Goddess Durga represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the creation. The Sanskrit word Durga means a fort or a place that is protected and thus difficult to reach. Durga, also called Divine Mother, protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, and ego.

The worship of Goddess Durga is very popular among Hindus. She is also called by many other names, such as Parvati, Ambika, and Kali In the form of Parvati, She is known as the divine spouse of Lord Shiva and is the mother of Her two sons, Ganesha and Karttikeya, and daughter Jyoti. There are many temples dedicated to Durga’s worship in India.

In Her images, Goddess Durga is shown in a female form, wearing red clothes. She has eighteen arms, carrying many objects in Her hands. The red colour symbolizes action and the red clothes signify that She is always busy destroying evil and protecting mankind from pain and suffering caused by evil forces. Following is the symbolism associated with Goddess Durga:

A Lion symbolizes unlimited power. Durga riding a tiger indicates that She possesses unlimited power and uses it to protect virtue and destroy evil. The eighteen arms of Durga signify that She possesses combined power of the nine incarnations of Lord Vishnu that have appeared on the earth at different times in the past. The tenth incarnation, the Kalkin (a man on a white horse), is still to come. Thus, Goddess Durga represents a united front of all Divine forces against the negative forces of evil and wickedness.

•  The sound that emanates from a conch is the sound of the sacred syllable AUM, which is said to be the sound of creation. A conch in one of the Goddess’s hands signifies the ultimate victory of virtue over evil and righteousness over unrighteousness.

Other weapons in the hands of Durga such as a mace, sword, disc, arrow, and trident convey the idea that one weapon cannot destroy all different kinds of enemies. Different weapons must be used to fight enemies depending upon the circumstances. For example, selfishness must be destroyed by detachment, jealousy by desirelessness, prejudice by self-knowledge and ego by discrimination.

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For the devotees of mother Durga the most authentic text is the Durga Saptashati. This ancient text is actually a portion of the Markandeya Puran. This Puran contains, among other things, details about the rites and rituals for devotion to goddess Durga. Of the 134 chapters in the Markandeya Puran, 13 chapters, (chapters 78 – 90) are devoted exclusively to goddess Durga. Our sages have opined that those who wish to pray to goddess Durga as their main deity, should follow the directions given in these chapters. These thirteen chapters, along with other material that our sages have added over time, are collectively known as the Durga Saptashati.

To be able to recite the whole text would not be possible given the constraint of time in this day and age. Therefore, the sages have further concluded that if one was to recite the three major prayers of the Durga Saptashati – durga kavach, argala stotra and the keelak stotra, one would get the same benefit as if he/she were reciting the complete Durga Saptashati.

Accordingly, this album contains these three prayers in conjunction with an invocation prayer (mangalacharan), and a prayer in praise of goddess Durga (durga stuti). The album also contains the bhagavati stotra, a prayer for forgiveness (kshamaa mantra). and finally the famous Durga aarti, om jai ambe gauri.

While Goddess Durga is worshipped throughout the year, there are two specific nine-day-periods called the navraatri, which are considered especially auspicious. These fall during the month of March-April and then in September- October. The dates vary according to the lunar calendar and can be confirmed from the Hindu almanac. It is widely believed if a person listens to, or recites these prayers during these periods he/she can get whatever boon he/she wishes for.

Thanks To
Track: Durga Kavach
Singer: Gundecha Brothers
Album: Durga Shakti

Self Realization

Goddess Saraswati

Goddess Maha Lakshmi

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Shiva: The Personification of Consciousness

Lord Shiva is one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood deities in the spiritual realm of Sanatana Dharma. As Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya explains in this informative spiritual talk, Shiva represents the element of consciousness. Learn more about the inner nature of the god Shiva, about his connections with the phenomenon of consciousness, and about your own true nature as an eternal being. http://www.dharmacentral.com

The Philosophy of Shaivism E book

Main Points – Episode
Happiness is not dependent on physical objects.
Objects, possessions, gadgets are designed to give us comfort.
Physical comfort is different from emotional comfort. Happiness is a feeling.
Happiness is our internal creation and can be created irrespective of external comforts.
We use the objects as a stimulus to create a response, but the response is our choice.
Different people create different responses, using the same stimulus.

Happiness Unlimited – Happiness is not a destination, it is a journey

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The Significance of Shiva’s Dance

 

This cosmic dance of Shiva is called ‘Anandatandava,’ meaning the Dance of Bliss, and symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death. The dance is a pictorial allegory of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy — creation, destruction, preservation, salvation, and illusion. According to Coomerswamy, the dance of Shiva also represents his five activities: ‘Shrishti’ (creation, evolution); ‘Sthiti’ (preservation, support); ‘Samhara’ (destruction, evolution); ‘Tirobhava’ (illusion); and ‘Anugraha’ (release, emancipation, grace).

The overall temper of the image is paradoxical, uniting the inner tranquility, and outside activity of Shiva.…Read More

The stylized cosmic dance of Shiva Nataraja from Danzananta Dance Company
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