Priya Sahodari Padmaja Ma

Priya Sahodari Padmaja Ma
Thank you so much for the lovely Rakhi.
It is as sacred as the umbilical cord that nourishes and protects for the child.
Feel very blessed to receive the Rakhi this year from you MA.
My universal family reveals so beautifully.
Blessed to have you as my sister.
Hari AUM.
August 20, 2021

Onam- the festival denoting the homecoming of the large-hearted and noble King Maha~Bali, the grandson of Prahlada;
the only one to rule the three Worlds- The three worlds that represents the three Guna’s, Sath, Rajo, Tamo Guna within each one of us;
the Deva Loka- the world of the Deva’s or the Noble;
Marthya Loka- the world of Manushya humans, the earth; and the nether world Pathala Loka- The World of Asuras or the gross;
ensuring equality, safety and prosperity and peace for all.

A festival rediscovering the nobility of ‘Supreme Sacrifice’ or Maha~Bali';
Of ‘Unconditional Giving’, a nobility befitting the King of Hearts;

Onam festival is a reminder to balance the three ‘Guna-Dosha’ within us that ensures health and happiness, through the medicines of ‘Atma-Vichara’ or Self Enquiry for the Soul and Ayur-Veda for the body which houses the Immortal Soul.

Onam- A nature~inclusive & colourful festival with that celebrates the abundance of fresh harvest, arrival of the season ‘Vasantham’, the reward for any supreme self sacrifice, the cause for an Avtar, and a case for redemption.

Attchamayam- the parade to the abode of Lord Vamana, the Dwarf Avatar of Vishnu , who’s act of measuring the Universe and blessing Maha Bali to rule the only world left for him to rule to become a ‘liberated soul’,

Featuring the culture of Kerala through elephant marches, drum beats, festival flag hoisting, folk art forms, colourfully decorated floats that depict scenes in Mahabaratha and Ramayana;

Pookkalam- floral carpets to beautify Mother Earth and welcoming the King who goodness ruled all three worlds;

Traditional Dances and Sports like Katha Kali, Thiruvathirakali, Pulikali, Kummattikali, Thumbi Thullal, Ona-thallu, Onappottan, Onam Kali and Vallam Kali-The Snake Boat Race, in Celebration;

Onasadya - The Traditional Feast
A balanced food made with seasonal vegetables, with all the Six tastes of food- Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Pungent and Astringent.
So much to the wisdom of the sense of taste is a natural guidemap towards proper nutrition

Let the Blessings of Mata Pita Guru God and the ancestors guide and enlighten us to liberation from the misgiving of the three worlds. Onam shows there is goodness everywhere, in every Heart.

Rakhsha Bandhan and Onam.
in the war between Gods and demons, Indra - the deity of sky, rains and thunderbolts - was disgraced by the powerful demon King Bali. Indra’s wife Sachi consulted Vishnu, who gave her a bracelet made of cotton thread, calling it holy. Sachi tied the holy thread around Indra wrist, blessed with her prayers for his well being and success. Indra successfully defeated the evil and recovered Amaravati.

According to this legend, credited to Hindu scriptures Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, after Vishnu won the three worlds from the demon King Bali, he was asked by Bali that Vishnu live in his palace, a request Vishnu granted.
Vishnu's wife, Goddess Lakshmi did not like the palace or his new found friendship with Bali, and preferred that her husband and she return to Vaikuntha.
So she went to Bali, tied a Rakhi and made him a brother. Bali asked her what gift she desired. Lakshmi asked that Vishnu be freed from the request that he live in Bali's palace. Bali consented, as well accepted her as his sister.

This is the connection between Onam and Raksha Bandhan.

Happy Raksha Bandhan.
Happy Onam

Compilations of a Wanderer
August 20, 2021

Raksha Bandhan ! 🪢
The totem Periapt that protects !
The symbol of sibling love and responsibility!

Ganesh had two sons, Shubh and Labh.
On Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh's sister visited and tied a Rakhi on Ganesh's wrist. The two boys become frustrated that they have no sister to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with. They ask their father Ganesh for a sister, but to no avail.
Finally, saint Narada appears who persuades Ganesh that a daughter will enrich him as well as his sons. Ganesh agreed, and created a daughter named Santoshi Ma by divine flames that emerged from Ganesh's wives, Rddhi (Amazing) and Siddhi (Perfection). Thereafter, Shubh Labh (literally "Holy Profit") had a sister named Santoshi Ma (literally "Goddess of Satisfaction"), who loved and protected each other.

in the war between Gods and demons, Indra - the deity of sky, rains and thunderbolts - was disgraced by the powerful demon King Bali. Indra’s wife Sachi consulted Vishnu, who gave her a bracelet made of cotton thread, calling it holy. Sachi tied the holy thread around Indra wrist, blessed with her prayers for his well being and success. Indra successfully defeated the evil and recovered Amaravati.

According to Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana, after Vishnu won the three worlds from the demon King Bali, he was asked by Bali that Vishnu live in his palace, a request Vishnu granted. Vishnu's wife, Goddess Lakshmi did not like the palace or his new found friendship with Bali, and preferred that her husband and she return to Vaikuntha. So she went to Bali, tied a Rakhi and made him a brother. Bali asked her what gift she desired. Lakshmi asked that Vishnu be freed from the request that he live in Bali's palace. Bali consented, as well accepted her as his sister.

In the epic Mahabharat, Draupadi tied a Rakhi to Krishna, while Kunti tied her Rakhi to her grandson Abhimanyu, before the great war.

