Tujuan, Makna dan Manfaat Perayaan Navarthri

NAVARATHRI

Introduction

Worship of Divine Shakthi

Indian tradition is the only tradition which can take pride of claim, in which the Feminine
aspect of the Divine is worshipped with as much reverence as the Masculine aspect.
Throughout India and for the matter the world over, where Hindus reside, you will see
thousands of temples dedicated to various manifestations of the Divine Mother. You will
find hundreds of thousands of people who are "Shakti worshippers."

Shakti is the energy of the Lord. Without the Divine Shakti, even God is powerless. The
creative aspect (Lord Brahma), the sustaining aspect (Lord Vishnu) and the destructive
aspect (Lord Shiva) all have their respective Shaktis who provide the cosmic energy and
omnipotent power needed for these great feats.

Additionally, everything for which we pray - knowledge, prosperity, love - these are all
manifest in the Divine Feminine. Goddess Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge. Maha
Laxshmi is the Goddess of prosperity. This shows that without the Divine Mother, our
prayers would be in vain, and our wishes would go unanswered.

The festival of Navarathri is a glorious time of the year, filled with joy, celebration, and
also with great lessons for our lives. Navarathri means "nine nights." This festival occurs
twice a year, at the change from winter to summer in the Spring, and again at the change
from summer to winter in the Autumn. The Autumn festival is celebrated from the first
day to the ninth day of the bright half of Ashvina (September-October), while the Spring
Festival is celebrated in Chaitra (April -May). The two Navarathri celebrations are known
as Rama Navarathri in Chaitra and Durga Navarathri in Ashvina. The Indians of Northern
India celebrate both these Navarathris where else the Southern Indians only celebrate the
Durga Navarathri. The Durga Navarathri is commonly and widely celebrated throughout
the world. The celebration of this Navarathri is in honor of the great Mother Goddess.
The festival lasts for nine days, signifying the nine glorious aspects of the Divine Mother.
On the tenth day is the Vijaya Dasami , which signifies the day of Victory.
Background (Latar Belakang)

Most of the religious celebrations of the Hindu Dharma have Puranas (Legends)
resembling them. These stories are generally the fight between the evil and the good, the
dark forces eventually succumbing to the Divine Power. Worship of Navarathri is also
based on such Puranic mythology.

According to the Hindu Purana

Mahishasura, the king of Asuras, through years of austerities, was once granted a boon by
Lord Bramha, that no man or deity would be able to kill him. The immense power filled
in him the urge to rule over the world. He started to terrorize heaven and the inhabitants.
He pervaded the world with his battalion of Asuras and plundered and ruthlessly killed
the people. Chaos and Adharma invaded and ruled. All the Devas were driven from
heaven and Mahishasura took over their thrones.

The Devas scared and unable to combat him, requested Lord Shiva, Lord Bramha, Lord
Vishnu to stop Mahishasura's tyranny. In answer, the three Gods combined their divine
energy and summoned up a feminine form so brilliantly glaring that it illuminated the
heavens.

From the glow emerged Shakthi Devi, a beautiful yellow woman, riding a lion. Despite
her grace she bore a menacing ex-pression, for Shakthi was born to kill. Fully grown and
beautiful Shakthi sent forth against Mahishasura bearing in each of her ten hands,
symbols of their Divine power.

Vishnu's discus; Shiva's trident; Varuna's conchshell; Agni's flaming dart; Vayu's bow;
Surya's quiver and arrow; Yama's iron rod; Indra's thunderbolt; Kubera's club and a
garland of snakes from Shesha and a lion as a charger from Himalayas. 'Devatas also
contributed their share of energy to form the various limbs of the goddess and armed her
with the best jewellery and deadly weapons - thus Shakthi represented an awesome
combination of supreme beauty and deadly power. Now equipped with the fearsome
weaponry of the Gods and dressed in golden armour and jewels she set off, seated
gracefully upon that lion.

