Vasus are the eight attendant deities of Indra, the king of Devas. There is a story in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata in which the Vasus are cursed by Vashisht Rishi (Sage Vasishta). The curse and story has the reason for the long life of Bhishma on earth. One day the Vasus were roaming on the earth along with their wives. They visited many places and finally arrived at the forest in which the ashram of Vashisht Rishi was located. One of the Vasus was Prabhasa. His wife happened to see sage Vashishta's cow grazing. She was struck by the beauty of the cow and asked her husband to get it. Prabhasa was not ready to steal the cow of the sage but when his wife kept pushing the matter, he relented. He along with his brothers stole the cow. On discovering the theft, the enraged sage cursed the eight immortal Vasus to be born as mortals. The eight Vasus were born as the sons of Ganga and King Shantanu. Seven got relief from the curse when they were drowned by Ganga in th

There is an interesting story of Bhagavan Sri Krishna capturing a demon and imprisoning him in his Dhoti. The story, which is laced with symbolism, also involves Balarama, the elder brother of Bhagavan Krishna. Once, Krishna and Balarama was traveling through a forest. When it became night, it was impossible for them to travel. Therefore, they decided to take rest in the forest. Balarama was worried that if they slept they will be attacked by animals or demons. So, Sri Krishna came up with a plan. Balarama will stay awake when Sri Krishna slept and Krishna will keep vigil afterwards when Balarama slept. Soon Sri Krishna went into deep sleep and Balarama stood guard. Soon a demon like creature appeared in the distance and made a war cry. Balarama got sacred and took a step back. An interesting development happened during this incident. When Balarama got a scared and took a step back, his size was reduced. Now he was of the size of Sri Krishna. The size of the d

Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga is an auspicious time period as per Hindu calendar and panchang. If the yoga is present at the beginning of an auspicious event like buying, opening, meeting, interview etc, it destroys any bad time or yoga present at that time. Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga ensures success. The Yoga is looked by people believe in astrology, especially when they you have to travel or make a new beginning and there is no auspicious time. How Is Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga Calculated? The day is Sunday and if the following nakshatras are present Hasta (Atham), Pushya (Poosam or Pooyam), Ashlesha (Ayilyam), Uttara Phalguni (uthram), Uttara shada (Uthradam) and Uttara Bhadra (Uthrattathi). For Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga to be present the following conditions should be met: A particular nakshatra in the list of 27 nakshatras in Hindu astrology should be present on the day. For example if Rohini Nakshatra is present on Monday or Somvar then there is a Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga. The yoga be

The first two verses of Amritabindu Upanishad contains the teachings on mind. The two verses are pregnant with meaning and contains numerous symbolism. The two verses are also explained by Swami Chidananda of Chinmaya Trust in this blog post. The desire ridden mind is impure. Other impurities like anger or jealousy are its side products. When obstructed desire becomes anger, when someone else enjoys what one desires, it turns into jealousy. When one gets what one wanted, greed or pride arises. “Mind is considered as two-fold: pure and impure. It is impure with the resolve of personal desire. It is pure when devoid of all selfish desires” – Amritabindu Upanishad Mantra 1. Mind binds, mind liberates! Thoughts are the medium through which the ego, the limited Self, appears and paves the way for all our likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain. Innocence of a child is free from attachment or hatred. As we reach deep within ourselves – we see this childlike nature of pure – u