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) 

Beautiful Life

life is beautiful.....
not because I am the most happiest
not because I have everything I desire
not beacause I am the richest in this world
not because I am the most successful

but because life taught me to understand that
happiness is untouched by any means and exists as one with us
desire is not everything in this world to change our life
the richest gifts of life are affection and time, all within one's hands
success on its own was always mine, if I believed in it

it is this simple beauty of life that makes it even more beautiful

A beautiful life...

Life?!! the word raises so many answers... 'oh life'............. 'hmmm life'.. 'hey thats cool'...'great'.... life is 'Fine'.... 'its tough'....... well at least it has so many colourful views, comments, compliments ;). , and that is what makes life beautiful. Life holds so many moments..moments of happiness, love, care, anger, anguish, sorrow, repentance, loss, victory, grief, guilt.....etc but all for a short period..... each moment is worthless without its counterpart. To realise beauty, one needs to see the ugly. ultimately all the good and the bad exist in coexistence......... to realise one, you need the other...to strike a balance, we need the two ends and that is what makes life the best tutor and the most beautiful one. the beauty of life is in the thought of mere existence. 

pattern of life

There is a pattern in every life and a life for every pattern of life............ all are destined to be mortal and none permanent. Learn the pattern of your life and accept it to live peacefully. Every pattern is for a reason...find it out to understand life.

giving

when one has the strength to give, give without a reason, give for no reason, because that is a  natural, beautiful trait that one possesses and that which brings happiness around. Do not entitle self for any reward.... as wanting a reward is not a trait of giving..the reward lies in the satisfaction of giving itself, otherwise one would have never done it. 

silence.... a bliss

The dawn has once again set in to welcome the beginning of another time period, just like a new day, just like the new year. What has this new era brought along? Has it brought lots of cheers, wishes and a celebration? To celebrate what? Is it celebrating the passing of the past moments that were filled with so many episodes, teachings and experiences? Or is it the celebration of something awaited? If so desperately awaited, is it sure to happen in the aspiring future? What has this Time, be it past or the present or the future taught one? Is it going to be the same old wants, needs and fulfilments! then, there is nothing new or different with this new time phase.
Is one locked in these faces of time; past, present and future?
Today as we pass through another new momentary phase, a lasting experience says time is undivided. It is our thoughts and wants that are actually divided. We exist and work towards establishing ourselves in life. We make a living as long as we, our body exists as long as the responsibilities need to be fulfilled. Yet, it is all very temporary, just as the leaving moment, just like the ever-running hands of the clock, the moments too are running! What is permanent then? That which was always with us.  The silence that was always present; but was shadowed by the voices of our thoughts and wants, whose presence is pleasantly felt as the voices are hushed. When the voice is calmed and the noise of our thoughts is quelled, silence peacefully blossoms as the immortal bliss.

silence.... hear me

Have you heard silence...... hmm does it sound weird? its easy....silence can be heard...in the midst of noises, it exists. hear the silence, feel it......cherish it.... its beautiful, yes.... Silence...... is a bliss, total freedom........absolute happiness. Silence unfolds everything but holds nothing.... and that nothing is the ultimate truth.............the complete resolution.....the unbound, immense happiness........... freedom.........peace

By being conscious of the surroundings (unreal), one is conscious of the self and ultimately will grow to know beyond the consciousness into reality that is the same as the inner self. Learn to unlearn...to know the reality

The True Companion

Being a human being is so complex.... sometimes a laugh.... other times lots of tears..... sometimes a fear..... then again anger..... a thought, a word.....an argument ....... times of love and passion..care and affection...........victory..achievement...failure.....hmm....the list goes unending... you name it;) Thankful to my emotions.... hate has never taken place in thy heart...  it is nevertheless  existing..... in the bunch of human emotions. Still...these have no permanent existence in our lives... true., words come and go..... people come and go.... Thoughts tooo exist for a small life time........ no-one and no-thing seems to be a permanent companion.... not to forget thy shadow... it exists only under the sunlight.... which tooo is periodical is its presence.... .............. Is there anything else this list is missing............ yes!, Silence.... it is a pat of life but we never give it any recognition nor importance because ... prioritizing silence means letting go all our emotions.... which we feel are the essence of life................... yet if we take time to analyze .............. silence has been existing as a background of every thought, word, feeling, emotion.............etc.............. its just we fail to visualize it because the other prioritized things over shadow it ... that comes to the fore front when the other momentary pleasures and satires fade away...... yet silence has and always been existing without change ............ truly silence is the companion that promises to stand by in-spite any situation.. it is definitely "The True Companion"..

Thoughts.... what if they never existed.... there would be no words............ sometimes  I just want to stay blank... complete silence of mind........ there has been a silence in thy words... I ask myself is it necessary to write.... lost in the realm of thoughts we never thought of the thinker.... probably the answer is happiness itself

Silence is the most beautiful thing... wish I could contain it longer....... there are a bundle of words and thoughts overflowing yet I want to be silent......... again I utter... its such a struggle going on within self.... wish I could balance

Tatvoham... blissful existence

Tvameva mata, pita tvameva
tvameva bandhu, sakha tvameva
tvameva vidya, gnyanam tvameva
tvameva guruve, tvameva shishya
tvameva sarvam, tvameva sakalam..... tvameva sarva tatvam....
chidananda roopam tatvoham shivoham


you are the mother , you are the father, you are the neighbor, you are the friend, you are the knowledge and the wisdom, you are the teacher and the student.... you are everything... always forever.. you are every existence... the blissful existence existing within the heart of the self.... shivoham....shivoham