Who is Rishi?

Rishi literally means one who sees the Truth, or the Absolute Reality. 

For seeing the Truth, or rather experiencing it, eyes are neither necessary nor sufficient. It needs the divine vision (divya chakshu) of the type that Lord Krishna gave to Arjuna. With the grace of the Divine, the divine vision may be developed through appropriate physical and mental discipline. The seeker aspiring to become a rishi is so strongly motivated by the desire to ‘see’ God, or the Truth, that he ends up neglecting all his superfluous needs. His lifestyle thus becomes very simple, and all his time and energy are focused on his quest. However, although the seeker’s lifestyle is simple, he does not have to starve himself or neglect his body. On the contrary, he should take special care to keep his body healthy so that it can endure the long journey that he has embarked upon.

While on the journey, the seeker may in fact stumble upon some of the secrets of good health and the strategies that aid mental concentration. That is possibly how the yogic postures and meditative techniques were discovered. Long before the journey is complete, the seeker also starts becoming more loving, caring and compassionate. The altered behaviour also aids his quest, and as he advances in his quest, his behaviour is further transformed in the same direction. His efforts, and Divine Grace, may eventually lead him to the experience of the Truth in its entirety, and the seeker now becomes a rishi. The rishi can now lead the rest of his life with constant awareness of two levels of reality. One is the superficial reality based on sensory perception. That is the reality seen by all. That is the reality which is perishable and inconstant.

The other is the deeper Reality which most of us do not see most of the time. The deeper Reality is imperishable and constant. Thus the rishi has a sort of double awareness. He is aware of what is generally considered real; but behind, within, above and beyond this reality he is aware of a deeper Reality. Thus, the rishi’s consciousness is much wider, higher and deeper than the ordinary consciousness. In simple terms, what the rishi sees is the all-pervasive presence of the Creator in all its creation, animate and inanimate. The first casualty of this deeper vision is the ego that creates the ‘me-versus-the-rest divide’. Therefore, when the rishi organizes his life around this vision, his life becomes full of universal love and compassion. The rishi does not just know the Truth at the mental level, but has experienced it. That is why it is said that the rishi has attained realization; or in other words, the Truth has become real to him. Only what we have experienced becomes real to us. What we have just understood at the mental level does not come anywhere near what we have experienced.

Realized souls in the Hindu tradition are called rishis, but realized souls are not confined to the Hindu tradition. Seekers across geographical and religious boundaries have realized the same Truth through similar methods. There have been several realized souls among the mystics of the Judaic and Christian traditions, and the Sufis of the Islamic tradition. That they have all experienced the same Truth is suggested by the remarkable similarity in the way they have described their experiences. Several comparable descriptions from different traditions have been brought together at one place by Aldous Huxley in his book, The Perennial Philosophy.

Sri Aurobindo reached Pondicherry (now Puducherry) on 4 April 1910. Here are a few lines on the rishi’s consciousness from his epic, Savitri:

A Voice profound in the ecstasy and the hush
They heard, beheld an all-revealing Light.
All time-made difference they overcame;
The world was fibred with their own heart-strings;
Close-drawn to the heart that beats in every breast,
They reached the one self in all through boundless love.

Akshit Kapoor

Rath Yatra Colours: Yellow, Black and White

In the Puri Shree Jagannath Temple, the presiding deities are three siblings: Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra. On Rath Yatra day, the three siblings come out of the Shreemandir, to embark on a journey to visit their parents at the Gundicha temple, about three kilometers away. The rationale behind this is yet unclear. The temple of the two brothers and the sister is named after the consort of Lord Jagannatha, Lakshmi, who is also referred to as Shree.

One often sees a picture of Vishnu, sleeping on the Shesha Naga and served by Lakshmi in the mythical Vaikuntha Dham. Jagannath represents Vishnu and Balabhadra the Shesha Naga. In the Ramayana, the three went to the forest together as Rama, Lakshmana and Sita. In the mythical Dwapara yuga, however, there is no such account of the three embarking on a journey together. In that age, Krishna represented Vishnu, except that the former married several women and loved a multitude of damsels (the gopikas). Krishna perhaps did not want to invoke the wrath of his wives by going on a journey with brother Balarama and Rukmani, considered as the incarnate of Devi Lakshmi. In Dwapara, Krishna and Balarama together undertook a journey to Mathura to kill their tyrant uncle, Kamsa. In order to justify his romance with many, Krishna revealed to Arjuna, husband of Devi Subhadra, that He represented many in One.

