वाहे गुरूजी का खालसा ,वाहे गुरूजी की फ़तेह !!!!!!!

(चित्र गूगल से साभार)

गुरुपर्व के साथ ही  एक बार फिर अतीत की गलियारे में चलते हैं | पिताजी के एक मित्र, जिन्हें  हम  प्यार से "सरदारजी" कहते थे याद आते हैं |अच्छी कद काठी ,स्वस्थ शरीर सफ़ेद दाढ़ी, सर पे पगड़ी और जब भी मिलते तो कहते ",सरदारजी' नमस्ते बोलो तो टॉफी  दूंगा....." उनके प्यारे से व्यक्तित्व से अभिभूत होकर हम उनसे टॉफी ले ही लेते थे | गुरुपर्व के दिन पिताजी के साथ  गुरुदारे जाने का काफी उत्साह रहता था ,वहां पहुँच  कर जहाँ भी सरदारजी दिखते जोर से  सरदारजी नमस्ते बोले बिना नहीं  रहते |बदले में उनका खिलखिलाता चेहरा देख के हम खुश हो जाते.|अरदास तो ज्यादा कुछ नहीं समझ पाते पर लंगर का एक अलग ही उत्साह रहता था| अपने हाथों से थाली उठाना ,कड़ा प्रसाद और फिर परसादा   चखना .....ये सब अब अधिक आनंद देते हैं ,जब असली मतलब समझ आता  है|

शाम को सरदारजी के घर भी जाना होता था तब वो गुरु नानक जी  की बाते सुनाते  थे......उनके बच्चों के साथ खेलते थे |कहानी कुछ इस प्रकार थी.......

(चित्र गूगल से साभार )

एक बार गुरूजी अपने शिष्य के साथ एक गाँव गए वहां एक जमींदार और एक गरीब दोनों ने उन्हें खाने पर आमंत्रित किया |बाबाजी ने पहले  गरीब का आमंत्रण स्वीकार किया ,जिससे जमींदार ने पूछा,"ये  भेद भाव क्यों?" बाबाजी ने कहा ,"तुम भी अपना खाने का सामान  ले आओ ,दोनों का साथ में खाते हैं " गरीब अपनी रूखी रोटी और अमीर अपना ढेर सा पकवान लाया |

बाबाजी ने एक एक हाथ में दोनों का सामान लिया हाथ में लेके निचोड़ा ,जमींदार के पकवान से खून की धार , गरीब के रोटी से दूध की धार निकली |यह देख कर सब आश्चर्य चकित रह गए |बाबाजी ने स्पष्ट किया," जमींदार अपनी कमाई गरीबों के खून से करता है और गरीब दिन भर पसीना बहा के अपनी कमाई करता है|अब आप लोग फैसला करिए किसकी रोटी स्वादिष्ट है ?"

जमींदार  यह  देख  कर  शर्मिंदा  हो  गया  और  उसने  नेकी  की   राह अपनाई|"

इसी कहानी  को सुनते बचपन बीता,उसके बाद पूर्व पधान मंत्री श्रीमती इंदिरा गाँधी  के निर्मम हत्या के बाद हिन्दू सिख दंगों के दौरान कुछ दिन वो हमारे पास रहे अपने उजड़ते आशियाने को देख कर रो पड़े थे ....हम चाहते हुए भी कुछ न कर सके |अंत में  परन्तु फिर अपने पैत्रक निवास लुधियाना  चले गए एक दिन पता लगा उन्होंने इस लोक को अलविदा कह दिया.......

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May happiness and blessings 
surround you as we join together 
to remember the beloved Sri 
Guru Nanak Dev ji and the 
Beginnings of Sikhism. 
HAPPY GURPURAB TO ALL…!!

The festival of Eid- ul- Adha is celebrated in the remembrance of prophet Abraham’s readiness to forfeit Ishmael,  his son for god. The story about this festival tells, how Abraham was ready to kill his son and remained true to God. The story tells, how Allah told Abraham, to lift up the foundation of Kaaba that was a holy place in Mecca.God also asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, in a dream. Abraham along with his son started moving towards Mina for the sacrifice. Some of the daemons tried to direct Abraham away from his way but Abraham was true to god and as he was just set to kill his son, God stopped him and gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead of sacrificing his son. This festival is thereby said to be a festival of sacrifice. Some people celebrate Eid- ul- Adha because it ends the pilgrimage or Hajj for those Muslims who make a trip to Mecca each year.

