Only through divinity, we could get great prosperity in our lives. We could have witnessed the divine beauty of the deities in their pictures and in the idols present at the temples. Most of the images of the deities would appear in the form of smiling posture, and especially, the deities of Lord Muruga and Lord Krishna usually appears in smiling form. By seeing their cheerful faces, all of our worries would be vanished from our minds, and we would get great happiness and devotion. Ancient sculptors have carved the idols of the deities in smiling form specifically in order to make it into attractive and beautiful.
Gods and goddesses deliver their divine smile, in order to boost up our spiritual energy as well as to give hope and willpower to win in our lives. Some devotees might think, that when they suffer from lot of problems in their life, is it necessary for the god to express a smiling face? Is he is smiling in order to insult us?
God would never insult us in any manner, but sometimes, we only might insult others, whether knowingly or unknowingly, since it is the general attitude of everyone. God always wants to move in a friendly manner with us, and that’s why he smiles beautifully, in order to show his true love and affection on us. The sculptors were specially carved the idols with smiling face, in order to, not to get afraid of them. In general, we also used to check about the well-being of others, if they are in a dull mood, and we would ask them, “Just smile a little bit”.
The doctors best advice is to keep smiling every day, and in some of the clinics, they would affix some labels with the quotes, “Smile only heals”, “Smile would do lot of wonders in your life”, like that. Whenever if we face any of our enemy, instead of showing our ugly face before him, if we gently smile at him, then that worst enemy would also turn into our friend. As per the sayings of the great Saint Sri Vivekananda, “Always smile in your life, since by doing that, you could change even a toughest person into a gentle person”.
Hence let us frequently visit the temples, in order to get the pleasant Darshan of the deities, who contains a charming, lovely and a smiling face, with a great divine beauty.
We should always remember the best quote, “Smile would cure even the mental disorders of the patients”. Hence let us keep smiling and let us always be young and energetic in our life.
Divine Plays also known as Spiritual Dramas are very much needed at the present period. In ancient times, most of the spiritual dramas would be performed either in the roads or even in the huts, since most of the performers were poor. Audiences used to like it very much, and after watching it, they would contribute some amount to the state artists as they like. While performing street and stage plays, the actors and the actresses would transform into the characters itself in which they play, and we can also see lot of originality in that.
But nowadays, rarely we can see the spiritual plays performed in the stages, whereas, we can find lot of commercial stage dramas performances every now and then. Before some years, devotional films are also produced with some lead actors and actresses, but nowadays only very few devotional films are being produced, due to the fear of getting poor collection in the box office.
There are lot of stories related with our Puranas, and spiritual dramas can be performed based on the life history of Prahalada, Dhruva and Markandeya, since it would boost lot of spiritual energy among the people, and especially among the youngsters. Divine plays also act as a best method of worship, since with the plays, divine messages are being delivered amongst the people, and through that, we can satisfy the great almighty.
In the past years, we might have seen the divine plays which are telecasted in the television channels like plays related with Krishna, Saneeswara and Rama. All these were telecasted in a wonderful manner, and these serials won the hearts of millions and millions of spiritual seekers, spiritual lovers and spiritual enthusiasts.
Those who work in the software industry and those who are free during their weekends, must come forward to introduce new, new divine plays in the stages from our Puranas, in order to spend their time effectively, efficiently, productively and cheerfully, and also by the way of doing that, they can fetch lot of good karmas in their lives.
Lord Rama is famously known as “EKAPATHNI VIRATHAN”, since he has only one wife. Even after he was separated from his consort Ma Sita Devi, he didn’t get married again throughout his life time. Though his father Dasaratha was married to many consorts, but, he never did like that, since he considered Ma Sita as his only wife and he considered the rest of the women as his mother, sister and daughter. Due to his good qualities, he was praised in the great epic Ramayana, and many poets were mentioned about his significance in their divine texts.
