We recently completed our 10 Day Shiva yagyas which culminated on Shivaratri. Now we shift our focus to honor the 10 forms of the Divine Mother (Dasa Mahavidya) during the Spring Navaratri festival. Navaratri honors the Divine Mother in ten different forms.

We begin with a full day Ganesha yagya in order to remove obstacles to our progress towards enlightenment and to generate material success. The following nine days focus on the different forms of the Divine Mother in order to maximize the comfort and success that we enjoy in daily life. Our Shiva yagyas have created a spiritual space which these Maha Vidya yagyas will fill with the blessings of the goddesses.

The ten forms have various characteristics:

• Raja Matangi - the tantric form of Saraswati
• Bhuvaneshwari - the World Mother
• Bagalamuki - the power of Mars and protection from enemies
• Tripurasundari - the most beautiful form of the goddess
• Tara - another form of Saraswati
• Kamala - the tantric form of Lakshmi
• Kali - the power of the goddess to create transformation
• Chinnamasta - self sacrificing form of the divine mother
• Dhumavati - The older form of the divine mother
• Bhairavi - the warrior goddess

Each morning our priests will perform our daily Rudra Abishekam followed by a traditional goddess yagya which includes the vedic fire ritual (havan) from 8 AM to 1 PM. In the evening, they perform 2 hours of pujas where the 700 verses in praise of Durga are recited. This is known as the Durga Saptashati or Chandi Path. The text is recited followed by the 1008 names (Sahasranam) of Lalitha; the most beautiful form of the goddess.

These rituals generate shakti (power) which we use in our lives to create the sorts of life experiences that we desire; spiritual, material, or a combination of both. Some people experience a feeling of lightness, some experience inner happiness, many experience more spiritual contentment with their lives, and greater success or increased income. The blessings of the goddesses bring us closer to whatever we most want our lives to be.

The final day, Vijaya Dashami, will feature special pujas for Saraswati who is honored on this day of victory, symbolic of the victory of light over darkness and joy over suffering.  These yagyas are profoundly purifying and eliminate old stresses and bad karmas. As a result life is lived with greater freedom, happiness and satisfaction.