Maa Durga: The symbol of Unity in Diversity

Durga Puja – the unique system of reaching formless, impersonal, all-pervading Godhead through image worship.

Durga Puja, held in autumn every year, has become a national festival in India. People, forgetting all differences, join in this celebration. As mother never makes any difference among her children, similarly in the Puja of Devi Durga all classes of people without any distinction of caste, creed, color, language participate. In fact, the real essence of Hinduism is expressed through Maa Durga.

Creation of Durga symbolizes unity, unity of different Gods, Faiths, Paths. This subtle knowledge, this abstract idea is depicted in the image of Maa Durga. The clay which is used to make the image of Maa Durga comes from the door steps of a Brahmin, a King and a Prostitute. The brahmin is the symbol of high caste, the symbol of Sattva. The king represents khsatriya caste and Raja. The prostitute is the symbol of low caste and Tama. This shows that the Divine Mother is present equally in high and low, upper caste and lower caste. There is no difference for Divine Mother.

Her ten hands is the symbol of Omnipresent God – She is everywhere. The different armaments in her hands depicts the fact that she is all-powerful. The intelligent hindu, through symbol teaches that the divinity is present even in animals & birds. The lion & the rat with image of Goddess Durga symbolizes the whole gamut of animals similarly the peacock & the owl symbolizes the whole range of birds. The Divine Mother is present even in these creatures. The divinity is also present in the reptiles that is symbolized by the snake she is holding and the small plantain tree covered with different varieties of creepers signifies that the divinity is present in the plants and trees. The truth which has been expressed in Upanishads – Isha Varsam Idam Sarvam. (The whole universe is covered by God); in Gita – Sarvatha pani padam tat, Sarvatha akshi Shira Mukham etc., (All varieties of manifestation is the expression of one God); is crystallized in the image of Goddess Durga.

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