Dasara Celebrations

In India we are celebrating the festival of Dasara or Dashera for the past nine days. Today is the tenth and final day known as Vijaya Dasami.
It is also known as Navaratri/Navaratra meaning nine divine nights. Actually this festival is celebrated for ten days. The important days are Panchami(5th day), Sashti(6th day), Saptami(7th day), Ashtami(8th day, Navami(9th day) and Dasami(10th day). Those who cannot celebrate or pray from the first day can at least do so the last three days. The tenth day is also known as Vijaya(winning or triumph) Dasami(tenth day) celebrating destruction of  the Demon Mahishasura by Goddess Durga. That is why she is also know as Mahishasura Mardhini (killer/destroyer). It is celebrated as triumph of good over bad or evil.

In Hinduism,women have been given importance in the religion and society. They are worshiped as Shakthi or power. There are different forms of power like physical mental, emotional,spiritual,financial and so on. No man can function properly with out these.

The Maha Maya ( great illusion) covers our faculties in this world, so that we cannot learn the eternal truth or the secret of this entire creation, unless we follow one of the paths to seek the truth. Maha Maya is also known as Maha Devi (great Goddess) also known as Mata Rani (the divine Mother) or Maha Shakthi (great energy/power). She is considered to be the creator of the Holy Trinity of Bramha (creator), Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer) to create, perpetuate and ultimately destroy the universe or creations. That is why She is also known as Mother of Mothers too.

She herself manifested into three forms; as Goddess Saraswathi (personification of knowledge or wisdom) as the consort of Bramha, Goddess Lakshmi (personification of wealth)as consort of Vishnu and Goddess Shakthi (personification of power or energy) as consort of Shiva. Without their consorts the Holy Trinity cannot function at all.

This is but an indication that for a man to function properly and live happily in this society or world, we women are essential.

During this festival Maha Maya or Maha Shakthi is worshiped in nine different forms known as Nava (nine) Durga; some of them are Saraswathi-goddess of knowledge/wisdom, Lakshmi-goddess of wealth, Maha Kali-the goddess of time or change or destroyer and Maha Durga-the invincible.


The inference drawn here is that women, who are known for their gentle nature, love, compassion, beauty, and who as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers make this world a beautiful place and are the reason for very existence of this world, when needed can and do have the strength and will power to turn into Kali and destroy the evils or obstacles. One should not think that women are weak and helpless. Don't you all agree with me. Its a proven fact. How many times we women have boldly faced so many difficult situations in our lives and helped our men folk out to weather the storms? We are much stronger emotionally though may not be much physically.

This festival has its legend linked to both the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Ramayana

It is widely believed in North India, that as per the Ramayana, Lord Rama  fought with Ravana who abducted his consort Sita, and killed him. After this he returns back to his kingdom of Ayodhya along with his wife Sita and this is celebrated as Vijaya Dasami or Dashera-the tenth day. That is why Ram Leela or the story of Rama is dramatised and presented on the nine days in almost most of the cities, towns and even some villages of North India. On the tenth day his victory is celebrated by burning huge effigies of Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna. There are also display of various local bands and fire works.

Mahabharata

As per Mahabharata, we believe that the great archer Arjuna (one of the Five Pandavas) removed his weapons from  the Jammi (Acasia?) tree on which he hid it when the Pandavas went into Agyatha Vasam (incognito) for an year. He fought against the evil Kauravas and won the battle.The story is given here.

http://archives.chennaionline.com/festivalsnreligion/Articles/epicstory23.asp

That is why the Jammi tree is worshiped and also all our tools which help us out in our daily life are cleaned and worshiped. It may include, pens, arms, weapons, ploughs, various machinery which help us in our daily life. So today being the Vijaya Dashami, we also cleaned all our tools and machinery-like fans, food processors, tool kit, my sewing machine and other such things.

All these nine days, all over India, one can see people, cleaning their houses, decorating, weeding out old things, worshiping Mother Goddess, making and offering various delicacies along with fruits and  flowers, meeting friends and relatives, visiting temples.Buying new things like clothes, utensils, gold, jewelry vehicles stc is considered auspicious till the festival of Diwali, which follows next. In general we have fun.

