Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti

 Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti (Balmiki Jayanti) celebrates the birthday of the famous poet Valmiki, who is also known as the Adi Kavi or the first poet that he discovered the first “Sloka” the first verse that set the base of Sanskrit poetry. It falls on the full moon day (Purnima) in the month Ashwin.

The Uttara Khanda tells the story of Valmiki's early life, as an unknown highway robber who used to rob people before murder them. Other versions name him Valya Koli. Once, he tried to rob the divine sage Narada for the benefit of his family. Narada asked him if his family would share the sin he was incurring due to the robbery. The robber replied positively, but Narada told him to confirm this with his family. The robber asked his family, but none agreed to bear the load of sin. Unhappy, the robber finally understood the truth of life and asked for Narada's forgiveness. Narada taught the robber to worship God. The robber meditated for many years, so much so that Ant-hills grew around his body. Finally, a divine voice declared his penance successful, bestowing him with the name "Valmiki": "one born out of ant-hills" (Valmikam in Sanskrit means Ant-hill).(wikipedia)

Dussehra

Dashahara is a festival celebrated in various forms across India, Bangladesh and Nepal. This is also called Dasara, Vijayadashami, Navaratri and Durgotsav

Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the Hindu autumn lunar month of Ashvins, or Ashwayuja which falls in September or October of the Western calendar, the Shukla paksha Pratipada, or the day after the new moon falls in Bhadrapada, the Dashami or the tenth day of Ashvins. This is the highlight of the annual 10-day Navaratri festival. This is the biggest festival in Nepal, and celebrated by Hindus and non-Hindu Nepalis.

In India harvest season begins at this time and so the Mother Goddess invoked to start the new harvest season and activate the power and fertility. In Bangladesh there is a five-day festival and is celebrated in mandaps. On the day of Dasha-Hara, the clay statues of Goddess Durga immersed in rivers. The main festival is held in Dhakeshwari temples and Ramkrishna mission in Dhaka. This is done through religious beliefs and rituals that are intended to invoke cosmic forces that rejuvenate the soil. The Pooja is performed with turmeric and other Pooja, who added to the river to help the water for better crops.

Dasha-Hara is the festival of victory of good over evil. Buses, trucks and machines in factories are furnished. Dasha-Hara is Vishwakarma Divas - the National Labour Day of India. Veda Vyasa is considered the main guru and Vijayadashami is also celebrated as Vyasa puja. Shastra Pooja or worship of the weapons Shastra   Astra used by the goddess Durga is worshiped on this day.

Victory of Prabhu Ramachandra over Ravana

On this day in the Treta Yug, Rama, also known as Shri Ram, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama's wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshman, follower Hanuman, and their small army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Sita. The whole story is recorded in the epic Ramayana, a Hindu scripture.
Burning Ravan  video

Victory of Durga Mata over Mahishasur

Some of the demons or asuras, were very powerful and ambitious, and constantly tried to conquer the devas or Gods, and capture the Heaven. A Asura, Mahishasur, in the form of a buffalo, was very strong and created havoc on earth. Under his leadership, the Asuras defeated the devas. The world was crushed under the tyranny of Mahishasura, the devas ended their energy in Shakti, a single mass of incandescent energy, to kill Mahishasur.

A very powerful band of lightning out of the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and a young, beautiful virgin female with ten hands showed up. All the gods gave their special weapons for her. This Shakti cloud to form the goddess Durga. Riding on a lion, who helped her, fought Durga Mahishasur. The battle raged for nine days and nights. Finally on the tenth day of Ashvin Shukla paksha Mahishasur was defeated and killed by Durga.

Durga Puja

Durga Puja, is also known as Durgotsava, is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga. This refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Bijoya Dashami. Dates for Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu calendar, and the two weeks that correspond to the festival is called Devi Paksha. Devi Paksha preceded by Mahalaya, the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Paksha, and ends at Kojagori Lokkhi Puja.
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tripura where it is a five-day vacation. In West Bengal and Tripura with the majority of Bengali Hindus it is the biggest festival of the year. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated by the state, but it is also the most important socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and Bangladesh, where 10% population are Hindus. Day, many diaspora Bengali cultural organizations arrange Durgotsab in countries like USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In 2006, a major Durga Puja ceremony held in the Great Court at the British Museum.

The prominent Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj in Bengal. Under the Hindu reformists identified Durga with India, she became an icon for the Indian independence movement. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the tradition of Baroyari or Community Puja popularized because of this. After independence, Durga Puja one of the most famous festivals in the world.

