The summer heat drives us towards shades from trees. Those who are indoor, use fans and coolers. Those who are affluent install an air conditioner. Now on the same analogy, we are suffering from the heat of worldliness. We have to seek the cool shade of Divine Name chanted with love and faith. For every season nature provides corresponding remedies also. In hot summer seasons, we see the abundance of watermelon, and other seasonal fruits which appease the heat. For this Kaliyuga, God has compassionately provided an easy remedy, i.e., repeating the name of God with love and faith. Even in this practice, we are not consistent. Let us make it a habit to repeat the name of God during morning and evening for Five minutes at least with concentration and devotion. The story of Ajaamilan – a classic example of how taking the name of God will help us. This story is part of the Bhagavatham.

Ajaamilan was born in a Brahmin family and did his duties well. He was married to a very pious lady who served him well and had good children. One day when he went to the forest to collect wood for homam, he met a woman there. He was attracted towards her and in his lust for her, forgot his wife and children and started living with her in the forest. He was ready to do anything for his new found love and even killed animals for her sake for food. He lived a sinful life with her and had many children. He was very close to his youngest son whom he had named Narayana. Years rolled on and it was time for Ajaamilan to leave this world. Yama doothas came with the Yama pasa to take him away and Ajaamilan experienced the fear of death. He panicked and called his son Narayana. The youngest son was playing at a distance and did not hear him. Ajaamilan had to call him many times uttering the word “Narayana, Narayana” Bang came the Vishnu doothas hearing the name of Narayana. The Vishnu doothas, who were replicas of Vishnu in color and appearance, asked the Yama doothas to go as they had to take Ajaamilan to Vaikuntam.

The Yama doothas who had come there in the first place to take Ajaamilan to Yamaloka because of his numerous sins, were surprised to see the Vishnu doothas there ready to take him to Vaikuntam. The Vishnu doothas told the Yama doothas that Ajaamilan had uttered the Lord’s name “Narayana” several times and that is why they had come to his rescue. Not able to understand how despite so many sins Ajaamilan was being helped by the Vishnu doothas, the Yama doothas went back to Yamaloka to ask their master Yamadharmaraja about this. Yama explained to the doothas the greatness of Nama sankeerthanam and instructed them not to go anywhere near Ajaamilan.  Ajaamilan lost his fear of death once the Yama doothas left and the Vishnu doothas blessed him and let him continue his time on earth. Regretting his sinful life Ajaamilan went to the banks of River Ganga and spent the rest of his life doing the namajapam of the Lord. Finally when it was time for him to leave this earth, Vishnu doothas alone came and took him to Vaikuntam. 

Listen to the divine voice of Bharatratna Smt.MS Subbulakhsmi Nama Japan Kyu Chhod Diya

Naam japan kyu chhod diya
krodh na chhoda jhoot na chhoda
satya bachan kyu chhod diya
jhhute jag mein dil lalchakar
asal vatan kyun chhod diya
kaudi ko to khoob sambhala
lal ratan kyu chhod diya
jin sumiran se ati sukh paave
tin sumiran kyu chhod diya
khalish ek bhagwaan bharose
tan man dhan kyu na chhod diya

A guru was teaching Vishnu Sahasra naamam to a group of young boys. Guru chanted the slokam :

                         Sri Raama Raama Raamethi Rame Raame Manorame |
                        Sahasra naama Tathulyam Raama Naama Varaanane ||

Then he told the boys: “if you chant Raama naamam 3 times, it is equivalent to chanting the whole Vishnu Sahasranaamam or chanting Lord’s Naamam 1000 times.

One of the boys could not agree with the teacher. He questioned the teacher “Guruji, how can 3 times=1000 times? I do not get the logic. How 3 naamams =1000 naamams?

The smart Guru, a great devotee of Lord Raama spontaneously explained: Lord Shiva says that the name of Lord Rama is the sweetest of all the words & chanting this name would be equivalent to chanting the whole Vishnu Sahasranama or thousand names of Vishnu.

Here is the interesting calculation to prove that 3 times chanting of Rama naamam = 1000 times chanting or chanting the whole Vishnu Sahasranaamam.

Take the name Rama. It has two Sanskrit letters RA& MA
RA (2nd consonant in Sanskrit : ya, RA, la, va, sa and sha)
MA(5th consonant in Pa, Pha, Ba, Bha, MA).
Substitute the value of RA & MA as 2 & 5 to make RAMA : 2 X 5= 10. So Rama Rama Rama = in nos: 2×5 x 2×5 x 2×5 = 10x10x10 = 1000. Three times chanting Rama naamam is equivalent to chanting it 1000 times.

The boy was happy with the answer and started learning Vishun Sahasra naamam with full concentration and devotion

.

                

                                            ! Aadi Deva namasthubhyam Praseeda mama 

                               Bhaskara Diwakara namasthubhyam Prabhakara namosthuthe!!

Ratha Sapthami is a highly auspicious festival dedicated to Sun God. In Hindu religion it is observed as a festival across the country falling on the seventh day of Magha Masa sukla paksha. Generally it occurs during the months of January-February. This day is also known as Surya Jayanthi, the day on which Sun is supposed to have taken birth to Aditi and sage Kasyapa. Sun centric events falls continuously during Pushya and Magha Masam including Dhanurmasam, starting with Vaikunta Ekadasi and ending with Ratha Sapthami. Worshipping Sun God during this period is very sacred and celestial.

Significance of Ratha Sapthami :

Ratha means chariot. Sapthami is a thithi in a lunar month falling on the 7th day of both sukla and Krishna paksha. At the time of division of constellations each day or thithi is attributed to one deity/God. In the process Sapthami thithi was allotted to Sun God and hence it is his favourite day.

On this day of Ratha Sapthami, Northern movement of the Sun God is supposed to take definite effect after he commenced his journey towards Northern hemisphere entering Makara Raasi on Makara Sankramana Day. Traditionally it is regarded as the day on which the chariot of the Sun God is diverted towards the north by his charioteer called Aruna. On this day it is believed that Sun God ride on his chariot drawn by seven horses and move toward north east direction bringing the entry of spring season.

 It is also believed and said that the chariot of Sun has only one wheel that represents kalachakra and the seven horses represent seven colours of light (VIBGYOR). It is also believed that the seven horses represent seven days in the week starting from Sunday the day dedicated to Sun God. The entire kala-chakra, or wheel of time, is established on the wheel of the sun-god’s chariot. This wheel is known as Samvatsara. He is the lord of Leo in the Zodiac. He stays one month in each Raasi and takes 365 days or 12 months to complete a round of 12 Rasis. Following sloka from Suryaastakam describes the above.

                                       Sapthaaswaratha maroodam prachandam kasyapathmajam

                                      Swethapadmadharam devam tham suryam pranamamyaham

                                         Bandhooka pushpasankasam harakundala bhushitham

                                        Ekachakradharam devam tham suryam pranamamyaham

On this day worshipping Sun is very sacred, celestial and highly beneficial. He is the God, a living God, Aadi dhaivam, Sanatana, whom everyone can see, perceive and pray. Though he is visible, he also has been presented in a variety of forms. He is the divine light, life-giver and time-giver. The Vedas adore him as a witness of all actions (Karma Sakshi). He is said to be Trimurthi swaroopa.

                                            Brahmaswaroopo udaye madhyahnethu Maheswaraha

                                             Asthakale swayam VishnuH Trayimoorthi Diwakaraha

Lord Vishnu in his form as Surya Narayana is worshipped on this day.

                                               VihaayasagatirjyotiH suruchirhutabhug vibhuh

                                                Ravirvilochanah suryah savitaa ravilochanah

Above shloka from Sri Vishnu Sashasra Nama (sloka 94) describe Lord SrimanNarayana as the Sun God. Purusha Sooktha also describes Sun as born from the eyes of Lord SrimanNarayana (Chaksho! Suryo Ajayatha) and is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu. Sun God is called by several other names. Popularly as Surya, Aaditya, Mitra, Ravi, Savita, Arka, Bhaskara, Marichi, Diwakara, Bhanu, Vivasvatha.

Sun is said to be the seventh Manuvu in whose name the present Manvanthara is being called as Vaivaswatha Manvanthara the period in which we are living now. Lot of importance and significance is given to Sun worship during this Manvanthara. Irrespective of the caste and creed all walks of people worship him as Pratyaksha Dhaivam.

Mythological scripts say that Sun God was worshipped by Lord Sri Rama before going to kill Ravana. Yuddhistira got the Akshaya bowl after worshipping Sun. Kunti Devi mother of Pandavas worshipped Lord Sun before giving birth to Karna. Sathrajith was blessed with syamanthaka Mani after worshipping Sun God. Sambha son of Lord Sri Krishna and Jambavathi got rid of his Leprosy after worshipping Sun. It is said that Sun was the guru to Lord Hanuman who has learnt Nava vyakarana from Sun. Bhishma Pitamaha of Mahabharatha fame waited for this day and had his last breath on the day after Ratha Sapthami called Bheeshmaastami.

Traditions & Beliefs on this Day

Bath with Arka Leaves: It is an age old custom and tradition that people on this day take special bath with seven Arka leaves by keeping one on the head, two on the shoulders, two on the knees and two on the feet. Arka is commonly called as Jilledu in Telugu, Ekka in Kannada, Erukku in Tamil, and Calotrope (bowstring hemp) in English. During the bath following sloka is chanted.

                                  Yadhyajanma kritham papam maya sapthasu janmasu

                                 Thanme rogancha sokancha makari hanthu sapthami!!  

                                 Yetatjanmakritham papam yachha janmanthararjitham

                          Mano vakkayajam yachha gnathagnathancha yathpunaha Ithi  

                                   Sapthavidham papam snaname saptha sapthake

                                   Sapthavyadhi samayuktham hara makari sapthami

Arghyam is given to Sun God on this day with the following sloka

                                 Saptha sapthi vaha preetha sapthaloka pradeepana

                                 Sapthami sahito deva gruhanargyam Diwakara

Some people even take bath in sacred rivers. It is believed that a bath on this day by using Arka leaves one will get rid of his/her sins coming from previous seven births. Those who do not have parents should also give Thila Tarpana to their fore fathers (Dwadasa Pitru) on this day.

Hindu religion considers Sun as an important God to be worshipped. Several Vedic verses on Sun are incorporated into the Nitya Vidhi (mandatory daily routine) like sandhya vandana, surya namaskara, Gayathri japa, surya arghya.

Sun is called as Namaskara Priya. He blesses the devotees who offer him a simple namaskara with all sincerity and devotion. That is how the Surya Namaskara a yogic prakriya related to Sun has become very popular.

Sun worship is prevailing and being followed since time immemorial. Some of the useful prayers related to Sun are Suryaastakam, Aaditya Hridayam, Gayathri, Surya Sahasranama etc. Generally Sun worship will be very effective if it is done within one hour from Sun rise. Worship of this devatha on Sunday is supposed to bring in manifold benefits to the worshippers Phala sruthi of Sun related sthothras says that Sun worship is Navagraha peeda pariharam, bestows progeny for the childless, helps in coming out of poverty, cures illness and gets rid of health problems haunting for the past seven births. Like Lord SriMann Narayana is the giver of Moksha, Sun God is said to be giver of Health. (Arogyam Bhaskaraddhicheth). On this day people prepare kheer with beaten rice or avalakki (Tandulam) and offer as nivedana to Sun God.

In South India it is a tradition people draw with rangoli (colours) on the ground in front of their houses a picture of chariot and seven horses a symbolic reference to Ratha Sapthami and cow dung is burnt in centre of it. On the fire obtained they boil milk and offer it to Sun God. The ritual may vary from region to region. Some people also observe fasting on this day and or observe mouna vratham.

Charity:

Charity on this day will yield manifold benefits. Usually Kushmanda Dana (pumpkin) is said to be very sacred on this occasion. Since it happens in Magha Masa as per the Masa Dharma Thila Dana, Thila Paathra Dana, Salagrama Dana, Vasthra Dana, Blankets, Umbrella, Amalakki, (Amla) are all very sacred on this day.

Significance of Arka Leaf & Ratha Sapthami

In Hindu religion since Vedic days certain plants are associated with certain deities in performing rituals. Like Thulasi with Lord Maha Vishnu, Bilva with Lord Shiva, Durva (Garike) with Lord Maha Ganapathi. Similarly Arka plant leaf is associated with Sun God and since Ratha Sapthami is a Sun Centric festival its usage on this day has gained significance.

Arka is a Sanskrit word. Arka means a ray, a flash of lightning. It is believed that Sun God’s chariot is in perfect square shape and his shoulders are also in square shape (four angles). Configuration of arka dala also appears in perfect angle with one pair of leaves exactly opposite to the other and it is believed that Arka leaves represent the shoulders and chariot of Sun God.

The name Arka is also related to Konark a place dedicated to Sun God in Orissa state. It is called as Arka Kshetra. There is a world famous Sun temple at Konark that attracts tourists from all over the world. Konark is a confluence of two words Kona and Arka = Konarka. Kona mean angle and Arka means Sun God. Konark means corner of the Sun dedicated to Sun God. Arka plant has very good medicinal value in Ayurvedic system of medicine. It is said that Arka is used in curing skin diseases, leprosy, tumors, joint pains, wounds etc., It is called as a healing herb like Sun God as a healer.

Arka leaf is also used in the worship of Lord Maha Ganapathi (Arka Maha Ganapathi), and Lord Hanuman. The stem of the Arka tree is also used as a samidha while performing Homa/yagna.

Celebrations at Temples :

Special celebrations are held in Sun temples on this occasion at Konark (Orissa), Arasavelli (Srikakulam dt.Andhra Pradesh). This festival is also celebrated in all Vaishnavite temples especially at Tirumala and Sri Rangam. Suryanar Koil near Kumbhakonam is also very popular and dedicated to Sun God. In Tiruchanoor (Tirupathi) in the temple complex of Goddess Padmavathi there is a Sun temple. In Tirumala Hills Lord Venkateswara along with his consorts (utsava murthy) is taken out in procession seven times on this day starting from dawn as a part of the Ratha Sapthami celebrations. To write about Sun God one attempt is not adequate. Please look forward for my future posts for astrological and other significances related to Sun ! Aadityam JagadeesaMachyuthaMajam Thrylokyachoodamanim Bahkthabheestavarapradham dinamanim Marthandamaadhyam subham!! May! Sun God – Sri Surya Narayana bestow on all good health, peace and prosperity.

Written by Bhargava Sharma

In our country we find very few temples of Goddess Saraswathi. Out of two such famous temples dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi one which can be easily accessed is in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh in a prominent place called Basar. Situated on the Banks of holy river Godavari, the Goddess at Basara is known as Gnana Saraswathi the one who bestows knowledge. It is the only temple in the entire South India that is dedicated to the Goddess of Learning Sri Saraswathi.

Legend behind the Temple :

As per the popular legend it is said that Sage Veda Vyasa of Mahabharata fame after the Kurukshetra war went on a pilgrimage in search of peace. During the course of his pilgrimage he reached this place at Basara situated on the banks of holy river Godavari in Dandakaranya. He found this place to be very peaceful and serene for his penance and started meditating. It is believed that the Divine Mother appeared before him and ordained him to install the Shakthi trio (Maha Saraswathi, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali) at this place. Accordingly the Sage Veda Vyasa did so by bringing three handful of sand from the river bed and started worshiping the Divine Mother. Miraculously these sand heaps got transformed into Shakthi Trio forming three idols of Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Kali. Due to the involvement of Sage Vedavyasa who stayed at this place, thenceforth it came to be known initially as Vyasapuri which in course of time became Vasara and ultimately as Basara or Basar.

Though it is a Kshetra of Shakthi trio it became popular as a Saraswathi Kshetra dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi known here as Gnana Saraswathi. Here, Goddess Saraswathi the presiding deity is depicted in a seated position holding Veena, her instrument in two hands and with the sand idol bedecked with turmeric. Adjacent we find the shrine of Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali at a little distance.

Temple Timings :

The temple remains open from morning 4.00 am to night 8.30 pm. In between it is closed during afternoon from 12.30 pm to 2.00 pm.

Aksharabhyasam at Basara Temple:

The temple of Gnana Saraswathi at Basar is famous for a ritual known as Aksharabhyasam, formal induction of a child into education. Many people bring their children to this temple especially on Vasantha Panchami day and induct them into Aksharabhyasa with the strong belief that they would prosper well in their education and learning.

Festivals at Basara:

Special celebrations are held at this Saraswathi temple on the occasion of Vasantha Panchami, Shivarathri that falls during the months of January-February and on the occasion of Devi Navarathri festival known as Dussera during September-October. Thousands of pilgrims take bath in the holy river Godavari and seek the blessings of Gnana Saraswathi during these occasions.

How to Reach Basara?

Though it is in Adilabad District, it is nearer to Nizamabad town in the Northern Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. The place Basara is well connected by rail and road. By Road Nizamabad is connected to NH-7. APSRTC runs number of buses to Basara connecting major towns and cities of Andhra Pradesh. By road it is 210 km from Hyderabad, 55 km from Nizamabad and 70 km from Nirmal. Basara is also on the rail map of India situated on the Hyderabad – Manmad section of South Central Railway at a distance of about 30 km from Nizamabad. Nanded in Maharastra is 80 km from Basar. All trains passing in this route stop at Basara station. Nearest airport is Hyderabad an international airport about 210 km from Basara.

Stay and Accommodation For a days visit there may be no need for a stay and accommodation. One can return by night to the nearest town of Nizamabad or Hyderabad city. For those who would like to stay overnight there are number of Hotels and Guest houses including that of TTD’s, providing accommodation to pilgrims at reasonable cost.

Basara Gnana Saraswathi temple, Andhra Pradesh

 Writer: Bhargava Sarma

Sri Panchami is a Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi. It is celebrated on the fifth day (Panchami) of Sukla Paksha in the Lunar Month of Magha Masam that generally occurs during the months of January-February. In our Hindu religion and culture, child going to a school generally begins with a ritual called Aksharabhyasa (learning of alphabets), the foundation for education. Akshara means the one that will not perish. Abhyasa means practice. Anything that we acquire in this life may perish but, the knowledge acquired through Akshara Gnana will never perish and will be an eternal asset. Goddess Saraswathi, the presiding deity of such Akshara Gyana, the female Divine energy of Learning, Knowledge and Wisdom is said to have born on this auspicious day known as Sri Panchami. Inducting a child into Aksharabhyasa on this day is said to be highly auspicious for good progression in education.

Reference to Goddess Saraswathi, the divine consort of Lord Brahma one of the Trinity Lords we find in many Pouranic scripts like Padma Purana, Brahma Vaivartha Purana etc… It is said that many pouranic great Sages like Sri Veda Vyasa, Brihaspathi, Yajnavalkya, Vasista, Parasara, and Bharadwaja had worshipped Goddess Saraswathi in their spiritual pursuits. Saraswathi worship is essential for spiritual enlightenment. In the life history of Mantralaya Seer Sri Raghavendra Swamy, we find Goddess Saraswathi referred to as the Goddess responsible for giving direction for his Sanyasa Sweekara.

She is referred to as Vaakk Devi, the Goddess of Speech. For any student, poet, writer, analyst, journalist, astrologer, musician, singer, preacher, philosopher, etc… to become proficient and to excel in their field, Divine blessings and Grace of Vaakk Devi is very much essential. She is also known by other names like Vaani, Sarada, Bharathi, and Braahmi to name a few. A river by her name is also very famous, holy and spiritual in Hindu religion and philosophy that forms a part of the famous river trio Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi popularly known as Triveni.

Seated on a fully blossomed white Lotus, Goddess Saraswathi is generally depicted as Chaturbhuja (four hands) with Veena as her instrument which she will be holding in her two hands while in other two hands holding Vedas (Sacred scriptures) and a mala of Divine Rosary beads. White coloured Hamsa (Swan) is depicted as her vehicle (chariot) that symbolizes sattvik nature, purity, high intellectual capability and discrimination.

This day is also known as Vasantha Panchami that marks the beginning of a new season called Vasantha Ruthu the onset of Spring Season. Lord Sri Krishna mentioned in his Bhagavat Geeta that He is the Vasantha Ruthu among the seasons. Though this festival Sri Panchami is not very popular in South India, it is a very important festival that is widely celebrated with great fervor in the North, West Bengal and Maharastra. In North Eastern States of our country it is celebrated as the beginning of a New Year.

While Goddess Saraswathi worship is done round the year, certain special occasions are prescribed for an exclusive worship. One such occasion is on this auspicious day of Vasantha Panchami (Sri Panchami) and the other is during the Navarathri (Dussera) festival in the Lunar month of Aaswayuja on the 7th day (Sapthami) coinciding with Moola constellation. It is highly meritorious to worship Goddess Saraswathi on these days and to seek Her Grace to become learned, knowledgeable and wise.

In our country we find very few temples of Goddess Saraswathi. Out of two such famous temples dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi we find, one is in Kashmir. Ashtaadasa Shakthi Peeta Sthothram refers to this temple as Kaashmirethu Saraswathi, one of the 18 most revered places for worship of Goddess Shakthi. The other famous temple of Goddess Saraswathi is in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh in a place called Basar where, special celebrations and prayers are held on this day. We also find on this day of Sri Panchami many people inducting their children into Aksharabhyasa at this famous temple known as Gnana Saraswathi temple. We also find a temple of Goddess Saraswathi known as Sharada Devi at Sringeri in Karnataka state where the idol is said to have been consecrated by Adi Sankaracharya.

Let us pray and worship on this auspicious day Goddess Saraswathi who is respected and adored even by Devathas, to get rid of our sluggishness, lethargy and ignorance.

SARASWATHI DHYANA SHLOKAS

Saraswathi Namasthubhyam Varadey Kaamaroopinee
Vidyaarambham Karishyami Siddhir Bhavathu mey Sadaa
Padmapatra Visaalaakshi Padma Kesara Varnini
Thwam VidyaalayaaDevi Saamam Paathu Saraswathee

Medhaam Vidyaam Bala Pragnaam Sampadam Putra Poutrakaam
Dehimey Saaradey Devee Smaraami Mukha Samsthithaam

Namasthe Saarada Devi Kashmeera Puravaasini
Twamaham Prarthaye Nithyam Vidyaa Daanancha Dehimeh

Yaa Devi Sarva Bhooteshu Buddhi Roopena Samsthitha
Namasthasthai Namasthasthai Namasthasthai Namo Namaha

Writer: Bhargava Sarma

Prayaga also known as Allahabad is a city in the State of Uttar Pradesh situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. Prayaga (place of sacrifice) is believed to be the spot where Lord Brahma offered his first sacrifice after creating the world. It is one of the four sites of Kumbha Mela, others being Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. It is a very sacred and celestial place of importance in Hinduism and Hindu Mythology since it is situated at the confluence (Sangam) of the holy rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswathi called Triveni Sangam. In Sanskrit Veni mean river and Triveni means three rivers, and hence the confluence of three rivers known as Triveni Sangam.

Mythology of Prayaga:

Prayaga is also called as the Theertha Raj, the king of all pilgrimage centers. Its sanctity is manifested by its reference in Puranas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. According to Hindu mythology it is said that, Lord Brahma, chose a land on the earth (Prayaga) to perform ‘Prakrista Yaga’, at the beginning of the creation and he also referred to it as Theertha Raj or the ‘King of all pilgrimage centers’. As per Padma Purana, Prayaga is said to be the best among all the places of pilgrimage.

The area of Prayaga is called as the land of Prajapathi and hence known as Prajapathi Kshetra. The Trinity lords Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara are the presiding Deities of this region. It is also called Aryavartha since Aryans are said to have settled here first. The Gods and the seven sages (Saptha Rishi) have made their abodes on the outskirts of Prayaga, while Prayaga itself is said to be the abode of Lord Vishnu. Here Lord Vishnu is said to possess 12 names and forms known as Vata Madhav, Akshaya Madhav, Moola Madhav, Shankha Madhav, Chakra Madhav, Gada Madhav, Padma Madhav, Ananta Madhav, Bindu Madhav, Manohar Madhav, Asi Madhav, and Veni Madhav. It is said that, Lord Sri Rama, had spent some time here, at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj, before proceeding to near by Chitrakuta.

It is said that after the Kurukshetra war Yudhistira (Dharma Raja) was very much depressed with a guilty feeling of having attained sin due to killing many people in the war and sought the advice of sage Markandeya. On his advice he went to Prayaga and took a sacred bath at the confluence of three sacred rivers to get purified from his sins.

Prayaga has been known as the greatest pilgrimage since the Rig-Veda era. The basic reason is the confluence of two of the holiest rivers in India, the Ganga and the Yamuna. It is said that one who dies at the Sangam is freed from the cycle of re-birth and attains salvation. It said and believed that at the time of destruction of the Universe Prayaga is saved.

HOLY PLACES AT PRAYAGA

SANGAM (Triveni Sangam): The sacred Sangam is the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati which is also called the river of enlightenment. It is said and believed that it is one of the four sacred spots where a few drops of the nectar ‘Amritha” spilled while it was carried by Lord Maha Vishnu during the episode of Ksheera Sagara Madhanam. The other three are Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain. These four places are called theerthas and considered holy by the Hindus. Among them Triveni Sangam (Prayaga) is regarded as the holiest and Tirtharaja. These three rivers maintain their identity and are visibly different as they merge. While Yamuna is deep but calm and greenish in colour, Ganga is shallow, but forceful and clear, Saraswati remains hidden, believe that she makes her presence felt underwater.

The significance of Prayaga is widely known in the terrestrial and celestial universe. By bathing in the holy waters of the Sangam one is ridden of all sins and gets all his desires fulfilled. If it is coinciding with the Kumbh the results are manifold.

The holy Sangam is the site for Annual Magh Mela/Ardh Kumbha Mela/Kumbha Mela. The Magha Mela is held between mid January and mid February every year. The Maha Kumbh Mela attracts huge gatherings of pilgrims and others from all over the world. Allahabad is world famous for the Maha Kumbh Mela that is held once in 12 years. It is said that, more than 30 million people take part in the mammoth religious carnival which is supposed to be the largest gatherings of people on the earth.

Sangam is just 12 km away from the Allahabad railway station and can be reached easily by auto rickshaws that regularly ply on the route. When once you reach there you have to travel in a boat to the sangam spot for taking bath and also for performing Veni Danam.