Even today, those who got married with a women, and if they are sincere and honest towards their wives, and if they didn’t love any other women in their life, then the people around them, used to call them as “EKAPATHNI VIRATHAN”. But in general, some people are having the habit of liking other women also, even if they are married. This happens mainly due to physical attraction. If we get involved ourselves in doing wrong activities, then we would be punished by the god, either sooner or later, but the punishment would be very severe, since wrong doers cannot escape from the watchful eyes of the almighty.
Some women used to tell, “No one is like Lord Srirama’, since we cannot expect most of the people to behave like the divine avatar, Sri Rama. Among the various Doshas, Kanya Dosham is considered to be very severe, and it occurs, when someone has illegal affair with any other women, and if he does so, then in his next birth, he would suffer from severe Kanya Dosham.
Though we cannot follow the entire qualities of Lord Rama, at least, we can follow his “ONE WIFE POLICY”. We must realise that we have been gifted this birth by the god, only for doing good acts, like using all of our body organs to worship him, donating our eyes and other essential organs after our death, providing food to the poor and the homeless people, helping in the marriage of poor girls by providing the holy “MANGALSUTRA” to them etc. Some people would simply chant “RAMA, RAMA, and then they would keep on doing bad acts, with the belief that their “RAMA BHAKTI” would destroy their sins. But they must realise, that only if they chant the “RAMA MANTRA”, with a pure mind, and by having good qualities, they would get the good karma, or otherwise their Mantra recitation would not help them in removing their sins.
Hence let us become pure and perfect in our life, and let us frequently chant the “RAMA MANTRA”, “JAI SRIRAM” throughout our life time.
We could have noticed the divine marriage of Lord Lord Srinivasa, the god of seven hills, along with Ma Padmavathi in various pictures in the temples of Lord Vishnu, and it is believed that this divine marriage took place during the beginning of the Kali Yuga, that is approximately 5,000 years back. As per legend, once Several Rishis like Kashyapa, Gouthama, Bhrigu and Vasishta began to conduct Yagnas on the banks of the Holy River Gangas. At that time, Rishi Narada approached them, appreciated their great task of performing Yagnas, and also asked them to find out the best among the three chief gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Bhrigu first went to Satyaloka, the divine abode of Lord Brahma. But there he didn’t get proper welcome from him, since Brahma didn’t notice about the arrival of Bhrigu at his place. Then Bhrigu went to the holy Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva, but there also Lord Shiva didn’t notice him, since he was seen affectionately hugging his wife Ma Parvati, with great love and affection. Finally, Bhrigu went to the abode of Lord Vishnu, the holy Vaikunta, and stood in front of him. But there also Lord Vishnu didn’t notice him, since he was looking at the charming face of his lovely consort, Ma Lakshmi Devi with deep love.
Since Bhrigu was not welcomed even in the Vaikunta, he has become very angry, and hence, he kicked at the chest of Lord Vishnu, where his lovely consort Ma Lakshmi Devi permanently dwells. But Lord Vishnu didn’t get angry with the rude act of Rishi Bhrigu, but he fell down at his feet, and also gently pressed down his legs, in order to remove the ego of Rishi Bhrigu. On seeing the kind nature of Lord Vishnu, Rishi Bhrigu was very much pleased with him, and he went to the place where the Rishis performs Yagnas, and informed to them, that Lord Vishnu is the best among all other deities, and he declared that the sacrificial offering must also be granted to him, since he behaves very soft and gentle towards others.
Though Lord Vishnu was able to bear the insult caused by Rishi Bhrigu, Ma Lakshmi Devi couldn’t control her anger, and hence she left Vaikunta, reached the earth, and began to start doing penance on Lord Vishnu. Since his better half, Ma Lakshmi was separated from him, with great grief on his mind, Lord Vishnu also left Vaikunta, and reached the present place of Tirumala Hills, stayed in an ant hill, and began to start doing penance.
