I wonder that the Indian scriptures are so beautifully written that if we read them with little patience and contemplation, they tend the reveal the greatest secrets of life. For example, every year, this time of the year, we celebrate Nav Durga and Vijay Dashmi at the same time. As if the inner Ravana is killed when we pray to the nine forces of nature.
The first Durga is "Shailputri" which means daughter of a mountain. After Shiva was not invited to participate in a yajna carried out by Daksh Prajapati, Gauri offered herself to fire and later took birth as Shailputri. Gauri had such a strong desire to meet Shiva. On the contrary, we have one or another strong Sanchit karma, as a result of identification with the material world, which is our reason for the present birth. Such karmas are stored in the causal body and in Astrology these are represented by the planet Saturn. In a state of unawareness, these Sanchit karmas keep dictating our decisions. However, we pray to Shailputri to bless us with awareness so that our Sanchit karma of attachment to the material world fades away and we get inclined to merge with the consciousness like Shailputri.
The second form of Durga is "Bhahmcharini". In this form, she did very tough penance to meet Shiva. In Astrology, this element is represented by the Sun. It represents the energy of entrepreneurship or initiative. Usually, the energy of the Sun is clouded by material objects and therefore we set our initiatives in the form of martial achievements. However, we pray "Brahmcharini" to bless us with pure motives in life that make us merge with the divine rather than take us away from that.
The next form of Durga is "Chandraghanta". She represents balance, poise, and calmness. In Astrology, the same is represented by the planet Moon. The moon represents energy to create. All of us have that creative instinct within us. However, generally, creativity has centered around material pleasure. We design beautiful buildings, and roads, and plan cities so well. make beautiful homes, and set up systems, all for the pleasure of the people. When that creativity manifests like in the form of "Life Divine" and "Savitri" written by Sri Aurobindo, it stands apart. While praying to devi "Chandaraghanta" we pray for the awareness to set our center of creativity right.
The next form of Durga is "Kusmanda". She represents the devi of the quantum world who has her abode inside the Sun symbolically. In Astrology, this force is presented by Venus. Venus represents the force of quantum energy that helps us understand the nuances of the execution of any work. Generally, we misuse the energy of Venus by using it to achieve material objects. We design the techniques and technologies that make us comfortable, right from Robotic cars to drones. We fail to realize that the true use of this force in our lives is to make us realize the reality of the quantum of the world and to experience the magic of creation. Recent advances in quantum physics, to an extent, are trying to unravel the mysteries of the quantum world. However, the more they reveal the more we get surprised by our shallowness to understand the mysteries in the quantum world.
Next form of Durga is "Skandmata". She created this universe. She represents the power of concentration. That is what Mars represents in Astrology. The power to concentrate and physical energy. Generally, we misuse this force of nature as well out of sheer ignorance and keep wasting physical energy to pursue material objects. We try to get hold of the Sun like Hanumana tried in his childhood and then hit by Indra became unaware of his powers. We too use our energy for the pursuit of material objects and due to the misuse, we slowly forget the strength of this force. When we come in contact of Rama, we do recall our strength and then use that for the well-being of the world.
The next form is "Katyayini". She is the devi of research and knowledge. In Astrology, the same force is represented by Jupiter who is the teacher of Devas. "Ego" often uses knowledge as one of its tools and so did Ravana. Who else was more learned and knowledgeable than Ravana. But he used his knowledge as a tool to perpetuate his ego. He would have thousands of logic to deny any words of wisdom from Vibhishana or Mandodari. We too use our limited knowledge to defend our ego quite often. That is the reason that we pray to devi "Katyayini" to direct our knowledge towards the divine.
The next form of Devi Durga is "Kalratri". She is the one having a dark form and destroys the dark forces. We all have past memories that keep driving our existence. Chitta is the storehouse of these memories. In Astrology, these forces are represented by Ketu. Most of our lives are driven by past memories. Somebody cheated us or said bad words to us and we spend a lot of time taking revenge, our present is driven by the motivations and desires of the past. People earn a lot of money and yet keep spending a lot of time earning more money because they carry the mental deficiency of money and need to earn that from their childhood experiences. We pray to Devi "Kalratri" to free us of these memories so that we may merge with Shiva representing consciousness.
The next form is "Mahagauri". She fulfills all our desires. In Astrology, this force is represented by Rahu. Rahu represents Mana. When we concentrate on the mana, we may achieve any Siddhi. However, in most cases, we become too narrow to look beyond our desires and pleasures. That is the reason why the power of Rahu is often misused by us. Our mind becomes focused on the achievement of worldly desires. That is why we pray "Mahagauri" to help us merge with the divine.
The ninth form of devi is "Siddhidatri". She blesses us with all the siddhis. In Astrology, it is represented by Mercury. Mercury is the ruler of Buddhi or intellect. When our Chitta is cleaned of the past memories, and our Mana is also desireless, our intellect becomes pure and we get to know the deep secrets of this world and get all the Siddhis. However, most of the time, the Mana rules the intellect and therefore intellect works way below its capacity. That is the reason why we pray devi "Siddhidatri" to bless us so that we may unite with the divine and the intellect may work at the command of the Divine.
We pray to all the nine forces of nature so that the grip of the "ego" over all these nine forces may loosen and we may use the nine divine forces at the command and direction of the divine. However, Rama may cut the heads of Ravana many times, but the heads will grow again. Similarly, "ego" keeps coming back in one form or the other. Finally, it is only when Rama hits the arrow in his navel, that Ravana gets killed and that is why the tenth day is so sacrosanct. Finally, we have to hit at the very source of the ego. Ignorance is the genesis of "ego" and unless that ignorance is handled, "ego" will keep coming back in one or the other form. I wish that we all recognize the hidden Ravana within us. Recognition of ignorance is the first step towards awareness. The moment we decide to be aware, sooner or later, ignorance will be killed. With the blessing of Nav Durga, the consciousness can then manifest through the nine forces of nature within all us representing Nav Durga.
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