Om Shri Maha Saraswati Namah
(Roxanne Wach Artwork; please do not copy)

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NAVARATRI Nine: (final day)
SARASWATI: The last three days are devoted to Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and the Arts, wife of Brahma; it is a time of receiving Divine Guidance on how to properly use all resources sent your way. This is making most efficient and purposeful use of everything you are given.

The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus Saraswati means "the essence of the self."

Mantra for Saraswati played here: http://www.sanatansociety.org/indian_music_and_mantras/mantras_saraswati_mantra.htm
Night and Day Nine:
Siddhidatri - She Who is of great spiritual Powers and knowledge
Siddhidatri begins at Sunset October 5 and ends at Sunset October 6.
(Usually, the final day's activities wrap up after lunch time on the ninth day.)
http://www.isamaj.com/bhakti/festivals/navratri/siddhidatri.htm

Siddhidatri: Siddhidatri means the giver of siddhis (magical or spiritual powers for the control of self, others and the forces of nature). It is said in Devipuran that the Supreme God, Lord Shiva received all of these powers by propitiating the Maha Shakti. The Goddess is sometimes shown atop a lion and sometimes atop a lotus. She is shown as having four arms, which hold a club, a conch shell and a lotus. The fourth hand forms a gesture of granting. Siddhidatri is considered to be the most powerful of all the nine forms of Durga.
Durga is said to be extraordinarily beautiful; she does not use her beauty for seduction, but rather entrapment. She entices her victims and then defeats them. She rides a lion, and it appears whenever her strengths are needed. Her role is not that of creator, but rather that of a maintainer: she maintains cosmic order by defeating demons that plague the universe.
Durga is not only a powerful force for cosmic order but also a protector of her devotees. She listens to her devotees and attends to their needs.
Goddess Durga keeps up the play of the divine universal God through the three attributes of Nature, namely, Satva (equilibrium and serenity), Rajas (dynamism and kinesis) and Tamas (ignorance and inertia). Knowledge, peace, lust, anger, greed, egoism and pride, all are Her forms. Maha Saraswati is Her Sattviki Shakti or power of equilibrium. Maha Lakshmi is Her Rajasik Shakti or power of activity. And Maha Kali is Her Tamsik Shakti the power of destruction. All these are feminine forms.

Shiva's power is Shakti, the dynamic creative mother aspect of the Godhead. It is she who creates and at the time of dissolution, it is she who swallows her own creation. Shakti cannot exist without Shiva and Shiva cannot personify without Shakti.

Our beloved Mother, Saraswati, the goddess of learning, knowledge, music, speech and all the creative arts. She is the Flowing-One. She represents the union of power and intelligence from which organized creation arises. Saraswati possesses all the learnings of the the Vedas, scriptures, dancing, musical power and poetry. She revealed language and writing to man. Her origin is the lost Vedic river Saraswati. This is the source of her profound connection to fluidity in any aspect (water, speech, thought...). She is wisdom, fortune, intelligence, nourishment, brilliance, contentment, splendor and devotion.

As I told you on Day 8, the last Havan of the Navaratri is when participants bring their personal instruments of work for a blessing. These could include pen, office stuff, laptop, stethoscope, musical instrument, or anything that relates to a person's life work or career. Saraswati offers a special blessing for abundance and prosperity within this work. Blessings to all!

My deepest gratitude for your participation
in this Auspicious Occasion of Navaratri!

Jai Maha Maya ki Jai!

May all your dreams come true as a

result of your inner work nurtured along

by Divine Mother for the past nine days!

She emanates compassion, understanding,

and unconditional love. As we fill ourselves

with those qualities, we can also offer them

to all the 'children' in this world!

Let Divine Mother flow deeply within each one of us,

helping us to live in truth, simplicity, love and service.

ONE MORE DAY TO PUT YOUR PRAYER INTENTIONS ON THE ALTAR DURING THIS SPECIAL TIME OF THE DIVINE MOTHER!
Send to margdevi@yahoo.com.

Remember to ask the Divine for what you want. The rule is they cannot help unless asked.... they LIKE to be asked--it's their Divine Purpose to be of help to all of us.

Om Namah Shivaya
Love and light,
Margewww.babaji.net