Durga Puja includes the worship of Shiva, the Durga's Consort, and the worship of mother nature through the nine types of plants (called "kala bou") representing nine divine forms of Goddess Durga is also done in addition to Lakshmi, Saraswati with Ganesha and Kartikeya, considered to be Durga children. Modern traditions have come to include the display of decorated pandals and artistically depicted idols (Murti) of Durga, exchange of greetings Bijoy and publication of Puja Annuals.


Durga Puja Celebrations

Celebration of Durga Puja goes very far back in history and there are abundant references to it in India literature from 12th century onwards. But today Durga Puja generally a community festival. The Puja celebration over the years has changed color often. Previously, the most expensive of all festivals and could only be done by the rich and powerful like feudal lords, rajas and big businessmen. But it always evoked great enthusiasm and popular support.
But in the ethos of today, the evolution of many clubs, societies and associations made the Puja cosmopolitan character. The social and ritual significance of the Puja has also been adapted to a great degree. Today, this festival has become an occasion for pageantry and extravaganza. Ancient conch shells and drums have given way to high film songs and sometimes the goddess is modeled on popular film actresses. On the other hand, animal sacrifices, an earlier, have been seeing in many places and shrines.

As previously Durga was worshiped alone, now it is more often than not, the goddess with her family. Durga is portrayed as the supreme head, and the presence of Ganesha, Kartikeya, Shiva etc marks a wholesome picture of divinity. In southern India celebrations constitute a display of images of God and playing at home in nine days. But despite the various ways in which this festival is celebrated on the feature that is common is that the worship of mother goddess.


Maha Ashtami Durga Puja

Ganesh Utsav

 

Lord Ganesh, the patron deity is the God of wisdom. Come August and September, preparations to celebrate Ganesh Utsav - the favorable day when Lord Ganesh was born - begin with great enthusiasm throughout the state. The 11-day festival begins with the installation of beautifully sculpted Ganesh idols in homes and Pandals (large tents), colorfully decorated, depicting religious themes or current events. The Ganesh idols are worshiped with families and friends. Many cultural events are organized and people participate in them with great interest. After ten exciting days comes the time to say goodbye to the beloved God.

History of Ganesh Utsav

It is not known when and how Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated. But according to the historian Shri Rajwade, the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can be traced back to the times of the reigns of dynasties as Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya. Historical records reveal that Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were initiated in Maharashtra by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, a great Maratha ruler, to promote culture and nationalism. And it had continued ever since. There are also references in history to similar celebrations during Peshwa times. It is believed that Lord Ganapati was the family deity of the Peshwas. After the end of Peshwa rule, Ganesh Chaturthi remained a family affair in Maharashtra from the period of 1818 to 1892.

In 1893, Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak transformed the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organized public event.

Tilak recognized the wide appeal of the deity Ganesh as "the god for everybody", and popularized Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival in order "to bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins' and find a context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them", and generate nationalistic fervor among people in Maharashtra against the British colonial rule.

Tilak encouraged installation of large public images of Ganesh in pavilions, and also established the practice of submerging in rivers, sea, or other pools of water all public images of the deity on the tenth day after Ganesh Chaturthi.

Under Tilak's encouragement, the festival facilitated community participation and involvement in the form of intellectual discourses, poetry recitals, performances of plays, musical concerts, and folk dances. It served as a meeting ground for people of all castes and communities in times when, in order to exercise control over the population, the British discouraged social and political gatherings.

Ganesh Utsav Celebration

Two to three months prior to Ganesh Chaturthi, artistic clay models of Lord Ganesha are made for sale by specially skilled artisans. They are beautifully decorated & depict Lord Ganesh in various poses. The size of these statues may vary from 3/4 of an inch to over 25 feet.

Ganesh Chaturthi starts with the installation of these Ganesh statues in colorfully decorated homes and specially erected temporary structures mandapas (pandals) in every locality. The pandals are erected by the people or a specific society or locality or group by collecting monetary contributions. The pandals are decorated specially for the festival, either by using decorative items like flower garlands, lights, etc. or are theme based decorations, which depict religious themes or current events.

The priest, usually clad in red silk dhoti and shawl, then symbolically invokes life into the statue by chanting mantras. This ritual is the Pranapratishhtha. After this the ritual called as Shhodashopachara (16 ways of paying tribute) follows. Coconut, jaggery, 21 modakas, 21 durva (trefoil) blades of grass and red flowers are offered. The statue is anointed with red unguent, typically made of Kumkum & Sandalwood paste . Throughout the ceremony, Vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted.