Just like Eid- ul- Fitr, Eid- ul - Adha also commences with a small prayer followed by Khutba. The delivery of this Khutba is done from Mount Arafat in Mecca. It is assumed that Eid- ul- Adha should last for three days but some of the Islamic traditions think that Eid- ul- Fitr last for three days and Eid- ul- Adha last for four days.      On       wishing that your sacrifices are         appreciated and your prayers         are answered by the almighty.        Have a blessed Eid-ul-Adha!

Diwali Celebration........Fifth Day........Bhai Duj.......

Diwali, the festival of lights, is a five day long celebrations. The fifth or the last day of diwali is Bhaiya Dooj, popularly know as Bhai Dooj. The reason why this festival is known as bhai dooj is that it falls on the second day after the new moon, that is the Dooj day. And it is a day to pray for the long life of the brother, which is referred as “bhayya or bhai”. According to religious scriptures, Yamaraj, the God of death, went to visit his sister's house after a long period of separation. His sister, Yami was very happy to see him and welcomed him by putting an auspicious mark on his forehead for his welfare. Yami and Yamraj then shared a meal. He was so pleased with his sister's reception, he proclaimed that every year, on the dooj day, if a sister puts a tilak on her brother's forehead, then no one can harm her brother. Till date, this tradition is followed. Sisters perform puja for their brothers safety and well being. Brothers in return give gifts to their sisters as a token of love.

Another version Lord Krishna, after killing Narakasur, the asura king, went to meet his sister Subhadra. Subhadra welcomed him in the traditional way by showing him a light and putting on his forehead a tilak of her sisterly protection.
Some other legend says that Bhagawaan Mahavir found nirvana, his brother Raja Nandivardhan was very say and missed his brother a lot. Sister Sudarshana then comforted his brother. Since then, women have been revered during this festival.
The festival of Diwali is incomplete without bhai dooj. It is referred as “Bhaiyya-Duj” in the Hindi-speaking belt, “Bhav--Bij” in the Marathi-speaking communities, "Bhai fota" in Bengal and "Bhai-Tika" in Nepal.

The essence of the Bhai dooj festival is that it is celebrated to strengthen the love between brothers and sisters. It is a day of food-sharing, gift-giving and reaching out to the inner most depths of the hearts. Brothers and sisters indulge themselves on this day by gifting each other gifts. Varied gifts specially meant for bhai dooj is available in the market.

 Sky is blue, feel this hue,
My love is for you Bhaiya…always true.
Loads of good wishes for Bhai Dooj..!!
(compiled from internet)

Diwali Celebration........Fourth Day......... Padwa & Govardhan Puja

The day following the Amavasya is "Kartik Shuddh Padwa" and it is only on this day that the King Bali would come out of Pathal Loka and rule Bhulok as per the boon given by Lord Vishnu. Hence, it is also known as "Bali Padyami". This day also marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya and Vikaram-Samvat was started from this Padwa day.

Gudi Padwa is symbolic of love and devotion between the wife and husband. On this day newly-married daughters with their husbands are invited for special meals and given presents. In olden days brothers went to fetch their sisters from their in-laws home for this important day. 

Govardhan-Puja

Govardhan-Puja is also performed in the North on this day. Govardhan is a small hillock in Braj, near Mathura and on this day of Diwali people of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar build cowdung, hillocks, decorate them with flowers and then worship them. This festival is in commemoration of the lifting of Mount Govardhan by Krishna. As per Vishnu-Puran the people of Gokul used to celebrate a festival in honor of Lord Indra and worshiped him after the end of every monsoon season but one particular year the young Krishna stopped them from offering prayers to Lord Indra who in terrific anger sent a deluge to submerge Gokul.

People were afraid that the downpour was a result of their neglect of Indra. But Krishna assured them that no harm would befall them. He lifted Mount Govardhan with his little finger and sheltered men and beasts from the rain. This gave him the epithet Govardhandhari. After this, Indra accepted the supremacy of Krishna.

This day is also observed as Annakoot meaning mountain of food. Pious people keep awake the whole night and cook fifty-six or 108 different types of food for the bhog (the offering of food) to Krishna. In temples specially in Mathura and Nathadwara, the deities are given milkbath, dressed in shining attires with ornaments of dazzling diamonds, pearls, rubies and other precious stones. After the prayers and traditional worship innumerable varieties of delicious sweets are ceremoniously raised in the form of a mountain before the deities as "Bhog" and then the devotees approach the Mountain of Food and take Prasad from it.


Krishna jinka nam, gokul jinka dham, aise Shree Krishna bhagwan ko, ham sab ka pranam, jai shree krishna.

HAPPY Govardhan Puja!!
(Compiled from Internet )

Diwali Celebrations......Third day...Lakshmi Puja..

The third day of Diwali festival is the most important one for Lakshmi-puja and is entirely devoted to the propitiation of Goddess Lakshmi. On this very day sun enters his second course and passes Libra which is represented by the balance or scale. Hence, this design of Libra is believed to have suggested the balancing of account books and their closing. Despite the fact that this day falls on an amavasya day it is regarded as the most auspicious.
The day of Lakshmi-Puja falls on the dark night of Amavasya. The strains of joyous sounds of bells and drums float from the temples as man is invoking Goddess Laxmi in a wondrous holy "pouring-in" of his heart. All of a sudden that impenetrable darkness is pierced by innumerable rays of light for just a moment and the next moment a blaze of light descends down to earth from heaven as golden-footed Deep-Lakshmi alights on earth in all her celestial glory amidst chantings of Vedic hymns. 
A sublime light of knowledge dawns upon humanity and this self enlightenment is expressed through the twinkling lamps that illuminate the palaces of thewealthy as well as the lowly abodes of the poor. It is believed that on this day Lakshmi walks through the green fields and loiters through the bye-lanes and showers her blessings on man for plenty and prosperity. 
Lakshmi Pooja, or the worship of the goddess of wealth, is the main event on Diwali in North and West India. It is extremely important to keep the house spotlessly clean and pure on Diwali. Goddess Lakshmi likes cleanliness, and she will visit the cleanest house first. This is also the reason why the broom is worshiped on this day with offerings of haldi and kumkum (turmeric and vermilion). Lamps are lit in the evening to welcome the goddess. They are believed to light up Her path. Lakshmi Puja consists of a combined puja of five deities: Ganesha is worshiped at the beginning of every auspicious act asVighnaharta; Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped in her three forms - Mahalakshmi (the goddess of wealth and money), Mahasaraswati(the goddess of books and learning), and Mahakali; Kuber (the treasurer of the gods) is also worshiped.


A festival full of sweet childhood memories,
sky full of fireworks,
mouth full of sweets,
house full of diyas and heart full of joy.
Wishing you all a very happy Diwali!

Choti Diwali.........Narak chaturdashi.........

The day before Diwali is celebrated as Chhoti Diwali / Narak Chaturdasi or 'small Diwali'. It is Diwali on a smaller scale, with fewer lights lit and fewer crackers burst. The morning after Choti Diwali, the women of the house make beautiful, colored rangoli in the doorway and courtyard. Tiny footprints made out of rice paste are a special feature of the rangolis made for Diwali. In Hindu homes, Chhoti Diwali celebrations involve a ritual puja to Goddess Lakshmi and also to Rama in the evening. Songs in honor of the god are sung and aarti is performed. 
Legends behind Chhoti Diwali
The story goes that the demon king Narakasur ruler of Pragjyotishpur (a province to the South of Nepal) after defeating Lord Indra had snatched away the magnificent earrings of Aditi, the Mother Goddess (the ruler of Suraloka and a relative of Satyabhama, Lord Krishna's wife) and imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of the gods and saints in his harem. 
On coming to know about this, Satyabhama was enraged by Narakasura's malevolence towards women, and she appealed to Krishna to give her the golden chance to destroy Narakasura. The legend also says that Narakasura was given a curse that he would be killed by a woman. Krishna granted Satyabhama a boon to fight with Narakasura. With Krishna as the charioteer, Satyabhama entered the battle field. During the war, Krishna swooned for a while, a preordained divinely act adopted to empower Satyabhama to kill the demon. After Narakasura was beheaded, the imprisoned women were released, and Krishna accepted to marry them. 
So on the day previous to Narakachaturdashi, Lord Krishna's divine intervention led to the killing of the demon, Narakasura and liberation of the imprisoned damsels as well as recovery of the precious earrings of Aditi. As a symbol of that victory Lord Krishna smeared his forehead with the demon king's blood. Krishna returned home in the very early morning of the Narakachaturdashi day. The womenfolk massaged scented oil to his body and gave him a good bath to wash away the filth from his body. Since then the custom of taking bath before sunrise on this day has become a traditional practice specially in Maharashtra. 
It is interesting to note that Bhudevi, mother of the slain Narakasura, declared that his death should not be a day of mourning but an occasion to celebrate and rejoice. Since then, Deepavali is being celebrated by people every year with joyous celebrations with lot of fun and frolic, and fire works. 
In South India that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar way. People wake up before sunrise prepare a paste by mixing Kumkum in oil, symbolizing blood and after breaking a bitter fruit that represents the head of the demon King that was smashed by Krishna, apply that mixture on their foreheads. Then they have an oil bath using sandalwood paste. 

