The worship of nature has been a practice in India since ancient times. Our ancestors without making a big show out of it were more aware of the environment than we are today. It would be quite hard to find anything that they did not worship. Fire, air, water, trees, animals, birds –they revered everything. Today we too worship all of these but we restrict ourselves to homas and pujas. Most of us have absolutely no qualms about environment pollution, are not concerned about preservation of trees and have no sense of ecological balance. Be that as it may, one of the many gods worshipped in India is the powerful and much feared Naga Devata – the cobra. This god’s curse was and still is considered as the cause of many a woe and misery. If one doesn’t get married, doesn’t have children, contracts an incurable disease – all are attributed to ‘naga-dosha’. It is considered that the person has done something to incur the wrath of the Snake-God. Amends have then to be made by some elaborate ritual or puja to appease the god. One day is specifically assigned to the worship of the Naga. This is the fifth day in the month of Shravana and is known as Naga Panchami. This festival is supposedly to commemorate Lord Krishna’s victory over a serpent called Kalia but it is the serpent god who is worshipped on this day. The story goes like this. Kalia was a dreaded snake which had made the river Yamuna his home. His poison had spread all over the river making life difficult for the people there. The child Krishna took upon himself to get rid of Kalia. He danced upon the multi-hooded Kalia and the serpent was forced to leave the place and take refuge elsewhere. A strange custom is offering milk … [Read more...]
On the occasion of Guru Poornima
“Gururbrahma gururvishnuh gururdevo maheshwarah Gurursakshath parabrahma tasmai sreeguravenamah” “I pay obeisance to the Guru who is Brahma, who is Vishnu, who is Shiva, who is the Supreme Brahman itself.” The full moon day of the Ashadha month in the Hindu calendar is dedicated to the Guru and is celebrated as ‘Guru Poornima’. This year it falls on July 25th. This day is also known as ‘Vyasa Poornima’ as it is the birthday of Guru Vedavyasa, who divided the scriptures into the 4 Vedas – Rik, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. He also wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. Vedavyasa is considered as the Adi Guru. Since times immemorial the ‘Guru’ or teacher has occupied a prominent place in India. The Guru is considered greater than God Himself as he is the person who makes it possible for one to realise God. That is why he is worshipped with great fervour. In ancient India, the ‘Gurukul’ system of schooling was prevalent. The Guru’s house was the school and the students had to stay there till they completed their education. Even a prince who was under a guru’s tutelage had to stay with him leading a simple life. The concept of ‘Guru-bhakti’ or ‘devotion to the guru’ comes across strongly in the Mahabharata in the episode involving Guru Dronacharya and Ekalavya, the Bhil prince. Dronacharya was the Guru of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Arjuna, the Pandava, was his favourite student. Ekalavya had a great desire to learn archery from Dronacharya. When he went to Drona with his request, he was turned down as he belonged to a low caste. Ekalavya did not lose heart. He had an idol of Drona made and he considered it as … [Read more...]