Due to the threat of Swine flu and other such diseases, this year most of us opted to stay put in our homes. I am sorry I could not get you any pictures of celebrations. Moreover, this year my family had a very low key celebrations as we lost some dear ones.Here are some of the pictures of the Goddess:

This the Bronze idol of Maha Kali. See how ferocious she is, wearing, garland of skulls, holding many weapons and with Lord Shiva under her feet.Though she is so ferocious, for her children       (her devotees) she is always the kind mother. She only manifested herself in this form to weed out the evil and help her children lead a happy life.

This is a poster of Kali.

This is the Goddess Durga also known as Mahishasura Mardhini and all her nine forms around her.

She is called Simha(lion) Vahini(rider).

She also rides Tiger.

In Bengal:

This the most important festival and  one can see the statues made of Goddess using different materials is placed in beautifully decorated stalls or pandals and worshiped. On the tenth day the Goddess is immersed in the available water bodies after a warm farewell. Go through this site they have got some beautiful pictures. I loved the Goddess made of sea shells. It is so very beautiful. My hats off to its creator.

http://durgawalls.com

http://durgawalls.com/2009/09/13/durga-puja-pandals-2/ 

In Gujarath:

The Goddess is worshiped here too, but the specialty is that the girls and women perform a traditional form of dance known as Garba. This is performed during the ceremony singing songs in praise of the goddess. After  the worshiping, men and women  perform a special traditional dance with sticks in their hands known as the Dandiya Raas. This is more of enjoyment and merry making kind of a dance. The beat of the drums, traditional songs, the traditional heavily embroidered ( with coloured threads and mirrors) costumes of the men and women make this dance one of the most beautiful one to watch.

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/09/navratras-navratri-in-gujarat.html

In Mysore:

Here the King in all his finery calls his Darbar and worships the local diety Goddess Chamundi.There is huge procession of the Goddess. You can read the details here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore_Dasara

http://www.mysore.org.uk/mysore-dasara.html

Today is also the Birth day of great Guru Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. We offer special prayers. I am giving the link here. Please look at the temple and his statue. Here his mortal remains have been placed in a tomb.

http://www.shirdi-sai-baba.com/shirdi-sai-baba-temple-view/Sai-Baba-Samadhi-Mandir-view1.html

Wishing all a very Happy Dasara. May Maa Durga bless us all with health,  wealth, prosperity, happiness and peace...

My Garden

One of my passions is gardening. I love to grow a variety of plants and trees and keep on collecting some rare ones. But alas the size of my garden is small and does not allow many plants let alone trees. So I am into container gardening. Bonsai is one art which lets me to grow many a tree in its miniature form.


I have a mango tree, two pomegranate, one custard apple trees. I have five colours of Hibiscus, five varieties of Jasmine, three varieties of Sampenga or Magnolia, some roses, Chrysanthemums, Crossandra, and other croutons, ferns etc.


Apart from them I am growing pomegranate, wood apple, tamarind, gooseberry, candle fruit, citrus trees for Bonsai. I also have some bougainvilleas shaping up in growth pots. I need to straighten up my garden now as its all in shambles. Once that is done I will be posting more photographs.





These are the Sampenga (in Telugu) and Champka (in Sanskrit and Hindi) flowers. I have white green and golden yellow colours. The fragrance of these flowers is very beautiful and is different in all three varieties.





This one is my Jade Bonsai. Considered to be very auspicious by the Chinese and very easy to grow and maintain by novices. This was my second Bonsai as a beginner.








Here I have decorated the Bonsai with some ceramic huts and cattle. Doesn't it look like a Banyan tree and a typical scene from an Indian Village?





This is the red Hibiscus and used for worshiping our deities. I also have other colours like yellow, white and pink.





Here is Lord Ganesha or Elephant God just kept in the corner of my garden.





These are all Adeniums. They are very easy to grow and no maintenance. Another dream of a tree for novices.

Hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed in nurturing them and sharing them with you. I just love to potter around my garden early in the morning, talking and singing to my plants. Some times it takes a little bit of scolding them to flower or fruit. Whether you believe me or not, the Magnolia took a long time to flower after planting in my garden despite of my best efforts. Then One day I scolded it saying that I did my best for her and still it did not flower. Lo within a week I saw the young buds.


