LIVING in New YORK does not prevent Guyanese from observing the Hindu festival of Navratri, nine nights of worshipping the Universal Mother, which was observed from March 28 to April 3 at all NY mandirs with a nightly discourse on the holy Ramayana. Navratri culminated in the celebration of Lord Rama’s birth on Friday.

At the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir in Ozone Park, Pandit Prakash Gossai explained the meaning of Navratri which he said is the worshipping of the Goddess Durga and her female reincarnations. Gossai said Navratri is the most auspicious times for Hindus to perform pooja. During this period, the feminine aspects of God are worshipped. He noted that “mother provides her children with sustenance and as such she must be propitiated as an expression of gratitude”.

Gossai explained that in Hinduism “God” is neither male nor female. Gods as well as Goddesses are worshipped and for every God there is a corresponding Goddess as his consort. So, Hindus do not discriminate between the genders. In the holy Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna suggests that God is neither male nor female. The Lord said: “I am the father and mother”, suggesting that God transcends gender. When Hindus pray, they always pay obeisance to their mother and father and they perform aarti on their parents and elderly males and females.

Pandit Gossai also explained that there is only one God in Hinduism and he or she is called by different names and each performs different functions. But they are all the same one God. He said God can take form and can be seen – called sagun. But God can also be nirgun, that is, has no form. There is no difference between the two Gods. “The same God is all over the place in every nook and cranny. It is a limitless God who is indescribable. Because of our less developed mind, we imagine what God is like in the form of a Murthi and pray to Him or Her.”

As they do in Guyana, during Navratri, NY Guyanese held special prayers in the mornings and in the evenings to pay obeisance to the universal mother who takes three forms — the three Devis — Goddess Durga and her two other reincarnations Laxmi and Saraswati. Gossai likens the three goddesses to that of Ministers of a cabinet. Durga is Minister of Defense. Lakshmi is Minister of Finance. And Saraswati is Minister of Education. People pray to each one for three nights for a total of nine nights.

According to Gossai, Durga is the collective manifestation of Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer). As such when people worship Durga, they are worshipping the other manifestations of God as well. Hindus worship Durga, which means fort, for protection. Durga, through her strength and shakti (power), offers protection to devotees. People worship for protection, love and comfort and Goddess Durga offers divine protection and removal of diseases and obstacles. Feeling satisfied with the protection offered by Durga, devotees prostrate to Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity, so that they can become wealthy, kind and generous towards others. And feeling protected and prosperous, the devotees then seek wisdom and knowledge from Saraswati so they can educate others.

On Friday, Guyanese Hindus celebrated Ram Naumi (the birth or appearance) of Lord Rama. The temple was jam packed to capacity with worshippers overflowing from the main entrance on Ram Naumi. The temple was also packed for nightly services.

I have followed Gossai’s discourses ever since I met him in 1984 and I attended his satsanghs in several countries. Gossai has gotten better over time. His presentations are well researched and his delivery is focused and interesting with never a dull moment. At Bhuvaneshwar, devotees expressed tremendous satisfaction for his satsangh. They are grateful that in spite of his pressing engagements, he still finds time to come and observe various auspicious festivals at the mandir to fulfill the needs of the large number of devotees who worship there.

Gossai says he eagerly looks forward to continuing the Lord’s work as well as to serve his country. Gossai explains it is not enough to celebrate Navratri. Instead, he advises people must see their own mothers and females as the manifestation of these attributes of the universal mother and make every day Navratri.