Kubera Kalyanam

 

Sunday mornings are indeed interetsing what with the Tamil channels comepting to show us  different temples of Tamil Nadu.In today's divya darsanam it was the Kubera temple at   Rathnamangalam, Vandalur, Chennai..Very recently the marriage celebration of Lord Kubera and his consort Rithi also known as Chitralekha was celebrated.It was indeed divine as always.I did ofcourse note some interesting points that were mentioned by the compere.She mentioned that Chitra Pournima is actually celebrated to remember the marriage celebration of Lord Kubera.I found this actually very new.
Usually we have been always told by our elders that Chitirai Purnima is a Tamil ceremony observed on the Poornima day (full moon day) in the Tamil month of Chitirai (April – May).where Chitraguptan keeps an account of all our deeds. So NEVER TELL A LIE....Read on for the story in more detail.....

 Chitra Pournami ritual commemorates Chitragupta who according to the scripts is the assistant of Lord Yama, the God of Death. The day is also dedicated to Indra, the head of Devas. It is on this day that the star Chitra and full moon come together. Considered as Chitragupta’s Birthday, the Chitra Pournami
Chitragupta means collection of pictures. It is believed that Chitragupta examines the good and bad performances of the person. When a person dies, his soul first goes to Lord Yama, where Chitragupta tallies the deeds and report it to Yama. On this day, special poojas are conducted at temples and people take bath in holy rivers and temple ponds to wash away the sins committed. Chitragupta Temple at Kancheepuram is the only one temple in South India for Chitragupta. Thirukoteeswarar temple at Thirukodikaval, situated on the Kumbakonam-Mayiladuthurai route, has separate shrines for Chitragupta and Yama. In these temples, Chitra Pournami festival is celebrated in a grand manner every year.
Legend
There is a legend associated with Chitra Poornima involving Lord Indra, the king of Gods, and his Guru Brihaspati. Lord Indra and Brihaspati once had an argument. As Indra failed to respect Guru, he stopped advising Indra who started committing sins in the absence of Guru. Days passed and Brihaspathi returned to his duty. He advised Indra for a pilgrimage to the earth to lessen the burden of sins. During the pilgrimage, Indra realized that he had been redeemed from the sins. He found a Shiva lingam under a Kadamba tree and believed that Lord Shiva had helped him in relieving his sins. Following this, he started worshipping him. He worshipped Lord Shiva with a golden lotus which he found from a nearby pond.
This was believed to be happened on a Chitra Pournami day and the place was Madurai in South India. Devendra puja is held during Chitra Pournami day in Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, commemorating the event.
The Mangaladevi Temple located at Kumily in Idukki, Kerala also celebrated Chithra Pournami festival with much religious fervor. Mangala Devi Temple is build in Pandya style of architecture is dedicated to Kannagi or Kannaki Amman, the main character of the South Indian epic Silapathikaram. The temple is around 2000-years-old and remains closed for the entire year except for Chithra Pournami Festival. Hundreds of pilgrims from Kerala and the nearby state of Tamil Nadu visit the shrine during the festive occasion.

Now back to today's topic Lord Kubera.We all generally know the popular story that Lord Veknkateshwa(Tirupati Balaji) is said to have taken a loan from Kubera for his marriage which is still being repaid by way of the collections of the temple.
There are also other very popular stories  associated with Lord Kubera.
Kubera Yantra's are very popular these days.It is said that to keep the yantra in the pooja with faith and Bhakti will bring a lot of wealth and prosperity.The number yantra adds up to 72 either way and 7+2 =9 which is considered very auspicious and lucky.
Today's version was actually not only very very new to me but I did not manage to find a similar story online.Anyways there are always many versions to our mythological stories which we may not have heard.What I heard today was of course  a very interesting one and so thought will put it down right away.
Once again I must thank the TV channels for bringing right to our homes every Sunday morning a Divya Darsanam.
May Lord Kubera shower his blessings and grace on one and all.
Jai Gurudev.

Ganapathi Bappa's Adalat!!

The tower of Vigneshwar temple Ozhar(Maharshtra).One of the Ashta Vinayak temples.