Ma Vedavathi, a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu, and also an AMSHA of Ma Lakshmi Devi, was incarnated as Padmavathi and her parents were Akash Raj and Ma Dharani Devi. Padmavathi was grown up properly, and she was affectionately looked after by her parents. Lord Vishnu began to be known as Srinivasa and he stayed at the house of Ma Vakulamaligai, who was incarnated at Ma Yashoda in her previous birth. In course of time, Lord Srinivasa had got married with Ma Padmavathi, in presence of all other deities, sages and saints in the earth, and from then onwards, they have been permanently dwelling in the holy abode of Tirumala, and since Lord Vishnu himself came down to the earth, and settled down in the beautiful hills of Tirumala, the sacred place Tirumala came to be known as “BHULOKA VAIKUNTA”, which means Vaikunta in the earth.
Among the various festivals celebrated in Tirumala, the Srinivasa Thirukalyanam is very popular, and still now Sri Srinivasa Thirukalyanam is being performed in Tirumala in most of the days in a year, and especially during the Tamil Month of Purattasi, and this wonderful divine wedding festival is celebrated with full of happiness by the devotees. Those who want to perform Sri Srinivasa Thirukalyanam at the Holy Tirumala, must have to contact the temple officials in order to get further details about that.
Apart from Tirumala, Sri Srinivasa Thirukalyanam is also being performed in some Perumal Temples, and most of the devotees of Lord Vishnu used to attend the divine wedding function in the temples, in order to get the blessings of the great Lord Sri Venkateswara and Ma Padmavathi. Those who remain as bachelors and spinsters for a long period are suggested to perform Sri Srinivasa Kalyanam, in order to get married soon to a suitable person.
Sri Padmavathi Srinivasa Kalyanam is mentioned in detail in the Bhavishyottara Purana.
Sri Venkateswara Maha Mantra:
OmNamoVenkatesaayaKaamitaarthaPradhaayinePranatahKlesaNaasaayaGovindaayaNamoNamaha.
Meaning of the Mantra
“I pay my humble respects to You, O’ my beloved Lord Venkateswara who is the giver of victory and prosperity, and I again and again offer my respectful salutations to You, O’ Govinda, who is the Destroyer of all sufferings and sorrows in our life”.
Those who read the above Mantra of Lord Srinivasa, would be blessed by the divine couple, and they would lead a peaceful married life without having any disturbances in their life.
Meenakshi Thirukalyanam, is an annual festival event held at Madurai during the Tamil month of Chithirai. This festival is celebrated in order to sanctify Ma Meenakshi, a form of Ma Shakti Devi, by performing marriage to her along with her consort Lord Sundareswarar, a form of Lord Shiva, and during the celebrations, Lord Alagar, a form of Lord Vishnu, is also honoured at the Kallazhagar temple in Madurai, since he is considered to be the elder brother of Ma Meenakshi.
As per the legend, Meenakshi was appeared in the sacrificial fire in the form of a small baby, when a Yagna was performed by the King Malayathvaja Pandiyan and his wife Kanchanamala, since they didn’t have child for a long period. The royal couple were informed by a divine voice from the sky that the child was an incarnation of Ma Shakti Devi, and Lord Shiva himself would come to marry her at the appropriate time. Meenakshi was trained in all kinds of arts, and she was crowned as the Queen of the Pandya kingdom after the death of her father. Due to her skills, she defeated the kings in the earth, and finally she went to Mount Kailash in order to conquer it. When Meenakshi met Lord Shiva face to face in the battlefield, she fell in love with him and she also got to know that she was an avatar of Ma Shakti.
Lord Shiva promised Ma Meenakshi that he would come to Madurai to marry her. And at the right time, Lord Shiva along with the Devas Bhoothaganas and rishis arrived at Madurai. Lord Shiva married Ma Meenakshi and ruled the Pandya kingdom along with his consort Ma Meenakshi, under the name Sundara Pandyan in a well-versed manner. And during the time of their rule, rain was showered in all the reasons, the crops were grown properly, and the people in Madurai lived a long life, without any problems, since the Madurai City was ruled by the divine couple. Meenakshi Kalyanam is the wedding celebration of Ma Meenakshi and Lord Shiva (Sundareshwarar) in Madurai. On the day of Meenakshi Kalyanam, devotees used to get up early, and they would eagerly visit the Meenakshi temple in Madurai. Ma Meenakshi and Sundareswarar would be worshipped after worshipping Lord Vinayaka.
