This Dasara is a special one for me. Usually on this day, I bought new clothes, visited the pandals, worshiped Devi and came back home. Thanks to my not-so-orthodox family, I never did it the authentic way.
This year, a day before Navratri has even begun, something drew my attention to this page on The Art of Living website. It gave complete details on what Dasara means, what to do, what not to do and why should one do whatever has to be done. With all that knowledge, I decided to do it the proper way this time. Before I get into details of what I exactly did, let me touch upon the significance.
In short, we all know that we celebrate this occasion to mark the victory of Goddess over the demons or put in another way the victory of good over evil. In a subtle context, it also means to get rid of the negative qualities in one's own Self to come out feeling refreshed and elevated. This can be done by
a) Observing Silence as much as possible, not too much chitter-chatter -> to give a break to the mind
b) Going low on food and having light food -> to detoxify and give a break to the body
c) Meditation -> to connect with one's own Self
d) Chanting -> to calm and purify the mind.
All of this has to be done for nine continuous days.
I geared up to do this and there comes a barrier even before I start. The first day of Navratri is our CEO visit to office where usually massive and delicious buffet is served to all. I am now divided, should I go and have the buffet or stick to the Navratri plan and not eat anything but fruits on day 1. Then struck our dear Prime Minister Narendra Modi's act exactly an year back. He was at The White House where a much large scale buffet prepared by World class Chef's was served and he hit headlines by just having lime juice since he was strictly observing Navratri fast. He stood tall and gave me enough inspiration to skip the buffet. Day 1 was very tiring, but I also went low on talking to others, sticking to self by Chanting and Meditation. They all worked so well on me that each passing day made me feel more light and energetic even though I was going low on my diet. Ironic isn't it. But very true. I had very less food, but still remained energetic(rational thinkers .. ehu ehu.. :P).
Even though it was my first attempt, I am proud to say that I successfully finished all the things that I wanted to do on all nine days. This is of course with the support from my wife. She did bear a quiet husband for nine days and prepared upvaas food. It was new for her too :-)
Happy Dasara to all.
This year, a day before Navratri has even begun, something drew my attention to this page on The Art of Living website. It gave complete details on what Dasara means, what to do, what not to do and why should one do whatever has to be done. With all that knowledge, I decided to do it the proper way this time. Before I get into details of what I exactly did, let me touch upon the significance.
In short, we all know that we celebrate this occasion to mark the victory of Goddess over the demons or put in another way the victory of good over evil. In a subtle context, it also means to get rid of the negative qualities in one's own Self to come out feeling refreshed and elevated. This can be done by
a) Observing Silence as much as possible, not too much chitter-chatter -> to give a break to the mind
b) Going low on food and having light food -> to detoxify and give a break to the body
c) Meditation -> to connect with one's own Self
d) Chanting -> to calm and purify the mind.
All of this has to be done for nine continuous days.
I geared up to do this and there comes a barrier even before I start. The first day of Navratri is our CEO visit to office where usually massive and delicious buffet is served to all. I am now divided, should I go and have the buffet or stick to the Navratri plan and not eat anything but fruits on day 1. Then struck our dear Prime Minister Narendra Modi's act exactly an year back. He was at The White House where a much large scale buffet prepared by World class Chef's was served and he hit headlines by just having lime juice since he was strictly observing Navratri fast. He stood tall and gave me enough inspiration to skip the buffet. Day 1 was very tiring, but I also went low on talking to others, sticking to self by Chanting and Meditation. They all worked so well on me that each passing day made me feel more light and energetic even though I was going low on my diet. Ironic isn't it. But very true. I had very less food, but still remained energetic(rational thinkers .. ehu ehu.. :P).
Even though it was my first attempt, I am proud to say that I successfully finished all the things that I wanted to do on all nine days. This is of course with the support from my wife. She did bear a quiet husband for nine days and prepared upvaas food. It was new for her too :-)
Happy Dasara to all.
