There are three different dimensions of existence. Past, present, and future. Past memories and impressions play a very significant role in guiding our lives. Past memories are stored deep inside our bodies and guide our decisions unconsciously. For example, if we had a fight with a relative, we would start feeling uncomfortable the moment we pass through their home. In Astrology, these past memories, which are carried by human beings from their past lives, are known as "Prarabdha". There are three planets, Saturn, the Sun, and Moon, that reflect Prarabdha.
Saturn represents the past memories and impressions that are Tamasik and try to stagnate us. Mars represents the past memories and impressions that are Rajasik and motivate us to take action within our present understanding of life. Moon represents the past memories and impressions that are Saatvik and help us expand our horizons and explore new dimensions of life.
We pray to these three forces of nature in the first three Navratras in the form of Devi Shailputri, Bhahamcharini and Chandraghanta. Devi Shailputri is the daughter of the mountain Himalaya. Himalya represents solidity of past impressions and therefore he is unable to recognise Shiva. When Shailputri wants to marry Shiva, Himalaya insults Shiva. This is what our Tamasik past impressions and memories do to us. They try to bind us to a fixed frame so that we can not connect to the consciousness. That is the story of the birth of Saturn as well. He is the son of Sun, born out of Chaya, i.e., ignorance. We get fixated on a fixed frame in life due to a lack of awareness. That is why praying to Devi Shailputri releases us from these frames. She decided to enter into the fire rather than accepting that fixed frame. She inspires us to choose awareness over ignorance, whatever the consequences may be.
The second Devi is Brahamcharini, who did a lot of penance as guided by Narada and finally became the wife of Shiva. Similarly second planet, Sun, has the energy of Rajas and action, and if this energy can be used with awareness, it may help us unite with the consciousness. If it is guided by ignorance, it may create millions of new Tamasik impressions and memories. After all, Saturn is a son of the Sun. That is why we pray Devi Brahamcharini to bless us with constant remembrance of Shiva so that our actions are not guided by ignorance.
The third Devi is Chandraghanta, who is helping the whole of the world grow and expand. She is making the whole of the ecosystem pure and pious. The Moon is the third planet in astrology, which represents our past impressions and memories of expansion. It represents the Saatvik energy. This Saatvik energy helps us live with harmony and cooperation in this world. It helps us build a world where there is equality of opportunity for all and everybody can explore their fullest potential. However, when expansion is driven by ignorance, people start exploiting others, nations start exploiting other nations in the name of expansion, and the history of humankind is full of such examples. We pray Devi Chandraghanta to bless us with awareness so that this energy of expansion may be used with awareness of the oneness of all the beings.
All these past memories and impressions make us what we are and what we do in this life. But life is all about action in the present moment. Three forces of nature give us energy for this action, and that are represented by Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. Venus represents the Tamasik energy or the energy operating in a fixed domain. Mars is Rajasik energy or the energy of movement in a fixed frame. Jupiter represents the energy of expansion.
Devi Kusmanda is the creator of this universe. The universe taking form from the big bang, which is compared with a cosmic egg or "Kusmanda" in our mythology. That is the energy of Jupiter. Jupiter represents the energy of expansion. The whole of the universe is expanding at the speed of light. The same force of nature helps us expand and grow beyond our past impressions and memories. To break free of the fixed frames and expand our understanding of life. However, when we are not aware, we become arrogant and full of air, and the energy of air becomes counterproductive. That is why we pray to Devi Kusmanda to bless us with awareness so that we challenge each and every frame of life, however wide that may be, and keep challenging our limited perspectives, beliefs and biases.
Mars is the physical energy of this world that makes us move around in this world. Devi Skandmata is the mother of Skandkumar, who killed Tarkasura, who disturbed the entire universe. The energy of Mars can help us explore this entire world if we remain aware. If we get caught in a limited frame of ignorance, the energy of Mars becomes constrained in a narrow frame and often reflects in the form of wars, battles, fights, aggression, and exploitation. That is why we pray Devi Skandmata to bless us with awareness of the meaning of life so that the physical energy of Mars is not wasted in a constrained frame.
Venus is the quantum energy. The energy of execution. We do so many works in our offices and in society that require detailed planning and execution. Venus represents that energy. If we lose awareness of the larger meaning of life, we tend to get fixated on the work at hand, and that creates stress. Mata Katyayini took birth to kill Mahishasura. An asura-like buffalo. When we work with the quantum energy of Venus, little ignorance may make us lazy and fixated. That is what happens to most of us, and that is why we pray Devi Katyayini to bless us with awareness of the larger purpose so that we remain aware of the larger meaning of life while carrying out the execution of a specific task at hand. The action in the quantum world shall not lose awareness of the wider reality.
At the end of the day, human beings are Manas Putras of Brahma. We remain most of the time in the world of thoughts. There are three forces of nature operating in the domain of mind. Ketu represents past memories or Chitta. Rahu represents thinking of the future of Mana, and Mercury represents Buddhi or intellect that analyses everything logically.
Devi Kalratri is the devi of Tantra. Tantra is nothing but gaining awareness of our Chitta. The moment we gain awareness of our Chitta, we may reform the same. Chitta stores the memories, and we take almost all the decisions based on memories. We make mental stories around so many things and people. Somebody insulted us, somebody helped us, somebody behaved well, somebody badly. Our Chitta is full of such mental stories, and these mental stories, by and large, decide our actions in this world. We pray Devi Kalratri to bless us with the awareness of this secret world of Chitta so that we drop so many mental stories we have accumulated therein and our energy is free to live life with awareness.
Devi Mahagauri is very fair and attractive, and so is our mana. We just keep running after our Mana day and night. We are highly obsessed with Mana, and once our Mana decides something, we hardly think of the consequences. So many problems in this world are due to this obsession. We eat food that is liked by our Mana and fall ill. The hospitals are full of patients because we eat what Mana likes rather than what is good for us. The world is full of so much greed and exploitation because we are driven by Mana. However, Mana may be a very powerful tool if it is guided by awareness. That is the reason why we pray Mahagauri so that we become aware and gain control of our Mana and use that as a tool rather than it being used by ignorance.
Devi Siddhidatri is the devi of intellect. Intellect is the most powerful tool given to human beings. In fact, human beings have the most developed intellect, which is represented by the neocortex in the brain. It is the seat of logic and analysis. However, the most intelligent people in this world have been most dangerous and have tried to rule the world and destroy the same. because their intellect is not guided by awareness rather it is guided by greed and insecurity. We pray Devi Siddhidatri to bless us with awareness. The moment we have that awareness, we can use the most potent tool we have to its fullest potential to make this work a beautiful place to live.
Navratra remind us of the nine forces of nature that rule our existence. This is an opportunity to pray to Devi in nine forms to bless us with awareness of all these nine forces. Astrology is also a tool to make us aware of the nine forces of nature and their interplay so that we may live an aware life. These nine forces may help us make the best use of life and bless us with a contented and blissful life. However, people try to use Astrology to satiate their greed, and the greedy astrologers help them do the same. I wish we understood the real meaning of these forces of nature and with awareness rather than praying ignorantly for the perpetuation of our ignorance. Our culture and mythology are founded on a very sound understanding of nature and its forces, but we often waste this precious opportunity by making loud noises on the roads, demonstrating our greed for pleasure in the name of Navratri. I wish rather than demonstrating our ignorance, we become torchbearers of the light for the whole of the world. Wish everyone Happy Navratri.
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