RRDS

The epic of the creation and the procreation by copulation of all life- forms from the “beginning of time” has been a bit controversial. These differences in concepts do not only exist among different religions of the world but even within the realm of Sanatan Dharma as well. Very often the aspect of Lord Shiva in the half-male half-female form(picture on front cover) is seen but is seldom understood in the abstraction of theology. However, the Katha (story) that depicts the significance of that form originates from the Shiva Mahaa Puraan -chapter three of the Satarudrasamhitaa:

There came the time when the subjects created by Brahma did not multiply from their unit forms. Upon seeing this grave mishap, he became very distressed and worried for there were no generation of women that came out of Ishaana. This disabled procreation by copulation. Brahma then began to perform penance thinking “without the power of Shiva united with the great Shakti Sivaa (feminine aspect), the subjects will not be born.’

It was not long after that the all merciful Lord Shiva became satisfied with the severe penance of the self-born Lord Brahma. Then, assuming the wish-yielding form of Ishaana - the perfect consciousness, and in the guise of the half-male and half-female form -Ardhanaarishvara, Shiva approached Brahma. On seeing this form of the lord, he joined his palms together and eulogised Him. The delighted Lord Shiva, whose voice echoed as the rumbling cloud, said: “Oh dear son of great fortune, Oh grandfather, I have understood correctly all that you have cherished in your mind. It is for the increase of the subjects that this penance has been performed by you. I am very pleased by that penance and I shall bestow on to you what you desire.

After saying these naturally sweet and magnanimous words, Lord Shiva then detached Shiva (the feminine aspect) from his body. On seeing that great Shakti, detached separately from Shiva, Brahma bowed to her politely and spoke: “Mother, I was created at fir by your husband and was ordered to create the subjects. The Devtas and others were mentally created by me, but they do not multiply by themselves. Hence they are being created again and again. Oh Ma! I wish that all my subjects flourish by making the creation originate from pairs. The unchanging generation of women has not come out of you before - I do not have the power to create women. All Shaktis fountain from you, Oh beloved of Shiva, for the increase of all being sin this universe, please give me the power to create women.”

Mother I ask of you also that you be born as the daughter of Daksha, my son, for the increase of the mobile and the immobile beings through Isha. ‘Thus implored by the Creator, the Supreme Goddess consented and bestowed the power upon him. She then created a Shakti equal in lustre unto herself from the nuddie of her eyebrows.

Lord Shiva, the ocean of mercy,saw that Shakti and laughingly: yet lovingly blessed her to fulfill those wishes and after giving the unequalled power to Brahma, the goddess Shivaa (feminine aspect entered the body of Shiva and the Lord vanished from the scene. Ever since then, women was created in the world; Brahma attained bliss and the creation became copulatory.

It is without a doubt that theaforementioned katha emphasizes the eminence of the female specie. Therefore,the essence of what the Shakti imparted to Brahma can be translated into a permanent mould to structure today’s society and the role that women play in it. Mothers are living proof and model examples of God being present in our lives and too often do we overlook this great gift. Our way of life never fails to reiterate the significance of mother and father - they are our first gurus,our closest initial exposure to that doorway to the great beyond. When we open our spiritual eyes and become aware of this, the pedestal that our parents should be placed on would insure due respect to future parents for the later years. This is one of the major pillars in Sanatan Dharma and the rewards of such Sewa (service) is beautifully depicted in the classic legend of Shravan Kumar.

With the evolution of society into what we call now a civilised milieu, both the positive and negative conditions have been derived. However, the role of the woman has drastically changed from ancient times to fit into the culture that we are part of now. The transition from a dedicated housewife to a working woman and/or both has brought with it many resistance from society. Such resistance is only an adamant manner of the display of ignorance.

