Mohan, JPR et al
Here's something i recd. inm the mail. It has more info about events than i know.
Hi,
The festival season has begun. The festivals are Onam on 25th August, Janamashtami on 3 September ,Ganapathi on 13 th September and Rakhsha Bandhan on 26 th August.
ONAM
The onam festival is celebrated in Kerala and marks the end of the summer monsoons. It also has another origin. Once upon a time the world was ruled by a demon king Mahabali who made the world a better place to live in than heaven. This annoyed the Gods who sent down Loed Vishnu as a dwarf and begged Mahabali for the amount of land that he could cover in three steps. Vamana(dwarf) grew in size, his two footsteps covering the heaven and world, the third being used to put his foot on Mahabali's head. Mahabali made the absolute sacrifice of his ego. The spirit of sacrifice in us Indians is one of the foundations of our culture. ( read essay Foundations of Indian Culture.) Just before Mahabali was pushed out of this earth he was allowed to visit his people every year. Onam marks the return of Mahabali to his kingdom.
The social fabric in this beautiful state is based on the festival. The fabric is so knitted that no human being is segregated from the divine. Divinity is all pervading, everywhere and in every human being. It comes from Sacrifice. This does not mean denying yourselves the basics of life but denial of a ego centric existence, the root cause of all unhappiness. Life is to be lived and enjoyed.
Most of us live a three dimensional life ie the life of waking, dreaming and deep sleep experiences. Few of us are capable of living a life of divine consciousness called the fourth plane. If we can reach the fourth plane we can say the flower has blossomed and started giving its fragnance. This is the underlying logic behind the Onam. "The blosoming of a flower."
Onam is celebrated to symbolise this flight to " Peak " in life ie life in the fourth plane. Onam is celebrated over ten days. After the monsoons Kerala is lush green with streams full of water, nature is at its best. Young children collect flowers every day for ten days prior to the main day ie Thiru-Onam. During this time beautiful floral decorations are made outside every house and boat races are held in Kerala. A twenty one course feast is the most important of the festival.
The Lord of Onam called Thrikakkarappan is made of mud, in a almost shapeless shape, with a square bottom, four faces and a pointed top. The four faces depict the four stages in a man's life. The ascent from the square bottom to the pointed top indicates the ascent of man from his animal tendencies to a highly spiritualistic stage thru the four stages of Kaumaram ( bachelor student ), Garhastyam ( married householder ), Vanaprastham ( hermit ) and Sanyasam ( wandering renunciate).
There is great rejoicing during the festival. Farmers bring presents for their landlords and get presents for themselves. Family members get new clothes and gifts from the head of the family.
Some might argue about the futility of celebrating a festival based on Mythology. It is not the end but only the means of reaching the divine, of living an ego-less existence. The festival brings a sense of oneness amongst the people. There is happiness all around. Various Indian customs and festivals have evolved for the same reason. India is essentially an agricultural country. The Punjabis celebrate Baisakhi to mark the end of the harvest season, the Malayalees celebrate Onam to mark the end of the summer monsoons. A number of our festivals can be directly linked to agriculture whose success or failure depends on how the weather Gods behave.
JANAMASHTAMI .
As a child I remembered Janamashtami for the gobinda aala re song. Boys would form a ring, one floor after another till one of them broke the earthen pot, the curd spilling out. I loved it and always stood next to these guys hoping that some of the curd would fall on me.
J is the birthday or janamdin of Lord Krishna. On this day he was born in Mathura. We are inspired by his stories for infinity. Lord K was an incarnation of Vishnu. His incarnation has had a profound impact on Indian culture, philosophy, civilization as none other.
K is Sanskrit means Dark indicating the Supreme Consciousness. Darkness is not to be confused with light. It exists in the life of men who remained rooted in terrestial experiences ie some one who is attached to the materialistic objects of the world.
