Category: festivals

  • Ganesha Chaturthi – Celebration and Mantras

    Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth (chaturth-) day after the new moon (amavasya) in the Hindu month of “Bhadrapada” (usually in August-September). It is the beginning of ten days of festivities in the honor of the chief (eesha) of Lord Shiva’s celestial hordes (ganas), Lord Ganesha. Gana also means Read more…

  • Ganesha Chaturthi Mantras – Part 1

    Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated on the fourth day after the new moon in the waxing portion of the lunar fortnight of Bhadrapadaaya (usually in late August or early September). One way to celebrate the festival is to meditate upon the 108 names of Lord Ganesha. Each of the 108 names evokes a specific quality, power…

  • On VijayDashami and Spirituality

    The nine day festival of Navaratri which celebrates the Goddess Durga and her many forms and incarnations, concludes on the tenth day of Vijay Dashami or Dasahra or Dussehra (15th October 2021). Vijay means victory, and Dashami means, the tenth (Das) day (shami). This tenth day, which marks the conclusion of Navaratri, and the beginning…

  • Durga Ashtami – Eighth Day of Navaratri

    The eighth day of the nine night Navratri festival is celebrated across India as Durga Ashtami, and is also part of the ten-day Durga-Puja festival celebrated primarily in the state of West Bengal. Ashtami simply means eighth day of the fortnight. It is often also ascribed significance with respect to the eight-armed Durga holding weapons…

  • Navaratri – Celebrating the Goddesses

    The spirit of Navaratri – a festival of nine (-nava) nights (-ratri) is a vibrant reminder to us of the power of the feminine in our lives. One aspect of the feminine is shakti – often described as power, or energy. The significance of shakti is perhaps explained best by the two words Shiva-Shakti. Shiva…

  • Goddess Durga Mantras

    The Gayatri Mantra is one of the most revered and perhaps one of the most practiced mantra in Hinduism. The Durga Gayatri is a variation of the Gayatri mantra designed to address Goddess Durga, particularly during the period of Durga Navaratri or Durga Puja. The Durga Gayatri adapts the 24-syllable metre of the original Gayatri…