
Be positive, think positive.
Positive thoughts, create positive world.
Look around, 'divine' nature is everywhere.
God lives in each one of us, let's discover him.
Lets unfold together, the secrets of nature.
Kartik poornima is also the birthday of Matsya, god Vishnu's fish-incarnation (Avatar). It is also the birthday of Vrinda, the personification of the Tulsi plant and of Kartikeya, the god of war and son of Shiva. This day also is considered special for Radha, the lover of Krishna - Vishnu's incarnation. It is believed that Krishna and Radha danced rasa and Krishna worshipped Radha on this day. This day is also dedicated to the pitrs, dead ancestors.[4][5]
Underhill believes that the origins of this festival may lie in ancient times, when a sacrifice called Shakamedhah was performed to attain victory over enemies.[6]
The festival has even more significance when the day falls in the nakshatra (lunar mansion) Krittika and is then called Maha Kartik. The nakshatra is Bharani, the results are stated to be special. If it is Rohini nakshatra, then the fruitful results are even much more. Any philanthropic act on this day is supposed to bring benefits and blessings equal to the performing of ten yajnas (sacrifices).[7]
Hindu ritual
Kartik Poornima is closely associated with Prabodhini Ekadashi which marks the end of Chaturmas, a four-month period when Vishnu is believed to sleep. Prabodhini Ekadashi signifies the awakening of the god. Chaturmas penance ends on this day. Many fairs that begin on Prabodhini Ekadashi end on Kartik Poornima, Kartik Poornima usually being the most important day of the fair.[4] Fairs that conclude on this day include Prabodhini Ekadashi celebrations at Pandharpur and Pushkar Fair. Kartik Poornima is also the last day to perform Tulsi Vivah ceremony that can be performed from Prabodhini Ekadashi.
Also, it is believed that Vishnu, on this day, returns to his abode after completing his stay in Bali. Hence, the day is known as Deva-Diwali.[8]
Puskar Mela,
In Pushkar, Rajasthan, the Pushkar Fair or Pushkar mela commences on Prabodhini Ekadashi and continues till Kartik Poornima, the latter being the most important. This fair is held in honour of god Brahma, whose temple stands at Pushkar. A ritual bath on Kartik Poornima in the Pushkar Lake is considered to lead one to salvation. It is believed circling the three Pushkars on Kartik Poornima is highly meritorious. Sadhus gather here and stay from ekadashi to full moon day in caves. About 200,000 people and 25,000 camels assemble in Pushkar for the fair. Pushkar fair is Asia's largest camel fair.[9][10][11][12][13]
A ritual bath at a tirtha (a sacred water body like a lake or river) at a pilgrimage centre is prescribed on Kartik Poornima. This holy bath is known as "Kartik snana".[4][14] An holy bath at Pushkar or in the Ganges river, especially at Varanasi is deemed as most auspicious. Kartik Poornima is the most popular day for bathing in the Ganges at Varanasi.[5] The devotees also take a bath in the evening during moonrise and offer worship by way of six prayers such as Shiva sambuti, Satait and so forth.[7]
Annakuta, an offering of food to the deities, is held in temples.[4] People who have taken vows on Ashwin full moon day, end them on Kartik Poornima. God Vishnu is also worshipped on this day. Any form of violence (himsa) is prohibited on this day. This includes shaving, hair-cutting, cutting of trees, plucking of fruits and flowers, cutting of crops and even, sexual union.[14] Charity especially donation of cows, feeding of Brahmins, fasting are religious activities prescribed for Kartik Poornima.[5] Giving gift of gold is said to fulfill all desires of people.[7]
Tripuri Poornima is only next to Mahashivratri, amongst festivals dedicated to Shiva worship.[6] To commemorate the killing of Tripurasura, images of Shiva are carried in procession. Temple complexes in southern India are lit up throughout the night. Deepmalas or towers of lights are illuminated in temples. People place 360 or 720 wicks in temples, to secure escape reaching hell after death.[4] The 720 wicks symbolizes the 360 days and nights of the Hindu calendar.[5] In Varanasi, the ghats come alive with thousands of diyas (brightly lit earthen lamps).[5] People gift lamps to priests. The lamps are kept throughout the night in houses and Shiva temples. This day is also known as "Kartik Diparatna" - the jewel of lamps in Kartik.[6] Lights are also floated in miniature boats in rivers. Lights are placed under Tulsi, Sacred fig and Amla trees. The lights in the water and under trees are believed to help fishes, insects and birds who saw the light to attain salvation.[
we expose the mind and push it to higher ideals and engage ourselves in spiritual practices, divine vibrations are generated. These vibrations push the mind from the sub-conscious level to the super-conscious level which is nothing but divine energy. This divine energy brings out intuition from within us and also establishes the discriminating mind [Viveka] to differentiate between good and evil. A good example for this can be found in the Mahabharata. Once, Duryodhana asked Lord Krishna – “Why do people call me bad and my cousin, Dharmaraja, good?” In answer, Lord Krishna said – “By tomorrow, you identify a good person, and let Dharmaraja identify a bad person.” The next day, Duryodhana came back and said – “There is not even one good person in this world,” while Dharmaraja said – “Everybody is good. I could not find a single bad person anywhere.” Lord Krishna laughed and said – “When you see only goodness everywhere, divinity permeates your whole being.”
