recreating science needs understanding of its core knowledge, understanding science needs wisdom,.... what is science; it is everything

life is beautiful because we do not live the same moment every moment... the rhythm of its musical notes play high and low to glow up the show. live it, love it and be one with it to make it simply a bliss.

Varna...Casteism ..a prejudice or a stratification based on skill, talent and occupation

Hi, The topic of my writing today is caste system.... being an indian and a hindu..i will discuss and give my opinion and understanding about the caste system in hinduism which is more aptly described as the 'Varna'. Varna is actually a theoretical classification based on occupation. This term Varna  later in the 1900 was overlapped  with the word Jati. Jati is a caste or a community or a sub-community. Each community was recognised by a particular skill that was mastered by its people and those group of people belonged to one 'Jati'. Varna and jati are two sanskrit words.

Ancient Hindu literature classified all humankind, and all created beings, in principle into four varnas;

• the Brahmins: priests, teachers and preachers.
• the Kshatriyas: kings, governors, warriors and soldiers.
• the Vaishyas: cattle herders, agriculturists, artisans and merchants.
• the Shudras: labourers and service providers.

if we try to understand why and on what basis  these Varnas were created, it is found that they are closely related to the skill/talent, the knowhow and the ability of the people to live, survive and work in a particular community. it is a well known fact that while some people are masters of intellect, they may be average in valor. whilst the brave ones may be poor is trading. Some people of the community may be good care givers. All these different capabilities of different people are because of the diverse attitude and natures possessed or adapted by them. 

The social stratification was purely created to provide a smooth functioning of the society that was at the same time efficient. A person who was wise, intellectual and who could motivate the good in a society was a brahmin. The person who was brave, courageous and able to protect the community and lead a clan was the kshatriya. The vaishya was the clever man who could trade well and help in the economic upbringing of the society, and finally the care givers or the ones with the immense ability to provide service to the needs of others in the society were the shudras. So, now we can assign or classify the present day different professions and occupations under these four classes.

The origin of Varnas or caste was never a prejudice, Though with ages people have  brought in their own hierarchy and biasing based on these various classes or groups. 

All these Varnas are essential for the harmonious functioning of life and all of them do exist in every individual as one's inherent nature. we need to develop our own conscience to try to master all these Varnas for a better life.

' Varna' is a sanskrit term that means color.... or appearance... in depth it relates to the color of the aura of an individual.

Be a brahmin who has the wisdom to decipher the right from the wrong and spread positivity around. Be a Kshatriya by being brave enough to face the world and protect the good that dwells. Be the clever vaishya who knows how to make a living. Be a shudra who sees no boundaries when someone needs help and service.

colours of nature

A person who cannot decipher a fact on presentation will not be able to accept any answers. The "why" will be left thirsty.it has to be explained to the self.

when a solution becomes a resolved liberation

As we all move up on the ladder of life we face situational dilemmas at each step........... things turn out sometimes positively, according to our needs and wants or at other times they take the other route.....or as we say, it all went wrong. Yet, we fail to understand that whatever,... the issue is resolved and the result is declared..and this simple solution actually relieves us.

waiting for the result is like a bondage that obstructs us from stepping onto the next step of the ladder. Once we know the decision we are free and relieved to move ahead onto the next goal. it is only when we regret and carry over the reminiscences of the previous solutions, we either feel great or lost. we tend to compare the previous gains or losses with the ongoing...ultimately losing focus on the objective/path of life. the moment we keep our options open and embrace the pattern of life..we are free and liberated and all the solutions and results further liberate our thought dimensions. The steps of the ladder in life have to be completed but when they are done with a liberated thought, physical and material bondages (gain and loss) are of no consequence.

life has a reason for living it............ but if one lives life for a reason or a season.... the reason will itself be lost

