Ahm: Guard of honour for Lord Ganesh

Good Morning friends, Thursday, September 04, 2008. My day starts with Prayer at dadaji’s hosue. I like to read following news. You all also read it.
Continuing an over seven-decade-old tradition, Lord Ganesh was given a guard of honour by the state police here, to mark the beginning of the ten-day Ganesha festival.

"After the state guard of honour Wednesday, the Idol of Lord Ganesh was set up at the mandap (raised platform)", Mahant Ganeshdas of Sidhi Vinayak temple in Mehsana said.

"Cultural programmes would be held for the next nine days," Mahant Ganeshdas added.

The tradition of giving state honour to Lord Ganesh has been prevalent in the Maratha town of Mehsana for the last 75 years.

According to District Superintendent of Police Raju Bhargava, who was present at the Sidhi Vinayak temple, "It was during the Gaekwad regime that Mehsana town celebrated the Ganesha utsav (festival) with guard of honour to Lord Ganesh. Since Mehsana fell in the domain of Gaekwad of Vadodara, worshipping Lord Ganesha gained momentum here."

"Agashe Sahib was the first Subba in 1933 who began paying guard of honour on behalf of the Gaekwad state," Satish Patwardhan, a devotee of Lord Ganesh said.

"After guard of honour the procession of the lord would be taken out in the city and the same tradition still continues," Patwardhan added.

Dahi Handi (Human Towers) Celebrations in Maharashtra

Janmaashtami, popularly known here as Dahi Handi is celebrated with enormous zeal and enthusiasm. Various Handis (in this context, a Handi is a clay pot, suspended high above the ground, containing prizes) are set up locally in almost every nook and corner of the city, and groups of youngsters, called Govinda Pathaks (English: Troupes of Lord Krishna) travel around in trucks trying to break as many handis as possible during the day.

Many such Govinda Pathaks compete with each other, especially for the handis that dole out hefty rewards. The event, in recent times, has gathered a political flavor, and it is not uncommon for political parties, and rich community groups to offer prizes amounting to lakhs of rupees.

Some of the most famous handis are at Dadar, Mazgaon, Lalbaug and some in Thane a neighboring district of Mumbai and Babu Genu, Mandai in Pune.

Krishna Janmashtami -2

Janmashtami is celebrated to welcome and enjoy Lord Krishna's birth. The birth of Lord Krishna took place when the various planets were in auspicious places. It is said that God chooses a particular time, as to when he will take birth as a human and the planetary systems are adjusted accordingly.

Legend of Janmashtami
Janmashtami, one of the most popular festivals of Hindus celebrates the birth of their beloved God, Sri Krishna. Detailed story of Janmashtami or Lord Krishna's birth has been narrated in Puranas. Please read on to know more about the various fascinating aspects of the legend of Janmashtami as stated in Puranas.

Mathura, a prominent town of Northern India and the birth city of Sri Krishna was ruled by King Ugrasen, a Yaduvanshi ( Belonging to the Community of Yadavs). He was a great king loved by his subjects. He had two children, a son Kansa and a daughter Devki. Kansa was quite cruel by nature, his wickedness knew no bounds when he jailed his father and forcefully became the king of Mathura.

Love for sister Devki and Brother in law Vasudev
Though Kansa was hard hearted but he loved his sister immensely and married her off to Vasudev, one the high ranking officers in his army. However on the day of wedding, as a result of a heavenly prediction that Devki’s eighth child will be born to kill him, Kansa decided to kill his sister. On Vasudev's pleading, he put both of them in dungeons and let them live but with a promise that they will handover all their children to Kansa, only to be killed by him.

Birth of Balram
Kansa succeeded in killing all the six new born babies of Devki and Vasudev, however the seventh child was saved by divine intervention as the child was transferred from Devki’s womb to that of Rohini's, Vasudev's other wife. Thus Balram, the elder brother of Krishna was born but Kansa thought that Devki had a miscarriage.

Birth of Krishna
The birth of the eighth child of Devki, Lord Krishna was followed by a chain of dramatic events. Soon after the birth of the child, as if by a sheer miracle, all the soldiers guarding the couple fell asleep and the gates of the dungeon flew open themselves. Vasudev decided to smuggle the child safely in a basket to his friend Nand in Gokul. Since it was raining heavily, River Yamuna was all swollen and Vasudev feared that both he as well as his child will drown if he tried to cross it, however, as soon as the feet of the infant touched the river, the flow of water became normal and Vasudev was able to cross it easily. Sheshnag, the five headed serpent of Lord Vishnu protected the child with its fangs. Vasudev knew that his was not an ordinary child but a divine being. After handing his child, to his dear friend, Nand, Vasudev returned back safely with a girl child and no one got to know about it.

ref: krishnajanmashtami , agents webworld, Insurance software

Krishna Janmashtami -1

Janmashtami 2008 is on August 24th, Sunday.
Janmashtami celebrates the birth of one of the most famous Gods of Hindu religion, Bhagwan Krishna, on the eighth day (Ashtami) in the month of Sravana or Savana. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 'Rohini' nakshatram (star). It is generally celebrated in the month of August-September according to the Christian Calendar. Legend has it that Sri Krishna was born on a dark, stormy and windy night to end the rule and atrocities of his maternal uncle, Kansa.

