The Significance of Navratri
Now we are celebrating this amazing festival called Navratri. It’s nine days of worshiping the Mother Divine, who is the Shakti – the energy that manifests all of creation. It is the worshipping of Shakti, and we are all functioning because of that energy.
Understanding Shakti through daily living
So how can we get in touch with that cosmic power – the core, the essence of energy? If you really want to experience this it, the first aspect of Navratri is to try adopting a more sattvic lifestyle, at least for the duration of these nine days. Many people—regardless of whether they eat meat the rest of the year—choose to undertake a fast during Navratri, or at the very least, follow a vegetarian diet. This is because when you have a sattvic lifestyle, discipline and diet – one based on living foods that is fresh and light – supports inner clarity and prepares the body and mind for deeper spiritual experiences. It makes you more receptive, more aware. You are not just cleansing your physical body; you are preparing your entire system—mind, body, and senses—to tune in to higher vibrations.
The body becomes lighter. The mind becomes clearer. Even if you don’t fast completely, eating lighter food like fruit and juices can help you become more sensitive to the subtle energies. You’ll notice how much more focused and calm you feel. You won’t need convincing—you’ll experience it for yourself.
But fasting must be done wisely. It should not create tension or conflict, either inside or with others. Just because someone else fasts a certain way doesn’t mean you must do the same. You have to do it with love. Its only purpose is to come closer to the Lord. Adjust it according to your nature and your daily responsibilities. If done with the right attitude, even the smallest shift can lead to profound inner awareness. The point is that by adopting a sattvic lifestyle you save your energy and then you can spend more time practicing during these nine days, chanting more rounds of mantras, it really helps you to stay in touch with these higher vibrations.
The dates for celebrating Navratri have been specifically chosen by astrologers because it’s the time when the cosmic energy is aligned in such a way that you can experience deeper awareness of this energy if you try.
The inner meaning of the nine days
The Shakti expresses itself in three main ways:
- Iccha Shakti (the power of desire) – represented by the energy of goddess Durga,
- Kriya Shakti (the power of action) – represented by the energy of goddess Lakshmi, and
- Jnana Shakti (the power of wisdom or knowledge – experience) – represented by the energy of goddess Saraswati.
These powers live within each of us. Within each one of us there is one core shakti, but the energy behind each aspect is different.
When it comes to your desires and you misuse these energies – when they are used unconsciously – you suffer. Anything that you misuse – your money, time, focus, too much resting – drains your energy and makes you feel dull, tired, confused, and emotionally heavy. But when these same energies are consciously aligned, that is, when you lead a sattvic lifestyle, it purifies your body and mind. Then your desires become more conscious. Conscious desire means a flow of Shakti. Whenever the desire is not conscious, the Shakti will not flow spontaneously, with rhythm, with peace, with fearlessness.
The Kriya shakti is the power that helps you function, the energy of action, to do something in life so that your life becomes meaningful. When the desire and the action are consciously aligned then it results in the appropriate experience, or knowledge.
So Navratri is an opportunity to become aware of these different aspects of Shakti. The nine days represent the three different expressions of the Divine Mother—Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati—not as separate beings, but as different functions of one force working through us.
Not everyone sees Navratri in this way, but you should realise that the way you see this festival is that way you’re going to experience it. But the important thing is just to see how you can help your mind connect to the Shakti within with the help of mantra. You can just try, with the help of mantra and sattvic lifestyle. It’s very, very powerful.
Question from student: So what in your opinion is behind that idea of fasting? What can it give us?
Answer: It helps us to be aware. You can just experiment: when you normally have three meals a day and then suddenly you just don’t eat, watch what happens to you. But if not eating makes you feel like you’re starving, then it’s better to have some fruit or juice. Whatever fruit or juice is available, or to not fast at all. When fasting, the point is to keep reminding yourself why you are doing this – to give your body a little break so your energy, your body is being cleansed at the physical and mental levels, and to engage the mind on more awareness on mantra. Then, after the second days it’s different, the third days is different again, and so on.
So fasting is just an opportunity to clean and purify yourself – this means your awareness becomes more pure in connecting with your mantra, because you are more grounded. So in this culture the idea of fasting was purely to give body a break so it can heal. At the same time, when you are fasting and your body is breaking the regular food habit, then you find you have more energy, and your body and emotions are becoming lighter. You’re also more sensitive towards your focus. As you’re breaking the regular rhythm of the body’s habit, the body clock. And suddenly you feel a greater alertness.
In addition, if you are suddenly told that there will be no breakfast today, you can adjust with it quite easily. You can see from your own life that when you focus deeply on some project, you don’t eat much. if you eat, you eat very light fruits, so that your energy is lighter to undertake your outer duty. It’s the same with your spiritual life – to create a deeper connection with your spiritual nature, you try to give your body a food habit that keeps you lighter more alert. Because among all the senses, the tongue is a very powerful one, right? From the day you born to the day you depart, food is a very important part of our lives. Somehow, it’s deeply associated with the mind. So controlling the tongue through fasting, when it is not done with a lot of negative tension, but with awareness, it is definitely helpful.
Fasting helps the mind. But you have to always remember the need to adjust to your circumstances. Learn from from observation, but always come back making sure you adjust with where you are on any day. If fasting is creating chaos in your life, is it not the right attitude.
Avoiding ego in spiritual practice
Sometimes, fasting or spiritual discipline becomes a source of ego. We compare, we judge, we expect others to do the same. But true spiritual practice makes us humble. It does not dominate others or make us rigid. If your practice creates conflict or division, it is worth asking—am I doing this to deepen my connection, or to feed my identity? When fasting is not done to grow your ego it makes you more humble.
It’s worth noting that fasting is not unique to Navratri or to Hinduism. Around the same time, Christians observe Lent—a period of reflection and fasting leading up to Easter. In Islam, there is Ramadan. Across the world, different cultures recognise the value of taking time out from excess, turning inward, and allowing both body and soul to rest and reset.
The difference between many other traditions and the Hindu culture is that their approach to spirituality is through experience. In Hindu families, fasting is not imposed. Children are not forced to follow rituals. Instead, they learn through observation. The emphasis is always on inner experience, not external rule. This is a strength of the spiritual tradition in India: the invitation is open, but never forced.
Navratri as a time for clarity
The essence of any festival, especially Navratri, is not just in outer rituals, but in how we use it to return to ourselves. If your practice helps you grow in awareness, compassion, and stillness, then you are doing it right.
Thank you.
