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Showing posts from October 16, 2019


Why is a new broom bought during Diwali?

During Diwali many Hindu homes in India buy a new broom – a symbol of Goddess Lakshmi. There is a tradition of Goddess Lakshmi visiting homes on Diwali. Goddess Lakshmi is believed to reside only in places which are neat and clean. Therefore people buy a new broom. It is not just homes and surroundings that are to be cleaned but it also an opportunity to clear the mind of all greed, ego and anger. Thus the buying of a broom symbolizes both cleanliness and spiritual rejuvenation after removal of dirt from mind. In many regions, on Diwali day, the broom is worshipped and is decorated with turmeric and vermilion powder.

Ashta Bhairava – Spiritual Importance In Hinduism

Ashta Bhairava is the eight forms of Bhairav Shiva. The Bhairavas are eight in number, similar in form and feature to that of the principal deity. The principal Bhairava is known as Svacchanda. The subordinate Bhairavas are known as Kapalisha, Sikavahana, Krodharaja, Vikarala, Manmatha, Meghanadeshwara, Somaraja and Vidyaraja. Symbolism Ashta Bhairava  Kshemaraja, in his commentary of Svacchanda Tantra, indicates that these Bhairavas spiritually represent egoism, intellect and mind, the sense organs with their respective objects, knowledge, inner delight that arises on account of contact with the body and, finally, the dynamic energy itself. Ashta Bhairava And Eight-Petaled From  In mandala (the sacred diagram), the principal deity occupies the center of the eight-petaled lotus. The above said eight subordinate Bhairavas occupy east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, north and northeast. Ashta Bhairava Physical Form They have faces with three eyes and ten

How To Observe Ahoi Ashtami Vrat? – Mantra and Puja Vidhi - Hoi Mata Fasting and Puja Procedure

Ahoi Puja, or Ahoi Ashtami Vrat, is observed by mothers on the eighth day during the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) of Kartik month in North India . Puja and fasting dedicated to Hoi Mata is the main observance on the day, which falls before Diwali. The fast begins at sunrise and ends with the sighting of moon or star. Here is a simple step by step guide to how to observe Ahoi Vrat.  Ahoi Ashtami Fasting Duration and Time to Fast The fasting is from morning to sighting of moon or stars in the night sky. It is a complete fast. But many devotees drink water and eat food made using Sabudana or fruits. After the morning prayers, mothers do their normal work. When to do the Puja Most women in the neighborhood gather for the puja in the afternoon or an hour or so before sunset for the Ahoi Puja. Pradosh Kaal is ideally chosen for the puja (5:30 PM to 7:00 PM). Drawing A Painting of Ahoi Mata A painting of Ahoi Mata is made on the wall or a picture or idol is place

Anuradha Nakshatra Date and Time in 2020 – Anusham - Anizham Birth Star Dates in 2020

Anuradha Nakshatra 2020 dates and time based on traditional Hindu calendar, Astrology and Panchangam. Also known as Anusham or Anizham Birth Star in South India, is the 17th Nakshatra among the 27 Nakshatras. Below are Anuradha Nakshatra dates in 2020. The astrological prediction of the birth star Anusham as per Moon Sign is that of Vrischika Rasi. Mars or Mangal is the lord of Vrischika. The color of Anuradha is Red Brown. Anuradha - Anusham - Anizham Nakshatra 2020 Date and Time - North - East - South of India This time is applicable in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Pondicherry, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Andaman and Nicobar. January 20, 2020, Monday Time is from 1:34 AM on January 20 to 1:06 AM on January 21, 2020 February 16

Kaka Kalelkar – Views On Religion And Truth

Kaka Kalelkar, a Gandhian thinker and writer, has enriched Gujarati literature with his numerous books. As the author of essays, a thinker and a prose writer par excellence, he has a permanent place in Gujarati literature. Here is a look at his views on religion and truth. A streak of religious thought runs through Kalelkar’s creative as well as reflective writings. The quintessence of Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and devotional poetry of the saint poets of Maharashtra seems to have shaped his religious viewpoint. He accepts Gandhi’s path of action. He believes that the organization, wary of thinking, behavior and conduct which can lead to all round benefit of the people is religion. Kalelkar’s view of religion is based on the pivotal point of truth. Hence he has also explained the various meanings of truth. By teaching Arjuna his own religion, Krishna had initiated him into universal religion. In the same way, Kalelkar sees equality in all end, thereby awakens

No Delusion For One Who Has Understood Oneness – Swami Vivekananda

There is no delusion for one who has understood the concept of oneness – Swami Vivekananda explains this basic teaching of Hinduism  ( Complete Works 2:153) If you go deep enough, all will be seen as only variations of the One, and he who has attained to this conception of Oneness has no more delusion. What can delude him? He knows the reality of everything, the secret of everything. Where is there any more misery for him? What does he desire? He has traced the reality of everything to the Lord, the Centre, the Unity of everything, and that is Eternal Existence, Eternal Knowledge, Eternal Bliss. Neither death nor disease, nor sorrow, nor misery, nor discontent is there. All is Perfect Union and Perfect Bliss. For whom should he mourn then? In the Reality, there is no death, there is no misery; in the Reality, there is no one to mourn for, no one to be sorry for. He has penetrated everything, the Pure One, the Formless, the Bodiless, the Stainless. He is the Knower, He the

Meaning of Tirtha and why pilgrimage is not the real meaning of Tirtha – Swami Purnananda

True meaning of Tirtha is not just mere pilgrimage. Swami Purnananda explains it. The Sanskrit word ‘tirtha’ is derived from the root verb ‘tr’, meaning ‘to cross’, ‘to surpass.’ So according to the derived meaning, a ‘tirtha’ is a place from where one can surpass or overcome one’s evil actions or a place from which one can ascend to a higher stage of life. A holy place raises us by leading to a higher mental plane; it has the power to manifest godliness in the human heart by making it pure. The ultimate Truth is the foundation of spiritual science. All scientific truths – even religions and philosophies – are but lower steps of the seemingly infinite flight of stairs that leads to the summit of spirituality. Pilgrimage also happens to be one such step. In English, one who goes on pilgrimage is called a pilgrim. The world ‘pilgrim’ is derived from Old French ‘peligrin’ or from Late Latin ‘Pelegrinus’, meaning foreigner. A pilgrim is ‘one who journeys in foreign l

Aitareya Upanishad Teachings

A collection of teachings from the Aitareya Upanishad. The Self being unknown, all three states of the soul are but dreaming – waking,   dreaming, and dreamless sleep. In each of these dwells the Self: the eye in his dwelling place while we wake, the mind is his dwelling place while we dream, the lotus of the heart is his dwelling place while we sleep the dreamless sleep. If an individual awake from his threefold dream of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep, he sees no other that the Self. He sees the Self dwelling in the lotus of his heart as Brahman, omnipresent, and he declares: “I know Brahman”. That which glows (Sun) is OM. Who is this Self whom we desire to worship? Of what nature is this Self? Is he the self by which we see form, hear sound, smell odor, speak words, and taste the sweet or the bitter? Is he the heart and the mind by which we perceive, command, discriminate, know, think, remember, will, feel desire, breathe, love and perform other like acts? N