Thursday, February 20, 2014

HOLY BOOK




I like this story holy book from Akbar and birbal.

Akbar once called Birbal and said to him, "Birbal it is said in one of your Hindu Holy Books that Lord Vishnu one day heard the agonised cry of one of His elephants and rushed to his aid. Why would a God with so many servants at his disposal, himself rush to the succour of the elephant?"

Birbal replied, "Your Majesty, give me few days to answer your question."

The Emperor granted him the request.

Birbal made a wax model of the Emperor's grandson and dressed him up in the grandson's clothes. He then told the servant in charge of the grandson to carry the doll out where the Emperor could see him and pretend to fall to the ground and throw the doll into the pond nearby, uttering a cry to draw the Emperor's attention. "If you do so, I shall reward you greatly."



The servant followed Birbal's instruction threw the doll into the pond and himself pretended to fall to the ground, uttering a plaintive cry.

When the Emperor heard the cry and saw his grandson fall into the pond, he rushed and jumped into the pond to rescue him.

Birbal stepped out of the bushes and lent a helping hand to the Emperor as he came out of the pond, asking him, "How did Your Majesty jump to the rescue of your grandson when you have so many servants to do this job for you? For the same reason Lord Vishnu rushes to save whoever seeks His help, because in his eyes all creatures are equally precious."


Sunday, February 16, 2014

MAHASHIVRATHRI ON 27TH FEBRUARY 2014

Maha shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated in an austere manner-fasting and remaining awake the whole night in remembrance of God. Sivaratri, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is celebrated on the moonless night of the month of Maagh masam of Telugu and kumba masam of malayalam calender, which is the fourteenth day in the krishnapaksha or dark half. Owing to a special planetary conjunction, spiritual practices done on this day are considered to be especially auspicious and beneficial. The Pradosham pooja on February 27, 2014 is also highly meritorious as Pradosham and Mahashivratri coincides on the day. There is a reference to this in one of the Puranas, where Shiva himself tells Parvati Devi that this day is particularly dear to him, and that those who perform the prescribed austerities on this day will be freed from all sins.
Many stories are there about the shivrathri. Some says that the first Shivaling originated in the night of Shivaraatri. Some says that it on this night that Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati. This is why the day is also called Shiv Gouri Divas. Its a day that Shiva married Parvathi. Parvathi who was the most ardent devotee of Shiva and wanted to marry him. Her earlier efforts to win him over with her physical beauty failed as Shiva simply reduced Lord Kamadeva (who assisted her) to ashes and simply turned his back on her without seeing at  second look. In doing so he made her understand that it takes more than physical beauty and passion to win him. She then finally won him not by her tremendous physical beauty but by her austerity, love and devotion and the intense spiritual longing to unite with her Lord.
My Amma says that Shivaratri does not mean just keeping awake the whole night. Many people wish to keep a night long vigil, and spend the nights merely by playing cards the whole night and some people Keeping awake by watching three to four movies but my amma says that it cannot amount to Vigil. Shivarathri means spending the whole night by chanting Lord shiva’s name keeping vigil.According to the Shiva Purana, the Mahashivaratri worship should incorporate six items: offering bilva leaves to the deity after giving it a ceremonial bath, which represents purification of the soul; applying vermilion paste on the linga after bathing it, which represents virtue; offering food, which is conducive to longevity and the gratification of desires; lighting incense, which yields wealth; lighting an oil lamp, which signifies the attainment of knowledge; and offering betel leaves, which marks satisfaction with worldly pleasures. These six items form an indispensable part of the Mahashivaratri worship, be it a simple ceremony at home or grand temple worship.
Lord Shiva is the god, to whom most Hindus turn to for good spouse and for a harmonious family life; especially women worship him for the welfare of the family. It is said that Shiva showers all his blessings on people, who remember him with an honest and true heart. There is a story that old timers nar­rate. In the olden days if you went to a vil­lage and asked anyone to direct to the house where daily shiva puja takes place the bystanders will tell you to look for the house in front of which an ele­phant is tied. Lord Shiva is known to be very generous giving away boons, although, he would test his devotees to the core. Shiva not only finds no faults with oth­ers, but if some­one has even a lit­tle good qual­ity, he mag­ni­fies it greatly.That is why Shiva is glo­ri­fied as one who imme­di­ately ful­fils every ones desires.
It is in fact to be noted that Lord shiva is worshipped by the devas like Vishnu, Brahma, Indra, by asuras like bana, ravana, tripura, surapadma, by humans like shankara bhagavatpada, by other creatures like eagles, monkey, snakes and the list goes on and on. One finds in the puranas the variety of people of different backgrounds and qualities worship the Lord shiva. There are many histories of temples which talk of the cranes, bees, elephants, spiders, snakes worshipping the Lord and getting blessed. So the Lord as the Supreme blesses anyone who worships in sincere devotion. There is no discrimination on who the seeker is. The Lord is so merciful that He showers the boons one look for when there is a determination to seek Him. It is evident from the history of asura bana who attained a great fame of his valor and got the place in the abode of Lord shiva all due to his determined worship of the Lord. So anybody who worships the Lord sincerely could get blessed with Its Grace irrespective of the caste, creed, race, power, status and qualities.
Mahashivratri has immense significance in Hindu religion. While there are many festivals in India celebrated with great pomp and gaiety shivarathri is a festival celebrated by fasting and vigil. It is a night of vigil – vigil over our thoughts, words and actions. It is a night where in we should try to awaken the divinity within us.Its a day that celebrates these three qualities of austerity devotion and love. These are of immense importance in our lives, be it family life or spiritual progress. Anyone who cutivates these qualities is bound to suceed.
Dedicating this post to my Amma Redhi Vallikatri Bhaskaran.