Bharadwaj-Ashram: Located in Colnelganj of the city near Anand Bhavan, it is the place where Lord Sri Rama is said to have visited to seek the blessings of sage Bharadwaj.

Akshayavat: It is an eternal tree that is indestructible It is located inside the Quilla on the banks of the river Yamuna. It is said that anyone who prays at this tree or dies under it attains salvation and its branches hang out into the Yamuna River. It is said that Lord Sri Ram spent a night near this tree while on His way to the wilds. It is also a holy site for the Jains.

Veni Madhav Temple:As said earlier there are 12 Madhav Deities in Prayaga but the Veni Madhav temple at Daraganj close to the Sangam is significant. It is a small temple, with a small idol of Vishnu representing Veni Madhava and Lakshmi. As per the inscriptions on the walls of the temple it is said that Lord Vishnu came to this spot as Veni Madhava to kill a demon who was trying to possess (by drinking) the three great rivers after he was cured of a skin problem when he took a bath in their confluence at Sangam.

Alopi Devi Mandir (Madhaveswari): “Prayage Madhaveswari” also known as Alopi Devi temple is located in Alopi bagh locality to the west of Daraganj. It is an ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Shakthi and is said to be one of the Shakti Peeth (Ashtadasa Shakthi Peetas). It is a unique temple where its presiding deity is in the form of a small wooden Jhula (swing), which is placed above a marble platform.

The origin of the name, Alopi (disappeared) lies in the Hindu belief that when the various body parts of Goddess Sati (chopped off by Lord Vishnu’s Sudarshana Chakra) fell at various places in India, they were sanctified as holy places for pilgrimage called Shakti Peetams. The last part fell at this location thereby named as “Alopi” (where disappearance was concluded) and the holiest of all.

VENI DANAM:A special mention need to be made about this unique ritual. The word Veni in Sanskrit means River. An interesting ritual performed at the Sangam is that of Veni Danam. This is a practice followed by married women for the long life of their husbands. The husband is supposed to comb and plait the wife’s hair and after decorating it with flowers, the end of the plait is cut off and offered to the rivers at the confluence. Normally hair floats on water, but at this place, the hair sinks straight to the bottom. Though hundreds of people offer their hair everyday, there is not a single strand of hair seen floating on the river. Whatever may be the scientific reason it is an inspiriting ritual for those who belief in the divinity.

How to reach there?

By Rail: The city has direct rail connections with several important cities viz. Calcutta, Delhi, Patna, Chennai, Mumbai, Gwalior, Kanpur and Varanasi.

By Road: Allahabad is on the National Highways 2 and 27. It is well connected to the rest of the country by road.

What can be done at Prayaga (Sangam)?
Sacred bath at Triveni Sangam
Veni Danam
Performing sacred rites to forefathers
Visit to holy temples

• With hot water at home–Merits equivalent to Six years of such Snana; 

• From the waters of a well –12 years of such Snana phala;

• In a lake –24 years of such Snana phala;

• In any river – 96 years of such Snana phala;

• In any sacred river – 9600 years of such Snana phala;

• At the confluence of sacred rivers–38400 years of such Snana phala;

• In Ganga (Ganges) River–Merits equivalent to 38400000 years of such Snana phala;

• At Triveni Sangam (Prayaga) – 100 times of Ganga Snana phala;

• Maagha Snana in a sea (Samudra) is considered as more meritorious than all the above.

Uttaradhi Mutt # 77, Mori Daraganj, Near Daraganj Police Station, Opp State Bank of India, Allahabad-211006. Tele: 0532-2508616, Mobile: 094513-66300. Contact Persons: Sri K.V.Narayana Acharya and Sri.K.N.RaghavendraAcharya. Accommodation, food and guide facilities are available at this place. Cab charges from Allahabad Rly station to the venue will be approx Rs. 150 to 200.

Writer:Bhargava Sarma

For more articles visit http://bhargavasarma.blogspot.com

Normally Ekadasi is the 11th day (thithi) in the Almanac that occurs once in a fortnight of a Lunar month. While any Ekadasi day is considered to be the most sacred day in the dictionary of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu’s worship, the one that is falling in sukla paksha (waxing Moon) of the lunar month Pushya/Margasira Masam coinciding with Dhanurmasam has attained special significance. It is known as Vaikunta Ekadasi. It is also the first Ekadasi before the onset of Uttarayana.

Vaikunta

Vaikunta is the name of Lord SriManNarayana. It is  also the place where Lord Sri Maha Vishnu resides along with his Consort Goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi resting on Aadisesha. It is known as Parama Padam, the supreme abode and the most coveted place. It is the sacred abode where every soul would be longing to go and stay eternally. The nearest reference to Vaikunta, we find in Vishnu Sahasranama sloka # 44 which reads as follows. !

                                         Vaikuntah Purushah Praanah Praanadah Pranavah Prithuh

                                        Hiranyagarbhah Shatrughno Vyaapto VaayurAdhokshajah!!

 Meaning: Lord Maha Vishnu, also known as Vaikunta, is the remover of obstacles and sins and Vaikunta is the place which removes obstacles. He is the one who has united all the Pancha Bhoothas and made them to co-exist with each other. He is the Purifier and the one who gives in plenty. He is the primordial person who existed before anything else, and the one who is the cause of the origin and end of the world! He is one who outshines everyone. He burns away all the sins of his devotees.

He is life giver and is the vital air that gives or sustains life. He is the prana (life) to every one including Devathas. He is the one who makes others bow before Him and the one who deserves to be adored. He is the one who expands himself as Cosmos. He is as pure as Gold. He is the one who delights every one’s heart.

He is the slayer of enemies (Arishadvargas) of people, means bad qualities in people, and also destroyer of enemies of Gods. He is the one who is full of benevolence, love and affection without any discrimination. He is the one who is omnipresent and there is no single place where he does not exist. He is the one who manifests himself, never gets diminished and is the all pervasive Supreme God.

Ekaadasi As per Padma Purana, Ekadasi is depicted as the female energy of Maha Vishnu who in the form of a damsel kills the demon Mura and protects the Indradi Devathas on this day. Pleased by the act of his Female energy He names her as Ekadasi. Thus, Ekadasi thithi became the dearest to Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. He also gave her a boon that, whoever worships Ekadasi and observes fasting on this day would reach Vaikunta (His abode) and his doors will be open for such people. From time immemorial, it is the Northern Gate known as Paramapada or Vaikunta Dwara that is kept open for a single day and that day is known as Vaikunta Ekadasi Day. It is also called as Mukkoti Ekadasi.

The combination of Uttara Dwara darshanam of Lord Vaikunta plus Ekadasi thithi has attained significance as Vaikunta Ekadasi. It is said that on this day all the Brahmaadi Devathas visit Sri Vaikuntam to have Uttara Dwara darshanam of Lord SriManNarayana. It is befitting and considered to be the most auspicious day to worship Lord Sri ManNarayana along with Goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi and also to have Uttara Dwara darshana of the Lord on this day. Special celebrations are held at Tirumala, Sri Rangam, Bhadrachalam etc… where thousands of devotees visit these temples to have the Uttara Dwara darshanam of the Lord.

Significance of Uttara Dwara Darshanam:

It is said that one should visualize the image of God through the route of Ida, Pingala Naadi (left and right nostril) concentrated at the centre of the eyebrows called Sushumna Naadi (Gnana Nethram) and take it further upwards to the centre of the head where we have Brahma Randhram and have darshan of the God through the door that gets opened. This is how one should have darshan of the God in daily prayers (dhyana) or whenever visits a temple. Since it is through the route of confluence of three naadis (Ida, Pingala and Sushumna) taken further northwards it is called Mukkoti and Northern Entrance darshan. 

On this most auspicious day of Mukkoti Ekadasi one should have darshan of the Lord in this form and to give a meaning to this concept probably all the temples provide darshan of the Lord on this day through the Northern entrance.

There are 14 lokas in this Universe seven above the earth and seven below the earth. Seven above the Earth are called Uurdhwa Lokas in the Northern direction and Vaikunta is in the Northern direction. Darshan of the lord of Vaikunta Sri Maha Vishnu on this day which is very nearer to the Uttarayana the most auspicious time also catches significance for Uttara dwara darshanam.

Mokshada Ekadasi: While fasting and worshipping on any Ekadashi day is very celestial, sacred and spiritual, fasting and worshipping on Vaikunta Ekadashi is still more meritorius and is also Mokshadayaka. It is a boon of Lord Maha Vishnu on this day.

What can be done on this day? 

Worshipping Lord Sri Maha Vishnu during the early hours between 4-6 am during Arunodaya. Since Ekadasi is the female energy of Lord it is auspicious and sacred to worship Goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi also on this day.

Why between 4-6 am: Because this is Dhanur Masam and time before Sunrise is the most auspicious time to worship the God.

Fasting: It is said that fasting on Vaikunta Ekadasi day is equivalent to fasting on the remaining Ekadashi days of the Hindu year. Persons who are capable of may undertake total fasting, while others may resort to partial fasting by taking fruits or milk. Please avoid taking rice on this day as it is a curse that the demon dwells in rice on this day. 

Prayer & Paarayana:

Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothra/Namavali, Vishnu Ashtothara Namavali, Purusha Sooktha, Vishnu Sooktha, Narayana Upanishad, Sree Sooktha, Lakshmi Ashtothhara can be recited on this day. Those who cannot read them can chant at least, Om! Namo! Narayanaya, Om! Namo! Bhagavathe Vasudevaya as many number of times as possible

It is said that “na Gaayathraya para manthra, na Mathru para dhaivatham, na Kaasya param theertham, na Ekadasya samam vratham”.

That means there is no manthram that is superior to Gaayathri manthram, there is no dhaivam superior to Mother, there is no celestial and sacred theertham better than Kaasi, and there is no vratham that is more sacred than Ekadashi vratham. Hence, so much of significance for Ekadasi and it is related to Lord Maha Vishnu. 

Special festivals are celebrated on this occasion in all the temples especially at Tirumala which is called Bhooloka Vaikuntam. Lord Sri Maha Vishnu stays in Ananda Nilayam at Tirumala by name Srinivasa during this Kaliyuga. Hence, lot of significance for this festival at Tirumala Hills.

                                              Shaantaakaaram Bhujaga Shayanam Padmanaabham Suresham

                                              Vishvaakhaaram Gagana Sadrisham Meghavarnam Shubhaangam

                                                Lakshmeekaantam Kamalanayanam Yogibhirdhyaanagamyam

                                                  Vande Vishhnum Bhavabhayaharam Sarvalokaikanaatham

Writer:Bhargava Sarma 

 

Jagadguru Shri Adi Sankaracharya is very famous for his teachings on Vedanta. He was born in kaladi, kerala to a Brahmin parents named shivakaru and Aryamba. He traveled through out india to teach and spread Advaitavedanta (concept of oneness) and Gained many disciples all over india.He restructured all the 72 forms of desultory religious practices into acceptable norms and laid stress on the six ways of worship based on Vedas. He discussed with many a scholar during His long journeys in the country and was the cause for many philosophical treatises establishing the concept of Advaita, with commentaries on Brahma Sutras, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Ten Principal Upanishads and a few other works and poems in praise of various dieties of Hindu mythology.

Shri Shankara composed a number of hymns to foster the sense of devotion in the hearts of men but  one  of his great work was Bhajagovindam, A Very devotional poem in Sanskrit. It is in this prayer that he emphasizes above all else the importance  for developing devotion for Lord Krishna, which is the principle means for attaining the Grace for the Supreme, and the freedom from further rounds of reincarnating in material existence. It is this prayer that leaves us no doubt that his final instruction was to give up our egotistical differences and surrender to Lord Krishna. It also encapsulates the sum and substance of all Vedantic thought in whatever other works that he had written.  

There is a story attached to the composition of the present Hymn. Acharya Shankara, it is said, was walking along a street in Varanasi, one day, accompanied by his disciples. He heard the sound of grammatical rules being recited by an old scholar. Taking pity on the scholar, he went up to him and advised him not to waste his time on grammar at his age but to turn his mind to God in worship and adoration. The Hymn to Govinda was composed on this occasion. Besides the refrain of the song beinning with the words “Bhaja Govindam” , Shankara is stated to have sung twelve verses, hence the hymn bears the title “Dvadasamanjarika-Stotra” (A hymn which is a bunch of twelve verse-blossoms). The fourteen disciples who were with the Master, then, are believed to have added one verse each. These fourteen verses are together called “Chaturdasa-manjarika-Stotra” (A hymn which is a bunch of fourteen verse-blossoms). 

The 68th Shankaracharya of the Holy Kamakoti Peetham, Pujyasri Chandrasekharendra Sraswathi Mahaswamigal, who, like the great Adi Shankara, travelled on foot the good part of India, and who was also adept in many languages and customs of india and its illustrious tradition, has given a commentary on “Bhajagovindam” of Shankara.

Bhaja Govindam lyrics

1

bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM

govindaM bhajamuuDhamate .

saMpraapte sannihite kaale

nahi nahi rakshati DukR^iJNkaraNe

Meaning: Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool ! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.

2

mUDha jahiihi dhanaagamatR^ishhNaaM

kuru sadbuddhiM manasi vitR^ishhNaam.h .

yallabhase nijakarmopaattaM

vittaM tena vinodaya chittam.h

Meaning: Oh fool ! Give up your thrist to amass wealth, devote your mind to thoughts to the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past.

3

naariistanabhara naabhiideshaM

dR^ishhTvaa maagaamohaavesham.h .

etanmaaMsaavasaadi vikaaraM

manasi vichintaya vaaraM vaaram.h

Meaning: Do not get drowned in delusion by going wild with passions and lust by seeing a woman’s navel and chest. These are nothing but a modification of flesh. Do not fail to remember this again and again in your mind.

4

naliniidalagata jalamatitaralaM

tadvajjiivitamatishayachapalam.h .

viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastaM

lokaM shokahataM cha samastam.h

Meaning: The life of a man is as uncertain as rain drops trembling on a lotus leaf. Know that the whole world remains a prey to disease, ego and grief.

5

yaavadvittopaarjana saktaH

staavannija parivaaro raktaH .

pashchaajjiivati jarjara dehe

vaartaaM ko.api na pR^ichchhati gehe

Meaning: So long as a man is fit and able to support his family, see the affection all those around him show. But no one at home cares to even have a word with him when his body totters due to old age.

6

yaavatpavano nivasati dehe

taavatpR^ichchhati kushalaM gehe .

gatavati vaayau dehaapaaye

bhaaryaa bibhyati tasminkaaye

Meaning: When one is alive, his family members enquire kindly about his welfare. But when the soul departs from the body, even his wife runs away in fear of the corpse.

7

baalastaavatkriiDaasaktaH

taruNastaavattaruNiisaktaH .

vR^iddhastaavachchintaasaktaH

pare brahmaNi ko.api na saktaH

Meaning: The childhood is lost by attachment to playfulness. Youth is lost by attachment to woman. Old age passes away by thinking over many past things. But there is hardly anyone who wants to be lost in parabrahman.

8

kaate kaantaa kaste putraH

saMsaaro.ayamatiiva vichitraH .

kasya tvaM kaH kuta aayaataH

tattvaM chintaya tadiha bhraataH

Meaning: Who is your wife ? Who is your son? Strange is this samsara. Of whom are you ? From where have you come? Brother, ponder over these truths here.

9

satsaNgatve nissNgatvaM

nissaNgatve nirmohatvam.h .

nirmohatve nishchalatattvaM

nishcalatattve jiivanmuktiH

Meaning: From Satsangh comes non-attachment; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, which leads to self-settledness. From self-settledness comes Jeevan Mukti.

10

vayasigate kaH kaamavikaaraH

shushhke niire kaH kaasaaraH .

kshiiNevitte kaH parivaaraH

GYaate tattve kaH saMsaaraH

Meaning: What good is lust when youth has fled? What use is a lake which has no water ? Where are the relatives when wealth is gone? Where is samsara when the Truth is known ?

11

maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvaM

harati nimeshhaatkaalaH sarvam.h .

maayaamayamidamakhilaM hitvaa

brahmapadaM tvaM pravisha viditvaa

Meaning: Do not boast of wealth, friends, and youth. Each one of these are destroyed within a minute. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of Maya and attain the timeless Truth.

12

dinayaaminyau saayaM praataH

shishiravasantau punaraayaataH .

kaalaH kriiDati gachchhatyaayuH

tadapi na muJNcatyaashaavaayuH

Meaning: Daylight and darkness, dusk and dawn, winter and springtime come and go. Time plays and life ebbs away. But the storm of desire never leaves.

12a

dvaadashamaJNjarikaabhirasheshhaH

kathito vaiyaakaraNasyaishhaH .

upadesho bhuudvidyaanipuNaiH

shriimachchhankarabhagavachchharaNariH

Meaning: This bouquet of twelve verses was imparted to a grammarian by the all-knowing Shankara, adored as the bhagavadpada.

13

kaate kaantaa dhana gatachintaa

vaatula kiM tava naasti niyantaa .

trijagati sajjanasaM gatiraikaa

bhavati bhavaarNavataraNe naukaa

Meaning: Oh mad man ! Why this engrossment in thoughts of wealth ? Is there no one to guide you ? There is only one thing in three worlds that can save you from the ocean from samsara. Get into that boat of satsangha quickly. (Stanza attributed to Padmapada.)

14

jaTilo muNDii luJNchhitakeshaH

kaashhaayaambarabahukR^itaveshhaH .

pashyannapi cana pashyati muuDhaH

udaranimittaM bahukR^itaveshhaH

Meaning: There are many who go with matted locks, many who have clean shaven heads, many whose hairs have been plucked out; some are clothed in saffron, yet others in various colors — all just for a livelihood. Seeing truth revealed before them, still the foolish ones see it not. (Stanza attributed to Totakacharya.)

15

aNgaM galitaM palitaM muNDaM

dashanavihiinaM jataM tuNDam.h .

vRiddho yaati gRihiitvaa daNDaM

tadapi na muJNcatyaashaapiNDam.h

Meaning: Strength has left the old man’s body; his head has become bald, his gums toothless and leaning on crutches. Even then the attachment is strong and he clings firmly to fruitless desires. (Stanza attributed to Hastamalaka.)

16

agre vahniH pR^ishhThebhaanuH

raatrau chubukasamarpitajaanuH .

karatalabhikshastarutalavaasaH

tadapi na muJNcatyaashaapaashaH

Meaning: Behold there lies the man who sits warming up his body with the fire in fromt and the sun at the back; at night he curls up the body to keep out of the cold; he eats his beggar’s food from the bowl of his hand and sleeps beneath the tree. Still in his heart, he is a wretched puppet at the hands of passions. (Stanza attributed to Subodha.)

To be Continued in BhajaGovindam by Jagadguru Shri Aadi Sankaracharya Part-2

India, the birth place of Hinduism is rich in spirituality, religious cultures, faiths, austerity, customs and traditions that we don’t find anywhere else in the world. In the words of Mark Twain “India is the cradle of human race, the birth place of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Bharatha Khanda (Indian sub-continent) is known as Karma Bhoomi which is unique with its significance for Vedic and religious culture and heritage. It is believed and said that one has to take birth in human form in this sub continent to attain the ultimate salvation through austeritiy that pleases the Almighty God.  

Hinduism strongly believes in Puranas and Vedic principles which are the guiding force behind performance of various austerities and rituals. Vrathas and austerities are an eternal and integral part of Hindu culture and tradition since yore. Vratha means a niyama or a restriction and they play a significant role in the spiritual development of an individual when they are properly observed. As long as one performs a sacred and pious act with full faith and devotion, it would definitely yield positive results and would bring pleasing rewards. They generate positive energy, help in acquiring control over wandering mind and bring discipline in life for self uplift. At the end of the day one should try to understand the concept, significance and intricacies of these Vrathas that motivate a person to follow and observe these austerities with full faith and devotion. 

One such Vratha which is unique and highly rewarding is Sri Sathyanarayana Vratha which is widely performed throughout the country and even abroad by Hindus. It is so popular that we may not find any family or an individual who have not performed or heard of this vratha. This vratha is performed in adoration of Lord Sathyanarayana. Before we comprehend the niceties of this meritorious vratha let us try to understand as to who is this Lord Sathyanarayana? 

Sathyanarayana is none other than Sri Maha Vishnu, the primordial supreme Lord SriManNarayana. Sathya + Narayana = Sathyanarayana. Sathya is one of the several thousands of names associated with Lord Vishnu. We find a reference to the word Sathya more than once in sloka # 12,23,31,56,80 and 93 of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stothram. Sathya means truth. Lord Sri ManNarayana is the truth and is eternal. His concepts and creations are truth. His avatharas (incarnations) are truth. He is an embodiment of truth and Sathya is his costume. He is Sathya-dharma-parayana, the custodian of truth, virtue and justice. He always protects his true devotees. He is a personification of Dharma and his avatharas are always for protecting Sathya and dharma. He is the ultimate reality for his devotees. He is also known as Sathyanarayana. Verily He is  true God and not an illusion. 

Narayana is a highly popular name by which Lord Sri Maha Vishnu is called.  He is the all pervading Supreme Lord. Several Vedic scripts like Purusha Sooktham, Narayana Upanishad, Narayana Sooktham and several puranas eulogize Lord Sri ManNarayana, his qualities, merits, magnificence and his supremacy. Nara + Yana = Narayana.  Nara is generally referred to mankind and Yana means the conveyance. Narayana means the conveyance or the sole vehicle for the human beings to depend upon for their ultimate journey of salvation.  Aayana also means the direction and Narayana is the one who shows direction to the mankind towards the ultimate reality. The word Naara is also associated with another meaning for water. Narayana also means the one whose abode is water. 

Famous Ashtaakshari; eight lettered manthra Om! Namo! Naaraayanaaya! dedicated to Lord SriManNarayana is a Kyvalya (salvation) manthra without reciting of which even the Gayathri manthra becomes ineffective which we perform during Sandhyavandana. We find merits of reciting Narayana manthra in Srimad Bhagavatham 6^th canto, in the episode of Ajaamilopakhyanam. In Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stothram we find reference to the word Narayana in sloka # 26 and sloka # 108. Narayana Upanishad describes Him as Eko! Narayana. There is only one Narayana, the supreme Lord; the Aadipurusha and there is no one superior to him and is second to none. He is unblemished and free from all sins. He is the Omkara (Pranavam) and is the core element of life. He is Paramaatma. He is Lord Sathyanarayana. 

Having understood the concept and significance of Lord Sathyanarayana, let us try to understand the intricacies of Sri Sathyanarayana Vratham and its merits. Sathyanarayana is an extremely benevolent form of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu who is depicted similar to Vishnu. He is portrayed as chaturbhuja (four arms) holding Conch, Disc, Mace and Lotus in four hands, wearing a garland (Vanamala) with a sparkling appearance. Sathyanarayana is a household name among Hindu families. His worship is in the form of a vratha popularly known as Sathyanarayana Vratham. 

Who first initiated for this Vratha 

According to the story behind, it was Lord SriManNarayana himself in the guise of an old Brahmin who first directed a poor Brahmin living in Kaasi Kshethra to perform this sacred Vratha. Later through a dialogue between Lord Sri Maha Vishnu and Sage Narada it percolated down and from Pouranic prophet Sage Sootha it got unfolded into the world. 

What is its uniqueness? 

Generally any vratha is performed targeting only the presiding Deity of that particular Vratha. Of course Lord Ganapathi will be worshiped invariably before commencement of any Vratha or Pooja. But uniqueness of Sathyanarayana Vratham is that, it is the only ritual where we find the Presiding Deity Lord Sri Sathyanarayana is worshiped along with Lord Ganesha and also Navagrahas. In some sampradaya we find even Ashta Dikkhpaalakas are also worshipped on the same platform. It only shows the supremacy of Lord Sathyanarayana who is none other than Lord Sri Hari who is worshipped along with protocols. During this vratha Goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi is also worshipped. Another uniqueness we find in this Vratha is that it is the only vratha which is performed by one and all irrespective of affiliations and is open for people of all Varnas. 

When-Where & Why? 

Generally Vrathas are observed or performed only once in a year on the said day or thithi (Eg. Vinayaka Vratha, Anantha Vratha, Mangala Gouri etc).  Whereas, to perform Sri Sathyanarayana Vratham there is no need for looking at the thithi, vaara and nakshathra.  It can be performed on any day as per one’s sankalpa. However, preferred days as per the Vratha Katha are Pournami (full moon day), Sankramana (Sun’s transit day), Ekaadasi.   

Preferred lunar months are Vaisakha masam, Karthika masam & Maagha masam. Apart from this, we find people generally perform Sathyanarayana Vratham on specific occasions like marriage, Gruha-pravesam etc. There is no restriction on the number of times that it can be performed. We find people performing this Vratha every month and at certain places it is even performed every day. It can be performed either in the day or in the evening. When it is performed in the evening we find people observes fasting till completion of the Pooja. When it is on Ekaadasi day it is generally performed in the evening, fasting should be observed and we find people keep vigil throughout night, break the fast on the next day (Dwaadasi) morning after repeating the pooja. 

Sathyanarayana Vratham can be performed at home, temples/mutts, offices, shops and establishments. Performing this vratha on the banks of sacred rivers or pilgrim centers (theertha kshetras) will be highly auspicious and meritorious. Sacred Naimisharanya the cradle of all Pouranic discourses and scripts is the most ideal place among the Theertha Kshetras to perform Sathyanarayana Vratham. It can be performed individually or collectively. 

This meritorious Vratha is performed for various purposes and fulfillment of various desires in mind. Some of the purposes for which this ritual is generally performed are, for begetting progeny, facing obstacles in life, suffering from grief, ill-health, suffering from poverty, debts, success in ventures, prosperity and abundance in life, on the occasion of marriage, Gruha pravesam etc. However, it should not be performed during the period of Asoucha, on the day of Pithru/Mathru thithi, on the eclipse days. 

