Fifth step- Is the level of 'Guru tatva' represented by the Guru.


Students in various positions convey - one can learn just by listening to guru's words, meditating, doing seva to Guru.

Pots, one above the other represent the pyramid representation of our desires and knowledge. Desires reduce as we go Spiritual and the knowledge converges ultimately into the 'one’.

Swan represents the Guru's quality of being able to separate milk from water. Milk being the spiritual insight in the ordinariness of world, represented by water.

Couple represent the 'Yin'/'Yang'-female-male energy balanced in the Guru.

Sixth step- As per Hindu Mythology man has to take 84,000 janmas, lives, before taking birth as a human.

And his journey is represented by the various Avatars of Vishnu from Aquatic (matsya) life form to amphibian (koorma)- Varaha (lower animal form) pig- beast, Narasimha-Lion man, dwarf Vamana, powerful man yet driven by passions- Parasurama, stable and virtuous Rama, to super human form Sri Krishna, vairagya detachment Buddha hood and ultimately Kalki the future that would bring end to the cycle.

Seventh step - the final stage and the only purpose of life is realizing (Aham Brahmasmi), Thath thva masi- that which is I am.

This can be realized in three ways-

- Prema yoga marga - Path of Bhakthi and love - Represented by Radha-Krishna.

- Gnana marga - Shiva Shakthi represent this, in which we realize the truth.

- Karma marga - On all paths, the need which is common, is to control the senses - horses representing the senses here.

This way, when we remind ourselves of our illusions, Maya and the purpose of our life through the various rituals, the urgency to shift from ignorance to knowledge compel the practitioner to go within.

Hope you got an idea of the reasons behind arranging dolls during Navaratri. See you all in next post...!