The deities in Puri are painted in three different colurs: Jagannath is black, Balabhadra white and Subhadra, yellow. From science we know that white light is dispersed into seven colours and yellow is one of them. However, black is not a part of this. Hence it is distinct. It is unfathomed. In other words, Lord Jagannath is beyond all understanding and probes. All colours have finite wave lengths , implying that these are in the limits of measurement. Black does not have a wavelength, and hence beyond all measure.

Black is dark, implying absence of knowledge. Lord Jagannath is beyond all knowledge. Dark is ferocious. Thus Jagannath represents the all devouring annihilator, the Kala. In the Bhagwad Gita, Arjuna sees that the entire universe rushes into the darkness of the mouth of that all pervading entity and vanishes there. Dark is mysterious. Jagannath is more mysterious than mystery itself. Hence He is called Mayadhara, the mysterious among the mysteries.

Ram means the full moon, the bright light in the dark sky. Balabhadra is strong but gentle. He is as clear as the full moon which is bright and white. While Krishna is the mysterious incarnation of Vishnu, Balabhadra or Balarama is the non-mysterious manifest of Vishnu and transparent-absence of mystery. He is knowledge and thus either precedes the mystery or follows it. In Treta yuga he followed Vishnu as Lakshmana and in the Dwapara, he preceded Vishnu as Balarama. In Rath Yatra he precedes Jagannath in all respects.

Subhadra is yellow. Yellow means joy and happiness. Indeed Subhadra was much younger to Balarama and Krishna and was born after the wicked Kamsa’s demise. Yellow is a particularly important colour for physicists. Yellow light coming out of a sodium lamp can show bright and dark fringes in an interference experiment. Yellow represents a single colour, while white light is a combination of several colours and thus unable to show bright and dark fringes. Thus Subhadra represents the essence of both Jagannath and Balabhadra and hence is well protected by them. 

Akshit Kapoor

The Great Rath Yatra of Puri

Rath Yatra - The Chariot Festival of India

Every year in mid-summer (this year it is July 10, 2013), Lord Jagannath, with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, goes on vacation, travelling on grand chariots, from his temple in Puri, to his garden palace in the countryside. This belief of the Hindus has given rise to one of the biggest religious festivals in India — the Rath Yatra or the Chariot Festival. This is also the etymological origin of the English word 'Juggernaut'.

Jagannath, believed to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu, is the Lord of Puri — the coastal town of Orissa in eastern India. Rath Yatra is of great significance to the Hindus, and especially to the people of Orissa. It is during this time that the three deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out in a grand procession in specially made gigantic temple-like chariots called raths, which are pulled by thousands of devotees.

Historical Origin

Many believe that the custom of placing idols on grand chariots and pulling them is of Buddhist origin. Fa Hien, the Chinese historian, who visited India in the 5th century AD, had written about the chariot of Buddha being pulled along public roads.

The Origin of 'Juggernaut'

History has it that when the British first observed the Rath Yatra in the 18th century, they were so amazed that they sent home shocking descriptions which gave rise to the term 'juggernaut', meaning "destructive force". This connotation may have originated from the occasional but accidental death of some devotees under the chariot wheels caused by the crowd and commotion.

How the Festival is Celebrated

The festival begins with the Ratha Prathistha or invoking ceremony in the morning, but theRatha Tana or chariot pulling is the most exciting part of the festival, which begins in the late afternoon when the chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhdra start rolling. Each of these carriages have different specifications: The chariot of Lord Jagannath is calledNandighosa, has 18 wheels and is 23 cubits high; the chariot of Balabhadra, called Taladhvajahas 16 wheels and is 22 cubits high; Devadalana, the chariot of Subhadra has 14 wheels and is 21 cubits high.

Each year these wooden chariots are constructed anew in accordance with religious specifications. The idols of these three deities are also made of wood and they are religiously replaced by new ones every after 12 years. After a nine-day sojourn of the deities at the country temple amidst festivities, the divine summer vacation gets over and the three return to the city temple of Lord Jagannath.



The Puri Rath Yatra is world famous for the crowd that it attracts. Puri being the abode of these three deities, the place plays host to devotees, tourists and about one million pilgrims from across India and abroad. Many artists and artisans are engaged in building these three chariots, weaving its fabric covers that dress up the chariots, and painting them in the right shades and motifs to give them the best possible looks.

Fourteen tailors are engaged in stitching up the covers that require almost 1,200 meters of cloth. Orissa's government-run textile mill usually supply the cloth needed to decorate the chariots. However, other Bombay-based Century Mills also donate cloth for the Rath Yatra.