Well Ganesh Chathurthi has always been a very important festival.Living in Pune sure meant a great deal more importance attached to the ten  day celebration and festivities in the city.Visiting all the different Ganesh mandals and enjoying the theme and the decoration was indeed an intersting part of the ten day festival.Over a period of time I sure did lose touch with all the festivities.After a long time actually I have been watching a TV coverage of the Ganesh chathurthi festivities not only in Maharashtra but all over the country.
There were some truly interesting and fascinating Ganesh temples that caught my attention.
One was the Bade Ganapthi temple of Indore where Lord Ganesh listens to everyone's problems on Mobile.......you can get more about this here.
After Ganapathi bappa on mobile at the Bade Ganapathi Temple Indore,now it is Ganesh ji ki Adalat I hear.I'm indeed impressed at the innovative methods of worship and of course must admit my blissful ignorance on all these temples,and also these methods of worship.I only knew the traditional way wherein when we visit any temple we say a prayer and do pranams to the Lord.In fact I wish to mention here that whenever I went to Tirupati or Shirdi I used to plan to ask so many things ,but invariably forgot everything when I had darshan of the Lord. that ofcourse is another story though......
Coming back to this  Ganesh Mandir in Jabalpur,here all the problems one goes with are noted down in a register (by the temple priest)and an offering of a coconut has to be made to Ganpathi Bappa.The interesting and most fascinating thing here is that the temple priest brings the register in front of Lord Ganesha and reads out the problem to the Lord and then strikes a hammer like in court.That is why the word Adalat maybe.I'm indeed fascinated by all this.Once their wishes are fulfilled people come back to the temple and thank our very dear Ganpathi Bappa  for the same.
I also have the privilege of getting Ashta Vinayak Darshan sitting in the comfort of my home in UAE.Thanks to the TV channels for this noble service.
Ganpathi Bappa Moraya!!!!
Jai Gurudev.

Ganpathi Bappa on mobile !!!

I was listening to this very interesting piece of news on television a short while ago where in one can call  a mobile number and convey all their problems, and our very dear ganapathi bappa listens to all grievances and showers his blessings and solves their problems.The poojari of the temple went on to say that earlier on people conveyed their problems through letters to Ganesha and this started around twenty years before.The poojari says they get mails from all over the globe.The first letter which they received twenty years before and then some time later another mail from the same person thanking the Lord for solving his problems.Isn't that indeed awesome!!!They get thousands of mails and all are placed at ganapati bappa's feet and he takes care of everything.More recently,what with the latest technology and excellent global connectivity,people can call certain moblie numbers(forgot to note them down,as usual,just like me!!!),the poojari tells the caller to convey his grievances or thanks or whatever it is he has to the Lord and places in the cell on Ganehsa's ears.I am supremely impressed indeed at the novelty and innovative thought.
 In case the same program is repeated will sure remember to note down the mobile numbers and post them down here,in case some one would wish to talk to Ganpathi Bappa.
Curious to know more about this temple I googled and found some informtion about the temple.This famous temple is The Bade Ganapati Mandir at Indore.
Enjoy and stay connected to the Lord always.

Jai Gurudev.

Ladoo Krishna!!

Doesn't he look so very beautiful!!!!!!

I have always enjoyed all that is associated with Janmashtami celebrations and of course a special mention here about the 'maa kolam of kutti krishna's feet'.I used to enjoy seeing amma (as a youngster)draw kutti kannan's feet right from our doorstep upto the poojai room and I remember there were times when I did try to place my feet on them (ofcourse only when they dried up!!),to see whether they did fit my feet.
It used to be fun for sure,everything associated with Janmashatmi was indeed truly enjoyable and fun.All the goodies amma used to make,uppu seedai, vella seedai, kai murukku,appam, therattipal,aval, payasam,navaneetam,different fruit varieties. Sure I too do all that amma did on gokulashtami.
Well now coming to the more pertinent point which I wanted to put down here.All of us have heard a lot about Krishna's bala leela's and his liking for butter,curd.....,and his love for all the little things in life.That is one of the main reasons why we make so many different vairities of naivedyam on gokulashtami.I have also thought and been told that the kutti kannan feet kolam is welcoming HIM into our homes.I just read an article where they said that another reason for kutti kannan feet kolam is also that,like he used to visit all the gopis houses in gokulam and steal butter and curd from their houses and also many times break their curd and butter pots and run away leaving his curd and butter soaked footprints.We imagine that in our houses too and hence draw the sweet little feet .

