1. Aruthiy, Jennifer, Reshawn & Shaamini

2. HINDUISM
Hinduism is one of the oldest, largest
religions in the world. It is one of the many
polytheistic religions in the world, meaning
that they worship multiple Gods. In this
class, we have studied many of them, such
as Shiva, Indra and Kali. The faith Hinduism
is practiced by over 900 million people
worldwide, for which many of them are of
Indian heritage.
Lakshmi – The Goddess of Wealth

3. Hinduism
 Only religion in the world which has
emphasized to such an extent the motherhood
of God
 No single founder, no single sculpture and no
commonly agreed set of teachings
 Believes that there is no definite starting point.
The traditions that flow into Hinduism may go
back several thousands years and some
practitioners claim that the Hindu religion is
eternal.
 Believes that existence is a cycle of
birth, death and rebirth which is all governed
by karma

4. Hinduism
 Hinduism originated around the Indus
Valley near the River Indus in modern
day Pakistan
 writers often refer to Hinduism as 'a way
of life' or 'a family of religions' rather
than a single religion
 About 80% of the Indian population
follow the traditions and beliefs of
Hinduism

5. Navaratri
This is a nine day festival of Hinduism. This
demonstrates the concept of good vs. evil
and is mainly dedicated to Durga, who is
the warrior goddess representing power.
Navaratri is a celebration dedicated to all
the goddesses and asking for their
blessings in different aspects of a person‟s
life. This festivals symbolizes health and
prosperity.

6. Navaratri
 During this festival, many people dance
around a lamp or so-called a
“Kalash”, symbolizing divine power
 Navaratri is a festival in which God is
adored as Mother
 It is said that Shiva gave permission to
Durga to see her mother for nine days in
the year and this festival also remembers
this visit
 Similarly, families make an attempt to
return home on these days, and leave on
the tenth

7. Significance of the
Festival
Each Indian festival has a proper
meaning, reason and significance behind its
celebration. For this specific festival, it
marks the triumph of good over evil as to
when she defeated Mahishasura the demon
after 9 days and nights. During this period
Durga, Laskshmi and Saraswati are
worshipped.
Ritual lamps.

8. Significance of the Festival
 “Navaratri” means "the festival of nine
nights."
 It‟s done for the goddess Durga which
means remover of the miseries in life.
 She is also referred to as "Devi"
(goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power.)
 It is this energy, which helps God to
proceed with the work of
creation, preservation and destruction.

9. Significance of the Festival
 In Navratri, as the name suggests, meaning nine nights, each
day of the nine-day festival are dedicated to the worship of
different forms of Goddess Durga.
 First three days = Goddess Durga = energy + powers are
worshipped.
 First day = Kumari > represented by a girl child.
 Second day = Parvathi > represented by a young woman.
 Third day = Kali is worshipped > represents woman who have
matured.
 Fourth, fifth and sixth day of Navratri = Lakshmi (prosperity and
peace.)
 People with evil, ego, anger, lust and their other bad instincts =
experience a void which is full of spiritual wealth which is where
the goddess Lakshmi comes into play.
 Fifth day = learning utensils placed in front of Lakshmi.
 Seventh and eighth day = Saraswati (art and knowledge.)

10. Significance of the Festival
 Offering made to Saraswati = clarified butter
(Ghee), rice pudding (kheer) and sesame seeds.
 Ninth day of Navratri (Mahanavami), during this day 9
girls who haven‟t reached puberty are worshipped.
 Nine girls = nine forms of Durga, the girls‟ feet are
washed as a welcoming to the goddess.
 Girls are offered a new set of clothes as a gift at the
end of the puja.
 Dancing and devotion.
 Followers perform a Devi-sathaapna in their homes
where they invite the goddess.
 People think that life is governed by the three gunas
and Navaratri festival.
 First three days = Tamo Guna (depression, fear and
emotional instability).

11. Significance of the Festival
 Second three = rajo guna (anxiety and
feverishness.)
 Last three days = sattva guna
(clear, focused, peaceful and dynamic life.)
 The three gunas are considered as the
feminine force of our universe.
 By worshipping Guna, harmonising the three
gunas and allowing us to bring out sattva.
 Sattva = victory.
 Power is celebrated as a tenth day called
Dasera.

12. Why worship the
Mother Goddess?
A Mother Goddess usually refers to a
goddess who symbolizes
motherhood, fertility and creation. Many
different goddesses have represented
motherhood in one way or another, while
some are associated with the birth of
humanity as a whole, others represent the
fertility of Earth.
Durga – The Warrior Goddess

13. Why worship the Mother Goddess?
 Durga represents the empowering and
protective nature of motherhood.
 She defeated her enemy, Mahishasura
and protected many from suffering
 Hindus view Goddess Durga as the
supreme Mother Goddess
 Hindu worship of the divine Mother can
be traced back to pre-vedic, prehistoric
India

14. Why celebrate for 9
nights and days?
Navaratri literally means nine nights. The
nine days given for this holiday are used in
sets of three to devote time to each of the
Goddesses we pray to. The celebration is
both during the beginning of summer, and
the winter. Stories are told during this time
that we recognize nine days because Shiva
had allowed Durga to see her mother for
only nine days a year.

