Month: September 2025

The very essence of my life in one word is Mother! Towards Adi Shakti, Bharat Mata and my own mother. With the Bhava of Samarpan, Bhakti and Seva. That’s all I am. Totally fulfilled if my every breath is dedicated to this. To see the smile and blessing hand of mother on my head is my ultimate joy and pinnacle of my existence! ~ Swami Turiyananda ( Navratri Ashtami 2025)

Mother is the essence. Samarpan is the path. Bhakti is the means. Seva is the expression. Darśana of Her smile is the ultimate prasadam.

 

In the rhythm of time, there are certain windows when the universe itself seems to open a doorway. Navratri is one such sacred window — nine nights charged with a power unlike any other. For seekers who are awake, Navratri is not just ritual, it is the pinnacle of sādhanā, where inner discipline meets divine grace.

This is the time when the Mother — Ādi Shakti — is most accessible. As the Durga Saptashati declares:

“Ya Devi sarva-bhuteshu shakti-rupena samsthita, namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namah.”
— To that Goddess who dwells in all beings as power, I bow again and again.

But to bow is not enough. To walk these nine nights with awareness is to awaken the power within. Let us uncover the secrets of Navratri — so it is no longer a festival of the calendar, but a festival of the soul.

The Three Currents of Shakti

Navratri flows in three currents — Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. They are not different goddesses, but three dimensions of the same cosmic force.

1. Durga — The Force of Removal
   Durga is the first step. She removes the obstacles, the inner demons, the restless tamas that drags us down. The Gita reminds us:
   “Daivi hyesha gunamayi mama maya duratyaya” (Gītā 7.14) — This divine energy of Mine, made of the gunas, is hard to cross.
   To invoke Durga is to summon the courage to fight within, to cross the impossible.
2. Lakshmi — The Power of Abundance
   Once the impurities are removed, the current of Lakshmi flows — not merely wealth, but inner abundance, harmony, and energy. As the Upanishads say:
   “Ānando brahmeti vyajānāt” — Brahman is bliss. (Taittirīya Up. 3.6.1)
   When we are aligned, Lakshmi is not something we chase; it is our natural state.
3. Saraswati — The Light of Knowledge
   Finally, Saraswati — wisdom, clarity, and inner illumination. She does not give borrowed knowledge; she opens the fountain of direct perception. The Mundaka Upanishad declares:
   “Parīkṣya lokān… brahmaṇo nirveda-māyāt” — Examine the worlds, and then comes dispassion; then begins the search for the eternal. (Mundaka 1.2.12)

These three currents flow through the seeker across nine nights — purification, empowerment, illumination.

The Nine Nights Within You

The real secret of Navratri is this: the nine nights are not on the calendar; they are in your consciousness. Each night is a step inward, each dawn a rebirth.

• First Three Nights: Breaking inertia, fighting inner demons, saying “no” to patterns that weaken you.
• Next Three Nights: Awakening energy, vitality, and abundance — not indulgence, but harmony.
• Final Three Nights: Entering silence, insight, and the direct knowing of truth.

The Kena Upanishad whispers: “Yato vāco nivartante aprāpya manasā saha” — From which words turn back, along with the mind, unable to grasp. (Kena 1.3)
That is Saraswati’s gift — to go beyond mind and enter the silence of truth.

Navratri as Tapasya, Not Ritual

Too often festivals become repetition of outer ritual. But Navratri is tapasya — inner fire. The Durga Saptashati describes the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha, representing pride and doubt. Unless these are slain, no amount of lamps lit outside will kindle light within.

Tapasya in Navratri means:

• Fasting not just from food, but from negativity.
• Chanting not just with lips, but with awareness.
• Awakening not just for the night vigil, but in consciousness.

The Gita says: “Uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ” (Gītā 6.5) — Let a man lift himself by his own self. Navratri is that lift. It is self-effort meeting divine energy.

The Warrior Spirit of the Seeker

Do not mistake devotion for weakness. The Mother is not passive. She rides a lion. She wields weapons. She is the fierce compassion that protects dharma.

