Navarātri Observance 2024

Join us for the 10 days of Navarātri celebrations dedicated to the feminine aspect of the Divine in the form of Divine Mother. Swāmi Dayāmṛtānanda Puri will conduct days 1, 2, and 3 of Navarātri, dedicated to Durgā. Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya will conduct days 4 to 10 of Navarātri, dedicated to Lakshmi and Saraswati. 

All Navarātri programs are 7:30pm (Weekdays) and 6:30 pm (Weekends), except Navarātri Day 3, which starts at 4pm, and Navarātri Day 10, Vijayadaśami, which starts at 10am.

All Navarātri programs are in-person. The last three days, October 10th, 11th, 12th, which includes the Āyudha Pūja, Vijayadaśami, and Vidyarambham Pūja, are also online and will be streamed on the M.A. Center DC YouTube channel.

Daily worship will include brief meditation, Bhajans, Chanting of 108 names of respective form of the Divine Mother, Mahishasura Mardini Stotram, Devi Mantras with prostrations, Arati of respective form of Divine Mother, Amma Arati and prayer for world peace.

Schedule

Thursday, October 3rd to Saturday, October 12th

• Thu, Oct. 3rd - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 1 - Durgā - with Swāmi Dayāmṛtānanda Puri

• Fri, Oct. 4th - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 2 - Durgā - with Swāmi Dayāmṛtānanda Puri
• Sat, Oct. 5th - 4:00pm to 9pm - Day 3 - Durgā and Amma's Birthday with Swāmi Dayāmṛtānanda Puri

• Sun, Oct. 6th - 6:30pm to 8pm - Day 4 - Lakshmi with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya
• Mon, Oct. 7th - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 5 - Lakshmi with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya
• Tues, Oct. 8th - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 6 - Lakshmi with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya

• Wed, Oct. 9th - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 7 - Saraswati with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya
• Thu, Oct. 10th - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 8 - Saraswati and Āyudha Pūja with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya
• Fri, Oct. 11th - 7:30pm to 9pm - Day 9 - Saraswati and Āyudha Pūja with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya

• Sat, Oct. 12th - 10am to 2pm - Day 10 - Vijayadaśami and Vidyārambham Pūja with Br. Rāmānandāmṛta Chaitanya

Ayudha Puja - worship of 'tools of the trade'

Thursday, Oct 10th, 7:30pm and Friday, Oct 11th, 7:30 pm

Another important aspect of the celebration where one has the option to offer puja to their tools of the trade (Ayudha)-for e.g. pens, machinery, laptops, etc. by giving a day of rest and ritually worshiping them. Those involved in artistic and scholarly pursuits may place their instruments at the home altar. You can retrieve them and start afresh following the Vijaya Dashami puja.

Vijaya Dashami - the day of success

Saturday, Oct 12th, 10:00 am.

On the tenth day of victory over the negativities (Vijaya Dashami), it is a tradition to perform Vidyarambham (a fresh start to the process of seeking the higher goal). Participants would be guided through a guided pooja process along with the steps to symbolically perform Vidyarambham. In parallel to the pooja there will be chants and bhajans happening. The event will conclude with Amma's arati and prayer for world peace.