Finding Nemo

आओ खेलें होली,  रंगों से,  उमंगों से,  दिल की उन तरंगों से,  जो अनंत रंग देखतीं हैं और अंतरंग भी।   त्यौहार है यह रंगों का,  रंगों के एक हो जाने का,  रंग संग मन के मिल जाने का,  एक संग मिल उमंगों की पींगें बढ़ाने  का।  त्यौहार नहीं रंगों में भेदभाव का,  त्यौहार नहीं आपस में क्लेश बढ़ने का,  त्यौहार नहीं कलुषित विचारों का,  त्यौहार नहीं व्यभिचारों का।  जलाओ चिंगारी, विचारों की, कुरीतियां मिटाने की,  द्वेष दूर भागने की,  सद्भावना बढ़ाने की।   खेलो होली,  लगाओ रंग,  मचाओ हुड़दंग,  पियो भंग,  पर मत करो किसी का मान भंग।  आओ खेलें होली,  रंगों से,  उमंगों से,  दिल की उन तरंगों से , जो अनंत रंग देखतीं हैं और अंतरंग भी। 

  Just as we learned from the story of Yayati, there are a few lessons to learn from his father Nahusha too! Let me recap Nahusha’s story and then we can look at the lessons – Nahusha was a great ruler of the mankind on the earth. He had performed many yagnas and was well known for his principles and generosity. Just as fate would have it, Indra – the king of the gods had to serve a period of penance and left the throne vacant. Indra’s court and the advisors suggested to appoint Nahusha as the king of the Devas while Indra was serving the penance. Nahusha was initially surprised, thrilled but finally accepted the appointment. He did a great job of governing the court of the heaven. However, the extremities of the heaven and the powers started to catch on to Nahusha. He started to believe that he was superior to all and had all the powers in himself. He forgot how he ascended to the throne. In his pride and presumptuousness, he started to become arrogant, haughty and swell heade...

 In the last few days of 2020, I watched the recently released Disney movie – Soul with my family. It was an amazing enriching experience. The movie had a great message – find your purpose in life, and don’t let your life be governed by the goals you set forth for yourself. The goals are stepping stones towards your purpose and not the final destination themselves. This came in just handy as we were preparing for our goals for the new year and setting our resolutions. It is always important to work towards your goals but not let the purpose of life slip away from your view and thoughts. In this regard, I would like to take a slight spin on the story of Yayati. Please indulge with me in this story and the message I looked upon for myself. A long time ago, there used to be an Asura king Vrishaparva and his main advisor as well as teacher was the rishi Shukracharya. Their daughters Sharmishtha (daughter of Vrishaparva) and Devyani(daughter of Shukracharya) were good friends. They ...

Sri Krishna is probably the most loved figure and beloved god for many. Sri Krishna’s disciples can be found all over the world and their devotion is unmatched. Srimad Vallabhacharya’s Pushtimarg, ISKCON, BAPS, and every other sect has been preaching the love for Sri Krishna and spreading his stories everyday.  Sri Krishna is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and a complete human in every aspect. He is one who is aware of his being, yet indulges in the activities of the human life. He is the one who despises the social restrictions yet upholds the ways of the principles. He is the one who teaches us to transform with time and always remember to do what is right. He is who teaches us that one must perform their duties and inaction is not a solution.  We recently celebrated the same love for Krishna in form of Govardhan Pooja & Annakoot. In our capacity to explain the one who is beyond all expletives, we humbly try to portray five different forms of love t...

कोदंड संभाले राम ने आज फिर शर साधा है। सामने अश्रुपूरित रावण ने आज एक विनती कह डाली है। विनिर्बन्ध, विनय, विवेकी, शील, दयालु, नम्र, स्नेही, आशान्वित, धैर्य और निगृह यह सभी गुण तो तुम्हारे थे राम। क्रोध, लोभ, मोह काम, ईर्ष्या, दम्भ, भय, दुःख द्वेष, आवेश गुण, अवगुण सभी हैं यह मेरे। बहिन का प्रतिशोध लेने को, कुल का उद्धार करने को, अनेकानेक असुरों को मुक्ति दिलाने को, अधर्म की राह चुनी मैंने। मायावी तो मैं था हे राम , अकेला मैं अनेक बन, मचाता था कोहराम। फिर आज क्या हो गया? एक ही हूँ मैं, पर अनेक हैं राम? फिर यह कैसे हुआ राम? एक से अनेक तुम कब हुए? मायावी तुम कब बने? रूप है राम का, कार्य हैं रावण के? यह कैसे हो गया राम? उठाओ तीर, भेद दो मेरा ह्रदय, काट दो मेरे हाथ मेरे सर, जला दो मुझे एक बार फिर। पर, बोलो तो, अपने अंदर का रावण कब मारोगे? लोभ, मोह, काम को कब तुम अंकुश लगाओगे? स्वार्थाचार को कब तुम आग लगाओगे? अंतःरावण को मिटा सको तुम, सदाचार की अग्नि में जल सको तुम, सद्भाव का ज्ञान समझ सको तुम, सत्यपरायणता का पालन कर सको तुम, तो, ...

The series cannot be completed without mentioning the reach of Lord Ganesha to cultures outside of India. In this last post for this year’s series, I shall try to present some more lesser known facts about the spread of the Lord Ganesha’s influence in Indian and non Indian cultures. During the early medieval period, both Jains and Buddhists incorporated Ganesh into their pantheon. The Ganesha cult thus travelled with the Mahayana Buddhism to distant lands, including Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia and Japan. Ganesha’s worship spread in all the regions rapidly. Manjangan ( Ganesha ) temple in  Bali ,  Indonesia Ganesha in Ta Prohm, Angkor For the Jains, Ganesha appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. The earliest reference to Ganesha in Jainism is in the Abhidhanacintamani of Hemachandra. It refers to several appelations of Lord Ganesha such as Herama, Ganavgnesa and Vinayaka and visualizes him as elephant headed, po...

Just like the various stories of Ganesha’s playfulness the stories of his marriage are also a subject of fascination. While there are scholars who believe Ganesha to be a brahmachari, there are others who believe he has two wives – Riddhi (or Buddhi) and Siddhi and also has sons from them – Shubha and Kshema (or Labha).   In one of the stories that builds the case for his stay at the Kailasha, Parvati requested Shiva to marry the two sons – Ganesha and Karthikeya before returning to meditation. Shiva agreed on the condition – one who goes around the universe three times first shall get married first. Karthikeya with a slender form and a peacock as his ride immediately went of the task. Ganesha with his potbelly and a rat as his ride did not flinch. Karthikeya felt bad for his brother in his thoughts while travelling. Meanwhile, Ganesha mounted the rat and encircled his parents thrice and explained that to him they were the universe. Satisfied by Ganesha’s explanation, Shiva...