I am thinking of starting another blog with tips on Bonsais. Let me see, I don't have much time on my hands but then many of my friends are requesting me for tips on bonsais.

Tirupathi

Hi! I just wanted to share some of my moments when I recently visited the temple of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupathi.

ABOUT THE TEMPLE

Tirupathi is the most famous temple town situated in Chittoor District in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The main deity here is Lord Venkateswara.

The chain of Seven Hills known as Saptha(seven) Giris(hills) consisits of Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudari, Anjanadri, Vrishbhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. These are together known as Tirumala. The Lords temple is on the seventh hill-Venkatadri or Venkatachalam at an altitude of 840m (2,800 ft). That is why HE is also know as Venkatachalapathi, Edukonadalawada and Saptha Girishwara-meaning Lord of Seven Hills.

It is believed in Hindu Mythology that Lord Vishnu one of the Holy Trinities of- Brahma(The Creator), Vishnu( The Preserver ) and Shiva ( The Destroyer), has come down to earth in person (later turned into a stone or statue) to reside at this place for the entire period known as Kali Yuga. So by visiting HIM in the temple is visiting Lord Vishnu himself.

The exact origin or beginnings of the temple is not known. Some point out that this temple was referred to in the ancient Rigveda. It is a fact that by 5th century AD it was a well established center. But during the rule of the Vijayanagara Emperors this temple was improved and the rulers donated lots of gold, jewels lands and huge donations especially by the famous Emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya.

The temple itself was renovated and constructed by the Vijayanagara Rulers. Many other rulers like the Marathas and from Mysore and Gadwal also made donations and other offerings to the temple.

In 1843, with the coming of the East India Company, the administration of the Sri Venkateswara temple and a number of shrines was entrusted to Seva Dassji of the Hathiramji Mutt at Tirumala as Vicaranakarta for nearly a century until 1932, when Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD) as per the TTDAct 1932 was established.

The temple is the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world. The temple is visited by large number of piligrims.

OFFERINGS

One of the peculiar offerings made here to Lord by the devotees is offering their hair by tonsuring their heads. Especially in Hindus the tonsuring of hair of a male( even female) child within one year or in the third year is an important ceremony. Its considered as auspicious to get the first tonsure done here. Its a tradition observed in most South Indian families.Till then the hair of the child is not removed at all.

Many devotees have their head tonsured as an offer. When one is in difficulties or desires something, they promise the Lord that on fulfillment of their desires they will offer their hair to Him.The daily amount of hair collected is over a ton. The hair thus gathered is sold in public auction periodically to national and international buyers for use in wigs and other such cosmetic purposes, bringing over six million dollars to the temple's treasury.

Apart from this, devotees offer cash, gold, silver, jewels, gems according to their wishes.They put this into a box known as Hundi .The average income is around Rs 10 lakh per day and annual income is considered to be around 125 million dollars. Koluvu Srinivasa is brought daily in the morning and seated on a silver chair. He is the guardian Deity who is believed to supervise the temple affairs. The calendar of the day (Panchangam) and the accounts of the temple are read to him every day.

Pilgrims can also participate in various paid Sevas (various types of prayers or ritualsor offerings). All this money earned from the temple is used for supporting, various social, religious and charitable institutions across the country including University for Women, educational institutions, hospitals, institutions offering religious studies and upkeep of various ancient temples across India.

Since it is second only to Vatican in its earnings, the temple is also known as "Vatican of the East".

PRASADAM

Laddu Prasadam -that is a sweet dish offered to the Lord here is world famous Many other Prasadams are like Dhadhojanam (curd rice), Pulihora (tamarind rice), Vada, Pongali and Chakkera pongali(sweet) are also offered and are available to the devotees. Free meals are provided daily to the pilgrims.

One can either reach the temple at Tirumala by walk from Tirupathi or by cars or buses. However, I love to go by walk, along with friends and family. Its a route of 16Km and has 4000 steps, surrounded by beautiful jungles. Most of the route is covered by overhead shelters protecting the pilgrims from sun and rain. It takes around two to four hours to climb the hills. En route there are stalls offering refreshments. Its advisable to start early in the morning say 4 am to avoid the heat. Its an experience to go by this route by foot surrounded by the nature and chanting the name of the Lord. We come across people from various walks of lives. Newly married couples often visit this shrine in their wedding costumes. Many marriages are also held here in the premises of the Lord and it is considered to be auspicious to do so.