A fierce battle took place. All the demons were destroyed in a great battle as with her
Divine sword Shakthi cut them to bits. Mahisha then reverted to his own form, a buffalo,
and charged about on the battlefield. He ran wildly at Shakthi's Divine soldiers goring
many, biting others and all the while beating them with his long, whip-like tail. Shakthi's
lion, angered by the presence of the demon-buffalo, attacked him. Shakthi jumped on
Mahishasura pushing him to the ground with her left leg. She grasped his head in one
hand, pierced him with her sharp trident held in another, and with yet another of her ten
hands she wielded her bright sword, beheading him. At last he fell dead. She conquered
the demon and ended his tyranny after fighting for nine straight nights. On the tenth day,
Vijaya Dasami, the demon was slaughtered and Shakthi relieved the world from the evil
power. That is why she is 'Durgathinashini', our Mother Goddess who destroys the evil,
protects her devotees and establishes peace and prosperity on earth. The Gods then
returned to heaven, and along with the sages of the earth, they sang praises of the
Goddess Shakthi. After that day Shakthi is worshipped by all the gods in heaven and by
all the human beings on earth, she is considered as an eternal mother who resolves all
hardships of her devotees. Mahishasura is there too, impaled by Shakthi's trident and
prostrate beneath her left foot. This victory, and other beautiful stories associated with
Goddess Durga, are celebrated with great fervor throughout different parts of India.
Shakthi puja is performed in elaborate and lavish ways.

Rationale (Permasalahan)
Significance of Navarathri

Rathri means "night" and Nava means "nine". During Navarathri ("nine nights") The
Goddess is worshiped in Her various forms as Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Though
the Goddess is one, She is represented and worshipped in three different aspects. On the
first three nights of the festival, Durga is worshipped. Lakshmi is worshipped on the
second three nights, and then Saraswati Dewi worshippedon the last three nights. The
following day, the tenth day of the festival, is called Vijayadasami. Vijaya means
"victory" the victory over our own minds that can come only when we have worshipped
these three: Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.

The nine days of the festival also represent the three stages through which one passes on
the spiritual path.

Thri Gunas Resembled

The Thri Gunas namely Tamo, Rajo and Satvic have great significance with this
celebrations and are portrayed through the evolvement with the three forms of Mother
Goddess as Durga, Laxshmi and Saraswathi.
Durga, worshipped for her valour, resembles the Tamo Guna. Physical strength is the
only basis for bravery and valour. The tiger used as the “Vahana’ by Durga is itself
carefree in nature and highly desirous in character. All these portray the inherent qualities
of the Tamo Guna.
Laxshmi, worshipped for prosperity, resembles the Rajo Guna. Resourceful in nature and
the elephant, which is hardworking and can be only found in places which are of
nutritious vegetation is closely depicted with her, thus portraying the embedded qualities
of Rajo Guna.
Saraswathi, worshipped for knowledge, resembles the Satvic Guna. Knowledge which is
highly pure in nature is very much the needed flavour for Satvic Guna and the swan
associated with her is capable of sorting the milk from water, which packages the quality
of Satvic Guna.
This ascending evolution of Gunas from a lower level to the higher level which is the
need for spiritual upliftment through the modes of worship; Sariya, Kriya, Yoga and
Nyana are very much resembled in this worship.

Goddess Durga
Durga, the invincible one, the fierce form of the Mother Goddess and is armed with all
the weapons in her ten mighty hands. Thus armed, Durga was as beautiful as she was also
deadly. Durga destroyer of evil, is also known as Uma, beloved daughter of King Daksha,
Queen Menaka who, for the sake of love, forsaked a kingdom and earned her father’s
anger, Kali, black as the night and omnipotent, terrible in rage and fury, with just a string
of skulls as her garland and her only garb, Parvati, serene, pretty consort of the Lord
Shiva, cooling her heels on the snow-bound peaks of Kailash. She is also Bhawani,
symbol of life, Sati, the object of death, Basanti, the creator of springtime and she is the
whole of salvation and sacrifice.