Hindu customs and culture

Hindu customs, culture and god. All these have always been responded in different ways by the various generations of hindus themselves, let alone the world. So, today I just want to share my thoughts on them. Well, people have always mentioned that there was a time when people believed in customs blindly and they used to follow them without any questioning of 'why'. So those yesteryear people were branded as ignorant. Well, Today most of us indians question 'why',..and well that is very good!!. However when we do not find any logical reasoning limited to our limited understanding and knowledge, we discard the same as superstition and blind belief. No doubt many customs have been laid with extra covers of fear and superstition, yet, is it not less of a fact that those customs existed from times unknown.... that we now discard them just because the reasoning we get or probably we assume as per our understanding is not worthy. Then, Is this not ignorance!! the existence of any thing, living, nonliving or even a happening needs to be questioned. Such query needs to be answered fully but must never die out and such queries do have solid answers.

why do Indian gods have an image. OK, even if they do why do they look supernormal... with more eyes, heads, hands. why do some gods have heads other than human, like the elephant, monkey or the lion?. Why does each god have a specific animal ride?

Well, sounds interesting but unrealistic? here lies my question now....what is real and what is unreal. Is this human body and the world itself really real. ?

If what we earthlings see and visualise within the the realms of the earth's atmosphere is real, then our imagination can never go beyond this limited reality. We imagine aliens as having some funny body shapes, having multiple heads or hands or ...... and we definitely believe they must be more powerful than us as our movies show them with huge heads. We unknowingly consider them super human with better advanced technologies and living adaptations. however, we actually do not know their real identity...... Hold on, I am nowhere trying to say that there is a connection between hindu gods and our imaginative neighbours from the universe.

What I am trying to say is that man can only believe what he has witnessed on this earth, be it visual, audio, smell, touch or feel. These are the five senses any earthling is armoured with. These are what make our living more easy to understand and accept. If Improperly used without reasoning these same senses can make our life ignorant too.

At this point I would like to talk about our own imagination created superheroes, their superpowers and them being an inspiration to many kids. Is all this real real?! what is inspiration and what is a belief. Do we need to be inspired to believe in ourself?.... yes, it works for all of us.

At this point I would like to share this link herehttp://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/lifestyle/indian-culture/?ref=footerrel&pos=1

So back to our questioning.......why do we wear a bindi, why vermillion on the head, why do we light incense, why do we do arati in front of god, what is  naivedyam/nivedana to god. why are females restricted to go to temple during periods...why is a coconut so sacred for us. why are animals worshiped.... why and why.... there are so many ?????.  Before we try to answer these questions... we need to understand them and we need to understand the origin of all these practices. None of them have sprouted overnight without reason. I may be missing out many more practices.... but I will surely try to reason out the ones I have questioned in my life and will share them in my post.

please refer to my post on ' bindi' dated 4/8/2010 (mm/dd/yyyy)where the significance of vermillion on head has been discussed.
Please refer to my post on 'Idolatry' 11/13/2011(mm/dd/yyyy) where I have put forth the understandings of idols and their worship. we all believe that there is a force that is more powerful than the human intentions and actions that guides us, helps us or even can rage on us. Man can never win over the wits of time and nature. So, this force is the nature that surrounds us on earth and in the universe and that which is still a mystery to be understood. We talk of the big bang theory... what/who created it. Is it the nature or some power that some address as God?. So here we have something or someone unseen or unknown doing things like hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes etc out of the human control. So, we label it either as nature or address it more respectably as God. Now we conclude that god is the most powerful... is everywhere, can see and do almost everything or anything good or bad when he is furious. So to explain the ignorant few people who would otherwise become unruly.... who could otherwise find it difficult to concentrate and meditate on the powerful force guiding our life , man must have come up with the idea of idols.Please refer to my post on 'Idolatry' 11/13/2011(mm/dd/yyyy)

Now The idol has been given, but how do we differentiate it from the normal man and make it superior,for the understanding of people that; this particular idol represents god. The many eyes of the god signify his onlooking of many things. the many heads signify superiority in intelligence. the many hands signify immense strength and having the virtue of doing many things and being more capable. we have gods specific for wealth, studies, medicine, food.... basically, only to make man know the importance of each particular entity in life and give respect to them. we have always been told that wasting food will annoy our deity , Annapurna devi and we may be punished by her. This was mainly to bring discipline to life so that all the sections of people lived in harmony. This was only to make life smoother to live in.
Man shares only a part in this nature and he is definitely not superior to the other creation in life . The animal heads merely make the animals more respectable so that they are not considered inferior to man.

