The Mahatma

Some great souls are born in this world, to resurrect humanity, fighting against all odds, society, selfishness and setting the role model, showing us the path. These men are the ones who rekindle hope in the most despaired by making us believe that  kindness and  compassion  still  exist in this world. These men are revered by one and all and are remembered for ever. One such great soul is The Mahatma (meaning great soul).

Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi (M K Gandhi), known as Mahatma, Gandhi, Bapu (father), or Mahatma Gandhi. He lead India to fight for its freedom. Today if we Indians are free and living happily, it is the selfless struggle of many known and unknown freedom fighters lead by Gandhiji.

Gandhiji was born to Karamchand Gandhi (father) and Putli Bai (mother) in Porbandar a coastal town in Gujrath state. Putli Bai was a devout Hindu and observed all the traditions of a Vashnavite. Gandhiji was greatly influenced by his mother. Vegetarianism, fasting for self purification, kindness, compassion towards the weak and helpless, tolerance, simple living, believing in truth and so many other such qualities were instilled from a very young age. Epics, other classic Indian stories  and mythological heroes like Sravana Kumar, Raja Harischandra and most of all Lord Rama had great impact on the young mind of Gandhiji.

At the age of 13, he was married to Kasturbai. He went to London (1888), became a barrister, and after returning (1891) to India, he struggled for his career in law. In 1983, he went to the Colony of Natal in South Africa, on a contract with an Indian firm.

Here he was a victim of the racial discrimination. Many such incidents made Gandhiji think about social injustice and sowed the seeds for his fight against all such social injustices and atrocities against the week and down trodden. It was here he started the famous, Satyagraha (devotion to truth) through non violence, mass civil disobedience, protesting in a peaceful manner.

In 1916, he returned to India, and was exposed to various, social and political ills plaguing India and the hardships faced by the Indians. He traveled across India saw the plight of the poor, learned about their miserable lives and prevalent social evils,. He took to wearing Khadi (home spun)- a dhoti and an upper cloth. He was ridiculed as half naked fakir by some. However, his promotion of khadi and indigenous products had a high impact on Indians, who took to home spinning and using indigenous clothes, articles and simple way of life by shunning  foreign goods.

He awakened the Indians to fight for their freedom and lead the Indian Freedom struggle though , Satyagraha, non violence, non cooperation, civil disobedience and other such peaceful ways of protesting.  He became a role model across the world for peaceful protests against injustice. Many men and women, irrespective of caste, creed, education, rich or poor joined him. Motivated by him many women urged their menfolk to join him. My own grandmother also participated though not on the forefront, but motivating others, singing songs of freedom, helping with cash and kind, educating women and children and supporting the struggle in general.
He succeeded  in freeing India in 1947 through this non violent struggle much to the amazement of the world. He was assassinated on 30th January 1948. It was a shock to the nation and world and Indians observed the mourning period, as if they lost a member in their family.

His birthday today is being celebrated as Gandhi Jayanthi by us and across the world as International Day of Non Violence. The title of honor Mahatma was bestowed upon him by the famous poet  laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Gandhiji is our role model as, he practiced, vegetarianism, non-violence, tolerance towards all religions, simplicity, wearing home spun, uplifting of down trodden, fighting against all social evils and many more. Is it any wonder he is called The Father Of Nation by us Indians?

His autobiography-An Autobiography of My experiments with Truth is one of my most favorites. I read it time and and again. Please read it at least once and I promise you that you will be hooked to it forever. It beautifully portrays the lives of Indians at that time, his beliefs, struggle, feelings and inspires those who read it.

He was fond of some Bhajans devotional songs like Vaishnava janatho, Raghupathy Raghava Raja Ram, and Hymns like Wondrous Cross, Rock of Ages and many more. One of the Hymns, Abide with me was also very much liked by him. Vaishnava jantho and Abide with me are one of my favorites too.
My gran used to remember those days of freedom struggle and we used to listen her all the hardships they faced. She used to sing us the songs of freedom struggle, which are still popular today.

With Salutations, to the Mahatma, I leave you with his picture and some quotes;

Chandragiri Fort

Chandragiri Fort is near Tirupati. It is a very famous monument and has lot of historical importance. This fort is said to have been built around 11th century. For nearly three centuries Chandragiri was ruled by Yadavarayas -a dynasty. Later on around 1367,this was brought into control by the famous Vijayanagara emperors, who were famous for their architecture, renovation/construction of temples, literature, music and other arts. They made Chandragiri as their fourth capital and shifted here when Penukonda (their capital) was attacked by the Golconda sultans. Later on however, Golconda sultans sized the fort and subsequently the fort was taken over by the Mysore rulers. After 1790 this fort lost its importance and sort of went into oblivion.

The fort when built was fortified with bastions and a steep moat all around. Later on around 16th century many other structures like the temples etc were added by the then rulers. The entire fort consists of Raja's Mahal (King's Palace), Rani's Mahal (Queen's Palace), eight temples some dedicated to Shiva and some to Vishnu, and a Bath.

Raja's Mahal is a beautiful example of Indo-Saracenic architechture, for which the Vijayanagar emperors were famous for. It is an imposing three storyed structure, constructed with stone, bricks and lime-mortar as was the then tradition. No timber was used in the construction.
The crowning towers represent the Hindu architectural elements. The central tower is huge, raising through two stories covers the Durbar Hall, where the Emperors conducted their stately business. The magnificent and massive pillars support the three storyed structure.

One can see the fine finishing on the walls using plaster and decorated with stucco. It is said that here in the Durbar Hall, Sri Rangaraya donated the site for construction of St. George Fort to the British in 1640.This palace now houses a museum.

Rani's Mahal is similar to that of the Raja's Mahal in design and structure, but much smaller. Interestingly the ground floor is pillared open space, the first floor contains quarters with a beautiful well adorned tower.


Though this was popularly know as queen's palace, the records available in the fort show that this was commander's quarters. May be that explains the stable like structure in the ground floor.



The temples and other structures along with a Bath are very beautiful. The Bath is connected to the Rani Mahal through an underground tunnel.

This is the wall surrounding the Fort and other structures. This was a very long and sturdy one and still as strong as it was earlier.

We could only visit this around five in the evening. we were really spell bound by the huge and lengthy wall running around the entire fort and its gardens and other structures, beautiful palaces, temples, the architecture, and their beauty the can be seen even today. We marveled at the expertise and skill of the then artisans. There was a sense of peace and tranquility. I could imagine the Kings, Queens and royalty enjoying the various arts and music. It is said that many a literary gems were written here.

But as the Sun began to set, we had to leave with a heavy heart, for our rest rooms leaving back the beautiful Fort thinking of all the royalty and the festivities, their grandeur in good old days, as Vijayanagar Empire was famous for the sale of heaps of gems and many precious stones on the main street of its bazars like one would sell the vegetables or fruits.

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...