GURU POORNIMA

GURU POORNIMA

IF A HUNDRED MOONS WERE TO RISE AND A THOUSAND SUNS APPREARED

EVEN WITH THE LIGHT , THERE WOULD STILL BE PITCH OF DARKNESS

. WITH OUT A GURU.

guru poornima is also called maharishi vedavyas jayanthi. according to the indian tradition guru is a step above than god. guru will show us god. he will remove the ignorance and will show us the right path to attain dharma , arth , kam and moksha. on this day we seek his blessings .
in mahabharatha there is a story about vyasa . there was a fisherman in hastinapur who had a daughter called satyavathi. she was very beautiful. she will help people cross the river in her boat. they come home in the evening with the fishes. so fish smell was always there with her and in their house. once parashar muni travelled in her boat. satyavathi became the mother of his son vyas. he was very powerful he went to himalayas soon after his birth. he was black so he is called krishna. he took birth in an island so he called dwaipayan. he devided the veda's into four parts so he is called vyas. he became popular as vedavyas. before gurupoornima, on ekadashi day sanyasi's start chaturmasa vrutham.. they also celebrate vyasa pooja to show their respect to him.
adi shankaracharya is known as incarnation of vedavyasa. so he is also worshipped on this day by all.
guru bakthi – stories like taruni, ekalvya saya about guru bhakti .in india on vijayadashami day also people go and seek the blessings of their guru and offer guru dhakshina.

GURUVE SHARANAM.

STORY U WILL ENJOY

WHAT ‘S IN THE NAME :

Though nothing is permanent , most people crave to be acknowledged and noticed during their lifetime.

Who discovered that the hard paddy could be cooked into soft rice? Who discovered the art of writing which links mind to minds and heart to hearts? Who discovered the magic of weaving beautiful clothes of soft cotton to adorn the body? Who is the genius who lifted the water in the pot, from the deep well to your thirsty lips?

When the world does not remember the names of such great achievers who laid the very foundation of human civilization , who will remember your name.? even if your name has to be inscribed all over the world , it will not remain for ever. Yet, thirst for name ? why people run behind name and fame?

Listen to this tale from the tradition of sant(saints) stories. Once it was proclaimed that great achievers of the world would be provided an opportunity to inscribe their names on a huge, sacred mountain in the heaven. The great emperor of the world heard this announcement. He fell pray to the madness of the name. over night , this miserly king turned into a generous philanthropist.

He began to empty his treasury and became charity personified. At last the day to depart arrived. He reached the other world. Soon he began to search for the great mountain. The messenger of the god let him to the mountain. It was the mountain of fulfillment for which he had waited all his life. With great enthusiasm and expectation, he got ready to inscribe his name. to his utter disappointment there was not an inch of space left in the mountain to inscribe his name. from the foot to the peak, every nook and corner is filled with names and names.

The disappointed emperor asked the messenger how could there be false promises in the heaven .perceiving his anguish , one of them suggested the emperor could erase a name from the mountain and inscribe his own name in that place. When the emperor heard this, his illusion vanished . truth flashed and he thought,--

‘ how long will my name remain in the mountain? Only till another person wipes it away and writes his own”. The emperor turned away without writing his name on the mountain but immense satisfaction was there on his face.

Change and movement are the inherent nature of the world and life. OLD WATER FLOWS DOWN THE RIVER . WHEN THE NEW WATER FLOODS. It is the law of nature that old yieldeth place to the new.

Then how can your name also remain permanently on the face of the earth. One who is born has to die. Once dead and reborn , your name is no longer yours. This madness for a name is not a natural phenomenon. As a new born baby were u aware of your name? it is an acquired later day disease.

Look at those plants which purify the earth of our soiled breath? Broom, which cleans the house but hides behind the doors. Foundation stone of a mansions, hidden somewhere in the earth. If the stone were driven by a desire to come out and flaunt in the open air?

INDIAN EXPRESS .dt.Tuesday 20 july 2010. – soul search.

AADI FESTIVAL VARALAKSHMI VRUTHAM

adi is ashada which comes in the month of july-august. it is rainy season. mother nature is in full form with abundance of fruits and different kinds of flowers . this festive is the tribute to water- life sustaining force. in all the rivers and temple wells and tanks ,water level raises because of the rain. nature with full of comapasion is celebrated as adi Thiruvizha in Tamil Nadu. once adi festival starts it is festive season..

with adi dakshinayanam starts i.e. july-jan. when the sun transits from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere . The transition from the southern to the northern hemisphere in the month of January is known as uthrayanam. Both the periods are considered very auspicious .

this festival brings joy to the newly married. .it is the festival for the bride. both bride and the groom are invited for grand feast in the bride’s place. Elders prepare for the feast from thengay paal payasam , 2 pachidi, aviyal , poriyal, vadai , a sweet. Ofcourse new dress for the newly maried. A new silver tumbler with payasam will be given to the groom. there is a tradition that bride will get a saree from the groom’s side also . bride will stay in her mother’s place for ashada.

