Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

NAVARAATHRI is celebrated in honour of the victory that the Para-Shakthi (the Goddess of Energy, immanent in the Microcosm and the Macrocosm) achieved over the Asura or Evil Forces, as described in the Devi Mahathmyam and Devi Bhagavatham. The Para-Shakthi is in every one as the Kundalini Sakthi (dormant spiritual energy), which is able to destroy when awakened, the evil tendencies inside the mind; so, the Navarathri is to be dedicated by all for the propitiation of the outer as well as inner Divinity, in order that the outer and the inner worlds may have peace and joy. By means of systematic Sadhana it is possible to tap the inner resources that God has endowed man with and elevate yourselves to the purer and happier realm of the Reality.

Look at the trainers of wild beasts. They bring the tiger, the most ferocious of animals, like a cat into the circus ring, and make it jump through a hoop of fire or lap milk from a plate, face to face with a goat, sitting on a chair! They are able to subdue its ferocity and tame it, reduce it to the position of an unassuming toy! How could they do it? They did Sadhana, they made the tiger also go through a regimen of Sadhana and they succeeded! If you could succeed with the tiger, can you not succeed with the ferocious denizens of your mind?

You can. That is the message of Navarathri, the Nine Days' Festival celebrating the victory of the Primal Energy. That energy, when it is manifested in its Sathwik (quiet) aspect is delineated as the Great Teacher and Inspirer, Maha-Saraswathi; when it is Rajasik (active and potent), the great Provider and Sustainer, Mahalakshmi; when it is Thamasik (dull and inactive), but, latent and apparently quiet as the Great Dark Destroyer and Deluder, Maha-kali. Since Shakthi is all-pervasive, omnipotent, infinitesimal as well as all-comprehensive, it can be contacted everywhere, in outer nature or inner consciousness. Prahladha told his doubting father: "Why doubt, discuss and delay? Seek it anywhere; you can see It." It is near and far, before, behind, beside and inside everything, in the known and the unknown world. People dare describe Her or Him, as thus and thus; that reveals only their faculty to guess. No description can picture the portrait in full. When direct realisation is won, the tongue is rendered dumb; the portrait is unlimnable. It is beyond the reach of human intelligence or imagination. But, man seeks to picture the vast magnificance within a limited frame and locate it in Ayodhya or Dhwaraka or Madurai or Kanyakumari or some such spot, and give it a Name and a Form, so that he can approach It and adore It. The Name and Form identify It, they do not limit It. When you dive into the Sea at one place, you are diving into the Full, not a Fraction, for the ocean is the same everywhere. You cannot separate it into sections by drawing lines on it. Plunge any where; you are plunging into the self-same Bliss. Man has to master two foes, Kala (time) and Kama (desire) - the ravaging tactics of time and the undermining strategy of desire.He must not allow time to rob him of strength and vitality, toosoon; he must not allow desire to lead him astray from the searchfor Shiva, who mastered both Kala and Kama. He subdued kala or yama in the Markendeya episode; He burnt Kama whenhe dared drawing Him into his bond.