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Navratras  are the nine nights of devi. What is devi is beyond the scope of this article. It is a subject of lifelong sadhna under a guru... I will attempt here to throw light on just a small aspect of it. That devi, which resides in every being as shakti. Everything manifests as a union of Shiv and shakti. Shiv without shakti is a shav (corpse). Just like a car cannot run without fuel, no aspect of creation can run without shakti. Shakti is the propelling force, pure energy. Even gods cannot function without shakti. For Shiv, it is Parvati. For Vishnu, it is Lakshmi. For Brahma, it is Saraswati. First the shakti is invoked, then Shiv manifests. No event or anushthan is complete without invoking the shakti. In the battle between Lord Ram and Ravan, Ram invoked the shakti of Durga, Ravan invoked Kali. When Guru Gobind Singh created Khalsa, he performed a Chandi yagya. On the path of yog, the evolution of sadhak is impossible without the transference of s...

The article was published in Metro India Paper, Andhra Pradesh

Yogiji's article in Navhind Times .

Yogi Ashwini 's Article in Metro India paper today

On one of my expeditions to Himalayas, I met a  tapasvi . He had a mystical calmness about himself. We had a long conversation after which I  thought  of leaving something for his expenses. I slipped my hand beneath the  asan  on which he was sitting to leave some money behind. As I did so, something pricked me. I lifted the cloth to find iron nails below… One of the 5  niyams  in  ashthang yog  is  ‘tapa’ , that is, to heat the  body  by giving it pain. It is a very basic purification, a means to cancel out your negative  karmas , a tool to aid progress and evolution. Fasting/  Upavaas  is one way of putting yourself through pain.  Upavaas  has a much greater connotation than what it is generally misunderstood as - mere holding back from eating certain foods. At Dhyan Ashram,  sadhaks  observe  Upavaas  in its aunthentic sense, that is, giving up pleasure to observe austerities...

The nine days of Navratris are very powerful. Each of these nine days has a specific purpose. During Navratris, the weather changes — various energies of this creation move from imbalances towards a new normalcy. Since a human being is poorna ansh of this creation, every object and energy of the creation resides within you as well. In these nine days you also move towards a new normalcy. The prana shakti inside the body also undergoes a process of realignment. And to realign, the body should be kept light. The nine days are divided into three parts, each comprising three days. Each set of three days is for the three parts of the body — the region below the navel, between the navel and shoulders and the region above the shoulders. The nine Devis worshipped during Navratris originate from Maa Durga, Maa Lakshmi and Maa Saraswati which, all of whom have their origin in Adi Shakti. The head region of the body is symbolic of Durga, and the middle and lower regions represent Lakshmi an...