Worship of Goddess Durga

During the first three days, the Mother is worshipped in her powerful, destructive,
terrifying aspect. Many people, when beginning the spiritual path, have an inherent fear
of God; therefore this first phase of Navarathri represents the first stage of a spiritual
path.
During these three days, the devotee prays to the Mother to use Her destructive power to
destroy his imperfections and his faults. He prays for Her to make him pure enough to
receive the divine energy. Additionally, this terrifying aspect of the Divine is the one who
protects the new spiritual seeker on his path. Thus, the first three days of Navratri are
devoted to annihilating the negative tendencies of our minds and hearts.

To gain noble virtues, all evil tendencies in the mind must be destroyed. This destruction
is represented by Goddess Durga. Durga is Durgati Harini: "She who removes our evil
tendencies." Thiat is why She is called Mahishasura Mardini, the destroyer of Mahisha
asura (demon). Mahisha meaning "buffalo." Isn't there a buffalo in our minds as well ?
The buffalo stands for the Tamo Guna, the quality of laziness, darkness, ignorance, and
inertia. We have all these qualities of laziness too. We love to sleep. Although we may
have a lot of energy and potential inside us, we prefer to do nothing - just like the buffalo
that loves only to lie in pools of water. In the Puranas story, Durga Devi's killing of the
Mahisha demon is symbolically, the destruction of the tamoguna within us that is very
difficult to destroy. In the Durga Devi Havan (sacrifice), we invoke that divine Power
within us to destroy our animalistic tendencies.

Goddess Lakshmi
Sri Laxshmi is the Goddess of Abundance and Prosperity. Depicted seated upon or
holding the lotus, symbol of spiritual purity, fertility and vegetative growth, the Goddess
Sri (Laxshmi) is adored, like Ganesha, for her auspicious nature. Dressed in red, she
carries a coffer, and gold coins shower from her hand, and she represents the supreme
Divine principle which pervades all creation with vitality and consciousness.
Actively worshipped by billions of Hindus, Laxshmi is the modern face of the ancient
Great Mother Goddess; stalks of grain surrounding her head connote a rich harvest.

Worship of Goddess Laxshmi

The second three days of Navaratri are days in which the Mother is worshipped in Her
prosperity-bestowing form. Once the negative tendencies have been annihilated, one is
ready to begin developing a positive, spiritual personality. These are the days that
positive attributes replace the negative attributes which were removed. These days are the
worship of Maha Lakshmi, the bestower of prosperity. On the spiritual path, after people
overcome the fear of God, they frequently pray for material wealth or external prosperity.
They pray for success in their ventures and for the removal of obstructions in their path.
The prosperity Maha Lakshmi bestows is not merely material prosperity, but it is also all
of the qualities which a sincere spiritual seeker craves - calmness, peace, equanimity,
compassion, love.