Significance of Vratha Katha 

Any vratha or ritual would be incomplete without reading its legend behind (Vratha-Katha) especially the one like Sri Sathyanarayana Vratham which should not be missed out. The story of Sri Sathyanarayana Vratham is originated from the Reva-Khanda of Skandha Purana, one of the Ashtadasa Maha-Puranas composed by Sage Sri Veda Vyasa. It was first narrated by Sage Sootha at the sacred Naimisharanya on the backdrop of Sage Narada getting a direction from Lord Sri ManNarayana for his (Narada’s) query on the suffering of humanity. Sri Sathyanarayana Vratha katha forms an integral part of this sacred vratham.  Great popularity behind this Vratham springs from the stories and legends behind and also from the experiences of devotees who performed it that stands as a testimony to the glory and significance of this sacred vratham.

The story consists of five chapters.  First chapter is almost like a dialogue between Sage Narada and Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. It narrates about when, where and why to perform this ritual, its merits and significance. Second chapter narrates about who fist performed viz. a poor Brahmin and a poor wood-cutter and their experiences. Third and fourth chapters narrate about the Mahatmya of Lord Sathyanarayana, glory of His worship, implications of ignoring him and also his benevolence. Fifth chapter indicates significance of Prasada (offering to the Lord) and implications of ignoring it. 

Merits of the Vratham 

Sri Sathyanarayana Vratham is considered as highly meritorious and result oriented especially in Kaliyuga that acts as remedy for various natal as well as mundane sufferings. Even witnessing the vratha, listening to the sacred story, taking Prasada (offering to God) is as meritorious as performing the Vratham itself.  It is a Kaamyaka Vratha the one that bestows and fulfills the desires of devotees be it materialistic or spiritual (Gnana, Bhakti & Vyragya) 

Significance of Prasadam 

A special mention has to be made about Sathyanarayana Swamy Prasadam. Another significance of this Vratha is its Prasada (offering to God) which is known as Saphaala Bhaksha. Saphaala means equal parts and Bhaksha means the eatable. Saphaala Bhaksha means Naivedya (offering to God) prepared with ingredients mixed in equal proportions. The ingredients for the preparation of Prasada are Wheat Soji, Bananas, Cow Milk, Sugar (jaggery) and Cow Ghee. Merits of Sri Sathyanarayana Swamy prasadam is such that it should be taken by one and all irrespective of affiliations. 

Temples of Lord Sathyanarayana 

We find temples of Lord Sathyanarayana across the country. Prominent among them is the one at Annavaram in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh about 45 km from Kakinada.  Annavaram Lord Sri Sathyanarayana Swamy is believed to have manifested on the top of Rathnagiri hills on the banks of Pampa River. Rarity of this temple is the Presiding Deity, Lord Sri Sathyanarayana Swamy appears with moustaches holding Dhanur-Baana (bow and arrows) in a standing posture along with Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Shiva on a common platform. Here the Lord is known by the name Veera Venkata Sathyanarayana Swamy. Annavaram is believed to be the place that grants its devotees their desired boons. Annavaram is well connected by Rail located on the Vijayawada – Vizag line of Southern Railway and by road on the Chennai-Calcutta national highway. Nearest airport is Vizag about 3 hours distance from Annavaram. The temple is situated at a distance of 3 km from Annavaram Railway Station. All trains and buses passing this route stop at Annavaram. 

Annexure

Pooja items required  

Sri Sathyanarayana Pooja – Checklist: While performing Sri Sathyanarayana Swamy vratham following sequence is generally followed. It may vary as per one’s sampradaya and changes may be made in sequence, addition or deletion wherever applicable. Details of this schedule are nowadays available from the market in the form of books or CD/Cassettes. Just for ready reference the process flow is being provided in the form of a checklist. 

Ashta Dighpalakas: 

Vanamaali gadee shaarngii shankhii chakrii cha nandakii

SrimanNaaraayano vishnur-vaasudevo-abhirakshathu

Watch  Sri Sathyanarayana Vratha Vidhanam.

Watch Shri Annavaram Sathyanarayana Swamy temple 

Writer:Bargava Sharma

He is also referred to by other names like Vighneshwara the Lord of Vignas (obstacles), Gajaanana the one who has the face of an Elephant, Ekadantha the one who has only one tusk etc. Looked upon as a Brahmachari people also believe Siddhi and Buddhi as his consorts but in fact they are his two energies, wisdom and success. Lord Ganesha is the bestower of intelligence and discriminative knowledge (Buddhi) and success (Siddhi). He is the one who has shown to the world the significance of parents by taking a circumambulation around his parents Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi that bestowed him the position of Ganaadhipathya, the Lordship over the Ganas. Sri Ganapathi is not only the Lord of learning, intellect and wisdom but also the controller of obstacles and destroyer of miseries of his devotees. 

Vedic & Pouranic reference: 

While several scripts are said to have made reference to Lord Ganesha, specific scripts viz. Sri Ganesha Purana, Mudgala Purana (both Upa Puranas) and Sri Ganesha Atharvaseersham considered as Ganesha Upanishad are exclusively dedicated to Lord Ganapathi. These scripts have eulogized the glory and significance of Lord Sri Ganesha. 

We find a reference to Lord Ganapathi from the popular Vedic sloka Ganaanaam Twaam Ganapathi Gam Havaamahey… that is said to be from Rig-Veda. He is eulogized as Jyesta Rajam, that means He is the greatest among the greats and an elderly God. Lord Sri Ganapathi is said to be an embodiment and personification of Omkaram (Pranava Swaroopam) which is primordial to all the Veda Manthras. There is also a separate Gayathri for Lord Ganesha who also has Sahasranama sthothram. Popular sloka Suklaambaradharam Vishnum… that is compulsorily recited before commencement of any Vedic ritual assume Lord Ganesha as a form of Lord Vishnu who is omnipresent. Sankata Nashana Ganapathi Sthothram from Narada Purana said to have been composed by Sage Narada is a very popular prayer dedicated to Lord Ganesha. 

Lord Ganapathi is not only worshipped by human beings but also by all the Deities including the Trinal Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara. Lord Vishnu is said to have worshipped Lord Ganesha and obtained Siddhi during the course of killing the demons Madhu and Khaitabha. In the process, He (Lord Vishnu) is said to have performed penance and consecrated a Salagrama idol of Lord Ganesha at a place currently known as Siddhatek near Pune in Maharastra on the banks of holy river Bheema. This place is known as Siddhi Vinayaka Kshethra where, a famous Ashta Vinayaka temple has come up attracting thousands of pilgrims through out the year. Like this, the legends behind these eight temples of Lord Ganesha (Ashta Vinayaka temples) are standing as testimony to the glory and significance of Lord Maha Ganapathi since yore. 

Lord Ganesha is also said to have played a significant role behind the origin of famous temple of Lord Shiva at Gokarna (Aatma Linga Kshetra) and that of Lord Sri Ranganatha Swamy at Sri Rangam (Anthya Ranga Kshethra) near Trichy. Though the famous epic Sri Maha Bharatha was composed by Lord Veda Vyasa, it is said that He had invoked the help of Lord Ganesha in scripting the same who did it with one of his tusks. Like this, reference to several legends of Lord Vinayaka are said to be available in other Pouranic scripts like Shiva Purana, Skhanda Purana, Brahma Vaivartha Purana apart from Sri Ganesha Purana and Mudgala Purana. 

Origin of Lord Ganapathi: 

There are several legends attached to the origin of Lord Ganapathi. Though as per the popular legend Lord Ganesha is said to be the creation of Goddess Parvathi Devi (Aadi Shakti) the presence of Lord Ganapathi is felt in all the Yugas since time immemorial. He is known by different names in different Yugas. Lord Ganapathi has taken four different forms in four Yugas. In Krita Yuga he was known as Mahotkata Ganapathi having 10 arms riding on a Lion. In Treta Yuga he was white-coloured, eight-armed and was known as Mayura Ganapathi riding on Peacock. In Dwapara Yuga he was red-coloured, manifested from the clay on the body of Goddess Parvathi riding on a mouse (Mooshika vahana) and chaturbhuja with four arms known as Gajaanana Ganapathi. In Kali Yuga he is known as Dhoomrakethu Ganapathi. 

Ganesha Worship: 

Like Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakthi, Lord Ganesha also has a sect of followers in Hindu religion who are known as Ganapathyas who worship Lord Ganapathi as the Supreme God. They follow a unique sampradaya in the worship of Lord Ganesha. While daily worship of Lord Ganesha is prescribed and prevalent in Hindu philosophy, He is exclusively worshipped on two specific days in the Hindu Lunar calendar. They are, on the fourth day of the dark fortnight (Chaturthi) known as Sankasta Chaturthi that occurs in every lunar month and on the fourth day of the bright fortnight in the lunar month of Bhadrapada Masam that is known as Sri Ganesha Chaturthi. Apart from this, worship of Lord Ganesha in the form of prayer, pooja or homa is done before commencement of any religious functions like Marriage or Gruha Pravesam etc. Worship of Lord Ganesha is prevalent in Hindu religion as a popular astro remedy for various astrological problems. Tuesday is considered as the favourite day for worshiping Lord Ganesha or for performing Ganapathi Homam. 

Ganesha worship is simple with multiple merits. He is fond of Garike (Dhoorva Grass) in his worship. It is said and believed that worship of Lord Ganapathi without Garike is useless. Lord Ganesha is known as Naivedya Priya having penchant for devotees’ offerings. In Naivedya (offerings) Lord Ganesha is fond of a sweet dish known as Modaka. He is known as Kshipra Ganapathi the one who grants wishes of his devotees very quickly. Swastik mark is considered as the auspicious symbol of Lord Ganesha that we find exhibited in houses, shops and establishments. People also exhibit the image or photo of Subha Drishti Ganapathi in front of their houses or shops and establishments to ward off any evil influences. 

Significance of Ganesha Chaturthi: 

Chaturthi is the fourth day in lunar calendar that occurs twice in a lunar month and Lord Ganesha is fond of this day (Chaturthee Poojana Preethaha) and is the presiding Deity of Chaturthi thithi. But every Chaturthi is not celebrated as Ganesha Chaturthi. It is only the Chaturthi day falling in the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada masam that is observed as Ganesha Chaturthi. Availability of Chaturthi thithi spread beyond noon is prevailed upon for observance of the festival. Lord Ganesha is specially worshipped on this day by observing a vrata known as Siddhi Vinayaka Vratham. There are several legends behind this Sri Vinayaka Vratham like, the story of Gajasura, Mooshikaasura, Goddess Parvathi Devi, Lord Subramanya, Chandra the Moon God and the story of Syamanthaka Mani etc. It is believed and said as per scripts that, it was on this day the incarnation of Lord Ganesha took place. It was on this day Goddess Parvathi Devi (consort of Lord Shiva) created a doll from the paste on her body while taking bath and offered life to it that got manifested into Sri Vinayaka. It is said that the incarnation of Lord Ganesha took place in the constellation of Hastha. Irrespective of the caste and creed people from all walks of life in Hindu religion worship Lord Ganesha on this day. This day is celebrated as the birth day of Lord Ganesha. 

Ganesha Chaturthi & Syamanthakhopaakhyanam: 

On one of the occasions of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi, Chandra the Moon God’s behavior with Lord Sri Ganesha was unbecoming that led to the annoyance of Goddess Parvathi Devi who cursed Moon. The impact of the curse was that whoever looks at the Moon will earn ill-repute. This has resulted in whoever looking at the Moon started facing false allegations and ill-repute. Subsequently the curse was relaxed to not looking at the Moon only on the day of Bhadrapada Sukla Chaturthi that is on the day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi. 

Incidentally it so happened that during Dwapara Yuga, Lord Sri Krishna had to face false allegations of having stolen the precious jewel named Syamanthaka Mani owned by Sathrajit. In order to wipe out the false allegations made against Him, Lord Sri Krishna himself had to personally search for the precious jewel. During the course of his hunt for the jewel Lord Sri Krishna had to fight with Jaambavantha and finally retrieved the jewel from him and handed over the same to Sathrajit. Thus, Lord Sri Krishna got rid of the false allegations made against Him. In the process He also married Jambavathi Devi and also Sathyabhama Devi. 

This story of Syamanthaka Mani known as Syamanthakhopaakhyanam is from the 10th canto of Sri Madbhagavatham. It is compulsorily read on the day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi festival by everyone. It is believed that, if any one accidentally looks at the Moon on the day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi festival will get freed from the curse, if he reads or listens to the story of Syamanthakhopaakhyanam and will also be blessed by Lord Sri Ganesha. 

Ganesha is a household name among the Hindu families and we find parents naming their children with the names of Lord Ganesha viz. Vinayaka, Ganapathi, Ganesha, etc. Without His invocation no religious or non-religious function begins, without His homa/ritual no remedy is complete, without singing or playing His keerthana no music concert begins, without His prayer a child is not inducted into education. One should understand properly the significance of Lord Ganapathi and his form and worship him for a hassle free life and achievement of success in endeavors. 

GANESHA – SYMBOLISM

Generally, we find Lord Ganesha depicted as a dwarf and fatty figure with pot belly, elephant head, large ears, small eyes, long nose, mouse as vehicle. From an artistic angle this figure is most enchanting and blissful. But behind this artistic symbolism, hidden is a philosophy, a moral, a management principle and a lesson for every body to learn in life. One should understand properly the significance of Lord Ganesha and his form and worship him for a hassle free life and achievement of success in endeavors.

Ganesha Symbolism – What does it indicates?

Big Head: Simple living and high thinking. It depicts wisdom, knowledge (intelligence), discrimination, clear planning and foresightedness.

Big Ears: Listening is an art. A good listener is a good Manager (principle of lend your ear but be discriminative).

Small mouth: Talk less and work more.

Small eyes: Stay focused. Have bird’s view but not worm’s view. Be ever alert and conscious of surroundings.

Long nose and curved trunk: There is no straight path to success. Be flexible and adaptable. Long nose also indicates the reach.

Large Stomach: Ability to digest, Acceptability (accept both good and bad in life). Ganesha’s large stomach is a treasure of Vedic knowledge.

Axe in the hand: Exercise proper controls in the path to success.

Mouse: Mouse symbolizes the egoism which unless under control can cause havoc. Egoism is nothing but ignorance (darkness). You ride the ego and don’t allow it to over ride you. Always keep desires under check. Mouse also symbolizes that nothing is insignificant in this universe. What is important is one should know how to utilize them effectively. Don’t ignore small. Size makes no difference. The mouse also symbolizes the darkness of night. The mouse can see well in the dark. As Vinayaka’s vehicle the mouse signifies an object that leads man from darkness to light.

Common sense and Problem solving skills: Using one of his tusks when his quill got broken while scripting Mahabharatha

Wisdom: Treating parents as God (Mathru Devo Bhavah – Pitru Devo Bhavah)

Communication: Communication gap is a distance between two ears. Ganesha was chosen by Lord Veda Vyasa to script the great Epic Mahabharatha. Ganesha was an effective communicator.

Strategic Management and timely decision making: Deciding to take Pradakshina around his parents during his competition with Lord Karthikeya.

Adaptability & Opportunities from Constraints: With small feet, pot belly, mouse as vehicle etc… Ganesha never ran away from constraints & obstacles. He adapted well to the circumstances. With his common sense and wisdom converted his constraints into opportunities without any egos and went on to become the Chief Lord of Ganas (Ganapathi).

Role model: Elephant shows the path in the forest which is full of obstacles and constraints.

Thus, Ganesha’s form and worship conveys so many messages including philosophical, health consciousness, environmental protection, adaptability to the nature, management principles. Lord Ganesha is a leader acceptable to all, a leader who is a role model, a path maker and is the one who is there when needed.
Lord Ganesha is also called as Kshipra Prasada Ganapathi. The one who quickly grant wishes and comes to the rescue of his devotees who sincerely offer him prayers.

Ganesha signifies the triumph of wisdom over ignorance and of ego-lessness over desires. Ultimate reward is only through sadhana that is Modaka in the hands of Ganesha. Thus, the body of Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom and a visible representation of the highest reality. 

Customs and traditions of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi festival:

Before performing pooja to the idol, pooja is performed to Haridra Ganapathi (made from turmeric powder)

The idol (pratima) of Ganapathi brought for pooja should preferably be made with natural clay and should not be defective with cracks and should have all the features.

Main idol for pooja is installed on an elevated structure (mantapa) or on a wooden platform by drawing a Swastik or Ashtadala Padma symbol with rice.

Ekavimshati Pathra pooja with 21 different varieties of plant leaves and Garike (Durva Grass) is unique in Ganesha pooja.

On the previous day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival, people perform Swarna Gouri Vratha worshipping Goddess Parvathi Devi the Divine mother of Lord Ganesha. Some times both the festivals fall on the same day. Gowri Devi’s idol is also kept by the side of Lord Ganesha during the festival. This we observe generally in Maharastra and Karnataka states.

Succeeding day of Ganesha Chaturthi is known as Rishi Panchami (Bhadrapada Sukla Panchami) a Vratha (austerity) exclusively meant to be observed by women who worship Saptha Rishis on this day.

Towards offerings (Naivedya) we find people presenting Lord Ganesha with unique sweet dishes viz. Modaka (prepared from wheat flour and jaggery) that generally is fried in oil or steam cooked. Apart from this an item called Undraallu (small sweet balls) is also offered. These items are offered in 21 numbers. Fruits like Wood Apple, Guava fruit, Custard Apple, Pomegranate, Bananas etc. are offered to Lord Ganesha on this day.

Generally Tulasi leaves are not used in the worship of Lord Ganesha. But, as an exception it is offered on the day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi festival.

At Sri Ganesha temples across the country special pooja and rituals are held on the day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi. At some places Ganesha Homa is also performed on this day.

We find people performing sit ups with crossed hands holding their ears (known as Gunjillu in Telugu) while performing Namaskara as a mark of obeisance to Lord Ganesha.

On the day of Ganesha Chaturthi people avoid looking at the Moon.

There is a tradition to perform the festival for nine days known as Ganesha Navarathri and on the 10th day the idol is taken out in big procession and immersed in water.

The tradition of celebrating Sri Ganesha festival in public was started by Late Sri Bala Gangadhara Thilak in 1893.

Nowadays we find people performing Sri Ganesha Chaturthi festival on a mass scale by forming local committees and install large sized Ganesha idols in different shapes and forms at different place in the city/town.

These large sized idols are generally made up of Plaster of Paris and chemical paints that have an impact on environmental pollution .

Ganesha festival is celebrated across the country with big fan fare and religious gaiety more so in the states of Maharastra, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Cultural programs are arranged on this occasion for ten days with varieties of entertainment.

It is a very big festival in cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad. At Hyderabad every year the Ganesha idol installed in public place at Khairatabad is considered to be the tallest idol in the country.

After performing pooja as prescribed Ganesha nimajjana (immersing the idol in water) is made as far as possible on the same day if not on the next day. We find people performing Ganesha nimajjana in tanks, rivers or sea wherever available. In some families there is a tradition to keep the Ganesha idol for 3/5/7 days before being immersed. Ganesha idols installed in public places are generally immersed on the 10th day.

At some places the Ganesha idols are retained till completion of Devi Navarathri (Durga Pooja) and immerse the same along with Devi Durga idols on completion of Navarathri festival.

Ganesha Nimajjana is a very big event in cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai and this will last for more than a day where all the Ganesha idols kept in public places are taken out in procession for immersing in water. It becomes a hectic task for the local administration to control the proceedings and also the water in the tanks or rivers becomes polluted having environmental impact.

Celebrations of Ganesha Chaturthi festival are held not only India but also abroad in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, and South East Asiatic countries. 

GANESHA CHATURTHI Significance of Ekavimshati Pathra Pooja:

On the day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival, there is a tradition of worshipping Lord Ganesha with 21 different varieties of leaves known as Ekavimshati Pathra Pooja. Ekavimshati is a Sanskrit word meaning 21. What is the significance of this number 21 and the specific variety of leaf (Pathra) used in the pooja? Since Vedic times, usage of sacred leaves and roots/stems/herbs of sacred trees is in vogue while performing any Homa/Yagna or any sacred ritual. Apart from spiritual significance there is also an element of health consciousness and environmental protection involved in its usage. Even today these leaves/herbs are used in preparing Ayurvedic medicines used for curing several diseases. Apart from this they act as a Divine way of controlling pollution, be it water or air.

For example Ganesha Chaturthi festival occurs during monsoon season when the climate is generally not suitable for health. People suffer from various viral infections and water born diseases during this period. There will be lot of water pollution also due to rains and floods during monsoon. After the Ganesha festival, the worshipped Ganesha idols along with the pooja leaves (Pathra) are immersed (Nimajjana) in water (rivers/canals/lakes/sea). These leaves when they are thrown in to water it helps in purifying the water with its medicinal properties. When these idols are made up of natural clay (mud/soil) they get dissolved very easily in water and also cleanse the water without causing any pollution.

Instead, what is happening today is, we find people using idols made up of Plaster of Paris coated with colours (enamel paints). These idols generally take lot of time to get dissolved and in the process water gets polluted with mixing of chemicals and paints used for the idols. Moreover, they are harmful even to the living beings inside the water. Hence, from the environmental angle as well as health point of view it is suggested to use only idols made up of natural clay which are eco friendly.

Significance of # 21 in Ganesha Pooja:

The significance of # 21 stands for five organs of perception (Gnanendriyas) + five organs of action (Karmendriyas) + five Pancha Pranas (Vital airs) + five elements (Pancha Bhoothas) + the Mind, add up to 21.

Now, let us see what these 21 varieties of leaves (Pathra) used in Ganesha festival stands for and their medicinal value.

Maachi Pathram (Artemisia vulgaris/Imperata Cylindrica) – They have the property of purifying the surrounding. They are used for curing skin diseases (leprosy, leucoderma), nervous diseases, and abdominal related.

Bruhathee Pathram (Solanum indicum/Carisssa Carandass) – Used for asthma, cough, constipation. Also used for women in post natal period

Bilva Pathram (Aegle marmeolus) – Used for Dysentery. It also purifies water. Bilva leaf is very popular in the worship of Lord Shiva.

Durva Pathram (Cyanodon dactylon/Cyanodon Dacry) – It is used for Skin diseases, arresting bleeding, anemia. Durva leaf is used in the worship of Lord Ganesha. It is also called as Garike.

Dattura Pathram (Stramonium) – Used for joint pains, abdominal, skin diseases, hair fall. Also used in poisonous bites

Badari Pathram (Zizipus Jujube) – Used for digestive disorders, wounds and injuries, blood impurities. Also used for maintaining the voice. Badari Kshetra is known after these trees as they are in abundance in Badari. Lord Veda Vyasa is also called as Badarayana named after the forest of Badari trees which is said to be the hermitage of Lord Veda Vyasa.

Apamarga Pathram (Achyranthus Aspera) – Used for digestive disorders and also used for poisonous bites.

Thulasi Pathram (Ocimum sanctum) – Used for respiratory diseases, skin diseases, purifies air, water and surroundings. This is a common house hold plant which is considered to be very sacred and celestial. The leaves are used in the worship of Lord Vishnu who is very much fond of Thulasi.

Chootha Pathram (Azadarcata indica/ Mangifera indica) – Used in Diabetics, for cracked heals, diseases of throat.

Karaveera Pathram (Thevetia Nerifolium/Nerium indicum) – Used for leprosy, wounds and injuries, hair fall, lice.

Vishnu Krantha Pathram (Evolvulus Aisinoides/Convolvulus pluricaucis) – Used for Nervous related, memory power

Daadimi Pathram (Punica granatum) – Used for Dysentery, Vata/Pitta/Kapha dosha

Devdaru Pathram (Cedrus deodar) – Used for skin diseases, wounds/injuries

Maruvaka Pathram (Origanum Valgara/Origanum majoram) – Used for Joint pains, skin diseases, heart diseases

Sindhudara Pathram (Vitex nirgundo) – Used for Vaata related problems and also used in anti poisonous drugs.

Jajee Pathram (Jasminum grandiflorum/Myristica Fragrams) – Used for skin diseases, Mouth related problems and also in indigestion.

Gandaki Pathram (Sterculia Urens/Latha Durva) – Used for Heart related, Piles, Skin diseases.

Shami Pathram (Prosopis specigera) – It is used for respiratory problems. This tree acquired lot of significance from Pancha Pandavas who had kept their weapons on this tree during their Agnathavasa. This tree is also worshipped as a remedy and we find people taking pradakshina around this tree on the day of Vijaya Dasami.

Aswattha Pathram (Ficus religiosa) – Its bark is used in preparation of many medicines. It is also used for arresting bleeding. The significance and importance of this tree is so much that it is considered as Trimurthi (Trinity) swaroopa (Trinal Lords, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). We find people performing Naga Devatha Pratishta under this tree.

Arjuna Pathram (Morinda Tinctoria/Terminelia Arjuna) – Used for Joint pains, Vata/Pitta/Kapha related, heart diseases, wounds and septic conditions

Arka Pathram (Calotropis Procera) – It is used in poisonous bites, wounds and injuries, curing skin diseases, leprosy, tumors, joint pains, etc… It is said that it has 64 varieties of medicinal usage. It is called as a healing herb. We find usage of this leaf on the day of Ratha Sapthami. It is associated with the worship of Sun God, Lord Hanuman and also Lord Ganesha.

While usage of these leaves has proven medicinal value, it is suggested to use them only under Medical advice.

Usage of Durva (Garike) in Ganesha Pooja

It is said and believed that usage of Garike has attained lot of significance in the worship/pooja of Lord Ganesha who is very much fond of this item. The legend behind this relates to the curse given by Goddess Parvathi (Consort of Lord Shiva) to Nandeeswara (Mount of Lord Shiva). In order to get rid of the effect of curse, Goddess Parvathi had asked Nandeeswara to shed what is most pleasing to him and offer the same to her son Lord Vinayaka which will please him the most. Thus Durva became most pleasing item to Lord Ganesha. Generally Durva is offered in pooja in odd number (5/7/21)

Thus worshiping of Lord Ganesha with different varieties of leaves is associated with the belief that these medicinal values will reach the human beings either through air or water apart from providing the required sanctity and spirituality.

Slokas on Lord Ganesha:

In Hindu religion worshipping of Lord Ganesha has attained paramount significance since time immemorial. We find His temples in every nook and corner of our country. We all pray to Lord Ganesha and seek His blessings before commencing any ritual or activity. He is considered as the remover of obstacles, giver of wisdom and prosperity. As per Lunar calendar, the festival of Lord Ganesha is celebrated on the fourth day (sukla Chaturthi) of Bhadrapada Masam. Please find below some of the popular slokas on Lord Ganesha.

