Does Navratri (Nav Durga) have any spiritual significance?
Yes, Nav Durga (Navratri) has great spiritual significance. It represents the three stages of an individual's spiritual journey: Self-Purification, Self-Transformation, and Self-Realization.
Self-Purification (eradication of the negative tendencies of our minds and hearts): During the first three days, the Goddess Mother is worshiped in her powerful, destructive, and terrifying form of Kali/Durga. People pray to Mother, asking Her to use Her destructive power to destroy all imperfections and faults and purify them enough to become a receptacle of her divine energy.
Self-Transformation:After Self-Purification, the next three days of Navaratri are devoted to worshipping the Goddess in Her prosperity-bestowing form as Mahalakshmi. Goddess Mahalakshmi does not merely bestow material prosperity, but also grants qualities that a sincere spiritual seeker requires, namely, calmness, peace, equanimity, compassion, and love. By worshipping and praying to Her, one starts developing positive attributes and experiences inner prosperity, peace, and happiness.
Self-Knowledge:During the last three days, Goddess Saraswati is worshiped as the bestower of the true light of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Once one is purified by Goddess Durga (vices being annihilated), transformed by Goddess Mahalakshmi by receiving the spiritual wealth of inner peace, calmness, compassion, and love, then the devotee is ready to receive the true light of understanding.
Navratri, therefore should not be just a time to celebrate Goddess Durga's victory over the demons but should be the time to pray to Goddess Durga to remove our enemies/vices within us, such as anger, selfish desires, greed, ego, and undue attachments. We must pray to her to destroy our inner enemies/vices. Only then can we attain Self-purification, Self-transformation, and Self-Knowledge—Everlasting happiness, Peace and Anandam, "Sat Chit Ananda."
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