For the seeker, this means courage. Courage to face the truth, however harsh. Courage to drop illusions, however pleasant. As the Bhagavad Gita affirms:
“Kṣudram hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa” (Gītā 2.3) — Cast off this petty faint-heartedness, Arjuna! Rise, O scorcher of foes.

In Navratri, you are both Arjuna and the Mother. You are the warrior and the Shakti that empowers the warrior.

Practical Ways to Live Navratri as Sādhanā

Navratri is not about what you do outside; it is how you align inside. Here are practices to make these nine nights transformative:

1. Daily Silence – Begin and end each day with 15 minutes of silence. Let the mind taste stillness.
2. Mantra Japa – Choose a mantra of the Mother (“Om Dum Durgayai Namah” or “Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu”) and repeat it with awareness.
3. Sacred Fasting – Simplify your diet, not to punish the body but to free energy for the spirit.
4. Satsang with Scripture – Read one chapter daily from the Durga Saptashati or verses from the Gita. Let the words cut through illusion.
5. Night Vigil – On at least one night, stay awake in remembrance. This vigil is symbolic of awakening from spiritual sleep.

Navratri and the Highest Reality

The outer battle of the Goddess is the inner battle of every seeker. But the secret lies deeper: beyond all forms of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati, there is one indivisible reality.

The Chandogya Upanishad says: “Sarvam khalvidam brahma” — All this is verily Brahman. (Chāndogya 3.14.1)
The Mother we worship outside is the Self we awaken inside.

When the nine nights end, the tenth day is Vijaya Dashami — the Day of Victory. Victory not over others, but over ourselves. Victory not of the ego, but of the soul.

Reflection for the Seeker

This Navratri, do not reduce the festival to mere ritual. Let it be your inner pilgrimage. Ask yourself:

• What is my inner demon right now? Fear, pride, doubt, laziness?
• Which energy do I need to awaken — Durga’s courage, Lakshmi’s harmony, or Saraswati’s clarity?
• If I lived these nine nights as nine steps inward, how would I emerge different on the tenth day?

Closing Thought

Navratri is not about candles and colors alone. It is about fire and transformation. It is about becoming a warrior in devotion and a sage in silence.

The Mother does not just protect — she awakens. She does not just bless — she demands your highest.

To walk the nine nights with awareness is to touch the pinnacle of sādhanā. It is to remember that you are not powerless. You are Shakti. You are the flame that cannot be extinguished.

As the Durga Saptashati proclaims:
“Sarva mangala māṅgalye śive sarvārtha sādhike, śaraṇye tryambake Gauri nārāyaṇi namo ’stu te.”
— O Narayani, the auspicious among the auspicious, the refuge of all, I bow to you.

Bow, yes. But also rise. For Navratri is not just the Mother’s festival — it is your awakening.

Whenever I fall, I look up, I see the Mother, I walk again! ~ Swami Turiyananda, Turiyashram.

In a culture that sells comfort and avoids discomfort, pleasant illusions feel like refuge. They soothe the nervous system, soften the edges of failure, and promise instant relief. But illusions—however soothing—are fragile. They eventually fracture, and the crash is often uglier than the original truth. Vedanta and the Gita teach a different courage: meet the harsh reality now so that it leads you, step by step, into the pleasant reality of clarity, strength, and ultimate freedom.

The Two Roads: Comfort That Numbs vs. Truth That Frees

Pleasant illusion is seductive: denial of pain, rationalization of failure, cosmetic optimism. It comforts the ego. Harsh reality is stark: honest appraisal, discipline, and sometimes heartbreak. But harsh reality has one brilliant quality — it is truthful. Truth reveals the root. Illusion merely masks the symptom.

As the Katha Upanishad warns, the wise distinguish between what is pleasant (preya) and what is truly good (shreya):
“Shreyaś cha preyaś cha manuṣyam etau — the wise choose what leads to higher good rather than what is merely pleasant.” (Katha Upanishad)

Pleasant illusions may keep you temporarily uplifted, but they build brittle lives. Truth — though painful — forges resilience, clarity, and eventual joy born of integrity.

