From 8th untill the 15th of October the Dashain festival is being celebrated in Nepal. Dashain celebrates nine nights dedicated to the nine divine forms of Goddess Durga. A Hindu festival symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. This festival is the longest and the most favourite festival celebrated. The goddess Durga in all her manifestations is worshiped with innumerable pujas and offerings. Imagine a week long of temple ceremonies and enormous offerings like flowers, food and sweets. Streets filled with people looking for new clothes, gifts and delicious foods.
Homes are cleaned, beautifully decorated and painted as an invitation for the mother goddess, so that she may visit and bless the houses with good fortune. According to the Hinduism, Durga is the mother of the universe and the source behind all creation, preservation and destruction of the world. With her ten mighty arms carrying weapons, she triumphantly slays all demons on earth. The word "Durga" in Sanskrit means a fort, or a place that is protected and thus difficult to reach. Here, she protects people form evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger and ego. She fights against Maya, which is the power that deludes an individual into thinking oneself to be the center of the world, the power that prevents us from experiencing the ultimate truth. Maya drives individuals into self-centred actions and thus hides the underlying unity of reality and masks one’s essential identity with the Divine. The mythical stories of Durga are symbolic for the difficulties we all face in life such as listening to our ego instead to our heart. This month we could pray to mother Durga asking her to use her power to remove all the negative energy within us... Om Sri Durgaya Namah.