Monday, February 10, 2014

WHAT DO WE ASK GOD

I asked God to send me a friend - He sent you.

I asked God to take away my pain - God said NO.
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to grant me patience - God said NO.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations; it is not granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. God said NO.
I give you blessings, happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me suffering - God said NO.
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow - God said NO.
You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life - God said NO.
I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I asked God to help me LOVE others as much as He loves me.
God said - Ahhh, finally, you have the idea.

A Simple Prayer to God:

Lord, when my soul is weary and my heart is tired and sore, and I have that failing feeling that I cannot take anymore, then let me know the freshening found in the childlike prayer, when the kneeling soul knows surely that the Listening Lord is there !

Sunday, February 9, 2014

GREATER THAN GOD

One day, two poets from a faraway kingdom arrived at Akbar's Court. They delighted everyone with their songs and poems. The Emperor, who was always generous, rewarded them well. The poets had never seen so much gold before. They were overwhelmed. Then the Emperor ordered that they be given a set of princely clothes each.

Then one of the poets begged permission to offer a poem of thanks. Emperor Akbar nodded and the poet began his recitation. He spoke of the Emperor's bravery and kindness. He praised the Emperor's learning and wisdom.

He ended by saying that Emperor Akbar was the greatest king that had ever ruled. "Over this world or any other, He is greater than God Himself." With that, the poet bowed and left the hall.

There was a moment of silence. Many of those in the hall were shocked that the poet had compared a mortal to God.

Emperor Akbar looked around and his eyes began to twinkle mischievously. "So," he said, "it appears that I am now even greater than God."

All the people in the hall looked at their Emperor in horror. Had he really believed the poet's words" Surely not! And yet, they were not entirely sure. Emperor Akbar looked at his ministers and commanders, his nobles and his counsellors. He wondered if any of them would have the courage to speak the truth. The ministers, commanders, nobles and counsellors looked back at him. Nobody stirred.

"So," said the Emperor, beginning to feel irritated, "everyone present agrees that your Emperor is greater than God."

Nobody dared to disagree. Slowly, one by one, the courtiers bowed to show that they agreed. A low, shamed murmur of "Yes, Your Majesty," "It is so, Your Majesty," filled the hall.

Emperor Akbar thought that the courtiers were acting very foolishly. He turned to Birbal with a frown. "And you, Birbal. Do you agree too?" he asked.

"Oh,yes," Birbal replied immediately.

The Emperor's frown grew.

"Your Majesty, you can do something even God cannot!" Birbal said. "If any of your subjects displeases you, Your Majesty, you can send him on a pilgrimage or banish him from your empire, never to return. But God cannot. For God rules over the entire earth ant the sky and the heavens. There is no place in this world or any other that does not belong to God. So he cannot banish any of His creature."

Emperor Akbar's frown vanished. "Well said, Birbal!" he cried delightedly. And, from every corner of the Court, relieved courtiers began to smile weakly and then laugh. Birbal had done it again!



Saturday, February 8, 2014

FLEXIBILITY


Sometimes in life we face a difficult situation. Imagine, we have given an opinion about something or have taken a decision. Then, we are confronted by an alternate view or course of action. On top of it, the alternative looks logical or is backed by someone influential. Some of us will readily consider the option and change our stance. Many of us, worry about the consequences of changing our position. We feel that we will end up looking hasty or not intelligent enough if we change our minds.

