Navratri means nine nights in Sanskrit and these nine days are dedicated to Devi Durga. It occurs twice a year and signifies a change from imbalance to finding and setting in a new balance. These nine nights are the nights of shakti — extremely powerful and volatile. This is the time to realign oneself using the force of the Divine Mother for a higher balance.
Our ancestors observed fasts on these days so as to cleanse the body — the various nadis and chakras — to ensure an unrestricted movement of shakti in the body.
The fasts were not just limited to curtailing the intake of food and water, but also the discipline of pranayama (control of breath), speech (avoiding frivolous interactions) and brahmcharya (preventing dissipation in the form of sexual heat). Dhyaan (meditation) in those nine days was centered on the Devi through specific chants.
One should strive for an optimum level, a state of balance from imbalance, from vikriti to prakriti. Balance is the key. And every shakti, which we call dev or devi, is a balance and this balance is at different levels and corresponds to different shrenis (categories). Sanatan Kriya insists that one should sit with a straight spine to connect with the various forces of the Creation.
Our spine is the reflection of the Sushumna — the devs and devis reside here. Each vertebra corresponds to a specific shakti, a specific balance, which is invoked through a specific dhwani (sound), by taking one’s awareness to that location. We cannot say that there is only one state of balance in the entire creation; there exist different kinds of balances. One moves from a state of balance to a state of imbalance and then a new balance is established. The balance that you are at, first you have to bring that into a slight imbalance, only then the next balance can be established.
For example, if a person is enjoying different kinds of foods and his/her body is able to digest all of it, then that person is in a state of balance and will not be able to think beyond food. Every day s/he will think, “What new dish should I try today?” Till the time a person is in balance at a particular level, till that time s/he does not require anything else. Once an imbalance sets in, only then s/he sets out in the search for something else. So to rise above anything, first you need to introduce a slight imbalance.
Yogis or those who do yog, create an imbalance within themselves voluntarily in every kshetra (area) and shreni (level). Only when they do this are they able to reach the next level of balance, the next shakti, moving up the spinal column, which is the entire journey of yog. Navratri is the time of transition, a shift from one balance to the next, lower to higher through yog.
