The Goddess is here! Be good, folks!

This is actually a very exciting time for many of us: the Navrati celebrations began yesterday- gollu pujas, garba and dandiya raas, special fasts and more pujas.

The mother goddess appears in 9 forms, and each one is worshipped for a day. The first three days are devoted to Durga, the Goddess of Courage, the next three days are dedicated to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and in the final three days Goddess Saraswati is worshiped. She is the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom. The Navratris will culminate in Vijaya Dashmi on the tenth day.

We do set up a little temple during the Navratris for the family to acknowledge the special energy of this period. We began the Navratri celebrations yesterday with a lovely Gollu puja at a friend’s home and then at the Sunnyvale temple for a great Aarti (prayers) of Goddess Durga. The children were fascinated with the whole ceremony.

This year, I also plan on doing  ‘kanjke’- a special celebration in which I will honor the nine forms of the Goddess by inviting little girls to my home and dedicating the day to them with food, prayers and small gifts.

May the force of the Goddess be with all of you!