--> Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December 8, 2015


Kala or Time as God in the Vedas

Kala (Kaal or Kaala) is the Sanskrit word used to describe ‘time’. Kala is a deity in Vedas especially in the Atharva Veda and He is the creator. During the later period, Kala was associated with Lord Shiva and Yama, the Hindu god of death. As per Atharva Veda, Kala is the first god and he created the heaven and earth. Kala is also the time, which puts an end to a cycle of creation. Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya and Vedanta schools of philosophy deal at length on the concept of time. Due to ignorance many people have come to associate Kala as the destroyer of all things. There is nothing called destruction in Sanatana Dharma. There is only transformation. 

Santana Lakshmi - Information about Goddess Santan Lakshmi

Santana Lakshmi is one of the manifestations of Goddess Lakshmi and is counted among the Ashta Lakshmis or eight forms of the Goddess. As Santana Lakshmi, Goddess Lakshmi grants healthy and intelligent children. She also protects infants from all dangers and diseases. She is the goddess of fertility. Symbolically she is associated with cat and sometimes with tigress. The caring and nurturing attitude of these animals are equated with that of Santana Lakshmi. In Bengal , Santana Lakshmi is worshipped in the form of Goddess Sashti. Numerous folk stories of Santan Lakshmi narrate how she helped barren women to bear children and also how she protected infants.

Alakode Arangam Sree Mahadeva Temple Festival in Kannur District

Arangam Sree Mahadeva Temple is located at Alakode in Kannur District in Kerala. The temple is located around 24 km from Taliparamba. The annual temple festival is observed in Makaram Month.  The annual festival is noted for various rituals. Caparisoned elephants, melam, fireworks and sheevali are part of the festival. The temple is traditionally decorated with plantain, coconut leaves, flowers, leaves, traditional lamps and lights. Traditional performing arts, music and dance are staged during the period. Hundreds of people arrive on the day to witness various rituals and festivities. The utsava murti of the deity is taken out of the shrine for ritual bathing on the final day. Caparisoned elephants and melam are part of the ritual.

Bhagavad Gita – Pearls of Wisdom in Chapter 8

The Indestructible, the Supreme, is Brahman. What is the self? – Svabhava (one’s own self, the jivatman, the Atman dwelling in the jiva, the Indwelling One) is the adhyatman. The creative force that brings beings into existence is called karma. That which underlies all created things is the perishable nature. That which underlies the gods is the cosmic spirit. And, Arjuna, in this body I Myself (as the inner witness) am Adhiyagna. He who casting off the body, goes forth, meditating upon me along, at the hour of death, he attains to my state. There is no doubt about it. A person who abandons all thought and meditates upon the Supreme Truth at the hour of death reaches the Supreme Truth. He who departs from the body thinking of Supreme Truth enters the imperishable Brahman. Therefore at all times think of Supreme Truth and do your Karma. When the mind and understanding are set on Brahman, we go to That. He whose mind does not wander and is con