EDITORIAL
Freedom from Fear
Every time in the hour of our need everyone of us might have thought at least once about achieving the freedom from fear.
All of us must have heard of this or felt about this many times and despite our hardship to possess it, which has, interestingly, still been at large as a mirage, we get to traverse strange to more strange obstructions knowingly or unknowingly.
It won't be nice to ask whether you ever prayed to have a life without fear, or you ever tried to start the fight to win this freedom. I know many, who have miserably failed to continue this fight which they started all on a fine morning but ended up pathetically with a new fear in the same evening?
For those who say it does not pertain to them then nothing else is needed to satisfy them because they are the blessed ones. On the other hand, if anyone feels that they are affected by the above phobia, then they should know that the reason behind all their failures is nothing but their own fear.
Nowadays every one obviously needs the courage to win their sustaining odds and to execute their existing jobs seriously and securely. They certainly need it positively to promote themselves to procure the prosperity for the betterment of their lives.
As elders said, fear is the key which opens the door of all our failures. It can even kill us over a bet for nothing. It can injure others even some of those who are around us and many those, who are depending upon us.
Our ancestors, who tediously and grievously undergone through typical fears, which eventually put them into horrible stresses and distresses, had remarkably developed a panacea, which not only saved them from many phobias but still helping their generations to elevate and overcome this unwanted fear or negativity, like the one that still exists within us.
And for many years they have observed this phenomenon and practised the aforesaid kind of spiritual rituals and worships to get rid of all unwanted and tainted fear away from them permanently.
Starving deliberately or controlling our hunger systematically for nine intermittent Autumn illuminative days or Sharath Navaratri is a divine practice and that is the panacea which helps to overcome the above phobia.
Navaratri may be the one among many yearly rituals for a layman, but all true devotees, though not knowing about the special attainment of freedom from fear, utilise this occasion to practice rigorously to attain virtues just to fulfil many of his or her wishes and dreams.
But many devotees know that this particular festival and its rituals altogether is being considered as the best remedy to eradicate all kinds of material and eternal phobias.
And the significance of this festival is its immortality. Till this date, it has in or other the way never deviated from its essence or from the conventional procedures. Very interestingly it still highlights the different nine reincarnations of the Goddess Devi Durga who eliminates nine different demons on nine different occasions by invariably spreading a typical nine types of fear of death around those demons, well before they were easily caught and killed.
So, we invite you all to go through the following interesting pages and the stories to get the knowledge on how the festival of nine nights of Navaratri is celebrated at various places in India and abroad. Here we have tried our best to pen the stories to put as much light on the beautiful and divine nine days festival of Navratri.
I take this very auspicious opportunity to wish all our respected readers, all the best and pray sincerely,
May you all stay blessed always.
Ramdas Viswanath