We, too, can churn out divine energy even while interacting with mundane objects and people, because God is present in every atom of creation. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says - “He who has … conquered his mind … by identifying himself with the divine core in all beings is a true Karmayogi….” [5-7]. To empower ourselves, we should begin each day with a prayer – “God, I know You exist in all beings. May I cognise You everywhere today.” Then, we begin to experience that every living and non-living thing around us is associated with divinity. We establish the fact that God is inspiring us through every person and situation. Interacting with people, we will realise – “I am serving God in them.” When we receive help, we think – “God is helping me through them.” In this way, we change our perception and emit only divine vibrations. Then, all our relationships harmonise and pulsate with unconditional love, making our lives and that of others frictionless and free.
The Kamakshi Temple is a famous
Hindu temple dedicated to Kamakshi, one of the forms of the goddess Parvati. It is located in the historic city of Kanchipuram, near Chennai, India and is popularly associated with Sankaracharya, one of the greatest Hindu gurus. The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, the Akilandeswari temple in Thiruvanaikaval near Tiruchirappalli and this Kamakshi are the important centers of worship of Parvati as the mother goddess, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The temple was most probably built by the Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram, around 6 C.E.
The main deity, Kamakshi, is seated in a majestic Padmasana, an yogic posture signifying peace and prosperity, instead of the traditional standing pose. The goddess holds a sugarcane bow and bunch of flowers in the lower two of her arms and has a pasha (lasso), an ankusha (goad) in her upper two arms. There is also a parrot perched near the flower bunch. There are no other Parvati temples in the city of Kanchipuram, apart from this temple, which is unusual in a traditional city that has hundreds of traditional temples. There are various legends that account for this fact. One of them according to Kamakshivilasa is that the Goddess had to absorb all the other shakthi forms to give a boon to Kama, the Hindu god of love.[1] Another legend attributes it to the Raja Rajeswari pose of the deity that signifies an absolute control over the land under the deity's control.[2] Legend has it that Kamakshi offered worship to a Shivalingam made out of sand, under a mango tree and gained Shiva's hand in marriage.
The Old Kamakshi Devi Temple.
The original Kamakshi Devi Temple is what is presently known as Adi Peeteswari or the Adi Peeta Parameswari. This temple is just adjacent to the Kumarakottam, and is near to the presently famous Kamakshi Devi temple.
Adi Shankaracharya, the famous 8th-century CE scholar and saint, established the Sri Chakra at this original Kamakshi Devi temple in the trough-like structure in that shrine, This Sri Chakra soon became the All India famous Kamakoti Peeta. The Acharya's Lalitha Trishati Bhashya comments Kamakoti Peetam as Sri Chakra.
The Acarya changed the fierce form of worship into a sowmya form. The Devi in this original Kamakshi temple is called by various names like Kirtimati, Devagarbha in extant Tantric works like Tantrachudamani. She has four hands containing in each of them respectively, Ankusa, PAsa, Abhaya and a Kapala. This description corresponds to those extant old tantric works. Further, Girvanendra Saraswathi describes precisely this swaroopa as Kameswari.
Kamakshi Devi Temple at Kanchi.
The Siruthondar Puranam of Sekkilar Peruman, written during this time, is aware of both the temples and mentions the original temple as the Yoga Peeta and the present Kamakshi devi temple as Bhoga peetam. The reference to the present Kamakshi Devi as Aram Purappaval (bestower of boons)by Sekilar Peruman is noteworthy, as the present name of the street in which this new temple is located in Kanchipuram is called ArapanakAra Theru.
The present Kamakshi temple too, has a Sri Chakra which was established during the 16th Century by NrusimhAdvari, of the famous dathamAnji family. There is a stone inscription inside the new temple, near this Sri Chakra, which states this fact. It is noteworthy that Arunagirinathar a 15th Century Tamil Saint, sings in praise of the Goddess as devi of dark emarald complexion and the mother of Muruga of Kumarakottam. The Original Kamakshi Devi temple i.e. Adi PeeteswariKamakshi Devi temple is just adjucant to the Kumarakottam. Arunagirinathar mentions the Sri Yantra in the Kamakshi Devi temple, which can apply, during the 15th century, only to the original Adi Peeteswari Kamakshi Devi, which contained the Sri Chakra installed by Adi Shankara. Arunagirinathar does not make any reference to the new temple.