Ganaanaam Tva GanapathiGam Havaamahey

Kavim KaveenaamUpamasraVastamam

JyeshtaRaajam Brahmanaam Brahmanaspatha

Aanah shrunvannoothibhih Seeda Saadanam

Suklaambaradharam Vishnum
SasiVarnam Chathurbhujam
PrasannaVadanam Dhyaayet
Sarva Vighnopashaanthaye

Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakoti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam KuruMey Deva SarvaKaaryeshu Sarvada

Agajaanana Padmaarkam GajaananaMaharnisham
Anekadantham Bhaktaanaam EkadantamUpaasmahey

Gajaananam Bhootha Ganaadhi Sevitam
Kapitta Jamboophala Saara Bhakshitam
Umaasutam Shoka VinaashaKaaranam
Namaami Vighneshwara PaadaPankajam

Ganesha Shodasa Nama Sthothram

Sumukhaschai Ekadanthascha Kapilo Gajakarnakah
Lambodarascha Vikato Vighnaraajo Ganaadhipah
DhoomaketurGanaadhyakshah Phaalachandro Gajaananah
Vakratunda Soorpakarno Heyrambha Skandapoorvajah
Shodashaitaani Naamaani Yah PatethSrunuyaadapi
Vidyaarambhe Vivahe Cha Praveshey Nirgamey Tatah
Sangraamey Sarva Kaaryeshu VighnasTasya Na Jaayathe

Ganesha Gayathri

Tatpurushaaya Vidmahe
Vakratundaaya Dheemahee
Thanno Dantih Prachodayaat

Ekadantaaya Vidmahe
Vakratundaaya Dheemahee
Thannoh Dantih Prachodayaat

Sankata Nasana Ganesha Sthothram

(Narada Uvacha!)

Pranamya Sirasa Devam Gauriputram Vinaayakam
Bhakataavaasam Smare Nityam Aayuh Kaamartha Si

 Prathamam Vakratundam Cha Ekadantam Dviteeyakam

Thriteeyam Krishna Pingaaksham Gajavaktram Chaturthaka

Lambodaram Panchamaam Cha Shashtam Vikatameva Cha

Saptamam Vighnaraajendram Dhoomravarnam Tathaashtamam

Navamam Phaalachandram Cha Dasamam Tu Vinaayakam

Ekaadasam Ganapatim Dvaadasam Tu Gajaananam

 Dvaadasaitaani Naamaani Trisandhyam Yah Pathernnarah

Na Cha Vighnabhayam Tasya SarvaSiddhikaram Prabho

 Vidyarthi labhathe vidhyaam Dhanarthi labhathe dhanam,

 Puthrarthi labhathe puthraan Moksharthi labhathe gathim

Japeth Ganapathi sthothram shadbhir masai phalam 

 Samvatsarena sidhim cha labhathe nathra samsaya

    Ashtabhyo Brahmanebhyascha Likihithva yah samarpayeth
  Thasya Vidhya bhaveth sarvaa Ganesasya prasadathah

                                                             (Narada Purana)

 Writer:Sri Bhargava Sarma

                                        Venkataadri Samam Sthaanam; Brahmande Naasthi Kinchana

                                               Venkatesa Samo Devo; NaBhootho; NaBhavishyathi 

In this Universe there is no other sacred place equivalent to Venkataadri (Tirumala); there is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara neither in the past nor in the future going to be. 

                                          Kruthethu Naarasimho Bhoo Trethayaam Raghunandana

                                               Dwapare Vasudevascha Kalau Venkatanaayaka! 

In Krutha Yuga; Lord Narasimha; in Tretha Yuga; Lord Sri Raama; in Dwaapara Yuga; Lord Sri Krushna and in Kaliyuga; Lord Sri Venkateswara are known as Prathyaksha Dhaivams (perceivable Deities). 

As per pouranic legends it is believed and said that, Lord Maha Vishnu left his abode Sri Vaikunta and dwelling in Aananda Nilaya at Tirumala Kshethra in Archaroopa (worship form); in order to protect his devotees from the clutches of Kali in this Kali Yuga. That’s why Tirumala Kshethra is known as Kaliyuga Vaikunta or Bhuu Vaikunta where, Lord Sri ManNaaraayana himself is staying along with his consort Goddess Sri Maha Lakshmi in his chest (Hrudaya) making Aananda Nilaya as his abode. Tirumala is known as Swayam Vyaktha Kshethra (self manifested) and the Lord here also swayam vyaktha. Sri Venkataachala Mahaatmya; an exclusive and comprehensive collection of sacred scripts from twelve great puranas, eulogizes the origin, glory, significance, merits, dos and don’ts of the Seven Hills (Saptha Giri) and it’s Lord Sri Venkateshwara (Sreenivaasa). 

One can imagine what would be the significance of rituals and festivals performed for such a majestic deity; Lord Sri Venkateswara.  Every moment at Tirumala is a festive occasion.  While performance of festivals and rituals at Tirumala temple is a daily affair (Nithya Kalyaanam); annual celebrations called Brahmotsavam has attained special uniqueness and significance among such celebrations. 

What is Brahmotsavam? Who has started this? What is its uniqueness? 

In general, Brahmotsavam is an annual temple festival performed to its deity that is celebrated on a mass scale. But the one at Tirumala hills is called as Brahmotsavam since, it is said (as per sacred scripts), to have been initiated and performed for the first time by Lord Brahma himself in honor of and in obeisance to Lord Sri Venkateswara and to mark the occasion of the Lord’s entering into Aananda Nilaya at Tirumala Kshethra. Since then, the ritual of Brahmotsavam is in vogue and is being celebrated every year. 

What are the types of Brahmotsavams? 

There are various types of Brahmotsavams that are being performed at Tirumala viz. Nithya Brahmotsavam, Shaanthi Brahmotsavam and Sraddha (Aarjitha) Brahmotsavam. 

Nithya-Brahmotsavam is the one that is celebrated on specific days in a year on the basis of coincidence of a particular star. These celebrations are held for a period of three or five or seven or nine or eleven or thirteen days. The one that is held currently at Tirumala every year on an annual basis is called Nithya Brahmotsavam that is held for nine days. 

Shaanthi-Brahmotsavam is the one that is held especially as a remedy for draught, famine, fear of war, calamities and other mundane problems etc. In olden days they were held by the Kings for the welfare, peace and prosperity of people living in their kingdoms. These were generally held for five days. 

Sraddha-Brahmotsavam also known as Aarjitha Brahmotsavam is held by any devotee for his own welfare by contributing the required amount on any day. We find this in the list of Aarjitha Sevas that are being held daily at Tirumala Temple. 

When is annual Brahmotsavam held? 

Annual Brahmotsavam also known as Saalakatla Brahmotsavam is held every year during Kanyaa maasam; when Sun is transiting Kanyaa (Virgo) raasi in the zodiac; that generally coincides with Devi Navarathri festival in Aaswayuja maasam as per lunar calendar, immediately after Mahaalaya Pithru Paksha. It is held continuously for nine days during the bright fortnight in the lunar month Aaswayuja maasam; generally starting from Sukla Prathipada (Paadyami) and ending on the Navami day.  Ninth day of the festival should invariably coincide with Sravana (star) constellation that forms the basis for fixing of Brahmotsavam schedule. It is said and believed that Lord Maha Vishnu incarnated as Sreenivaasa (Lord Venkateshwara) at Tirumala kshethra during Kanyaa maasam in Sravana constellation. Hence, it is the rationale behind holding of Brahmotsavam during Kanyaa maasam.  

What is Adhika maasa Brahmotsavam? 

Whenever there is an occurrence of Adhika maasam (intercalary month), it is a tradition and custom that, Brahmotsavam will be held twice in that year. First one known as Saalakatla (annual) Brahmotsavam will be held as per the schedule; held after the transit of Sun into Kanyaa raasi; for nine days with the ninth day coinciding with Sravana Nakshathra. Second one called Navarathri Brahmotsavam will be held again for nine days during Navarathri festival. Sravana Nakshathra is parameter for conclusion of Brahmotsavam.  Generally there will be a gap of one month between the two festivals; with the first one performed during Bhaadrapada maasam and second one during Aaswayuja maasam. Significant feature whenever two Brahmotsavams are held is; Dhwaja-arohana and Dhwaja-avarohana rituals will be held only once; that is during the first one. 

How is Brahmotsavam celebrated? 

During Brahmotsavam celebrations are held for the Utsava Moorthy of Lord Venkateswara (Malayappa Swamy) who is taken out in procession on all the nine days after performing the pooja and other rituals every day. During these nine days the Lord is taken out in procession along with his consorts; Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi, fully decorated on different varieties of vehicles (Vaahanaas) around the four streets of the temple complex called Maada streets. These celebrations and rituals are held as per the Vikhanasa and Aagama Shaastras. Each day of the festival is denoted by a unique name based on the vehicle in which Malayappa Swamy, the Utsava Murthy (procession deity) of Lord Venkateswara is taken out in procession. Each Vaahana (vehicle) has its own significance and conveys a message in its own way. 

Brief description of Brahmotsavam: 

Ankuraarpana-Senaadhipathi-Utsavam: Nine day festival begins with a ritual called Ankuraarpana and Senaadhipathi Utsavam held one day before the commencement of Brahmotsavam; when Vishvakksena; chief of army of Lord Venkateswara is taken out in procession as a protocol around the four streets of the temple; as a symbolic significance that the festival will be held under his supervision and control.  Ankuraarpana literally means making a beginning or inauguration or making a sankalpa. According to Aagama shaastra it is said to be one of the important rituals to begin with especially during Brahmotsavam and it means sowing the seed and this ritual is performed in the evening.  During this ritual, seeds are sown in a pot by the chief priest and are kept throughout the nine days. Sprouts grown from the seeds are believed to be an indication of how perfectly the celebrations were held without any blemish. 

Dwajaarohanam: It is a flag hoisting festival that is held on the first day by hoisting a flag (Garudadhwaja) with a picture of Garuda (vehicle of Lord Maha Vishnu) on the top of the Dwajah Sthambham. It is said to be a symbolic significance of formal invitation to all the Deities at attend the festival. A flag known as Dhwaja in religious parlance is denoted as a symbol of pride; honour; recognition and prestige of that particular deity. 

Pedda-Sesha-Vahanam: After Dwajaarohanam; Lord is taken out in a procession in the evening on Aadi Sesha the thousand headed Chief Serpent God as his vehicle.  Aadisesha is the seat on which Lord SriManNarayana rests in his abode Sri Vaikunta. Tirumala hills the abode of Lord Venkateswara is said to be the manifestation of Lord Aadisesha.  That is why it is also called as Seshaachala. From a distance the seven hills appears in a serpentine form.  In Tretha Yuga, during Sri Raamaavathara, Aadi Sesha took the form of Lakshmana, Lord Sri Rama’s younger brother and in Dwaapara Yuga during Sri Krushnaavathara he took the form of Balarama the elder brother of Lord Sri Krishna. Aadisesha vaahanam will be seven headed.  

Chinna-Sesha-Vahanam: On the second day morning; Lord is taken out in procession on Vaasuki (Serpent God) as his vehicle.  During Ksheera Saagara Madhanam, Vaasuki the Serpent God was used as a rope for churning the ocean. In Bhagavadgeeta Lord Sri Krushna says that; He is Vaasuki (Sarpaanaam-asmi Vaasukih) among the serpents. Chinna Sesha Vahanam will be five headed.  

Hamsa-Vahanam: On the second day evening; Lord is again taken out in procession on Hamsa (Swan) as his vehicle.   Hamsa or swan means ‘pure’. Hamsa is believed to have a high intellectual capability and can distinguish the good from the bad. 

Simha-Vahanam: On the third day morning; Lord is taken out in procession on Lion symbol as his vehicle.  Lion is a symbol of royalty and power.  Lord assumed the form of half man and half lion in his Narasimha Avathara. Lord Sri Krushna says in Bhagavadgeeta that he is the Lion (Mrugaanaam cha Mrugendro-aham) among the animals. Specific purpose of this avathara was to prove a point and to make true the words of his devotee that God is in existence every where.  Lord Narasimha is depicted as a great protector at the time of need.  He is the God of Gods; Mruthyu for the Mruthyu.  

Muthyaala-Pallaki-Vahanam: On the third day evening; Lord is again taken out in procession along with his consorts; Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi in a palanquin decorated with a canopy of pearls.  Pearl is said to be a symbol of purity and royalty.

Kalpavruksha-Vahanam: On the fourth day of the festival; Lord is taken out in procession in the morning on Kalpa Vruksha as his vehicle signifying that he is the giver of boons to his devotees and fulfills their wishes.  

Sarvabhoopala-Vahanam: On the fourth day evening; Lord is again taken out in procession on a vehicle called Sarva Bhoopaala Vahanam signifying that He is the Lord of Lords the Supreme Lord.  

Mohini-Avatharam: On the fifth day morning; Lord is taken out in procession decorated in the attire of Mohini Avatharam (Ksheera Sagara Madhanam episode) the one who has distributed the Divine Nectar to Gods using his Chaturatha; sharpness of wit and quickness of intellect.

Garuda-Vahanam: On the fifth day evening; Lord Venkateswara is taken out in procession specially decorated on Garuda Vaahana. Garuda is his ardent devotee and chief vehicle; Garukmantha also known as Vynatheya the divine and mighty king of birds. In Bhagawadgeeta Lord Sri Krushna says that, He is Garuda among the birds (Vynatheyatcha Pakshinaam). Said to be an embodiment of Vedas (Veda Swaroopi) Garuda is prominently eulogized in Puranas for his knowledge, strength and power.  Garuda Purana one of the Ashtaadasa Puranas is exclusively dedicated in the name of Garuda. Garudaadri one of the seven hills among the Tirumala hills is named after Garuda. It is a unique occasion when thousands gather together and would like to witness the procession known as Garudotsavam. This day is also represented by the Chief Minister, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh by symbolically offering new silk clothes to the Lord as a mark of obeisance and thanks giving to the Lord of the Universe. It is believed and said that it is highly meritorious and mukthi pradham to have darshan of the Lord seated on Garuda. 

Hanumantha-Vahanam: On the sixth day morning; the Lord is taken out in procession on Hanumantha Vaahana; Lord Hanuman as his vehicle. Undoubtedly the greatest devotee of Lord Sri Rama, Lord Hanuman was a personification of the most trusted and self less service to the Lord in his avathara as Sri Rama during Tretha Yuga. He is known for his righteousness, courage, strength, valor and discriminative intelligence. Anjanaadri one of the seven hills is named after Anjanaa Devi, divine mother of Lord Hanuman.  

Gaja-Vahanam: On sixth day evening; Lord is taken out in procession on Elephant (Gaja); Airaavatham as his vehicle. We find in Sri Madbhagavatham Gajendra Moksham episode; Lord instantly coming to the rescue of Gajendra and got him relieved from the clutches of the Crocodile (Makara). Elephant (Gaja) known as Airaavatham is the vaahana of Lord Indra and Lord Vishnu (in Vaamana Avathaara) is known as Upendra.  

Surya-Prabha-Vahanam: On the seventh day morning, Lord Venkateswara is taken out in procession with Sun God driving the Chariot. Purusha Sooktha describes Sun as born from the eyes of Lord SriManNaaraayana (Chaksho! Suryo Ajaayathah!); who is the Sun Himself, who glitters always and makes the Sun shine, the one who creates the worlds, and the one who has Sun for his eyes. That’s why Sun is also called as Surya Naaraayana. Sun promotes in human beings their physical, mental and spiritual abilities. Sun grants health, individuality and will power. He is the destroyer of darkness, sins and afflictions.  Sun is also known as Savitha; which is one of the several thousand names of Lord Vishnu.  Every day during nithya karma (Sandhyavandana) we worship Sun as Suryanaaraayana with the popular sloka of Sun God ”Dhyeyassadaa Savithrumandala Madhyavarthee….” and meditate upon the Supreme Lord SriManNaaraayana who resides in the Solar orbit seated on the lotus set, wearing armlets, alligator shaped ear rings and diadem, garlanded, having golden body and holding conch and the discus.  

Chandra-Prabha Vahanam: On the seventh day evening; the Lord is again taken out in procession with Moon as symbol of his vehicle. Purusha Sooktha describes Moon as Chandrama Manaso Jaathaha.  Moon is born from the mind Lord Maha Vishnu. Moon is the commander of mind and is a symbol of cool and pleasantness.  

Both these rituals are symbolic significance that the Lord is the cause for day and night; in other words the Time; arising out of Lord Vishnu who is Kaala Swaroopa and Kaala Niayaamaka, the governing Lord of Time. His is also known as Kaala Purusha the personification of Time and presiding Deity of Time.  

Rathotsavam:  Car or chariot festival known as Rathotsavam proclaims  distinctiveness of Brahmotsavam. Malayappa Swamy (Lord Venkateshwara) gives darshan to his scores of devotees in a majestic style on this day seated on a highly decorated chariot. Idols of Daaruka (the charioteer of Lord Sri Krushna) and the four horses’ viz. Sugreevam; Shaibyam; Meghapuspham; and Valahakam are placed before the decorated idols of Lord and His consorts. Tirumala will be flooded with devotes to witness this grand occasion. Darshan of Lord Venkateswara seated on the chariot is a memorable experience to all devout Hindus. Many pious Hindus consider it as once in a life time opportunity. It is believed and said that those who witness the Lord seated on the Chariot during Rathotsavam will not be reborn; rathostham kesavam dristva punarjanma na vidyate. 

Govinda means the One who is the Lord of Cows, protector of Cows, the one who has lifted the hill called Goverdhanagiri with His little finger to save and protect the Cows and Cowherds, also the one who is the protector of Earth. Go also means Vedas. One who is the protector of Vedas and who is eulogized by Vedas. Go means Cow and Vinda means one who helps to survive or surmount. Go+Vinda = Govinda means the One who helps us to survive and surmount the earthly existence and reach Supreme realization of the Self.  Lord Sri Krishna is popularly known and called as Govinda and who is also called as Gopaala the protector of cows. 

On penultimate day of Brahmotsavam (eighth day); Lord Sri Venkateshwara is taken out in procession along with his consorts; Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi; seated on a fully decorated chariot pulled by the devotees chanting Govinda naama that reverbrates the Seshaadri hills of Tirumala. We find lakhs of pilgrims chanting this Govinda manthra while they enter the abode of Lord Venkateshwara. The power of this Govinda manthra is such that; it gives them the required energy to stand in long ques; wait for long hours just to have a glimpse of the presiding Deity of Tirumala.  Not only that, it also gives them the stamina to come on foot trekking 3661 steps and walk 9 km from Tirupathi. 

Ashwa-Vahanam: On the eighth day evening the Lord is again taken out in procession with Ashwa (Horse) as his vehicle; symbolizing forthcoming Kalki Avathara. Lord Venkateswara used to ride on a horse during hunting of wild animals. Horse is a symbol of energy. Lord assumed the form of Horse head during his avathara as Hayagreeva; the great protector and savior of Vedas; the supreme Lord of knowledge and wisdom.  

Chakra-Snaanam: On the ninth day morning; last day of the Brahmostavam, special abhishekam known as Avabhrutha Snaanam is held for utsava moorthy of Lord Venkateswara and his consorts; Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi in the complex of Lord Varaha Swamy temple; on the banks of sacred Swamy Pushkarini. Later Sudarshana Chakra (weapon of Lord) will be immersed in the waters of Swamy Pushkarini. We find large number of devotes simultaneously taking a dip in Pushkarini waters at that time. It is believed and said that one will get absolved from sins by taking a dip in Swamy Pushkarini along with the Sudarshana Chakra at this particular occasion. 

Dwajaavarohanam: On the ninth day evening; the Garuda flag will be lowered as a mark of completion of the grand Brahmotsavam festival. 

It is befitting, sacred, celestial and highly meritorious to visit Tirumala during the days of Brahmotsavam and have the darshan of Lord Sri Venkateswara.  Blessed are those who witness the Brahmotsavam festival of Akhilaandakoti Brahmaanda Naayaka (presiding deity & lord of the universe); Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala.

                                                Brahmotsavam Schedule

 Writer: Bhargava Sarma

Watch Sri Venkateswara Vaibhavam Videos

The holy place Prabhasa also known as Somanath is situated between 20.53’N latitude and 70.24’E longitude on the south west coast of India in the Sourashtra province of Gujarat State, on the shores of Arabian Sea. Port town of Veeraval is only 2 km away from Somnath. Sanctified with the presence of Jyothirlinga of Lord Shiva known as Somanath, this sacrosanct place Prabhasa, is in existence since time immemorial. Spiritually known as Prabhasa Theertha this place was called as Prabhasa Pattan in olden times and was famous as a town of temples.

In olden times it was known as Arka Theertha or Bhaskara Theertha and Soma Theertha or Chandra Theertha. Over a period of time it came to be known as Prabhasa Theertha. Prabhasa is a Sanskrit word meaning glowing, luminous, shining, the one that generates light. Prabhasa also means dawn. Sun God is also called as Prabhakara. Prabhasa is the place where the Moon God got rid of the curse and regained his lost lustre. Being situated at the western coast, this entire area is radiated by Sun light for a relatively longer period of time and hence called as Prabhasa Pattan, the town that glows.

Prabhasa is located at the holy confluence of the mythological rivers Saraswati, Kapila, and Hiranya known as Triveni said to be in existence since Vedic period. It is a sacred place where mythological river Saraswati flows towards the west and the town is situated on the sea shore. According to Skhanda Purana it is said that, invoked by four Sages, Hiranya, Vajra, Nyanku and Kapila, the holy river Saraswati flowing in Prabhas Kshetra constitutes five different streams of rivers known as Harini, Vajrini, Nyankumati, Kapila and Saraswati.

Prabhasa is a famous Shiva Kshetra known as the Aadi Jyothirlinga Kshetra (Sourashtre Somanathancha….) where Lord Shiva is worshipped as Somanath also known as Someshwar. Named after the Moon God (Soma), it is the place where Moon (Chandra) worshipped Lord Shiva and performed severe penance and got relieved from the ill effects of the curse he had from Daksha Prajapathi.

Prabhasa Kshetra is highly sanctified with the Niryana of Lord Sri Krishna at this place known as Bhalka Theertha where, the Lord undertook his last journey on this Earth and left for his celestial abode ending his glorious Avathara. Known as Parashurama Kshetra (Tapo Bhoomi) it is also the place where, Lord Parashurama did penance to get rid of the ill effects of killing Kshatriya Kings several times. It is also said that, Deva Guru Brihaspathi attained his position as the Preceptor of Devathas by performing penance on the banks of Prabhasa Theertha. Blessed with the glorious presence of Lord Shiva in the form of a Jyothirlinga, and sanctified with the Niryana of Lord Sri Krishna (Avathara of Lord Maha Vishnu) the place Prabhasa is known as Hari Hara Kshetra.

Prabhasa Theertha is known to be a famous pilgrim center even during Pouranic days the reference to which is found in sacred texts like Skhanda Purana, Shiva Purana, Mahabharatha and Bhagavatha Purana. Skhanda Purana has made an extensive reference to the glory of this holy place in its Prabhasa Khanda. As per Skhanda Purana it is said that, Prabhasa Theertha is considered as the crown of all holy places that is incomparable in its merits and capable of liberating a man from all his sins. Spread in an area of five yojanas this sacrosanct place contains several temples of both Lord Shiva and Vishnu apart from Sun temples. Dwelling about the merits of this place it is said that, anyone who has the good fortune of living in this Prabhasa Kshetra and not abandoning it, despite hardship and troubles is certain to get absolved from his sins and attain salvation.

It is said that in those days Prabhasa Theertha was only 24 miles to the East of Dwarka and people from Dwarka used to reach Prabhasa within couple of hours. Devoted to its sanctity as a place of meditation and penance, Prabhasa Theertha was a frequent pilgrim of both Pandavas and Yadavas. It is said that Pandavas during their Vanavasa (exile in forest) period had stayed here for some time. It is said that Lord Sri Krishna and Balarama also had done pilgrimage to Prabhasa. As per Bhagavatha purana it is said that Lord Sri Krishna had advised his clan to move to Prabhasa Theertha before his Niryana. Finally, Lord Sri Krishna himself moved to Prabhasa Theertha for his ultimate journey.

Prabhasa known as the Aadi Jyothirlinga Kshetra, first among the Dwadasa Jyothirlingas is a historical and holy religious tourist center, attracting lakhs of pilgrims and tourists from across the globe throughout the year. Prabhasa is also a place of pilgrimage for the worship of one’s ancestors at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers. Somavathi Amavasya and Lunar eclipse bears a special significance at this Kshetra for pilgrimage and for a dip in the Triveni Sangam even dating back to the Pouranic era.  

The Somnath is known as the Shrine Eternal as it has withstood the shocks of time and the attacks of the destroyers. It has risen like a phoenix each time it was destroyed or desecrated. The present temple is the seventh temple built on the original site. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the great son of India and its first Deputy Prime Minister took a pledge on November 13, 1947 for its reconstruction which was completed on December 1, 1995 when the President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma dedicated it in the service of the nation. The present temple is built by Shree Somnath Trust which looks after the entire complex of Shree Somnath and its environs. 

The Present Temple, Kailash Mahameru Prasada is built in the chalukya style of temple architecture and reflects the inherent skill of Sompuras, Gujarat’s master masons. It has the Shikhar portion, the Garbh Gruh, the Sabha Mandap and the Nritya Mandap. Such a temple has not been constructed in India during the last 800 years. The Temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in between from Somnath sea-shore to Antartica, the South Pole. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the ARROW-PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple. The Prabhas Kshetra is one of the most sacred places in India for Shaivaites as well as for Vaishnavites.

