DEVI DURGA…A myth? An idol? Or a Realisation?

Durga Puja comes each year, not only in Bengal, but to all Bengalis round the globe. Durga Puja is a festival of lights, colours, pomp, gifts and mirth. But what all this revolves around is the Goddess Durga, whom we often prefer to overlook. What attachment could the modern man have with this gorgeous, yet peculiar looking idol, after all? ‘A feminine figure with ten hands, on a lion’s back, dressed like a warrior, fighting a demon is a bit primitive, isn’t it? All a madman’s imagination, nothing realistic or pertinent about it. So, just don’t bother.’…that’s the common attitude.

Take a closer look. Is it just a mere idol with some wild myth behind it? At a quieter moment why does it still capture our eyes? What is there in that posture, that expression? Don’t we sense an emanation of strength & energy from the figure? What has kept us glued to this idol for hundreds of years?

Lets delve into the age-old story and look for some relevance to today’s modern life and society.
We find the tale of Devi Durga described in vivid details in the well-known ‘Sri Sri Chandi’, a book of 700 verses in Sanskrit, which is often chanted at various Hindu rituals. But who ever thought it was actually a thriller with Devi Durga as the central character?
All through it’s a fight with the demons… countless demons in various forms and attires. They are all immensely strong and powerful warriors armed with the best of weapons. Whom do these demons represent? None but the evil in us… the evil in society, the evil propensities hidden within ourselves.
Devi Durga is seen to fight this eternal battle against these demons. Now where does she come from? Is she a imaginary princess or angel? No. Durga is conceived as the total amalgamation of all the strength & power of all the Gods in Hindu mythology, i.e., all virtues put together. As the story goes, the Gods were being tormented by the demons, who were overwhelming them in power. So all the Gods projected all their strength to one point, and this concentrated energy evolved into a gorgeous feminine figure- the Goddess Durga. All the Gods now offered their special weapons to her. Devi Durga now stood as a personification of eternal strength & energy of all that is good & virtuous.
To come back to reality, are we not constantly fighting the battle of right against wrong, good against evil, love against contempt, truth against false? And aren’t we mostly drawn towards the wrong side, as that’s always the stronger force? To stick to the right path calls for an enormous effort & fight, doesn’t it? Its only when we concentrate fully on our conscience, bringing all good senses together, we can fight the sinister temptations from within and out. So ‘Devi Durga’ fighting the ‘Mahisasur’ is literally a picturization of our day-to-day battle. Interesting, right?
Well, if it is just a battle where good wins over bad, it should be a short story like an Aesop’s fable. What is there in the 700 verses? Let’s read on.
In one of the preludes to the story ‘Devi Kabacha’ we find a detailed account of where Durga or Chandi may be found. Her presence is not just in the idol, that’s just a representation. She resides in every corner and every element of the universe, as well as in every organ & every cell in our bodies. She resides even in our mind, intellect & senses, our family and material possessions, our path and goal. So, the eternal power of virtue is omnipresent. What a relief & solace to feel that goodness does prevail all around!
But, then why should injustice, criminality, wrongdoing be so rampant? The answer comes clear. Greed, envy & wickedness has always existed and will continue to exist. We have to cultivate the goodness to fight it all. If you pack up your conscience and store it in your fridge safely, immorality is going to prevail, because it is mighty strong. It will attack you repeatedly in different disguises, unless you are constantly vigilant. To make this point clear the great story teller describes a number of battles fought by Devi Durga with different demons in different situations, each highlighting on a very practical situation of our lives.
In the story of’ Mahisasura’, we find him coming with his huge battalion, armed in an array of weapons, whom the Devi has to fight & defeat meticulously. Then ‘Mahisasur’ enters the battle himself, constantly changing himself, from a man to a bull, an elephant, a lion and back to a man. Just as temptation comes to us in various guises. After a prolonged and fierce battle, finally the demon is slain. So slaying the demon of temptations is not accomplished by a touch of a wand. ‘Winning over temptations calls for a very strong will power and conviction and a constant vigilant fight coupled with a lot of sacrifice’ is the down-to-earth moral of this story.
Another thriller is the battle with’ Rakta Bija’. This demon had the unique power of reproducing his own replica from every drop of blood he shed. So, hit one Rakta Bija, you get thousands more, he goes on breeding. Isn’t this a very apt analogy to perjury? One lie begets thousands more, you just can’t stop. To get out of it you have to just nip it in the bud. That’s exactly what we see in the tale, where ‘Chamunda” or ‘Kali’, another form of Durga gulps down every drop of blood that is shed while Devi Durga slays him.
Then comes the story of ‘Shumbha-Nishumbha’, the very powerful demon brothers. Here we get an answer to our doubts about so many gods & goddesses in the Hindu Mythology. While fighting this battle Devi Chandika gives rise various forms like Koushiki, Ambika and Chamunda. The power or ‘Shakti’ of all the other Gods like Brahma, Bishnu, Maheswar etc emanate out as their corresponding feminine forms and join in the battle. Together they fight it out and ultimately kill Nishumbha. At this Shumbha taunts the Devi saying, ’Do not brag of your victory. You need to take help from so many to fight my brother alone.’ Then comes the clarification from the Devi, which clears our doubts on plurality and omnipresence, ‘I alone reign in this universe. Who else is there but me?’ With this She withdraws all other Goddesses into herself. Devi Durga depicts the omnipresent, eternal strength & power, not an individual. This power is within each of us and is manifested differently according to needs. Energy is one, its manifestations are many.

