Friday, November 16, 2007
Deepawali -- Maa Lakshmi
Dipawali is one of the most important festivals of India which has both social and spiritual significance. Dipawali is celebrated in autumn. According to Pauranic scriptures, on the night of the new moon, when Dipawali is celebrated, the Goddess of Prosperity, Maa Lakshmi, descends on earth and visits everyone's home to find the ones worthy of having the priviledge to provide Her with shelter. How does Lakshmi decide which is the right place for Her to stay? According to the Pauranic scriptures, the Goddess says: "I live in the house of those who are good in moral appearance, who have good character and are wise in their actions, those who are always ready to fulfill their duties, those who never misuse their energy on anger, those who have faith in God, are grateful and have control over their senses, those who follow the path of righteousness carefully and serve the elders and gurus with devotion, those who have full control over themselves in all kinds of circumstances and are confident, those who have the forgiveness in their hearts and have the passion to help others." According to the scriptures, the Goddess says: "I love those women who care for their family's unity and who have character and discipline." We can assume that the female form signifies a safe and warm shelter. Whereas the male form might suggest a atern father. This is just the case when young children are upset. They need a female form to feel safe again. In the meditation, the smiling Lakshmi gives courage to Her restless children. She shows them the path to tranquility, away from the restlessness of amabasya. She shows them her four hands. The first hand (lower right) has all five fingers joined together and there is the sacred swastik on the palm. The swastik symbolizes nobleness of character. The enjoined five fingers signify that all five senses are under control. In the upper right hand, Maa Lakshmi is holding a red lotus. The flower again represents character, and the colour represents materialism and warmth of sentiment. The interpretation can be that we are reminded that even in material aspects we must maintain the character of a lotus. Only then can the five senses come under control.The lower left hand of Maa Lakshmi is releasing the eternal river of wealth. This signifies that we must release the material world from our minds. This can only happen when the heart is pure. In Her last hand, Lakshmi holds a pitcher that symbolizes true wealth and prosperity, not the material sort that most believers mistakenly expect from the Great Mother on this auspicious day. Hindus erroniously believe that we perform Lakshmi puja to receive material wealth. Many of the nights of Dipawali are spent gambling, in the opes of inspiring Maa Lakshmi's generosity. This must be far from the truth, She must surely be leery of and tire from those of us who simply crave Her presence for the sake of material gains. The wealth and prosperity that we associate with the Goddess Lakshmi is supposed to be the evolution of the soul, mind, character, and therefore behaviour. On Kartika Amabasya, Lakshmi forearms Her devotees with the advise to leave the path of worldly comforts and pleasures and to move towards the paths of purity, generosity, and compassion. Happy Dipawali to all of you!
Chhat Parva--Kartikeya- Murugan
Skanda Sashti --- Chhat Parva
By Shri P.Venkatesh
The culmination of the six day worship of Lord Muruga or Kartikeya, elder son of Shiva and Parvati and sibling of Ganesha , falls on the sixth day after Deepawali , the festival of lights . Called Skanda Sashti , the occasion celebrates the victory of Skanda , the supreme commander of divine forces , over demons Tarakasura Surapadman . Krishna declared in the Gita, “Of Generals, I am Skanda”.The victory symbolizes our surmounting of inner demons and vices.
The number six is special to Skanda.There are six holy abodes of His in Tamil Nadu: Palani, Swamimalai, Thirupparangunram, Pazhamudircholai, Thiruthani and Thiruchendur. The legend goes that he was born of the six rays of light that emerged from Lord Shiva’s third eye. This event happened in the month of Kartik ( November ), hence Kartikeya is one of His names. The six rays fell in Sara Vana, the forest of green grass, hence his six syllable name Sarvanabava. The mantra is so potent that its recitation is believed to attract people (Sa), wealth (Ra), removes debt and disease (Va), suppresses problems(Na), charms others (Ba), and stops negativity(Va).
The six rays turned into six babies, each looked after by one of the six maidens of the constellation of Kritikai ( Pleiades). The six babies were united into one by Goddess Parvati when she held them in her arms .So, He was called Shanmukha, the six faced one. The six faces bestow six divine attributes to the devotee: Jnana or wisdom, vairagya or detachment, Bala or strength ,kirti or fame, Sree or wealth, and Aishwarya or divine powers.