Ganesh Visarjan in Mumbai

For 10 days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi, Ganesha is worshipped. On the 11th day, the statue is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of his devotees, this is the ritual known as Ganesh Visarjan. At individual homes the Visarjan is also done on 3rd, 5th or 7th day as per the family tradition. All join in this final procession shouting "Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudhachya Varshi Laukar ya" (O lord Ganesha, come again early next year). After the final offering of coconuts, flowers and camphor is made, people carry the idols to the river to immerse it.

The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak (modaka or modagam in South India). A modak is a dumpling made from rice flour/wheat flour with a stuffing of fresh or dry-grated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits and some other condiments. It is either steam-cooked or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikai in Kannada) which is similar to the modak in composition and taste but has a semicircular shape.

Public celebrations of the festival are hugely popular, with local communities (mandalas) vying with each other to put up the biggest statue & the best pandal. The festival is also the time for cultural activities like singing and theater performances, orchestra and community activities like free medical checkup, blood donation camps, charity for the poor, etc.

Today, the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival, it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Maharashtra. Many artists, industries, and businesses survive on this mega-event. Ganesh Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. The same holds true for Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai too. In Maharashtra, not only Hindus but many other religions also participate in the celibration of Ganesha festival like Muslims, Jains, Christian and others. This festival has managed to re-establish the unity among the Indians during British Era.

(from wikipedia)

Eid-ul-Fitr

Ramadan fasting month for Muslims last for 29 to 30 days. End of Ramadanen marks the beginning of Eid-ul-Fitr. Eid occurs on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month in the Islamic calendar. According to Islamic history and tradition on the last day of Ramadan after sunset, people start observing the crescent moon. When the moon (Hilal) are spotted celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr begins for all Muslims

Importance Of Eid-ul-Fitr

Ramadan said that the holy month of Muslims, it is assumed that holy book Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in this month. Is believed that this month the gates of Hell are closed and the gates of heaven open. It also believes that Ramadan is a month of God's own. Another event that took place during the month of Ramadan was the battle of Badr, the battle between the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina. This is the month to thank Allah that He has given to man. So in this way to say no to food, drink, smoking and sexual activities during daylight all Muslims devote themselves to pray to Allah. When the crescent is sighted, it is time to break the fast and get over the months of Ramadan and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.

Krishna Janmashtami

Krishna Janmashtami

 Janmashtami, also known as Gokulashtami marks the celebration of birth of lord Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna was born in the 'Rohini' nakshatram (Star) to King Vasudeva and Devaki Devi on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Sravana. This festival is also known as Sri Krishna Jayanti and Krishnashtmi. The real celebration can be on two different days as the star 'Rohini' and Ashtami may not be on the same day. This day corresponds to the months of August and September in the Gregorian calendar.

Janmashtami Celebration in North India

In Uttar Pradesh where the Lord was born in Mathura, his playground gokul and Vrindavan become more crowded and celebrations go up to a week. In Gujarat, where the city of Dwarka has Dwarkadhish temples celebrate it with pomp and joy.

In the eastern state of Orissa, West Bengal and around Puri in Nabadwip, people celebrate it by fasting and doing puja at noon. Pravachana from Purana Bhagavata Purana are made from the 10th skandha engaged in appropriate times of Lord Krishna. The next day called Nanda Utsav or happy celebration of Nanda Maharaj and Yashoda Maharaani. On that day people break their fast and offer a variety of baked goodies during the early hours.

Janmashtami Celebration in Maharashtra

Janmaashtami, popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi is celebrated with enormous zeal and enthusiasm. The Handi is a clay pot filled with buttermilk that was placed at a convenient height before the event. The top person in the human pyramid trying to break the Handi by hitting it with a blunt object most nariyal (coconut) are preferred to be a sign of purity, truth and other good terms in Hindu religion. When that happens buttermilk has spilled across the group, which symbolizes their performance through the device. Various handis is set up locally in several parts of the city, and groups of young people, called Govinda, travel around in trucks trying to break as many handis as possible during the day.

Govinda Pathak Many of these compete with each other, especially for those handing out large rewards handis. The event, in recent times, has gathered a political flavor, and it is common for political parties and community groups for the rich prizes amounting to lakhs of rupees to offer. Some of the most famous handis is at Dadar, lower Parel, Worli, Mazgaon, Lalbaug, Thane and Babu genu, Mandai in Pune. Cash and gifts are offered for Govinda troops to participate; for over 4,000 handis in Mumbai, 2000 Govinda troops compete for the prizes.

