Diwali Wishes

May this festival of lights bring ever-increasing HESH factor in you lives.(HESH-Health-Excellence-Success-Happiness)

 

During Diwali , all of us generally take the following actions ---

(i)Cleaning of our house and removing the waste  

(ii) Bringing new useful  things

(iii) Lighting of lamps/illumination 

(iv) joyful celebration 

(v) meeting relatives friends

 

This  Diwali , let us start similar process for our inner self , our own behavior /our own  nature--

 (i) Cleaning of our belief system for minimizing weaknesses in our behavior -(ALGEA-EIL)-(5+3)

(Anger-Lust-Greed-Ego-Attachment)- (Envy-Ignorance-Laziness)

 (ii) Include  new human qualities (strength) in belief system &  our behavior  -(10+3)

1.Dhriti (Patience )

2.Kshama (Forgiveness)

3.Dam(Control of Mind)

4.Astey (Non-stealing)

5.Shouch (Inner Purity) 

6.Indriya -Nigrah(Control of Senses ) 

7.Dhee (Wisdom)

8.Vidya (Knowledge)

9.Satyam(Truth)

10.Akrodho ( Absence of Anger)

11.Karuna(Compassion)

12.Seva (Service of Needy)

13.Maun-Shanti(Silence-Peace)

 (iii) Lighting of lamps/illumination - Knowledge - Living Life of Awareness -(Hosh Mai Jiyo)

 (iv) Joyful celebration - Joy in everyday life- (Josh Mai Jiyo)

 (v) Life of empathy /compassion -(Prem Mai Jiyo)

 

Let us hold daily introspection  meeting with "myself" for 15-30 minutes to review and ensure good progress in the above action so as to ensure continuous improvement in our own  life.

Wish HESH

H: HEALTH. 

E:EXCELLENCE

S:SUCCESS.

H:HAPPINESS   

Happy Dasara!- the festival of victory of good over evil & Excellence over average performance.

Let us give this day a special meaning in our lives as day of "Victory of Excellence in our lives" leading to high HESH life for us ,our families ,our institutions and our country.

Excellence-

      i.        Excellence in physical dimension      (body)  --  Health- High PQ

    ii.        Excellence in intellectual dimension  (brain)   -- Success  at work place-High IQ

   iii.        Excellence in emotional dimension    (mind)  -- Happiness in life &good relationships - High EQ

Hence ,we can lead a high HESH life (HESH= Health-Excellence-Success-Happiness)

by making excellence an integral part of our personal life , family life and professional life.

Identify our strengths and ensure best utilization for meeting our key goals

Identify our weaknesses and ensure minimum impact of  these on our key goals.

Hindu Ritual - Why do we fast?

Most devout Indians fast regularly or on special occasions like festivals. On such days they do not eat at all, eat once or make do with fruits or a special diet of simple food.
Fasting in Sanskrit is called upavaasa. Upa means "near" + vaasa means "to stay". Upavaasa therefore means staying near (the Lord), meaning the attainment of close mental proximity with the Lord. Then what has upavaasa to do with food?
A lot of our time and energy is spent in procuring food items, preparing, cooking, eating and digesting food. Certain food types make our minds dull and agitated. Hence on certain days man decides to save time and conserve his energy by eating either simple, light food or totally abstaining from eating so that his mind becomes alert and pure. The mind, otherwise pre-occupied by the thought of food, now entertains noble thoughts and stays with the Lord. Since it is a self-imposed form of discipline it is usually adhered to with joy
Also every system needs a break and an overhaul to work at its best. Rest and a change of diet during fasting is very good for the digestive system and the entire body.
The more you indulge the senses, the more they make their demands. Fasting helps us to cultivate control over our senses, sublimate our desires and guide our minds to be poised and at peace.
Fasting should not make us weak, irritable or create an urge to indulge later. This happens when there is no noble goal behind fasting.
The Bhagavad-Gita urges us to eat appropriately - neither too less nor too much - yukta-aahaara and to eat simple, pure and healthy food (a saatvik diet) even when not fasting.

[Src: Hindu Rituals Handbook.pdf]

Hindu Ritual - Why do we do NAMASTE?

Indians greet each other with namaste. The two palms are placed together in front of the chest and the head bows whilst saying the word namaste. This greeting is for all - people younger than us, of our own age, those older than friends, even strangers and us.

There are five forms of formal traditional greeting enjoined in the shaastras of which namaskaram is one. This is understood as prostration but it actually refers to paying homage as we do today when we greet each other with a namaste.