Muruga’s weapon is the spear called Vel. The Vel represents Shakti, the universal power that destroys the effects of sins and grants liberation. He is married to Devayani, daughter of Indra, and Valli, a tribal chieftain’s daughter, signifying that class does not matter. When He killed Surapadman, the demon’s body split into two. One half became a peacock , His vehicle, and the other half turned into a rooster and features on His flag. The Snake below the peacock’s feet symbolizes conquest of ego and fearlessness. The rooster heralds the dawn of wisdom with removal of the darkness of ignorance.
Muruga is the preceptor of Om, the primordial sound that is the all pervading Reality. Owing to a curse, Shiva forgot the knowledge of Om. Shiva approached his son Muruga, who in turn requested his fatherto become his disciple. Shiva placed the child Muruga on his lap, and Muruga whispered the secret divine knowledge in his father’s ears. Hence, Muruga came to be known as the Swaminatha Swami, the One who taught the Universal Teacher Shiva, revealing that age is not a constraint to disseminating knowledge. You are never too young to teach nor ever too old to learn.
Once, Arunagirinathar, a devotee, was disillusioned with life and was about to end his life by jumping of the temple tower of Thiruvannamalai. Muruga not only saved him, but also inspired him to compose the Thiruppugazh, a compilation of devotional songs, which is recognized to be a great literary achievement. The poet declares in a composition that Muruga never fails to come to the rescue of a true devotee.
Most temples dedicated to Kartikeya or Muruga—including the Malai mandir in Delhi--bear the following words of reassurance at the entrance: “ Why fear when I am there?”
By Shri P.Venkatesh
The culmination of the six day worship of Lord Muruga or Kartikeya, elder son of Shiva and Parvati and sibling of Ganesha , falls on the sixth day after Deepawali , the festival of lights . Called Skanda Sashti , the occasion celebrates the victory of Skanda , the supreme commander of divine forces , over demons Tarakasura Surapadman . Krishna declared in the Gita, “Of Generals, I am Skanda”.The victory symbolizes our surmounting of inner demons and vices.
The number six is special to Skanda.There are six holy abodes of His in Tamil Nadu: Palani, Swamimalai, Thirupparangunram, Pazhamudircholai, Thiruthani and Thiruchendur. The legend goes that he was born of the six rays of light that emerged from Lord Shiva’s third eye. This event happened in the month of Kartik ( November ), hence Kartikeya is one of His names. The six rays fell in Sara Vana, the forest of green grass, hence his six syllable name Sarvanabava. The mantra is so potent that its recitation is believed to attract people (Sa), wealth (Ra), removes debt and disease (Va), suppresses problems(Na), charms others (Ba), and stops negativity(Va).
The six rays turned into six babies, each looked after by one of the six maidens of the constellation of Kritikai ( Pleiades). The six babies were united into one by Goddess Parvati when she held them in her arms .So, He was called Shanmukha, the six faced one. The six faces bestow six divine attributes to the devotee: Jnana or wisdom, vairagya or detachment, Bala or strength ,kirti or fame, Sree or wealth, and Aishwarya or divine powers.
Muruga’s weapon is the spear called Vel. The Vel represents Shakti, the universal power that destroys the effects of sins and grants liberation. He is married to Devayani, daughter of Indra, and Valli, a tribal chieftain’s daughter, signifying that class does not matter. When He killed Surapadman, the demon’s body split into two. One half became a peacock , His vehicle, and the other half turned into a rooster and features on His flag. The Snake below the peacock’s feet symbolizes conquest of ego and fearlessness. The rooster heralds the dawn of wisdom with removal of the darkness of ignorance.
Muruga is the preceptor of Om, the primordial sound that is the all pervading Reality. Owing to a curse, Shiva forgot the knowledge of Om. Shiva approached his son Muruga, who in turn requested his fatherto become his disciple. Shiva placed the child Muruga on his lap, and Muruga whispered the secret divine knowledge in his father’s ears. Hence, Muruga came to be known as the Swaminatha Swami, the One who taught the Universal Teacher Shiva, revealing that age is not a constraint to disseminating knowledge. You are never too young to teach nor ever too old to learn.
Once, Arunagirinathar, a devotee, was disillusioned with life and was about to end his life by jumping of the temple tower of Thiruvannamalai. Muruga not only saved him, but also inspired him to compose the Thiruppugazh, a compilation of devotional songs, which is recognized to be a great literary achievement. The poet declares in a composition that Muruga never fails to come to the rescue of a true devotee.
Most temples dedicated to Kartikeya or Muruga—including the Malai mandir in Delhi--bear the following words of reassurance at the entrance: “ Why fear when I am there?”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)