In Maharashtra also, traditional early baths with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'. All through the ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks are there in order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterward steamed vermicelli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served.
May D Joy, Cheer,
Mirth And Merriment Of Dis Divine Festival
Surround U Forever.
May D Happiness,
Dat Dis Season Brings,
Brighten Ur Life & Fulfills All Ur Dearest Dreams!
HAPPY DIWALI!!!!!!!!!!!!

Diwali Celebrationstarts.........

First Day..........

धनतेरस Dhan Teras falls two days before Diwali. The word “Dhan” means wealth and “Teras” means 13th day of lunar fortnight. God Yama is worshipped on this day to provide prosperity and well being.

As such this day has a great importance for the community of North & Western India . Houses and Business premises are renovated and decorated. Entrances are made colourful with lovely traditional motifs of Rangoli rangolee designs to welcome the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. To indicate her long-awaited arrival, small footprints are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses. Lamps are kept burning all through the nights.

Celebrations include shopping of new clothes, jewelry, new utensils, sweets and beautiful lanterns, especially for Dhantrayodashi . On the occasion, corporate and any enterprise find it the perfect time to gift their employees. Gift hampers are marked with corporate name and logo; also used for promotional handouts.

As per a legend, when the gods and demons stirred the ocean for Amrit (the potion which makes one immortal), Dhanavantri – physician of the gods – who is also supposed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu emerged from beneath the waters carrying the jug containing the potion.

According to another legend, King Hima’s sixteen-year-old son was preordained to die on the third day following his marriage because of snakebite, according to soothsayers. On the critical day, his wife illuminated the house by lighting up numerous lamps. She took out all the ornaments and gold and silver coins piled them up at the entrance of her husband’s room. She related tales to the people gathered at their house and also sang songs through the night.

Yama (god of death) arrived at the fated time in the guise of a serpent. However, the bright lighting in the house dimmed his vision. He couldn’t sight the prince’s chamber. So he made himself comfortable by seating himself on the pile of ornaments and coins. As he sat there, he could not help, but get enchanted by the songs rendered by prince’s wife. At daybreak on the following day, he left the place with his mission unfulfilled. Thus, the wife was successful in saving her husband’s life. It became a sacred day, and Dhanteras also came to be referred as “Yamadeepdaan” . So on Dhanteras lamps are aflame throughout the night for the worship of Lord Yama.

Preparation for the Puja

- One Deepak made out of atta/clay with 4 wicks

- Wicks for the Deepak oil/ghee, matchstick

- One shell with a hole

- Flowers, roli, chawal

- Water in panchpatra and a spoon
                                                       
- Some money

- Pata & Aasan

- Kheel & batasha

- Dhoop (sambrani) & dhoop daan

- Chopda with roli, chawal for applying tikka

- Suhali, petha (shaker para)
    

Vidhi / Method of Performing the Puja

• In the evening, after seeing the star, the women of the house get together for puja. In some houses both men & women do the puja.
• The 4 wick Deepak is placed on the pata
• Oil/ghee is put in the Deepak with the Four Wicks.
• The Cowrie shell is placed on the Deepak.
• The Deepak is lit. This is referred as Yamadeep. This Deepak pleases Yamaraj and the pitars/departed ancestors of the family.
• Some water from the panchpatra is sprinkled around the Deepak, puja is performed with roli, chawal and money.
• Four suhali and little pethas are offered.
• Some people offer kheel and batasha also Dhoop is lit.
• Women performing the puja go around the Deepak four times & do pranam.
• The eldest woman of the family or unmarried girl of the house puts tilak from the roli in the chopda to everyone sitting for the puja.
• One male staff member of the house, covers his head with a cloth, takes the lit Deepak and keeps it outside on the right side of the main gate. This person is given dakshina.
• After puja, the family members do pranaam to all the elder people to them. 

 ---------Compiled from Internet