The incarnation of K represents the descent of the Infinite Brahman ( a person who has is self-realized, reached nirvana. ) K has always been known to have a Blue color with Yellow clothes. The Blue color is associated with the infinite like the blue sky, sea. ( not Mumbai ka polluted sea which is greyish black.) Yellow is accepted as the color of the earth, since the earth when introduced into a colorless flame emits a yellow hue. Hence these colors indicate that the Pure, Infinite Consciousness of K that has descended on earth to play a finite role.
K was born in Mathura. His tyrant uncle Kamsa, imprisoned his father, usurped the throne of Mathura creating confusion and chaos. K destroyed the tyrants and restored peace in the land. Taking the logic forward to man. Every human being is born a good person, pure. However, sometimes his mind gets taken over by two evil forces ie ego and ego-centric desires which cause agitations and anxieties within. When a man conquers these two evils peace gets restored.
K has been criticized for dancing amongst the Gopis. K, the Infinite Brahman had reached the stage of Divine Consciousness. Inspite of being in their midst, he remained unaffected by their presence. Even today a man who has conquered his desires would remain unaffected if Aishvarya Rai were to dance before him. It is all in the mind. Thus, if the lives of such God men are read without the understanding of their mystical symbolism, one comes to wrong conclusions.
K played the flute and brought out enchanting music. The flute by itself cannot bring any music. But when the Lord plays the music is divine. So also the human body by itself is inert and capable of nothing. It contains sense organs ( eyes etc ), mind-intellect ( compared to the wholes in a flute ) thru which the consciousness expresses itself and brings out harmony and peace. Thus by identifying with one's Divine Self , the melody and music of life can be drawn out of oneself. Concentration on the self could be one of the reasons why some call Hinduism a introvert religion. Actually it is only Self Realization. Unless we dvelve upon ourselves, look within, discover ourselves we will always be unhappy as we would try to become something that we are not. You can take a horse to a pond and ask him to drink. Unless the call comes from "within" the horse will not drink the water.
Another criticism of K was getting Yudhister to lie to Dronacharya about the death of his son Ashwathama. The story goes - K knew that there was no way the Pandavas could control their Guru Dronacharya on the battlefield with one exception. If his son Aswathama died ,Dronacharya would give up arms. Now there was an elephant by the name of Ashwathama. After the elephant was killed Droncharya was told about it. Over come with grief he asked Dharmraj Yudhister whether it was true that Ashwathama was no more. Yudhister replied in the affirmative. Dronacharya laid down his arms and was killed. K masterminded this plan for which he has been criticized. I call this an Aswathama lie. When a lie is said for a good purpose it no longer remains a lie. Its akin to misleading an enemy so what if he looses his life in the process. Its a question of a fight between Dharma and Adharma.
Lets celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, The Light.
VINAYAKA CHATURTHI OR GANAPATHI.
Vigneshwara, one of the popular deities worshipped by members of most Indian religions. It is Maharahtra's most important festival. Ganapathy is also the God of Knowledge and is invoked at the commencement of any function. He is the god that protects his devotees from any obstacles ( vighnam ). Hence the name Vighneswara. He is also described as the Supreme Leader ( Vinayaka). Ganapathy is said to have had two spouses. Buddhi(intellect) and Siddhi(achievement). Thus he is the master of knowledge and achievement. Probably, a combination of Sidhhi and Vinayak have given Mumbai's most famous Ganesh temple the name of Siddhivinayak. His parents were Siva and Parvati.
Legend has it that Ganapathy himself wrote the Mahabharata, to the dictation of Guru Veda Vyasa. He is also considered the most intelligent. A challenge was thrown to brothers Ganapathy and Karthikeya by Sage Narada. The challenge was whoever went around the globe first would have the fruit first. Karthikeya went around the world which took quite some time while Ganapathy went round his parents thrice and claimed the fruit. The logic he gave was that since his parents represented the universe he had gone round them.
