Message taken from Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 27 September 1992 in Prashanthi Nilayam ( Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 25 Chapter 30)

Navarathri means nine nights. Darkness is associated with night. What is this darkness? It is the darkness of ignorance. The purpose of the Navarathri celebration is to enable man to get rid of nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him. When a reference is made to Devi, it signifies the unified form of Dhurga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. The three together represent Shakthi. Shakthi is the energy that accounts for all the phenomena of Prakruthi (Nature). Nature is energy and the controller of that energy is the Lord.

When man forgets God and desires to enjoy the benefits of Nature, he becomes ultimately a demon like Ravana who brought about his own destruction. To secure the grace of the Lord, one has to have purity of the heart, purity in speech and purity in action. This triple purity is described in Vedantic parlance as Tripurasundari. Lakshmi, who is the embodiment of all prosperity, is represented by the heart. The mouth represents Saraswathi. Kriyaa Shuddhi (Purity in action) is represented by Dhurga. The observance of the Navarathri celebration is to get rid of the darkness in which man is enveloped, by cultivating the triple purity of thought, word and deed.