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According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman, is indestructible and eternal (Chapter 2.18).

“antavanta ime deha
nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino ’prameyasya
tasmad yudhyasva bharata” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 18)

 

All these bodies pertaining to the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity / soul are spoken of as perishable; therefore, fight, Arjuna.”
According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman, neither slays not can it be slain (Chapter 2.19).

“ya enam vetti hantaram
yas chainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nayam hanti na hanyate” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 19)

“Sri Krishna said: They are both ignorant, he who knows the soul to be capable of killing and he who takes it as killed; for verily the soul neither kills, nor is killed.”

According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman, is never born, never dies and after coming into existence never ceases to be. It is nitya (always), shasvatah (permanent) and purana (very ancient) (Chapter 2.20).

“na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 20)

“Sri Krishna said: The soul is never born nor dies at any time. Soul has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. Soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. Soul is not slain when the body is slain.”

According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman, does not suffer & cannot be tainted. At the time of death it does not die, but leaves the body and enters into a new one (Chapter 2.22).

“vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

“Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”

According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman has the properties that Weapons cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot moisten it and wind cannot dry it (Chapter 2.23).

“nainam chindanti shastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na chainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 23) 

“Sri Krishna said: The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.”

According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman, is impenetrable, incombustible, all pervading, stable and immobile (Chapter 2.24).

“acchedyo ’yam adahyo ’yam
akledyo ’sosya eva cha
nityah sarva-gatah sthanur
achalo ’yam sanatanah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 24) 

“Sri Krishna said: This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.”

According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman, is invisible, imperceptible and immutable (Chapter 2.25).

“avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam
avikaryo ’yam ucyate
tasmad evam viditvainam
nanusocitum arhasi” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 25)

“Sri Krishna said: It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.”
Lord Krishna knew the limitations of human consciousness to gauge the true nature of the inner soul. So in the Bhagwat Gita it concurs that no one can exactly know what a soul is. Someone looks at It with great surprise, another speaks about It with great surprise, some another hears about It with incredulity and yet another after hearing about It knows it not (Chapter 2.29).

“ascharya-vat pasyati kascid enam
ascharya-vad vadati tathaiva chanyah
ascharya-vac chainam anyah srnoti
srutvapy enam veda na chaiva kascit” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 29) 

“Sri Krishna said: Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.”

So in this way Soul is a Mysterious thing & can be understood if you have faith in God & in religious scriptures.

Jai Shri Krishna

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I Love You SHIVJI !!!

Its day three since i fell down on the footpath upon an open slab it was about 3 & 1/2 feet wide, and 1 1/2 feet deep, into which i fell .

But Thankfully am all intact in one piece and didn’t broke any of my bones or teeth . Really many Thanks to God, as i couldn’t acknowledge the severity of the accident until my hubby told me about it, like how great and grievous the impact could have been. since the upper slab was all concrete,he said i could have had my jaw replaced if i had even touched a bit of it on my face or it could be more like a fracture in skull or legs or hands.

It could have been anywhere since falling into a wide pit,where there is concrete inside and outside can prove fatal, am blessed and i pray every time i recollect incidents of that day.

Am left and spared with a few cuts here and there on my arm and legs, but a very bad pelvic bone injury that is all blue and black till date .

Anyhow its all over and i cherish my life even more and thank god that he saved me .

Lost ‘My’ Material Identity

So i was more or less devastated, tensed, felt raw and lost some few hours back ..

Last Thursday me along with my hubby and in laws went to puri in orissa for Jagannath darshan ( Lord Krishna). Since I believed that after marriage and before honeymoon i should go and seek blessings of Maa Vaishno devi at jammu but since my hubby wasn’t able to get enough leave from his office, then everyone decided to go Jagannath as it was not too far and its an overnight journey by train from kolkata.

So we went ahead knowing that it was the time of Rath Yatra and lord Jagannath visits his maternal aunt for few days in a chariot and comes back into the temple where till that time his replica is placed.

Puri Beach :awesome weather and water

So Puri this time is a hot spot for tourists ( mostly Hindus from other states) who flock there to see lord Jagannath and enjoy the Puri Beach, which is an epic beautiful place with all the sea water gushing to and fro and sea waves making sounds.

Here i Must confess that am not a whole hearted bhakt of Lord Krishna , though my hubby loves reading his geeta and currently he is reading Osho’s Geeta Darshan and from his readings he speaks to me of his many teachings and life skills which are very enlightening and realistic. I love listening the bhagwat katha of Krishna and his various Lila’s (maya) but unable to replace the love i have for shiva to him. So still not seriously like i would do when i am to see shiva i went jagannath puri , thinking of shiva as the jagannath unknowingly.

During the  morning we were not able to see  lord Jagannath, there being a huge crowd of  people jostling , fighting and pushing others just to climb on the chariot of lord jagannath, and even the other two chariots of subhadra ( Krishna’s sister ) and Balaram ( Krishna ‘s elder brother) that had equal share of people fighting to reach atop.  As if this ordeal was less in grace there were many pandits who snatched away the hands of the people who thought could shell out loads of cash to see the lord , they clutch the hand so tightly swearing by god that they will make you see and do the puja of lord jagnannth even in this endless sea of people standing and pushing in the invisible ques where the pandits were not spared the policemen s lathi ( wooden stick ).

All this time i was being pushed and twitched in the crowd but thanks to my hubby he never left my ‘body’ alone And between all this time i kept comforting my mother in law, as she was unable to bear the heat, sun and reckless people who shoved her and pulled her spectacles out of her sight, i kept soothing her saying its just for once and if not possible we will go back to the hotel. Finally we were not able to make it and upon a pandits advice we decided to come back in afternoon as he said that is the time when there are less people and we can do the puja and darshan.

So before the afternoon we bathed in the rain and sea water on the beach and went back for darshan, it seemed the crowd was less but then all of a sudden the people in the que grew more and more there were not one or two or three lines rather no lines at all it was again a crowd  that grew more and more around us and we began to feel the heat. Again the same pushing , pulling begun and this time it was more humiliating since the the police personnel’s who were trying to control the crowds actually hit the people anywhere they felt right in a fit of rage, actually they were also helpless controlling so many people was a tough task. so we still managed and struggled for about 2 hours or more just to see lord jagannath once ,but to no avail we went back to the tea stalls nearby for some water and refreshments.

View of Lord jagannath from a stall taken just before the loss.

As soon i opened my handbag for keeping my mobile phone after taking pictures of lord jagannath, i was shocked to see my handbag  ripped open , cut from behind and my brown wallet was gone, it had all the identity proofs like voter Id card , driving license, pan card, debit card with good cash amount , my gold chain and engagement ring and even my hubby’s engagement ring, that i had kept safely in it before going to the beach as i feared losing them while bathing because water softens the hand and rings may lose their grip.

I was stupefied and helpless for some time maybe an hour or so, but inside i was thinking that i had this intuition before, that i was about to lose my brown wallet in this the trip and as if i was wanting it to go. I don’t know why but i never put my little earrings in that wallet i put them into the small chains of my handbag, and it was that day i did not do so.

To narrate what i felt at that moment is something very bold and complicated because there was sense of loss but there was actually not that much of pain , i had to forgo almost things worth 2 lac and more and its a huge amount for me really huge, but why i did not feel so so sad as to have almost a week full of guilt, pain anger, cursing the thief , or just going berserk.

To this day even, I haven’t spoken of any ill for the thief though i just imagine the look on his face when he would see how fool i was to keep all that for him and how he would dance with joy and happiness on getting such a good deal, even though its not as if his whole life would change, but its more than enough to keep him high on spirits. anyhow we registered the FIR and had to devalue the value of the gold and cash that was stolen since we had to immediately procure the receipt of those ornaments in order to get the FIR lodged, but who had all that ,at that point of time, so we just thought of getting the FIR so as to apply for identity cards as soon as possible and more because we were not in our home town and for me i was even more far from my mother’s home.

Ever since this incident I haven’t told my mom about it, and thank god she is not aware of my blog nor the Internet. She took so much pains to make that gold ring for my hubby by giving her own gold ornaments of her marriage for making that ring. I feel doomed at some point of time for being so careless and guilty for losing her hard earned money which she gave for us to keep as we still need a lot of  financial support from both the families and along with this my savings had gone too that i had been doing for so long time .

Now i wish i had bought that Suit or that watch for my hubby and spent the

money at least from my savings , Anyhow if it had to go it had to go no matter what it was, the time that took it away and of course lord jagannath ( Krishna) he is complete mystique a psychologist and the most cleverest and intelligent of all the gods we have, whatever he does is for the good as i know of him.

And now its over i have to pursue for getting all this material identity again which will keep me busy for days to come and its test of my belief and spiritual consciousness and i cannot give all credits to Kanha ( krishna the jagannath)  for enlightening me on this i would give it more to Shiva the Supreme , peaceful, simple and an ascetic with ashes who let’s me be nor happy nor sad in every state. Even after losing all the materialistic things and material identity, i still believe in Shiva, and today its my first Sawan Somvaar Fast as the Fasting Sawan begins today on Poornima, from this day to next 4 Mondays will be somvaar sawan vrat.