Whatever the reason,it sure looks beautiful to have tiny liitle feet go up to our poojai room isn't it??This is not the kolam I drew at  home(forgot to click pictures of mine!!),I got this on line,thanks to the person who did it.

Jai Gurdev.

This Too Will Pass

A very nicely written article I got as a Fwd.
Once a King called upon all of his wise men and asked them, "Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time. Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?" All wise men got puzzled by King's question. One answer for all questions? Something that works everywhere, in every situation? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he'll have to see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring. After a few days, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. It was a collective surprise attack of the King's enemies. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. King had to fled on his horse. The enemies were following him. His horse took him far away in the Jungle. He could hear many troops of horses following him and the noise was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road - that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished and he could not return because it was a small road. The sound of enemy's horses was approaching fast. King became restless. There seemed to be no way. Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great. The message was – "This too will pass." The King read it. Again read it. Suddenly something struck him- Yes! It too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasure have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. Calm come on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were not on that path. The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fan fare at the door. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on the King from every house, from every corner.People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself," I am one of the bravest and greatest King. It is not easy to defeat me.: With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him. Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opened it and read it again: "This too will pass" He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness. If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by We are witness of all this. We are the Observer. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes. Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of Sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There were friends in the past. They have gone. There are friends today. They too will go. There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go. There were enemies in the past. They have gone. There may be enemies in the present. They too will go. There will be new enemies tomorrow and, they too will go. There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. If there are problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away. Who are you in reality? Know your real face. Your face is not your true face. It will change with the time. However, there is something in you, which will not change. It will remain unchanged. What is that unchangeable? It is nothing but your true self. You are just a witness of change. Experience it.
Understand the spiritual dimension behind this.
Jai Gurudev.