Its earliest history fades into legend – it is said to have originally been built out of gold by Somraj, the moon god, only to be rebuilt by Rawana in Silver, then by krishna in wood and by Bhimdev in Stone. A description of the temple by Al Biruni, an Arab traveler, was so glowing that it prompted a visit in 1024 by a most unwelcome tourist – Mahmud of Ghazni. At that time, the temple was so wealthy that it had 300 musicians, 500 dancing girls and even 300 barbers just to shave the heads of visiting pilgrims. Mahmud of Ghazni, whose raids on the riches of India are legendary, descended on Somnath from his Afghan kingdom and after a two-day-battle, took the town and the temple. Having looted its fabulous wealth, he destroyed it for good measure. So, began a pattern of Muslim destruction and Hindu rebuilding that continued for centuries. The temple was again razed in 1297, 1394 and finally in 1706 by Aurangzeb, the notorious Mughal fundamentalist.

After the 1706 demolition, the temple was not rebuilt until 1950. Outside, opposite the entrance, is a statue of  Sri Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950), who was responsible for reconstruction. 

Legend behind the Temple

As per the pouranic scripts it is said that Daksha Prajapathi had 27 daughters in whose names the constellations in the Almanac starting from Aswini and ending with Revathi have come into existence. These 27 daughters of Daksha Prajapathi got married to Lord Moon (Chandra). Out of 27 wives, Chandra used to show more attention and love towards Rohini and neglected others. Pained with Moon’s action, the other wives complained to their father Daksha Prajapathi. Aggrieved by this, Daksha Prajapathi became angry with Moon and cursed him to lose his lustre and suffer from a dreadful disease. Gripped by the dreadful disease, Moon started waning (deteriorating) day by day and lost all his glory. All these development caused lot of perturbation and Moon was advised to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva by doing severe penance.

Accordingly Lord Moon did severe penace at this place (Prabhasa) for several thousands of years and worshipped Lord Shiva. Pleased with Moon’s penance, Lord Shiva appeared before him in the form of a Jyothirlinga and blessed him with a relief from the dreadful disease he was suffering with. Since the curse of Daksha cannot become untrue, Lord Shiva, by reducing the intensity of the curse provided a relief to the Moon. By virtue of which, Moon’s lustre would improve during the waxing period and recede during waning period. This is what we observe in the Lunar Phase, Moon increasing in size during Sukla Paksha and appearing in full size on the Full Moon day (Poornima) and decreasing in size during Krishna Paksha and totally vanishing on the New Moon day or Amavasya.

Since Moon has regained his lustre (Prabha) by dint of his austere penance, this holy place became famous as Prabhasa Kshetra. Lord Shiva is worshipped here as Somanath named after Moon who is also referred as Soma. This Shiva Linga that got manifested at this place is considered as the Aadi Jyothirlinga.

When and who got constructed the original Somanath temple is conclusively and historically not known. However, based on the research findings from sacred texts like Skhanda Purana (Prabhas Khanda) it is said that, Prana Prathista of the first Somanath Jyotirlinga was done during the tenth Treta Yuga of Vaivasvatha Manvanthara and the first temple was built approximately 80 millions years ago.

It is said according to the scripts that, it was Lord Moon who first performed the holy installation of Jyothirlinga and the place came to be known as Somanath. It is also said that Lord Moon (Chandra) lifted this Jyothirlinga and installed it on the slab called Brahmashila. According to the temple sources, it is said and believed that the original temple of Somnath was built by the Moon God that was made of gold. After it was razed to the ground, it was rebuilt with silver by Ravanasura. When the silver temple was knocked down, it was reconstructed in sandal wood by Lord Sri Krishna.

The later sources of history account for several desecrations by Muslims invaders during eleventh to eighteenth century A.D. During that time the temple had been subjected to repeated demolition, construction and resurrection several times. The original site of the ancient Somnath temple is now having a new temple built by the temple trust. As per the scripts the original Shiva Linga was reinstalled by Dr. Rajendra Prasad the first President of India in the year 1951. The Iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was instrumental in the construction of the present temple.

Enshrined at the centre of a spacious Sanctum with its entrance wall known as Suvarna Dwar covered with Gold plating the large sized Jyothirlinga at Somanath is of the shape of a hen’s egg fixed in the middle of the earth. Somnath is one of the holy places dedicated to Lord Shiva and is first among the twelve holy places known as Dwadasa Jyothirlinga Kshetras. The temple has a large central hall with entrances on three sides, each protected by a lofty porch. The temple tower is 150 ft height and the dome of the temple is said to be the biggest ever made in this century.

There is a high security alert at the temple in view of its vulnerability and entry inside the temple is subject to strict security verification and frisking. Pilgrims entering the temple are prohibited from carrying mobiles, cameras and videos. Generally in Shiva temples we find devotees are allowed to enter the Sanctum and perform abhishekam to the Shiva Linga. Here in Somanath it is not the case. Due to security reasons devotees can have only darshan from outside the Suvarna Dwar and are strictly prohibited from entering the sanctum or performing abhishekam to the Jyothirlinga.

Adjacent to the main temple complex, there is another temple of Lord Shiva which was built by Maharani Ahalyabai Holker during 1782 where the Shiva Linga is enshrined in the underground. It is said that this temple used to maintain the Pooja parampara of Lord Shiva during the hostile political conditions. This temple is now called as old Somanath temple. Devotees are allowed to perform pooja and abhishekam to Lord Shiva personally in this temple.

Somanath temple is open for darshan from morning 6.00 am to night 9.00 pm without any break in between. Aarati timings are at 7.00 am 12.00 noon and 7.00 pm. The temple is illuminated every evening and a Sound & Light show called Jay Somanath is also displayed every night during 8.00 to 9.00 that is worth seeing and a wonderful experience to cherish.

Other temples located inside the complex of Somnath Mandir are Shri Kapardi Vinayak and Sri Hanuman Temple. Karthika Poornima in the month of November and Maha Shivarathri in the month of February/March are some of the major festivals that are celebrated on a large scale at Somnath temple.

Strategically located on the western coast of India, Somanath temple stands as an epitome of architectural splendour. The temple gives a picturesque outlook with a panoramic and extensive view of the sea and a very large and beautiful temple complex. To the south of the temple on the shore of the sea is erected a pillar on the top of which is placed an arrow to indicate that between South pole and Somanath temple there exists no land area. The nearest land towards South Pole is said to be about 9936 km. away. This is suggesting the ancient Indian wisdom of geography and strategic location of the Somnath Jyotirlinga in Prabhasa Kshetra. Located at a vantage point on the shore of the Arabian Sea, Somanath is attracting lakhs of pilgrims and tourists across the globe throughout the year.

SACRED PLACES AROUND SOMNATH: 

There are many temples and places of historical and religious importance around Somnath in Prabhasa Theertha, the seat of one of the twelve most revered Jyothirlingas. Some of the most important of them are 

Sri Parashuram Temple 

Known as Parashurama Kshetra or Parashurama Tapo Bhoomi, this is a sacred spot at the holy banks of Triveni where, Lord Parashurama conducted his long penance and was relieved from the curse of Kshatriya killings. It is located at a distance of about 5 km on Veeraval highway. There is Parashurama temple and two kunds and also temples of Jaleshwar-Tapeshwar Mahadev and Jamadagneshwar Mahadev at this place. 

Sri Shashibhushan Mahadev & Bheedbhanjan Ganapathi Temple 

It is located at a distance of 4 km on the Somnath-Veraval highway with a beautiful sea-shore. Lord Shashibhushan (Lord Shiva) with Bheedbhanjan (Savior form of Ganesh) is worshipped here. We can find Shiva Lingas on the sea side known as Baan Ganga Shiva Linga. The Jhara poacher (hunter) is said to have taken aim from this spot while hitting an arrow towards Lord Sree Krishna.

Shri Veneshwar Mahadev Temple 

Rajputa Vaja clan was in charge of Somnath during the Muslim desecrations. The devotional episode of the princess Veni is said to have been depicted in the novel by Shri K.M. Munshi. The temple was outside of the fort wall of Prabhas Pattan at the time of holy war with Gazani. The soldiers of Gazani attempted an abduction of the princess Veni, an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva who used to regularly visit the temple to offer her services to the Lord Shiva. The traditions maintain that the Shiva linga spontaneously got divided and the princess got buried into it. The Shiva temple here is known as Veneshwar temple after the fond memory of the divine episode of Veni. 

Triveni Sangam Ghat 

Triveni Sangam Ghat in Somnath is at the confluence of three holy rivers Kapila, Hiranya and a mystical River Saraswati (also known as Gupta Saraswati) from where the rivers flow to the ultimate destination of Sea. This is a sacred place to take bath and it is believed that the bath in the waters at this Ghat offers relief from all curses and ills happened. It is considered to be a Moksha theertha. It is also a sacred place to pay homage to ancestors and offer Pitru tarpana. In Chaitra and Bhadrapada months of Hindu calendar huge crowds are seen here. The ghat has been named after Morarji Desai former Prime minister of India who was also the chairman of Shri Somnath Trust for several years. The Ghat has good arrangements for bathing and changing of clothes. 

Sun temple (Surya Mandir) 

It is a very ancient temple dedicated to the Sun God. The Sun temple of Prabhas Pattan has a sabha mantapa, sanctum sanctorum and intricate carvings. 

Pandav Gufa & Hinglaj Mata Mandir 

Next to the Sun temple there is Pandav Gufa, a cave associated with the Pandavas, at an elevated place dedicated to Pandavas. Inside there is an underground cave temple called as Hinglaj Matha Mandir, a form of Goddess Durga. Pandavas during their Vanavasa are said to have visited this place and worshipped this Goddess. 

Kamnath Mahadev Temple 

It is said that, this was the place where Rathi Devi wife of Manmatha also known as Kamadev did severe penance to get back the life to her husband. Earlier Manmatha who had disturbed Lord Shiva from his penance became a victim to his wrath and got converted into ashes. Pleased with Rathi Devi’s prayers and penance, Lord Shiva blessed her husband life back without physical body and fulfilled her desire. Thenceforth, Lord Shiva at this place came to be known as Kamnath Mahadev. 

The Kamnath Mahadev temple, built about 200 years ago by a Mayurdhwaj King, is a renowned temple located in Somnath. There is a large temple complex with a holy pond and its water is said to have majestic healing powers. It is said that Mayurdhwaj King recovered from leprosy after taking bath in this place. There are idols of Adi Sankaracharya and Lord Nrusimha. Replica of Dwadasa Jyothirlingas is enshrined in this temple. Sankaracharya Mutt, Sharada Peeth is inside the temple complex. 

Somnath Beach 

Just behind the new Somnath temple is the Somnath beach with pleasant sands, extensive sea view, camel and pony rides. 

Sudhama Mandir or Porbandar 

Known in Puranas famously as Sudhamapuri, Porbandar is said to be the birthplace of Sudhama also known as Kuchela a contemporary fellow-student and an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Krishna. There is a fine temple dedicated to Sudhama at his birthplace. Sudhama and his devoted wife Susheeladevi are worshipped here. One can find fine coloured paintings of Sudhama and Sri Krishna depicted on the walls of the temple. There are small temples of other devotees including Lord Hanuman around the temple complex. To the left of Sudhama temple, there is a large quadrangle where hundreds of pigeons feed on grains provided by devotees. The city bus-stand is just opposite to the temple gate where one can find number of vehicles readily available for conveyance. 

Keerthi Mandir (Birth place of Mahatma Gandhi) 

About half kilometer away from Sudhama Mandir, is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi the architect of Indian Freedom. His ancestral house is preserved and the place of birth is marked out. Portraits of his parents can be seen on the wall. It is a three floored building with 22 rooms. Adjacent to the house, there is Keerthi Mandir, a monument to the Father of the Nation, where several photographs showing various important events in his life are exhibited. Behind the house of Mahatma Gandhi there lies the parental house of Kasturba Gandhi, wife of M.K. Gandhi where she was born, bought up and lived till her marriage with Mahatma Gandhi. 

EXCURSIONS AROUND SOMNATH 

Gir National Park & Wildlife Sanctuary: 

The Gir National Park and wild life Sanctuary one of the most important wild life preserves of India is situated in Junagadh district of Gujarat State about 45 km away from Somnath. Also known as Sasan–Gir, spread over an area of 1412 sq. km is the last home of the Asiatic Lions. This sanctuary was set up to protect the lions where it is said that one can find at present more than 300 lions. It is closed for visitors on Wednesday. 

Diu Island 

The island of Diu has chaptered history having been under the possession of and ruled by many Kings and Dynasties dating back to pouranic period. Lastly it was under the rule of Portuguese from whom it was liberated along with Goa and Daman in the year 1961. It is believed and said that Pandavas had spent some time in this island during their exile in forests. It is about 95 km from Somnath. 

Location

The holy place Prabhasa also known as Somnath is situated between 20.53’N latitude and 70.24’E longitude on the south west coast of India in the Sourashtra province of Gujarat State, on the shores of Arabian Sea. Port town of Veeraval is only 2 km away from Somnath.

Languages spoken: Gujarati, Hindi, and English

How to reach Somnath?

By Train

Somnath is not directly connected by rail. Nearest railway station is Veeraval which is 7 km away from Somnath temple town. Veeraval coming under Western Railway is well connected by Train to Ahmadabad and some other cities of Gujarat State.

By Road

Somnath is well connected by road with all major towns and cities of Gujarat. State Road Transport Corporation and private buses operate from Somnath as well as Veraval.

Distances from Somnath

Veraval (Port Town) – 2 km, Veraval Railway Station – 7 km
Gir-Wild Life Sanctuary – 45 km
Diu Island (Union Territory) – 95 km
Junagadh (District HQ) – 90 km
Rajkot – 195 km
Porbandar – 130 km
Dwarka – 230 km
Ahmadabad – 432 km
Baroda – 532 km

By Air

Nearest airport to Somnath is at Keshod at a distance of 55 km. Other nearest airport is at Diu 95 km from Somnath connecting with Mumbai.

Local Sight Seeing

For local sight seeing and for visiting places around Somnath Auto rickshaws are available. They charge between Rs.150 to 200 and cover six important places and it takes about couple of hours to complete.

Accommodation at Somnath

In the temple town of Somnath there is limited option for good hotels that provide lodging and boarding facilities. One can also get accommodation in the Port town of Veraval and on the way to Veraval. There are guest houses and Dharmashalas at Somnath for pilgrims to stay. Somnath temple trust is providing guest house facility at Somnath where one can get moderate to good accommodation. Dormitory facilities are also available. Contact number for accommodation at Somnath Trust Guest House is 02876 – 231212.

Temple Timings

Timing for Darshan at Somnath Temple: 6.00 am to 9.00 pm
Timing for Aarathi: 7.00 am, 12.00 Noon and 7.00 pm
Jay Somnath (Sound and Light Show): 7.45 pm to 8.45 pm

Contact Details

General Manager
Shree Somnath Trust
Prabhas Pattan -382 268
Junagadh District (Gujarat State)
Telephone #+91-2876 -231200
Fax No: +91-2876-232694

For more details please refer to
Official website: www.somanth.org

Writer: Bhargava Sarma

Thulasi in brief:

Thulasi the divine plant is a house hold name among Hindus regarded as the ultimate symbol of purity. Thulasi is a Sanskrit word literally means the one that has no equals, the one which has no comparison, matchless, and the one whose merits are invaluable. Thulasi is considered as very sacred and divine plant that has both physical and spiritually healing properties. It is worshipped as a Deity in Hindu religion since time immemorial. In olden days presence of Thulasi in a house was considered as a symbol of religious and spiritual bent of that family.

Thulasi in Legends and Mythology :

Glory of Thulasi is mentioned in several Puranas like Padma Purana, Brahma Vaivartha Purana, Skandha Purana, Garuda Purana, Kartheeka Purana and Vishnu Dharmottara Purana etc… As per Padma Purana it is said that Thulasi came out from the joyous tears of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu that fell on the Divine Nectar (Amrutha) that emerged out during Ksheera Sagara Madhanam.

As per the popular legend, Thulasi also known as Brinda was the daughter of King Dharmadhwaja, married to Jalandhara the demon king dwelling on the ocean. Jalandhara was said to have born out of the fierce energy released from the eyes of Lord Shiva that fell into the ocean (Jala). Hence, he was named as Jalandhara. By virtue of his severe austerities Jalandhara had received boon from Lord Vishnu that he would be invincible as long as his wife is chaste and virtuous. In turn Brinda the wife of Jalandhara was a great devotee of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu and was known for her virtues and chastity. This has added further strength to Jalandhara who took advantage of his invincibility and started harassing virtue people and Deities and committing atrocities against them. Even Lord Shiva could not defeat him.

Ultimately Lord Sri Maha Vishnu in order to eliminate Jalandhara and to save the Deities and Virtuous from the atrocities of Jalandhara had to play a trick. He comes to Brinda in the guise of her husband Jalandhara when he was away in the battle field and spends time with her intimately. Due to this action Brinda loses her chastity and incidentally Jalandhara loses his invincibility and gets killed by Lord Shiva. Hearing the death of her husband, Brinda realises the trick played on her and Curses Lord Maha Vishnu to become a stone and commits her self Sati. Admiring her virtues and devotion, Lord Vishnu blessed her with immortality and made her adorable universally. Same Brinda became the immortal Thulasi the divine plant, a symbol of purity and dear to Lord Vishnu adorning him always. Lord Vishnu by virtue of the curse given by Brinda took the form of a stone called Salagrama Sila in the river Gandaki which is considered as very sacred and celestial and worshipped as a symbol of Lord Vishnu.

Religious and Spiritual significance:

Entire Thulasi plant, leaves, flowers, stems, roots, seeds and even the Mrittika (clay of Thulasi roots) are all full of religious, spiritual and medicinal significance. Thulasi is also called with alternate names viz. Viswavandhya, Brunda, Pushparasa, Krishna Jeevani, Nandini, Viswapavani, Viswapoojitha, and Brundavani. It is called as Sri Lakshmi Swaroopam symbolizing Goddess Lakshmi and beloved to Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. It is said that where Thulasi is, there Lord Vishnu resides and such place is considered as a Theertha (sacred place).

It is not just a sacred plant to be worshipped. It is considered as an incarnation of Goddess Herself and is called as Thulasi Devi. Following sloka indicates the spiritual significance of Thulasi.

                                         “Yanmoole Sarva Teerthani Yanmadhye Sarva Devata

                                          Yadagre Sarva Vedascha Tulasee Tvaam Namamyaham”

That means all the sacred Theerthas reside in the roots, all the Deities reside in the middle, and all the Vedas occupy the top portion, the tip of the Thulasi plant and I am offering my obeisance and salutations to such sacred plant.

It is further said that the Trinal Lords Brahma resides in the apex of Thulasi, Vishnu in the middle and Shiva in its roots and Asta Dighpalakas in its branches. It is believed that Goddess Gayathri, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, and Sachi Devi always reside in Thulasi’s flowering springs.

Thulasi is compulsory and a must in the worship of Lord Vishnu who gets very much pleased when He is worshipped with Thulasi. In Vaishnava sampradaya Thulasi is extensively used and no religious ceremony or ritual is complete without Thulasi. Worship of Lord Maha Vishnu is incomplete without adding Thulasi leaves. We find Lord Vishnu always adorned with Thulasi garland. Thulasi is a must in any religious ceremony including performing sacred rites to fore fathers. Dried Thulasi stems are also used while performing Homas.

As per Brahma Vaivartha Purana it is said that as soon as one gets up from the bed one should have the darshan of Thulasi plant which is equivalent to having darshan of all the sacred Theerthas in three worlds and also equivalent to having darshan of Lord Sri Lakshmi Narayana. One will get absolved from sins with the darshan and pradakshina of Thulasi plant. We find people worshipping Thulasi with the following sloka as soon as they get up from the bed.

                                           “NamasThulasi Kalyani Namoh VishnuPriye Subhe

                                            Namo MokshaPradhe Devi Namah Sampathpradayine”

Even growing, touching, watering, transplanting and fostering of Thulasi plant is said to be highly auspicious and meritorious. Lord Sri Maha Vishnu always resides where there is Thulasi, Lotus and Salagrama. It is believed that one who worships Lord Vishnu with Thulasi will not take rebirth and will attain salvation. Worshipping Lord Vishnu with Thulasi leaves helps one in getting cured of incurable diseases.

Sacred water (Theertha) given in temples by the priests is called Thulasi theertham. It is a tradition and belief that we find people giving Thulasi Theertham to the dying person in the last stages with a belief that the soul would go to Heaven. We also find people adding Thulasi branches to the funeral pyre with a belief to provide sanctity and spirituality to the departed soul. One who dies in the vicinity of Thulasi will not go to Naraka Loka. It is said that even Yama Doothas (messengers of Lord Yama) will not dare to enter the house where Thulasi is present and worshipped. Even performing sacred rites to forefathers in the shade of Thulasi plant is considered to be very sacred and meritorious.

One who lites a lamp near Thulasi regularly during Sandhya kala (Sunrise & Sunset) will have Vaikunta Prapthi. Lighting lamps with dried stems of Thulasi dipped in oil/ghee is highly meritorious. It is said that worshipping Thulasi is equivalent to taking bath in sacred river Ganges and one will get Ganga Snana Phala. Taking bath in Ganges River, having darshan of Narmada River and worshipping Thulasi are all equal in merits.

In olden days and even to day in traditional Hindu families we find women praying and circambulating the Thulasi plant, pouring water daily in the morning and evening for the welfare and well being of her husband and family.

While Thulasi is used in the worship of both Lord Vishnu as well as Lord Shiva, one exception we find is that it is not prescribed in the worship of Lord Ganapathi except on the day of Vinayaka Chaturthi.

Thulasi is a sattvik plant and it is said that by using Thulasi one will improve his Sattvik nature. We find people wearing Thulasi Mala a chain made out of Thulasi beads around their neck while performing Japa and also during divine worship as a protection from getting negative thoughts and evil influences.

While Thulasi as such can be given as charity, adding it to any other charity will enhance the merits of such charity.

Medicinal Value of Thulasi:

Thulasi plant in its entirety is extensively used in Ayurveda in curing various diseases like allergy, skin infections, cold, cough and respiratory infections, heart diseases, stomach disorders, sore throat, ear ache, mouth infections, fever, head ache, sleeplessness.

It is said to be very effective in viral infections and malaria. In fact it is suggested as a good remedy for Swine Flu. It is said that Thulasi is very effective for controlling the Diabetes, kidney related disorders like kidney stones. Thulasi decoction is also used as herbal tea.

Usage of Thulasi also helps in improving memory power. It is considered as a very good Anti-Oxidant that prevents accumulation of bad cholesterol and fights with free radicals in the body. Thulasi is believed to be an antidote to Snake venom and other insect bites.

Thulasi is used liberally in the manufacture of shampoos preventing dandruff, soaps and other beauty care products. Among various varieties of Thulasi, Krishna Thulasi is considered to be full of medicinal value. Karpoora Thulasi is used in the manufacture of herbal toiletry products.

Like an Elephant, Thulasi plant is valuable both during and after its life time. Thulasi acts as an anti bacterial, anti septic, anti fungal, anti viral, anti allergic and is considered as an immuno stimulant. Considered as the Queen of herbs it is said that where Thulasi is, there welfare (Health) is.

Thulasi and Environment :

Thulasi plant and its leaves with its unique and strong fragrance is said to cleanse the environment and provide a healthy and peaceful atmosphere. It is said that Thulasi plant always releases oxygen into the atmosphere. It is considered to be effective to sleep in the sacred and healthy ambience of Thulasi plant. It is believed that the presence of Thulasi will ward off the evil spirits from entering the house. During an Eclipse we find people placing Thulasi leaves in the stored water and food to prevent the food and water from getting contaminated due to the pollution caused by the Eclipse. In view of its potential properties to cleanse the atmosphere Thulasi is liberally grown in industrial areas for prevention of pollution. Fumigation with the dried Thulasi plant repels insects.

Thulasi – Dos and Don’ts

Plucking of Thulasi is prohibited on the days of Dwadasi, Sravana star, Pournami, Amavasya, Tuesday, Friday, during afternoon, evening, night, during mourning days, days of Jataasoucham (birth time) and on the days of Sun Transit (Sankramana). Generally during mourning days it is said that one should not go nearer to Thulasi plant. In such cases where Thulasi is required to be used for worshiping on those specific days, it should be plucked on the previous day. Thulasi has so much of purity and sanctity that plucked Thulasi leaves can be used for pooja even if they become dry. Only thing is, ensure that the leaves have not become rotten.

Thulasi is a sacred plant and hence its surroundings also should be kept clean always. They should be plucked only in the day time in the early hours. While plucking Thulasi leaves it should be ensured that it is plucked in pairs as a combination of four leaves called Thulasi Dala. Single leaves should not be plucked. Thulasi Dalas should be plucked after taking bath and with the right hand. They should not be plucked with nails. They should be plucked with fingers by using index finger and thumb. At the time of plucking Thulasi leaves the following sloka should be recited.

                                            ”Thulasi Amrutha Janmani Sadatwaam Kesavapriye

                                             Kesavaartham lunaami thwam Varada bhava shobane”

That means Oh’ Thulasi one who is born out of the sacred Nectar in the ocean of milk, the one who is dear to Sri Maha Vishnu, I am plucking your leaves for the sake of worshipping Lord Sri ManNarayana and I am offering my salutations to you. While women can always worship Thulasi they are prohibited from plucking Thulasi leaves. It is said that generation of Rajo/Tamo frequencies in women are high compared to men that will reduce the Sattvik quality of Thulasi. It is believed to be so pure that, slightest pollution can cause destruction to Thulasi plant. One should approach and touch a Thulasi plant only when one is physically and spiritually clean. Therefore, women are not supposed to touch the Thulasi plant while they are menstruating. Another reason that we find is that women are forbidden from the study of Vedic scripts and Thulasi being a symbol of Vedas (Goddess Gayathri resides in Thulasi) its leaves cannot be plucked by women. They are only entitled to worship and perform pooja. Perhaps these are some of the spiritual reasons and there may be other reasons also.

Thulasi Festival:

Kartheeka Sukla Dwadasi also known as Uttana Dwadasi is celebrated as a festival of Goddess Thulasi when Thulasi plant is symbolically married to a Salagrama Shila (Lord Vishnu) called Thulasi Damodara Vivaha with all grandeur. On this day while worshipping we find people keeping a branch of Amla tree (Amalakki) besides the Thulasi plant. This day also marks the end of Chaturmasam the day on which Lord Sri Maha Vishnu gets up from His Yoganidra. If that day is missed out it is generally celebrated on the Full Moon day, Kartheeka Pournami.