And with this firm belief in my lord shiva i know ill be able to break this time as well into pieces and move out of the clutches of loss, which is actually a material loss that was never mine as it would have never gone along with me when i will die. It would only how something i gathered helped the other and thank the lord for he has given me enough potential to gather and give always.

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.

Happy MahaShivratri

I immensely love everything about shiv ji ,festivals of shivji ,all the vrat puja for shivji. Today being the great Mahashivratri festival, i have kept my fast and worship shiv baba.    

Maha Shivratri is the festival celebrated every year in the reverence of Lord Shiva. Shivratri means the great night of shiv ji, or the night of shiv baba. It is celebrated every year on the 13th or 14th day of Maagha or Phalguna month of the hindu calender. The festival is obseved by offering bel patra (Bilva/vilvam leaves),  bers, fruits, milk to shiv ji and observing  fast all day and chanting the Panchakshara mantra ie Om Namah Shivaya . the five holy syllables of this mantra are Na- Mah- Shi- Va- ya , that are panchakshra.

Below is the katha for mahashivratri vrat.

महाशिवरात्रि की व्रत-कथा

एक बार पार्वती ने भगवान शिवशंकर से पूछा, ‘ऐसा कौन सा श्रेष्ठ तथा सरल व्रत-पूजन है, जिससे मृत्यु लोक के प्राणी आपकी कृपा सहज ही प्राप्त कर लेते हैं?’

उत्तर में शिवजी ने पार्वती को ‘शिवरात्रि’ के व्रत का विधान बताकर यह कथा सुनाई- ‘एक गाँव में एक शिकारी रहता था। पशुओं की हत्या करके वह अपने कुटुम्ब को पालता था। वह एक साहूकार का ऋणी था, लेकिन उसका ऋण समय पर न चुका सका। क्रोधवश साहूकार ने शिकारी को शिवमठ में बंदी बना लिया। संयोग से उस दिन शिवरात्रि थी।

शिकारी ध्यानमग्न होकर शिव संबंधी धार्मिक बातें सुनता रहा। चतुर्दशी को उसने शिवरात्रि की कथा भी सुनी। संध्या होते ही साहूकार ने उसे अपने पास बुलाया और ऋण चुकाने के विषय में बात की। शिकारी अगले दिन सारा ऋण लौटा देने का वचन देकर बंधन से छूट गया।

अपनी दिनचर्या की भाँति वह जंगल में शिकार के लिए निकला, लेकिन दिनभर बंदीगृह में रहने के कारण भूख-प्यास से व्याकुल था। शिकार करने के लिए वह एक तालाब के किनारे बेल वृक्ष पर पड़ाव बनाने लगा। बेल-वृक्ष के नीचे शिवलिंग था जो बिल्वपत्रों से ढँका हुआ था। शिकारी को उसका पता न चला।

पड़ाव बनाते समय उसने जो टहनियाँ तोड़ीं, वे संयोग से शिवलिंग पर गिरीं। इस प्रकार दिनभर भूखे-प्यासे शिकारी का व्रत भी हो गया और शिवलिंग पर बेलपत्र भी चढ़ गए।

एक पहर रात्रि बीत जाने पर एक गर्भिणी मृगी तालाब पर पानी पीने पहुँची। शिकारी ने धनुष पर तीर चढ़ाकर ज्यों ही प्रत्यंचा खींची, मृगी बोली, ‘मैं गर्भिणी हूँ। शीघ्र ही प्रसव करूँगी। तुम एक साथ दो जीवों की हत्या करोगे, जो ठीक नहीं है। मैं अपने बच्चे को जन्म देकर शीघ्र ही तुम्हारे सामने प्रस्तुत हो जाऊँगी, तब तुम मुझे मार लेना।’ शिकारी ने प्रत्यंचा ढीली कर दी और मृगी झाड़ियों में लुप्त हो गई।

कुछ ही देर बाद एक और मृगी उधर से निकली। शिकारी की प्रसन्नता का ठिकाना न रहा। समीप आने पर उसने धनुष पर बाण चढ़ाया। तब उसे देख मृगी ने विनम्रतापूर्वक निवेदन किया, ‘हे पारधी ! मैं थोड़ी देर पहले ही ऋतु से निवृत्त हुई हूँ। कामातुर विरहिणी हूँ। अपने प्रिय की खोज में भटक रही हूँ। मैं अपने पति से मिलकर शीघ्र ही तुम्हारे पास आ जाऊँगी।’

