Tilak-The Mark of spirituality

Tilak is a kind of mark made on forehead. It is a symbol of auspiciousness.
As per Hinduism it is must for every Brahmin to have tilak on his forehead. Similarly for married women it is important to put a red dot (bindi) on her forehead as it is the indication of “Saubhagya”(Good Luck). People belonging to various school of thoughts wear different kind of Tilak. For Example , devotees of Lord Shiva put tripundra(3 horizontal lines ) on their forehead where as deciples of Lord Vishnu wear urdhavpundra(U shape mark). Generally sandalwood paste,sacred ash and red termuric powder is used as tilak. The place where it is applied on the forehead i.e. between eyebrows has “Agya-chakra” . This is a gateway to spirituality. Application of tilak is to activate this zone. Most of the religious ceremonies can not be performed without Tilak. The tilak mark act as connector between human and God. Even in the research it is found that a person who wears Tilak daily on his forehead rarely suffers from head diseases.One should use ring finger to apply tilak. Further, our shaastra says that there are 13 places in our body where one should apply tilak. There is a separate mantra for applying tilak on each part of the body.

Naag Devta

The “Panchmi tithi” of lunar calendar in the month of shravana shukla paksha is celebrated as “Naag-panchmai” in India. On this day people pray to snake god. As per legend the snakes also consumed the “Amrit”, the divine nector and attained immortality. They are the children of Sage Kashyapa and Kadru. The kingdom of snakes is “Paatal Lokam”.According to hindu mythology there are 9 snake which are worshipped. They are as follows
1) Vasuki(The snake who participated in the great churning of ocean)
2) Takshak(The powerful snake who killed King Parikshit)
3) Sesha (On which Lord Vishnu resides in vaikunth)
4) Ananta (the great devotee of Lord Vishnu)
5) Kailya (who was killed by lord Krishna and attain the moksham)
6) Padmanabha (the guardian snake)
7) Kambala (the powerful descend of snake kingdom)
8) Dhartarashtra(the powerful descend of snake kingdom)
9) Shankhapala(the powerful descend of snake kingdom)

The pooja is done to avoid snakes bites and get rid of their curse from previous birth. In a horoscope if there is a presence of Kaal-Sarpa Yoga, then this day is very important for that native because this dosha is caused by the Rahu and Ketu which are considered as head and tail of snake respectively. In certain cases these planets single handedly creates havoc in the horoscope by forming “sarpa dosham”. There are many methods to perform the pooja on this day. People keep fast.on this day. Generally a pot of milk is kept near the ant hill as an offering. On this day digging of ground is strictly prohibited.

The 5 Takhts

The word “Gurudwara” means “Guru ka dwar” or gateway to Guru. This sacred place holds all the positive energies. During my recent visits to Himachal Pradesh, I got an opportunity to visit Anandpur sahib gurudwara. It was a marvelous experience. My guide told me vital information about this place. This gurudwara is one amongst 5 takhts and this is the reason for its special spiritual importance. The word “Takht” means throne or powerful seat. The important and sensitive decision related to religion takes place at these five centres. Of the five, three are in Punjab state itself and two are outside the Punjab state territory. Their names and location are as follows.

Sri Patna Sahib(Patna,Bihar)

Sri Hazoor Sahib(Nanded, Maharashtra)

Sri Akal Takht(Amritsar, Punjab)

 Sri Keshgarh Sahib(Anandpur Sahib, Punjab)

Sri Damdama sahib (Bhatinda, Punjab)

The number 5 has significantly important for sikh religion. There are 5 distinguished symbols a sikh has to wear. Also there are 5 virtues in Sikhism –truth, compassion, contentment, humility and love. Above all as per order of Guru Gobind Singh ji, his 5 followers form the foundation of Khalsa.

My guide told me about the procedure of taking decision at the takht. The head of takht is called “Jathedaar”. The decision taken is called “Gurumatta”

Rules for Charity

In every horoscope there are certain planets which are benefic and others which are malefic. While making charity it might be possible we are creating trouble for ourselves. It is advisable to make charity associated with a planet which is functional malefic for your horoscope. So Next time its better to consult the astrologer before making charity


For Sun one can donate the following

Cow with a calf
Gold,copper,wheat
Donate a piece of red cloth
Roasted gram and Gud(raw sugar)

For Moon one can donate the following
Shankha
White clothes, silver, rice, boiled rice, milk, pure water etc.
Gemstones related to Moon.

For mars one can donate the following
Red clothes
Molasses
Copper
masoor daal
sweet chapatti



For Mercury one can donate the following


Deep green clothes
green pumpkin
green pulses
other green vegetables and articles.
Bangles and clothes of green color to Eunuchs. (In the modern day, this would have to be people with low sex drives or impotent or frigid individuals.)
Gemstones related to Mercury.

