The food power

Everyday, one holy person used to visit the king to teach him the vedic texts .Despite the anxious pressurizing work of the state, he used to enjoy at par. But one day when the sage came to meet the king he saw that the king was worried. On asking he answered that last night he saw a nightmare of killing his own mother. This was the reason for his disturbance as loved his mother very much. After giving a wholesome thought, the sage inquired that by whom the food was prepared for the king,the previous day.The king called upon the chef and asked the same. The chef nervously answered that as he was unwell,therefore,the food was prepared by a new cook, the day before. After due inquires it was found that the new cook was appointed recently, whom had served as a prisoner for the killing of his mother.The sage able to crack the mystery of the nightmare  experienced by the king. Immediately, he exclaimed the king that  the thoughts of that cook who was a criminal had altered the inherited power of food. He directed the king that polluted valued food always leads to bad thoughts. This was the reason that our sages directed that one should keep on reciting holy mantras at the time of cooking.The quality of food is reflection of thoughts of cook

Sharad Poornima

The full moon day of Ashwin maas(month) is celebrated as Sharad Poornima. This indicates the onset of Sharad ritu(season).It occur fortnight before diwali.This is the transiting period of summer to winter. Still it is believe that Lord Krishna perform Raas(a kind of dance) with Radha on the night of sharad poornima maiking it auspicious. On this night the moon acquire the special powers called shodash kalas.so the light emitting from the moon is equivalent to nectar. In astrology , the moon is considered as lord of herbs. This is the reason the moon light on this day has curative properties.It is a ritual to prepare kheer(a dish prepared from milk and rice) and kept under the moonlight. On the next day it is distributed as a prasadam. As per Legend it is believe that on the night of Sharad Poornima goddess Lakshmi wanders on the earth to bless the devotee who awake and perform the pooja. Reciting Shrisukatam on this night is considered highly auspicious to acquire wealth.

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.

The beauty of Karwa Chauth: Its Rituals

Every woman is a part of ‘ Shakti’, the goddess. Fasting(Vrat) is a kind of tapasya(deep meditation) through which the hidden powers are invoked. The Karwa Chauth vrat is one of the method of invoking the inner powers of woman. There are many rituals associated with this vrat. Following are the key rituals and some important points which should be kept in mind  –

1)The first Karwa Chauth should never be missed.

2)Never wakeup any other person

3)Not to use knife in kitchen.

4)Don’t put thread in the needle for sewing.

5)Donot make any agreement with annoyed person.

6)In a pre dawn meal(called sargi), 7 kinds of food has to be eaten.

7)A shape of crescent is drawn with Haldi(turmeric) on the wall (munder) and water is offered at the start of vrat.

8) Sargi(pre dawn meal) has to be prepared by mother in law.

9)The ‘sargi’ has to be consumed before sun rise.

10)The Evening pooja before the sun set is very significant

11)A thali(plate) consisting of sweets called “Baya” is prepared to be given to Mother in law.

12)Prepare a corner with the help of rangoli for pooja called “Chowk”

13)Place the deity in the centre of the chowk

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14)Then the ‘shakti’ is invoked by mantras in the deity.

15)Place Karwa(a small pitcher of clay) filled with water with the ‘Thaali’

16)All the women sit around the image and exchange the ‘thaali’ seven times.

17)Then comes  the sensitive time when an old lady re narrates the story of Karwa chauth, which has to be listened very carefully.

18) The’Thaali(baya)’ is offered to mother in law to seek blessings. This process is called “mansana”

19) In a house where a daughter in law give ‘Baya’ to mother in law , it is prohibited for a spouse(of daughter in law),her children or other male children of younger age to eat the things given in ‘Baya’.

20)After the pooja, at the moon rise first ardhya(water offering) has to be given to moon through the sieve. It is important to note that the fast has to be broken only after offering water to the moon. (As all Chaturthi fast is linked with moon as per blessings of Lord Ganesha)

21) Parikrama(turn full circle standing at one place) has to be done while breaking the fast.

22)The woman has to touch the feet of the husband and husband inturns blessed her by offering water in karwa to drink.

23) It is custom to cook unbroken pulse(sabut daal) and it is auspicious to prepare any thing which requires Kadai(a kind of utencil) after the fast. Its a mark of "barkat"

This marks the completion of fast.

The Mauli-a bond of spirituality

At the time of religious ceremony it is a custom that red thread is tied on the wrist. It is tied on the right wrist of a male and on the left wrist of female. This sacred thread is called “ Kalava” or “Mauli”. This is a kind of kawach(shield) for protection against evil-eye. It is tied by the priest or the person who is conducting pooja. At the time of tying, mantras are recited to invoke the spiritual power. Another aspect of its significance is that it is tied at the time of taking “Sankalp”(resolution) at the commencement of pooja. Symbolically it is a reminder of resolution. This thread is a bond between the soul and supreme soul. The logic of tying it on the right wrist of male is that the right side of human body is ruled by Surya-nadi(sun) which is masculine. Similarly the left hand side of human body is ruled by Chandra-nadi(moon) which is feminine. This is the reason why it is tied on the left wrist of female. Thus this thread provides connectivity between human and God