However, Hindu culture and existence works very well and the very same way without Idols and idol worship and even without religion. Have we ever thought of what and why the religion came up for. Probably, as per my understanding from the various experiences in life, religion is merely a school of thought to discipline the society, that could otherwise be baffled about what is right and wrong. Religion is a mere guidance. Hinduism tolerates all cultures and religions because they are not different from each other and because true hinduism believes that different cultures, customs and religions are methods of organising people. At this point I would like to share the beautiful thoughts of the well known Sadhguru http://sadhguru.org/atoz/c/culture/

Why are females not allowed in temples during menses. In our homes a female during menses is asked to occupy a small section of a room where she spends the four days of heavy bleeding. Why ..is this an orthodox, unreasonable or a discriminating act?. NO, definitely there is much reasoning, science and a positive aspect. This custom has been existing from times unknown. In the earlier days when sanitary methods were still under-developed, females used to use cloth in place of sanitary napkins to serve the purpose. The conditions demanded more cleaning measures and were less hygienic. Also, we all know that during those days females would be weaker and need more rest. So, females were restricted so that they would work less, be more at rest and this also served in maintaining the hygiene of one and the entire house.
Blood is the flowing energy in our body... loss of blood by any means is a disturbance in our energy field. Temples are fields of high energy (please refer the post on Idolatry) So when an individual with a disturbed energy field enters the high energy field, it probably could produce sudden change in the energy levels of the body that might not be able to be borne/tolerated by the individual, causing further weakness.

why do we light a lamp in our house , why do we light incense, what is aarti, what is naivedyam.
Hindu culture when read carefully is full of acts that represent/signify something more close to spirituality than religion. A lamp is a positive energy that keeps darkness at bay, let the darkness be more physical or more in terms of human intentions. Darkness brings fear. Light brings hope, energy, strength and confidence. Burning of the incense made of natural fragrances like sandal, jasmine.... would emanate a serene fragrance to make the mind and body more pleasant and serene.... more close to spiritualism. Burning of the incense has a significance, if we can look at it in another way. As the incense stick burns... it gives away an ascending smoke that emanates beautiful fragrance. Human life as it ages....or burns in the fire of life...must give away the material wishes, desires and attachments as one ascends towards reality and at the same time leave a beautiful fragrance/memory behind that would become an example for others to follow and remember.

There are some customs that ask for offerings in the form of animal sacrifices.... man has understood the superficial meaning and is sacrificing the animals... but actually the inner meaning asks for the sacrifice of the raw and cruel nature of a particular animal that exists in every human being. sacrificing a goat or sheep... is in essence sacrificing the arrogance and thoughtless actions that exist in man's nature. goat and sheep...particularly the ram are taken as examples of arrogance.

Camphor is used to burn as aarti in front of god. It signifies the burning away of our ego in front of the supreme power and merge as one into it (as the smoke from the burning aarti/camphor or even the incense merges into the atmosphere)

coconut tree is the only tree which grows by sowing the coconut itself,which is not same with the other trees. The coconut is a significance of prosperity and growth and is thus, considered holy. Naivedyam is a procedure where fruits and flowers and various dishes are offered to god... in the presence of a burning lamp. Incense is burned and Aarti is given at the time of offer. The offerings signify our fruits of life(children, family, attachments), our favourite items (dishes, our wishes and desires) and attachments, gains, losses. In the essence naivedyam is a means of offering the entire self to the nature(god). It is just merging of a part of nature into nature that is eternal and supreme and the only. giving away children, family etc does not mean giving away the people in a physical and superficial sense, but it has an inherent depth in that.... family, children, our desires, belongings that  man assumes to be his possessions and are difficult to let go are actually bondages,. Man, his attachments and belongings are all nature, not different from each other. once we accept this reality that all that one sees is physical and mortal and the real immortal is nature and we are all one with it... the acts of gaining or giving really hold no sense nor any meaning.

understanding of death.... merging of the elemental and material body into the soil and air and merging of the energy/divinity within into the energy of the universe.