So friends, lets enjoy the ensuing Durga Puja, let’s celebrate, but let’s also spare a minute to look into the eyes of Devi Durga with reverence to revive our own strength to survive honestly and morally. Let that be our realization.’ Durge Devi Namahstute”

IRON IN HER SOUL, NOT IN HER BLOOD

Durga Puja. Maha Ashtami.
“Vidya samastastava devi veda, Striya samastah sakala jagatsu”** went the chanting, with the rhythmic beats of the dhak at the background.
Bharati stood silently, holding onto her crippled child, staring with awe at the grand image of the Goddess Durga, the idol of strength personified. Along with an ardent prayer, there was also a tinge of identification in her expression. Did she feel the strength of the Goddess within herself?
Bharati, a frail looking ordinary Indian woman was a young mother of three girls—the youngest being a congenitally crippled child of seven. This 3rd childbirth had been a disgrace to the family—so the 22 year old, sickly and malnourished Bharati had been dumped with her three kids at her parents’ place, where again she was just a great burden, borne with much resentment. What was Bharati’s fate? Plunging into utter darkness and gradual demolition? No. Young and frail, Bharati had the courage to live, the guts to hope. Or maybe, she was too big a fool to despair. With her utterly impractical hopefulness she ran from post to pillar with her 1.8 kg deformed newborn, struggling for her survival. It meant long queues at the hospital outdoor, even longer waits at the local leader’s office for a BPL card. At the end of a long wait a ray of hope would prompt her to run again—now to an orthopaedic surgeon, then to a physiotherapist; once to a neurologist, later to a special educator. The race was un-ending, but tire she knew not of. In between all this she had to keep her job as a domestic help to provide for herself and her kids. Her day started at 5 AM: household chores, feeding the children & sending them to school, then rushing to the apartment she worked at. Washing, cleaning, scrubbing continued till she sought a break to run to the hospital for the little baby. Coming back home at 2PM, cooking a fast lunch for the children, she would again rush off to work. Later in the evening, she would return home, only to find loads of chores still waiting for her. Her food? Yes, bits here & there were her fill.
This is how days, months & years have been passing for Bharati. In the mean time the deformed, distorted child had miraculously survived and was growing up. The bud, which seemed destined to be nipped, was blooming! Yes, a miracle indeed. She had learnt to sit, to stand and walk (of course with the support device Bharati had managed to buy with her petty savings), to talk, sing, read & write! The greatest miracle was that she had a brilliant brain. She was going to school now and doing real well. Still deformed with a defective gait and grip, she was excelling in everything: studies, music, elocution, even drawing! A winner in all, she was now a real wonder, vibrant and happy, full of life. And behind her was the real winner: Bharati.
Now, after seven long years, her family, her husband, her in-laws all realized her potentiality. The hidden strength & ability in this apparently frail and foolish speck of a girl was evident now. She had it in her—the Iron Will.

Bharati depicts the true picture of an ordinary Indian woman with iron in her soul: the manifestation of the Goddess of Shakti in her. “Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu shakti rupena sangsthita….. Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu matri rupena sangsthita” Devi manifests as shakti, as a mother. This is why we hear Swami Vivekananda proclaim “The real shakti worshipper is he who knows that God is the omnipresent force of the universe and sees in the woman the manifestation of that force.
Yet sadly enough, the Bharatis of our country do have the strong will of Ma Durga, but what of Her rosy cheeks? They are replaced by a pale, sunken facies. Had a little of the iron from Bharati’s soul trickled to her blood, the haemoglobin would have risen to an acceptable level. But, unfortunately, neglect from day one has prevented that.
The Bharatis of our Bharat are born unwanted into the family and grow up as a by-product. They are deprived of nutrition at all levels: the mother’s milk, the family food, nutritional additives, all. Illness is inadequately attended to, what to speak of convalescence. Education is considered an extravagancy. Then at a tender pubertal age they are wed off or rather, got rid of. She now lands up in a life of greater deprivation and oppression, from the frying pan to the fire. Added to this comes the brunt of an underage pregnancy, again with very little medical attention. The ordeal continues with childbirth, lactation, another pregnancy, a new member. Yet one more…and one more… the story goes on. The net result is that she gets drained of all vitality—severe anaemia is the ultimate picture.
This is the sad story of the common Indian woman, all our Bharatis, who have iron in their soul but lack it in their blood. Our energy sources are thus being reduced to weaklings, and every single Indian should feel responsible for this negligence & deprivation of women. To quote Swami Vivekananda once more, “That nation which does not respect women has never become great and never will ever be in future…. The uplift of women must come first and then only can any real good come about for the country, for India”


** You are in every woman in the universe as her beauty, her knowledge, her modesty.