To promote yoga and meditation, nine yoginis have been dressing up as avatars of the devi during Navratri at a pandal in Santa Cruz.
The yoginis sit motionless for four hours daily in the evening even as hundreds of devotees file by.
They have been doing so since Wednesday evening and will sit in the meditation pose on Saturday too.
The yoginis from the Prajapita Brahmakumari organisation depict Durga, Laxmi, Saraswati, Santoshi, Jagdamba and other manifestations of the mother goddess.
The display is followed by a one-hour-long free class to teach Rajyoga meditation — the word Raja referring to the mind.
The Brahmakumari organisation said that it is possible for the yoginis to sit motionless for four hours only due to their training in Rajyoga meditation.
Director of the Santa Cruz branch of Brahmakumaris, Meera said, “Navratri is a festival that signifies the victory over the demons of vices and negative energy that are present around us in the form of falsehood, hatred, discrimination and greed. To win over these evils, we need to strengthen our minds through the practice of meditation. The true meaning of celebrating Navratri will only be achieved if we conquer the negative thoughts that arise within our minds.”
The yoginis are exhibiting their meditating skills at a pandal in a Santa Cruz mall. The Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya is a 73-year-old spiritual organisation with 8,500 branches in 130 countries. It is run mostly by women and is headquartered in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.