Scriptural Validation: Why the Sages Favoured Truth

The Bhagavad Gita is uncompromising about human suffering and purpose. Krishna tells Arjuna:

“Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ — pleasure and pain arise from contact; they come and go. Endure them with equanimity.” (Gītā 2.14)

The Gita doesn’t promise a life free of pain. It does promise that when suffering is met with wisdom and purpose, it becomes fertile soil — not dead weight. Suffering, when embraced consciously, becomes a teacher.

Another definitive counsel comes in the Gita’s teaching about work and attachment:

“Karmanye vadhikaraste mā phaleṣu kadācana — act without attachment to results.” (Gītā 2.47)

This is not escapism. It is a redirection: pursue the right action (truthful effort) rather than the temporary high of delusion-driven comfort.

Why Pleasant Illusion Leads to Deeper Collapse

Pleasant illusions are energy sinks disguised as comforts. They drain:

• Emotional energy — avoidance widens anxiety until the mind gives up and collapses into depression.
• Cognitive energy — rationalization eats attention and clarity, making wise decisions impossible.
• Spiritual energy — attachment to comfort fetters growth; the soul loses its edge.

A career example: choosing safe work to avoid the discomfort of retraining seems pleasant. Over time it breeds a slow decay — regret, numbed ambition, and a sense of wasted life. The final reckoning is harsher than the initial honest decision to pivot would have been.

How Harsh Reality Paves the Way to Pleasant (Higher) Reality

The paradox: confronting the bitter truth often opens a path to reward that illusion can never reach. When you face reality:

1. You see root causes — decisions become surgical rather than superficial.
2. You conserve energy for what matters — no more fighting symptoms.
3. You build real competence — resilience grows through calibrated, often painful practice.
4. You align with dharma — action becomes meaningful and liberating.

The Upanishads and Gita repeatedly point to this logic: truth, discipline, and sacrifice refine the seeker. The “pleasant reality” that eventually arrives is not the first-level comfort of avoidance; it is the deep, sustainable peace that follows right action and inner purification.

Real-Life Examples (Short & Clear)

• The student who faces poor grades honestly seeks tutoring and discipline. The initial grind is harsh, but competence yields confidence and real mastery.
• The leader who confronts toxic team dynamics makes painful personnel decisions now, saving morale and building a healthy culture later.
• The seeker who accepts inner shadow and practices sincerely loses illusions and attains durable inner calm rather than superficial spiritual posturing.

Each example follows the same pattern: short-term pain → disciplined action → long-term flourishing.

Action Points — How to Choose Reality Wisely (Practical Steps)

1. Pause and Assess — When discomfort appears, don’t anesthetize it. Ask: What truth is this revealing?
2. Name the Cost — Write the price of avoidance vs. the price of honest action. Which is truly costlier?
3. Small Brutal Steps — Replace grand plans with one unglamorous action you can do today. Repetition defeats illusion.
4. Daily Reality Check — Five minutes each night: what did you avoid? What did you face? Recalibrate.
5. Sacrifice for Purpose — Align a small loss (time, comfort) to a higher goal; ritualize the offering.
6. Community and Witness — Share your honest plan with one trusted person who will hold you accountable without flattery.

A Final Word from the Gita: Suffering Recast as Sacrifice

Krishna’s message reframes suffering as meaningful when married to duty: pain becomes discipline, and discipline yields liberation. As Gita 6.5 counsels: “Uddhared ātmanātmānam — uplift yourself by yourself.” This self-upliftment rarely happens through comfort-seeking. It happens when you choose the harsh truth that leads to lasting freedom.

Conclusion — The Quiet Bravery of Choosing Truth

“Harsh reality” is an invitation — not punishment. It asks you to step into integrity, to cut through comforting stories, and to accept the work of transformation. The result is not bitterness but a deeper, radiant ease: the pleasant reality that is born from truth, not illusion.

Choose truth today. Sacrifice the small, alluring comforts that steal your power. Let harsh reality be the anvil on which your highest life is forged.  ~ Swami Turiyananda, Turiyashram.