Why did I give Her that prompt? Once, when a demon called Hayagreeva gratified Lord Vishnu with His penance, He told the demon that he could ask Him for a boon. Hayagreeva first asked for the boon of immortality. When Lord Vishnu refused, He said - "I must die in Your hands alone, but You cannot come in Your present divine form to kill me. You must have a horse's head like mine and Your name should also be Hayagreeva." Lord Vishnu granted this boon. Now this demon's torture has become unbearable to the beings in all the worlds. So, the time has come for his end. Bring a horse's head and ask Vishwakarma, the celestial architect to attach it to Lord Vishnu's body. With this new form Lord Vishnu will also be called Hayagreeva. Thus all the conditions of the boon will be satisfied. Then Lord Vishnu will successfully slay the demon and liberate all the beings from his clutches." Lord Brahma followed Devi's instructions and the demon Hayagreeva was successfully vanquished according to Devi's Divine Will. [Whenever the Energy and Form change, Gods come to earth as avatars or the embodiment of divinity in human form.] Thus when Lord Brahma and the other Gods accepted Devi's Will as Supreme and laid the whole crisis at Her Lotus Feet in surrender, She resolved it instantly. When the demon Hayagreeva was slain, they understood that everything had happened for their own good because Devi's Leela is always benevolent.
   Mother is telling us this story today because this is the day that Lord Vishnu's head was re-established [Padya of Ashweeja Shukla Paksha]. That is why we became aware of the ignorance that Lord Brahma wrote on our foreheads today. Through the Compassionate Grace of the Divine Mother, the time has come for the head of ajnana or ignorance to be banished forever from our lives and for the head of jnana or knowledge to be permanently re-established. This is the most auspicious beginning of our precious lives. We think that what we possess is precious. However, The Divine Mother says - "My child, never rate yourself by your possessions. It is you who are precious and auspicious and knowledge is your most priceless possession." Today our story begins afresh as we move from ignorance to knowledge. Knowledge gives us true power. Even if we have wealth, it soon dwindles if we do not have the knowledge to make it multiply. We need knowledge to understand our own lives. Otherwise, when we look back, we forget most of the good, joyful times we have enjoyed and remember only the rough patches. Knowledge is a component that we need in every department of life. Just as the dark night of the new moon or Mahalaya Amasya was left behind yesterday, today the darkness of our ajnana will recede forever.
6. The seventh truth is that from today, our life is Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Vishnu. What is Vaikuntha? It is a place of divine miracles. Our body is a place of miracles - look at how it grows and changes. Isn't that a miracle? Look at how our mind is transformed by the knowledge gained through our experiences. Isn't that a wonderful miracle? Yes. Our lives are full of miracles, but we did not have the wisdom to recognise this till now. Since we were not stable, we were not able or capable of doing this. Now we are at the point where miracles are happening constantly. Merely materialising objects is not a miracle. A change in our pattern of thinking is a miracle. A change in the way we feel is a miracle. A change in the way we respond and correspond with people is a miracle. These are the transformative miracles that we must all recognise and strive to achieve. That is why the Divine Mother says - "When you realise that your inner Chaitanya or your own soul is Divinity, your body becomes a shrine. Then you need not go to a temple to see God. Your own life becomes Vaikuntha." This is the greatest knowledge that Devi is giving us today.
   So, let us drop our diffidence and self-doubt by empowering ourselves with these nuggets of knowledge that the Divine Mother has given us. On this first day of Navaratri, the Divine Mother is ready to grant two boons to all of us - the boons of stability and will power.
   So, the seventh truth is that stability and will power are indispensable on the path to knowledge. On this inward journey from ignorance to knowledge, we need the inner stability and stamina of a horse. A horse can trot, canter and gallop for very long distances without feeling tired. Today all of us need this kind of horsepower. Mental stability and will power will give us the ability to think positively all the time. They give us the steadfastness to remain our true Selves with any body in any situation. So, let us all close our eyes and pray to Her - "Mother, let my stability and will power be rock hard like Your outer form and let my heart be as soft and all encompassing as Your Chaitanya or ever pulsating energy. Please hold my hand and guide me on the path to Knowledge. Banish my darkness and lead me to light."

May all of you attain the light of Self knowledge and become enlightened. May all beings be happy.

Jai Matha. Om Tat Sat.