The root of nine is…
No.
Apologies for anyone who assumed that I suddenly became someone who would write about mathematical equations.
I am still very much someone who questions why we accepted the sum of two plus two as four.
Saying that, I am focussing on the number nine this week.
That’s because this time of year encourages us (Hindus anyway) to focus on the concept of nine.
It’s Navratri - the nine nights.
That’s why.
Navratri celebrates nine forms of the Divine Feminine or Goddess Durga.
Each night has a different form of the Goddess, a different meaning towards what she represents, and even a different colour.
For example, this evening is dedicated to Maa Brahmacharini, who takes the unmarried form of the Goddess. She is depicted as walking barefoot, has two hands, and carries jap mala (praying beads) in the right hand and Kamandal in the left hand.
She encourages the concept of penance and people will wear green in her honour.
Garba events are also organised each night during this time.
Garba is a Gujarati folk dance, and the term derives from the Sanskrit word ‘garbha’ meaning ‘womb’.
A lamp is lit and usually kept with an image of the Goddess in the centre and devotees dance around it for hours every evening.
The cyclical movement embodies the idea of the life cycle.
I also associate the circular movement with the idea of trying to find your centre.
As I discussed before, mandalas and yoga both require you to find your centre.
The idea of garba, to me, is a similar concept.
The number nine has huge significance in other aspects of our Hindu culture.
The Navgrahas are another example.
The Navgrahas are the nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on earth.
But why do we refer to the concept of nine, as, well, nine?
Where did the word come from?
The term ‘nine’ is from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root *newn, meaning ‘nine’.
This root also took route through other languages like Sanskrit to form ‘nava’ (so we can see how the English word nine, and the first part of the word ‘Navaratri’ have the same root).
This root evolved into the Proto-Germanic word *newun, to the Old English term ‘nigen’, the Middle English word ‘nīn’ and then the Modern English term ‘nine’ as we know it to be today - the cardinal number one more than eight and one less than ten.
I think the most heartwarming feeling from looking for the root and evolution is seeing how connected we are.
The number nine has the same root that ‘nava’ has in Sanskrit.
It may seem so obvious when it’s mapped out, but there’s another reason why a smile comes over my face when I go in search of the etymology of any word.
When I see how the same PIE root appears, it just proves to me that the borders we create are barriers in showing us how connected we all are.
The words we utter evolved from pretty much the same place; the same root; with the meaning intact throughout its journeys in the world.
Perhaps the lesson to take away from the root of nine is to remember the lack of borders and territories - that those lines that we’ve put on the ground are made by us only to fight over forever.
And that really we are, truly, from one great source.
Happy Navratri.