Finally what I have learnt from hindu culture, god, customs and religion (for me all hold the same) is that God is the nature and its power within and around us. What we do in life is guided by our elders and their created culture, religion and customs and this is just a journey/path to understand life/reality. This reality is nothing but dwelling in harmony with our nature as a part of it and finally (death) merging as one into it.

Life is the biggest teacher a man has and  will always have.. everything in life is symbolic with open answers. The only trick is to decipher the positive and apt meaning out of it.

The Flow Of River

The flow of the river water is dictated by the slope of the ground upon which it flows, nature has never heard the silent wishes of the water,if there were any, nor did it ever hear the water complain. Yet, the water glides without resistance and merges into the ocean as if it always belonged to be there. There is so much to learn from this simple nature of water .... the most beautiful way to live life and to be content.
Happiness is everywhere , let us not cocoon it with our wishes, resistance and complaints. 

how can the feeling of quenching thirst by the water be forgotten and perish
how can the feeling of the cool breeze touching a face be forgotten and perish
how can the feeling of the warmth of the radiant sun be forgotten and perish
how can the memories of a mother's love be forgotten and perish
how can the memories of a father's friendship be forgotten and perish
how can the fondness of our siblings' mischief be forgotten and perish
how can the bondage of all those who lived and loved us be forgotten and perish
how can the life that taught us what it really is be forgotten and perish
when the feeling some body creates cannot be forgotten then how can the essence of the same body perish
if the feeling is present it is enough to create the presence of the body that once was existing as a physical entity, because the presence is divine and ever-existing and the body is a mere material that once existed in form. Live and feel the divinity of goodness that exists non-perished in the various forms of life.

Ugadi or Yugadi

Yug Adi or Ugadi.... is the beginning(Adi) of another new Year/era(yug). A harvest festival in some of the southern regions in India and yet another colourful and meaningful festival celebrated  in India.

The festival marks the new year day for people between Vindhyas and Kaveri river who follow the South Indian lunar calendar, pervasively adhered to in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March–April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga which is the Indian calendar. In some parts of India it is known asVikram Samvat or Bhartiya Nav Varsh.
While the people of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka use the term Yugadi/Ugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa (Marathi: गुढी पाडवा). Marwari, people of Rajasthan celebrate the same day as their new year day Thapna. Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year dayCheti Chand. Manipuris also celebrate their New Year (Sajibu nongma panba) on the same day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugadi

http://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/sadhguru/masters-words/ugadi-message/
Chandramana Ugadi is the beginning of a new year as per the lunisolar calendar largely followed by the Indian people for many millennia. As in everything else that comes from the East, even the calendar is in terms of what it does to the human physiology and consciousness. The tilt of the globe renders the northern hemisphere to receive the highest amount of the Sun’s energy during the 21-day period that starts from Ugadi. Though it may be uncomfortable for humans in terms of the temperature soaring, this is the time when the earth’s batteries are charged. Ugadi is on the first day of the waxing moon after the first new moon post equinox, suggesting a new beginning.

Bevu-bella/ Ugadi Pacchadi/ Shad-ruchi/ Special mixture of 6 tastes

People of Andhra pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka prepare a special dish that is a blend of six tastes on this day. The dish is called as Bevu bella by the people of karnataka and in the other two states it is known as the Ugadi Pacchadi. In Sanskrit it is known as Shad-ruchi (six-tastes). It is a blend of the raw form of the following ingredients- each ingredient signifies an emotion of life.

1. Neem Buds/Flowers for its bitterness, signifying Sadness
2. Jaggery for sweetness, signifying Happiness
3. Green Chilli/Pepper for its hot taste, signifying Anger
4. Salt for saltiness, signifying Fear
5. Tamarind Juice for its sourness, signifying Disgust
6. Unripened Mango for its tang, signifying Surprise

These 6 tastes are attributed the different attributes/emotions/states of mind that make up life and living of mankind. The new year is begun by tasting this special mixture, with a belief that life is a blend and balance of these various attributes and may this new year give mankind another reason and chance to live life in a more balanced way for peace and happiness. 

