Swami Dhruveshananda :
It is difficult for most of the followers of a religion to understand the abstract philosophy. So there comes the necessity of rituals and mythology in religions. Durga Puja is one of the popular religious festivals in Bangladesh containing mythological and ritualistic aspects of Sanatan Hindu Dharma.
The real purport of religious events is to purify one’s heart. The pure heart of a devotee can realize the truth of religion. There always a fight is going on between good and bad thoughts within our mind. This is figuratively called the fight between gods and demons in the mythologies of Hinduism. In the Durga Puja image we find a fight between Goddess Durga and demon Mahishasura. Goddess Durga is the winner and the demon Mahisasura is defeated. This indicates that the demon like thoughts as lust, greed, anger etc. can be conquered if we depend on the grace of God, the Almighty. God is Infinite. There are infinite ways of reaching God. One idea is thinking God as affectionate Mother. Mother has the special and natural affinity towards her child. So if we depend on Mother aspect of Infinite God, we are then safe in the fighting between good and evil within our heart. This philosophy has been concretized in the rituals of Durga Puja.
About the Divine Mother Sri Ramakrishna once said: “My Mother! Who is my Mother? Ah, she is the Mother of the Universe. It is She who creates and preserves the world, who always protects Her children, and who grants whatever they desire.” (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p.321).
To call on God as Mother is a most characteristic feature of Hinduism. Bengali Hindus are very much happy at the time of the autumnal festival of the Mother, when the Mother is worshipped for four days continually in hundreds of earthen images. The Devi Mahatmya or Chandi is chanted as part of the worship.
The mythological aspect of Durga Puja is in the scripture known as Chandi. There Durga Puja is specially mentioned there. A king Surath came to the forest after the loss his kingdom. With sorrowful mind, he met there a rich merchant, Samadhi Vaishya. He was also driven from his property and home by his greedy relatives. They both were unhappy. The Medha Rishi, the seer of truth, says that it is by the Divine Power the world is deluded. It is She who, when propitious, becomes a boon-giver to human beings for their final emancipation. The Risi says that the Devi known as Durga is eternal, embodied as the universe. By Her all this is pervaded. Nevertheless, She incarnates in manifold ways.
The thoughts about the immanence of God in nature also prominent in the Durga Puja. The Reality is all-pervading and thereby all things and places are pure in essence. Certain trees, herbs, grass, wood, flowers, leaves, metals, stones etc. are considered holy. In the course of worship, the Divine Mother Durga has to be bathed in water drawn from various auspicious sources and mixed with various things, which are considered holy.
The Mother of the Universe abides in all beings as consciousness. She abides in all beings in the forms of intelligence, sleep, hunger, reflection, power, thirst, forgiveness, genus, modesty, peace, faith, loveliness, good fortune, activity, compassion, contentment, mother, error, constantly presides over the senses of all beings and governs all the elements. Durga Devi pervades this entire world, abides in the form of consciousness. She resides in the hearts of the devotees. Uttering sacred mantras devotees worships the compassionate Mother in their hearts, in the sacred pitcher, in the bel tree, in the images, in the image made from nine types of crops and so on. Mother saves Her children by providing foods in hunger keeping Herself in all the crops. Sri Ramakrishna said, “Empty stomach does hot help us in religion.” Thus special attention should be given to the crops.
The ceremonial portion of Durga Puja is vast. The initiative ceremony is taken for worshipping three consecutive days in a special manner offering at least 16 sacred items like flower, sandal paste, incense, sweets etc.
Then the invoking and purification of images etc. touching various auspicious substances. Remembering the tradition from the scriptures that King Ramachandra as incarnation and also gods of heaven invoked and received the Divine Mother of the Universe under the Bel tree, the devotees also invoke and receive Her under the same tree. The sacred pitcher is used as the symbol of heart of a devotee. Water in it is for the reflection as the Reality as in our mental eye. According to the idea received in the meditation of the seer of Truth, the images like earthen image are made. This is because by seeing the image, the Reality can be meditated in our hearts. This is like remembering one’s father by seeing his photographs — as Sri Ramakrishna says. One name of Bel is known in Sanskrit as wealth. So keeping in mind the necessity of wealth, both material and spiritual, a devotee goes to perform puja.
On the 7th, 8th and 9th lunar day of bright fortnight, special puja is performed in honour of the Divine Mother. The Kumari Puja is the special event of 8th lunar day. The philosophy of this puja is to remember that all the female members of the world are the manifestation of the Divine Mother. This attitude towards all women purifies an aspirant or a devotee easily. Actually the filial attitude to all women is the outcome of Kumari puja and as a result an aspirant can have mental purity and thereby material and spiritual gain.
On the 9th lunar day a especial fire-rite called homa is performed. This is a Vedic offering to God by using fire symbol and special mantras. In the conjunction of last 24 minutes of 8th lunar day and first 24 minutes of 9th lunar day there is the performance known as Sandhi puja. It is a traditional belief from Ramayana that at this time Ravana was killed by Ramachandra. The 10th lunar day or Dashami day is a special day for Durga Puja. The devotees take back the Divine Mother of the universe from the image to the heart. When the Mother is in our hearts, our hearts become pure and full of joy. We realize that God is in our heart and we become happy again discarding demons like lust, greed, anger etc. Devotees embrace with joy. This is the sacred of Vijaya Dashami. After that clay image is immerged in the water of a lake or river.
Sometimes devotees feel a special sadness by the event of departure of the Mother. Sri Ramakrishna told to a bereaved devotee, “Where should the Mother go after the final rite of immersion? Can a mother live without her child? These three days She has taken your adoration sitting on the temple, from today She will take your adoration sitting on your lotus of your heart.”
A devotee prays to God, the all-pervading, for worshipping using various items as an image, sacred pitcher, crop-image etc. And at the time of final rite he prays again begging pardon for worshipping the all-pervading Reality in the images. The devotees say from their hearts: Salutations again and again to the Devi who abides in all beings as consciousness, as Mother.
(Swami Dhruveshananda, Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Dhaka.)