Types of Thulasi:

There are many varieties of Thulasi viz. Krishna Thulasi, Rama Thulasi, Lakshmi Thulasi, Vana Thulasi, Karpoora Thulasi, Rudrajada Thulasi, etc… Krishna Thulasi is sacred for pooja and worshipping while Rama Thulasi that is green in colour is suitable for offering to Sri Maha Vishnu. Thulasi is not a seasonal plant it is a perennial plant whose flowers are available throughout the year. Generally Thulasi plant will be in green or light red colour and emanates pleasant fragrance, astringent in taste and grows up to 100 cm height. We find generally Thulasi as an indoor plant which also grows extensively in forests and we find people growing Thulasi as a garden. Botanical name of Thulasi is Oscimum Sanctum and is known as Holy Basil in English. Even in this botanical name we find sanctity in the word Sanctum.

Perhaps it may not be an exaggeration that no Hindu house would be without a Thulasi plant in their courtyard. We find people constructing a small structure around Thulasi plant called Thulasi Brindavana. The name Thulasi is so popular that we find Hindus even baptize their children with Thulasi. It is spelled as Tulsi or Tulasi or Thulasi. The great saint and composer who scripted the Thulasi Ramayana (Sri Rama Charitha Manas) had his name as Tulsidas. Thulasi Manasa Mandir is a famous place to visit in Benares.

Thulasi, the perennial symbol of Hindu philosophy, tradition, culture and heritage is a Nature’s gift to the mankind that is associated with man’s day to day life. It is referred to as Kalpa Vruksha of Bhoo Loka. Blessed are those hands who pluck Thulasi Dalas for the pooja and worship of Lord Vishnu. For those who have fallen in the midst of this materialistic world Thulasi seva is durlabha. Praseeda ThulasiDevi, Praseeda HariVallabhe Ksheerodha Madanodbhuthe Thulasithwaam Namamyaham

Writer: Bharagava Sarma

Watch Thulasi Puja video from Thyagayya (1946) Sung by Telugu/Kannda actress Gubbi Jayamma. 

Watch Thulasi Puja video from  Guna Sundari Katha (1949) Sung by  P.Leela for actress Junior Sriranjani 

Janmaashtami is a very popular Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna the most revered God in this Universe. It is celebrated with all gaiety and religious fervor across the country by one and all irrespective of the caste and creed. As per Hindu lunar calendar it occurs during the auspicious month of Sravana Masam on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight. It is also known as Sri Krishna Jayanthi, Gokulaashtami and Janmaashtami. 

Sri Krishnaavathara took place during the sandhi kala (transit time) in Dwapara Yuga in the 28th Maha Yuga of Vaivaswatha Manvanthara. Lord Sri Krishna considered as the Paripoorna Avathara of Lord Sri ManNarayana, took birth in Chandra Vamsam in Yadu dynasty in the clan of Vrushni. He was born to the noble couple Vasudeva and his consort Devaki Devi as their eighth child. Devaki and Vasudeva in their previous birth had performed severe penance for several thousands of years to have Lord Sri Maha Vishnu as their child for three lives. As a result, Lord Sri ManNarayana took birth as Prusnigarbha in Krutha Yuga to the Divine couple Prusni and Suthapa, as Lord Vamana to the Divine Sage couple Kashyapa and Aditi in Vaamana Avathara and thirdly as Lord Sri Krishna to Devaki and Vasudeva in Sri Krishnaavathara thus, fulfilling the boon given to them. Sri Krishna was born in the prison of his maternal uncle Kamsa and soon after birth He was moved to Gokula by his father Vasudeva carrying him on his head. Before taking birth, He gave darshan to His parents in his original form of Lord Sri ManNarayana and reminding of their lineage and the boon given to them.

Since He was born in Yadu dynasty His clan came to be known as Yaadavas. Being the son of Vasudeva, He is also known as Vaasudeva and Sri Krishna says in Bhagawadgeeta that He is Vaasudeva among the Yadavas. Though born to Devaki and Vasudeva, His foster parents were Nanda and Yashoda and Sri Krishna was brought up in Gokul near Brindavan. Nanda was one of the Ashta Vasus (Drona) in his previous birth and his wife Yashoda was Dhara in her previous birth.

Significance of the word Krishna

Though Sri Krishna was called by several other names like Kesava, Govinda and Damodara etc… He was and is very popular as Krishna. It is said that the name Krishna was suggested by Sage Garga who had earlier meditated on this name before Sri Krishna’s birth. We find Lord Sri Krishna’s name as a last one in 24 Kesava Namas – Sri Krishnaya Namaha. We find reference to the word Krishna in sloka # 7 of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram (Agraahyah shaashvathah Krishna lohitaakshah pratardanah). The word Krishna is actually pronounced as Krushna or Krshna meaning dark in colour or all attractive. In the word Krushna, Krush refers to everlasting (Saaswatha) and Na refers to Sath swaroopa. Krushna means Sat-Chit-Ananda, complete and blissful happiness. Karshatheethi Krushnah, meaning one, who has the character, capacity and capability of attracting others with his beautiful, charming, delightful, every smiling and fascinating figure. Krishnasthu Swayam Bhagavan – Lord Sri Krishna on several occasions had revealed that He is the Paramatma, the ultimate reality.

Lord Sri Krishna the slayer of all demons, the remover of all obstacles and sole guardian of his countless devotees, guiding them towards salvation by washing away all their accumulated sins. Main purpose of His Avathara was Dusta Sikshana and Sishta Rakshana and to uplift the Dharma. Right from the infant stage Lord Sri Krishna started eliminating the Demonic forces to begin with Poothana. Sri Madbhagavatham considered as the King of all Puranas covers exclusively about Lord Sri Krishna in the10th Canto. Lord Sri Krishna physically lived on this Earth for 125 + years before His niryana took place at Prabhasa Kshethra near Somanath in Gujarat.

Astrological significance

As per astrological estimates it is said that Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 19th day of July 3228 BC about 5200 years ago at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on the banks of holy river Yamuna. He was born at midnight (00.00 hrs) in the constellation of Rohini (4th charana) in Vrushabha Raasi (Taurus) and it was Ashtami thithi in Bahula Paksha (dark fortnight) as per the lunar calendar. Moon gets exalted in Vrushabha Raasi and is the star Lord for Rohini constellation. Sri Krishna was born in Chandra Vamsam and Moon God is said to be the Paramatma amsa of Lord Sri Krishna. Astrologically Rohini star is considered as a Shanti Nakshatra and the native will have Balaarishta Dosha. Accordingly Lord Sri Krishna had threat to His life till 12th year, during which time He killed several demons. The star Rohini is also considered as malefic to the maternal uncle and accordingly Kamsa the maternal uncle of Lord Sri Krishna got killed at His hands.

Sri Krishna and # 8

Number eight has lot of association with Lord Sri Krishna. He was born as the 8th child of his parents, as the 8th Avathara of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu among the Dasaavatharas, born on the 8th Lunar day Ashtami, and had eight Prime Queens known as Ashta Mahishis. The presiding deity of Ashtami thithi is Lord Shiva and Lord Sri Krishna says in Bhagavat Geeta that He is Shankara among the Ekadasa Rudras. Vaasudeva also means the Lord of Vasus (Ashta Vasus) and Sri Krishna says in Bhagawadgeeta that He is Pavaka among the Ashta Vasus. Sri Krishna further says in Bhagawadgeeta that He is Meru Parvatha (mountain) among the eight great mountains.

Temples of Lord Sri Krishna

There are several temples of Lord Sri Krishna in India and abroad. Among them, some of the very prominent temples are located at Mathura, Brindavan, Dwaraka, Bhet Dwaraka, Dakor (Gujarat), Udupi, Guruvayur, Tiruchanoor (Tirupathi), Puri (Orissa), Nathdwara near Udaipur and Triplicane (Chennai). At Udupi Sri Krishna temple, the idol of Sri Krishna was installed and worshipped by Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of Dvaita Philosophy.

Sri Krishnaavathara has gained unique prominence and significance among the several avatharas of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. It is a Paripoorna Leela Maanusha Avathara. Sri Krishna was and is a towering and multifaceted personality in Hindu philosophy and Epics ever to remain as a role model. His preachings through Bhagawadgeeta is a Divine gift to the mankind which is accepted across the world as a Universal Bible. The story of Lord Sri Krishna never ends. Our capacity to describe him is limited and when our limit is reached we abandon it half way. Worship of Lord Sri Krishna was prevalent right from His avathara days. Best examples are Akrura, Vidura, Kunti Devi, Sudhama (Kuchela), Rukmani Devi etc… It is our ardent duty and highly auspicious to worship Lord Sri Krishna on the day of Janmaashtami and seek the blessing of the Supreme Lord.

Namo Brahmanya Devaaya Gho Braahmana hitaayacha
Jagaddhitaaya krsnaaya Govindaaya namo namaha

Writer: Bhargava Sarama.

Check:http://bhargavasarma.blogspot.com for more valuable articles and information

Worship of a mother Goddess has been part of the Indian tradition since its earliest times. Lakshmi is one of the mother goddesses and is addressed as “mata” (mother) instead of just “devi” (goddess). Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck and wealth to Hindus. The word ‘Lakshmi’ is derived from the Sanskrit word “Lakshya”, meaning ‘aim’ or ‘goal’, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual.

Lakshmi is the household Goddess of  many  Hindu families and a favorite among women. Although she is worshipped daily, the festive month of  Shravana Masam is considered as special month for worshiping Lakshmi. Lakshmi is depicted as a beautiful woman of golden complexion, with four hands, sitting or standing on a full-bloomed lotus and holding a lotus bud, which stands for beauty, purity and fertility. Her four hands represent the four ends of human life: Dharma or righteousness, “Kama” or desires, “Artha” or wealth, and “Moksha” or liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Cascades of gold coins are shown flowing from her hands, suggesting that those who worship her gain wealth. She is always shown wearing gold embroidered red clothes. Red symbolizes activity and the golden lining indicates prosperity. Lakshmi is the active energy of Lord Maha Vishnu and also appears as part of Lakshmi-Narayana – Lakshmi accompanying Vishnu. Two elephants are often shown standing next to the Goddess and spraying water. This denotes that ceaseless effort, in accordance with one’s dharma , governed by wisdom and purity, leads to both material and spiritual prosperity.

The importance attached to the presence of Lakshmi in every household makes her an essentially domestic deity. Householders worship Lakshmi for the well being and prosperity of the family. Businessmen and women also regard her in the same way and offer her daily prayers.

On the full moon night following Dusshehra and Durga Puja, Hindus worship Lakshmi ceremonially at home, pray for her blessings, and invite neighbors to attend the puja. It is believed that on this full moon night the goddess herself visits the homes and replenishes the inhabitants with wealth. A special worship is also offered to Lakshmi on the auspicious Deepavali night

Language: Kannada

Raagam: Shree

22 Kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S
Av: S N2 P D2 N2 P M1 R2 G2 R2 S

OR

Madhyamavati

22 Kharaharapriya janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N2 S
Av: S N2 P M1 R2 S

TaaLam: Aadi

Pallavi

BhAgyada lakShmI bArammA nammamma nI sau
(bhAgyada)

CharaNam 1

hejjaya mele hhejjeyanikkuta gejje kAlgaLa dhvaniya tOruta
sajjana sAdhu pUjeya vELege majjigeyoLagina beNNeyante
(bhAgyada)

CharaNam 2

kanaka vrStiya kareyuta bAre mana kAmanaya siddhiya tOrE
dinakara kOTi tEjadi hoLeva janakarAyana kumAri vEdha
(bhAgyada)

Charandam 3

attittalagalade bhaktara maneyali nitya mahOtsava nitya sumangaLa
satyava tOruva sAdhu sajjanara cittadi hoLevA puttaLi bombe
(bhAgyada)

CharaNam 4

sankhye illAda bhAgyava koTTu kankaNa kaiya tiruvuta bAre
kunkumAnkite pankaja lOcane venkaTaramaNana binkada rANI
(bhAgyada)

CharaNam 5

sakkare tuppada kAluve harisi shukravAradha pUjaya vELage
akkareyuLLa aLagiri rangana cokka purandara viThalana rANI
(bhAgyada)

Listen to Pt.Bhimsen Joshi, M.S.Subbulakshmi and A.P Komala sing Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma

In the year 1017 A.D., Ramanuja was born in the village of Perumbudur, about twenty-five miles west of Madras. His father was Kesava Somayaji and his mother was Kantimathi, a very pious and virtuous lady. Ramanuja’s Tamil name was Ilaya Perumal. Quite early in life, Ramanuja lost his father. Then he came to Kancheepuram to prosecute his study of the Vedas under one Yadavaprakasha, a teacher of Advaita philosophy.

Ramanuja was a very brilliant student. Yadavaprakasha’s interpretations of Vedic texts were not quite up to his satisfaction. Ramanuja pointed out many mistakes in the exposition of his master. Sometimes he gave his own interpretations which were much liked by all the co-students. This made Yadavaprakasha very jealous of Ramanuja.

Yadavaprakasha made a plan to take away the life of Ramanuja. He arranged for Ramanuja and his cousin Govinda Bhatta–a fellow student–a pilgrimage to Varanasi. Govinda Bhatta, being a favourite student of Yadavaprakasha, came to know of the latter’s plan while they were travelling. He at once apprised Ramanuja of the danger and helped him to escape. By the grace of God, Ramanuja escaped with the help of a hunter and his wife whom he accidentally met on the way.

About the end of the tenth century, the Visishtadvaita system of philosophy was well established in Southern India and the followers of this creed were in charge of important Vaishnavite temples at Kancheepuram, Srirangam, Tirupathi and other important places. The head of the important Vaishnavite institution was Yamunacharya, a great sage and profound scholar; and he was also the head of the Mutt at Srirangam. One of his disciples, by name Kanchipurna, was serving in the temple at Kancheepuram. Although a Sudra, Kanchipurna was so very pious and good that the people of the place had great respect and reverence for him. At present, there is a temple at Kancheepuram where Kanchipurna’s image has been installed and where he is worshipped as a saint.

Young Ramanuja came under Kanchipurna’s influence and had such reverence for him that he invited him to dinner in his house. Ramanuja’s intention was to attend on Kanchipurna and personally serve him at dinner and himself take meals afterwards. Unfortunately, Kanchipurna came to dinner when Ramanuja was not at home, and took his meals being served by Ramanuja’s wife. When Ramanuja returned home, he found the house washed and his wife bathing for having served meals to a Sudra. This irritated Ramanuja very much and turned him against his wife who was an orthodox lady of a different social ideal. After a few incidents of this nature, Ramanuja abandoned the life of a householder and became a Sannyasin.

About this time, Yamunacharya being very old was on the look-out for a young person of good ability and character to take his place as head of the Mutt at Srirangam. He had already heard of Ramanuja through his disciples and made up his mind to instal Ramanuja in his place. He now sent for Ramanuja. By the time Ramanuja reached Srirangam, Yamunacharya was dead; and Ramanuja saw his body being taken by his followers to the cremation ground outside the village. Ramanuja followed them to the cremation ground. There he was informed that Yamunacharya, before his death, had left instructions that he had three wishes which Ramanuja was to be requested to fulfil, viz., that a Visishtadvaita Bhashya should be written for the Brahma Sutras of Vyasa which hitherto had been taught orally to the disciples of the Visishtadvaita philosophy and that the names of Parasara, the author of Vishnu Purana, and saint Sadagopa should be perpetuated. Ramanuja was deeply touched, and in the cremation ground itself, before the dead body of Yamunacharya, he made a solemn promise that, God willing, he would fulfil all the three wishes of Yamunacharya. Ramanuja lived for 120 years, and in the course of his long life, fully redeemed his promise by fulfilling all the three wishes of Yamunacharya.

After the death of Yamuna, his disciples at Srirangam and other places wanted Ramanuja to take Yamuna’s place as the head of the Mutt at Srirangam. This was also the expressed wish of Yamuna. Accordingly, Ramanuja took his place and was duly installed with all the attendant ceremonies and celebrations as the head of the Visishtadvaita Mutt at Srirangam.

Ramanuja then proceeded to Thirukottiyur to take initiation from Nambi for Japa of the sacred Mantra of eight letters Om Namo Narayanaya. Somehow, Nambi was not willing to initiate Ramanuja easily. He made Ramanuja travel all the way from Srirangam to Madurai nearly eighteen times before he made up his mind to initiate him, and that too, only after exacting solemn promises of secrecy. Then Nambi duly initiated Ramanuja and said: “Ramanuja! Keep this Mantra a secret. This Mantra is a powerful one. Those who repeat this Mantra will attain salvation. Give it only to a worthy disciple previously tried”. But Ramanuja had a very large heart. He was extremely compassionate and his love for humanity was unbounded. He wanted that every man should enjoy the eternal bliss of Lord Narayana. He realised that the Mantra was very powerful. He immediately called all people, irrespective of caste and creed, to assemble before the temple. He stood on top of the tower above the front gate of the temple, and shouted out the sacred Mantra to all of them at the top of his voice. Nambi, his Guru, came to know of this. He became furious. Ramanuja said: “O my beloved Guru! Please prescribe a suitable punishment for my wrong action”. Ramanuja said: “I will gladly suffer the tortures of hell myself if millions of people could get salvation by hearing the Mantra through me”. Nambi was very much pleased with Ramanuja and found out that he had a very large heart full of compassion. He embraced Ramanuja and blessed him. Having thus equipped himself with the necessary qualifications, Ramanuja succeeded Yamuna.

By this time, Ramanuja’s fame had spread far and wide. He became a good controversialist. Then he wrote his commentary on the Brahma Sutras known as the Sri Bhashya. The Visishtadvaita system is an ancient one. It was expounded by Bodhayana in his Vritti, written about 400 B.C. It is the same as that expounded by Ramanuja; and Ramanuja followed Bodhayana in his interpretations of the Brahma Sutras. Ramanuja’s sect of Vaishnavas is called by the name Sri Sampradaya. Ramanuja wrote also three other books–Vedanta Sara (essence of Vedanta), Vedanta Sangraha (a resume of Vedanta) and Vedanta Deepa (the light of Vedanta).

Ramanuja travelled throughout the length and breadth of India to disseminate the path of devotion. He visited all the sacred places throughout India including Kashi, Kashmir and Badrinath. On his way back he visited the Tirupathi hills. There he found the Saivites and the Vaishnavites quarrelling with one another, one party contending that the image of the Lord in the Tirupathi hills was a Saivite one and the other party saying that it was a Vaishnavite one. Ramanuja proposed that they should leave it to the Lord Himself to decide the dispute. So they left the emblems of both Siva and Vishnu at the feet of the Lord, and after locking the door of the temple, both parties stayed outside on guard. In the morning, when they opened the doors, it was found that the image of the Lord was wearing the emblems of Vishnu, while the emblems of Siva were lying at its feet as left there the evening before. This decided that the temple was a Vaishnavite one and it has remained so ever since.

Ramanuja then visited all the Vaishnavite shrines in South India and finally reached Srirangam. Here he settled himself permanently and continued his labours of preaching the Visishtadvaita philosophy and writing books. Thousands of people flocked to him everyday to hear his lectures. He cleansed the temples, settled the rituals to be observed in them, and rectified many social evils which had crept into the community. He had a congregation of 700 Sannyasins, 74 dignitaries who held special offices of ministry, and thousands of holy men and women, who revered him as God. He converted lakhs of people to the path of Bhakti. He gave initiation even to washermen. He was now seventy years old, but was destined to live many more years, establish more Mutts, construct more temples and convert many more thousands of people.

The Chola king about this time was Kulothunga I and he was a staunch Saivite. He ordered Ramanuja to subscribe to his faith in Siva and acknowledge Siva as the Supreme Lord.

Two of the disciples of Ramanuja, Kuresa and Mahapurna, donned the orange robes of Sannyasins and visited the court of Kulothunga I in place of Ramanuja. They argued there for the superiority of Vishnu. The monarch refused to hear them and had their eyes put out.

The two unfortunate people started for Srirangam–their native place. Mahapurna was a very old man, and unable to bear the pain, died on the way. Kuresa alone returned to Srirangam.

Meanwhile, Ramanuja, with a few followers, by rapid marches through day and night, reached the foot-hills of the Western Ghats, about forty miles west of Mysore. There, after great difficulties, he established himself and spent some years in preaching and converting people to the Visishtadvaita philosophy.

The king of the place was Bhatti Deva of the Hoysala dynasty. The Raja’s daughter was possessed of some devil and nobody was able to cure her. Ramanuja succeeded in exorcizing the devil and the princess was restored to her former health. The king was very much pleased with Ramanuja and readily became his disciple and he was converted by Ramanuja into a Vaishnavite. Thereafter Ramanuja firmly established himself in the Mysore king’s dominions, constructed a temple at Melkote, and created a strong Vaishnavite community there. The Pariahs or depressed classes (now called Harijans) of the place were of great service to Ramanuja; and Ramanuja gave them the right of entry inside the temple which he constructed at Melkote–on some fixed days and with some limited privileges–which they enjoy to this day.

Ramanuja constructed a few more Vishnu temples in and about Mysore, set up a strong Vaishnavite community and put them in charge of his disciples to continue his work and spread the Visishtadvaita philosophy and Vishnu worship throughout the king’s dominions. Thus he continued his labours here for nearly twenty years and his followers numbered several thousands.

Meanwhile, Kulothunga Chola 1, who persecuted Ramanuja, died. The followers of Ramanuja immediately communicated the news to Ramanuja and requested him to come back to Srirangam. Ramanuja himself longed to go back to his followers in Srirangam and worship in the temple there. But his new disciples and followers at Melkote and other places in Mysore would not let him go. So he constructed a temple for himself, installed therein his own image for worship by his disciples and followers, and left the place for Srirangam. He was welcomed by his friends and disciples at Srirangam. The successor to Kulothunga Chola I was a pro-Vaishnavite and Ramanuja was left undisturbed. Ramanuja continued his labours for thirty years more and closed his long active career after attaining the remarkable age of 120 years.

Ramanuja was the exponent of the Visishtadvaita philosophy or qualified non-dualism. Ramanuja’s Brahman is Sa-visesha Brahman, i.e., Brahman with attributes. According to Ramanuja’s teachings, Lord Narayana or Bhagavan is the Supreme Being; the individual soul is Chit; matter is Achit. Ramanuja regards the attributes as real and permanent, but subject to the control of Brahman. The attributes are called Prakaras or modes. Lord Narayana is the Ruler and Lord of the universe. The Jiva is His servant and worshipper. The Jiva should completely surrender himself to the Lord. The oneness of God is quite consistent with the existence of attributes, as the attributes or Shaktis depend upon God for their existence.

Shri Lalita sahasranama is a sacred Hindu text for the worshippers of the Goddess Lalita Devi, i.e. the Divine Mother, Shakti, the consort of Lord Shiva. Lalita is the Goddess of bliss, an epithet for Parvati. Etymologically “Lalita” means “She Who Plays”. All the thousand names are organised as in a hymn, i.e. in the way of stotras. This hymn occurs in the Brahmanda Purana. It is a dialogue between Hayagriva, a minor incarnation (avatara) of Vishnu and the great sage Agastya. The Lalita Sahasranama is held as a sacred text for the worship of the Divine Mother, Lalita and is also used in the worship of Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Bhagavathi, etc.. It is a principal text of Shakti worshippers. Lalita Sahasranama names the various attributes of the Divine Mother, and all these names are organised in the form of a hymn. This Sahasranama is used in various modes for the worship of the Divine Mother. Some of the modes of worship are parayana (Recitations), archana, homa etc. usually, in a sahasranama, if the same name repeats, the commentators use their scholarship and inspiration to give different meanings to different occurrences of the same name. Lalita sahasranma has the unique distinction, among all the sahasranamas, of not repeating even a single name. Further, in order to maintain the metre, sahasranamas use the artifice of adding words like tu, api, ca, and hi, which are only conjunctions not necessarily needed for the meaning except in rare cases of interpretation. Lalita sahasranama has again the unique distinction of not having even a single such innocuous word in its texture.

In this materialistic world, with an intention to create a mind devoted to mankind, sincere love, unity and by thus to God and avoid hatred and animosity towards our enemies, chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasra Namam, a Sanskrit namavali from the ancient Brahmanda Purana, forms an integral part. It is natural that, we mankind has to face many obstacles and set backs in our life. However, it is our will to conquer them makes us successful in our endeavours. We should have the Belief, Confidence and Determination to try for this. Some cases these qualities are in-born. But for many these are developed. A useful and beneficial method to develop this is by seeking solace in God by chanting prayers knowing their meanings. It will give the most advantageous benefits if one chants keerthans and namavalis with their meanings in mind. He/She will be able to express more and get closer to God.This is the most favoured form of prayer to Goddess Lalithambika and it is also very secret and powerful than any other forms of Tantra or Mantra. Regular chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasranama is as beneficial as visiting religious places, taking bath in a holy river, offering food, offering materials. It is an indirect blessing to those who cannot do these kind of offerings to God.

Regular chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasranama will ward off the evil from uncompleted pooja vidhis or rituals etc. It will also form a way of penance. Regular chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasranama will ward off premature death, will provide a long and contended healthy life. Fever can be cured by religiously chanting Sree Lalitha Sahasranamam by touching on a persons forehead. The number of times you chant the more benefit you are likely to get. The vibhuti used for Sree Lalitha Sahasranama archana can be applied then on the forehead, which will give much relief to fever and headache. It is said that if one chants religiously Sree Lalitha Sahasra Namam keeping a glass of water (or in a vessel) in front and then pours it over the head, all sorts of troubles related to once planetary positions and from evil spirits will be warded off. It is said that if a person chants Sree Lalitha Sahasranama keeping in mind a picture of Sree Lalitha Devi situated in the divine ocean which contains `Amrut’ , he will be cured from any kind of disease related to poison. It is said that if a person consumes ghee, which is kept while chanting Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam, he will be cured of impotency and will have children.

