Navratri beliefs
Navratri, the festival that celebrates ‘Shakti’ and the divine feminine energy is being celebrated from October 3 to October 12, 2024. And in between the many dos and don’ts of Navratri rituals, fastings, and more, there are certain beliefs that more and more people are now challenging! Some call them baseless, some say they aren’t scientific, and others just can’t find the logic behind them.
Here we mention 5 beliefs that are being challenged by people and why.
You HAVE to fast every day
Fasting during Navratri is encouraged and is said to have many benefits. When you eat less, or don’t eat at all, your mind and body is less lethargic and there is more time and energy for spiritual activities. But, some people falsely claim that everyone should fast all 9 days of Navratri or else there will be no benefits of keeping the Navratri vrat.
But honestly, this is just not true! While it is preferred that you stay fasted for all 9 days, if you can’t owing to a medical condition or any other reason, it is alright. Many people prefer to fast on the last 2 days of Navratri, or the first and last day of Navratri, and this too is considered perfectly fine.
At the end of the day it is not about how hungry you kept yourself, but about how devoted you were to Maa Durga’s energy.
Eat as much Sattvic food as you want
During the Navratri fasting period devotees are allowed to eat Sattvic foods. And while some people prefer to have a meal only once a day, others keep on snacking throughout! ‘Vrat chips’ for breakfast, sago rice for lunch, ‘cholai laddu’ for dessert, and the munching just goes on. Now, it is important to remember that although one can eat Sattvic food throughout the day, one should not overeat that Sattvic food throughout.
The whole idea and goal behind fasting is to cleanse your system, give your immune system a little rest time, and improve your overall health. And if people just keep on munching on ‘vrat-approved’ snacks, nothing good will come out of it. So, avoid overeating, have one or two light meals in a day, and try to keep your internal system as clear as possible.
Fasting will cleanse all your sins
Living in Kaliyug is becoming more and more complicated by the day. Why? Well, people now believe that if they sin throughout the year and then keep fasts for a certain time or take a dip in the Ganga once or twice, all their sins will be erased and they can start afresh. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true.
A popular saying goes - ‘Only those sins are cleansed in Ganga which are done unknowingly’ and this should be remembered by everyone. While fasting does help bring you closer to the energies of Maa Durga, it will not magically cleanse all your sins if you continue to do bad deeds once the fasts are over.
NEVER travel during Navratri
This is one belief that has a mix of truth and false to it. When people celebrate Navratri, they also light an ‘Akhand jyot’ in their homes. It is basically a diya in which a long cotton thread is kept, filled with oil, and then lit up. It is believed that this Akhand jyot has to keep on burning till the end of Navratri as the light of the Diya is like an indication to Maa Durga to visit your home. And so, it is said that people should not leave their home and travel far off as the diya might run out of oil and the jyot will soon be extinguished.
And while it is best to not travel and leave the home empty during Navratri, some elders say that even if one person is at home to take care of the diya, another person who has to tend to an emergency can leave the place.
Only women need to keep Navratri fasts
One of the most illogical beliefs some people have about Navratri is that only women should keep Navratri vrats, all 9 of them, for the well-being of their family. In many families, it is seen that women keep all 9 days of fasts while the men get away with a day or two. And this is simply illogical. Maa Durga is everyone’s mother and it is everyone's responsibility to participate in the rituals.
Fasting is a way to purify and cleanse yourself internally and it sees no difference between a man and a woman. At the end of the day, fasting is for the self and should not be forced upon someone.