Now do not look at this story as a rational logical person but try and understand the thought behind it. It is to do with the use of the Intellect. Ganapathy used it to know what the Sage meant while his brother took the Sage ka order at face value. Similarly in our lives we must learn to use our Intellect ( the ability to discriminate between right and wrong ) and look at the deeper meanings of things. Using our intellect will force us to make decisions, right or wrong, time will tell. If wrong, so what, we will learn by our mistakes. The key is to try.
Ganesh Puja was prevalent in Maharashtra since the ancient times. We owe it to Bal Gangadhar Tilak for reviving it. He used to unite the people and arouse them against the misdeeds of foreign rule. Its popularity has only grown in recent times. The annual ceremony at Chowpatty ( Mumbai ka beach ) gets lacs of people wanting to have a dekho at the Elephant God being immersed into the Arabian Sea.
Lord Ganesh is worshipped in different forms in India and abroad. At Jabbalpore the Lord appears in a female form. At Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh he appears as playing a flute.
He is worshipped as Mahabini in Borneo, Totkar in Mongolia, Tchoprak in Tibet, Brahganesh in Cambodia, Kwanshidiyik in China, Vinayaksha in Japan. Vaishnavites call him Vishwak Sena. There is a rock cut temple in King-Hsein in China for him. With five faces he is worshipped in Nepal. In a Yogic pose of meditation he attracts the people of Java. He can truly be said to be India's international God.
Taking his example I would urge Indians to be outward looking. India prospered when its interaction with the world was at its zenith. Lets shed our inhibitions and complexes of the Nehruvian Era and participitate in the world as Equals, second to none.
As Ekadanta, the Lord has limitless powers. As Heramba, he removes obstacles. As Lambodara, He protects all worlds. As Surpa Karna, He shows compassion by giving the highest knowledge. All these names for for Lord Vinayaka, who is the Lord of all.
The Lord has four hands. In one hand he has a rope while in another he has an axe. With the axe he cuts off the attachment of his devotees to the world of plurality and thus end all the sorrows that go with it. The rope is used to pull the devotee close and closer to the Truth. In a third hand he holds a rice ball that represents the joys of Sadhana. With the other hand he blesses his devotees and protects them from obstacles that they may encounter on their Spiritual path of seeking the Supreme.
Now, some of you might argue that what is a God doing with an axe. How can he be party to violence ? Again the key is to look at the deeper meaning. The axe signifies the cutting of our attachments with the objects of the world, on a materialistic and emotional plane.
Ganapathi Bapa Moriya Pudchya Varti Laukar Yaa. ( ganapathi, the lord, come again soon next year.)
RAKSHA BANDHAN
Rakhi as we call it is on the 26th of August. The sister ties a thread to her brother who in turn gives her a gift, money. In these commercialized times the thread has given way to Jumbo, fancy, loud Rakhis.
By tying a Rakhi to a man, the women is making him responsible for her safety. Its a commitment from a brother that he would take her care of her, financially, emotionally etc.
The word Raksha has a historical perspective to it. My mind goes back to 1303 when Alauddin Khilji, the Turk Afghan Delhi ruler invaded Chittorgarh ( in Rajasthan ). Rani Padmini, the King's wife sent out Rakhis to the Kings of neighboring states. By doing so she implied their sister was in danger and they should rush their forces to protect her. This could be one of the reason for the festivals popularity.
This festival is more popular in the North. Since most of India's battle with foreign invaders be it Alexander or the Musilms were fought in the North, Raksha or security of women folk was needed more in the North than else where. Rape of women, inevitably followed every military loss.
The festival indicates that women were treated with respect in those times.
Recent events have proved that the U.S. is world's only super power. It is important for the Indian community in the U.S. to influence decision making in Washington. We are a very prosperous and well endowed community in the U.S. Can we use our clout to further India's national interest.
Read all about the India Caucus. Is your House Representative a member of the India Caucus? If not, persuade him to join. Would you like to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper?
Do you like to keep up-to-date on news about India-America relations, visit the site regularly.
For the full story and further action required of Indian-Americans, please visit the Lobby for India website indiatogether.org
Cheers
sanjeev
|