Regular chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam will ward off any kind of evil deeds or rituals (black magic) aimed at the person who chants the namam. The power derived from the chanting supersedes all other forms of prayers and the person will no more require to consult astrologers or any sorts of occultists. He will have tremendous self confidence in himself. Through the regular chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam, the atmosphere will be purified. Each nerve in our body will be invigorated and subtle energies will be awakened in the person. Sree Lalitha Devi will protect a person who regularly chants Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam from accidents and from the attacks of enemy and will make him victorious in all his good deeds. Regular chanting of Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam will make a person blessed with word power, fame, good will etc. Particular importance should be given to chant Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam on Friday’s which is very auspicious for the blessing of Devi.

Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam is the form of prayer that any one and every one can chant at any time and every time. It does not matter if one could not complete it. Because each of the namam in itself is powerful and will provide all sorts of benefits. It depends on what you wish and how you go about it. It is said that chanting the name of Lord Siva once is as good as chanting the name of Mahavishnu a thousand times. And chanting the name of Devi once is as good as chanting the name of Siva, a thousand times. And of which Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam is the most important one to Sree Lalitha Devi herself. It is very beneficial if all members of the family unite and chants Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam once in a day in the evening or whenever time permits. A family that prays together stays together. It will bring about unity, peacefulness, clear mind to perform and by thus prosperity. In homes where Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam is chanted regularly there will never be any shortage of the basic necessities of life. This is the reason why the ancient Gurus would instruct their desciples to chant Sree Lalitha Sahasra namam even after initiating them into the mantras of other deities such as Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and other Gods and Goddesses.

Osho – who was a widely followed Indian guru from the 60s-80s – brings up some very interesting and insightful points about the differences between Western psychology and Eastern spirituality’s approach to changing man. Osho correctly states that Western psychology’s aim is to fortify the individual’s ego so that he may become less neurotic, slightly happier and ultimately function ‘better’ in society. He says that in the East, the goal is instead to dissolve the ego rather than strengthen it.

It could be said that the neurosis of Western man stems from a life-long repression of almost every natural desire and instinct that we have as a human animal. This is a result of our society’s many taboos and laws which punish us for thinking or acting outside a certain archetype of a normal, healthy person that has been created for us. The result is that we are at war with ourselves, as we constantly have to police our thoughts and behaviour and those of others around us. This is where psychology comes in, to iron out any tensions that we may have so that we can come out the other side with a stronger ego – to transform from a lower case, italicized i, to a capitalized, bold I.

Osho’s problem with psychology is that it is too concentrated with analysis and not at all with synthesis – it is focused on picking apart, analyzing, and making one a better individual, rather than putting together and making one whole and connected with everything. You could say that the body, mind, and spirit are a house and Western man is trapped inside it. Osho believes that the locked door is the ego, the key is meditation, and that outside is liberation from the self, spiritual freedom and self realization (enlightenment). Osho compares this losing of the ego and becoming enlightened to being a rain drop that falls into the ocean – both become simply water, there is no separation. Below is a transcription of Osho’s talk.

I don’t give much value to Freud, Jung, Adler, or Assagioli. Freud, Jung, Adler and others, are just children playing on the sand of time. They have gathered beautiful pebbles, beautiful colored stones but when you look at the ultimate, they are just children playing with pebbles and stones. Those stones are not real diamonds. And whatsoever they have gained is very, very primitive. You will have to go slowly with me to understand.

Man can be physically ill; then the physician, the doctor is needed. Man can be psychologically ill; then a little help can be given by Freud and Jung and others. But when man is existentially ill, neither a physician nor a psychiatrist can be of any help. Existential illness is spiritual. It is neither of the body nor of the mind, it is of the total — and the total transcends all parts. The total is not just a composition, a composition of the parts. It is something beyond the parts. It is something that holds all the parts into itself. It is a transcendence.

And the illness is existential. Man suffers from a spiritual illness. Dreams won’t be of any help towards that. What in fact can dreams do? At the most they can help you to understand your unconscious state a little bit more. Dreams are the language of the unconscious; the symbols, indications, hints and gestures of the unconscious; a message from the unconscious to the conscious. Psychoanalysts can help you to interpret the dreams, they can become mediators, they can tell you what your dream means. Of course, if you can understand your dream, you will come a little closer to your unconscious. This will help to make you more adjusted with your unconscious. You will have some understanding. Your two parts, the conscious and the unconscious, will not be so far apart; they will be a little closer. You will not be split as much as before. A little unity, a sort of unity will exist in you. You will be more normal but to be normal is nothing. To be normal is not even worth talking about. To be normal means you are as you should be ordinarily; nothing else has happened, nothing from the beyond has penetrated you. You will be a more adjusted person in the society also. Of course, you will be a little better husband, a little better mother, a little better friend, but only a little.

But this is not self realization. And when Jung starts talking about self-realization through dream analysis, he is talking very stupidly. It is not self-realization, because self realization comes only when there is no mind. Dreams interpreted are not interpreted; they belong to the mind, they are part of the mind. And no psychology of the West — except for Gurdjieff, Eckhart and Jacob Boehme — no psychology of the West goes beyond mind. And these few people, Jacob Boehme, Eckhart, and Gurdjieff, in fact don’t belong to the West, they belong to the East. Their whole standpoint is Eastern. They are born in the West, but their attitude, their way of life, their very understanding is of the East. When I say ‘of the East’, always remember that I don’t mean geographically.

To me, East is a standpoint and West is also a standpoint. I am not concerned with geography. ‘West’ is a way of looking at things, ‘East’ is also a way of looking at things. When East looks at things it looks at the total, and when West looks at things it always looks at the part. The Western attitude is analytical — it analyzes. The Eastern attitude is synthetic — it synthesizes, it tries to find the one in the many. The Western attitude tries to find the many in the one.

The Western attitude has become very efficient in analyzing, dissecting, taking things apart. Even a movement like the Psychosynthesis of Assagioli is not a real synthesis, because the very standpoint is missing. First Freud and Jung have taken things apart, they have broken the whole, and now Assagioli is trying to put those parts together somehow. You can dissect a man into parts, he was alive; when you have dissected him, he is no longer alive. Now you can put the parts back again, but the life will not come. It will be a corpse. Even parts put together again will not make it a whole body. What Freud and Jung did, Assagioli is simply repenting for. He is putting the parts together again but it is a corpse. There is no synthesis in it.

You have to look at the whole, and the whole is something totally different. Now even biologists have become aware, even medicine is becoming more and more aware every day that when you take the blood out of a man to examine it, it is no longer the same blood that was running through the man because now it is dead. You are examining something else. The blood circulating in man is alive. It belongs to a whole, a system; it runs through it. It is as alive as a hand of the body. You cut the hand — it is no longer the same hand. How can the blood be the same when you take it out of the body, take it to the lab and examine it? It is no longer the same blood. Life exists as a unity, and the Western standpoint is to dissect, to go to the part, to understand the part and through the part to try to comprehend the whole. You will always miss. Even if you can comprehend like Assagioli, then that comprehension will be like a corpse: somehow put together but with no living unity in it.

Freud and Jung worked with dreams. It was a discovery in the West, a great discovery in a way, because the Western mind had completely forgotten about sleep, about dreams. Western man has existed for at least three thousand years without thinking about dreams and about sleep. Western man has been thinking as if only the waking hours are life, but the waking hours are only two thirds. If you live sixty years, you will be asleep for twenty years. One third of life will be in dreams and in sleep. It is a big phenomenon; it takes one third of your life. It will not be simply discarded; something is happening there. It is part of you, and not a small part but a major part. Freud and Jung brought back the concept that man has to be understood through his dreams and his sleep, and much has been done along that line. But when Jung starts thinking that this is something towards self realization, then he has gone too far.

It is good. For psychological health it can be helpful, but psychological health is not existential health. You may be physically healthy, you may be psychologically healthy, but you may not be existentially healthy at all. On the contrary, when you are psychologically and physically healthy, for the first time you become aware of the existential anxiety, of the anguish inside. Before it you were so occupied with the body and the mind and the illnesses that you couldn’t afford to look at the inward being. When everything is set right: body functions well, mind is not in any trouble, suddenly you become aware of the greatest anxiety in the world — the existential, the spiritual. Suddenly you start asking, ‘What is the meaning of it all? Why am I here, for what?’ This never occurs to an ill man because he is too occupied with the illness. First he has to look after the body, and then he will think. Then he has to look after the mind, and then he will think. Body and mind, if healthy, will allow you for the first time to be really in trouble. And that trouble will be spiritual.

When Jung talks about his analytical psychology as a way to self realization, he does not know what he is saying. He himself is not a self realized man. Go deep into Jung’s life, or Freud’s life, and you will find them ordinary human beings. Freud got as angry as anybody, even more than ordinary people. He hated as much as anybody. He was jealous, so much so that when a fit of jealousy came to him, he would fall on the ground and become unconscious. This happened many times in Freud’s life. Whenever jealousy would take him, he would be so disturbed that he would fall into a swoon, a fit. This man, self-realized? Then what about Buddha? Then where will you put Buddha?

Freud lived with ordinary human ambition; the political mind. He was trying to make psychoanalysis a movement just like communism, and he tried to control it. He tried to control it just like any Lenin or Stalin, even more dominatingly. He even declared Jung to be his successor — and look at Jung’s pictures! Whenever I have come upon a picture of Jung, I always look at it very deeply; it is a rare thing. Always look at Jung’s pictures; you will see everything written on the face: the ego. Look at his nose, the eyes, the cunningness, the anger; every illness is written on the face. He lived as an ordinary, fear-ridden man. He was very afraid of spirits, ghosts, and very jealous, competitive, argumentative, quarrelsome.

The West really does not know what self-realization is, so anything becomes a self-realization. The West is not aware of what self-realization means. It means such an absolute silence that it cannot be disturbed by anything. Such absolute nonbeing; how can possessiveness, ambition, jealousy exist in it? With a no mind, how can you dominate, how can you try to dominate? Self realization means the complete disappearance of the ego. And with the ego, everything disappears.

Remember, the ego cannot disappear through the interpretation of dreams. On the contrary, the ego may get stronger, be cause the gap between the conscious and the unconscious will be less. Your ego will be strengthened, your mind will be stronger. The less trouble there is in the mind, the more strong mind will be. You will have a new lease for the ego. So what psychoanalysis can do is to make your ego more grounded, more centered; to make your ego stronger, more confident. Of course, you wilt be able to exist in the world better than before, because the world believes in the ego. You will be more able to fight in the struggle for survival. You will be more confident about your self, less nervous. You will be able to achieve a few ambitions more easily than if you were troubled inside and the unconscious and conscious were in a constant quarrel within. But this is not self realization. On the contrary, it is ego realization.

The whole Western psychology up to now has not come to the point of non-ego. It is still thinking in terms of the ego: how to make the ego more strongly rooted, centered; how to make the ego more healthy, normal, adjusted. The East takes the ego itself as the disease; the whole mind is the disease. There is no choice about it — conscious and unconscious both have to go. They have to go and that’s why the East has not tried to interpret. Because if something has to go, why bother about its interpretation? Why waste time? It can be dropped. Look at the difference: the West is somehow trying to make an adjustment between the conscious and the unconscious and strengthen the ego, so that you become a more adjusted member of society, and also a more adjusted individual inside. With the rift bridged, you will be more at ease with the mind. The East has been trying to drop the mind, to go beyond it. It is not a question of adjustment to the society, it is a question of adjustment to existence itself. It is not a question of an adjustment between the conscious and unconscious, it is a question of the adjustment of all the parts that constitute your whole being.

Dreams are important. If a man is ill, dreams are important; they show symptoms of the illness. But you don’t know about the man who has no dreams. Dreaming is a pathology in itself; dream itself is pathology. Buddha never dreamed. What would Freud have done? If Freud had been there, what would he have done with a Buddha? What would he have interpreted about him? — there was nothing to interpret. If Freud had gone inside Buddha, he would not have found anything to interpret. His whole psychology would have been absolutely useless.

It happened that in America, there was a man who was very, very efficient in reading other people’s thoughts — a mindreader. He was always a hundred percent right. He would sit before you; you would close your eyes and start thinking, and he would close his eyes and start talking about what you were thinking. Immediately that you would think, the thought would be transferred and he would receive it. This is an art. Many people know about it. It can be learned, you can do it, because thought is a subtle vibration. If you are receptive the other mind becomes a broadcasting station, you become the receiver. Thought is a broadcast because ripples arise in the electricity around the man. If you are silent enough, receptive, you will catch them.

When Meher Baba was in America, somebody brought a man to Meher Baba. The man had lived for many years in silence. The man sat before Meher Baba, closed his eyes and meditated and meditated and meditated. Again he would open his eyes and look at Meher Baba. It took too long; people became worried. They said, ‘You never took such a long time.’ The man said, ‘Well, what to do? This man is not thinking at all. There is no thought.’

If Freud or Jung were near Buddha, or if they had come to me, they would not have found anything to interpret, they would not have found any thought to catch. The East says, ‘Dreaming itself is pathology.’ It is a sort of illness; it is a disturbance. When you are really silent, thinking disappears in the day and dreaming disappears at night. Think ing and dreaming are two aspects of the same thing: during the day while you are awake, it is thinking, and at night while you are asleep, it is dreaming. Dreaming is a primitive way of thinking; thinking in pictures just as children think. That’s why in children’s books we have to make many colored pictures. Children cannot move with words very much. By and by, they will move. You have to draw a big mango, and write in small letters, ‘mango’. First they vv-ill see the picture, and then they will become associated with the word. By and by, the picture will become smaller and smaller and disappear. Then the word ‘mango’ will do.

A primitive mind thinks in pictures just like children do. When you are asleep, you are a primitive. The whole civilization disappears, culture disappears, society disappears. You are no longer part of the contemporary world, you are a primitive in the cave. Because the unconscious mind has remained uncultivated, you start thinking in pictures. Dreaming and thinking are both the same. When dreaming stops, thinking stops; when thinking stops, dreaming stops. The whole effort in the East has been: how to drop the whole thing. We are not worried about how to adjust it or how to interpret it, but how to drop it. And if it can be dropped, then why bother about the interpretation? Why waste time?

Sooner or later the West is going to realize this, because now meditative techniques are penetrating into the West. Meditations are the way of dropping dreaming, thinking, the whole complex of the mind. And once they are dropped, you attain to a well-being not of the mind. You attain to something which is not even conceivable in your state of mind right now. You cannot even imagine it, what it will be like when you don’t think, when you don’t dream, when you will just be.

Psychoanalysis or other trends take such a long time: five years, three years, just interpreting dreams. The whole thing seems to be so boring, and only few people can afford it. Even those who can afford it, what do they gain out of it? Many people have come to me who have been through psychoanalysis; no self realization has happened. They had been in psycho, analysis for many years. Not only have they been psychoanalyzed, they have psychoanalyzed many others and nothing has happened, they remain the same, the ego is the same. On the contrary, they are a little firmer, stronger. And the existential anxiety continues.

Yes, I don’t place much value on Freud and Jung, because my attitude is: how to drop the mind? It can be dropped and it takes less time to drop it, it is easier to drop it. In fact, it can also be dropped without anybody’s help. The East stumbled upon the fact near about five thousand years ago. They must have interpreted, because in the ancient Eastern books there are interpretations of dreams. I have not come across a single new discovery which has not already been discovered in the East somewhere in the past. Even Freud and Jung are nothing new. It is a rediscovering of the old territory again In the East they must have discovered, but at the same time they discovered that you can go on interpreting the mind and there is no end to it: it goes on dreaming, it goes on creating new dreams again and again.

In fact, no psychoanalysis is ever complete. Even after five years it is not complete. No psychoanalysis can ever be complete because the mind goes on weaving new dreams. You go on interpreting, it goes on weaving new dreams. It has infinite capacity — it is very creative, very imaginative. It ends only with life, or, it ends with meditation if you take the jump and die on your own. Death is needed for the mind, not analysis. And if death is possible, what is the point of analysis? These are two absolutely different things and you have to be aware. Jung and Freud are geniuses gone astray; great intellects, but wasting their time. And the problem is that they have discovered so many things about the mind, but they themselves cannot use it — and that should be the criterion.

If I discover a technique of meditation and I cannot meditate myself, what meaning can my discovery carry? But that too is different in the East and the West. In the West they say, ‘Maybe the physician cannot heal himself, but he can heal you.’ In the East we have always been saying, ‘Physician, heal thyself first. That will become the criterion of whether you can do it to others or not.’ In the West they don’t ask, they don’t ask that. In the West science goes on its own. Personal questions are not asked because science is thought to be an objective study, no thing to do with the subjectivity. It may be so in science, but psychology cannot be absolutely objective. It has to be subjective too, because mind is subjective.

The first thing that should be asked of Jung is, ‘Have you realized yourself?’ But he was really very egoistic. He was thinking that he had realized. He was reluctant to come to India. Only once he came, and he was reluctant to go and see a saint, even a saint like Ramana Maharshi. He was reluctant, he would not go. What was there for him to learn? — he had everything already. And he knew nothing, just a few fragments of some dreams that he had interpreted — and he thought that he had interpreted life.

You go on interpreting dreams, and you think dreams are the reality. In the East our standpoint is just the opposite. We have been looking into life and we have found that life itself is a dream. You think that by interpreting dreams you have interpreted reality. Just on the contrary, we have looked into life and found that it is nothing but a dream. And why this reluctance? The East was a fear to Jung. He was afraid of the East and there was something in it: he was afraid of the East because the East would reveal the reality of his own understanding — that it was false. Had he been to Ramana, had he been to some other mystic in the East, he would have immediately realized that whatsoever he had attained was nothing. It was just on the steps of the temple. He had not entered the shrine yet. But in the West, anything goes. Without their knowing what self-realization is, they call it self realization. You can call it any thing; it depends on you.

Self realization is coming to no-self, coming to an absolute emptiness within, coming to the point where you are not. The drop has dissolved into the ocean and only the ocean exists. Then who dreams? Then who is left there to dream? The house is empty, there is nobody.”

India My Love ( Fragments of a Golden Past)”, written by Osho, a very popular mystic spiritual teacher who had and still has an international following. This book is so touching that it brings tears to the eyes of every single person who understands the real meaning of India.

India is not just geography or history. It is not only a nation, a country, a mere piece of land. It is something more: it is a metaphor, poetry, something invisible but very tangible. It is vibrating with certain energy fields which no other country can claim.

It is strange because it has renounced everything for a single search, the search for the truth. It has not produced great philosophers – you will be surprised to know it – no Plato, no  Aristotle, no Thomas Aquinas, no Kant, no Hegel, no Bradley, no Bertrand Russell. The whole history of India has not produced a single philosopher – and they have been searching for truth! Certainly their search was very different from the search that has been done in other countries. In other countries people were thinking about truth; in India, people were  not thinking about truth – because how can you think about truth? Either you know it, or you don’t; thinking is impossible, philosophy is impossible. It is absolutely an absurd and  futile exercise. It is just like a blind man thinking about light – what can he think? He may be a great genius, may be a great logician – it is not going to help. Neither logic is needed nor genius is needed; what is needed is eyes to see.

Light can be seen but cannot be thought. Truth can be seen, but cannot be thought; hence we don’t have a parallel word in India for `philosophy’. The search for truth we call darshan, and darshan means seeing. Philosophy means thinking, and thinking is circular – about and about, it never reaches to the point of experiencing. India is the only land in the  whole world, strangely, which has devoted all its talents in a concentrated effort to see the truth and to be the truth.

You cannot find a great scientist in the whole history of India. It is not that there were not talented people, it is not that there were not geniuses. Mathematics was founded in India, but it did not produce Albert Einstein. The whole country, in a miraculous way, was not interested in any objective research. To know the other has not been the goal here, but to know oneself.

For ten thousand years millions of people persistently making a single effort, sacrificing everything for it – science, technological development, riches – accepting poverty, sickness, disease, death, but not dropping the search at any cost… it has created a certain noosphere, a certain ocean of vibrations around you.

If you come here with a little bit of a meditative mind, you will come in contact with it. If you come here just as a tourist, you will miss it. You will see the ruins, the palaces, the Taj Mahal, the temples, Khajuraho, the Himalayas, but you will not see India – you will have passed through India without meeting it. It was everywhere, but you were not sensitive, you were not receptive. You will have come here to see something which is not truly India but only its skeleton – not its soul. And you will have photographs of its skeleton and you will make albums of its skeleton, and you will think that you have been to India and you know India, and you are simply deceiving yourself.

There is a spiritual part. Your cameras cannot photograph it; your training, your education cannot capture it. You can go to any country, and you are perfectly capable of meeting  the people, the country, its history, its past – in Germany, in Italy, in France, in England. But you cannot do the same as far as India is concerned. If you try to categorize it with other countries, you have already missed the point, because those countries don’t have that spiritual aura. They have not produced a Gautam Buddha, a Mahaviraa, a Neminatha, an Adinatha. They have not produced a Kabir, a Farid, a Dadu. They have produced scientists, they have produced poets, they have produced great artists, they have produced  painters, they have produced all kinds of talented people. But the mystic is India’s monopoly; at least up to now it has been so.

And the mystic is a totally different kind of human being. He’s not simply a genius, he is not simply a great painter or a great poet – he is a vehicle of the divine, a provocation, an  invitation for the divine. He opens the doors for the divine to come in. And for thousands of years, millions of people have opened the doors for the divine to fill the atmosphere of  this country. To me, that atmosphere is the REAL India. But to know it, you will have to be in a certain state of mind. When you are meditating, trying to be silent, you are allowing the real India to come in contact with you. Yes, you are right; the way you can find truth in this poor country you cannot find anywhere else. It is utterly poor, and yet spiritually it has such a rich heritage that if you can open your eyes and see that heritage you will be surprised. Perhaps this is the only country which has been deeply concerned with the  evolution of consciousness and nothing else. Every other country has been concerned with a thousand other things. But this country has been one-pointed, a single goal: how  human consciousness can be evolved to a point where it meets with the divine; how to bring the human and the divine closer.

And it is not a question of one person but millions of people; not a question of a day or a month or a year, but thousands of years. Naturally, it has created a tremendous energy field around the country. It is all over the place, you just have to be ready.

It is not coincidental that whenever anybody is thirsty for truth, suddenly he has become interested in India, suddenly he has started moving towards the East. And it is not only today, it is as old as there are records.

Pythagoras, twenty-five centuries ago, came to India in search of truth. Jesus Christ came to India….…And down the centuries, seekers have been coming to this land from all over the world. The country is poor, the country has nothing to offer, but to those who are sensitive it is the richest place on the earth. But the richness is of the inner. This poor country can give you the greatest treasure that is possible for human beings.-The Osho Upanishad, Chapter 21

“India is an eternal journey, a path of nectar, stretching from eternity to eternity. This is why we have never written any history of India. Is history something worth writing? History is the name for the ordinary, the mundane everyday happenings which rise like a storm today but tomorrow not even a trace of them is left. History is just a whirlwind of dust. India has never written history, India has only tired to touch the eternal, in the same manner as a chakor, a red-legged partridge, goes on gazing at the moon, without even blinking….

I want to remind those who have forgotten, awaken those who have fallen asleep, so that  India can regain its inner dignity, its pride, its snow-capped peaks – because the destiny of the whole humanity is linked with the destiny of India. It is not only a matter of one country: If India is lost in darkness, man has no future. And if we are able to give India its wings again, its sky again, fill its eyes again with a longing to fly towards the stars, we will not only save those who have an inner thirst, we will also save the ones who are asleep today, but who will become awakened tomorrow.

The destiny of India is the destiny of the whole humanity – because of the way we have refined human consciousness, because of the lamps we have lit within man, because of the  flowers that we have cultivated in man, the fragrance we have created in man. It has been ten thousand years of ceaseless perseverance, of ceaseless yoga, of ceaseless meditation. And for the sake of this, we have lost everything else. For the sake of this we have sacrificed everything else. But even in the darkest nights of man we have kept the lamp of man’s  consciousness lit. No matter how dim the flame may have become, that lamp still burns…..”

Ideally, I want to cut and paste the entire book here, because every word in this book resounds with deep meaning and magnificent beauty. Instead, I have to end this post with the  lines that end this wonderful book.

“But there is another India: the India of the Buddhas, the eternal India. I am part of it, you are part of it. In fact, anywhere, wherever meditation is happening, that person becomes part of that eternal India. That eternal India is not geographical, it is a spiritual space.”

  

Worship of a mother Goddess has been part of the Indian tradition since its earliest times. Lakshmi is one of the mother goddesses and is addressed as “mata” (mother) instead of just “devi” (goddess). Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck and wealth to Hindus. The word ‘Lakshmi’ is derived from the Sanskrit word “Lakshya”, meaning ‘aim’ or ‘goal’, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. 

Lakshmi is the household Goddess of  many  Hindu families and a favorite among women. Although she is worshipped daily, the festive month of  Shravana Masam is considered as special month for worshiping Lakshmi. Lakshmi is depicted as a beautiful woman of golden complexion, with four hands, sitting or standing on a full-bloomed lotus and holding a lotus bud, which stands for beauty, purity and fertility. Her four hands represent the four ends of human life: Dharma or righteousness, “Kama” or desires, “Artha” or wealth, and “Moksha” or liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Cascades of gold coins are shown flowing from her hands, suggesting that those who worship her gain wealth. She is always shown wearing gold embroidered red clothes. Red symbolizes activity and the golden lining indicates prosperity. Lakshmi is the active energy of Lord Maha Vishnu and also appears as part of Lakshmi-Narayana – Lakshmi accompanying Vishnu. Two elephants are often shown standing next to the Goddess and spraying water. This denotes that ceaseless effort, in accordance with one’s dharma , governed by wisdom and purity, leads to both material and spiritual prosperity. 

The importance attached to the presence of Lakshmi in every household makes her an essentially domestic deity. Householders worship Lakshmi for the well being and prosperity of the family. Businessmen and women also regard her in the same way and offer her daily prayers. 

                                              Namastestu Mahaamaaye

                                              Shreepeete Surapoojite

                                              Shankha Chakra Gadaa

                                              Haste Mahaalakshmi Namostu Te. 

O Mahamaya, abode of fortune,who art worshipped by the Devas, Isalute Thee; O Mahalakshmi, wielder of conch, disc and mace, obeisance to Thee.

