Special puja is organized by married women on Sundays in Shravan month especially in Goa, parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra. The puja is offered to Surya and Chandra. Various types of leaves and flowers are used in the puja. The puja is known in some regions as Aitar puja. Rangoli patterns are made near the entrance of the house or near the Tulsi area or puja area. Special type of food is prepared on all Sundays in the month. The puja and ceremony concludes in the evening. The offerings are placed near a Tulsi plant. The leaves and flowers collected for the occasion has medicinal properties. The ritual is usually performed by people living in areas which have abundance of fish supply. The belief is that during peak monsoon season there is no fishing and people perform the rituals for a good harvest after rains and for the safety of their loved ones.

Applying tilak or chandan or Bhasma (sacred ash) on forehead is a very important daily religious ritual in Hinduism. The ring finger of right hand should be used to apply tilak on forehead. The region below the ring finger is referred as Surya Kshetra or Surya Parvat. By using the ring finger a person brings a glow to the face – symbolically the energy of Surya. This makes the person ready for the particular day’s Karma. Another belief is that by using ring finger, a person awakens the Agya Chakra on the forehead and this helps in awakening intellect. Thus by applying tilak on forehead early morning brightens the day and prepares a person to face it boldly and intellectually.

Story of the Pippalada Shiva manifestation of Shiva is associated with Sage Dadhichi sacrificing and courting death for saving Devas. Shiva as Pipalad was born as the son of Dadhichi and Suvarcha. Legend has it that a demon named Vritrasura was creating havoc in heaven and earth. To defeat him, Indra needed to make a special weapon. Brahma told that the weapon can be created only from the bones of Sage Dadhichi. Sage Dadhichi offered prayers to Shiva and sacrificed himself. From the backbone of the Sage, divine architect Vishwakarma created the weapon Vajra. Indra used this weapon to annihilate demon Vritrasura. Suvarcha was angry on hearing the news of the death of her husband. She decided to jump into the pyre of her husband. But suddenly a voice from sky stated that she was carrying the child of the Sage in her womb. It is said that Suvarcha tore open her stomach and the embryo in womb came out. It was so bright that it lit up the entire universe. It was none ot

The four stages of spiritual evolution was mentioned by T.Rajarathinam, in a discourse. There are said to be four stages in spiritual evolution. The first is to do with rituals. The second is to do with the recitation of mantras. The third involves yoga. The fourth is the most evolved stage of jnana. A fruit begins its journey as a bud. The bud blooms into a flower, which then becomes an unripe fruit and ripens later. Likewise, ritualistic worship is like a bud. Worship through mantras is like a flower. Yoga is the unripe fruit, and the ultimate stage of jnana is the ripe fruit.