Going Rituals : Explore Spirituality with Cow’s Dung

Recently i went to my mom’s place for the puja and ceremonies that were to be performed by me ,being the new born baby’s Aunt. These rituals are mostly done in the hindu families where the child is born and more rituals are followed where we have a baby boy born into the family unlike little things done when a girl is born but there are many liberal families where ceremonies are performed with happiness and joy even on the birth of a baby girl.

So we had a lot of ceremonies accompanied with kirtan nights for almost 7 days  that were full of songs and dance , along this there was loads of work for me specially i had to forgo my expectations of being specially treated or greeted on arriving home few months after my marriage . hahahaha. well i never expect that, and my mom straight away directed me for work i had to do and all the other things to be taken care of, specially by me.

So the rituals started with functions, first was putting satiyas (卐 Swastik symbol) is an auspacious hindu symbol to bring good fortune and luck with them, i made those on the dholak to begin with the kirtans ( song and dance) . Another thing i’d like to tell you is that i cannot do without the satiyas puja ,Trust me without satiyas, i cannot start anything new , even on buying a new gas oven i put satiyas with haldi mixed in water or be it for the new laptop i just make them . So the dholak pujan was done by putting haldi swastikas on both side of the dholaks and then playing it and singing few songs with old ladies with the Dholak Feet  😉 …

It was followed by prashad and food arranged at the terrace by putting tents and chairs for the relatives and neighbors who’d come for the lunch but due to heavy rains the tents got wet and we had to arrange everything inside the room but it was all the more fun and everyone enjoyed the food and rain together. here are some snaps of the event.

All this was good fun with  the overload of so much work i had to run up and down three floors taking care of guests , my sister in law her baby and my mother who just cannot do without mixing up all the work  and going crazy on such occasions due to management and a lot of mis management of work .

But for me “vue” was like a relief ,as we call him all my tiredness and lethargy went away taking him in my arms i walked in the   veranda all night and day singing to him and swinging him in my arms,we still  haven’t decided with the name for him and so we call him, vue, Illa, Inga, Inge, tushu . Illa And Inga because when he cries it sounds as if the wailing sound is ILLAAAAA  ILAAAA and now its INGAAAAA INGAAAEE.  Lolz so that’s how the names originated.

And now we had the keeping of satiyas this thing was completely new to me as well , i had imagined doing it on the wall with haldi , chandan or kumkum, but never imagined doing it with the Cow’s Dung (gobar) .

As i got over with this, that ok, i have to dig my hands into that polythene bag in which the glorious cow dung was stored for me.  anyhow it seemed ok no worries i will do it i know how to make a swastika its easy ,but then it was not just the satiya ,what frightened me was the things i had to draw on the wall with bare hands and thick cow dung  more intricate designs that can not be wrongly done . to inspect me i had 3 to 4 old ladies and the bunch of middle aged women looking at me seriously. I had to make very specific designs and it was like a test to my artistry skills though am not that good in arts . as if this wasn’t enough to put me through grill and grind one more test was insert a thin long stick of grain that should not break or damage in the process into the satiyas. whewwww. Time to put the dung into action .

And not just that it was one design but there were two walls beside the door which had to had two different designs i completed one thought it was over but then here comes the women in blue my grandma saying ” ek aur banana hai chori abhi se ke thak ri hai ” ( O  Girl you’re tired already , you have to make one more ). Ok no problem ill do it and so i made one more and now this was a lot more easy i thought but actually both designs were as difficult as i never thought.

 

Actually some may give out an eww or aikk at the sound of cow dung but i take it as the most divine and spiritual encounter to place my hands into that warm cold moist cow dung its something more than that it connects me with smells of village and more ethnic side of me , had i been in the village i could decorate the walls and floors with it as they actually do it still today. Cow dung is so holy and so divine that we use it for the most holy rituals ,forget marriage what more is divine and sacred than the birth of a new life in which we use it and its so important just like the holy mother cow or GAU MATA as we call her.

 

I would just love to share an instance that my uncle or mamaji (my mothers brother) told us when they used to live in the village before coming to city and settling here to make new wealth and riches that he has now. He said that in the village there were no lights or fans, coolers for the summer seasons and thus the ground got all heated up, and it was impossible to keep your feet cool even with water as the matka’s ( earthern pots ) couldn’t cool water as much as the refrigerators do nowadays , so what he did like the other friends, was that he would put his feet into the cow dung and stand there for hours feeling cool, relaxed and refreshed .

Imagining him doing this now it just cant be he’s a big man now literally, but id love to put my feet into the cow dung to feel that warmth and good am blessed i could do it with my hands still. Its such a spiritual experience only who will do it, can explore it.

Here’s some picture of those designs i made with cow dung , haldi, wheat stick, wheat flour .

