Navaratri (literally meaning “nine nights”) celebrations are held during the bright half of Hindu month Chaitra (April). This year Navaratri begins April 4 and ends on Ram Navami– birthday for Lord Rama – on April 12.
During this period we invoke “Shakti” (meaning energy) in the form of the universal mother “Durga.” Durga literally means the remover of miseries. This is the energy with which helps God perform the work of creation, preservation and destruction – in agreement with the scientific theory that energy is imperishable and cannot be created or destroyed.
It is not uncommon for worshippers to have tears roll down their cheeks in the deep love and comfort they feel in their love for Mother Durga.
A lot of Hindus observe a partial fast during Navaratri and abstain from food other than “Satvik”. Also avoided are cereals during the fast.
In Ayurveda, food is divided into three categories:
Satvik food is simple and easy to digest. It is the closest to the way food exists in its natural form. It is usually eaten fresh and immediately after it is prepared.
Rajasik food is heavier to digest. One should make sure that one performs the required physical activities to digest this food. Cooked fresh, rajasik food is rich in nutrients.
Tamasik food consists of unnatural, overcooked, stale, and processed food items. Food containing a lot of white flour, meat and alcohol fall into this category.
Items made of buckwheat usually are also a part of the fasting diet.
Buckwheat is not related to wheat and is not even a cereal; it is actually a fruit seed. It is rich in starch, proteins, minerals like iron, zinc, antioxidants and contains the perfect combination of nutrients for a healthy cardiovascular system. It helps control blood sugar levels and thus lowers the risk of diabetes. It also prevents gallstones and provides protection against heart disease.

Try some delicious and healthy Indian style buckwheat pancakes this Nava Ratri season.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 4th, 2011 at 9:24 am and is filed under blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.