Flexibility is something that most of us advocate or recommend but when it comes to ourselves, we prefer to be otherwise. What we call as firm mind is seen as and branded as 'stubborn' by others. Inflexible people are seen as closed minded people who have a difficulty in accepting fresh thoughts or ideas. To avoid this, some people (esp. politicians) cleverly refuse to reveal their thoughts till everyone's thoughts are known.

When we are flexible and accomodative, people find it comfortable to deal with us. We have better relationship with our family and friends. Our circle of influence increases and we tend to attract more open communication. We tend to listen with empathy and do not get into 'positions' from where we cannot extract ourselves. Flexible people are solution oriented and want to move forward rather than getting stuck with issues.

There are some situations where flexibility ceases to be a virtue. When we have made a commitment or a promise, we cannot show flexibility in the performance. When it come to a question of values, one should never show flexibility even if it results in us losing out in the short term. 

A lot of pressure and stress is generated when values are upheld. Lot of people avoid this and try to take the easy way out. Rather than fight for the truth and pay the price for it, people tend to compromise and dilute standards. Such an approach might look easy and positive in the short term but will have significant impact on the longer term. The sub-prime crisis that hit the world economy in 2008 is a clear and recent example of this.

Flexibility is a virtue except on questions of values.

COURTESY:VALUES FOR LIFE

Sunday, February 2, 2014

4TH FEBRUARY GODDESS SARSWATHI DEVI BIRTHDAY


04th February 2014 is Vasant Panchami birthday of Goddess “Saraswathi Devi”. Though we hindus perform sarswathi pooja/Vidyarambham pooja on Navarathri days most people will perform Vidyarambham pooja on Vasant Panchami also as it is celbrated as saraswathi devi’s birthday. We pray to her to gain knowledge, dispassion, devotion and prosperity. We also believe that she bestows on us clarity of thought and nobility of ideas.

For Hindus, Goddess Saraswathi is the Goddess of learning and we pray to her for 
academic as well as spiritual knowledge. Literally Saraswathi means, “the flowing one”. In the Vedas she represents a river and the deity presiding over it. Hence she is connected with fertility and purification. 

she is represented  with four hands (representing four aspects of human personality in learning: mind power, intellect, attentiveness and self worth. Alternatively, these four arms also represent the four Vedas, the primary sacred books for Hindus. The Vedas, in turn, represent the three forms of literature:
Poetry — the Rigveda contains hymns, representing poetry.
Prose — Yajurveda contains prose.
Music — Samaveda represents music.

The four hands also depict this thus—prose is represented by the book in one hand, poetry by the garland of crystal, and music by the veena.

Being the consort of Brahma, the creator, she represents his power and intelligence, without which organized creation is impossible.
The goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white, often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes her wisdom, truth and purity that she founded in the experience of the absolute truth. Knowledge is the antithesis of the darkness of ignorance. Hence she is depicted wearing white dress and the white color symbolizes purity and knowledge which denotes that she is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
Lotus represents detachment(Vairagya).The water touches it but cannot make it wet.Similarly, the spiritual mind endures all adversities with a smile(sorrows around but not sorrowful). The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. Thus, she not only has the knowledge but also the experience of the highest reality.
Two mounts, the swan and the peacock are attributed to her. White swan stands for Vidya or spiritual illumination.swan is known for its peculiar capability of separating milk from the water. This is literally known as, water-milk wisdom in Indian philosophy and signifies that people should have the ability to discern the good from the bad.The peacock represents a colourful life and also represents arrogance and pride over its beauty.By having a peacock as her mount, the goddess teaches not to be concerned with external appearance and to be wise regarding the eternal truth.It is to teach this great truth to us that Mother Saraswati has chosen the two mounts, the swan and the peacock.
Being the goddess of learning, that she is shown holding a book in her left hand reflect 
knowledge and wisdom, which are the basis of the sixty-four art forms. These art forms express the supremacy of the Indian culture that can never become extinct or be destroyed. The akshamala in the right hand symbolizes all spiritual sciences. 

The veena she holds, shows the need for cultivation of fine arts to show that higher feelings, sentiments and emotions are necessary besides intellectual learning. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.

Some potraits depicts holding pen in her hand, which represents the power to manifest truth through words, thus making the written word immortal for ages to come.

