​Categories: 
Vedic Sounds       and   Tantra Mantra Yantra

Keywords and Tags:
#BijaMantra #SeedSound #Mantrachanting #Haum #BenefitsofHaum #BhaktiYoga #ShivaBijaMantra

Shri Krishna Janmashtami marks the birth of the Lord Krishna, who is the eight incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This day has many religious and cultural significance for Hindus. The main attraction of Janmashtami celebrations is the yoghurt pot sport, in which boys and men form a human pyramid. 

Shri Krishna Janmashtami is a multi-day festival commemorating the birth of the Lord Krishna. 

Lord Krishna was born in Mathura around 3228 BCE and was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva. According to astrological calculations, Krishna was born at midnight, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the Bhadrapada month as per Purnimant calculations or the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the Shravana month as per Amavasyant calculations.

The festival of Krishna Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami is observed by Hindus all over the world. People wear colorful clothing and decorate their homes and temples in celebration of the birth of the Lord. People also bathe Krishna images in temples and put them in cradles. They chant holy mantras in front of the idol to honor him. 
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Devotees mark Krishna's birthday by fasting and keeping vigil on the day. During this time, the Krishna image is bathed in milk and water, and devotees worship the statue of the deity. Temples and household shrines are decorated with flowers and leaves, and sweetmeats are offered to Lord Krishna.

Shri Krishna was born in a time of chaos and oppression on earth! It was a time where persecution was rampant, freedoms were often denied, and evil was blatantly evident. This is when a divine prophecy was made indicating the birth of Lord Krishna. It was believed that Lord Krishna would not only end the oppressive rule of the evil King Kansa, his own uncle, but he will also help to establish justice on earth, by bringing back goodness to mankind. 

Because of this prophecy, King Kansa had jailed Krishna’s parents- Vasudeva and Devaki. Immediately following his birth, his father Vasudeva thru divine intervention, miraculously escaped the prison for a night, to take Krishna across the Yamuna river, to his foster parents in Gokula, named Nanda and Yashoda who were Vasudeva's brother and sister-in-law. 

It needs to be noted that the day before Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated as Balarama Jayanti. This is when the divine serpent Shesha Nag associated with Lord Vishnu took birth as an incarnation of Shri Krishna’s brother Balarama. 

Krishna Janmashtami is also called as Gokulashtami. Nandotsava is a festival celebrated the day after the festival Janmashtami. It is believed that all the villagers of Braj visited Nanda's house to see little Krishna and congratulate Yashoda. Nanda distributed ornaments, clothes, cattle and other valuables among saints and sages. All saints and sages bestowed blessings on Lord Krishna in return. 

This day of Nandotsava is also celebrated as the Dahi-Haandi (yogurt pot) sporting event. In some areas of South India, this pot sport event is known as Utlotsavam. 

Shri Krishna Janmashtami signifies the intervention of the cosmic divine power to restore balance on earth. It reminds us that even though evil may abound, and we may feel oppressed with no apparent way out, there is hope and divine help on the way. We merely need to reach out to Lord Krishna to receive those blessings.
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Lord Krishna’s life was a great example of living one’s life with purpose, but at the same time not getting attached to the people, situations, or the outcomes! Shri Krishna’s teachings thru The Bhagavad Gita (The Divine Song) help us to not only lead a successful life but also live in sync with our cosmic life-path.

 Categories: 
Gods And Deities     and     Festival Celebrations

Keywords and Tags:
#KrishnaJanmashtami  #GokulAshtami  #DahiHandi   #Nandotsava​   #Utlotsavam

​Cosmos has always seemed like a final frontier for man. This is not just the case for astronomers and space scientists, but for each one of us. Since time immemorial, when man has looked up at the night sky, he has wondered about the many stars, galaxies and the 'world beyond'. 