In 2015 the Chandramana Ugadi coincided with calendar date of March 21st

A mother's world

I feel my world in your arms
I see my world in your eyes
I live my world in your charms
They say I brought you into this world
but to tell you no lies
it is you...who gave me a new world
Take my word..a mother's word
you gave me a new vision to look at this world
that is simply beautiful

Peace and disrest

Peace is not a thing to be achieved
it is an existence, the presence of which needs to be realized

Dis-rest and terror are things that are created and unreal
They only depict the disturbed state of mind

good, better or best

All that exists in this life, that is good, can be made better to still remain good. it can never be made better than something else to be called the best. Life should not be lived like the superlative grammar but should be lived as it is simple and good.

My poetic world

I live in a poetic world,
where I romance with the teary pearls of my emotions....
I am not alone nor sad, maybe the outside world may see me so
I smile , I laugh, I ridicule with my selves
I sob, I fight, I taunt with within what dwells
I have leapt past the past desires as I no longer find them merriest
I still learn, as I have always, to swim with my tickling emotions
I have seen that the ripples of all my faces thread only to one string
I enjoy every mood no less than the other
I try to live every mood no more than the other
by doing so I learn the pearls of all my emotions bead
into the string of one happiness and bliss
I live in a poetic world no more colourful than yours
It just needs an eye to look for what it stores

life... a thought and a spectacle

Life moves on ... it is not the pace that matters but the change it brings is so spectacular. it is indeed the pace of our thoughts and the spectacle of our eyes.

Find happiness in every moment.... it is a ripple that decides its own never ending journey

Holi.... The festival of colours

Holi is yet another indian festival of harvest and colours.  The harvesting in different regions of india occurs at different time phases of year..due to the largely differing indian climate. Holi marks the end of winter almost completely in North India. Why play with colours? .... play with colours is a mere significance that has been long lost... the colours signify the different colours and emotions of life and man. Playing and enjoying the colours on Holi day signifies that one must accept, balance and enjoy all the colours of life equally... It has a more spiritual significance which considrs balance of life more important than enjoying the more merrier phases or colours of life because life is a bundle, a package and a colourful rainbow. each colour gives significance to the other and each shade does the same, without either, neither of the various colours have any existence or meaning.

in the olden times more natural colours were used but with advancing age of chemicals and techology man has tended more for artificial means of making not just colours but many more things.

Ratha saptami and chatth pooja/Surya shashti

Ratha Saptami or Rathasapthami (sanskrit: रथसप्तमी or Magha Saptami) is a Hindu festival that falls on the seventh day (saptami) in the bright half (Shukla paksha) of the Hindu month maagha. It marks the seventh day following the Sun’s northerly movement (uttarayana) of vernal equinox starting from Capricorn (Makara). It is symbolically represented in the form of the Sun god, surya turning his Ratha (Chariot) drawn by seven horses (representing seven colours of rainbow) towards the northern hemisphere, in a north-easterly direction. The chariot has 12 wheels, representing the 12 signs,(each of 30 degrees) of the zodiac(360degrees) and constituting a full year ( year - samvatsara) occurs somewhere near january-february.

Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season. For most Indian farmers, it is an auspicious beginning of the New Year. The festival is observed by all Hindus in their houses and in innumerable temples dedicated to Surya, across India.

Chhath (devanagri language: छठ, छठी, छठ पर्व, छठ पुजा, डाला छठ, डाला पुजा, सुर्य षष्ठी) is an ancient Hindu festival and a vedic festival dedicated to the Hindu sun God, surya and chhathi maiya (ancient Vedic Goddess Usha(meaning light)). The Chhath Puja is performed in order to thank Surya for sustaining life on earth. This falls on the sixth(shashti) day of the bright lunar phase (shukla paksha) of the karthika masam (month). this falls somewhere during  october-November

on these two particular days,  surya bhagvan(lord) is revered, and hymns and matras are read out in his praise. Two particularly important ones are Aditya hridayam  and Gayatri mantram. Worshiping sun is paying respect and giving recognition to its presence that creates, guides and controls the world with its endless light and energy. The sun is regarded as the prathyaksha-daiva (all visible-god/divinity).

why these sun festivals are carried out during the particular time of the year mentioned? These festivals fall close to some of the astronomical changes occurring around the earth.


