Durga Symbolizes

The festival of Navratri celebrates nine nights dedicated to the nine divine forms of Goddess Durga.  A Hindu festival symbolizing the triumph of good over evil, Navratri takes place at the beginning of October around harvest time and, as the name implies, is celebrated for nine days. On the tenth day is Dussera which celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana. An effigy of Ravana is burnt; often giant dummies of Ravana stuffed with fireworks are shot with arrows until it blows up. Navratri in Gujarat is celebrated with dandiya, and garba-raas.

Goddess Durga symbolizes the divine forces (positive energy) known as divine shakti (feminine energy/ power) that is used against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. She protects her devotees from evil powers and safeguards them. It is believed that Goddess Durga is the combined form of powers of Goddesses Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati.
It is also believed that Goddess Durga was created by Lord Vishnu as a warrior goddess to protect good people (devas) for fighting the demon, Mahishasur.. Her divine shakti contains the combined energies of all the gods in the form of weapons and emblems (mudras).

Goddess Durga represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the creation. The Sanskrit word durga means fort or a place that is protected and thus difficult to reach. Durga, also called Divine Shakti, protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces (negative energy and vices—arrogance, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, greed and selfishness).

Goddess Durga is depicted as a warrior woman with eight hands carrying weapons of different kinds assuming mudras, (symbolic hand gestures) that represent her teachings.
• Chakra in her 1st upper right hand symbolizes dharma (duty/righteousness). We must perform our duty/responsibilities in life.

• Conch in her first upper left hand symbolizes happiness. We must perform our duty happily and cheerfully and not with resentment.

• Sword in her second right lower hand symbolizes eradication of vices. We must learn to discriminate and eradicate our evil qualities.

• Bow and arrow in her second left lower hand symbolizes character like Lord Rama.  When we face difficulties in our life we should not lose our character (values).

• Lotus Flower in her third lower left hand symbolizes detachment. We must live in the world without attachment to the external world. Just like the lotus flower stays in dirty water yet smiles and gives its beauty to others. This is the only way to receive Her blessings.

• Club in her third right lower hand is the symbol of Hanuman and symbolizes devotion and surrender. Whatever we do in our life we do with love and devotion and accept the outcome as the Almighty’s will.

• Trident/Trishul in her fourth left lower hand symbolizes courage. We must have courage to eliminate our evil qualities and face the challenges in our life.

• Fourth Lower Right Hand symbolizes forgiveness and Her blessings. We must forgive ourselves and others for mistakes and/or any hurt we may have caused.

Durga Maa is depicted as riding on a lion or a tiger. A tiger symbolizes unlimited power. Durga riding a tiger indicates that She possesses unlimited power and uses it to protect virtue and destroy evil.  The lion is a symbol of uncontrolled animalistic tendencies (such as anger, arrogance, selfishness, greed, jealousy, desire to harm others etc.) and Her sitting on it reminds us to control these qualities, so that we are not controlled by them.

She is usually shown wearing a red sari.  The color red symbolizes action and the red clothes signify that She is destroying evil and protecting mankind from pain and suffering.

Thus, Goddess Durga symbolizes the Divine forces (positive energy) that is used against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. She represents pure energy (positive), known as divine light or jyoti that is the embodiment of feminine and creative energy.

This month we must pray to Maa Durga, the Universal Mother, asking Her to use Her destructive power to remove the vices within us (anger, selfish desires, greed, ego and undue attachments), imperfections and faults; and purify us to become a receptacle of her Divine Shakti—Anandamayi Shakti.

There are several mantras for Goddess Durga, but the most simple and easy mantra to remember is “Om Sri Durgaya Namah.”  It is believed that by chanting this mantra regularly the Divine Mother will remove the physical, mental and worldly problems in life and shower us with her unlimited blessings.

Satya Kalra, a former CEO from the biotech industry and founder of nonprofit organizaiion, Path to Anandam (www.pathtoanandam.org), is a spiritual guide, self-transformational coach, meditation and self-healing expert, author and international speaker.

Why does Goddess Kali stand on Lord Shiva with her tongue sticking out?

Why does Goddess Kali stand on Lord Shiva with her tongue sticking out?
In Devi Mahatmya, Kali unfurls her tongue in her role as the ultimate deliverer called upon to salvage a situation that seems hopelessly out of control. She is summoned by Durga herself to destroy the demon Rakta-bija, whose name means 'blood-seed'. The demon Rakta-bija had the magical ability to produce a double of himself instantly every time a drop of his blood fell to the ground. 

