Vijaya Dashmi

Happy Vijayadashmi! 💃🏽
Dusshera or Vijaya Dashmi, the tenth day, the Day of Victory!

Ravana is killed by Rama and the demon Mahisasura is killed by Ma Durga. The ten-headed Ravana represents the EGO. Ram represents self-knowledge. The dawning of Self-knowledge is what ultimately annihilates the ego. Essentially the tenth day is the victory of non-duality over the apparent dichotomies and dual perceptions that we carry to help us make sense of the material world we live in.

Last night we danced until midnight, barefoot, around Ma Durga. Just like the feminine and life which is cyclical, the traditional gujarati dance (known as Garba, originating from the Sanskrit word Garbha which means womb) has many circular motions and is a temple dance danced in giant circles around the Goddess. There are countless forms of this dance, each person has their own style, yet it’s done in cadence, with different concentric circles following different styles. It’s an extremely high energy dance, and the energy created by the end of the night was colossal!

True to tradition, this event was neither publicized anywhere nor ticketed (except vaccine check), it was free for all, with free chai coffee and food for the hundreds of people who came all dressed up in the most colorful and embellished outfits to dance and celebrate the Goddess! So grateful that this still exists in the world, and especially here in LA!

Jai Ma!