Rath Yatra of Ahmedabad

The Rath Yatra of Ahmedabad stands next to the Puri festival in grandeur and crowd-pulling. Nowadays, there are not just the thousands of people who participate in the Ahmedabad event, there are also communication satellites which the police use under the global positioning system to chart the course of the chariots on a map on the computer screen to monitor them from a control room. This is because Ahmedabad Rath Yatra has a bloody record. The last violent Rath Yatra which the city saw was in 1992, when the city suddenly became surcharged with communal riots. And, as you know, is a very riot-prone state!

Rath Yatra of Mahesh

The Rath Yatra of Mahesh in the Hoogly district of West Bengal is also of historical repute. This is not only because it's the grandest and the oldest Rath Yatras in Bengal, but because of huge congregation it manages to attract. The Mahesh Rath Yatra of 1875 is of special historical significance: A young girl was lost in the fair and amongst many, the district magistrate Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya — the great Bengali poet and author of India's National song — himself went out to search for the girl. A couple of months later this incident inspired him to write the famous novel Radharani.

A Festival For All

Rath Yatra is a great festival because of its ability to unite people in its festivity. All people, rich and poor, brahmins or shudras equally enjoy the fairs and the joy they bring. You will be amazed to know that even Muslims participate in Rath Yatras! Muslim residents of Narayanpur, a village of about a thousand families in the Subarnapur district of Orissa, regularly take part in the festival, from building the chariots to pulling the rath.

by

Akshit Kapoor

Why we, Human, Are So Special?

It is said that a human birth is not easy to achieve. And once you have this human body, you are no longer in the hands of nature. You now have the rare capacity, called free will, to initiate a further process of evolution. An animal, on the other hand, is fulfilled once it survives a few years and produces an offspring.

A human being also has to become an adult physically. You need only survive by appeasing your hunger and thirst and avoiding fatal accidents and diseases. The process is a natural one, made possible by the survival instinct common to all living beings.

Unlike physical maturity, emotional growth is in your own hands. Inner maturity is a process that you have to initiate because you are a human being enjoying a faculty of choice. Although each individual seeks something peculiar, these are four ends that everyone seeks. The universal ends most commonly sought after are security and pleasure – artha and kama. The remaining two purusharthas – dharma and moksha -- can also be accomplished by a human being.

That which gives you any kind of security – emotional, economical, or social -- is called artha in Sanskrit. Artha may be in the form of cash or liquid assets, stocks, real estate, relationships, a home, a good name, a title recognition, influence, or power of any kind. And although each person seeks various forms of security at a given time, seeking security is common to all.

Seeking pleasure is another purushartha, called kama in Sanskrit. It, too, takes many forms. For instance, sensory pleasures may be anything from seafood or ice cream onwards. Examples of intellectual pleasures are those derived from playing certain games, solving puzzles or riddles, and studying certain bodies of knowledge. Thus, we have a variety of pleasures.

Anything that satisfies your senses, that pleases your mind, that touches your heart and evokes in you a certain appreciation, is kama. There is another form of pleasure derived from seeing the stars on a beautiful night, enjoying the sunrise, a flower, a playing child, or a beautiful painting, for example. Because this pleasure is neither sensory nor intellectual, I will call it aesthetic pleasure. Even though such pleasures go beyond one’s senses and intellect, they are still kama.

There is a third purushartha, dharma, that is neither artha nor kama. It is pleasure born of harmony, derived from friendship, sharing, helping another person, and so on. For example when you are able to relieve someone’s suffering; you experience a joy that is not kama.

If you enjoy what you do, life is simple. If you do not enjoy what you do, then you have to do something to enjoy, which can be costly. On the other hand, any pleasure that comes out of one’s maturing process is a different type of joy. Not hurting someone, or doing the right thing at the right time, for instance, gives you joy – if not immediately, later. As you grow in your understanding, your dharma also grows.

Because of the importance we give to dharma, the order can now be reversed – dharma, artha and kama. Dharma accounts for your maturity. The more mature you are, the more dharmika you are. In order to be mature, an understanding of dharma and conformity to it become most important in one’s life. Thus, dharma occupies the first place among these three human ends. Without violating dharma, doing what is to be done, you pursue artha and kama, security and pleasure. 

by

Akshit Kapoor

Hindu Wedding Rituals

13 Steps of a Vedic Marriage Ceremony

While various regional steps are followed by different sects of Hindus across India, the following 13 steps form the core of a Vedic wedding ceremony:

Vara Satkaarah
Reception of the bridegroom and his kinsmen at the entrance gate of the wedding hall where the officiating priest chants a few mantras and the bride's mother blesses the groom with rice and trefoil and applies tilak of vermilion and turmeric powder.