Yama and the Yamuna:
According to another legend, Yama, the god of Death had not visited his sister Yamuna for 12 years. Yamuna, the goddess of Yamuna river, was sad and consulted Ganga, the goddess of Ganga river. Ganga reminded Yama of his sister, upon which Yama visits her. Yamuna was overjoyed to see her brother, and prepared a bounty of food for Yama. Yama was delighted, and asked Yamuna what she wanted for gift. She wished that he, her brother should return and see her again soon. Yama was moved by his sister's love, agreed and to be able to see her again, made river Yamuna immortal. This legend is the basis for a Raksha Bandhan-like festival called Bhai Duj in some parts of India, which also celebrates brother-sister love, but near Diwali.

Historically, Alexander the Great and King Puru-
According to one legendary narrative, when Alexander the Great invaded India in 326 BCE, Roxana (or Roshanak, his wife) sent a sacred thread to Porus, asking him not to harm her husband in battle. In accordance with tradition, Porus, a Katoch king, gave full respect to the rakhi. On the battlefield, when Porus was about to deliver a final blow to Alexander, he saw the rakhi on his own wrist and restrained himself from attacking Alexander personally.

Rani Karnavati and Emperor Humayun
A popular narrative that is centered around Rakhi is that of Rani Karnavati of Chittor and Mughal Emperor Humayun, which dates to 1535 CE. When Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of the king of Chittor, realised that she could not defend against the invasion by the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a Rakhi to Emperor Humayun. Touched, the Emperor immediately set off with his troops to defend Chittor. Humayun arrived too late, and Bahadur Shah managed to sack the Rani's fortress. Karnavati, along with a reported 13,000 other women in the fortress, carried out Jauhar on March 8, 1535, killing themselves to avoid dishonor while the men threw the gates open and rode out on a suicidal charge against Bahadur Shah's troops. When he reached Chittor, Humayun evicted Bahadur Shah from fort and restored the kingdom to Karnavati's son, Vikramjit Singh.
Rabindranath Tagore & Rakhi:
Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian Nobel Laureate for literature, invoked Raksha Bandhan and Rakhi, as concepts to inspire love, respect and a vow of mutual protection between Hindus and Muslims during India's colonial era.
In 1905, the British empire divided Bengal, a province of British India on the basis of religion. Rabindra Nath Tagore arranged a ceremony to celebrate Raksha Bandhan to strengthen the bond of love and togetherness between Hindus and Muslims of Bengal, and urge them to together protest the British empire. He used the idea of Raksha Bandhan to spread the feeling of brotherhood. In 1911, British colonial empire reversed the partition and unified Bengal, a unification that was opposed by Muslims of Bengal. Ultimately, Tagore's Raksha Bandhan-based appeals were unsuccessful. Bengal not only was split during the colonial era, one part became modern Bangladesh and predominantly Muslim country, the other a largely Hindu Indian state of West Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore started Rakhi Mahotsavas as a symbol of Bengal unity, and as a larger community festival of harmony.
In parts of West Bengal, his tradition continues as people tie Rakhis to their neighbors and close friends.
Let’s celebrate the tradition where one ties this ‘bracelet of care, protection and love ’ to brothers, soldiers, policemen, home guards, security men and all those in service to the creation, thanking for their selfless service.
Raakhi - the amulet that cherishes filial promise to protect.

Happy Raksha Bandhan.
Compilations of a Wanderer
21 Aug 2021
The day of atonement, of renewal;
of awakening the third eye of consciousness;
of restoration of the cosmic Vedas;
A day of vow to be righteous, to respect and protect our Sisters and Women;
of promise to protect mankind,
of promise to pray for the protector:
On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman, or amulet, called the rakhi, around the wrists of their brothers, symbolically protecting them, receiving a gift in return, and traditionally investing the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.
"Raksha Bandhan," literally, "the bond of protection, obligation, or care.
Happy Avani Avittam
Happy Raksha Bandhan
Important in the Great Tradition is chapter 137 of the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purana, in which Lord Krishna describes to Yudhishthira the ritual of having a raksha (protection) tied to his right wrist by the royal priest (the rajpurohit) on the purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shravana).
In the crucial passage, Lord Krishna says,
"Parth (applied to any of the three sons of Kunti (also, Pritha), in particular, Yudhishthira): When the sky is covered with clouds, and the earth dark with new, tender, grass, in that very Shravana month's full moon day, at the time of sunrise, according to remembered convention, a Brahmin should take a bath with perfectly pure water. He should also according to his ability, offer libations of water to the gods, to the paternal ancestors, as prescribed by the Vedas for the task required to be accomplished before the study of the Vedas, to the sages, and as directed by the gods carry out and bring to a satisfactory conclusion the shradh ceremony to honor the deceased.
That very day, in the early afternoon (between noon and 3 PM) it is commended that a small parcel (bundle or packet) be prepared from a new cotton or silk cloth and adorned with whole grains of rice or barley, small mustard seeds, and red ocher powder, and made exceedingly wondrous, be placed in a suitable dish or receptacle. ... the purohit should bind this packet on the king's wrist with the words,'I am binding raksha (protection) to you with the same true words with which I bound Mahabali King of the Asuras. Always stay firm in resolve.'
In the same manner as the king, one should conclude their Raksha Bandhan ceremony.
Complied by a Wanderer. (22 Aug 2021)

Do we love our Gods based on food offered as Neivedyam?

You like Modaka and Kozhukkattai, you love Ganesa !
You like Panchamrutham, you love Muruga !
You like Paal Payasam, you love Krishna!
You like Milk, Honey, Aval and Milagu Vadai, you love Hanuman !
You like Aravana Payasam, you love Sastha Ayyappan !
You like Channa Sundal, you love Dakshinamoorthy !
You like Paanagam, you love Narasimha !
You like Laddu, Curd Rice, you love Narayana !
You like Ven Pongal, you love Shiva !
You like Sakkarai Pongal, you love Amma Devi.
Our Neivedyam is what we like to have.
We have Gods to support !
What more you need !