The Nights were full of fun and dance with all the ladies from our neighborhood dancing and singing songs . Some snaps of those too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I miss my home now as am back home with my hubby , couldn’t be there for some more days just a week as i longed for my hubby too being there, he missed me every day and so i cut short my visit and came back to him . I am blessed to have such a wonderful family here and there . i wish there come’s a time when i could have both families just a mile away rather than being mile’s away.

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Jap Tap Vrat : Bhakti

तप में है बल                

कुछ महीनो पूर्व मैं हरिद्वार गयी थी, जहाँ मुझे बहुत सुकून और राहत महसूस की, पवित्र गंगा जल में डूबकी लगाकर सूर्य देव को नमन कर मन में महसूस हुआ की शायद बरसो पुराने वक़्त के कर्मो की बुनी चादर जैसे बह गयी हो और उस जल धरा में  मेरे नए जीवन का संचार हुआ है ऐसा प्रतीत हुआ।

 गंगा घाट पर बैठे दूर – दूर तक पानी ही पानी और इतना ठंडा जल शारीर के स्पर्श में आते ही सब गर्मी मानो चुरा ले गया हो और सब निराशा उड़ा ले रहा हो। सर से पैर तक तन में निर्मलता, स्वछता एवं शीतलता उत्पन्न हो गयी। 

गंगा जल का वेग बहुत ही तेज़ होता था मुझे लगा जैसे मेरे पैरो को घाट की सीडियों पर टिकाना बहुत मुश्किल होता जा रहा है ,पर मैंने तो निश्चय किया था की डुबकी लेनी है पैर से सर तक, पानी के भीतर होकर ही। और इसी दौरान शायद गंगा मैय्या को मेरी भक्ति इतनी पसंद आई की मेरे पाओ उठाकर वो चलने लगी, पर भला हो उन ज़ंजीरो का जिसकी वजह से आज मैं यहाँ बैठ कर लिख पा रही हूँ। 

 हरिद्वार में आरती देखने के  संग- संग भजन और जय कारे लगाने का अलग ही अनुभव होता है। शाम होते ही पानी में सब तरफ फूलो में सजे दीप बहुत सुन्दर लगते है , मैंने भी   दीप जलाये और हाथो से श्रद्धा के फूलो को उस पावन जल में प्रवाह किया। सच मे घाट पर बैठकर पैरो को पानी में डूबाये और उस शांत जल धारा के वेग को देखते रहना बहुत अच्छा लगता है।जगह जगह छोटी बड़ी पहाड़ियां और शिव भगवान की मूर्ति को देखते रहना और मनन करना अत्यनत सुखदाई अनुभव होता है। 

यह एहसास कुछ ही पलो का होता है, हालाँकि आपके और मेरे जीवन में ऐसे बहुत से सांसारिक एहसास होते होंगे या हो रहे होंगे, पर मैं जिस एहसास और अनुभव की बात कर  रही हूँ वो ज़िन्दगी में कुछ ही लोग पूर्ण कर पाते है। 

वो इसलिए की ज़रूरी नहीं की आप भगवन के दर्शन करना चाहेंगे तो कभी भी जा सकेंगे, क्यूंकि यह तभी मुमकिन है जब भगवन आपको दर्शन देने का बुलावा भेजे, नहीं तो इतने सालों से मेरी तीव्र इच्छा है की मैं माँ  वैष्णो देवी के दरबार जाऊं और माँ के दर्शन करू पर रूकावटे, अर्चने और कुछ निजी जीवन की समस्याए ऐसी है की मैं अब प्रतिज्ञा बद्ध हो गयीं हूँ हठ समझ लीजिये या जो कहिये, की जब मेरा विवाह संपन्न होगा मैं तभी दर्शन के लिए जाउंगी अपने जीवन साथी के साथ माँ के दरबार माँ के चरणों में। 

    यह सोचते -सोचते यह भी विचार आता है की “तप” की महिमा अंतहीन है,  क्यूंकि जिस गंग  के  जल में मुझे इतनी शान्ति और सुकून मिला, वो गंगा मैया के जल को धरती पर   लाने के लिए ऋषि  भागीरथ ने कितने वर्षो की तपस्या की जिसके पश्चात वह धरती पर आई और भगवन शिव ने उनके तेज़ वेग को सँभालने के लिए, उन्हें अपनी जटाओ में    धारण किया तब जाकर कहीं इस प्यासी धरती की प्यास भुजी, पापो का नाश हुआ और मृत जीवो और मनुष्यों को मुक्ति मिली। 

 सोचना सरल है पर निभाना बहुत कठिन, यह जप, तप एव भक्ति मामूली बातें नहीं, हर हफ्ते सोमवार, ब्रहस्पत्वार के व्रत हो या माता के नवरात्रे या एकादशी, शिवरात्रि या दुसरे विशेष व्रत, इनमे एक समय को तो ऐसा लगता है की पेट में लगी आग का क्या किया जाए, पर अन्दर से कुछ शक्ति मिलती रहती है जो व्रत को संपूर्ण करने में तन मन को नियंत्रित करती है जिससे मुझे तप की शक्ति पर विश्वास द्रढ़ हो जाता  है और यह समझने लगी हूँ की इस माया रुपी संसार में ऐसा कुछ भी नहीं जो हम तप से प्राप्त ना कर सके।

Love beyond ONE :Taboo !