Madhuparka Ceremony
Reception of the bridegroom at the altar and bestowing of presents by the bride's father.

Kanya Dan
The bride's father gives away his daughter to the groom amidst the chanting of sacred mantras.

Vivah-Homa
The sacred fire ceremony ascertaining that all auspicious undertakings are begun in an atmosphere of purity and spirituality.

Pani-Grahan
The groom takes the right hand of the bride in his left hand and accepts her as his lawfully wedded wife.

Pratigna-Karan
The couple walk round the fire, the bride leading, and take solemn vows of loyalty, steadfast love and life-long fidelity to each other.

Shila Arohan
The mother of the bride assists her to step onto a stone slab and counsels her to prepare herself for a new life.

Laja-Homah
Puffed rice offered as oblations into the sacred fire by the bride while keeping the palms of her hands over those of the groom.

Parikrama or Pradakshina or Mangal Fera
The couple circles the sacred fire seven times. This aspect of the ceremony legalizes the marriage according to the Hindu Marriage Act as well custom.

Saptapadi
Marriage knot symbolized by tying one end of the groom's scarf with the bride's dress. Then they take seven steps representing nourishment, strength, prosperity, happiness, progeny, long life and harmony and understanding, respectively.

Abhishek
Sprinkling of water, meditating on the sun and the pole star.

Anna Praashan
The couple make food offerings into the fire then feed a morsel of food to each other expressing mutual love and affection.

Aashirvadah
Benediction by the elders.

by 
Akshit Kapoor

Purnima & Amavasya: Fasts and Rituals

Since time immemorial, Hindus have believed that the fortnightly cycle of the moon exerts a great influence on the human anatomy just as it affects the water bodies on earth resulting in tides and ebbs. A person may tends to become restless, irritable and ill-tempered showing signs of 'lunacy.' Curiously enough, this word stems from the word 'luna' or 'moon' in Latin. Hence there are specific rituals for the new moon and full moon days.

Fasting On Purnima / Full Moon

Purnima, the full moon day, is considered auspicious in the Hindus Calendar and most devotees observe fast throughout the day and pray to the presiding deity Lord Vishnu. Only after a whole day of fasting, prayers and a dip in the river do they take light food at dusk.

It is ideal to fast or take light food on full moon and new moon days as it is said to reduce the acidic content in our system, slows down the metabolic rates, increases endurance. This restores the body and mind balance. Praying too helps in subduing the emotions and controls the outburst of temper.

Fasting on Amavasya / New Moon

The Hindu calendar follows the lunar month and Amavasya, the new moon night, falls at the beginning of new lunar month which lasts for about 30 days. Most Hindus observe a fast on that day and offer food to their ancestors.

According to Garuda Purana (Preta Khanda), Lord Vishnu is believed to have said that the ancestors come to their descendents on Amavasya to partake of their food and if nothing is offered to them they are displeased. So, Hindus prepare 'shraddha' (food) and await their ancestors.

Many festivals like Diwali are observed on this day too. Amavasya marks a new beginning. Devotees vow to accept the new with optimism as new moon ushers in the hope of a new dawn.

How to Observe a Purnima Vrat / Full Moon Fast

Usually, the Purnima fast lasts for 12 hours - from sunrise to sunset. People on fast do not consume rice, wheat, pulses, grains and salt during the duration this time. Some devotees take fruits and milk but some observe it rigidly and go even without water depending on their capability of endurance. They spend time praying to Lord Vishnu and conducting the sacred Shree Satya Narayana Vrata Puja. In the evening, after sighting the moon they partake of the 'prasad' or divine food along with some light food.

How to Perform a Mritunjaya Havan on Purnima

Hindus perform a 'yagna' or 'havan' on purnima called the Maha Mritunjaya havan. It is a significant and powerful ritual very simply undertaken. The devotee first takes a bath, cleanses his body and wears clean clothes. He then prepares a bowl of sweet rice and adds to it black sesame seeds, diced 'kush' grass, some vegetables and butter. Then he lays the 'havan kund' to strike the holy fire. On a designated area, a layer of sand is spread and then a tent-like structure of wooden logs is erected and smeared with 'ghee' or clarified butter. The devotee then takes three sips of the Gangajaal or holy water from the river Ganga while chanting "Om Vishnu" and lights the sacrificial fire by placing camphor on the wood. Lord Vishnu along with other Gods and Goddesses are invoked followed by the chanting of the Mritunjaya mantra in honor of Lord Shiva:

Om trayam bakkam, yajaa-mahe
Sugan-dhim pushti-vardhanam,
Urvaa-rooka-miva bandha-naam,
Mrityor mooksheeya maamritaat.