For Knowledge to dawn within us, we have to prepare our minds. The mind must be
pure, concentrated, and single - pointed. This purification of the mind is obtained through
the worship of Lakshmi Devi.
In our society today, however, when we think of Lakshmi, we think only of money -
counting, gold and dollar bills ! This is why if one goes to the Lakshmi temple, one will
find a crowd. Everybody likes Lakshmi Puja (Lakshmi worship) because they think she
represents material wealth. But what is real wealth? Even if we have material wealth but
have no self discipline or self control, nor the values of love, kindness, respect, and
sincerity, all our material wealth will be lost or destroyed. The real wealth is the inner
wealth of spiritual values that we practise in our lives, by which our minds become
purified. Only when we have these noble values will we be able to preserve our material
wealth and make good use of it. Otherwise, money itself becomes a problem.
In the Upanishads, the Rishis never asked for material wealth only. In the mantras of the
Taittiriya Upanishad, they first asked to have all the noble virtues fully developed in
themselves. "Having gained the noble virtues, thereafter, Lord please bring wealth to us."
The Rishis express here that in the absence of right values and good qualities, all our
money will be wasted. We know this is true because, for example, if we give money to a
drug addict or an alcoholic, he will drink or smoke it away in no time. Our wealth of
virtues is our true Lakshmi.
Its importance is shown by the fact that Adi Shankaracharya himself, in the
Vivekachoodamani, describes the Sat Sampati, or the six forms of wealth (calmness of
mind, self control, self withdrawal, forbearance, faith, and single pointedness) that are to
be cultivated to attain wisdom. These virtues are important because our goal is to gain
victory over the mind - a victory such that we do not get disturbed by every change that
takes place in our lives. This victory comes only when the mind is prepared, and this
mental preparation is the symbolism of the Lakshmi Puja.
Goddess Saraswathi
Saraswati is the Sakti, the power and the consort of Brahma the Creator. Hence she is the
the mother, of the entire creation. Saraswati literally means "the flowing one". She is
connected with fertility and purification. She respresents power and intelligence from
which organized creation proceeds. She is considered as the personification of all
knowledge - arts, sciences, crafts, & skills. The four arms of Goddess Saraswati show her
unimpeded power in all directions or her all-pervasiveness. Knowledge is the antithesis
of the darkness of ignorance, hence she is depicted as pure white in colour; and is
extraordinarily beautiful & graceful. Clad in a spotless white appeal & seated on a lotus
seat, she holds in her four hands a Vina (lute), Aksamala (rosary), Kamala (lotus) and
Pustaka (book).

Worship of Goddess Saraswathi

During the last three days, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped as the bestower of true
wisdom and understanding. Once the devotee has been purified by Goddess Durga and
has had his vices annihilated, and once he has had the spiritual wealth of inner peace,
calmness, compassion and love bestowed upon him by Maha Laxmi, then he is ready to
receive the true light of understanding. This wisdom can not come unless the devotee has
passed through the first two stages. Just as one would not pour divine nectar into an
unclean, broken and impure cup, one can similarly not expect to have divine wisdom
granted unless the vessel has been purified and made divine.

Frequently on the spiritual path, seekers wish to attain divine knowledge without first
purifying themselves and attaining positive qualities. This is impossible, however. The
true light of Divine Wisdom can only be bestowed once the seeker has annihilated his
negative tendencies and begun to develop a positive, spiritual attitude.
Victory over the mind can be gained only through knowledge, through understanding;
and it is Goddess Saraswati who represents this highest knowledge of the Self. Although
there are many kinds of knowledge in the Vedas -- phonetics, astronomy, archery,
architecture, economics and so on -- the >real knowledge is spiritual knowledge. Lord
Krishna Himself says in the Bhagwad Geeta: "The knowledge of the Self is The
Knowledge'; and He adds, "it is My vibhuti, My glory." In other words, we may have
knowledge of many other subjects and sciences, but if we do not know our own Self, then
that is the greatest loss. Therefore, the supreme Knowledge is the knowledge of the Self
that is represented by Goddess Saraswati.

Thus, during Navrathri, Goddess Durga is invoked first to remove the impurities from the
mind. Then Goddess Lakshmi is invoked to cultivate the noble values and qualities.
Finally, Saraswati is invoked for gaining the highest knowledge of the Self. This is the
significance of the three sets of three nights, and when all these three are gained
subjectively, then there will be Vijayadasami, the day of true victory !
The Celebration of Navarathri as a Festival

What makes Navarathri Puja intoxicating is the tension between calm spirituality and
ecstatic sensuality, the twin poles of Hindu religious worship. The festival of Navarathri
Puja is celebrated all over India in particular and the world over in general, by not only
Hindus but by all of those who follow the Dharmic Faiths, with different festivities and
rituals. Navarathri Puja is celebrated in the Autumn, in the month of September/October.
It is the time when the weather remains at its best giving the atmosphere a festive mood.
The beauty of Autumn is impossible to overlook in any corner of the land. It arouses one
from bed at dawn, with the sound of high-pitched, salulations, the frantic blowing of
conch shells and metal bell cymbals. This simple ceremony marks the arrival of the
Mother Goddess Shakthi, for the festival of Navarathri Puja.