Groups of families, friends, youngsters, children, senior citizens from various cultures, speaking different languages can be found happily climbing the path. The most striking aspect I find is the rural folk with immense belief in the Lord, who come here in huge groups from all over India and climb the path singing and chanting in praise of the Lord.

This time though we went by car since my mom cannot walk all the way.

This is at the base of the seven hills in Tirupathi, from where we start our ascent to Tirumala by vehicles, after checking of our vehicles. Such beautiful and majestic mountains of the Lord. This is the route taken by the vehicles. there is a separate route for those who go by foot.

This is en route; a view of the mountains before us.

Both the routes up and down are with hair pin bends and with many curves. One may feel nauseous while climbing up or coming down so may have to go very slowly sometimes stopping in between. But the views from there are breath taking.

This is the building where the name of the Lord is chanted continuously. We had to stop here while my brother was getting his head tonsured as an offering to the Lord.Besides this is the place where free meals is served to the pilgrims.

Wind mills on the mountains. Harvesting the wind power.



On the way to the Lords Temple. These are shopping complexes, where one can buy bangles, vermilion, turmeric, statues and photos of various deities and various items made of copper and brass used in our daily rituals by Hindus, like oil lamps, bells etc, toys and dolls for children both traditional and modern, utensils used in a kitchen and many more. These are a regular feature near every temple in India.

There is a tank next to the temple called Swami Pushkarini.

The Vimana (dome), known as Ananda Nilayam (Abode of happiness), is above the Deity's main room. It is covered in solid gold. The Dwajasthamba (flag-pole ) is gold-plated, and the gates that guard the inner sanctum are also covered with gold. The entire visit inside the temple creates an awesome feeling as it is gold plated with intricate carvings. reflecting the lights from the crystal chandeliers. The pilgrims who reach inside forget everything and chant Lords names- Govinda, Govinda. They are just eager to have a glimpse of the Lord.

This is Lord Vekateshwara or Balaji

It is believed that Lord Venkateswara, is a Swayambhu (self-manifested), 2m (around 6 ft) high Deity made of a jet-black stone and is in a standing pose, standing on a lotus. His two upper arms hold a conch-shell (Shankha) and disk (Chakra). 

If you notice, palm of his lower right hand is turned outward which is known as varada hastha -offering blessings, or assuring all beings that the Lord is there to protect us . Whereas his lower left hand is turned inward which is known as katyavalambita hastha, meaning Lord knows everything, he is aware of everything, nothing takes place without his knowledge or it denotes Gyana or wisdom. 

The Lord's eyes are covered by a large Tilkam in the shape of "U" which is made of camphor. It is believed that Lord Venkateswara's lotus-like eyes are so beautiful that if they remained open and uncovered, the pilgrims who visit him may become enchanted by them and may not want to leave. It is also said that his eyes are covered because His gaze would scorch the entire world.

The Goddess Sri or Lakshmi-the Goddess of wealth and prosperity ,who is Vishnu's consort, resides on the chest of Lord Venkateswara, and that is why he is also known Srinivasa (the one in whom Sri resides). On the other chest Goddess Padmavathy ( believed to be Mother Earth) resides. He is considered as the Kali Yuga Varada, that is Lord of Kali Yuga (the fourth and final age of the Hindu cycle of ages or calender) who grants boons.

He is adorned with various jewels which consist of highly precious gem stones like Sapphires, Emeralds, Pearls, Corals, Diamonds and many others apart from gold and silver etc. His crown is very magnificent and considered to be the only costliest ornament in the world.

Lord Balaji and HIS consort Goddess Alamelu Manga.

Akasa Ganga - sacred waterfall, is five km to the south of the temple. Water is brought from here to the temple for Lord's Abhishekam (a ritual bath). There are also other areas to visit like the Tapovanam-where saints meditated, Srivari Padukalu-the feet of the Lord when he first placed his feet on the mountains, and geological wonders of the stone arch way etc.

All in all its a pleasant and spiritual experience which can only be felt and cannot be explained. When we have the glimpse of the Lord just for a few minutes, we feel all the peace and happiness in the world.