                                               Namaste Garudaroode

                                               Koalaasura Bhayankari

                                               Sarva Paapa Hare Devi

                                               Mahaalakshmi Namostu Te. 

My salutations to Thee, who ridest the Garuda and art a terror to Asura Kola; O Devi Mahalakshmi, remover of all miseries, my obeisance to Thee. 

                                                Sarvajne Sarva Varade

                                                Sarva Dushta Bhayankari

                                                Sarva Duhkha Hare Devi

                                                Mahaalakshmi Namostu Te. 

O Devi Mahalakshmi, who knowest all, giver of all boons, a terror to all the wicked, remover of all sorrow, obeisance to Thee.

                                                Siddhi Buddhi Prade Devi

                                                Bhukti Mukti Pradaayini

                                                Mantra Moorthe Sadaa Devi

                                                Mahaa Lakshmi Namostu Te. 

O Devi, giver of intelligence and success and of worldly enjoyment and liberation, Thou hast always the mystic symbols as Thy form, O Mahalakshmi, obeisance to Thee. 

                                                 Aadyantarahite Devi

                                                 Aadya Shakte Maheshvari

                                                Yogaje Yogasambhoote

                                                Mahaalakshmi Namostu Te. 

O Devi, Maheshwari, without a beginning or an end, O Primeval Energy, born of Yoga, O Mahalakshmi, obeisance to Thee.

                                                Sthoola Sookshmah Mahaa Raudre

                                                Mahaa Sakthe Mahodaye

                                                Mahaa Paapa Harey Devi

                                                Mahaalakshmi Namostu Te. 

Mahalakshmi, who art both gross and subtle, most terrible, great power, great prosperity and great remover of all sins,obeisance to Thee.

                                                 Padmaasanasthite Devi

                                                 Parabrahma Svaroopini

                                                 Paramesi Jaganmaata

                                                 Mahalakshmi Namostu Te. 

O Devi, seated on the lotus, who art the Supreme Brahman, the great Lord and Mother of the universe, O Mahalakshmi, obeisance to Thee. 

                                                  Svetaambaradhare Devi

                                                  Naanaalankaara Bhooshite

                                                  Jagatsthite Jaganmaatah

                                                  Mahaalakshmi Namostu Te

O Devi, robed in white garments and decked with various kinds of ornaments, Thou art the Mother of the universe and its support, O Mahalakshmi, obeisance to Thee. 

                                                   Mahaalakshmyashtaka Stottram

                                                   Yad Pated Bhaktiman Naraha.

                                                   Sarva Siddhimavaapnoti

                                                   Mahaalakshmi Prasaadataha. 

This hymn to the great Goddess of Wealth, if read with devotion, will bestow all success, will grant all worldly position.

                                                   Ekakaale Patennityam

                                                   Mahaapaapa Vinaashanam

                                                   Dvikaalam Yah Patennityam

                                                   Dhana Dhaanya Samanvitaha

                                                   Trikaalam Yah Patennityam

                                                   Mahaa Shatru Vinaashanam

                                                   Mahaalakshmir Bhavennityam

                                                   Prasannaa Varadaa Shubhaa 

If always read once a day, great sins will be destroyed. If always read twice a day, wealth and prosperity will ensure. If always read three times a day, the great enemy (ego) will be destroyed. Mahalakshmi will be ever pleased with that auspicious one.

Please listen to the powerul devotional Lakshmi Ashtottaram sung by the famous Sulamangalam sisters. 

                                                       ~ Paramahansa Yogananda in “God Talks with Arjuna”. 

We don’t know what caused us to come here on earth, we don’t know where we go in the end, we don’t know how the universe has come into existence. We may or may not believe in God. Yet, somehow all things have perfectly come together to bring us into existence, the chemical reactions, water, the perfect temperature, the perfect gravitational force… somehow, organisms started evolving on this beautiful earth, the sunlight providing life to everything, and the perfect system to assimilate the energies and sustain life, then came the fish and the frog and the monkey and the man.

The System takes care of everything. Our existence as human beings in the universe is tiny. Yet we think that we are the doers of everything. We are anxious to take good care of ourselves (often, at the cost of others). We fight with each other for survival forgetting that in order to survive, the first thing we have to do is to stop fighting with each other. We are just a tiny part of the big plan, our life in the System is for a very very short period, we come and go in a flash. But we entertain our own selfish agendas, petty desires, and behave as if we, with this little bodies, will live forever and even outlive the System! Invariably, the result of such arrogant attitude is suffering and misery for ourselves.

Then what is the way? How to live? The way is to stop identifying ourselves exclusively with this tiny body-mind complex and recognize that we are part of the System. This tiny body-mind will perish, but the System will survive. When we learn to recognize how beautifully the System has brought us into existence and sustains us, how lovingly the System takes care of us like a mother taking care of her baby, when we recognize how harmoniously our lives are interwoven with the life of the System and dissolve our narrow, selfish plans into the big plan and correctly recognize our part in the big plan, life becomes ever so graceful, ever so harmonious, ever so beautiful! Then we are no more separate from the System, we are no more part of the system, we become the System. In fact, we are the System.

The entire universe is one whole; and, when someone drops their holding onto limited boundaries, then what they gain is the entire universe.

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Every Indian has heard the Gujarati Song “Vaishnava Janato Tene Kahiye“ Gujarati song, that was largely popularized by Mahatma Gandhi. Some of us even think Mahatma Gandhi composed it. This famous song was actually composed by a great Krishna Bhakth called Narsinh Mehta, 600 years ago. Narsimha Mehata was born in Talaja village in Junagadh in Saurashtra, Gujarat. He is called the father of Gujarati poetry. When Dharma was waning and foreign invaders were slaughtering our people and slandering our places of worship, the only way our people held their faith was by developing intense love and devotion to their Gods, despite the blasphemy that was brought on their religious beliefs. Developing love and devotion was the basis of the Bhakthi movement. Narsinh Mehta was an integral wave in this movement that soon spread throughout India.

He used to associate with the sadhus or wandering holy men who used to sing praises Lord Krishna. Full of love and devotion for Lord Krishna he too began composing. According to legend he once experienced a vision in which he saw Krishna dancing with the Gopis. This mystical experience turned his life.

Narsinh Mehta and his wife lived with his brother’s family. The sister-in-law was an evil lady who insulted Narsinh very much one day, and he left for the forest to meditate and fast. Lord Shiva came to him after seven days of worship and offered him a boon. Narsinh wanted to see Krishna Leela, and he was taken to Vrindavan to participate in the raas leela. He was so deeply engrossed in his love for Krishna, that he burned his hand with the torch he was holding. Lord Krishna blessed him and sent him back to Earth to sing songs and spread the love. Narsinh followed the Lord’s orders and began writing hymns in praise of Krishna.

He continued to live in poverty with his wife and children. In one incident, when his daughter was having a baby, it is a custom for the father of the girl to present the new born with some gifts. Narsinh was very poor to afford any presents, so it is believed that Lord Krishna himself came down to earth, disguised as Narsinh Mehta to present gifts to his daughter.

(A similar story is believed to have happened in a village near Trichy in Tamil Nadu. Lord Siva disguises as a girl’s mother to attend to her child birth, when her mother, a staunch devotee of Siva, is stuck at another village due to inclement weather conditions and floods. Even today, Lord Siva is worshipped in the name of Thayumaanavar – the one who also became a mother, by the people of this village.)

On another occassion when Narsinh Mehta and his wife were performing the yearly rites for his father’s death, his wife gave him some money and told him to buy some Ghee to help the priests continue their prayer offerings. It is a great sin to neglect the yearly rites for one’s parents. Narsinh left the house, but before he finished his chore, he got distracted by some singers on the street and began singing songs in praise of Krishna. He was completely engrossed in his love for Krishna that he was forgetting the ghee, and the priests were getting restless as the auspicous time was running out. Lord Krishna decided to take charge of the situation. Once again, he went to Narsinh’s house with the ghee, and left after handing it over to the priests. After several hours, the original Narsinh returned, and his wife thanked him for doing the chore well, and that is when he realized what had happened. The Lord himself had come down to prevent his devotee from being cursed for neglect of Dharma.

There is yet another episode where Narsinh Mehta and his brother are fed a sumptuous meal by an unknown stranger when they were passing through a forest, singing hymns. After having a hearty meal and thanking their benevolent host, they started to continue on their pilgrimage. After a few minutes, when they turned back to see the house, it was gone. Lord Krishna himself helped his devotees again.

(There is a similar story in the Sai Sat Charita, where Akkalkot Swami Samartha’s devotees meet a lady called Annapoorni who feeds the tired devotees in the middle of the forest. After a few minutes, the house and Annapoorni have vanished into thin air)

These incidents strengthen the faith and love for God in the minds of the simple devotees and help them to continue believing in God, when adharmic forces like tyrannic foreign rulers are trying the best they can to break our faith.

Until the time of his death, Narsinh Mehta had composed nearly 22000 hymns in praise of Krishna. All these hymns had the central theme of devotion, faith, brotherhood and unity – indeed, these were the need of the day to withstand the foreign invaders.

Lyrics: 

वैष्णव जन तो तेने कहिये जे, पीड़ पराई जाणे रे|
पर दुख्खे उपकार करे तो ये, मन अभिमान न आणे रे||
सकळ लोकमाँ सहुने वन्दे, निंदा न करे केनी रे|
वाच काछ मन निश्चळ राखे, धन धन जननी रे||
सम दृष्टी ने तृष्णा त्यागी, परस्त्री जेनी मात रे|
जिंव्हा थकी असत्य न बोले, परधन नव झाले हाथ रे||
मोह माया व्यापे नही जेने,दृढ वैराग्य जेना मनमाँ रे|
राम नामशुं ताळी लागी, सकळ तीरथ तेना तनमाँ रे||
वण लोभी ने कपट रहित छे, काम क्रोध निवार्या रे|
भणे नरसैय्यो तेनुं दर्शन करता, कुल एकोत्तेर तार्या रे|| 

Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je 
PeeD paraayi jaaNe re 
Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye 
Man abhimaan na aaNe re (Vaishnava)  

SakaL lok maan sahune vande 
Nindaa na kare keni re 
Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe 
Dhan-dhan janani teni re (Vaishnava)  

Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi 
Par-stree jene maat re 
Jivha thaki asatya na bole 
Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re (Vaishnava)

Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene 
DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re 
Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi 
SakaL tirath tena tan maan re (Vaishnava)

VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe 
Kaam-krodh nivaarya re 
BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta 
KuL ekoter taarya re (Vaishnava)  

Meaning: One who is a Vaishnav (Devotee of Vishnu) Knows the pain of others. Does good to others without letting pride enter his mind. A Vaishnav, Tolerates and praises the the entire world.Does not speak ill of others Keeps his promises, actions and thoughts pure your mother is blessed indeed. A Vaishnav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice respects women as he respects his own mother though his tongue may tire he will utter no untruth Never touches the property of others. A Vaishnav does not succumb to worldly attachments he has renounced lust of all types and anger The poet Narsi will like to see such a person By who’s virtue, the entire family gets salvation.

Writer: Srividya

Deva Sayana Ekadasi is observed on June 29th 2012 (USA) & June 30th  (India & UK) in this year.

Significance of Deva Sayana Ekadasi Vrat or Ashadi Ekadasi Vrat:

The importance of  Deva Sayani Ekadasi was mentioned in Bhavishyottara Puran. Yudhistira, Oldest among Pandava brothers asked about the significance of observing a fast on Shayana Ekadasi. Lord Shri Krishna explained the glory of Sayana Ekadasi Vrat which was told earlier by Lord Brahma to His Son – Sage Narada.

Story related to Deva Sayana Ekadasi:

Sage Angirasa suggested Mandata to observe Ekadasi fasting on Ashada Shukla Ekadasi, which is popular as Deva Sayana Ekadasi. As told by the Sage, King Mandhata observed Deva Sayani Ekadasi Fasting, worshipped Sree Maha Vishnu with utmost devotion and faith.  As a result of Sayana Ekadasi Vrat,  Mandhata’s Kingdom flourished well. There was no further trace of famine in His Kingdom.

It is on this day, Lord Vishnu goes to sleep called as Yoganidra (Though Vishnu goes to sleep, His will is ever active). Since Shree Maha Vishnu rests on a Seven Hooded Cobra called Adi Sesha. So, this Ekasadasi is also referred as Sesha-Sayana-Ekadasi.  It is said that Shree Maha Vishnu goes to sleep for four months; The symbolism of four months is Chaturvidha Purushardhas – Dharma, Ardha, Kama and Moksha.

A unique feature of this Ekadasi is to not make any sankalpam unlike other Ekadasi’s where devotees make sankalpam for material gains like marriage, progeny, wealth, health etc.

The observance of  Sayana Ekadasi is exclusively to get complete grace of Lord Vishnu  without  keeping wish-list in mind. By doing so, one will get rid of sins committed unknowingly.

Special Rituals &  Poojas:

•  The most auspicious Chaturmasya or Chaturmasa Vratam begin from Deva Sayana Ekadasi Day.
• Ashadi Ekadasi marks as a closing ceremony day of Pandharpur Yatra in Maharashtra. 

 

The Bhagavad Gita,, the greatest devotional book of Hinduism, has long been recognized as one of the world’s spiritual classics and a guide to all on the path of Truth. It is sometimes known as the Song of the Lord or the Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna. It was composed later than the Vedas and the Upanishads. It is a fragment, part of the sixth book of the epic The Mahabaratha.

The Mahabaratha is the story of the Pandavas, Prince Arjuna and his four brothers, growing up in north India at the court of their uncle, the blind King Dhritarashtra, after the death of their father King Pandu, the previous ruler. There is always great rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the one hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. Eventually the old king gives his nephews some land of their own but his eldest son, Duryodhana, defeats Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, by cheating at dice, and forces him and his brothers to surrender their land and go into exile for thirteen years. On their return, the old king is unable to persuade his son Duryodhana to restore their heritage and, in spite of efforts at reconciliation by Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra’s charioteer; by Bheeshma, his wise counsellor; and even by the Lord Krishna himself, war cannot be averted. The rival hosts face each other on the field of Kurukshetra. It is at this point that The Bhagavad Gita begins. When Prince Arjuna surveys the battlefield, he is overwhelmed with sorrow at the futility of war. The teachings ofThe Bhagavad Gita are spoken by the divine Lord Krishna, who is acting as the prince’s charioteer. They are overheard by Sanjaya and reported back to King Dhritarashtra. Krishna counsels Arjuna, beginning with the tenet that the soul is both eternal and immortal. Any ‘death’ on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, but the inner soul is permanent. Krishna goes on to expound on the yogic paths of devotion, action, meditation and knowledge.

Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from growing beyond identification with the Ego, the ‘False Self’, and that one must identify with the Truth of the immortal Self, (the soul or Atman). Through detachment from the material sense of Ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and enter the realm of the Supreme. To demonstrate his divine nature, Krishna grants Arjuna the boon of cosmic vision (albeit temporary) and allows the prince to see his ‘Universal Form’. He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate essence of Being in the universe, and also its material body. This is called the Vishvarupa/Viratrupa.

When Krishna has finished speaking to Arjuna, the two armies engage. The battle lasts eighteen days and by the end of it nearly all of the warriors on both sides are dead save Krishna and the Panadavas.

Read reflections and comments by various famous personalities on the Bhagavad Gita

1. “From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures”- Adi Shankara
2. “ The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna’s primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development,yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity.-Ramanuja
3. “The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers.”- Madhvacarya
4. The Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigation of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord. - Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
5. “When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.”-Mahatma Gandhi
6. “The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and  grander purpose of the universe.”- Jawaharlal Nehru
7. When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe, everything else seems so superfluous.- Albert Einstein
8. “In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.” -Henry David Thoreau
9. “The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions - Dr. Albert Schweitzer
10. The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization. Sri Aurobindo.
    The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have beencurrent in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states…” behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant. This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in Chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.- Carl Jung
11. The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation  of life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion. -Herman Hesse
12. I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large,serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
13. In order to approach a creation as sublime as  the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.- Rudolph Steiner
14. The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring valueis subject not only to India but to all of humanity.- Aldous Huxley

 

Kanchipuram is one of the seven sacred cities in India .The word Kanchi literally means the gold ornament worn round the waist by women (girdle or oddanam).Puranas, Kavyas, inscriptions and historical works point out to the importance of the city from different angles. The Bhagavata Purana refers to Kanchi as ‘Kamakoti-Puri Kanchi’ (in the southern recensions of the Purana). Vallabha- charya, in his ‘Subodhini’ commentary on the Purana, styles the city as ‘Kamakotipuri’.History proclaims that Kanchipuram was ruled by the Pallava Kings. The city is most famous for its silk production and old temples. The city is located on the Palar river. The city has all types of people from weavers to Vaishnavites. The city has many big temples. One of the famous temples is Sri Kamakshi Devi Temple; it also attracts tourists especially foreigners in plenty due to its rich culture and heritage. Poems composed in the 2nd century refer to a shrine dedicated to the Kamakshi  as love goddess (Kamakshi – eyes of love).

Kanchi  Kamakshi temple is situated in about 5 acres of land and has four entrances in Kanchipuram city. The ‘shikharam’ (spire) housing the deity is covered wholly in gold. The spectacular view of the golden spire can be had from the outer part. In order to enter the main shrine, four entrances have been made on all the four sides. The structural layout of the temple is quite elaborate. The main entrance of the temple has a Kalabhairava on its left and the Mahishasura Mardini on the right. One can see a huge Dwajasthambham at the centre of the entrance. Moving further to the entrance of the Kamakshi deity we can have the darshan of Lord Vinayaka. Moving on a straight line further, Goddess Kamakshi is visible. Goddess Kamakshi is surrounded by deities of Ayyapa, Saraswathi, Annapoorna and Adisankaracharya on its outer prakaram. In the outer prakaram or part a tank and numerous mandapams or halls like the 100 pillared hall, the dwajaarohana mandapam etc are located. Near the temple tank, various images of Lord Vishnu can be found. In the vicinity of the sanctum, there are several shrines dedicated to Ardhanareeswarar, Soundaryalakshmi etc.

Goddess Kamakshi is regarded as one of the incarnations of Goddess Parvati. As per the Hindu legend, Kamakshi made a Shivalingam out of the sand and offered worship under a mango tree to marry the great Lord Shiva. After a long duration of  devoted meditation to Lord Shiva, He appeared before her and married the Goddess Kamakshi, a divine form of Parvati. There are no traditional Parvati or Shakti shrines in the city of Kanchipuram, apart from this temple, which adds even more legend to this temple. In the sanctum sanctotrum, The Goddess Kamakshi can be seen in a sitting posture in the temple. This posture is called the Padmasana posture. Goddess Kamakshi is depicted in a seated posture, which is also referred as Parabhramha Swarupini. The Padmasana posture is said to resemble a lotus. In the Yogic practice this resembles the form of meditation. The Goddess holds a Sugarcane bow on her left upper arm and Lotus, Parrot in her right upper arm. The Goddess also has divine chakras called Pasa and Ankusam in her arms. The Goddess also has a Chandraperai (a shape of moon like structure) in her forehead. The Goddess Kamakshi is situated in the middle of temple premises. 

There is Santhanasthambham inside the prakaram of Goddess which is called the Nabisthanam of the Goddess.The name Kanchi given to the city signifies that the city is in the central part of the Universe. The Meru Tantra speaks of Kanchi as the naval spot(Nabhisthana). A  Sri Chakram has been placed just before the image and due worship is offered to it. The ancient shrine of Kamakshi  Devi is always associated with Adi Shankaracharya, the great saint of India. It is regarded that Goddess Kamakshi was initially was an Ugra Swaroopini (Ruthless form of Shakti). Adi Shankaracharya placed a ‘ Sri Chakra’ before her and the goddess got personified as Shanta Swaroopini (Kind form of Shakti). The area is believed to comprise temples that have ruthless aspect of the Goddess, though Kamakshi Temple is an exception. Representing this, the image of the deity is taken out in procession at the time of festivals.

Source Courtesy: Various books 

Listen to the divine voice of Bharat Rathna Smt. MS. Subbu Lakhshmi Sri Kamakshi Suprabhatam

[See post to watch Flash video]

[See post to watch Flash video]

 

Six primary orthodox schools of philosophy exist in India. They are – nyaya, vaisheshika, mimamsa, vedanta, sankhya and yoga. At different periods in time, India has produced exceptional scholars who were unconditional masters in these respective schools of thought. It has often been the custom among learned men to debate the merits and demerits of these various systems of philosophy. When one scholar won, typically the other would renounce his philosophy to serve the winner as a disciple. Of course, the disciple’s disciples also became new disciples. One such famous debate took place between the two very renowned scholars – Adi Shankara and Mandana Misra .

During the time of Shankaracharya, the school of Purvamimamsa, which believed in the strict and theoretical observance of rituals, reigned supreme. Shankara realized that unless he was able to win over this powerful rival, his goal of spiritually re-unifying India would remain difficult to fulfill. The foremost proponent of this sect was the great scholar Kumarila Bhatta, who lived in Prayaga itself. When Shankara reached Kumarila’s place he saw a strange and horrific sight. Placed in a courtyard was a huge pyre lighted with slow burning rice-husk. At the center of the flames could be discerned the head of a radiant figure, draped in white. This was none other than the great philosopher Kumarila Bhatta himself. 

Kumarila Bhatta, in order to equip himself with the nuances of Buddhist philosophy, so that he could better counter its onslaught against the Vedic ethos, had once studied at a monastery pretending to be a Buddhist. He was committing self-immolation as an expiation for his sins, which included the pretension of being a Buddhist and learning their doctrines at the feet of a guru, and then, the impropriety of all improprieties, challenging his own guru to debate and defeating him (guru-droha). These unworthy acts not befitting one who ‘practiced what he preached,’ an ocean of guilt overwhelmed Kumarila, and to atone for his sins resorted to this fatal, drastic step. Shankara’s appeal to step down from the flames proved to be of no avail. Before succumbing however, Kumarila advised him to go and meet his disciple Mandana Mishra, who was the most renowned protagonist of the Purvamimamsa School. 

Mandana Mishra resided in the town of Mahishamati (Madhya Pradesh). When Shankara reached the city and asked for directions from some maids on the way, he was told: “You will find nearby a house at whose gates there a number of parrots in cages, discussing topics like: ‘Do the Vedas have self validity or do they depend on some external authority for their validity? Are karmas capable of yielding their fruits directly, or do they require the intervention of God to do so? Is the world eternal, or is it a mere appearance?’ Where you find this strange phenomenon of caged parrots discussing such abstruse philosophical problems, know that to be the gate of Mandana’s place.” 

Mandana Misra was a distinguished practioner of the mimamsa philosophy. The mimamsa philosophy is mainly derived from the karma kanda portion of the Vedas and emphasizes on the importance of rituals. In this school of thought, a particular ritual is done, and the results are achieved instantaneously. It displays a straightforward cause-effect relationship if practiced accurately. Mandana Misra was a perfect and adept ritualist who preached widely. The young and charming advaita vedantin, Adi Shankara, on his country wide tour was eager to debate with Mandana Misra, who was by then already very old. Mandana Misra reasoned that since he had spent more than half his life learning and preaching mimamsa, it would be unfair to debate with a youngster in his twenties who barely had any experience. Hence, with the intention of being fair on Sankara, Misra allowed Sankara to choose his own judge. Sankara had heard greatly about Misra’s righteousness and appreciated him for his act of fairness. But he was quick to decide that none but Mandana Misra’s wife herself can be the most appropriate judge for this debate. The debate between them commenced, and continued for six months nonstop. Thousands of scholars gathered everyday to watch and learn. Mandana Misra, at a ripe old age, still remained a man with very sharp intellect and a very solid grasp of logic, but he was slowly losing. Despite being such a young man, Shankara’s realization of the ultimate Brahman and his knowledge of Maya, enabled him to win over Misra’s arguments easily. Misra was a very accomplished ritualist, yet he seemed to lack some understanding of higher spiritual truths that Shankara seemed to have experienced already. At the end of this 6 months period,  Mandana Misra was almost ready to accept defeat, when his wife, Bharathi, declared that in order to defeat a man in debate, the opponent should also defeat his wife.

The transformation of her husband into a sannayasi distressed Bharati to no end. Wise and prudent as she was, she kept her counsel and addressed Shankara thus: “You do know that the sacred texts enjoin that a wife forms one-half of a husband’s body (ardhangini: ardha- half; angini – body). Therefore, by defeating my lord, you have but won over only half of him. Your victory can be complete only when you engage in debate with me also, and manage to prove yourself better.” Bharathi was a learned scholar herself and a very clever one at that. Knowing very well that Shankara was a strict celibate, “how can a sanyasi, who has no experience as a citizen, and a householder, claim complete knowledge?  She immediately started discussing  relationships and marital obligations. Shankara confessed that he had absolutely no knowledge in this area, because he was a celibate. However, Bharathi felt that she should give Shankara some time to study about this topic before resuming the debate. Shankara immediately accepted the offer and left to start his studies. Through his yogic powers he came to know of a certain king who was about to die. He instructed his disciples to preserve his body, which he temporarily left to enter the dying king’s body. The king happened to be a very evil man. Yet his wives were loyal to him and were in tears when the king was in his deathbed. Suddenly, when the king’s body woke up, one of the wives noticed that the king had recovered under rather mysterious circumstances and appeared to have become a changed man. Sankara learnt from that woman, all that he needed to know about  experiences and on his way out of the body, he blessed that lady who had taught him so much. Empowered with this new knowledge, Shankara returned to resume the debate with Bharathi. This time, he was clearly unbeatable. Bharathi and Mandana Misra bowed their heads in humility and accepted defeat and became followers of Adi Shankara and staunch vedantins.

This debate throws light on the healthy competition that existed in India among followers of different philosophies. Essentially they were travelling towards the same unknown destination, yet they had the open mind and immense courage to test their faith, to question their beliefs, and to change their philosophies, if reason demanded the change. Similar to how different paths could still take one to the top of the same mountain, so too do all philosophies lead to the same goal of self realization. However, even though staunch belief in one’s path is necessary to make spiritual progress, when one meets obstacles, one should remain accepting towards new concepts, experiments, or questionings because these can potentially unlock some deep doors in our mind.