The Sun's Daily Motion http://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/SunAndSeasons.html

On any given day, the sun moves through our sky in the same way as a star. It rises somewhere along the eastern horizon and sets somewhere in the west. If you live at a mid-northern latitude (most of North America, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa), you always see the noon sun somewhere in the southern sky.But as the weeks and months pass, you'll notice that the sun's motion isn't quite the same as that of any star. For one thing, the sun takes a full 24 hours to make a complete circle around the celestial sphere, instead of just 23 hours, 56 minutes. For obvious reasons, we define our day based on the motion of the sun, not the stars.On any given day, the sun moves through our sky in the same way as a star. It rises somewhere along the eastern horizon and sets somewhere in the west. If you live at a mid-northern latitude (most of North America, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa), you always see the noon sun somewhere in the southern sky.Moreover, the location of the sun's path across the sky varies with the seasons.


The sun's path through the rest of the sky is similarly farther north in June and farther south in December. In summary:

In late March and late September (at the "equinoxes"), the sun's path follows the celestial equator. It then rises directly east and sets directly west. The exact dates of the equinoxes vary from year to year, but are always near March 20 and September 22.
After the March equinox, the sun's path gradually drifts northward. By the June solstice (usually June 21), the sun rises considerably north of due east and sets considerably north of due west. For mid-northern observers, the noon sun is still toward the south, but much higher in the sky than at the equinoxes.
After the June solstice, the sun's path gradually drifts southward. By the September equinox, its path is again along the celestial equator. The southward drift then continues until the December solstice (usually December 21), when the sun rises considerably south of due east and sets considerably south of due west. For mid-northern observers, the noon sun is quite low in the southern sky. After the December solstice, the sun's path drifts northward again, returning to the celestial equator by the March equinox.

The ratha sapthami coincides with the nothwardly movement (uttarayana)of the sun before the march equinox. The following are the dates of rathasapthami in different years.
2015- 26th january
2014- 6th february
2013- 24th january
2012- 19th february
2011- 10th february

The surya shashti coincides with the time of the southward movement (dakshinayana)of the sun that is after september equinox.
2015-17 november
2014- 29th october
2013- 8 November
2012- 19th november
2011- 1st November
2009- 24th october

Vasant panchami and its significance

Vasant panchami.... Vasant means spring and panchami means fifth day. This day is celebrated somewhere in the months of January to february

The beginning of spring is not always determined by fixed calendar dates. The phenological or ecological definition of spring relates to biological indicators; the blossoming of a range of plant species, and the activities of animals, or the special smell of soil that has reached the temperature for micro flora to flourish. It therefore varies according to the climate and according to the specific weather of a particular year. Most ecologists divide the year into six seasons that have no fixed dates. In addition to spring, ecological reckoning identifies an earlier separate prevernal (early or pre-spring) season between the hibernal (winter) and vernal (spring) seasons. This is a time when only the hardiest flowers like the crocus are in bloom, sometimes while there is still some snowcover on the ground. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(season)

In terms of its cultural significance, vasant panchami has been compared to Chinese New Year and the Christian Candlemas, with the subsequent 40-day stretch between Vasant Panchami and Holi compared to the Christian Lenten season.

Vasant panchami is the festival marking the herald of spring in North India(however not entire north india). Due to the vast differences in the climate and weather conditions in different parts of India, the onset of seasons does not fall on the same day in different parts of India. the herald of spring is marked by sankranthi in the southern states of India. Again this festive day does not fall on the same solar calendar day. Some even consider it the harvest festival. it falls on the (shukla panchami) i.e the bright fifth day of  Magha  masam(month) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_calendar

shukla(white&bright) paksham(one lunar phase or fortnight) means the waxing moon phase or the 15 days before the full moon. Krishna(dark) paksham means the waning moon phase

The other festivals that mark the herald and arrival of spring are - Sankranthi and thai Pongal (mostly in the southern India), Holi (mostly in Noth and notheaster india), Rongali Bihu(assam valley) and the Nowrouz (Jammu,kashmir and parts of gujrat and Uttarpradesh). These festivals also mark the harvest seasons of the particular regions.

