2008 Grand or Maha Navaratri yagya celebration. September 30 - October 8
Maha Kali, Maha Laksmi & Maha Saraswathi. 33 Pandits performing in 3 celebrated temples for 9 days:
Kali Math Kali Monastery in Himalayas. Mansa Devi Laksmi temple in Haridwar, Uttaranchal. Sarada Devi Saraswathi temple in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh

Harnessing nature's momentum through yagya
 
Navaratri is also known as 'Durga Puja': 9 day festival celebrating Durga: the Divine Mother - the wholeness or collectedness of God's feminine aspect. Yagyas are traditionally performed during the 9 days to harness the momentum of this window of opportunity. Navaratri or Durga puja yagyas serve to direct this lively flow of nature's intelligence into our daily life to safe guard and enhance our progress & evolution and also to achieve specific goals.

Expanded Program 2008
Experiences from the pilot program inspired us to grow. So in February 2008 along with 9 pandits performing yagya at Mansa Devi Temple in Haridwar [see above], we also took 9 pandits to Sarada Maihar - celebrated Saraswathi Temple in Madya Pradesh.

We ran this combined Laksmi/Saraswathi program over two 9 day navaratri periods in 2008; first in February and again in July. Sponsors from more than 5 countries participated in the July program which grew to 13 pandits performing in each temple [total 26 pandits in 2 temples]. Once again the participants reported outstanding results.


Testimonials

However there are 3 primary aspects or forms of Divine Mother: Maha Laksmi [affluence], Maha Saraswathi [intelligence or vocation] & Maha Kali [wholeness or collectedness of all 3]. Wife of Lord Shiva [the absolute], Kali is associated with the wholeness or totality of natural law. In contrast Laksmi & Saraswathi are commonly invoked by those desiring material well being or progress in the relative planes of existence.

Kali is traditionally invoked first in the durga puja; she is the substrate or primordial ground state in which all of creation finds its resting place. She most fully embodies the wholeness or totality of Divine Mother. She is known as Durga - another name for the wholeness of mother divine. She is associated with Parvathi or Uma: Lord Shiva's consort [wife] and mother of the universe. Kali is worshipped or invoked by those seeking enlightenment or liberation [moksha] as well as by those desiring prosperity and well being in the material world. When wholeness is complete the individual elements work properly. They are stronger and more effective.

When Kali is lively, Laksmi and Saraswathi are greater and more propitious [able to bestow desired benefits].
She is portrayed as wearing a garland of human heads. This illustrates here role as bestower of liberation or enlightenment by destroying the ego. The head contains the sense organs and is thereby synonymous with limited self concept or ego. By severing the head with the sword of self knowledge Kali liberates the mind. The awareness expands and is freed from boundaries and self imposed limitations. Her darshan or mode of influence is experienced in the heart and the fullness of awareness. It is a direct experience. It touches us deep inside at the most fundamental level of awareness; it is experiential not conceptual. She is also depicted as standing on or over her consort the sleeping Shiva [the absolute]. She represents the ground state or absolute made lively. In contrast with the sleeping Shiva, Kali arrests the mind. She is proactive and forcibly takes the mind to the absolute. We feel her at the core at of our being.
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Maha Kali, Maha Laksmi & Maha Saraswathi. 33 Pandits performing in 3 celebrated temples for 9 days
For this Grand or Maha Navaratri 9 day yagya festival in October 2008, along with 11 pandits at Mansa Devi Laksmi temple in Haridwar and 11 pandits at Sarada Devi Saraswathi temple in Maihar, a third group of 11 pandits will perform Durga Puja Yagya at Kali Math - ancient Kali Monastery near Guptakashi in Himalayas. Known as Maha Peeth [Great Temple] and Sidha Peeth [place for cultivating perfection], Kali Math was founded by Adi Shankaracharya long ago.
This 9 day program will be performed by a total of 33 pandits in these 3 celebrated temples. Each participant [yajamana] will have 3 pandits [1 in each temple] out of the total group of 33 performing yagya on their behalf.
The reported benefits from the first 2 stages of this navaratri program have been remarkable. Since the last performance in July 2008, the number of temples will increase from 2-3 and likewise the pandit numbers will grow from 26-33. This means approx. 50% increase in size of the program.