Having wounded Rakta-bija with a variety of weapons, Durga and her assistants, a fierce band of warriors known as the Matrikas, find they have worsened the situation: as Rakta-bija bleeds more profusely from his wounds, the battlefield gets filled with Rakta-bija duplicates. 

Desperate, Durga summons Kali, who spreads her tongue across the battlefield, and swallows in one gulp, the swarm of blood-born demons and sucks the blood from the original Rakta-bija until he falls lifeless. Kali's tongue here is a weapon, to be feared, a reminder that nature ultimately consumes all life. 

It is said, in some versions, that Goddess Durga actually assumes the form of Goddess Kali at this time. 

The Devi Mahatmyam describes: 

'Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.' 

In popular story-telling, the reason for Kali sticking out her tongue is rather domestic. After killing the demon Daruka, Kali drank his blood. The blood drove her mad with bloodlust. She went around the world killing at random. The gods begged Shiva to stop her. So he took the form of a handsome man and lay in Kali's path. As soon as Kali stepped on him, she bit her tongue out of embarrassment. She was ashamed to learn that her bloodlust had prevented her from seeing and recognising her own husband.

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Goddess Kali is the ultimate representation of feminine power of destruction. She is unabashed and untamable with the heart and mind set upon destruction and consumptive endeavours. Born out of the brows of Goddess Durga during one of her fights with demons, Kali is black in colour. She is seen with her hair untied, One of her four hands clutches a demon’s severed head and another is seen holding the Kharga or a curved sword. Two other hands are dedicated to her devotees, with the promise of protection and blessing. She wears a garland of severed demon heads and a girdle of severed demon hands. But if she is benign in the slightest sense then why does Goddess Kali stand on Lord Shiva with her tongue sticking out?
Goddess Kali represents the force of the ultimate devourer. She is bathed in blood and one of her leg is seen folded to her knee. The figure she represents is one that is sufficient to strike fear into the weak-hearted. It is no surprise therefore that early orientalist historians assumed Goddess Kali herself was a demon. Blood sacrifices of animals are not uncommon in her worship. In some places where dacoits worshipped the Goddess, she is known to have received human sacrifices too. Even Lord Shiva’s Taandav dance seems somewhat tame next to Kali’s dance of destruction. The tongue sticking out has a dual meaning. On the first instance, it underscores her insatiable, omnivorous appetite for all tastes this world of senses has to offer. When the Goddess allowed herself to get loose upon creation, she went on a raging rampage. No demon, human or God stood a chance at stopping her blood-lust. A collective prayer was made to Lord Shiva by all beings to try to stop this Maha-Shakti form of his consort. Such was the power of the Goddess that wherever she set foot, absolute destruction followed suit. Lord Shiva realised even he could not reason with such an elemental force. He had to reach out to her in terms of emotions. As such, he decided to lay down in the Goddess’ path. When Kali finally reached the spot where Lord Shiva was lying down, she did not notice him until she stepped on his chest. So far, everything she was setting foot on was being destroyed. This was an exception, Kali was forced to look down and found Shiva there. Sudden realization dawned on her and she snapped out of her reverie and found herself extremely ashamed, sticking out her tongue instinctively as a sign of regret.
The ability to realize propriety and adhere to sense even as she was drunk with the passion for destruction proves the Goddess’s ability for compassion. Artists and sculptors choose to depict this statue of the Goddess, in order to capture the perfect balance of passion and humility, alongside unbridled power and frank sense of accepting having made a mistake.
We learn from Goddess Kali’s example that even righteous anger, bore out of the desire to protect one’s devotees as a mother would protect her children, can turn into an orgiastic blood lust. That kind of anger is at times necessary to singe off all signs of bondage and evils of dependence on materiality. Goddess Kali is mostly referred to as “Maa” – a popular address directed to mothers. The worship of Goddess Kali therefore stands for the devotees’ desire to find the primal protection of the mother, to guard against material and spiritual evil.

Saraswati

Saraswati is the Goddess of learning, knowledge, and wisdom.

The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self."

Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the self."

Saraswati is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati symbolizes the creative power of Brahma.

Goddess Saraswati is worshiped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, scholars, and scientists. "In Her popular images and pictures, Goddess Saraswati is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show only two arms), wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus. She holds a book and a rosary in Her rear two hands, while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (veena).

Her right leg is shown slightly pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:

The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswati signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color symbolizes purity and knowledge.

The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is the embodiment of pure knowledge. The four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality.

The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand. The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.

The rosary signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union with God. A rosary in the rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.

The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.

Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water.

A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destroy the world. A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is anxiously waiting to serve as Her vehicle.

A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswati is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge."