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- Thread starter Maya3
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And today is your birth anniversary (at least on a certain calendar). I hope it’s a pleasant one. You are someone who I appreciate here.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Thanks for appreciation, Mangalavara. I use only the Gregorian calendar, easier than the traditional Vikram calendar. However, we have two birthday dates for my wife, one by the Gregorian calendar (December 23) and the other by the traditional calendar. But what makes that easy to remember is that she was born on a religiously important date for my community, Kedigree New Moon (Khichri Amavasya). That is a salute to mid-winter. We worship the local Kashmir deity for protection from winters, Yaksha, who wears a swab of cotton for a hat to indicate snow. So what, if we now live in hot Delhi? It is customary, not to go out of the house after this Puja.
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Shrāddha Paksha : September 17 to October 2.
Remebrance of ancestors, Pitri Paksha. 'Pitri' (Paters) is not limited to males only. We remember the female ancestors also.
My wife keeps the record of dates.
I cannot perform the shrāddha of her parents because they are not my ancestors, but my son can. They are his ancestors.
I perform the shrāddha of my maternal grand parents, but not of my maternal uncle (He is not among my ancestors).
If he did not have any progeny, then I would have been eligible to perform his shrāddha.
Some one has to do it to give peace to his soul. Otherwise, he turns into a dissatisfied ghost. That is the tradition.
It does not matter if I am an atheist and non-believer in existence of soul. I would not need any consolation after my death.
Remebrance of ancestors, Pitri Paksha. 'Pitri' (Paters) is not limited to males only. We remember the female ancestors also.
My wife keeps the record of dates.
I cannot perform the shrāddha of her parents because they are not my ancestors, but my son can. They are his ancestors.
I perform the shrāddha of my maternal grand parents, but not of my maternal uncle (He is not among my ancestors).
If he did not have any progeny, then I would have been eligible to perform his shrāddha.
Some one has to do it to give peace to his soul. Otherwise, he turns into a dissatisfied ghost. That is the tradition.
It does not matter if I am an atheist and non-believer in existence of soul. I would not need any consolation after my death.
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Edit: Dissatisfied ghosts does not mean malevolent ghosts, dissatisfied only, like most people in the world are for various things. Souls of good people do not turn malevolent, generally. 'Ha, nobody to remember me'. That is why 'Shrāddha' from 'Shraddhā' (reverance).
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Navaratras begin. Have to take bath early. Wear washed clothes, before I take a bow to the deities and then have breakfast. No non-veg., onion, for these nine days. Garlic, otherwise also we do not use.
Muslim fundamentalists in the new Bangladesh regime. Hindus being openly threatened. 5,000 puja pandals stopped because of threats. 13 million people making 8% of the Bangladesh population.
Muslim fundamentalists in the new Bangladesh regime. Hindus being openly threatened. 5,000 puja pandals stopped because of threats. 13 million people making 8% of the Bangladesh population.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Lost my younger brother two days ago.
After long illness, parkinsonism. Was being fed by a tube to the stomach. Was immobile. And he was once the strongest of the family and handsome as well, very blue eyes, mine take a greenish tinge. He was a doctor (Public Health), and at one time in-charge of New Delhi region health services.
Relief for him and his family. We lived together for 50 years. Our sons have gone to Haridwar (125 m.) to immerse the ashes.
I won't want that. Perhaps immersion (of my ashes) in a nearly Ganges bank (Garh Mukteshwar, 57 m away) will be enough for me.
After long illness, parkinsonism. Was being fed by a tube to the stomach. Was immobile. And he was once the strongest of the family and handsome as well, very blue eyes, mine take a greenish tinge. He was a doctor (Public Health), and at one time in-charge of New Delhi region health services.
Relief for him and his family. We lived together for 50 years. Our sons have gone to Haridwar (125 m.) to immerse the ashes.
I won't want that. Perhaps immersion (of my ashes) in a nearly Ganges bank (Garh Mukteshwar, 57 m away) will be enough for me.
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oṃ śāntiḥ
My condolences. I'm sure that your younger brother was a wonderful man and that he helped countless people by doing his peculiar duties.