Festivals.
Four worship services are offered each day. The annual festival falls in Spring, in the Tamil month of Masi, which runs from mid-March to mid-April. During this time the chariot festival (Ther) and lake festival, (Theppam) are held. Other festivals include Navaratri, Aadi and Aippasi Pooram, Sankara Jayanthi and Vasanta Utsavam in the Tamil month of Vaikasi. All Fridays are considered sacred, though the Fridays in the Tamil months of Adi (mid-July to mid-August) and Thai (mid-January to mid-February) are celebrated.
BEEJ MANTRAS | |||
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The encompassing circle is avidya (ignorance);the eight petalled lotus is the eight-fold Prkriti consisting of earth, wter, fire, air, ether, manas (mind), buddhi (intellect) and ahamkara (egoism); the five triangles are the five jnanendriyas (jnana, knowledge; indriyas, senses), the five karmendriyas (motor organs) and the five pranas (breathing activities); and the bindu which is pure consciousness reflected in maya in the bija
"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights."
During Navaratri, we invoke the energy of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga," which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does everything. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.
Navaratri is celebrated four times a year. They are Basantha Navaratri, Ashada Navaratri, the Sharana Navaratri, and the Poushya/Magha Navaratri.
1. Vasantha Navaratri - in the spring season(March – April).
2. Gupta Navaratri - in the month of Ashada (June – July).
3. Sharana Navaratri - This is the most important of the Navratris, is simply called maha Navratri (the Great Navratri) is and celebrated in the month of aashivina (beginning of winter, Sept-Oct).
4. Poushya Navaratri - in the month of Poushya (Dec – Jan).
5. Magha Navaratri - in the month of Magha (Jan – Feb).
Navaratri is celebrated in different ways throughout India.
1. In North India, all three Navratris are celebrated with much fervor by fasting on all nine days and worshipping the Mother Goddess in her different forms. The Chaitra Navratri culmintes in Ram navami and the Sharad Navratri culminates in Durga puja and Dusshera.The last four days of Sharad Navratri take on a particularly dramatic form in the state of West Bengal in East Indiawhere they are celebrated as Durga Puja. This is the biggest festival of the year in this state. Exquisitely crafted and decorated life-size clay idols of the Goddess Durga depicting her slaying the demon Mahisasura are set up in temples and other places. These idols are then worshipped for five days and immersed in the river on the fifth day.
2. In Western India, particularly in the state of Gujarat, Navratri is celebrated with the famous Garba and Dandiya-Raas dance.
3. In South India,people set up steps and place idols on them. This is known as golu. Photos of typical Golu displayed in Tamilnadu style at a home in Nerul, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India is shown by the side.Navratri is also divided into sets of three days to adore three different aspects of the supreme goddess or goddesses.
First three days
1. The goddess is separated as a spiritual force called Durga also known as Kali in order to destroy all our impurities.
Second three days
1. The Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Laksmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees inexhaustible wealth, as she is the goddess of wealth.
Final three days
1. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order to have all-round success in life, believers seek the blessings of all three aspects of the divine femininity, hence the nine nights of worship.
In South India, Saraswati pooja is performed on the 9th day. Eight day is traditionally Durgashtami which is big in Bengal. The 10th day is Ayudha Pooja when everyone gives their tools of the trade -- pens, machinery, books, automobiles, school work, etc. a rest and ritually worships them. They start a fresh from the next day, the 10th day which is considered as 'Vijaya Dasami'. Students also pay homage to their respective teachers as they are considered the third god (Maathaa, Pitha, Guru, Daivam - Mother, Father, Teacher & God).
During Navratri, some devotees of Durga observe a fast and prayers are offered for the protection of health and prosperity. A period of introspection and purification, Navratri is traditionally an auspicious and religious time for starting new ventures.
During this vowed religious observance, a pot is installed (ghatasthapana) at a sanctified place at home. A lamp is kept lit in the pot for nine days. The pot symbolizes the universe. The uninterrupted lit lamp is the medium through which we worship the effulgent Adishakti, i.e. Sree Durgadevi. During Navratri, the principle of Sree Durgadevi is more active in the atmosphere.
Navratri is celebrated in a large number of Indian communities. The mother goddess is said to appear in 9 forms, and each one is worshipped for a day. These nine forms signify various traits that the goddess influences us with. The Devi Mahatmyam and other texts invoking the Goddess who vanquished demons are cited. During the eight or ninth day, Kanyan Pooja, pre-pubescent girls are ceremonially worshiped.