For Jupiter one can donate the following



Sugar
Banana
yellow clothes
yellow sapphire
salt
foods
sweets
turmeric
yellow flowers

For Venus on can donate the following
silk clothes
clarified butter (ghee)
perfume, sugar
cooking oil
camphor
scented body / hair oil, sandal
Diamond


For Saturn on can donate the following


Black cow.
Clothes coloured black / aqua
urad pulse
leather shoes
cereals
mustard oil
iron
utensils

For Rahu one can donate

Iron made weapons.
Blue clothes
Blanket
plate of iron
sesame
mustard
electronic items
coconut
radish
Gemstone


For Ketu on can donate


Goat.
Blanket
weapons made of iron
sesame
dull brown colored items
Gemstones related to Ketu.

Story of Vaastupurush

In the early ages Lord Mahadev (Shiva) was at war with a devil name ‘Andhak’. The war continued for years. After Mahadev (Shiva) killed Andhak, out of the perspiration of Lord Mahadev great spirit originated.The spirit consumed all the blood from the body of Andhak. Still his appetite was not satisfied. He then undertook penance Lord Shankar (Shiva) was satisfied by his deep penance and offered him a boon. This spirit then started eating men and  animals horaciously.All the mankind, demons and the Gods were terrified by this. They went to Lord Bramha. Lord Bramhadev asked them to lay the spirit face down. 81 Gods together laid down the spirit face down and sat upon different parts of the back. When the spirit begged forgiveness from Lord Bramha. Lord Bramha gave him a boon that “After building a house or any other structure, the people who worship you as Vastudevata &  give you your share of food as Balibhoj (Part of the sacrifice ) you give them all the pleasure and prosperity. However, those who start living without your prayers and offerings, you can trouble them. This and many other such myths  can be found in different ‘Puranas’. Probably this stories were included in ‘Puranas’ to make people conscious about the subject which would make them build there house as per Vastushastra.
The myth has hidden meaning and can be interpreted in a scientific way. The demon blocking entire sky and earth symbolises the anarchy present during its formation years when it did not have any shape, size or density. It was a huge mass of rock and dust particles with fire and water vapours. After a long process( resembles here as war between demons and God) , the forces of natur became successful in stabilising the earth. The eart is becoming denser and denser with more and more gravitational force.

Sitting of gods on the body of demon symbolises the stabilisation of earth. Stable and condense earth is best for laying foundation of any building. It is rich in quality of inertia(Tamas Guna). Movement of earth in the form of soil erosion, earthquake etc is Rajsik guna of earth which is never welcome.

The presence of 81 deities representing 9 number in numerology which is ultimate number.

Jyotish-Ek Vigyaan

The law of science is based upon information fetch from observation and experimentation. In the next step they are tested and finally they become principles of science. The process with the help of which we develop rules or theories is a science. All the scientific theories are the result of series of observation of events. After that cause and effect relationship is established and later they became theories of science. For Example when a doctor come across the fatty lever in a medical report, he simple says it must be due to high intake of alcohol. This theory hold true for many years until it is found that even non-alcoholic people can have fatty-liver. No theory is perfect. With the passage of time new theory overrules the previous one.
Astrology is a science from all aspects. It fulfills the 2 fold criteria
1) Cause and effect relationship
2) The phenomenon of replication.
Astrology is a correlation of celestial events on earth. The only difference here is that in science there is one cause which produce one effect where as in astrology there are many causes to produce a single result. This is a baffling point for anti-astrology group. The phenomenon of replication is fulfilled by the astrology. For example there is no doubt when shani enters Rohini nakshatra it cause destruction. Even in villages weather forecasting could be done well before time which even a modern day since stands no where near to the target. Unfortunately, the failure of an astrologer has been often misinterpreted as a failure of the science

Bhadra Kaal-The most destructive period

Hindu calender is based upon the lunar date called “Tithi”. Every tithi has its own characteristics. It is important to note that

1) the first half of 8th and full moon(ashtami and poornima) day of shukal paksh

2) the second half of 4th and 11th (chaturthi and ekadashi) day of shukal paksh

3) the first half of 7th and 14th (saptami and Chaturdashi) of krishan paksh and

4) the second half of 3rd and 10th (tritya and dashmi) of krishan paksh

Are so evil that it has capabitility to destroy the good results of a new venture.

As per mythology this period is ruled by Bhadra, a deity who rule over the demons. This deity has a firey tongue and blessed with destructive powers.


Exception to Rule

Exception #1 Just check the sign the moon traveling during the time of Bhadra. If moon is passing through

a) Cancer, Leo, Aquarius or Pisces, then it is said that Bhadra is residing on Prithvi lok(the earth)

b) Aries, Taurus, Gemini or Scorpio then it is said that Bhadra is residing in Swarg lok (the heaven).

c) Virgo, Libra, Saggitarius or Capricorn then it is said Bhadra is residing in Paatal Lok.