Devotees used to bring fruits, flowers, flower garlands, coconuts and other puja items as an offering to the god. The idols of Meenakashi and Sundareswarar are decorated with beautiful ornaments and garments. On the day of Meenakshi Kalyanam, almost the entire people in Madurai can be found available at Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple. Priests would perform special pujas to Meenakshi Amman by chanting the Divine Mantras in order to glorify the divine mother, Ma Meenakshi. After the completion of the puja, Utsava idols of Lord Sundareshwarar and Ma Meenakshi Amman would be taken out from the temple, in order to make processions on the streets in the Divine Vehicles.
Annabishekham means offering of cooked raw rice to Lord Shiva during the Full moon day of the Tamil month Aippasi Masam in most of the Shiva Temples, and especially this event would be grandly celebrated in the Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur.
Similar to performing various Abhishekhams to the Shiva Lingam, like curd, milk, honey and oil, Annabishekham, is a type of Abhishekham where cooked raw rice would be adorned to the Shiva Lingam, in order to express our thanks to Lord Shiva, for giving abundant food to us throughout our life. Food only satisfies our body, and it also helps us to sustain in our life. Without food no one can live in this world. Hence it is our most important duty either to take part in the sacred Annabishekham event held in the temples, or otherwise, at least we can watch it from the YouTube Videos.
As per legend, once Lord Shiva had chopped one of the heads of Lord Brahma, in order to remove his ego. Due to that, Lord Shiva began to suffer from severe Brahmahadhi Dosham, and the head of Brahma which was removed by him began to Stuck down in his hand, and it became a begging bowl for Lord Shiva. On seeing the pitiable condition of her husband, Ma Shakti Devi took the form of Ma Annapurna, and she fed sufficient quantity of food to Lord Shiva in the bowl in the sacred city of Kashi. Due to the spiritual powers of Ma Annapurna, after the food was fully eaten by Lord Shiva, the skull was disappeared, and Shiva was also got rid from the Brahmahadhi Dosham.
During the time of performance of Annabhishekham , the entire Shivalinga is covered with cooked rice, and fruits and vegetables also would be added along with the rice. During this auspicious event, recitation of Shiva Mantras like, Lingashtakam, Rudram and Samagam would take place.
Among the deities, Lord Shiva is considered as the supreme one, and his consort Ma Annapurna is considered to be the goddess of food, and hence by performing and participating in the Annabhishekham event performed to Lord Shiva in the Shiva temples, we would get abundant food throughout our life, and we would never suffer from hunger and thirst at any point of time.
Brahmatejas means the radiance found on the face of the four headed Lord Brahma. We can also found Brahmatejas on the faces of the deities present in the temples. Ma Shakti Devi was described in the “Devi Bhagavatha Purana”, as a beautiful woman dressed in rich clothes, who wears lot of golden ornaments on her body, and her face shined very brightly, and contains lot of Brahmatejas.
The learned Vedic scholars, sages, saints and the divine avatars contain Brahmatejas on their faces, since they constantly offer their sincere prayers to the almighty. In the holy epic Srimad Bhagavatham, Lord Krishna is described as a charming and a lovely boy, who contains lot of Brahmatejas on his face. We can also obtain Brahmatejas, if we become a saint, or if we sincerely worship the god for several years together. The mind born sons of Lord Brahma like Narada, Pulastiya and Daksha contains great Brahmatejas during the time of their birth itself.
