It’s a new year for the people of Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Happy New Year wishes.
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Om, may all become happy,
All be free from illness.
All see what is auspicious,
May no one suffer.
Om peace, peace, peace.
Holi was on March 6th in India. Most fun festival. Fun-loving people all over the world like it. Check out this video Nitai Gauranga music video recorded at Festival of Colors, Hare Krishna Temple, Spanish Fork, Utah.
The music is by Kirtaniyas. You can check out the words and translation, and listen to the track here.
Here’s the 2013 Holi at Spanish Fork.
The (northern) Winter Solstice was on Sunday. On that day, the sun appears to stand still for a moment in the sky as it reverses it direction across the sky. This happens on the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere.) For details, check out the wiki.
ॐ Asato maa satgamaya
Tamaso maa jyotir gamaya
Mrityor maa amritam gamaya ॐ
Happy Deepavali. Happy Diwali.
For Bengalis, the five day long worship of Ma Durga is simply pujo. This is the time when Ma Durga comes for a visit to her maternal home. The festival culminates on Bijoy Dashimi with the protima (the idol) given a visarjan (ceremonial immersion in a river or a lake). Then it is time for people to greet each other with “Shubho Bijoya.” The important thing is that you wish people after the visarjan is over. This gets complicated in a world in which people live in different time zones. In India, visarjan is already over and they are wishing Shubho Bijoya but over here California we still have not had visarjan. So with that brief caution, here’s wishing you all Shubho Bijoya.
(Tomorrow I will go to a Durga puja and post some pictures.)
Here’s a song from E.S. Posthumus called Durga from their album “Maraka.” Others songs titles in that album are Kalki, Vishnu, Indra, etc.
It’s that time of the year once again — the time of Ganesha’s visit and therefore this annual post which is a tradition on this blog.
Continue reading “Ganapati Vighana Haran Gajanana”
Today is Maha Shivratri — Great night of Shiva. Shiva (the auspicious one) is known by many names — Mahadeva or Mahesh (the great god), Bholenath (the simple god since he is an ascetic), Parameshwara (the supreme god), and Nataraja (the king of dance). I am partial to Shiva as the Nataraj. He dances the Tandava, the dance of destruction and creation.
The image of the Nataraja above is from CERN headquarters. Click on the image for more details.
Deepavali Greetings to all sentient beings. May your home be blessed by Lakshmi. For Bengalis especially, may Ma Kali preserve and protect you.
Here’s a prayer for Diwali.
Continue reading “Shubh Deepavali”
Mahavir Jayanti namaskar to all sentient beings. According to Jain tradition, Vardhamana Mahavira (599-527 BCE) was the 24th (and the last) tirthankara. “In Jainism, a Tīrthaṅkara is a human being who helps in achieving liberation and enlightenment as an “Arihant” by destroying their soul-constraining karmas, became a role-model and leader for those seeking spiritual guidance.” (Wiki.)
Continue reading “Mahavir Jayanti Greetings”
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 