The other significant feature of Vasant panchami is the worship of godess saraswati. Godess saraswati is  a  representation of knowledge, wisdom and education. this day is a tribute of paying respect to the knowledge and wisdom, life gives to humanity in the form of nature and its creation. On this day many tasks related to education are initiated... such as initiation of a childs education, laying foundation of any educational institution or any such education and knowledge related events.  

Man has always been god-fearing. he is aware of a higher/divine power responsible for life. So, many wise men have been using this attitude of man to bring in discipline into society , for the welfare and growth of mankind. 

Rangoli, muggu, Kolam - Hindu culture- Why

Muggu/Kolam and Rangoli mean the same, the former two are the terms used in south india.
Rangoli, also known as Kolam or Muggu, is a folk art (drawing) from India in which patterns are created on the floor in courtyards and inside houses using materials such as colored rice, dry rice flour, Turmeric, Kumkuma, flower petals, chalk, chalk powder (slaked lime), white rock powder often using naturally or synthetically colored powders. Originally the materials used were only natural ingredients.

I shall use the term muggu because that is what I call it. The procedure of muggu decoration starts very early in the morning. Ladies would clean their courtyard with water and then apply cow dung on the mud floors to make/prepare a firm base upon which muggu would be made. then the natural materials as mentioned aboved would be used to make beautiful, artistic designs on the prepared floor. muggu could be made using chalk on the similarly prepared interior walls of the house.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangoli

During the very early days, before the invention of the modern building technologies, people used to live in houses made of mud. The evolution of Rangoli started from that time. People used stones , mud, twigs,bamboo shoots and other natural raw materials to build their homes and the finishing of the walls and floor was done with cow dung paste. Once the finshing is done and dried up it emanates a pleasant smell, that is very soothing.

Recent researches have proved that Cow dung has the power to kill bacteria which are harmful for humans. Cow Dung is considered good for health. It is very rich in minerals and a has anti-bacterial properties. It prevents people from various diseases and health issues.
Small insects like scorpions, centipedes etc don’t come near to the places which are coated with the paste of Cow dung. Cow Dung acts as a natural mosquito repellent. Mosquitoes stay away from such places. The floor which is coated with cow Dung remains warm in winters and cold in summers. Though the process of using cow dung is tedious and dirty, the older generation people new the real richness of using it. As it is true people consider it as one of the real rural riches.

Even in many parts of the developing world, and in the past in mountain regions of Europe, caked and dried cow dung is used as fuel. it was the form of fuel in the olden days.

A rondavel is a westernised version of the African-style. The rondavel is usually round or oval in shape and is traditionally made with materials that can be locally found in raw form. Its walls are often constructed from stones. The mortar may consist of sand, soil, or combinations of these, mixed with cow dung. The floor of a "traditional" rondavel is finished with a dung mixture to make it hard and smooth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondavel.

Muggu was and is still a means of decoration, be it in the courtyard or as a means of interior designing of the house in the traditional way. when used in the courtyard materials such as rice, plain (white) or coloured with turmeric(yellow) and kumkum(red), Turmeric, kumkum, dried rice flour would be used and the procedure would be repeated every day. These materials in addition to the esthetic purpose also served as a means of feed to the birds and insects that would feed on them and leave the premises without entering the homes. Cowdung would prevent these from entering the houses. Within the houses, chalk would be used for preparation of the muggu. Kumkum (turmeic+slaked lime) and Turmeric have significant antibacterial properties. The older generation were aware of this and would decorate their doorsteps with these two materials, serving the dual function of esthetics as well as keeping their homes safe from insect and worms.

Traditions had always developed with a deep rooted undrstanding of their utility and importance to man and his existence. However with development and modern trend setting they have lost importance. Some People of today follow them without knowing their significance and some others might just discard and dismay them calling as baseless. The older traditions and habbits in any part of the world have always been eco-friendly in contrast to the chemically influenced world of Today.

