My first experience of Navratri with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was in the year 2000. There would not have been more than 300 people in attendance at the old meditation hall at the Art of Living International Center. It was the first time I experienced the Homas, the Devi’s in their splendor, the magnificent Chandi Homa, and Gurudev in his divine feminine form.
My heart opened, tears flowed, and gratitude whelmed up inside of me like an ocean. At that stage, I did not understand the great wisdom behind the auspiciousness of the “time”, but something deep inside of me recognized the ancientness. It was like I had steeped into a Puranic age – of mantras, love, devotion, and celebration – an abode where divine angels dwelled.
Gurudev spoke to us about faith that Navratri. He said if there was anything we should pray for, it should be unshakable faith.
I was in awe and humbled by the power of the Homas. I have gone back almost every year since then. Each time I pray for faith – faith to be steady on the path, faith to serve, faith to love, and unshakable faith in the divine, no matter what life hurls at me. The intention of praying for faith has carried me through the years and helped me navigate through life.
Navratri has become a divine addiction for me, for lack of a better phrase. It really is the time for me to go back to myself, to rest in myself, to drop all that does not serve me. It really is my time for rebirth and renewal to take on the year ahead.
Like many people, I too often get lost along the way in life, and distracted by the world and its deadlines. But, in the space of the divine Homas, I always find myself again. The nine days of chanting always align me to the greater purpose of life, which is to be happy, innocent, and joyful.
The Devis always give me the opportunity to let the Devi in me flourish. Navratri is always an intriguing experience that reveals a dimension of life which can only be experienced.
My lesson from Navratri
If there was anything we should pray for, it should be unshakable faith. Faith to be steady on the path, faith to serve, faith to love, and unshakable faith in the divine, no matter what life hurls at us.
A little about Vanishree Pavadai
Vanishree Pavadai is the coordinator of the IMA and has been an Art of Living teacher for over 15 years. She has traveled extensively across different countries in Africa, transforming hundreds of people through her courses.