शिकारी ने उसे भी जाने दिया। दो बार शिकार को खोकर उसका माथा ठनका। वह चिंता में पड़ गया। रात्रि का आखिरी पहर बीत रहा था। तभी एक अन्य मृगी अपने बच्चों के साथ उधर से निकली शिकारी के लिए यह स्वर्णिम अवसर था। उसने धनुष पर तीर चढ़ाने में देर न लगाई, वह तीर छोड़ने ही वाला था कि मृगी बोली, ‘हे पारधी! मैं इन बच्चों को पिता के हवाले करके लौट आऊँगी। इस समय मुझे मत मार।’

शिकारी हँसा और बोला, ‘सामने आए शिकार को छोड़ दूँ, मैं ऐसा मूर्ख नहीं। इससे पहले मैं दो बार अपना शिकार खो चुका हूँ। मेरे बच्चे भूख-प्यास से तड़प रहे होंगे।’

उत्तर में मृगी ने फिर कहा, ‘जैसे तुम्हें अपने बच्चों की ममता सता रही है, ठीक वैसे ही मुझे भी, इसलिए सिर्फ बच्चों के नाम पर मैं थोड़ी देर के लिए जीवनदान माँग रही हूँ। हे पारधी! मेरा विश्वास कर मैं इन्हें इनके पिता के पास छोड़कर तुरंत लौटने की प्रतिज्ञा करती हूँ।’

मृगी का दीन स्वर सुनकर शिकारी को उस पर दया आ गई। उसने उस मृगी को भी जाने दिया। शिकार के आभाव में बेलवृक्ष पर बैठा शिकारी बेलपत्र तोड़-तोड़कर नीचे फेंकता जा रहा था। पौ फटने को हुई तो एक हष्ट-पुष्ट मृग उसी रास्ते पर आया। शिकारी ने सोच लिया कि इसका शिकार वह अवश्व करेगा।

शिकारी की तनी प्रत्यंचा देखकर मृग विनीत स्वर में बोला,’ हे पारधी भाई! यदि तुमने मुझसे पूर्व आने वाली तीन मृगियों तथा छोटे-छोटे बच्चों को मार डाला है तो मुझे भी मारने में विलंब न करो, ताकि उनके वियोग में मुझे एक क्षण भी दुःख न सहना पड़े। मैं उन मृगियों का पति हूँ। यदि तुमने उन्हें जीवनदान दिया है तो मुझे भी कुछ क्षण जीवनदान देने की कृपा करो। मैं उनसे मिलकर तुम्हारे सामने उपस्थित हो जाऊँगा।’

मृग की बात सुनते ही शिकारी के सामने पूरी रात का घटना-चक्र घूम गया। उसने सारी कथा मृग को सुना दी। तब मृग ने कहा, ‘मेरी तीनों पत्नियाँ जिस प्रकार प्रतिज्ञाबद्ध होकर गई हैं, मेरी मृत्यु से अपने धर्म का पालन नहीं कर पाएँगी। अतः जैसे तुमने उन्हें विश्वासपात्र मानकर छोड़ा है, वैसे ही मुझे भी जाने दो। मैं उन सबके साथ तुम्हारे सामने शीघ्र ही उपस्थित होता हूँ।’

उपवास, रात्रि जागरण तथा शिवलिंग पर बेलपत्र चढ़ाने से शिकारी का हिंसक हृदय निर्मल हो गया था। उसमें भगवद् शक्ति का वास हो गया था। धनुष तथा बाण उसके हाथ से सहज ही छूट गए। भगवान शिव की अनुकम्पा से उसका हिंसक हृदय कारुणिक भावों से भर गया। वह अपने अतीत के कर्मों को याद करके पश्चाताप की ज्वाला में जलने लगा।

थोड़ी ही देर बाद मृग सपरिवार शिकारी के समक्ष उपस्थित हो गया, ताकि वह उनका शिकार कर सके, किंतु जंगली पशुओं की ऐसी सत्यता, सात्विकता एवं सामूहिक प्रेमभावना देखकर शिकारी को बड़ी ग्लानि हुई। उसके नेत्रों से आँसुओं की झड़ी लग गई। उस मृग परिवार को न मारकर शिकारी ने अपने कठोर हृदय को जीव हिंसा से हटा सदा के लिए कोमल एवं दयालु बना लिया।

देव लोक से समस्त देव समाज भी इस घटना को देख रहा था। घटना की परिणति होते ही देवी-देवताओं ने पुष्प वर्षा की। तब शिकारी तथा मृग परिवार मोक्ष को प्राप्त हुए।’

Om Namah Shivaya

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.