Make sure that Bhadra donot resides on earth at the time of performing any new or auspicious work.


Exception #2 The duration of Bhadra period lasts for 12 hrs(approximately) which is equivalent to 30 ghatis (each ghati has 24 minutes) as per hindu system of time calculations. Following are the effects of that duration of those 12 hrs

a) First 2 hrs results total destruction of work

b) Next 24 minutes results very troublesome period

c) Next 4 hors and 24 minutes results in loss of wealth

d) Next 1 hour and 36 minutes results in disputes

e) Next 2 hours and 24 minutes results in loss of health

f) Last 1 hour and 12 minutes results in success.

So only the last 1 hour and 12 minutes could be considered that too in case of emergency!

Strong determination

A long time ago in a pond many frogs lived  . The King of that city built a metal pillar at the centre of Lake. The pillar was quite high and its surface was also very smooth.One day all frogs decided to compete with each other in a race. In that race all had to climb the pillar and the winner would be declared on the basis that whosoever reach the top of the pillar will be the first. On the race day all frogs gathered. All were excited to win. The race began. But when the frogs saw the pillar closely, they found that it was impossible for them to climb. Various kinds of remarks and rumours were floating in the air.
"Oh this is too hard"

"no one could  even complete the race  "

"The pole is too slipry to climb"

Two or three frogs did try their luck. But the discouraging remarks of others made them to abandon their attempt to climb the pole. But there was one frog who was still continuing his race despite many falls and finally he reached the top of the pole. All rest of his mates were amazed, They were too curious to know his secret of success.Then came a voice from behind ... "Hey, what do you ask him, he's deaf".
Generally, we all have capability to achieve the goal, but due to presence of negative energies around us, we underestimate and live the entire life without fulfilling our dreams.It is important that we should become deaf towards all those voices which makes us weak so that  no one could stop us from reaching the pinnacle of success.

source-internet

Nakshatra Shaanti

According to astrological classical books every constellation is associated with certain plant or a tree. One can easily perform the propitiation of constellation called Nakshatra Shaanti by worshipping the associated tree.Following are the trees associated with each nakshataras
1) Ashwini-Vishmushti
2) Bharini- Amla
3) Kritika-Gullar
4) Rohini-Jamun
5) Mrigshira-Ber
6) Ardra-Baheda
7) Punarvasu-bamboo
8) Pushya-Peepal
9) Ashlesha-Nag Kesar
10) Magha-Vat
11) Porva Phalguni-Palaash
12) Uttar Phalguni-Pakar
13) Hasta-Reetha
14) Chitra-Coconut
15) Swati-Arjun/Jarul
16) Vishakha- Kaith
17) Anuradha- Maulsari
18) Jyeshtha-Devdaar
19) Moola-Anjan
20) Poorva aashada-Giloi
21) Uttara Aashada-phalsa
22) Shravana-Ark
23) Dhanishtha- Shami
24) Shatbhisha-Kadamba
25) Poorva bhadrapad-Aam(Mango)
26) Uttar Bhadrapad-Neem
27) Revati-Mahua

Abhijit Muhurat

Muhurat is one of the important part of Jyotish. Selection of the best time sometimes involves a lot of calculations. Even then one may end up with nothing due to present of many doshas. Then comes the role of “Abhijit Muhurat”.It is a powerful election as per Hindu astrology. This muhurat is capable of removing all the doshas prevalent at that time.It is also belive that on this muhurat Lord Shiva killed the demon Tripurasur who captured the three world,Aakash,Prithvi, Pataal with his immense power.
Abhijit Muhurt starts from 1 ghati(equvivalent to 24 minutes) before the Local Noon Time (LNT) & remains till 24 minutes thereafter (total duration 48 minutes) for 12-hour duration of daytime. Its duration varies proportionally according to length of day because in Jyotish a day begins from sun-rise to sun set.
Example- To calculate the abhijit muhurat at any place lets assume
Sunrise at – 0530
Sunset at -1830
Local Noon Time(LNT)=(1830+0530)/2=12hr
Abhijit Muhurat=LNT± (Sun set- Sun rise)/30
=12±(1830-0530)/30 hrs
=12±13/30hrs
=12±26minutes
In the above example the length of day is 13 hrs. That is why the standard duration of abhijit muhurat changes from 48 minutes to 52(26x2) minutes.
Exceptions : This muhurat looses its beneficiancy on Wednesday.So avoid selecting it on Wednesday.Secondly traveling in south direction in this muhurat brings inauspicious results. Last but not least this muhurat should be used in emergencies when no other suitable times are available otherwise one may fails to harness the richness of other muhurats available on that day.
I hope you get the answer why some people perform marriages on Sundays noon time!!