Krishna had 16,108 wives.

I hope that am not caught or tried because of the topic am going to write about now.  As it may sound extreme deviation from the norms that our society has been following since ages. Though i love to talk all sweet and nice  as its easily approved and acceptable to everyone.

It is all because we actually see a reflection in others and that is like a mirror in which we see ourselves, the things we want to deliberately see comforting our own scheme of thoughts and perception we have about us and others and what we are , reflects in the others we see because we want to see that . Its about the thoughts, our understanding the way we think about others tantamount to what we are precisely, what kind of human being we are in real.

Because we are made up of our own beliefs  moral, traditions, norms, values, hopes and desires we want to see in the world that comforts all these , and the things that are beyond our understanding and do not fall anywhere in line with the above is bound to be rejected or abhorred.

Why is it so difficult to understand and accept certain things beyond our understanding is difficult to know exactly , it may be due to conditioning that we are not keen to learn anymore anything that is new and breaks our routine thoughts.  we do not wish to go beyond  we feel comfortably in our zone , approved and accepted the way society wants exactly.

But we fail as this society stops us from attaining the new, exploring other avenues, innovating something new , going for  the truth . It wants us to cling to it and we wish to do the same out of security and belonging.

And those who break free of the said norms , are despised and never thought or taught about, for generations unless there are some really great minds who work hard to understand them and discover their intelligence and extra-ordinariness. They are not captive to the society nor their stereotypical notions.

Now having said all that, i wish to ponder over, this feeling called Love which is beautiful and a great thing to do in life.

What is love actually, it is a feeling where a man and woman fall for each other and keep on insisting and practicing this confinement to each other where, confinement equals commitment that too forever, which keeps it functioning, well this is love today actually and no doubt it will run for many eons, and i hold nothing against this.I believe that love can happen all the more , many times and again its not even sex as we may criticize a man or woman for loving more that one person , and label him/her with different names.

Love is the most difficult task indeed and holding it to one is even more difficult because it changes from love to possessiveness and goes beyond that  where we keep looking to confine that one person who should be meant for us all our lives, that becomes a negative side of love which we have since long time because it restricts, upholds and creates dangerous feelings within us where we time and again wish to break free, and look for other , because we have a choice to do so having options available, that makes the situation all the more bad.

Love cannot be confined rather it can be spread and left free to blossom to as many as possible. It is no more difficult thing to do, love is best understood if it holds no feelings like possession and monopoly over a single person. It has enough potential to accommodate as many as one can love without any difficulty like a mother never differentiate s or bias her love for her children, similarly a man or a woman can go beyond traditional existing love and can hold pure love feelings for others as well.

We have many examples in our history where polygamy and polyandry was practiced and love was encouraged and was considered pious as in today and such men and women were even prayed and were of high virtue and morals.For instance Draupadi who loved all her 5 husbands the pandav’s equally and she holds the dignity and respect since ages, but we find some elements of prostitution too when we recollect about her, being wife to 5 men and how she was able to equally love all of them and never made her love fall short or more for any of them. Even Krishna had so many wives and he was equally present for all of them and they could feel his love without bias .

Draupadi with Pandavas and their mother

Similarly in some societies / religions that have different situation than ours, polygamy or polyandry became necessary and moral due to war and conflicts where there are less men and more woman and even where male and female sex ratio are different woman are few and there are more men and for those men and women who are divorced, separated, widows or left out, in such circumstances it becomes necessary and if had not been like that, then many would have been forced to live a loveless life who then may resort to  prostitution or victimizing others for their needs, which again stands highly immoral as per society.

But i think,even the prostitutes hold a good place in my thoughts, as those men and woman save , defend and protect us from the evils that could happen to kids, women, men , old and young. They hold more dignity and respect, in my view, they are like the soldiers who fight everyday to protect us.

Even today it exists where i saw a discovery channel documentary showing a woman living with two men under the same roof and all the three of them enjoyed a life full of love and respect , the men equally loved the woman and the woman loved them both. i was amazed to see the comfort level, the love they had for each other, and was laughing when my mom said “this is heights of immorality, and it happens in times today only not earlier “.

Anyhow i was glad to see that and thought that how heavenly it could be to get love from as many people as you can in this one life, its not sex again , but a pure love that can or cannot include sex, but it just makes you feel good and the same feeling for others who are in love completely  Its not supposed to be selfish rather a selfless and unconditional tribute to life of divinity and richness.