VILLAGE DIARY : BHAGWAT PURAAN PAATH AND IT'S ALL IN THE GENOME

Bhagat Puraan Paath - 7 days of rituals and to cap it all some memories from there...

An amazing celebrations of Ram Navami with the Bhagwat Paath my mother wanted to do for ages, so my younger brothers K K The King and Animesh got together and made it happen. So I went to my ancestral village on 23rd March and I am back in Chennai after a week of rituals, story telling, meditation and mantra chanting but still the hangover continues.. it was an amazing time to connect with the soil of our birth, where we have had spent our childhood...

Baal Krishna

WHAT IS BHAGWAT PAATH?

The Bhagavata takes the form of a story recounting Vyasa's work being recited for the first time by his son Shuka to the dying King Parikshit, who owes his life to Krishna. Longing to hear of Krishna before he dies, Parikshit hears the Bhagavata recited by Shuka, including questions by the king and replies by the sage, over the course of seven days.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Devanagari: भागवतपुराण, also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata, literally meaning Divine-Eternal Tales of The Supreme Lord) is one of the maha (Sanskrit: 'great') Puranic texts of Hinduism, with its focus on bhakti (religious devotion) to Supreme God Vishnu (Narayana), primarily focusing on Krishna. The Bhagavata Purana includes many stories well known in Hinduism, including the various avatars of Vishnu and the life and pastimes of his complete incarnation, Krishna or Svayam Bhagavan. It was the first Purana to be translated into a European language, with three French translations made also between 1840 and 1857.

Krishna giving the Bhagwat Geeta paath to Arjuna @ Rishikesh 2014

TEXT SOURCE : Wikipedia, to read more click here...

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Thinking about those days spent so beautifully does not cover it... so I will leave you with some images... and of course the videos

So here it goes... let me start with the symbolism... 

Invoking the Sun god before the homa...

To begin with there's our Durga Ma, who has been with us over the ages, helping, supporting and guiding us, where ever we are...

Our ancestral temple of Durga ji... where we all performed the final Homa

And the place across the canal, from where She came to our house centuries ago.... The original Swayambhu Durga Ji sthan (The self appearing Goddess Durga place) we are now reconstructing as another temple...

The Durga Temple across the fields...

And the beauty surrounding it...
There are hundreds of peacock around the Durga temple that we have made
across the village where we have our fields...

Now with this introduction and giving you the feel about the place, let me come back to the Bhagwat Paath....

A very popular pundit who undertook to read and relate stories from
Bhaagwat Puraan for 7 days....

And the audience...

The fun and bhakti went hand in hand...

Along with the devotion...

There were the moments to capture...

And then there were times to pray...

The Purnaahuti - Havan, culminating the closure of Bhagwat Paath

The whole gang was there to celebrate the closure...

And it was a pleasure to have Bhabhi and Chachi
together, and as Animan said...
"The most elegant presence"

And I was there too...

And with this, Bhagwat Paath came to an end, graced with the rare presence of stalwarts of our family....

The cherished moments of togetherness..

And there were us, with our daily ritual of taking pictures before
the puja started every day...

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Shashi 

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

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Wanderlust in my village - Kushinagar                 Village Diary II

WANDERLUST: Maha Shiva Ratri - The night Shiva Married

Today is the most Holy day of Lord Shiva, Maha Shiva Ratri, which according Hindu Scripture's is supposed to be the most favorite day of Lord Shiva. Its also believed that today, Lord Shiva married His consort Parvati. On this lovely and auspicious day, walk with me to some auspicious place across India, associated with Lord Shiva  that has touched me deeply and blessed me with peace and love...

Shiva's tall statue at Haridwar...

From Himalaya, in North, to ....

Kedarnath Peak in Himalaya

 ...to down south, Lord Shiva is worshiped today in simple rituals of purifying oneself by bath and then bathing Shivalinga four times till night.... 

Rameshwaram Temple

 Fasting and then performing abhishekam, aarti etc... in the evening...

Most beautiful Aarti on the banks of Holy River ganges
Varanasi

 Since morning devotees go over to the near by rivers and lakes to bring out water to bathe Lord Shiva...

Village folks going to the river to bring the water to
Bathe Shiva... This image is from a temple (in the back
ground you can see the temple) in Bihar
Which few of us friends joined to construct...

 Many of the places that I have had visited, I find that the most simple things are most beautiful and full of energy. This one Shiva Linga here gave me a blissful experience....

Vashishth Cave - Rishikesh

 ...below is another powerful temple - at Jageshwar, introduced to me by younger brother, is supposed the the place where Maha Mrityun Japa (A Shiva mantra for Longevity) was created....

Mahamrityunjaya Temple at Jageshwar

 The Kedarnath Temple, is one of the most powerful temple of Lord Shiva... Its here that Adi Shankaracharya, one of the most powerful Guru of Vedic Knowledge, left his body to merge with Shiva... the place is situated at the height of 4000 Mts in Himalaya and 13 KMs of beautiful trek to reach the temple, made me most ecstatic and the Shivalinga there is full of positivity and blessings...

Kedar Nath temple - Himalaya

 This Shiva Linga on the banks of Holy River ganges at Patna - Bihar, faces the most beautiful expanse of serene and elegant river...

Shiva Linga at Patna

This Kubernath temple, near my village in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, has been a place where my spirituality took roots since childhood...

Kuber Nath Temple - Kushinagar

Known as Kashi of south, Kaanchipuram is a famous temple town near Chennai. The mango tree in the background is supposed to be the desecndant of the tree from the Vedic Era. Its said that the tree's four branches gives different type of fruit and hence is associated with the four Vedas...

Kanchipuram Temple

 A beautiful trek in the forest, above the Temple town Jageshwar, is the Brihad Jageshwar Temple... where its said that Yogi's from Himalaya come to perform Tantrik Sadhana's and Meditation... A powerful and lovely place...

Brihad Jageshwar Temple

 Its believed that where the Holy Ganges is, there will be Lord Shiva. In Hindu Scriptures, its said that when Ganga was asked to descend from heaven, Lord Shiva offered to bear her fall, due to the request and prayers of Bhagirathi... The Deva Prayaag is the place, where Alaknanda & Mandakini meet and then move on to the plains of India, known as Holy River Ganges....

Deva Prayaag - The confluence

The Rishikesh, popularly known as Deva Bhoomi (The land of Gods) and some call it, Spiritual Campital of the world, is a place, where I am at my most content self. Each and every thing about the place, gives you energy... if you just take a break from the chaos of mind and live in that present moment... in 'now'

(Click here to walk with me in and around Rishikesh...)

With my friend, in whose cave on the banks of Holy Ganges,
I spent few days and night, in meditation, rituals and Mantra Yoga

Hope that this walk with me, on such an auspicious day, gives you the sense of connection with that cosmic soul and permeates within you the contentment, bliss and happiness... May Lord Shiva bless you with health, wealth and Happiness in years to come.

Leaving you with lamp of light from the new year meditation at Sivananda Ashram Rishikesh..

(Click here to hear powerful Shiva Mantra)

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ॐ नमः शिवाय 

Om Namah Shivaya

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Neel Kanth Mahadev Temple - Rishikesh