SIGNIFICANCE OF VASANT PANCHAMI:-

Vasant Panchami is a festival full of religious, seasonal and social significance and is celebrated by Hindus all over the world especially by the people who are in arts and music. The most significant aspect of Vasant Panchami is that it is most auspicious day to begin  laying one’s foundations of education – of how to read and write. Pre-school children are given their first lesson in reading and writing on this day. It is also a great day to inaugurate training institutes and new schools. The great Indian guru Pandit madan mohan malviya laid the foundations of Kashi Hindu Vishwa Vidyalaya on Vasant Panchami.
Traditionally during this festival children are taught to write their first words. This ritual of initiating education to children is known as Akshar-Abhyasam or Vidya-Arambham which is one of the famous rituals held during Vasant Panchami. Children are taught their first words on this day (as an auspicious beginning to learning). Schools, colleges etc., (places of learning) organize special worship of Saraswati. With Her grace, the mute, it is believed, have been able to speak and people have been blessed with the ability to write or compose poems. Musicians sing here and many even choose to perform here first. Instrumentalists have puja performed for their instruments here. Apart from art and culture, Goddess Saraswathi also showers Her blessings for the education of children.
This festival is especially significant for lovers of art and education. Goddess Saraswathi presides over and protects every form of art. So, on this day, consecrated to Saraswathi, the musical instruments in the house are cleansed, placed on an altar and devotedly worshipped, these being the abode of this Goddess.Devotees believe that worshipping of goddess Saraswati will lead to spiritual enlightenment. It is generally said that there is no comparison between a king and a learned person as the king is honored only in his kingdom but a learned person is respected everywhere.

6TH FEBRUARY RATHA SAPTHAMI


 6th February 2014 Ratha sapthami is a very auspicious day in the Hindu calendar as God Surya was born to sage Kashyapa & Adithi and hence it is celebrated as Surya Jayanti. Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season. It is symbolically represented in the form of Sun God turning his Ratha (Chariot) drawn by seven horses (representing seven colours) towards the northern hemisphere, in a north-east direction. In Hindu mythology, the sun is called the soul of the universe. Through practical perspective, the brightness of the sun gives knowledge, speedy action in work, lessons to choose the right path and direction along with being disciplined.  

In 2010 I shared a historical background story of worship on surya.Now I am sharing an another story which i read while I am searching an Astrological website for malefic effects of sun in horoscope. 

STORY OF SURYA AS WITNESS:-

In those days, there was a system of putting a (*) mark on the particular page of the account book in token of repayment of money. Farmers used to put this mark while repaying the loan. That mark was missing in this case. Nevertheless, the farmer’s claim was weighty. The voice of a truthful man has its own strength. On the other hand, the moneylender too was adamant on his stand that he had not been repaid. His arguments too were solid, “I have not been repaid. Had the farmer repaid, he would have put the relevant mark in the account book. And why should I demand repayment of the money twice?”    
Now, it was a big problem for Desalji. On one hand the farmer appeared to be speaking the truth, but on the other, there was no witness or document to prove the repayment being made to the moneylender; and there was no relevant mark in the account book either. The king was in a fix as to how to do justice in the matter. Suddenly, his mind went to the phrase ‘Sun god being the witness’ and he had an intuition.
It was summer and the time was around noon. So the sun was really scorching. The king placed the documents before the blazing Sun and prayed, “O Sun god! It is written in the book that the transaction took place in the presence of Sun god. Now, kindly tell me what the truth is. The giving of loan is recorded in the book, but the repayment is not mentioned. Did the repayment take place in your presence? You alone can help in this matter. O Lord! You are the only witness. Put your seal of judgement as to who is speaking the truth – the farmer or the moneylender. If the farmer has repaid the loan, the mark should have been there. Kindly do something…”

After thus praying to Sun god, the king became silent for a while. Then as he opened his eyes and looked at the documents, he found the mark of repayment inscribed thereon. The king’s eyes sparkled. He was delighted to the core and a broad smile descended on his face.
Then the king moved towards the farmer and said, “You have got written on the document, ‘Sun god being the witness’; so does any god ever give a testimony? What gave you this idea?”
The farmer said, “Your Majesty, gods do give testimony. If I am truthful, Sun god will give testimony.”
The king then spoke sternly to the moneylender, “Now come out with the truth, otherwise…”
“Your Majesty! It is a plain truth that he has not repaid the money. Had he repaid it, he would have put the relevant mark as well.”
Then the king thundered, “Look, the mark is there.”
The moneylender looked at the documents and he too found the mark.
The king harshly admonished him, “Tell me the truth. How did you erase the mark?”
The dishonest moneylender said, trembling with fear, “Your Majesty! The farmer had duly put the mark, but immediately after he left, I sprinkled sugar powder on the wet ink. Ants ate away the sugar and the mark was thereby erased. I have cheated the farmer.”

Hardly had he finished these words when hailing shouts of ‘Desal is the Lord’ rent the atmosphere from all directions. In this way the king of Kutch established an exemplary ideal before the world through his divine verdict.
So let us worship the sun god and pray for welfare of all farmers and to bless all  with peace, good health, long life and prosperity.