SHAILPUTRI (1ST NIGHT) BRAMHACHARINI (2ND NIGHT)
CHANDRAGANTHA (3RD NIGHT)
KUSHMANDA (4TH NIGHT)
SKANDAMATHA (5TH NIGHT) (TOP) |
KATHYAYINI (6TH NIGHT)
KAALARATRI (7TH NIGHT)
MAHAGAURI (8TH NIGHT)
SIDDHIDATRI (9TH NIGHT)
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According to Vedas and Puranas only one single power called "Para Brahma" exist. The "Para Brahma" or Parmatma as such has no conditions like birth or death. It has no attributes like form or qualities. Yet this seeming creation is nothing but "Leela" of "Para Brahma". This "Leela" is carried out with the help of "Prakriti" or Maya. This Maya is an inseparable ingredient of Parmatma. Therefore, there is no beginning or end of this Leela of creation(Brahma), maintenance(Vishnu) and destruction(Mahesh.) The concept of Maya as Mother of the universe i.e. Shakti serves the mortals to overcome the process of birth and death. This Maya -Mula-Prakriti - Adi Parashakti has been conceived as the highest divine force. Our Puranas refer to various forms and incarnation of Maya. Each incarnation has a purpose and in every case only to protect the pious and punish the wicked. One such form of this Maya -Mula-Prakriti - Adi Parashakti is MAA SHAKAMBARI. Maa Shakambari glory was originally told by Shiva to Maa Parvati and Sri Skanda and has references in Skanda Purana. Every incarnation of Shakti has been named after the "Leela" she perform under the influence of "Purusha and Prakriti" like Mahishasurmardini who killed demon Mahishasur. Most common name for the worship of the Shakti is "Durga". Under what "Leela" performed by Adi Parashakti that She is known to this world as Durga. This name attributed to the Adi Shakti because of the following "Leela". Once upon a time there was a Demon Durgam who worshiped Brahma for years together. As a result he had acquired all the four books of total knowledge,Vedas from Brahma through penance. He also gets a boon from Lord Brahma that makes sure that all the pujas, yajnas and havanas being offered to the Devtas reach him instead making him invincible. Durgam became very arrogant and started tormenting the whole world.
As the consequence, devtas become weak and were not able to perform their duties properly. Therefore it did not rain for one hundred years and the whole world was hit by very severe drought. The rishis and munis take refuge in the caves of the Himalayas, and meditate upon the Supreme Shakti. The Shakti appeared in front of them bearing a wonderful form! She had countless number of eyes upon her that gave her the name SATAKSHI. She was so moved by their plights that tears rolled down from her eyes for nine continuous days and nights. The tears took the form of a river.
Than SHE saw that the rishis and munis has nothing to eat. So she appeared in a form bearing grains, cereals, vegetables, greens, fruits and other herbs and medicines - and was hence called Maa SHAKAMBARI. The rishis, munis and the Devtas then requested that she recover Vedas, which were in possession of Durgam and make sure that the share of Devtas of puja, yagna and havanas goes to Devtas so that they become powerful and can perform their duties properly.
Durgam came to know that again people were living happily through his messengers and immediately attacked with a large army. Maa Shakambari protected the frail rishis, munis, Devtas and others by putting up a huge wall of fire around them, and then let her discuss hover around it. There ensued a tremendous battle between the Maa Shakambari and Durgam. At last Maa Shakambari, killed Durgam with her trident and recovered The Veda from his possession. At that very moment all the mantras and japas that were performed by the rishis, munis and devtas had performed earlier but were absorbed by the demon Durgam due to his boon, transformed into a bright light of a 10000 Suns and entered the Devi. From Her body Maa Shakambari manifested the ten most powerful powers who has never been in universe before called "Dashamahaavidya" and 64000 other goddesses. She then handed over The Veda to the deities.
Therefor Adi parashakti is known as Durga as she had killed the demon Durgam.
Appearance of Shakambari Maa The splendid form of Shakambari Devi is de scribed in detail in Durga Sapt-Shati in the last chapter named 'Murti Rahasya'. According to this, the goddess is of blue color. Her eyes are like lotus flower. Navel is slightly below the normal place with three curves. She bears breasts of a virgin. A lotus is carried in her hand, which is thronged by bees. The other hand carries arrows. Other hands carry flowers, roots, and vegetables, fruits symbolizing the goddess of vegetation, who feeds us and keeps us away from disease. One hand is carrying a bow representing her fierce-ness. This is the appearance of Shakambari Devi, Shatakshi and Durga. This goddess removes the grief and calamities and terrorizes demons. The devotee of this goddess, worshiping mother by hymns, meditation, Japa and bhajans, attains the fruits of food, drink and infinite bliss