Position of Stars at the time of Birth
It was only on the eighth day of the second fortnight, in the month of Sravana when, the moon entered the house of Vrishabha in Rohini Nakshatra (star) that Lord appeared. According to Barhapatyamana, the month of Sravana corresponds to the month of Bhadrapada Krishnapaksha. Lord was born in the year of Visvavasu, appx. 5,227 years ago.

Celebrated for over Two Days
Janmashtami is celebrated for over two days as “Rohini” nakshatra and Ashtami may not fall on the same day. The first day known as Krishnashtami, as the birth of Bhagwan Krishna falls on the eighth day after Raksha Bandhan, which generally falls in the month of August. The second day is known as Kalashtami.

Welcome the Lord at Midnight
It is only at midnight between the first and the second day that birth of Sri Krishna took place. The actual festivities begin during midnight in this 48 hour period. The celebration reaches its peak at midnight, with the birth of Lord Krishna, with lot of hymns, arti taking place and blowing of the Conch (shankh), rocking the cradle of Lord. The idol of lord is bathed with Panchamrit (A mixture of milk, ghee, oil, honey and Gangajal). The Panchamrit is later distributed as Prasad to the devotees along with other sweets. While some Fast on the first day and break it at midnight for others the fasting continues for both days. The period coincides with rainy season.

More be published in next post. wait please.............

ref: krishnajanmashtami , agents webworld, Insurance software

Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) - The Sister's Day in India

Augest 16, 2008.

Rakhi, the Sister's Day, is celebrated in India to symbolize the love and emotional bond between brothers and sisters. Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) is a traditional Indian festival in which sisters tie a sacred thread of protection around their brother's wrists. By accepting a thread from his sister, the brother is bound to protect his sister from harm. The sanctity of the thread that the sister ties to a brother's hand makes the relationship glow with noble thoughts and blessings of love, devotion and duty of the brother towards his sister.

People in India celebrate this festival on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravana. The frail rakhi thread is considered stronger than iron chains in India as it binds brothers and sisters in a bond of everlasting trust and love. Sisters apply 'tikka' on their brothers' foreheads and brothers reciprocate by giving them gifts and tokens of cash. In turn, sisters buy gifts and sweets for their brothers. The meaning of this festival has expanded, so those who do not have brothers tie rakhis to others and initiate a new brother-sister relationship that usually continues for a lifetime.

This festival also has an important social significance, because it underlines the notion that every one in society should live in harmonious coexistence with each other as brothers and sisters in society. The best way forward towards attaining this social goal is to initiate a lifetime bond that makes men and women, young and old alike with pious feelings towards each other.

The aim of Rakhi is to achieve a harmonious coexistence for everyone and removal of social strains. Simultaneously, it strives to cultivate noble thoughts in society and imbibe feelings of brotherly as well as sisterly love for members of society. The festival is rooted deeply in the psyche of every Indian since the past. Legend says that Rajput and Maratha queens have send rakhis even to Mughal kings who despite their personal differences, rose to protect them from harm.

How to celebrate it
There are a lot of rakhis available in the market encompassing both traditional and modern themes. These include thread rakhis, moti (pearl) rakhis, silver rakhis, silver coin rakhis and more. There are rakhis even for children such as chocolate rakhis, Superman, Batman, Pokemon, Krish, Mikey mouse rakhis, and so on.

On this day, brothers and sisters send cards and gifts to each other. Traditional gifts mark the occasion. These gifts include rakhi baskets with ethnic stuff, fashion jewellery, gift hampers, ethnic dresses like sarees, kurtis, Punjabi suits, dresses and dress material, traditional puja thalis, Indian Sweets like Kaju Katli, barfi, pendas, boondi laddoos and such, dry fruits such as cashew nuts, raisins, almonds, pistachios, and such.

Other gifts include apparels, watches, perfumes, etc other due to the influence of the present day modern culture. On this occasion, brothers also give a token of money as appreciation for their sisters. Sisters also purchase return gifts for their brothers, which includes men's items such as perfumes, kerchiefs, sunglasses, watches, mobiles, shirts, trousers, wallets, belts, apparels, electronic items, and such.