Adi month has other festivals also like, adi 18.this festival coincides with annual freshes of the rivers and to pay tribute to river, our life sustaining properties. we prepare different kinds of rice ,thengai ,lemon, sweet, curd and appalam vadam and kootu and enjoy with the family

adi pooram is for the goddess, we offer bangles and other mangala items:

adi krithigai is important to lord murugan:like this adi holds a very important place in the calendar.

VARALAKSHMI VRUTHAM

glorious varalaxmi vrutham is observed in south india maharashtra and orrisa. married women observe this vruth for longevity of their husband's life, children, prosperity, happiness and good health of the family .vara means boon, mahalaxmi will bless the home of the devotee with her boon.this is the day malalakshmi was born from the ocean and maha vishnu married her. to seek mahavishnu's blessings in shravan( adi) month shuklapakha last friday before poornima this is celebrated.
as the story goes. this was pronounced by lord shiva himself to parvathi to observe this vruth and do pooja for the prosperity and happiness of the family. in the kingdom of maghada, there lived a girl named charumathi.she devotedly served her husband and in laws. pleased , mahalaxmi came in her dream and told her to perform vara mahalaxmi pooja to fulfill her wishes. she thought her the method and charumathi did the pooja in her dream. morning she told everybody about the dream. this day was sharad (adi) month last friday before the poornima, she performed the pooja along with her neighbours, and relatives . different kinds of sweets were made and offered to god. devotional worship is always answered. all their wishes were fulfilled. prosperity and happiness was there everywhere.since then this pooja is performed on this day.
elaborate arrangement are made for this pooja. previous day cleaning the house. new clothes and jewellery are purchased. next day women get up very early and start with the rangoli in front of the house .prepare the naivedyam of different kinds of modakas, raw rice idli, appam , payasam, vadai.
mahalaxmi is decorated in the kalasa filled with rice ,dal,few coins, gold, manjal and kumkum, bangles, comb, mirror. then mango leaves are kept and turmeric is applied on the coconut and it is kept on the mango leaves. silver face of laxmi's is kept on it decorated with jewellery , flower garland. she is ready for the pooja.
to invite mahalaxmi for the pooja . kolam is drawn foot prints of laxmi is drawn from the entrance to the mandapa. kalasam is kept at the entrance.harathi is taken and two ladies singing ,LAXMI RAVE MAA INDIKE,(laxmi come to my home) brings kalasa to the pooja mandap. very elaborate pooja is done starting with ganesha's pooja . yellow thin thread is tied on the right hand of the lady who performs pooja. other members of the family and neigbours also tie the thread. and kumkum is given to them. songs are sung on laxmi .
in the evening neighbours and relatives visit each other's house and seek the blessings of laxmi. next day punarpooja is done and kalasa is kept inside the rice drum. on the third day it is taken out and the mangala items is used at home. rice is put back in the drum, it is believed that there will not be shortage of food. sweet is made out of the coconut.
varamahalaxmi vrutham brings the blessings of eight laxmi's & mahavishnu to the devotees home. bountiful of happiness and prosperity in every body's house .

TALE BEHIND TRADITION

A story , bringing out the significance of Rangoli, was narrated by 81 year old Trejamma. Goddess Lakshmi( who signifies wealth) was walking on the road and wanted to visit a house on the first friday of the 'shraavana maasa' . As she approached the first house, she heard a couple quarrelling. So lakshmi moved to the second house. There she saw the family having last night's food. In the third house, the family members were fast asleep. Finally, in the fourth house , she saw that the house was clean, with a rangoli adorning the front portion. Lakshmi entered the house and with her , wealth too." we have a belief that rangli invites Goddess Lakshmi. it is also believed that Rangoli should not be drawn at night as that is the time when only devils walk on the roads", she said while ending the story.

