Guest guest Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Good Day Brothers and Sisters, Its Thursday, 25th September 2008 Hello My dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning and a Great New Day full of laughter, joy and peace to you all, Ramzan is well underway and Elephant headed God having completed his sojourn into Hindu households ... has given way to the Pitripaksh, the time to pay our debt to our ancestors The lunar cycle followed by most ancient religions to mark festivals and change of seasons for various activities brought Ramzan to coincide with the birth celebrations of one of the most iconic of Hindu deities who is also one of the highly venerated ones throughout India irrespective of regional affiliations ... Ganesha has a special significance in Hindu thought in that He is invoked and worshipped before the start of any new work to ward off evil afflictions and obstacles ... Known as the Lord of ganas, He controls the demons of Shiva and leads them ... Being Lord over them, His writ runs large in setting them free or restraining them ... Interestingly, by one version, Ganesha was initially and esoterically also known as Vighnakarta (creator of obstacles) rather than Vighnaharta (remover of obstacles ) as He is now worshipped The whole elephant headed torso of Ganesha carries with it a significance that is metaphorical and thus possibly the reason why its never played out loud or ingrained in our Lives .. takes a lot of work ... But then, that is the fate that most religious celebrations are getting relegated to .... Ramzan, a month dedicated to fasting inorder to attain proximity to Divine, gets reduced to remaining hungry throughout the day and feasting and partying at night The Hindu month of Shravan is preceded by a New moon known in Maharashtra as "Gatari" Amavas when heavy boozing takes place before the period of abstinence begins ... Its almost as if the fasting or abstinence is a chore ... A chore with such strong religious connotations that one dare not mess with it nor change its popular form as it is observed ... Why do we fast ?? and what is the significance of a fast ?? Is it merely cleansing our physiological insides and in the process enhancing the flavour of food that we get to eat ... Well, YES .. but that is a minor goal or rather a pleasant side effect .. I once had an occasion to listen to a priest explain to me the significance of a fast ... The Hindu word for a fast is "Upvaas" The priest explained that it consisted of two root words .. Up = meaning/referring to above or Sky ward or symbolically Divinity and Vaas = meaning taking up residence ... Upavaas thus meant taking up residence near the Divine OR being in proximity to the Divine Abstaining from food meant that the body was rested from its regular processes and thus remained calm .... The mind no longer concerned with what to eat and how to indulge in pleasurable sensations was also focussed on matters of the spirit ... And believe me, I can say this from my own experience, that the days on which one fasts or eats little, there is a definite improvement in physical cognition and improved concentration and alertness .... And if one were earnestly focussed on the Divine, the concentration is singular and uninterrupted ... And once you attain this singlemindedness, everything else loses focus ... Like the Sun's rays, you cut through the wool of ignorance and enter into enlightenment Yes, its that simple ... The catch ?? You have got to want it bad ... Bad enough to put in the effort, Bad enough to stick with the effort and Bad enough to make the requisite sacrifices Probably the reason why inspite of having ostentatious show of celebration every year, at the end it still leaves us unsatisfied and wanting more ...... So that we celebrate it year after year .. going through the paces, the motions that become habit Habit which enslaves us .... and keeps us that way by throwing little bits of carrots of peace that keep the flame of possible attainment of heaven alive in us .... like an addiction ..... at whose altar we serve like loyal slaves in the hope that it'll someday set us free ... The Ganesha idols were immersed into the sea after 10 days .. The idol of fasting in Ramzan out of habit will be sacrificed on EID But, when will we sacrifice the idol of dead habit that seperates us from our Divine birthright Author - Your brother/friend/ wellwisher - RAHUL (bruntno1 ) Working for God on earth does not pay much, but His Retirement plan is out of this world. Help someone have a nice day, visit www.thehungersite. com With best wishes, Love you all (bruntno1 Cybugle ) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Feel free to forward this post in its entirety without changing the credits ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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