Friday, September 30, 2016

Pitri Paksha



--> Pitru Paksha , also spelt as Pitru paksha or Pitri paksha, - literally translated to  "fortnight of the ancestors"

 is a 16–lunar day period in Hindu calendar when Hindus pay homage to their ancestor(Pitrs), especially through food offerings.
 The period is also known as Pitru PakshyaPitri Pokkho,Sola Shraddha , JitiyaMahalaya Paksha and Apara paksha.




Legand:
 

According to Hinduism, the souls of three preceding generations of one's ancestor reside in Pitru–loka, a realm between heaven and earth. This realm is governed by Yama, the god of death, who takes the soul of a dying man from earth to Pitru–loka. When a person of the next generation dies, the first generation shifts to heaven and unites with God, so Shraddha offerings are not given. 
Thus, only the three generations in Pitru–lokaare given Shraddha rites, in which Yama plays a significant role.According to the sacred Hindu epics, at the beginning of Pitru Paksha, the sun enters the zodiac sign of Libra (Tula). Coinciding with this moment, it is believed that the spirits leave Pitru–loka and reside in their descendants' homes for a month until the sun enters the next zodiac—Scorpio (Vrichchhika)—and there is a full moon. Hindus are expected to propitiate the ancestors in the first half, during the dark fortnight.

When the legendary donor Karna died in the epic Mahabharata war, his soul transcended to heaven, where he was offered gold and jewels as food. However, Karna needed real food to eat and asked Indra, the lord of heaven, the reason for serving gold as food. Indra told Karna that he had donated gold all his life, but had never donated food to his ancestors in Shraddha. Karna said that since he was unaware of his ancestors, he never donated anything in their memory. To make amends, Karna was permitted to return to earth for a 15–day period, so that he could perform Shraddha and donate food and water in their memory. This period is now known as Pitru Paksha.In some legends, Yama replaces Indra.

Significance


The performance of Shraddha by a son during Pitru Paksha is regarded as compulsory by Hindus, to ensure that the soul of the ancestor goes to heaven. In this context, the scripture Garuda Purana says, "there is no salvation for a man without a son". The scriptures preach that a householder should propitiate ancestors (Pitris), along with the gods (devas), ghosts (bhutas) and guests. The scriptureMarkandeya Purana says that if the ancestors are content with the shraddhas, they will bestow health, wealth, knowledge and longevity, and ultimately heaven and salvation (moksha) upon the performer.
The performance of Sarvapitri amavasya rites can also compensate a forgotten or neglected annual Shraddha ceremony, which should ideally coincide with the death anniversary of the deceased. According to Sharma, the ceremony is central to the concept of lineages. Shraddha involves oblations to three preceding generations—by reciting their names—as well as to the mythical lineage ancestor (gotra). A person thus gets to know the names of six generations (three preceding generation, his own and two succeeding generations—his sons and grandsons) in his life, reaffirming lineage ties. 

 Anthropologist Usha Menon of Drexel University presents a similar idea—that Pitru Paksha emphasises the fact that the ancestors and the current generation and their next unborn generation are connected by blood ties. The current generation repays their debt to the ancestors in the Pitru Paksha. This debt is considered of utmost importance along with a person's debt to his gurus and his parents.




Sunday, September 25, 2016

Run for river - river Dahiser, world river day


Bet you did not know there is a river inside the park ,



Yes this is the river

and today 25th Sept is world river day  


A few interesting moments from the marathon that was today, at Sanjay Gandhi National Park   a good 265 runners,

Fun times indeed the winner clocked 10 km at 38 minutes approx.


The race starts out at 0630 hours 


Running is a chetana college student


                                                          the bare foot runner










                                                                  
                                                  The media team,


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

A teachers Dilema




AM teaching a course these days to students who are not from the best of schools,
Boy oh boy, it is true India’s education system is not as good as it use to be. How could it sink so low, is it the appeasement policy that does it ?

It really sucks n the students are not really prepared to take on the world. Yes they are not ready to be employed.


How can the country rise ?

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

The birds are saying


 Today is ganapaty visarjan
It is sending off of God Ganesh




We had him over on 5th and there was celebration for 10 days, n now
Today we are sending him off with fondness and love
On 15th sept

Some wonder why this process? Some debate the whole process

Well here is my take on this  -

Is this not what Life is
We are born  - (ganpati coming)
We live life joyfully  (the celebration)
And then we leave  (visarjan)



The watery way ahead


Saturday, September 10, 2016

whose fault is it anyway

What does a driver do


If you are a Indian and too lazy to drive your car, you have a driver who sleeps in the car in a odd posture, and damages his health and his time, wonder if a driver employer ever thinks about this factor at all?

Would you pay for his health issues that originates from this action, if not what would you suggest he does while waiting in the car for you ?



Tuesday, September 6, 2016

kolcutta



One is in Kolkata and it is but obvious when one sees fish being sold even on the footpaths all day long, the Bengali hunger for fish is just too funny and a huge drain on there pocket the only expense that a Bengali makes I feel other then alcohol. And cigarettes