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Showing posts from March 21, 2019


Holi Festival Quiz

This is a quiz based on holi festival. It is an attempt to learn more about the different aspects of Holi and how it is observed in different parts of India . Answers to the Holi festival can be found in the blog. The quiz is embedded below: If you have any doubts regarding any question you can do a search on the blog. Holi Quiz

Colours On Holi And Science – Scientific Reason For Holi Festival Colours

Every year during holi festival, we throw colour on each other and play with colors for hours. But why do we do play with color. The scriptures give us answers in the form of the story associated with Prahlad and also of Lord Krishna and Radha. But is there any scientific reason for throwing colors on each other – the natural colors abir or gulal. Some people are of the opinion that Holi which is celebrated during the spring time and it also the period when chicken pox and some other skin diseases are more common. Gulal is a substance which is a good repellent of chicken pox germs. Therefore, applying it on our skin is believed to help in keeping away chicken pox germs and other germs affecting skin. Note - The gulal that is good for your skin is naturally made from flowers and leaves - what you get in the market during holi usually is a chemical powder and it contains silica and this is harmful to the eyes and skin.

Braj Ki Holi - Braj Holi Festival And Mahotsav

Braj Ki Holi is the famous Holi festival held in the Braj area near Vrindavan and Mathura associated with Hindu God Krishna. The Holi here starts from the first day after the Phalguna Amavasya and the festivities or Mahotsav gain momentum from the Ekadashi day, the 11th day during the waxing phase of moon in Phalguna month. Braj is believed to be area in which Lord Krishna played with his friends and Radha and other Gopis and grazed their cattle. The belief is that it is in this area Krishna played Holi with Radha. The Holi songs of Braj area are sung in pure Braj Bhasha (the classical language of the land). Krishna and Radha devotees from all over the world can be seen lost in a trance, forgetful of their dresses, torn or disfigured with splashes of colors, at Braj during the period. Temples and villages associated with Lord Krishna and Radha have separate celebrations. One of the important celebrations during the period is the Lathmar Holi. Another sign

Ukuli or Manjal Kuli – Holi in Kerala

Holi is not celebrated by Malayalis in Kerala. The few Holi celebrations that take place are mainly confined to cities and are confined mainly to youngsters. The traditional Kerala communities that play Holi include Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and other Konkani communities. For them, Holi is known as Ukuli or Manjal Kuli. A newspaper report on Holi in Kerala a couple of years earlier read like this - Holi celebrations in Kerala begin at the temples on the day of the holi full moon in early March. It is celebrated mainly by the Kudumbi community of nearly a million at 20 temples in the state over four days. Persecuted by the Portuguese in Goa, a section of the Kudumbi community fled Goa. Those who reached Kerala brought the festival of Holi with them and were welcomed by the ruler of Cochin. In some of the Kudumbi temples in Ernakulam, an arecanut tree is felled and carried to the shrine, symbolizing Durga’s victory over the demons. In some temples in Thrissur, a figu

Phag Utsav – Holi With Flowers In Govind Devji Temple In Jaipur

Phag Utsav is the unique way of celebrating Holi festival in the Govind Devji Temple dedicated to Lord Krishna in Jaipur in Rajasthan. Instead of color or gulal powders, flowers are used to play Holi here. The festival here celebrates the divine love of Radha and Krishna . The highlight of the festival is the reenacting of Lathmar Holi of Braj and Muslim artists pay homage to the immortal love of Radha and Krishna . The history of Phag Utsav is of more than 300 years and the reason for using flowers instead of color stems from the belief that the use of the color hurts the murti of Krishna . Artists from different places in India come here to perform before Krishna . At the temple, the greatest artist of the world, Krishna, witnesses the art of numerous performers which are performed as offering to Krishna . The vibrant folk songs and dances of Holi are performed at the temple for more than a week during the Phag festival. The legends of Radha and Krishna

Swami Ranganathananda Teachings

Swami Ranganathananda  (December 15, 1908 – April 25, 2005) of Ramakrishna Mission – 13 th  president of Ramakrishna Mission. This is a collection of teachings of Swami Ranganathananda. What is the need for all types of showy religion and worship? True religion and worship is such a simple thing in which the whole life can become a dedication to the Divine. We can live in Him. He will live in us. This is what we can do. There you have pure spirituality. This is a wonderful development. When people understand the nature of bhakti, more and more of such people will appear in our society, reducing the current noisy, showy, costly worship. The whole of life becomes religion, as Vivekananda said, as quoted by Sister Nivedita in her Introduction to the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda: 'Life itself is religion'." But a man is always active in one form or the other… Something pulls us out into action. That is our own nature within. That nature finds expression in makin