The story of Mahagauri – the form of Parvat celebrated on the 8th day of Navaratri – is in some ways more disturbing, upsetting, and more difficult to handle than all the stories about destroying demons. 

Maha in Sanskrit means Great. The word Gauri means Bright.

Navaratri is a Hindu holiday that celebrates the power of ambiguity and vulnerability woven together with intensity and ferocity, and the ability of complexity to triumph over certainty, stuckness, immovability, and resistance to change and nuance. 

The story of Mahagauri is a story about a goddess who forgets that her power of ferocity saves the world, a goddess who wants to seem less threatening, a goddess who is crushed by the patriarchy and the racism and the beauty biases of the world.

The Great Goddess in her greatness is Kali, the dark goddess. On the 7th day of Navaratri, Kalaratri, who is the darkest form of the goddess, is celebrated. And on the 8th day, the Maha Śakti, the Great Goddess, the power of the universe itself is tired of being dark.

Parvati doesn’t want to be called dark anymore. She doesn’t want to be dark anymore. She just wants to be a bright, light, and radiant goddess. 

This is because of systemic racism. That’s because darkness has been demonized. That’s because the power of the feminine as dark has been portrayed as less valuable at best, and evil at worst. 

Obsession with light complexion is an old and broad issue that extends itself to many parts of the world. 

And a different side of this story is that the goddess is exhausted of her own ferocity because being a demon slayer is hard work, and she needs a break. To become less fierce is to take a little vacation from the battlefield of life, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t need that every now and then. 

Mahagauri wants so badly to be less dark, she tries to convince Brahma to help her. She’s ready to do some serious austerities. This is how deeply the systemic misogyny and racism go. She forgets that SHE is the power of the universe. She turns to another (male) god to help her. And she forgets that it’s her darkness that holds in it all the power, that it’s her intensity that protects other creatures and species from the demons. 

But the gods know that Parvati’s ferocity and love and complexity save the world. 

Symbolically, her darkness is what holds the universe together. It’s what holds the entirety of existence, it’s the receptive, creative, generative power of the cosmos. 

She goes into the Ganga river to bathe. And the darkness of her skin washes off. It’s an aspect of her – the feminine, the great goddess in the form of a river, the sacred flow of life – that grants her wish.

She comes out all golden and bright and radiant. She wears a white sari framed with golden thread. She has this serene expression. 

But you know what? 

She then hears the cry of the people. She finds her way into the temple and she sees that people are stressed and worried, praying and begging Mahakali to come back. The demons – many of them – are everywhere, and they are gaining more power, and they suffocate the gods, the humans, the animals, the plants. 

The demonic got a hold of her within. The racism and misogyny and patriarchal forces got a hold of her. The insecurities and low self esteem that have been driven into her by the overculture for generations got a hold of her.

And as soon as she realizes it, she transforms back into the badass, breathtaking, breath-giving, fierce and fabulous Mahakali. 

Look, Mahagauri is beautiful too. She’s needed too. We need all the pieces, all the aspects, all the colors, all the versions of ourselves. 

She rides a white bull, and as always, this is an invitation to remember that the path of spirituality is full of bullshit, especially when it elevates the bright light, the color white, and minimizes or demonizes the dark. 

Mahagauri reminds us that even the great goddess can feel insecure, that the over-culture can harm even the power of life itself when it is infested with such toxic ideas and beliefs. She reminds us of vulnerability again. She invites us to transform in the authenticity of not being immune to the world’s problems and traumas. 

She lets us see the imperfection of reality. And the imperfection of our own perspective. She gives us an entryway into questioning. She slays the demon of certainty and systemic problematics by forgetting her own power. Because we have to forget that we are powerful, so that we can access our strength through vulnerability. 

If you are ready to access your strength through your vulnerability, to gather your power and to break down harmful patterns, to cultivate serenity and ferocity, to energize your body and mind, inspire your heart, and fuel your creativity, please join us for Bond With Your Life! 

Bond With Your Life is a course that weaves together ancient technology, modern understanding of the nervous system and hormones, storytelling, and embodied practices to help you gather yourself, break down patterns that no longer work, and create yourself within the intensity of life.

Check out this video to explore more of Mahagauri.

XOXO

Hagar