Indian Express Aug 16th - 07

akshaya triteya

akshaya triteya falls in the month of may after amavasya. since this is very auspicious day so ceremonies and marriages are conducted .new bussiness is started.japam charity, pooja, vruth , any good deeds done this day will bring many fold results. tharpan is done to the ancestors. fasting is done. lord vishnu, laxmi and shri krishna( balbarda) is worshipped. pot filled with water, salt, slipper, sugarcane, jaggary, rice, umbrella and gold is given as dhaan. anna dhanam is considered good on this day. specially curd rice.it is a beleif that by doing annadhanam there will not be food scarcity for generations to come.

there is a story in bhavishya puran . there lived a poor merchant with a big family. he was finding it very difficult to make both ends meet. he was very god fearing and religious. one day he heard about akshaya trithiya. he wanted to observe this pooja and live happily. but his hands were tied. with great dificulty he observed fast , did tarpan to the ancestors and did pooja every year much to his family's displeasure. he did dhaan of all things.one day he died. next birth he was the raja of kushawathi nagar. he helped poor people in his kingdom. because of the previous birth good deeds his treasure was always filled and his kingdom prospered.

observing this vruth brings prosperity and happiness every where.

GARUDA PANCHAMI .

garuda is vishnu's vahana . garuda means wings of speech. he has vedic knowledge . with his wings he brought vedas from devloka. observing garuda panchami vrutham by married women blessess their children with wisdom and health. this falls on the fifth day of the shuklapaksha of ashada this is also called as naga panchami. early bath and cleaning of the house and decorating the pooja room. now ,for this pooja rangoli with five different colours should me made.. spread a banana leaf on it put rice, and keep the photo of adisheshan (devine serpant)or any snake idle made of gold, silver , copper or earthen .make a turmeric cone( like manja pillayar),as parvathi. to this turmeric cone ,do ganesha pooja and recite some shlokas for gowri also.dhoop , deep, naivedya and mangala harathi. fasting untill pooja is over. after pooja is over prahadam can be taken. to reduce the effect of naga dhosha this pooja is performed.
if newly married couple observe, they will be blessed with a healthy child soon.
story:
a rishi called kasyapar two wife's namely-vinathi and kathru . vinathi had a son -garudan. kathuru had many children but all were snakes. kathru wanted to have control over vinathi.
indira had an elephant called IRAVADAM. and had a horse called UCHAISWARAS.
both were in pure white colour. vinathi and kathru went on an argument on the colour of the horse. kathru said the tail is black in colour. but vinathi did not agree as she has seen the horse. it was agreed that if some black spot is there in any portion of the body of the horse then vinathi will be kathru 's slave for the rest of her life if not vice varsa.vinathi agreed. kathru knew that the colour of the horse is pure white. to prove her statement,so she told her children, who are black snakes ,to cling to the tail of the horse. when the horse came on the sky both the ladies saw the tail was black in colour, but vinathi knew that horse if pure white in colour and now she could not prove it, so she became slave to kathru.
vinathi told garuda her son about the incident . he got angry. he wanted to take her out of this slavery.he went to his step mother and asked her the price for releasing his mother . she wanted to assign him with a hard task to achieve , failing which he too can be enslaved. so she said she wants the nector from heavan. he agreed and left for heavan.
in devalok when they saw a stranger coming to take the nector. the guards became alert and fought with garuda. all the devas also fought. indira threw vajrayudha on garuda.( vajrayuda he threw to kill hanuman when he came to catch the sun, and hanuman's chin got hurt became flat.).he bent down to keep him away .he saluted indira and told in honour of vajrayudam he would like to offer something so he cut one of his wings.pleased indira gave a boon. garuda told his purpose of visit and asked for the nector. indira felt sad for him and gave the nector and said the snakes which did harm to your mother, will be his slaves and scared of him. he took nector and went back home. kathru was surprised and thought garuda can be a threat to her so she released his mother.venathi felt very proud of her son and blessed him. appreciated his presence of mind , determination , bravery- he fought with indira , cleaverness , knowledge .
by observing this vruth and pooja one can get rid of the nagadosha and couple will be blessed with bright married life.

WELCOME - CHITIRAI VARUSHA PERAPPU

MATA BHOOMIHI PUTRO AHAUM PRITHIYAHA
WELCOME TO MY BLOG SAMPRADHAYAM.
to my beloved children ,this is for you to know about the significance of our customs and traditions which is the backbone of our cultural heritage.proper understanding of the religious principle and the related stories will motivate you to enjoy and celebrate the festivals more religiously and enthusiastically.

With April comes the tamil new year TAMIL VARUSHA PERAPPU . ACCORDING TO HINDU MYTHOLOGY Lord Brahma started creation on this day.

