What is the story of Navratri?
Thank you for A2A.My grandparents told me two stories about Navratri. And it goes like this:-In ancient time there was a demon named Mahishasur( Buffalo demon) who was undefeated by many gods and goddesses. So all the gods and goddesses prayed to goddess Durga for 9 day. As she has 9 different forms and all of them have some special powers. On the last day(9th day) goddess was happy and appeared in front of them and agreed to fight Mahishasur. On the 10th day goddess fought against him and killed the demon. ( So according to my grandmother if one does pooja during navratri their wish will be granted).On the 10th day of Durga pooja (Navratri) lord Ram defeated Ravan and killed him. It's a symbol of victory of good over evil. To celebrate that every year people do Ravan dehen(burning of demon) in northern part of India.
Is it wrong to watch porn according to Hinduism? What does the holy Gita say about sex and masturbation?
Well its complicated. Although Hinduism is a very open religion and sex is very much allowed (Kamasutra was written in this country when Europeans were literally barbarians) but what it says about masturbation is a little moral. Now when we masturbate we usually imagine someone (or see porn but it was not there at that time so I'll leave this topic) which is morally not correct. So if you want to masturbate you have two options either do it without imagining a woman (which is not possible) or do it imagining your wife. Assuming most men have urge to masturbate in the age of 14 to 30, and as currently we dont marry till late 20's so technically Hinduism prohibits masturbation. But I would also like to add that Hinduism has never been a rigid religion, so thoda adjustment toh chalta hai :P (Little adjustment is allowed)
Why do people only worship Durga's Ashtami (8th day), when Navratri lasts all nine days?
A little background info: My family is a follower of shaktism and we celebrate Navratri.Now, the premise of this question is wrong. In my family navmi and dashmi are also ceebrated.You see, Navratri isn't always 9 days long; it can be anywhere from 7 days to 10 days long depending upon the position of the stars, moon and the sun. So depending of the timing of the navmi, the final 'yagna' can either be held on ashtmi or on navmi but not on dashmi (on dashmi, the goddess is sent back ['vida Kiya jata hai'] so we don't worship her on that day). Generally we try to perform the yagna on navmi but if the timing of navmi is off, we perform it on ashtmi and wait till dashmi to move the installation of the 'kalash' and the rest of the alter.I hope this clears the confusion.
Why is Navratri celebrated?
NAVARATRI is one of the most auspicious festival celebrated in India.The word “navaratri” means nine(nava) nights(ratri).The festival is a multiday festival celebrated for 9 days and three frms of goddess-Durga,Lakshmi and Saraswati are invokedthe nine Avatars of goddess worshipped are1.SHAILPUTRI2.BRAHMCHARINI3.CHANDRAGHANTA4.KUSHMUNDA5.SKANDMATA6.KATYAYNI7.KALRATRI8.MAHA GAURI9.SIDDHIDATRIIn Hinduism, Navratri celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura, the buffalo-headed demon. She fought for nine days and nine nights before emerging victorious on the tenth day.rituals followed during Navratri:1.the first thing that every woman do in Navratri is early bath and then to worship the goddess Durga .2. Fasting is one such thing that every Hindu person do in Navratri may it be for complete nine days or for just two days. It is something which you just can’t separate from Navratri.for a complete article on rituals during navaratri: navaratri special
What is the reason Durga idol faces South?
Maa Durga is sign for prosperity, power and wealth for the ppl. Earth is the "Nanihal" Pita house of Maa Durga, so she visits here at her father house after every 6 months. As Per Vastu Shastra offers some basic guidelines before setting up the place of worship in a flat or a building.One of the most important sections in a house is its place of worship. Almost all the houses have a separate place where the idol of a lord is consecrated and is regularly worshiped.Idol faces of Maa These basic principles are as follows:-The pujaghar or meditation room for worship in the building should be in the east, the north or the north-east directions. The south corners should be avoidedPujaghar should not be constructed in the bedroomsThe idols should either be in the east or the west of the Pujaghar. The idols should not face the north direction.if they look northwards the devotees will look southwards. This is not considered right by Vastu Shastra.Triangular pattern of any God should not be drawn in the Pujaghar.Strictly toilets should not be built above or below the worship rooms.It is auspicious to use white marble work in the worship room. As far as the hues are concerned people are free to use white, light yellow or light blue.The worship room should have doors and windows in the north or the east directions.If there is a lamp stand it should be in the south-east corner of the worship room. /Jay Sri Ram/