The Supreme Love

This morning I was sitting and pondering over an article I had read yesterday.It was about why the traditional Radha Kalyana Mahotsavam is celebrated though actually as per scriptures Krishna did not marry Radha,as he did Rukmini or Satyabhama or his other 16,000 wives.There were many explanations given, but one that captured my attention was where it said that Radha and Krishna were one,they were not two separate individuals as is commonly understood.
This is a humble attempt to put down in words what ever little I understood from a conversation with a very learned,senior, devoted dear friend and uncle.
Krishna loves butter as we all know,from all his childhood stories and leelas.To just give a deeper meaning to his love for butter,it is necessary to understand what is butter.Butter is our vasanas .When the curd of devotion is poured into the milk of samsara and churned with the mantra and left untouched, and let it settle down,that is meditation, and the result of meditation is butter.This butter we offer to the Lord.He takes away our vasanas and makes us pure.When one is pure, then love flows and that love is divine love,that is love without any expectation,love just for the sake of love.That is ‘prema swaroopa’.
Krishna is Sat Chit Ananda and Ananda is Love.Krishna could not experience Love because he was only one Advaita.He wanted to experience Love so from his Ananda amsha, he created Radha. Radha could experience Krishna’s love because she was thinking of Krishna alone and became Krishna maya,though Krishna still could not experience love.Krishna too started chanting ‘Radhe, Radhe’,and slowly became Radha maya,and only then could Krishna experience his own “Love”.This explains that there is no Krishna without Radha neither is there Radhe without Krishna.
Knowledge when it gets transformed into wisdom it is bahkti or devotion.When devotion reaches its peak it gets transformed into Love.If knowledge does not get transformed into Bhakti then it is useless tinsel,says Rajaji in his introductory talk to Bajha Govindam, rendered by one of the greatest music stalwarts M.S.Subbalakshmi amma.
Knowledge and bhakti reminds me here of Krishna’s friend Uddhava (who was gyani).Once Uddhav questions Krishna as to why he was cheating the gopis with his so called ‘Love’because he knew that Krishna is Jyotiswaroopa and can be experienced only by sitting in ‘Padmasan’and meditating and awakening the kundalini shakti.When the kundalini shakti reaches the top of the head or mastishka then one sees the jyoti which is your true formless aspect, then why is it that you are cheating the gopis ??
In order to teach the Gyani (Uddhav)love Krishna asks Uddhav to go to Vraj bhoomi and explain this truth to the gopis.Krishna authorizes Uddhav as his representative since he is himself busy and sends Uddhav to Vraj bhoomi with a letter.
Uddhav goes to Vraj bhoomi with the letter and tells the gopis that Krishna has sent a letter for them,and shows the letter to them.All the gopis ,eager to know if their name is mentioned in the letter,pull the letter in all directions and soon it is in shreds.Then they ask Uddhav how is their beloved Krishna,and what message has he sent for them????
Uddhav tells the dear gopis that Krishna has been fooling them all along and that he is formless and in order to see his formless aspect they will need to sit in padmasan and meditatae on him and awaken the kundalini and only then can they see his jyotiswaroopa.Uddhav asks them ‘why are you pining for that which is mere illusion?
When the gopis hear this they are angry and tell Uddhav that he is an imposter and their beloved could never send such a message.The angry gopis now ask Uddhav if he has ever loved,and when he replies in the negative they ask him, ‘then what do you know of love’???
The gopis go on to tell Uddhav that Krishna never left them in the first place,"Brindavanam partiyajya padam ekam na gacchet"(srimad baghavatham)Uddhav is spell bound to hear this from the gopis and asks them,ok, then why are you pining and crying for him then?
The gopis tell him, “Oh Uddhav!! He is in our hearts,we want him to come out and play with us.Since he is the one who can take any form, we want him to come and play with us.We are telling him,oh you heartless lover come soon,otherwise you will see only our dead bodies.The gopis take him to Radha who is sitting under a tree and there Uddhav sees Krishna sitting with Radha and is astonished at what he sees because he left Krishna at Mathura and now he is here.To reassure himself Uddhav crawls up to Krishna and touches his feet to see if he is real or only his imagination.Uddhav realizes he is real and then shaken by this, he weeps unconsolably and takes the dust of gopis feet and applies it on his head.All this was just to transform the gyani(Uddhav) into a bhakta.
Knowledge has to become wisdom in order to attain bhakti,and when devotion reaches its peak it gets transformed into love ,’Divine love’which is above all else.


Jai Gurudev.

Happy Janmashtami!!

Today is Janmashtami or Gokulashtami or Sri jayanthi as generally and popularly known to one and all.I read this very informative write up on Kalinga Narthana Krishnan and thought it apt to post it here right away.Also enjoy the photo of Kalinga Narthana Krishnan from Oothukkadu.

OOTHUKKADU is a small village in Papanasam taluk of Thanjavur district, about 7 km from Thirukarugavoor, where the famous shrine of Goddess Garbha Rakshambigai is located. The main deity of Oothukkadu village is, of course, Lord Veda Narayanar flanked by goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side. The temple gained popularity after the discovery of the panchaloka idol of Kalinga Narthana Perumal from the temple tank. It is believed that sage Naradha witnessed the Kalinga Narthanam that Lord Krishna performed in front of the divine cows Nandini and Patti, children of Kamadhenu. Sage Naradha prayed to Krishna to remain in the village in the dance posture and bless the devotees. Hence it is believed that Lord Krishna remained in the dancing posture in Oothukkadu.The idol of Sri Kalinga Narthana Perumal in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is about 2.5 ft high. Lord Krishna, portrayed as a five-year old boy, is seen dancing with His left foot on the serpent's head and his right leg in the air.The sight of the Lord holding the tail of the serpent with His left hand and showing Abhaya Mudra with His right hand is indeed a feast for the eyes. It is so intricately sculpted that one can insert a thin piece of paper between the Lord's left leg and the head of the serpent. The beauty is that the weight of the Lord's body rests on the left hand that holds the serpent's tail, says the temple Bhattacharya. One can also see the scars on the right leg of Lord Krishna formed due to the violent beating from Kalinga's tail.Mahakavi Venkatasa Subbhayyar, popularly known as Venkata Kavi, who lived in the 17th century CE spent his entire life in front of the thulasi mada composing a number of melodious songs in praise of this deity. Due to the extreme devotion of Sri Venkata Kavi to the Lord, he is believed to be a reincarnation of Sage Naradha who witnessed the Lord's dance in the village.Some of the famous songs of Venakata Kavi are: "Thaye Yasodha," Ali Payudhe Kanna," Paal Vadiyum Mugam", "Asaindadum mayil", "Enna Punniyam" and "Aadadhu Asangadhu Va Kanna". The starting verses of some of these songs can be found on the temple walls. It is believed that Lord Krishna appeared in person and danced to these melodies. Lord Krishna also performed the entire Kalinga Nardhanam for the pleasure of Sri Venkata Kavi.The shrine has gained fame as a "Parihara Sthalam" for "Raghu Dosham" and "Sarpa Dosham."The shrine is also visited by devotees who pray for quick settlement of marriage alliances and birth of offspring.best wishes.