In Srimad Bhagavatham, the supreme character, Jada Bharata was mentioned. The great Jada Bharata in his past birth took the birth of King Bharata, and after his death, due to his Karma, he was born as a holy deer, and after the death of the deer, he was born again in the earth, and he was called as Jadabharata, who knows everything about Brahmanda, and also contains Brahmatejas on his face, but still he remained as a dead body, without mingling with others. Once when he was offered for sacrifice to Ma Kali by some hunters, since he contains the features of Lord Brahma, his spiritual powers began to cause severe heat on Ma Kali, and as a result she emerged from her statue, killed the thieves, blessed Jadabharata and disappeared. From this incident we can knew that those who contain Brahmatejas would be having great powers, and that they cannot be destroyed easily by anyone.
In the Bhagavatham, the bhakti of Prahalada is mentioned. Though he was born to a demon, but he appeared like a Deva, and he contains Brahmatejas on his face from his childhood onwards, due to his staunch devotion on Lord Vishnu.
Those who live a pure and a pious life, and those who sacrifice their lives for the sake of others, would get the radiance on their face, and they are considered equivalent to a saintly person.
Tandava is a form of divine dance which would be performed by Lord Shiva along with his consort, Ma Parvati. Similar to the ordinary couple performing dance with each other, the divine couple, Shiva and Shakti used to play dance whenever they are in joyful mood, and also to make the entire universe to prosper. Sometimes, their lovely son Ganesha also joins with their parents, and the divine dance performed by Lord Ganesa is known as Ananda Tandava. But however, some difficult steps would be played only by Lord Shiva, whereas Ma Parvati would avoid making some difficult dance steps out of shyness and also out of her great devotion on her beloved husband, Lord Shiva.
In some holy texts of Hinduism, the cosmic dance performed by the divine couple is mentioned. It is also believed, that whenever people in the earth suffers from natural calamities like flood, earth quake and cyclone, Shiva and Parvati would perform dance, in order to bring back the earth into its normal position. Shiva and Parvati acts as the master for all the dancers in the world, since they are the ones who performed great dances since several millions of years.
The Natya Shastra, a Sanskrit text, contains the details about Tandava. When Shiva performs dance it is known as Rudra Tandava, and when he performs dance along with his consort, Ma Parvati, it is known as Shivashakti Tandava. It is also believed that during the time of performance of the dance by the divine couple, all the divine people in the heaven as well as Rishis like Narada and Tumburu would assemble in the skies in order to witness the divine dance. During the time of performance of dance, Lord Nandi Devar would play the drums, in order to make the dance into more beautiful. We can see in the Chidambaram Temple, where the idol of Lord Shiva would be depicted in the form of dancing posture, and he is popularly called as “LORD NATARAJA”.
Govardhan is a sacred place, which is situated in Mathura, at Uttar Pradesh. It is believed that at this place, Lord Krishna had lifted the Govardhan hill on his finger. Considering it as a holy place, regularly, devotees from all over the world visit this place in order to do Parikrama (circumambulation) of the hill. During the auspicious festivals like Guru Purnima and Govardhan Puja, we can found lot of crowd who would do Parikrama, and for doing the Parikrama one must be prepared to walk at least for 5 hours. During the time of performance of Parikrama, the devotees can witness some holy places like RadhaKund, ShyamaKund, KusumaSarovar, Rinamochana, and Puchari.
Similar to carrying the holy Irumudi to the Sabarimala Temple, the devotees who do the Parikrama would usually carry a pot filled with full of cow’s milk, since Lord Krishna likes cow and its milk and other by-products of the milk like curd, cheese, butter and ghee. As per ancient legend, those who do Parikrama of Govardhan Hill would be blessed by Lord Krishna, and they would be relieved from their sins and diseases.
The Govardhan parikrama can be performed throughout the year. But it is suggested to do Govardhan Parikrama during the winter season, since during the winter season, the pilgrims can enjoy a good weather condition and we can see lot of pilgrims circumambulating the holy Govardhan Hill especially during the months of October, November and December. Lord Krishna is worshipped in the form of child by most of his devotees, and the city of Mathura is considered as his favourite place, since he has spent his young age in that place. Circumambulating the Govardhan Mountain is similar to circumambulating the holy Arunachala Mountain, and hence, let us come to this sacred place, at least once in our life time, in order to perform Govardhan Parikrama.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR