Navgrah Vatika

In astrology it is believe that there are 9 planets which are controlling the destiny of person. To minimize the ill effect of nav grahas one of the easiest method is to plant the nav-grah vatika (garden) near the temple. Each planet is associated with a sacred plant which has to be plant in a 3 by 3 grid as follows.
Ark(for sun) in the centre
Palash(for moon) in the South east
Khair (for mars) in the South
Apamarga(for mercury) in NorthEast
peepal (for Jupiter) in North
Doomar(For venus) in East
shami(For Saturn) in West
Durvaa (for Rahu) in South West
kusha (for Ketu) in North West

Gotra- Ek Pehchaan

Gotra mean a name given to lineage . All Hindu ceremonies require a statement of the gotra. It is very important to pronounce the “Gotra” while performing sanskaars. A Gotra relates to the original seven Rishis called “Saptarishis” and Sage Agastya making the total 8. The sapta rishis were Gautama, Bhardwaja, Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Vasistha, Kashyapa, Atri. In olden times, every gotra had a definite task to perform. Certain sacrifices require priests of a specific gotra only. All members of a particular gotra are believed to possess certain common characteristics by way of nature or profession. Currently there are 49 established Hindu gotras which evolves from eight sages. The members of a gotra however need not necessarily be blood relations. There is a difference between “gotra” and “Kula”. A kula is a group of people following similar rituals.One can change its Kula, based on his faith on ista devatha. In society it is prohibited to perform marriage between persons belonging to same gotra. The idea behind this concept to prevent transfer of genetic disorders to next generation. Also marriages between certain gotras are also not allowed.For Example marriages between persons of the Vasishtha and Vishvamitra gotras are not permitted. The reason is that these two sages were opponents and their descendants are traditional enemies . So the concept of gotra has the logic.

Tulsi-Ek Shakti

In the Hinduism, Tulsi(a plant,basil) is very dear to Lord Vishnu. It is believe that one who worship lord Vishnu with Tulsi leaves, is dear to lord Vishnu. That is why Tulsi is also known as “Vishnu priya”.The month of Kaartik is very important for tulsi pooja. On ekadashi tithi of kaartik shukal paksh devotees celebrates the marriage ceremony of Tulsi with lord Vishnu. This is called Tulsi vivah. Lord Vishnu granted boon to Tulsi that a place is considered to be the most sacred pilgrimage where exists the holy Tulsi plant. It is believed that the lord of death does not dare to enter a place, where exists a holy basil plant. If one take bath with water, in which basil leaves have been mixed, gives virtues similar to that of all the pilgrimage. The deities and all the places of pilgrimages have their dwelling places in whole of the basil-plant. Even the soil underneath the holy basil plant is of such great importance, that if it is applied on the forehead, all the sins of a man gets destroyed. Wearing a string of beads consisting of basil-seeds makes a man free from the fears of death. Medically it is proved that the Tulsi plant is helpful in curing many diseases. Some important consideration has to be kept in mind while doing Tulsi pooja.There are some days during which it is prohibited to pluck or water Tulsi leaves. They are Sundays,Amavasya,Dwadashi,Sakraanti(Transit of sun into new sign). The leaves should be collected before the prohibited time.

The Jap Maala

A mala is a garland of beads used for counting the mantras recited during prayer. Generally it consists of 108 beads. As per Hinduism the number of mantras recited during meditation is very important. The mala helps in keeping the track of counting. In the mala there is one extra bead which is bigger than the rest of beads. This special bead is called “ Sumeru”. This bead act as a indicator of starting point as well as ending point. The counting should begin from the next bead to this bead in a clockwise direction. For doing prayer for more than one mala , the direction of moving the mala changes in the second round. In any case the Sumeru bead is never crossed. Make sure that the index finger is not used while recitation. There are different kinds of mala used by followers of different faiths as well as for different purposes. For example
1) The rudraksha mala is used by the disciples of Lord Shiva
2) Tulsi mala is used by the followers of Lord Vishnu
3) Kamal-gatta(Lotus seed) mala for goddess lakshmi
4) kusha mala for purification of sins
5) Putra-jeeva mala for children
6) Sankh mala for tantric kriya
7) Haldi mala- for curing jaundice
8) Vyaghra-nakh mala for removing evil eye

The Super 14 knowledge

In our classics there is a mention of 14 kinds of vidya(knowledge) to be taught in Gurukul(the modern day school). During those days a student has to be master in all the fourteen subjects to complete his education. Thos fourteen

1) The Rig Veda
2) The Yajur Veda
3) The Saam Veda
4) The Atharva Veda
5) Nyay  Shaastra-rules related to justice are taught
6) Puraanas-stories and legends of Gods and goddesses
7) Mimaansa (vedants)
8) Dharam Shaastra-teachings of relegion.
9 )Shiksha- the science of phonetics.
10) Kalpa-deals with rituals.
11) Vyakran-study of grammar.
12) Nirukta-knowledge of languages
13) Chanda-study of sanskrit poetry
14) Jyotish- the science of astronomy.

Til- an easy remedy

As per classics “sesame” popularly known as “Til” in northern region of India was produced from the body of sage Kashyap. It is believe that if a person offer it to God,Pittras or Brahmin he would be free from the ill effect of malefic planets. Offerings can be made in the form of Snaan,Daan,Tarpan,Havan or Food. As per mythology Saturn belongs to Kashyap Gotram.So sesame is considered as the best remedy for pacification of Shani. One should light a lamp of sesame oil in the evening. This process is called “Deep daan”. During Makar sakranti in the month of January when the sun enters the Capricorn(the zodiac sign of Saturn who is a son of Sun god), it is very auspicious to offer sesame to fire god at night. People distributes jaggery(Gud) with sesame(til) on this day. It is a symbolic representation of Sun and Saturn respectively.

Marriage of Eldest Son in Jyestha Month

The eldest child in a family is called “Jyeshtha”.The word “Jyeshtha” is also use for one of the lunar month in Hindu calendar and for the nakshatra also. In astrology it is considered highly inauspicious the marriage of eldest child in a month of Jyeshtha.At the same time jyeshtha nakshatra add fuel to fire. The three Jyeshthas-the eldest child,the month and the nakshatra constitutes the “Tri Tara Dosha”. If we examine the above rule then one can find interesting correlation between the above cause and effect relation. The 5th house of a horoscope represent the eldest child. In kaal purush horoscope the 5th house is ruled by the planet Sun. During the period of Jyeshtha month, the sun transits through the “Ardra” nakshatra. This transit is very sensitive transit.Even all the weather forecasting is based upon this transit. Jyeshtha nakshatra falls in scorpio while Ardra nakshatra falls in Gemini. This is a 6/8 relation indicating death. Now counting from “Jyeshtha nakshatra” the Ardra nakshatra is 16 which is malefic(star of death).So, this malefic transit futher intensifies when all the three clubbed together. Even in case of emergency if marriage has to be performed, do make sure that other elements of muhurat should be strong enough.