After the initial questions such as what is out there… and who runs this 'whole show' and so on… other questions come up- questions such as about our own essential nature! Who are we? Where did we come from? Where do we go after death… 

It is the nature of man to explore the nature of our universe- our external Universe as well as our internal Universe, the universe that is housed within each one of us, as the Conscious presence… the Divine witness which seems to exist and observe even when we are deep asleep or even unconscious!

At one level, these may seem like spiritual topics which philosophers and other intellectuals have mulled over for centuries and written myriads of volumes… but on another level, these are core questions that we need to answer, so that we can truly appreciate our time here on earth. Not simply read the answers that others have arrived at, but to actually experience the answer by ourself… as our very own understanding of our intrinsic essential nature.

Rishis and sages from ancient India formulated a Maha-Vaakya (special spiritual idiom), also sometimes written as Maha Vakya, that states-  
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It means:   The workings of this Universe (ब्रह्माण्डे- Brahmande) can be understood by studying the workings of an individual being (पिण्डे- Pinde)... because an individual is a mere reflection of the entire cosmos!

In the Vedas, an individual being is called as the microcosm and referred to as the 'Pinda'. The Cosmos or the Universal presence is called as the 'Brahmanda' and is referred to as the macrocosm. Here we find the Rishis indicating that the individual microcosm is complete in its representation of the larger macrocosm. Almost as if, we are like a piece of a holographic creation- where each piece, every individual, has all the information that is needed to become the larger hologram, the entire cosmos.

This Maha Vakya nudges us to explore our own essential nature and by that be able to comprehend the nature of our own individual being, so we can understand the very nature of our Universe.

Categories:
Vedic Texts     and   Vedic Tradition​

Keywords and Tags:
#mahavakya  #spiritualidiom  #mahavaakya #YadPindeTadBrahmande   #Vedanta   #TeachingsfromVedas   #spiritualtransformation #ascension 

Sheetala also written as Shitala, means 'cooling' and it is the name of the goddess who offers us relief and solace from suffering caused by health epidemics. 
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In our current trying times, this becomes even more relevant. Ofcourse, we should take all the necessary medical precautions and follow all the required health-directives, but at the same time, it may be a wise idea to also obtain some blessings from this divine Goddess. It is believed that since ancient times, goddess Sheetala Devi has helped people during epidemic healing crises! In the past, she was particularly invoked and prayed to for protection from smallpox, chickenpox, and other such viral infections.

The goddess Sheetala devi is iconographically shown crowed with a winnowing-fan and carrying a broom, dustpan, neem leaves and a pot of holy water to symbolically indicate that she brushes away all the dis-ease causing factors and disinfects and purifies our living-space.

She is believed to have emerged from the sacrificial fire-ceremony (yagna), that was performed by the cosmic divine energies (Devas) for honoring and appeasing the prime Divine Mother Goddess Parvati.

Goddess Sheetala Devi is mainly worshipped by women. She should be prayed to on a regular basis for good health, and she is particularly revered and honored on the 7th and 8th day after Holi, which are marked as Sheetala Saptami and Sheetala Ashtami respectively. On these days, devotees offer prayers to the divine mother and seek her blessings to not only cure any existing illnesses, but also for prosperity and health for their entire household, village, or town.

Sheetala Devi is recognized and honored by various names across different regions of the Indian subcontinent. She is considered as another manifested form of Goddess Kathyayini (also written as Katyayani).

Goddess Sheetala Devi is associated with both Hindu as well as Buddhist beliefs and traditions.

Categories: 
Gods And Deities     and     Festival Celebrations

Keywords and Tags:
#ShitalaDevi #SheetalaDevi #ShitalaSaptami #ShitalaAshtami #SheetalaSaptami #SheetalaAshtami #HinduFestival​​ ​

​Categories: 
Wisdom Bytes

Keywords and Tags:
#VedicWisdomByte #Dakshinamurthy #Shiva #MahaShivaratri #GreatNightofLordShiva #Shivaratri #DivineGuru​