last year's Navaratri @ Ashram by Bawa

First 3 days of Navaratri - Tamas is very high

next 3 days is totally Rajasic

last 3 days are very Sattvik

many do partial fasting or full fasting according to their wishes and capacity ..

daily Devi Pooja and kumkum archana for Devi Murthy during Lalitha Sahasranam chanting is done..

regular Sadhana, Seva and Satsang is done during all 9 days .. only Short Kriya please

many maintain silence as much as possible .. its good to meditate everyday for longer than regular .. its easy to connect to Guruji in a subtler level during nava ratras

reading of Devi Bhagavatam is preferred ..

if u have a chance to attend Homas, Poojas n satsangs ..please do

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here is all about last year's Navaratri @ Ashram by Bawa

Nav means nine, also means new. Ratri is night, the dark, sacred night. Night is when you rest and relax. Unwind from the hustle and bustle of the day. So during the nine days (and nights) of Navaratri, we give ourselves rest. We meditate longer than usual, eat much lesser than normal. Do Yoga, Satsang… Turn ourselves inwards. Read the scriptures… I would recommend either the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Vasishtha or the Devi Bhagvatam. We also partake in the rituals and Poojas.

Guruji maintains a very strict silence during the first 4-5 days. He even does an almost total fast on these days. If you have never seen Guruji in His Silence, then you have missed something ethereal. The Silence around Him is so thick it could be cut with a knife. You know that just His body is here. That He is in some other dimension. His eyes are always almost closed and a beatific smile adorns His face.

He doesn’t really even recognize anyone of us. No one is allowed near Him… He is Silence and Bliss personified.. And you can see the lightness in His steps as He almost floats into Satsang and back when its over. 

The first 3 days are when the tamasic element is very high. All of you may have been feeling extra sleepy and lethargic during these 3 days. The tamas really hits you when you are in the Ashram… Yesterday, I had started doing Padmasadhana, and during the meditation time, I had no idea where I went… It could have been deep sleep or meditation. Got up after almost 2 hours and was feeling very refreshed :)

The Rudra Pooja just before Satsang packs quite a punch these days… And the loud joyous singing is the perfect complement to it. Tomorrow dinesh and I will break our semi-fast of 2 days. Strangely don’t feel hungry or anything. We have been having lots of

The days of Tamas have ended and the 3 days of Rajas (activity) start today. You may find that your mind is racing allover the place. That you cannot sit still… You could get a lot of work done in these 3 days :) !! Remember to give time to yourself for Sadhana, Seva and Satsang…

Yesternight during Pooja and a swinging Satsang, Guruji started showing signs of recognizing that there are people around Him

Towards the end of Satsang, He took the mike and broke His silence of 5 days saying a drawn out Jaiiii Gurudev! and smiling mischievously and beautifully… Of course all of us in the audience went crazy making all sorts of noise as we welcomed Him back into the world of the speaking… When He uttered those first words, i had goosebumps and my eyes were somehow wet with tears of joy and gratitude…

Someone from the audience shouted, Guruji ek bhajan gaaoo!! (Guruji sing us a bhajan)

He smiled and replied softly Khamoshi hi hamara Bhajan hai (Silence is my song, my Bhajan) ...