I had to look up Garh Mukteshwar. Some webpages say that it was constructed during the time of the 'Hastinapur Kingdom,' but I cannot find anything online about a Hastinapur Kingdom.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
It is a legendary city, not much of archaeology remains till a strong search is made. Garh Mukteshwar has a Shiva temple near the bank of River Ganges and has come to signify a place where worship can remove the effects of karmas to give release from the cycle of birth and death. Many places like that, many on the banks of River Ganges, like Haridwar or Gangasagar in Bengal where Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal.
My choice for immersion of my ashes, closest place to Ganges from Delhi, just 57 miles. Why make my children travel 125 miles to Haridwar? River Yamuna too would have been OK, but it is too polluted. Of course, the community priest (Panda) in Haridwar will be looking for my demise so that he gets some money if my children visit at that time.
Namaskāra, everyone. Happy Śārada Pūrṇimā to all who observe it.
This evening at work, I had time to go upstairs in the building and observe the full moon rising in the east. As it rose and rose above the hills in the distance, it was wide, bright, and had a yellow shine. Candra Deva was given obeisance and so was Lakṣmī Devī. Soon, when I went to teach a class, I felt so calm and had a disposition of kindness toward all. I had began a fast at sunset for Lakṣmī and it will not be broken until sunrise.
When I got home, I spent four hours cleaning my place for Lakṣmī. After I took out recyclables and general waste, I set up a picture of her and then chanted her 108 names in front of it four times (40 minutes were spent on the chanting). Finally, I stepped outside and looked up at the moon for a while.
The photo above was taken tonight outside of the villa in which I live.
While others believe that Śārada Pūrṇimā had already passed, I believe that it began on 17 October at sunset with the rising of the actual full moon. After all, the word pūrṇimā means 'full moon.' I've always thought it was strange that a pūrṇimā tithi as it's commonly understood begins and then ends before the fully illuminated moon rises.
It is commonly understood that a 'tithi is completed when the moon is ahead of the sun by 12°, or integral multiples of 12°' (Saha and Lahiri 221). Since the fifth century CE, this is how a tithi has been understood in scientific astronomy. On the other hand, the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa states that a 'tithi is that time-period about which the moon sets or rises' (Saha and Lahiri 221). Finally, a Professor P. C. Sengupta was of the view that for the writer(s) of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, the pūrṇimā tithi began at moonrise (Saha and Lahiri 222). This is the view that I personally go with.
Saha and Lahiri. History of the Calendar: In Different Countries Through the Ages. PDF.
This evening at work, I had time to go upstairs in the building and observe the full moon rising in the east. As it rose and rose above the hills in the distance, it was wide, bright, and had a yellow shine. Candra Deva was given obeisance and so was Lakṣmī Devī. Soon, when I went to teach a class, I felt so calm and had a disposition of kindness toward all. I had began a fast at sunset for Lakṣmī and it will not be broken until sunrise.
When I got home, I spent four hours cleaning my place for Lakṣmī. After I took out recyclables and general waste, I set up a picture of her and then chanted her 108 names in front of it four times (40 minutes were spent on the chanting). Finally, I stepped outside and looked up at the moon for a while.
The photo above was taken tonight outside of the villa in which I live.
While others believe that Śārada Pūrṇimā had already passed, I believe that it began on 17 October at sunset with the rising of the actual full moon. After all, the word pūrṇimā means 'full moon.' I've always thought it was strange that a pūrṇimā tithi as it's commonly understood begins and then ends before the fully illuminated moon rises.
It is commonly understood that a 'tithi is completed when the moon is ahead of the sun by 12°, or integral multiples of 12°' (Saha and Lahiri 221). Since the fifth century CE, this is how a tithi has been understood in scientific astronomy. On the other hand, the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa states that a 'tithi is that time-period about which the moon sets or rises' (Saha and Lahiri 221). Finally, a Professor P. C. Sengupta was of the view that for the writer(s) of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, the pūrṇimā tithi began at moonrise (Saha and Lahiri 222). This is the view that I personally go with.
Saha and Lahiri. History of the Calendar: In Different Countries Through the Ages. PDF.
I have just realized that being a Hindu is not conditioned on observing any holidays, festivals, fasts, or whatever. Dharma and worldview (darśana, not even necessarily one of the classical six) are enough.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
October 16 for me, though we are not celebrating any festival, being 'impure' (sootak). But I do remember my mother putting out candy flakes out on a hanging basket under the sky so that the Moon showers nectar on them. It sure was great to eat them the next day.
