Reflections

Lord Dhanvantari is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. We get his first reference in Srimad Bhagwatam, where he emerges out of the churning of ocean milk by the devas and the asuras, holding a pot of ambrosia or nectar in his hands. He is one of the 14 jewels that emerged from the churning of the ocean. He is depicted as a handsome figure with four hands holding a pot of nectar, shankha, chakra and a leech. The story goes that both Devtas/Demigods and Asuras/Demons wanted to become immortal, but for that they needed to churn the ocean of milk. So they decided to come together and with the help of Lord Vishnu who incarnated as a tortoise, Mandara mountain which acted as the pole and Snake Vasuki as the rope, they start the churning process (sagara manthan). The churning of the ocean of milk can be compared to the spiritual endeavour of a person to attain self realisation. The churning of the ocean of milk first produced a deadly poison. (halahala) Nobody knew what to do with it and ult...

Stotram is a sanskrit term which means 'hymn of praise'. It is a poetic composition on a form of divinity which is meant to be sung. Devi Stotrams are dedicated to the Divine Mother. Stotrams are a magical way to connect to the unseen power that takes care of us and the world. A popular stotram that is chanted on all the Navaratri days is Lalita Sahasranamam . Lalita means Divine Mother and Sahasranamam means thousand names. It is considered auspicious to chant thousand names of the Divine Mother on every friday. It brings peace, clarity and prosperity in the lives of people. Homes where Lalita Sahasranamam is chanted, never experience any shortage of basic necessities of life. It purifies the whole atmosphere and fills the person with positive energy. Lalita Sahasranamam is from Brahmand Purana and dwells on her different aspects and qualities. Devi Kavacham is another popular stotram that can be sung or heard everyday. Devi means Divine Mother and Kavacham me...

Today happens to be my star birthday that is according to the moon cycle or lunar cycle. The constellation or Nakshatra where the moon is present when you are born is called your Janma Nakshatra . The Nakshatra or constellation plays an important role in determining the essential qualities of a person. Each Janma  Nakshatra  has a personality. It has some natural instincts, likes, dislikes and is adept to do some things better than others. Every  Nakshatra has a deity & a planet associated with it. According to Vedic astrology, their are twenty seven Nakshatras or constellations corresponding to each of the twenty seven segments of the elliptical zodiac. Mentioned below are the Nakshatras with their meanings: Ashwini - Horse like woman Bharani - bearer woman Krittika - cutting woman Rohini - red woman Mrigashirsha - head of deer Ardra - moist one Punarvasu - return of light Pushya - nourishing Ashlesha - the embracer Magha - the great one Pur...

Sharing one of my favourite story from Srimad   Bhagwatam. It is one of the most revered puranas and contains the very essence of Vedanta literature. It was written by Ved Vyasa in Sanskrit and propagates Bhakti or devotion for Lord Krishna as a means to attain self-knowledge, liberation and bliss. Once Krishna sent his close friend Uddhava to Vrindavan, he was one of the intellectuals but was devoted to Krishna. He was highly learned and could give endless discourses on philosophy. So very skilfully Krishna sent him to meet the Gopis, the milk maids of Vrindavan who were simple women who operated from the level of the heart. He asked Uddhava to carry his message, "the gopis will be yearning for me, please convey my well being to them. Tell them I am very busy and will send for them soon." Honoured to be of service to the Krishna, he went to Vrindavan. As soon as his chariot reached there, all the gopis surrounded him. Overcome with the joy of seeing Krishna's messen...

Maharishi Valmiki, is one of the most revered sage of India. He lived during the time of Lord Rama around 5th century BCE. He was born as Agni Sharma to a Brahmin family. According to the legend, he met sage Narada once and discussed about his duties and dharma in life. Moved by Narada's discourse, he did penance for several years and chanted the word 'Mara' which overtime became 'Rama.' As he continued his penance, huge ant hill formed around him and became known as Valmiki, which means Ant-Hill. He learned the scriptures from Narada and became an ascetic. Their is a story how he composed his first verse in sanskrit, he was going to river ganges for daily ablutions, when he came across a stream of water. Impressed by the clarity of the water just like the mind of good man, he decided to bathe there. As he was looking to step into the stream, he saw a crane couple mating. Valmiki was very pleased to see the happy birds. Suddenly an arrow shot the male cra...

It’s only recently that I have taken to wearing Bindi and considering that we live in a country where women have been putting Bindi for generations, it feels odd to make that statement.I t’s actually amusing to notice people reaction and prejudice to wearing a dot on your head these days, especially in North India.  Incidentally, where I live I used to wear it only on family gatherings and festivals and weddings. And though I was never questioned or forced for wearing a Bindi in my family, it made me wonder that all these years I have seen my mother wear Bindi everyday and somehow I don't wear it.. why? Bindi, I feel has become more of a fashion statement these days rather than being a part of daily attire as in my mothers generation. And Bollywood has a great role to play in it, considering I grew up watching films like DDLJ, or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Yes Boss etc. shot mostly in foreign countries po...

Nava means nine and ratri means night. Like we spend nine months in our mothers womb, these nine nights are a time for self referral, a time for reflection, a time to go inwards and celebrate. In West Bengal, people celebrate Navaratri with a lot of artistic fervor, their is feast and celebrations. People get together for the famous Dhanuchi Naach - where women dance with the earthen pots filled with coconut husks, shells and incense lit on fire to the traditional beats of 'Dhaks'. People dress up in the best of traditional attires and take part in the festivities which is a way to show reverence to Goddess Durga. In north India, people set up 'pandals' or exhibitions with huge statues adoring Ma Durga in her various forms slaying the demons. But has anyone ever wondered that did those demons really exist? Where did all the fight happen? Who were these demons troubling the common people? As per Vedic knowledge, the first three days are the days of tamo gun...

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told an interesting fact yesterday about Mandodari, who was Ravana's wife and queen of Sri Lanka.  On Dussehra eve, in satsang, Gurudev shared a very fascinating fact about Ravana's wife Mandodari that really made me wonder that even without wireless internet & mobile phone technology, people from different far away continents were so deeply connected. Mandodari was the queen consort of King Ravana in Sri Lanka. In North India, people celebrate Dussehra by burning huge effigies of King Ravana and his brothers Kumbhkaran and Vibhishana as a celebration of victory over evil. Dussehra is the day when Lord Rama won the battle by killing evil Ravana who had abducted his wife Sita. Coming back to Mandodari, Ravana's wife. Not much is written in Ramayana about her except for the time when she protected Sita from Ravana's wrath when the latter refused to marry Ravana after being abducted. Mandodari was the daughter of a king ...

"You can't stop the waves  but you can learn to surf"  Jon Kabat- Zinn Take your time to learn, to be yourself, to experiment and to grow into the person you are meant to be. I know, it is easy to say than to do it when their are expectations, societal pressure and emotional pressure from your near and dear ones but the only thing that helps you sail through all of that is wisdom & being true to yourself. Learn to dance in the rain and the storm shall pass. Be true to your feelings, be honest with your thoughts. Be open minded to see others concerns and perspectives. You might not like everything that comes your way and you might react in many varied ways. Some ways I deal with tough situations are: 1. Ignore sometimes 2. Fight back occasionally 3. Accept rarely 4. Leave it on time to sort out by itself Like many of life's puzzles, their is no one correct answer. Mostly its a mixed and unique response to every situation. Usually things norm...