Hindu Harvest festivals- Bhogi, pongal, Lohri, Sankranthi

The mid-january time of the year, hindus celebrate the harvest festival.....  the harvest season in a particular region is because of the climatic conditions and the type of crop grown at the particular region at that time of the year. It mostly occurs in the southern part of India where the winter is subsiding. There, they call it Pongal. Lohri is another harvest festival that occurs in another indian state- Punjab. Maagha Bihu is the harvest festival happenning the same time in Assam. The festival is the celebration of the arrival of new grains, pulses or may be sugarcane, new fruits. Pongal, the term means abundance and prosperity. People celebrate to mark their efforts in bringing up the crop..that gives an encouragement. They celebrate for the the arrival of new food. They make feasts out of the new crop. The domestic animals like the cows , buffalo and the oxen would be given much importance because without them farming was not possible(keepin in mind the days of farming before the invention of newer techniques). it is basically a farmer's festival

why worship animals. As I mentioned in my earlier posts worship is a means of paying respect. Man with the capacity to think feels he is nature's most superior creation. unless he is told that paying respect gives him profit he would not care. So came the tradition where man was told that by worshiping the cows one would get prosperity... this was a simple technique to make man more humble and sensible towards the other creatures. 

Bhogi, Pongal and Lohri are meant to be celebrated on the shortest day of the year. A key feature of Lohri is the bonfire. Lighting of the fire has been common in winter solistice festivals throughout time and the world.  it signifies the return of longer days.The bonfire is an ancient tradition, forming a key part of Lohri traditions and is done in the early hours of the day. Here old things are discarded and new things are welcome. This harvest festival marks the beginning of a new financial year for the farmers.

Sankranthi/ Makar sankranti... the day coincides with the above mentioned Harvest festivals. It marks the change in the direction of the sun more northwards. it also hearalds the beginning of spring in the particular region of Indian subcontinent. 

This festival is celebrated in Maharashtra, Gujrat, Karnataka, Andhrapradesh, Bihar, Madya pradesh, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Celebrated in January, this harvest festival goes by different names in different states.

Sun is the light and energy that propels life and one can imagine life without the sun. Hindus worship/ pay respect to the sun by chanting mantras. The mantras carry sound vibrations that create a soothing synchronous energy/ aura around the magnetic field of the particular person... bringing in more harmony.

Festivals all over the world bring in harmony and discipline to mankind..making him more humble, sensible and to make him realise and understand that he is a part of the nature and he needs to respect this nature.

Hindu Festivals

Hi, everyone,

I felt like writing a post on the Hindu festivals of India..... on Why, When and What they actually are. Please check out my up coming posts. I shall start off with the list of important festivals. All of these writings will only put forth my view and understanding of the different hindu festivals.

Back in my hometown.... people would call even the birthday as a festival.... 'Puttina-roju-Panduga'.... meaning the 'Birth-day-festival' So what exactly did they mean....  Most hindu festivals mention the worship of some god during a festival, so does it mean that birthday would be a worship of the particular person.. so exactly what does worship mean. Worship is a way of paying respect for what something or someone is......we hindus worship books for giving us knowledge and education, trees for giving us oxygen and shelter and maintenance of nature, cows for giving us milk, sun for its heat and light without which the whole world would not exist, the clouds giving us rain....and of course a human being......apart from worshiping god. Now, we do not worship the idols, but we worship the divinity called god that we represent in the form of an object that we use to focus upon... the IODOL....well, please refer to my post on Idolatry to see the real significance and reson for the use of idols.

Respect is a means of recognition of the value of anything because as human beings we are only a fraction/part of the world.

Be it a birthday or any festival for the hindus, we do not follow the solar calendar. However, with the blending of culture people now use the solar calendar for the celebration of birthdays. I  will not go into the details of how and why the solar calendar and months were established.

 Hindu festivals follow the luni-solar calendar or the luni-sidereal calendar. All the timing is calculated astronomically taking both the moon(mainly) and the sun positions related to the rotation and revolution of the earth ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_calendar )
According to the hindu calendar, There are 7 days in a week, 12 months in a year each having a length of 29.530589 days  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_calendar)