Common Rituals and some Important Facts

Navarathri Puja is basically a festival with a long series of rituals followed on every day
of the Puja. starting from the day of the Prathama, Dwidhiya, Thrithiya, Chathurthi,
Panjami, Sashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami or Vijaya Dashami. Every day
has its own unique rituals to follow.

There are different pujas and ceremonies performed on each of the nine days, most
notably is fasting on the eighth day and then the immersion of Goddess Durga's image in
holy rivers on Vijaya Dasami (the 10th day), which falls on the day right after Navarathri
ends.

During Navarathri time, the Rasa Dance (the dance of joy) of Shri Krishna and the Gopis
is also performed. As the mind becomes purer, calmer, quieter, and more cheerful, and
greater understanding is gained, making us feel merrier and happier, though nowadays,
the theme of Shri Krishna and the Gopis dancing the Rasa has been lost in our society.
Today the true meaning and purpose of the ritual is forgotten, as more importance is
given to other types of dancing.

Additionally, during the time of Navarathri and Dusshera, particularly in the state of
Gujarat, there is a special tradition of Garba dancing. This is a special type of group
dance which is typically performed in a circle, along with clapping of the hands or of
sticks. The garba dancing is typically performed at night, in an open space, and it is
believed that not only is the dance to the Mother Goddess, but also that the Mother
Goddess is part of the dance itself, and that the dancers are dancing with Her.

So, Navarathri is the time of worship of the Divine Mother. Beautiful pujas, havans and
aartis are performed for Her. Through singing Her glories we pray that She will purify
our lives and bring us health, happiness, peace and prosperity.

Why is the Navaratri Festival Celebrated at Night ?

This is an interesting question. The night time is generally the time when we go to sleep,
so the spiritual message of night time worship is, ''You have lived long enough in the
sleepy ignorance of the Tamo Guna. It is time to get up now. Please, wake up !.

Conclusion (Kesimpulan)
Therefore, Navaratri should be a time of not only celebrating Goddess Durga's triumph
over the evil demon, but rather it should also be a time of praying to Goddess Durga to
remove the evil from within us, not only the evil in the external world. We must pray to
her to annihilate our inner enemies - our ego, our greed, our anger - just as she
vanquished the evil demon. These traits inside us are just as powerful, just as insidious,
and just as deadly as any of the Asuras or Rakshasas (demons).

Let us note also that Goddess Durga wears red, which symbolizes divine action. The
Goddess is never idle. She is always busy in the destruction of evil in the world. As we
vow to remove the evil from our own hearts and our own lives, we must be just as
vigilant, just as active and just as conscientious. We must never become complacent; for
anger, greed, ego, and lust are always present, always lurking, and always ready to make
home in welcoming hearts.

Vijaya Dasami and Dusshera

The day after Navarathri (frequently referred to as the 10th day of Navrathri) is Vijaya
Dasami. The Dewi or Mother Goddess had penanced for 9 consequent days and
manifested as Durga, Laxshmi and Saraswathi and had fused all these Shakthis into one
embodiment in order to annihilate the evil force. This auspicious penance depicts the
persistent tireless and concentrated hard work that has to be put into any effort before we
witness success.
The moral therefore is whether we have been able to eradicate the evil quality within us
and bring out to shine the Divine quality already manifested within us.
How much concerted efforts are we putting to enable us to achieve this stage in our
enhancement towards Spiritual Upliftment.