15. Why celebrate for nine nights and days?
 The 9 days are used in sets of three to
devote time to each Goddess:
Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
 Durga: takes away vices, sins & defects.
 Lakshmi: wealth.
 Saraswati: wisdom, success.
 Worshipping all three = success in life
and family.

16.  Durga had defeated Mahishasura in a
battle that lasted 9 days.
 Shiva allowed Durga to see her mother for
9 days; festival recognizes this.
 9 days are used in sets of 3 to also
recognize values including: tamo guna, rajo
guna, and sattra guna.
 Nine different ways (areas) of celebrating
Navaratri including: Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, West
Bengal, Gujurat, Maharashtra, Himachal
Pradesh and Punjab.

17. Why twice a year?
Navaratri is an important festival for Hindus
and is celebrated twice a year.

18. Why twice a year?
 Beginning of summer/beginning of winter –
sacred times to worship
 These are the sacred time because of the
climate change
 Reasons:
 1. the divine power makes earth move around
the sun, maintains balance. In order to keep
the balance, the divine power must be
thanked, and by thanking the power, you
worship and celebrate it
 2. The changes in climate = body/mind
change. Therefore we have to pray to maintain
physical and mental balance

19. Why do you need the
power?
Durga will bestow you with
wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowled
ge and other powers which would help
people get through life.

20. Why do you need the
power?
 Durga will bestow you with
wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, kno
wledge and other powers which would
help people get through life
 The flame symbolises everlasting power
with water.

21. The 3 Primary Gods
Navaratri is a festival of dance, worshipping
the three Goddesses, Durga, Saraswati and
Lakshmi. These three Goddesses have all
played a part in saving and protecting
humanity.

22. Durga
 The word "Durga" in Sanskrit means invincible
 Another meaning of "Durga" is
"Durgatinashini," which literally translates into
"the one who eliminates sufferings."
 Hindus believe that goddess Durga protects
her devotees from the evils of the world and at
the same time removes their miseries.
 The red clothing she wears signifies that she is
always busy destroying evil and protecting
mankind from the pain and suffering they are
going through which is caused by evil forces

23. Durga
 She rides on a tiger, which symbolizes
unlimited power
 riding a tiger indicates that she possesses
unlimited power and uses it to protect virtue
and destroy evil
 She has 18 arms holding weapons in each
hand
 Different weapons must be used to fight
enemies depending upon the circumstances.
For example, selfishness must be destroyed
by detachment, jealousy by
desirelessness, prejudice by self-
knowledge, and ego by discrimination.

24. Saraswati
 the goddess with the powers of
speech, wisdom and learning
 She has four hands representing four
aspects of human personality in
learning: mind, intellect, alertness and
ego
 Many educational institutions begin their
day with a special prayer to Saraswati
 Most students seek her blessings upon
their books and writing implements

25. Saraswati
 She is the repository of wisdom, the
originator of the Vedas and the inventor of
Devanagri, the script used to write Sanskrit
and several other Indian languages
 the ninth day of the Navratri festival which
is called Mahanavami day, books and all
musical instruments are kept in front of the
goddess early at dawn and worshipped
with special prayers
 The Sanskrit word „Sara‟ means „essence‟
and „Swa‟ means „self‟, thus Saraswathi
means “the essence of the self”.

26. Lakshmi
 The word 'Lakshmi' is derived from the
Sanskrit word "Laksya", meaning 'aim' or
'goal'
 she is the goddess of wealth and prosperit
 She is the active energy of Vishnu, she
also appears as Lakshmi-Narayan -
Lakshmi accompanying Vishnu
 In some images two elephants are shown
spraying water while standing next to
her, which represents purity and wisdom

27. Lakshmi
 The importance attached to the
presence of Lakshmi in every household
makes her an essentially domestic deity
 Householders worship Lakshmi for the
well being and prosperity of the family
 Lakshmi i is also worshipped during the
festival Diwali
 For this festival the goddess Lakshmi is
celebrated in image, song, worship and
prayer

28. Rituals
Depending on the area you live in, the
rituals and the meanings can differ.
Generally, the rituals are done to honour
Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi. The tenth
day (Vijayadashami) brings it‟s own rituals.
Significant celebrations include dances and
many other pujas. There are multiple ways
and rules on how to honour each God, each
having it‟s own importance.

29. Rituals
 Done so Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati
will reward us.
 Celebrate with music, dances and
costumes.
 Nine days represented by placing a
picture of Durga in water to float &
dancing for nine nights.
 Multiple ways known to worship the
goddesses.

30. Rituals
 Offering saris.
 Offering flowers.
 Placing images of the Gods and
decorating homes.
 Planting seeds.
 Worshiping girls & idols.
 Fasting.
 Lighting a lamp.

31. Rituals
 Waking up later than usual.
 Traditional snacks.
 Performing pujas.
 Stories of relationships with Gods told.
 Shrines created.