The purpose of the Navaratri celebration is to enable man to get rid of nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him.

Navaratri means nine nights. Darkness is associated with night. What is this darkness? It is the darkness of ignorance. The purpose of the Navaratri celebration is to enable man to get rid of nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him. When a reference is made to Devi, it signifies the unified form of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The three together represent Shakti. Shakti is the energy that accounts for all the phenomena of Prakruti (Nature). Nature is energy and the controller of that energy is the Lord. Prakruti is made up of the three qualities - Satwa, Rajas and Tamas. Saraswathi represents the Satwa Guna (serenity). Lakshmi represents the Rajo Guna (activity) and Parvati represents the Tamo Guna (destructiveness). As Prakruti is made up of these three qualities, to get control over Nature, man has been offering worship to Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. These are not goddesses but deified symbols of the three qualities.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Man constantly strives in various ways to elevate his status and condition. As he succeeds in one effort, he seeks success in another, and so it goes on. But, what is the hallmark of a true human being? Human life is bound up with gains and losses, ups and downs. One has to face them. Only the one who overcomes these challenges with fortitude is a true human being. What is the reason for the vicissitudes in life? The cause is to be found in one's desires. It is beyond doubt that desires are inescapable. For instance, one seeks to achieve some ideals. Another may seek to do well in studies and secure a good job. Yet another may desire to acquire a good name and bring up a good family. There is nothing wrong in such desires. But what we are witnessing in the Kali Age is the limitless growth of desires. As a consequence, people fall into bad ways. There should be limits to every desire. There should be a limit even to the pursuit of power and position.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Just as wholesome food gives health and strength to the body, prayer purifies the mind and strengthens the spirit.

Ardent seekers have sought keys to all knowledge, the one thing that, if known, all else is known, that is latent in every atom of the Universe. They described it as something that is beyond words, beyond the ken of human imagination and understanding. It is best, they have themselves admitted, that God is pictured in the human form, so that man can easily comprehend Him and approach Him and derive bliss out of that contemplation. Man can conceive only human qualities and human attainments, though he can multiply them to the maximum and allow the resultant quantum to fill and overflow his heart. Release the twin doors of lust and anger, and remove the bolt of greed, then, you can enter the sacred precincts of Moksha (Liberation)! Greed is the monstrous evil that drags man down. Greed arises from attachment to the senses and catering to them. Put the senses in their proper place; they are windows for knowledge, not channels of contamination.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba