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The Epic The epic Ramayana binds all Indians from
East to west & north to south together in one string. is Lord Rama( went
to rescue his abducted wife Sita from the clutch of Ravana,(king of the
demons) in Lanka. Before commencing his battle with Ravana, Lord Rama
prayed for
blessings of Devi Durga. Pleased with Rama’s prayer & devotion,
Devi (Goddess) Durga appeared and blessed him. The battle started on the Maha-saptami day and Ten headed Ravana was
finally beheaded on the sandhikshan i.e. the crossover period between ashtami
and navami and was cremated on dashami. Since the period of this worship was
different from the conventional festival time of spring, this puja
is also known as akal-bodhan or worship (bodhan) in an unconventional (a-kal) time
.
Festivals
Durga Puja is the biggest festival in West-Bengal. Part of this is also known as
Dussehra in Northern India, Mysore and Navaratri in
western parts of India. Durga
is the Goddess of divine power against all evils. The story goes that
Mahisasur, the Demon, through years of praying, received
blessing from Lord Brahma, that no power can destroy him
as he
was invincible by the said blessing. With such power the asura(demon)
started ravaging the entire humality & religion while finally desired to
dethrone the God-Goddess.s too. According to a Puranic legend, the mighty demon
Mahishasura defeated the gods and their king god Indra. Then
all heavenly
God-Goddess, in dismay, appealed to Lord Bramha-Vishu_Maheswar & contributed their powers
& weaponry to create a most powerful & beautiful Goddess of
shakti(Power) Devi Durga riding on a Lion and prayed to Devi Durga to come to their
rescue. Every year She descends on earth with her four
children Lord Ganesh( symbolizing Initiator), Goddess Lakhsmi
(symbolizing wealth & rosperity), goddess Swarasati (symbolizing Knowledge)
and Lord Kartikeya( Symbolizing Protector), in the Indian Calendar
month of Aswin(sept-Oct) to bring peace Harmony and
togetherness amongst all.
Dussehra
is a very big Indian festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord
Rama. The 'Ramlila' - an enactment of the life of Lord
Rama, is held during the nine days preceding Dussehra. On this day in the
famous Ramlila grounds in
New Delhi, huge & spectacular effigies of the ten-headed demon king Ravana,
his son Meghanath, & his brother Kumbhakarna, stuffed
with fireworks-crackers are torched by an arrow to
symbolize the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
Similarly
Navaratri is an amalgamation of various thoughts, with
the common theme of the victory of good over evil.
he tenth day is devoted to the worship of
goddess Durga, who
occupies a special position in the Hindu pantheon of gods and
goddesses. She is 'Shakti', the cosmic energy that animates
all beings. Beautiful idols of the Mother Goddess are worshipped in
elaborate pandals for nine days, and on the ninth day, these are
carried out in procession for immersion (viswarjan) in a river or
pond. In Tamil Nadu, the first three days are dedicated to the worship of
Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity, the next three days to
Saraswati, Goddess of learning and arts and the last three days to
Shakti (Durga).
Deepawali- Finally home
coming of victorious Lord Rama to illuminated the city of Ayodhya
& his coronation as king.This is celebrated as
Deepawali(Festival of lights & Joy). The legend claimed that it took
20 days for Rama to return to his kingdom after defeating Ravana. Part of
Indians on this day believe that Goddess Lakshmi emerged from the ocean of milk (Kheer Sagar).
She brought with her wealth and prosperity for mankind. In West Bengal
the festival of Kali Puja worshiping Goddess Kali the Ultimate power Adya-Shakti
The
image of Goddess Kali usually shows her foot on Lord Shiva’s chest. Goddess
Kali is worshipped as the Mother Goddess who protects from evil. She also
epitomizes strength or ‘Shakti’ and the darker side of life. The actual puja
takes place at midnight on the day of the new moon.
Every households clean their houses and
light up candles all over their houses. Children and adults set off
firecrackers from evening to midnight (like Guy Fox day or Fourth of July in
US) Goddess Kali has always enjoyed a significant
presence in our culture. She appears in various forms as an embodiment of Shakti,
the eternal energy and cosmic power. She is also believed to be the eternal
cosmic strength that destroys all existence. Her facial expressions depict
the extent of her powers of destruction. The heads she holds in her hand
instantly arouses mortal-fear in everybody and her protruding tongue
symbolizes the mockery of human ignorance. Mythology says that Shiva and Kali are the originating couple
of the universe but Kali even mocks Shiva, as if she herself is the unique
source of everything. There are several other Avtars of Kali also. One such
is a striking contrast is Kali represented as the Benevolent Mother where
she is the personification of Eternal Night of Peace.
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