Navratri and Maa Durga: What Should We Ask For?

Navratri is the festival of Maa Durga, the Divine Mother and the embodiment of Shakti. During these sacred days devotees fast, perform puja, chant prayers and seek the blessings of the Goddess. But have we ever stopped to ask ourselves what we should actually ask Her for?

Most of us arrive with a list: health, prosperity, success, a good match for a child, an end to some trouble. Swami Ji would gently point out what such a list reveals. We have come to the Divine, and we are asking for the world.

The prayer of the Vraja gopis

The gopis of Vraja worshipped Goddess Katyayani, a form of the Divine Mother. What they wanted was very different from what the world usually wants. 

They did not ask for wealth, fame, possessions or comfort. Their hearts were fixed on Shri Krishna, Shyamasundara, and their prayer was in essence a plea for His company and His grace.

Why we should ask for nothing else

Swami Ji's teaching here is clear. Bhakti must be nishkama - free of every selfish desire. Not wealth, not fame, not heaven, not even liberation. The only thing worth asking of God is selfless love for Shri Radha-Krishna, and the chance to serve Them.

This is not harshness. It follows from a simple fact. Whatever we desire, the mind dwells on, and whatever the mind dwells on, it becomes attached to. A prayer for the world keeps the heart tied to the world. A heart tied to the world cannot be filled with divine love, however many fasts it keeps.

And there is no need to fear for our daily needs. Shri Krishna Himself gives His word in the Gita: 

अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते। 

तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यहम् ॥

"Those who worship Me with undivided hearts, thinking of nothing else - for them, ever devoted, I Myself carry what they need and keep what they have." (Bhagavad Gita 9.22)

The devotee who asks nothing is not left with nothing. God Himself takes on the care that we were so anxious about.

Beyond material happiness

Material happiness does not last. Wealth changes, circumstances change, and success can vanish. What pleases us today will not satisfy us tomorrow, and then we come back with a new list.

Bhakti is different. It does not add to what we have; it changes the one who has. As devotion grows, the heart turns from passing pleasures to a lasting bond with God.

What is gopi-prema?

The love of the Vraja gopis, gopi-prema, is the highest love the scriptures describe. Its secret is that it wanted nothing for itself. The gopis' only joy was Krishna's joy. They did not worship Him so that He would give them something. They loved Him because He is their own, and their happiness lay in His.

That is what true devotion is. It is not a bargain with God.

The story of Lord Shiva

The tradition tells of Lord Shiva's longing to enter the divine rasa of Vraja. Shiva - the greatest of yogis, Lord of the worlds - took a woman's form and came to Vraja, and by the grace of Shri Radha he was allowed to enter the rasa.

Notice what the story says. Shiva's greatness did not open that door. Only the gopi's heart, and Shri Radha's grace, did. Divine love is not won by power, knowledge or achievement. It is given by grace to the heart made ready for it.

What should we pray for this Navratri?

So this Navratri, let our prayer to Maa Durga be for one thing only: selfless love for Shri Radha-Krishna. If we must ask for more, let it be only for what serves that love - a pure heart, freedom from attachment, the strength to overcome ego and anger, and the constant remembrance of God.

The true purpose of Navratri

Navratri is more than a festival of rituals. It can be nine days of cleansing the mind. Shri Maharaj Ji teaches that it is the mind which must love God, and the mind which must be purified. The body's fast is meant to serve that inner fast from worldly desire. 

Our prayer can be a simple one: "O Maa Durga, I ask You for nothing of this world. Bless me with selfless devotion to Shri Radha-Krishna. Purify my heart, so that by the grace of my Guru I may one day be fit to receive Their love."

To be continued... Radhe Radhe