It is quite vivid that women have come a long way in making this world what it is today - both in the material and in the propagation of Dharma, And this is why equal emphasis should be placed on children of both sexes to assure a balance in the laws of nature.There should not be any complexes; because they are of our own making -fictitious and debasing. For there is no religious concept or rational thinking that would uphold us in even dreaming of being superincumbent to women. The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

“Where women are honoured; there the gods rejoice; but where they are not honoured, there all the rites are fruitless. Where women grieve, that family quickly perishes; but where they do not grieve, that family ever prospers.

(Manu. - 3, 56-57)

Pundit Krishen Ramdeen

Hindu Marriage Officer

According to Sanatan Dharma, everything was in the seed state before the world was created. This state is called Maha Pralaya. At this time, everything existed in the sound OM. Out of OM came the Holy Trinity of Sanatan Dharma: Bramha - the creator, Vishnu - the preserver and Shiva - the reabsorber.

In order to understand the concept of avataars, time must be explained in relation to yugas and chaturyugas. A chaturyuga consist of four yugas - satyug, treta, dwaapar and kaliyug. Kaliyug lasts for 832,000 years, dwaapar is twice kaliyug, treta is three times kaliyug and satyug is four times kaliyug. So a chaturyug is 8,432,000 years.

Over the expanse of time in chaturyugas, GOD have incarnated on planet earth several times in different places and in different forms. These manifestations are called Avataars and they are as follows:

Matsyaavataar - The Lord took the form of a fish to save Manu and the seven mind born sons of Lord Bramha.

Kurmaavataar - The Lord took the form of a tortoise in order to support mount Mandara during the churning of the ocean in the beginning of creation.

Varaahaavataar - The Lord took the form of a boar to destroy the demon Hiranyaaksha

Narsimhaavataar - The Lord took the form of a manlion to protect His devotee Prahalad and to destroy the demon King Hiranyakashipu.

Vaamanavataar - The Lord took the form of a dwarf to overcome the greed of Bali.

Parashuraama - The Lord took the form of a kshatriya to destroy the wicked warriors of the time.

Shri Raam - The Lord took the form of Raam as the ideal son, father, brother, friend, husband and politician. He destroyed many demons and gave man the recipe for crossing this ocean of mundane existence.

Balaraama - The Lord took the birth of man in the form of Balaraama in Hastinapur during dwaaparyug to rid the earth of evil.

Krishna - The Lord incarnated in dwaaparyug as Krishna to protect the good and saintly and to destroy the wicked.

The Kalki Avaatar - One school of thought says that the Lord will come in the kaliyug age as the Kalkiavataar. It predicts that He will come riding a white horse. Many believe that He has already manifested as Bhagwan Satya Sai Baba.

 Divali or Deepavali: The term literally means “a row of lights’. This major festival is celebrated in the month of Kartik (October/November) and has multiple schools of thought for its origin. However, each motive is equal in significance to the devotee who observes this event. Some historical occurrences that are attributed to Divali are: The marriage of mother Lakshmi to Lord Vishnu; the worship of mother Kali in the state of Bengal (India); the euphoric return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana in battle; the destruction of the demon Narakasura by Lord Krishna; the remembrance of the death of Swami Dayanand Saraswati; the successful harvesting of crops in parts of India; and most popular in Trinidad is the welcoming of mother Lakshmi into our homes, thus deriving wealth and prosperity. The lighting of deeyas within the homes and the villages is a common practice during this auspicious time.

Navaraatri: As the term implies, Navaraatri literally means ‘nine nights”. This festival is observed twice a year; once in the month of Chaitra (April/May) and then in the Aswayuja (September/October). The former is sometimes referred to as Dev Paksha or Rama Navaraatri. Within this period, the birth of Lord Rama (Ram-Navmi) is also celebrated. The second period is also referred to as Dcvi Navaraatri - a time when the nine forms of Durga is propitiated. Recently, a different inclination is taken during the Devi Navaraatri - the nine clays are subdivided into three sections and the Devis Durga, l,akshmi and Saraswati are worshipped accordingly by performing pooja or offering of the jal (water).