Start of the 'tithi' is sort of inviolate and decides things. But there may be other views.
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@Aupmanyav I'm so sorry to hear about your brother. My late mother-in-law had Parkinson's, so I know what your family experienced. It is a terrible condition. May he take a happy and healthy rebirth.
oṃ śāntiḥ
oṃ śāntiḥ
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
This year, we will not be celebrating Diwali or Holi. We are in sorrow. The pre-Diwali lights are on in the neighborhood but our house is dark. On Diwali day we will light just a few earthern lamps. Last year too, we were in sorrow because of the death of my sister-in-law.
My (and my brother's) long-time college friend (65 years), who is a Jain, sent us sweets. Among Jains death is welcomed. It means no more accumulation of 'karmas', good or bad, they consider both as hindrance to emancipation, 'nirvana'.
My (and my brother's) long-time college friend (65 years), who is a Jain, sent us sweets. Among Jains death is welcomed. It means no more accumulation of 'karmas', good or bad, they consider both as hindrance to emancipation, 'nirvana'.
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Bhai Dooj today (Brother/sister function, just like Rakshabandhan). Son and grandson will go to celebrate it. The older lot will not go because of my brother's death. My maternal uncle's daughter came to our house and tied the thread on my wrist sans any celebration. At one time she used to tie the thread on the writsts of eight brothers. Now it is only me and an elder brother who is in Jaipur and a younger one who is in Mumbai. Life.
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Today we participated in the (Kashmiri) Pann ceremony at my in-laws place. It is connected with Mahalakshmi worship. We prepare a special fried sweet bread (Roth) which is a very delicate affair. Just a little imbalance of ingredients spoils the bread. And it is very time consuming.
So, we started the worship after the roth was made. We hold the offerings in our hand while the small Pann story is recited by the senior lady of the house (my brother-in-law's wife). And this is what we hold in our hands:
flower petals, barley corns, grass, cowrie shells, coin.
Barley corns and grass because when we were agriculturists and engaged in animal husbandry, we wanted these two things. Barley is the food of Aryan Gods and Goddesses. Women conduct this worship. Coins are their remuneration. The money collected is used only by women (very strictly) and since it is not much, normally we get pan (betel leaf, lime, betel nuts, sweet and mint fillings), which we bring for them till the money is finished. But then why cowrie shells? Because at one time cowrie shells were currency. Later when they ceased to be currency, coins were added. But by then, cowrie shells had become a tradition, and we still follow it. Every kashmiri brahmin house will have cowries for rituals.
We would not celebrate Pann at our place this year because we are in sorrow.
So, we started the worship after the roth was made. We hold the offerings in our hand while the small Pann story is recited by the senior lady of the house (my brother-in-law's wife). And this is what we hold in our hands:
flower petals, barley corns, grass, cowrie shells, coin.
Barley corns and grass because when we were agriculturists and engaged in animal husbandry, we wanted these two things. Barley is the food of Aryan Gods and Goddesses. Women conduct this worship. Coins are their remuneration. The money collected is used only by women (very strictly) and since it is not much, normally we get pan (betel leaf, lime, betel nuts, sweet and mint fillings), which we bring for them till the money is finished. But then why cowrie shells? Because at one time cowrie shells were currency. Later when they ceased to be currency, coins were added. But by then, cowrie shells had become a tradition, and we still follow it. Every kashmiri brahmin house will have cowries for rituals.
We would not celebrate Pann at our place this year because we are in sorrow.
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Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
Kartik Poornima and Dev Diwali (Diwali of the Gods when Shiva defeated the Asura Trio, Tripurasura, sons of Tarakasura).
Huge gatherings on river banks or other water bodies all over India.
Seems bathing in winter gives special merit. A test of devotion.
Interesting story of how the three brothers were made sinners, otherwise Shiva and Vishnu were not acting against them.
The religious teachers after their task of corrupting the three Asuras was over, were asked to take birth in the Middle-East.
en.wikipedia.org
Shiva crushing Tripurasura (Click to enlarge the image).
Huge gatherings on river banks or other water bodies all over India.
Seems bathing in winter gives special merit. A test of devotion.
Interesting story of how the three brothers were made sinners, otherwise Shiva and Vishnu were not acting against them.
The religious teachers after their task of corrupting the three Asuras was over, were asked to take birth in the Middle-East.
Tripurasura - Wikipedia