Janmashtami Celebration in Manipur

Janmaashtami, popularly known in Manipur as Krishna janma, is an important festival celebrated in two temples in Imphal, the capital of Manipur. The first festival is in Govindaji temple and the other is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness temple. Followers of Lord Krishna is collected mostly in the ISKCON Temple.

Importance of Janmashtami

The verse in the Bhagavad-Gita (a sacred book told of Lord Vishnu) says that when there will be a preponderance of evil, and the decline of religion, I reincarnated to kill the evil and save the good. The main significance of Janmashtami is to foster goodwill and to counteract the bad Will. Krishna Jayanti celebrates the togetherness. The sacred occasion brings people together, why it means unity and faith.

Significance of Janmashtami

5000 years ago on Janamashtmi, The Lord appeared at midnight. This is indeed a historical fact, but it also has a deeper significance. Midnight is the time of maximum darkness and from the moment the Lord appeared the darkness started diminishing. Similarly our heart is dark being afflicted by multiple anxieties and miseries. But in the darkest hour of our life, when we turn to the Lord and He appears in our heart, all the darkness recedes and the light of eternal hope starts streaming in.

The Lord appeared in a prison cell amidst shackles and then freed His parents . This indicates that all of us  who are shackled by our own material desires can be freed by the Lord who appears in our heart which is like a prison house.

So the real Janmashtami will take place when the Lord appears in our hearts. Though we do not know it, all of us are actually pining for this Janmashtami to occur. All of us want love, care, protection and happiness and this is what the actual Janmashtami - the appearance of the Lord in our heart -  brings.

Indian Independence Day

                        

 

 
On August 15, 1947, India achieved freedom from British rule. Every year is August 15 is celebrated as Independence Day in India. This national festival celebrated with great enthusiasm all over the country. The day is a national holiday in India. Across the country, flag pole hoisting ceremonies conducted by the local government in attendance. The main event takes place in New Delhi, the capital of India.

Celebrations

Prime Minister of India hoists the Indian flag on the ramparts of the historic site, Red Fort Delhi, 15 August. This is Telecast place live on national channel Doordarshan and many other news outlets across India. Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programs take place in all state capitals. In cities around the country the national flag hoisted by politicians in their constituencies. In various private organizations flag hoisting is carried out by a senior official of that organization. Across the country, flags are awarded to people who wear them proudly to show their patriotism towards India. Schools and colleges around the country organize the flag hoisting ceremony and various cultural events in their premises, where the younger children in costume representing their idols of the Independence era.

Partition and Independence of India

Between 1940 and 1942, Congress launched two abortive agitation against the British, and 60,000 Congress members were arrested, including Gandhi and Nehru. Unlike the uncooperative and belligerent Congress supported the Muslim League the British during World War II. Delayed but perhaps sincere British attempts to meet the demands of the two rival parties, while preserving the unitary state in India, seemed unacceptable to both the alternating rejected what the proposal was made during the war. As a result, definitely a three-way deadlock in: Congress and the Muslim League doubted British motives in transferring power to the Indians, while the British struggled to retain some hold on India while to give greater autonomy.

The Congress wasted precious time denouncing the British rather than allaying Muslim fears during the highly charged election campaign in 1946. Even the more mature Congress leaders, especially Gandhi and Nehru, failed to see how genuinely afraid of Muslims were and how exhausted and weak the British had become in the wake of the war. When it became clear that Congress does not need to share power with the Muslim League was in the center, Jinnah declared August 16, 1946, Direct Action Day, with riots and bloodshed brought common in many places in the north. Partition seemed preferable to civil war. On June 3, 1947, Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the Viceroy (1947) and the Governor-General (1947-1948), plans for distribution of the British Indian government announced in the peoples of India and Pakistan, which itself was divided in the east and west wings on either side of India. At midnight, on August 15, 1947, India ran to freedom amidst ecstatic shouting of "Jai Hind", as Nehru a memorable and moving speech delivered on India's "tryst with destiny." "

This was the speech by PT. Jawahar Lal Nehru to the Indian Constituent Assembly, on the eve of India's independence, towards midnight on August 14, 1947

• Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.
• At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?
• Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now.
• That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.
• And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.
• To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.
• The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.
• It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed!
• We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrowstricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people.
• On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation [Gandhi], who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest.
• Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death.
• We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good and ill fortune alike.
• The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.
• We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.
• To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.
• And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.” (indohistory.com)