Namaste could be just a casual or formal greeting, a cultural convention or an act of worship. However there is much more to it than meets the eye. In Sanskrit namah + te = namaste. It means - I bow to you - my greetings, salutations or prostration to you. Namaha can also be literally interpreted as "na ma" (not mine). It has a spiritual significance of negating or reducing one’s ego in the presence of another.
The real meeting between people is the meeting of their minds. When we greet another, we do so with namaste, which means, "may our minds meet," indicated by the folded palms placed before the chest. The bowing down of the head is a gracious form of extending friendship in love and humility

The spiritual meaning is even deeper. The life force, the divinity, the Self or the Lord in me is the same in all. Recognizing this oneness with the meeting of the palms, we salute with head bowed the Divinity in the person we meet. That is why sometimes, we close our eyes as we do namaste to a revered person or the Lord – as if to look within. The gesture is often accompanied by words like "Ram Ram,” "Jai Shri Krishna", "Namo Narayana", "Jai Siya Ram", "Om Shanti" etc - indicating the recognition of this divinity.

When we know this significance, our greeting does not remain just a superficial gesture or word but paves the way for a deeper communion with another in an atmosphere of love and respect.

[Src: Hindu Rituals Handbook.pdf]

Hindu Rituals - Why do we have a PRAYER ROOM?

Most Indian homes have a prayer room or altar. A lamp is lit and the Lord worshipped each day. Other spiritual practices like japa - repetition of the Lord’s name, meditation, paaraayana - reading of the scriptures, prayers, and devotional singing etc are also done here. Special worship is done on auspicious occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and the like. Each member of the family - young or old - communes with and worships the Divine here.

The Lord is the entire creation. He is therefore the true owner of the house we live in too. The prayer room is the Master room of the house. We are the earthly occupants of His property. This notion rids us of false pride and possessiveness.
The ideal attitude to take is to regard the Lord as the true owner of our homes and us as caretakers of His home. But if that is rather difficult, we could at least think of Him as a very welcome guest. Just as we would house an important guest in the best comfort, so too we felicitate the Lord’s presence in our homes by having a prayer room or altar, which is, at all times, kept clean and well-decorated.

Also the Lord is all pervading. To remind us that He resides in our homes with us, we have prayer rooms. Without the grace of the Lord, no task can be successfully or easily accomplished. We invoke His grace by communing with Him in the prayer room each day and on special occasions.

Each room in a house is dedicated to a specific function like the bedroom for resting, the drawing room to receive guests, the kitchen for cooking etc. The furniture, decor and the atmosphere of each room are made conducive to the purpose it serves. So too for the purpose of meditation, worship and prayer, we should have a conducive atmosphere - hence the need for a prayer room.

Sacred thoughts and sound vibrations pervade the place and influence the minds of those who spend time there. Spiritual thoughts and vibrations accumulated through regular meditation, worship and chanting done there pervade the prayer room. Even when we are tired or agitated, by just sitting in the prayer room for a while, we feel calm, rejuvenated and spiritually uplifted.

[Src: Hindu Rituals Handbook.pdf]

Hindu Rituals - Why do we light a LAMP?

In almost every Indian home a lamp is lit daily before the altar of the Lord. In some houses it is lit at dawn, in some, twice a day – at dawn and dusk – and in a few it is maintained continuously - Akhanda Deepa. All auspicious functions commence with the lighting of the lamp, which is often maintained right through the occasion.
Light symbolizes knowledge, and darkness - ignorance. The Lord is the "Knowledge Principle" (Chaitanya) who is the source, the enlivener and the illuminator of all knowledge. Hence light is worshiped as the Lord himself.

Knowledge removes ignorance just as light removes darkness. Also knowledge is a lasting inner wealth by which all outer achievement can be accomplished. Hence we light the lamp to bow down to knowledge as the greatest of all forms of wealth.
Why not light a bulb or tube light? That too would remove darkness. But the traditional oil lamp has a further spiritual significance. The oil or ghee in the lamp symbolizes our vaasanas or negative tendencies and the wick, the ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vaasanas get slowly exhausted and the ego too finally perishes. The flame of a lamp always burns upwards. Similarly we should acquire such knowledge as to take us towards higher ideals.

Whilst lighting the lamp we thus pray:
Deepajyothi parabrahma
Deepa sarva tamopahaha
Deepena saadhyate saram
Sandhyaa deepo namostute
I prostrate to the dawn/dusk lamp; whose light is the Knowledge Principle (the Supreme Lord), which removes the darkness of ignorance and by which all can be achieved in life.

[Src: Hindu Rituals Handbook.pdf]