The first night - of silence - we were able to offer a small Puja.
It started with an invocation "Immortal, Invisible, God only wise. In light, inaccessible, hid from our eyes
Most blessed Most glorious, the ancient of Days. Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise"

 

We also prayed that everything we offered the Great Devi, during this period of Navaratri would please Her

We offered a beautiful red sari which had come from the Sheffield collective.
Also, as it was the night of Shri Shailaputri, who holds a lotus and a trident, we offered the most enormous trident that we found in the Castle.
It was a silent and deep experience, with a small number of the hosting countries present.

On the second night - of the Guru principle, we made some special offerings. Prasad - channa, no sari, modest decorations, but lots of laxshmi baskets from UK, Israel, Ukraine, as it is a night of peace and prosperity.
This was also a special night because the film crew, who have been in Cabella for the last 2mths, had completed their trailer and were able to show it to Shri Mataji. There was so much joy and lots of wonderful bhajans.
It was the night when Shri Mataji announced that Diwali Puja would be in Cabella. The room was full with beaming faces and amazing Italian joy.

On the third night - the first night of the Devi Kavach - there were extensive and wonderful Puja preparations. We presented a wonderful garland, beautiful fragrant anklets, wristlets and a hair pin. By this time, there were more Yogis present, and the bhajans were in praise of the Devi.
We prayed that our surrender would be deeper, so that Her work would be faster.
She was offered a broad-sword, an axe, dagger, whip, pistol and flowers. There were trays of prasad, fresh fruit, nuts, dried fruit and 5 more laxshmi baskets
Everyone felt totally blessed and rejuvenated.

On the fourth night - whose offerings were completed a few minutes ago - Shri Mataji graciously accepted some more small offerings. We were informed that only 7 people could come inside, so there was the smallest possible multiple of 7 that could be managed!. The Puja began with an invocation for this night, when the light comes into the darkness and the blessing of Devi Kavach is complete
"Glory to thee My God this night, For all the blessings of the Light.
Keep me Oh keep me, Queen of Queens, beneath thine own Almighty wings"

Its a slight adaptation, as some of you will recognise, but in the 9 nights booklet, Shri Mataji also talked about the need for religious integration and detachment on this night.

We offered a beautiful purple sari, flower adornments, trays of prasad made by the hosting countries, lots of flowers, and more weapons - another huge sword, a rosary, tinsel and a dagger. There was no music tonight, but a depth of silence that inspired many to take long and luxurious namaskars. There were tears, as conditionings dissolved and a wonderful silent joy afterwards.

As the nights continue, a whole evolution of its own is unfolding. We heard that the children in Dharamshala are also performing daily celebrations, as are many international collectives.

 

On the Seventh night  was the puja for Shir Kaal Ratri - a Mahakali puja. We were fortunate to be able to offer a traditional red and white sari. As before there were trays of home made prasad, lots of laxshmi baskets.

The evening started with an unspoken prayer to Shri Mataji.
'Our Dearest Mother, Our humble pranam. You are the Mother and Queen of the Universe. You have taken many forms to protect your devotees. Please destroy all the fears of Sahaja Yogies and fill our hearts with love and joy.
Mother, Let respect and compassion grow within Sahaja Yogies'
Shri Mataji's sitting room quickly filled with people and trays of offerings. Fragrant flowers, perfumes, and prasad mixed together with so many yogies to combine in the worship of the Goddess. It felt like only moments had passed before the doors were shutting again and the quiet returned to this heavenly abode.

The evening was concluded with a tremendous TEV presentation of Blake and by the delightful Ukrainian music group. The whole evening was exhilarating.

The Eight night  was incredible, hot and sunny. The worship of the Goddess Maha Gauri - which is a Mahalaxshmi puja. Today was also the inauguration of the new Cabella school, being run by the World Foundation. This was a perfect opportunity to combine the evening's puja, with the children from the Sahaj schools in Cabella.
Having toured around the classrooms, met the teaching and admin staff and arrived in the main hall, the teachers offered aarti, the little children offered the huge trays of sari, adornments, fresh fruits and dried fruits. It could not be more beautiful to see Shri Mataji's interaction with these souls in their young bodies. The children then sang 2/3 songs for Shri Mataji.
It felt like a historic occasion and the childrens rendition of Jay Jay Janani, accompanied by aunty Maria was emotionally charged. The vibrations were profound and delightful. The evening was rounded off by the children performing aarti to our Holy Mother as we sang part of this great prayer.
Brimming with all these emotions, we returned the auspicious offerings to the castle. A small aarti was performed to conclude the evening.


On Sunday, the ninth night, we had a strong desire to be ready early enough so that Shri Mataji could attend before the cool of the evening descended. The back drop was of the most gentle, striking and beautiful portrayal of Shri Mataji sitting on a lion. The flowers were completely majestic. The puja offerings have never been more fragrant or glorious and the atmosphere amongst the whole collective was absolutely heart-felt.
Once everyone had settled the yogis performed the Devi Kavach. It was truly momentous to have the whole international collective contribute to the 'chorus' of this rendition and words cannot describe how powerful this was as an introduction to the puja. Shri Mataji arrived, received the children to offer flowers, ladies to decorate Her, a full array of weapons and then the aarti, after which we sang Jerusalem - an incredibly full bodied performance of this anthem which raised the roof and elevated us all in praise of the Goddess and Her Divine work.
After lots of further offerings had been made by many different countries, including 5 Hearts of Flowers from the UK, Shri Mataji returned to the castle. But not before the fireworks display. This was the most amazing, exhilarating and powerful fireworks display. There were beautiful images of the Goddess's eyes, nose ring and bow and arrow made by the fireworks. The sequence of explosions in the sky lit the whole of the night and the finale was 3 enormous blasts like the whole Universe shouting their Jay to the Goddess. It was incredible.
The music continued for many hours more in the hanger, Shri Mataji also received more music and there were ecstatic bhajans and praises of the Devi, performed in Her sitting room in the castle.

Dasshera puja - the tenth day. The day of the victory celebration of the slaying of Ravana.  After such an amazing 9 nights, when Our Holy Mother had allowed us to make our puja offerings on every night, this was set to be a completely fulfilling victory celebration. The desire on this night was for as many people as possible to join in the celebrations and Shri Mataji's room was set out differently so that we could open the big double doors and have a flow through the room.
The evening began with a heartfelt thank you from all the Hosting countries.. A thank you for the cleansing of the atmosphere of demons. A thank you for the Goddess's generosity in receiving all our offerings and for showering us in Her Divine blessings.
The UK collective offered 4 Saaris and bottles of perfume from the Uk and prayed for the integration of the four petals of the Heart, to re-unite the United Kingdom. So many flowers, great bhajans, prasad, huge trays of fruits, nuts, adornments and a short aarti with haldi, kumkum and wonderful perfumed oils, were offered. We all thanked our Holy Mother over and over again for all Her blessings. She watched our each and every movement and was absolutely radiant in a beautiful soft pink sari. It must have lasted no longer than one hour, but felt like another lifetime.
After the puja, and some very valiant efforts by our brothers, there was a ceremonial burning of an effigy of Ravana. People stood on the bridge outside the castle, filled the car park, and the drive way to watch the demon dissolve in clouds of flames, There was spontaneous applause and a sense of deep relief that so many auspicious events had taken place in such a short time.