The mantra is ended with "Om Swaahaa." While uttering "Om swaaha", a little helping of the sweet rice offering is placed on the fire. This is repeated 108 times. After completion of the 'havan' the devotee must ask for forgiveness for any mistakes he has unknowingly committed during the ritual. Finally, another 'maha mantra' is chanted 21 times:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna, Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

At the end, just as the gods and the goddess were invoked at the onset of the havan, similarly after its completion they are requested to return to their abodes.

by
Akshit kapoor...

Why do we fast, or keep Upvasa/Vrat?

Fasting in Hinduism indicates the denial of the physical needs of the body for the sake of spiritual gains. According to the scriptures, fasting helps create an attunement with the Absolute by establishing a harmonious relationship between the body and the soul. This is thought to be imperative for the well being of a human being as it nourishes both his/her physical and spiritual demands.

Hindus believe it is not easy to unceasingly pursue the path of spirituality in one's daily life. We are harangued by a lot of considerations, and worldly indulgences do not allow us to concentrate on spiritual attainment. Therefore a worshiper must strive to impose restrains on himself/herself to get his mind focused. And one form of restraint is fasting.

Self-Discipline

However, fasting is not only a part of worship, but a great instrument for self-discipline too. It is a training of the mind and the body to endure and harden up against all hardships, to persevere under difficulties and not give up. According to Hindu philosophy, food means gratification of the senses and to starve the senses is to elevate them to contemplation. Luqman, the wise once said, "When the stomach is full, the intellect begins to sleep. Wisdom becomes mute and the parts of the body restrain from acts of righteousness."


Different Kinds of Fasting

-Hindus fast on certain days of the month such as Purnima (full moon) and Ekadasi (the 11th day of the fortnight).

-Certain days of the week is also marked for fasting, depending on individual choices and on one's favorite god and goddess. On Saturday, people fast to appease the god of that day, Shani or Saturn. Some fast on Tuesdays the auspicious day for Hanuman, the monkey God. On Fridays devotees of the goddess Santoshi Mata abstain from taking anything citric.

-Fasting at festivals is common. Hindus all over India observe fast on festivals like Navaratri, Shivratri and Karwa Chauth. Navaratri is a festival when people fast for nine days. Hindus in West Bengal fast on Ashtami, the eighth day of the festival of Durga Puja.

-Fasting can also mean abstaining from taking certain things, either for religious reason or for the sake of good health. For instance, some people refrain from taking salt on particular days. It is common knowledge that excess salt and sodium causes hypertention or elevation of blood pressure.

-Another common kind of fast is to forego taking cereals when only fruits are eaten. Such a diet is known as phalahar.


Ayurvedic Viewpoint

The underlying principle behind fasting is to be found in Ayurveda. This ancient Indian medical system sees the basic cause of many diseases as the accumulation of toxic materials in the digestive system. Regular cleansing of toxic materials keeps one healthy. By fasting, the digestive organs get rest and all body mechanisms are cleansed and corrected. A complete fast is good for heath, and the occasional intake of warm lemon juice during the period of fasting prevents the flatulence.

Since the human body, as explained by Ayurveda, is composed of 80% liquid and 20% solid, like the earth, the gravitational force of the moon affects the fluid contents of the body. It causes emotional imbalances in the body, making some people tense, irritable and violent. Fasting acts as antidote, for it lowers the acid content in the body which helps people to retain their sanity.


A Non-Violent Protest

From a matter of dietary control, fasting has come to be a handy tool of societal control. It is a non-violent form of protest. A hunger strike can draw attention to a grievance and can bring about an emendation or redress. It is interesting to note that it was Mahatma Gandhi who used fasting to capture people's attention. There is an anecdote to this: Once the workers at the textile mills in Ahmedbad were protesting their low wages. Gandhi told them to go on strike. After two weeks when the workers took to violence, Gandhi himself decided to go on fast till the matter was resolved.


Fellow-Feeling

Finally, the pangs of hunger that one experiences during fasting make one think and extend one's sympathy towards the destitute who often go without food. In this context fasting functions as a societal gain wherein people share with each other a fellow feeling. Fasting provides an opportunity for the privileged to give food-grains to the less privileged and alleviate their distress, at least for the moment.

by
Akshit Kapoor..