Holi or Phagwa: This festival, like many others, has many significant historical references. However, locally it is primarily associated with the story of Prahalad. Phagwa, as it is popularly referred to, falls in the month of Phalgun (February/March). Connected to this legend is Prahalad’s devotion to the Lord Narayan. Prince Prahalad was the son of the evil king Hiranyakashipu. This king demanded that all adoration be paid to him and none other. In spite of this, Prahalad was still a devout disciple of the Lord Narayan (also referred to as Lord Vishnu). Because of this, his father punished him in a variety of ways to change his devotional mind. He failed in all his attempts. Finally, he ordered his sister, Holika, who had a boon to remain unburnt even inside fire, to take Prahalad on her lap and enter into the blazing flames of the fire. Upon doing so, Holika was burnt to ashes while Prahalad came out unburnt.

This same scene is enacted every year to remind people that the Lord, in his mercy and love for his children, shall make the impossible possible to save them by divine intervention.

Today Holi is celebrated by the spraying of the coloured water and powder and by the elated chanting of the traditional folk songs such as chowtal and ulara.

Rakshaa Bandhan: This is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Sravan (August/September) and it involves the tying of the sacred chord of protection on the right wrist of a brother by his sister, The sister also performs aarti; offers chandan (tilak); and gives something sweet to eat to the brother. In return, the brother gives a gift to the sister and comforts her with brotherly love. Rakshaa means “protection”. This ritual is an important aspect of family bonding. The brother is symbolically saying to the sister that even though the world forsakes you, I shall always be there to lend a shoulder of support. Some females who do not have a biological brother, or even do, adopt brothers into their lives and translate the same relationship with all due honour.

Hanuman Jayanti: This day commemorates the birthday of Shri Hanuman. It falls on the full moon day of the month Chaitra in (March/April). On this holy day, worship to Lord Hanuman is performed in multiple facets. It varies from offering jal (water), performing Hanuman pooja and even the chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa 108 times (Aakhand Chalisa). The benefits of this sacrifice are detailed within the translation of this Chalisa (song of praises).

Om Hum Hanumate Namah

Shiva-Raatri: This falls on the 13th (or 14th) day of the dark half of Phalgun (February/March). The term literally means “The night of Lord Shiva”. Lord Shiva was also married to mother Parvati on this day. This strict last is done by the performance of strict vigil all night. The Shiva-Lingam (phallic image) is worshipped throughout the night, at equally spaced time intervals, by offering water, milk, curd, honey, ghee, sugar cane, bael leaves etc. This would be accompanied by the recitation of the appropriate mantras by the purohits and the chanting of bhajans. He, who utters the names of Lord Shiva during Shiva-Raatri, with perfect devotion and sincerity, is freed from all sins.

Om Namah Shivaya

Krishna Janmaashtami: This is the birthday of Lord Krishna. It falls on the eight day of the dark half of the month of Bhadrapada (August/September). He was born at midnight while his parents were in prison. This was under the instructions of the evil king Kansa. The prophecy was that a baby born to Vasudev and Devaki will bring the destruction of Kansa. Thus, the reason for retaining the couple in custody.

At the time of Lord Krishna’s birth, all the guards went into a deep sleep, all the doors were miraculously unlocked and the father, Vasudev, took the babe to a safe place across the Jamuna River where Yashoda assumed the motherly role.

The Leela’s (divine glories) of Shri Krishna is narrated during the observance of this auspicious time.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaaya

Ram-Navmi: This fast celebrates the birth of Lord Rama. He was born on the ninth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Chaitra (March/April). The glories of Shri Rama are depicted in the popular scripture The Ramayana. Ram-Navmi is usually observed at midday with pooja and sermons on excerpts from the aforementioned text.

Om Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram

Kartik Snaan: The month of Kartik (October/November), as the term implies, is assigned to this period. Especially on the day of the full moon, thousands flock to the beaches to perform pooja and take the ceremonial bath.

With particular attention being paid to the environment, Sanatan Dharma has been the initial model example for protection of the environment in all its basic elements of nature - namely water, air and earth.

Om Shree Ganga Maataa Namah