India is a land of beautiful diversity with a thread of unity. This day is celebrated through out India with the same joy and happiness .

the day begins with viewing of “ kanni” at dawn, the auspicious things for a good beginning and should bring good fortune and happiness through out. auspicious things includes silver, gold, fruits , cash , vegetables, rice , pulses vethali pakku and coconuts. . Main entrance is decorated with mango leaves and flowers. Beautiful kolam adds to the decorations. After bath seeking blessings of the elders visiting relatives and temple visits .

Highlight of the festivals is always food. This being a very important function . Right from payasam, mangai pachdi, aviyal, , any ( mixed) kalanda sadam, vadai.. speciality goes for the mangai pachadi. Which is made of raw mango, jaggery and neem flower. Which is at the same time sweet, sour and bitter. Meaning. In life all experiences will be there. we should know to take it as it comes.

After that fabulous lunch, evening will be panchanga patanam, with nice prasadam.of panagam and chundal.

Receipe for mangai pachadi:
1. raw medium size mangao. 2. one cup jigerry 3. few neem flowers

cut and pressure cook it with two whistles . boil the jigerry thick . open the cooker and mesh the cooked mango . add it to the jigerry . let it boil. Take little bit oil in a kadai. Put kadugu a red chilli and neem flowers add it to the mixture.

PUTHANDU VAZTHUKKAL. HAPPY NEW YEAR

CHITRA POURNAMI
full moon or pournami's are celebraed.this month's pournami is called chitra pournami. we worship CHITRA GUPTAN who is the devine accountant for yama dharmaraja. according to our karma - good or bad, he will recommend yama to grant us happiness or sorrow in our life. worshiping him on this day, will give us courage to face the bad times and to reduce the intensity of the bad effect.in kanchipuram there is a temple dedicated to chitraguptan , where special pooja is done on this day.one more temple on thiruvannamalai is also there.
STORY:lord shiva wanted an accountant to keep track of the karma's of the living beings. in devaloka everybody were assigned a portfolio. so siva wanted to create somebody for this new post. parvathi took the paper and sketched a boy's picture. siva was happy and gave life to the picture, he is known as CHITRA GUPTAN. chitram means picture and chithrai the month. kailasha he use to maintain accurate account of the good and bad karma's of the people.
king indira once misbehaved with ahilya knowing that she is the wife of a rishi, she cursed him to be childless .so king of the devas- indira and is wife indirai had no child. they were sad and did tapasya to lord shiva to bless them with a child. pleased shiva wanted to do something . shiva cannot make him free from the curse but he wanted to bless them with a child also.so he thought of chitraguptan . he told him that in his next birth he will be the son of indira . after some time he can come back to kailasha.
shiva told indira that ,cow kamadhenu ,which was with indira will deliver a child for him.happily indira and his wife came back. kamadhenu gave birth to a child. this child was born with a pen and a paper in his hand , since he was an accountant with siva. sooner the child was born ,the tree which did not bear fruit started giving fruits, like this everywhere there was prosperity and happiness . the child was born in the month of chitra and the star was chitra-indira named him as CHITRAPUTRAN. he started recollecting his previous birth as he grew. whom so ever he saw he will immediately give the account of his bad and good karmas. everybody were surprised with his knowledge. amazed at his wisdom and intellegence indira thought he can work with yama , keeping the track of the karma's of the living beings.
chitraputran thought he should go back to kailash as was told by siva as his days here are over. he told this to indira and left for kailasha. indira was very much fond of chitraputran. he could not imagine life without him. so he went with him to kailasha and requested shiva to give him back. knowing his intentions shiva told indira to take him and make him as an accountant for yama, as he wished .lord shiva blessed him with the wisdom to render his duties wisely. Lord Shiva gave him a boon also that who so ever worships him on this day will be guided by chitraguptan to be a good soul. so we worship him on this day and seek his blessings to do good deeds in our life and to reduce the effect of the bad deeds.
POOJA: chiraguptan came from the sketch, make a koolam and thinking that as chitraputran .keep a pen and a notebook on that.do normal pooja. since he has to keep an impartial account , salt less naivedyam is offered to him. anything payasam, pongal,panagam, vadai, but no salt. if he takes salt then he has to be loyal to them.
sweet is ok but no salt. we pray him to make us wise , and keep us away from the bad deeds. since he is born to a cow, cow's products should not be used on this day.
three things we should do on this day.1.worship cow and feed the cow with raw rice and jaggery. 2.to narrate this story to others .3. charity to less privilaged people.
we can pray to chitraguptan to bless us with good life.