source: wikipedia/sthalapuranam.

Happy Janmashtami!!!

Jai Gurudev.

Saranagathi!!

We use the word Saranagathi so very often though of course very casually.Saranagathi means surrender to the Lord,Almighty,telling him Oh God, you take charge,I completely surrender to you.Saranagathi is a divine concept where the devotee submits himself or herself completely to the Lord.
Srimad Baghavatham illustrates Saranagathy with the stories .of Ganjendra moksham, Draupadi Vastrabharanam and the story of Uttara.
In the story of Gajendran we find that when he is caught by the crocodile he thinks he can set himself free from the crocodile and so tries hard,then he takes the help of his friends and then when he realises no one can help him he finally cries to the Lord for help and there he is immediately saved by Vishnu.
Draupadi too initially cries to all the seniors, the Pandavas,Arjuna, Bheema and the others and when she realises that none of them will actually come to her rescue then she cries out to Lord Krishna,who immedialtely protects her and gives her Abhayam.
So it is with us too.We think we can solve our problems ourselves and so do not turn to GOD until we realise that we are helpless.Only then do we start praying and cryig to HIM for help and cry for protection.Surrender comes only when we have tried all other means and failed.
If we surrender to God's will and accept everything as His will then we will realise that we are taken care of all the time.
Srimad Baghavatham also tells us another beautiful stoty of Uttara,the mother of Parikshit.
Gajendra moksham and Draupadi vastrabharanam are popular and many of us have heard or read sometime or the other.The story of Uttara is not as popular and may be familiar only with those who read Srimad Baghavatham.
The story goes that Ashwathama(son of Dronacharya)sees Duryodhana lying injured at the battle field (Kurukshetra)and tells him that he will destroy the Pandavas and fulfill his wish.Saying so, Ashwathama leaves and on his way he sees an owl attacking birds sleeping in their nest and destroying them all.Ashwathama decides he too will do the same, and at midnight enters the Pandava camp and kills all there.All the five children of Draupadi lay killed by Ashwathama.Draupadi when she sees her sons dead the next morning, screams in agony and calls Arjuna.Arjuna is very upset and vows to kill whoever did this so saying they he goes in search of the killer with Sri Krishna and after a long chase they find Ashwathama, capture him and bring him in front of Draupadi. Draupadi does not want him killed because he is their Guru putra,and also she says 'I know the sorrow of amother and I do not want his mother to go through the suffering that I am now in',so asks them to release Ashwathama.More on this story in a separate post.So the Pandavas punish ashwathama by shaving of his head and release him.Ashwathama is very ashamed and on his way out vows that he will wipe out the pandavas and releases an Astra which goes straight into the womb of Uttara.Uttara is in deep pain and comes screaming and falls at the feet of Sri Krishna,surrenders to HIM and prays that he protect her womb and the baby. Sri Krishna enters her womb and protects the womb and thus Parikshit gets the Lords darshan while in His mother's womb itself.The surrender of Uttara is said to be ultimate surrender,because the moment she is affected she realises that only the lord can protect and save her and so comes rushing to Him right away.

Jai Gurudev.