Likewise Dusshera which is commonly celebrated in parts of Northern India,

commemorates the day on which the 10-headed demon King Ravana was killed. On this
day, Bhagwan Rama defeated the 10-headed Ravana, thereby rescuing his wife Sitaji who
had been kidnapped by this evil ruler of Lanka. The story of the war and Lord Rama's
victory is re-enacted with great fervor on this holy day.

There is a beautiful tradition of Rama-lila, which is the dramatic depiction of the story of
Bhagwan Rama, along with song and dance. People love to watch the victory of
Bhagwan Rama over Ravana and to celebrate the safe return of Sitaji.
However, embedded within this scriptural epic are vital messages for our lives today. We
ust not let the deeper lessons and meaning get overshadowed by the joyous festivities of
the day.

Annihilation of the 10 headed Demon Within

The word "Dusshera" refers to the cutting off of the 10 heads of Ravana, or symbolically
of our own Ego. The ten heads represent passion, pride, anger, greed, infatuation, lust,
hatred, jealousy, selfishness and crookedness.

As we celebrate this holy day, as we rejoice in Bhagwan Rama's victory, let us ask
ourselves, "Has the Rama in us been victorious over our own Ravana? Is the good in our
hearts conquering the evil? Have we decapitated the 10-headed demon within us? Have
we annihilated passion, pride, anger, greed, infatuation, lust, hatred, jealousy, selfishness
and crookedness from our own lives?"

Dusshera is not only a holy day about Lord Rama and Ravana. Rather, it is a holy day,
about examining ourselves. When faced with a choice of how to act, do we act like Rama
or like Ravana?

Have we conquered our Ego

After the battle in Lanka, when Lord Rama was showing Sitaji the battlefield, he did not
say, "This is the spot where I slaughtered the evil Ravana." Rather, he said, "This is
where Ravana died." Even after achieving the momentous task of killing Ravana, Lord
Rama was still humble.

On the other hand, in our own lives, we usually crave the attention, the praise and the
respect of others. We are so quick to point out our own achievements and to give
ourselves credit. We are so quick to put ourselves in the center.

Let us take this beautiful lesson of how to remain humble, pious and selfless. "This is
where Ravana died," not "Look this where I bravely defeated Ravana."

Also, while Ravana lay dying, Bhagwan Rama did not revel in the victory. Rather, he
sent his brother Lakshman to learn from the dying demon king. For, Ravana was a great
scholar, a peerless Vedic master who - due to this own pride, ego, vanity and insatiable
desires - became a demon. So, Bhagwan Rama sent Lakshman to go and listen to words
of Vedic wisdom from Ravana as the latter lay on his death bed. Bhagwan Rama knew
that, although Ravana's vices had brought about his own downfall (just as our own vices
eventually yet inevitably bring about our downfall) he still was a venerable scholars and
one from whom great wisdom could be obtained.

Further, we must remember that the war of Lanka was won because Bhagwan Rama had
built a bridge to Lanka, a bridge to the enemy's kingdom. This is also an important
lesson. In our lives, we should learn to build bridges between ourselves and others, even
with those whom we may consider enemies. Rather, than isolating ourselves from others,
let us learn to build bridges which will ultimately lead to a cessation of fighting or to a
victory of good over evil.

So, on this day when we celebrate the demise of Ravana, let us ask ourselves if our inner
Ravana is dead as well. Let us pledge to remove the evil 10-headed demon from our own
lives. Let us pray to God for the strength to be pure, selfless, humble, loving and honest
every day of our lives. Let us take steps EACH DAY (not only on Dusshera) to become
more and more like Lord Rama rather than more and more like Ravana. Let us build
bridges between ourselves and others, even those whom we deem "enemies."

At the end of every day, when we introspect and examine our actions, our thoughts and
our words, let us open our own balance sheets and see whether we are becoming more
like Rama or more like Ravana. Let us vow that, at this sacred time, we will strive to
bring forth the inner Rama and to vanquish the inner Ravana.