Karva Chauth, A Reminder of a Dedicated Relationship

Karva Chauth is an annual one-day festival celebrated by married women. Married women keep a strict fast from sunrise to moonrise and do not take even a drop of water for the safety, longevity and prosperity of their husbands. The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon in the month of Kartik (Hindi Lunisolar Calendar).  Karva is another word for diya (small earthen oil-lamp) and chauth means 'fourth' in Hindi. The festival also coincides with the wheat-sowing time (i.e. the beginning of the Rabi crop cycle). Big earthen pots in which wheat is stored are also sometimes called karvas, so the fast may also have begun as a prayer for a good harvest in this predominantly wheat-eating region. Women awake to eat and drink (Soot feni or Sargi) just before sunrise. It is traditional for the sargi or feni and Karva to be sent or given to the woman by her mother-in-law. If the mother-in-law lives with the woman, the pre-dawn meal is prepared by the mother-in-law. This ritual helps to understand the importance of both daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. It strengthens the relationship between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.

Women decorate themselves like bride on that day. Preferably, they used the bridal sari or choli-lahanga of red, golden or orange in color. Each fasting woman lights an earthen lamp in her thali while listening to the Karva story. Sindoor (vermillion), incense sticks and rice are also kept in the thali. They ensure that the earthen lamp should not extinguish. This is the embodiment of the life of husband and they are providing aegis to the same. The storyteller (usually older women or a priest) tells the story of Queen Veervati and Karva. Both Queen Veervati and Karva were the “pati vrta” (husband devoted) wives. The both legends reaffirm how their chastity and devotion towards husband brought back the life of their husband from Yama (the god of death). According to the region and community, women sing Karva song seven times. The number of Karva is also seven. In the legend of Queen Veervati, she had seven brothers. Seven… Seven … Seven…!! The number seven is the reminder of seven vows one has taken during marriage while circumambulating the fire seven times. This is a metaphor of seven lives bondage with the same husband and wife. However, there is nowhere mentioned in any authentic scriptures. The soul takes body according to its Karma. The soul is neutral, flesh is either female or male (Katha Upanishad).

The women await the rising of the moon. Once the moon is visible, depending on the region and community, it is customary for a fasting woman, with her husband nearby, to view its reflection in a vessel filled with water, through a sieve, or through the cloth of a dupatta. Water is offered (arka) to the moon (som or Chandra, the lunar deity) to secure its blessings. She then turns to her husband and views his face indirectly in the same manner. In some regions, the woman says a brief prayer asking for her husband's life. It is believed that at this stage, spiritually strengthened by her fast, the fasting woman can successfully confront and defeat death (personified by Yama).

Now the prayer has been completed for the longevity of husband, and the reminder of seven vows has also been done. Why moon in this picture ……?  Moon is very handsome and attractive among gods. Moon has reflected light. Moon is the husband of 27 wives (Nakshatra); they wait for their husband desperately. Moon is the deity of mind. The moon incantation or worship is done to control the mind. On the fast day, women desperately wait for moon to rise. There are only two things in the mind of women, one is husband and second is moon. It suggests that, the mind should be so controlled that there should be no other though in the mind rather than husband. And every reflection, she should see him only. The husband now takes the water from the thali and gives his wife her first sip and feeds her with the first morsel of the day (usually something sweet). The fast is now broken, and the woman has a complete meal. It is customary for the husband to make a gift to his wife, such as jewelry or a new dress.

Psychologically and pragmatically, man is grinded between wife and mother, if the conflicts take place at home between wife and his mother. Both are dear to man, and he does want to leave anyone, and want to see both happy. If wife is happy and mother is not or vice-versa, in both the cases man cannot be happy. In stress, tension, anxiety, a person neither lives more nor earns more. That is why, it is necessary to maintain all the relationship happy to ensure man`s (husband) life long, healthy and prosper.

Harbinger of Better Opportunity

  

A lateral engineer, Ramesh, joined an MNC through a vender, as a contractor. He was happy that he got a job with better payment. He wanted to continue his job and set a goal to be permanent with the company. He was performing with full of his capacity. Seemingly, everything was going good for him. He booked a bike and paying EMI for that. The education of his younger brother was on his shoulder. His family was not much financial strong; hence his job was very crucial for him. One day in the office, one work was assigned to him by his manger to create a report and send back to him. Actually, that was the manager`s task and responsibility to create and send to the higher management. But, he assigned to him and dictated “not to send the report directly to the higher management, it should go through me”. It was Friday, and on the same day, as instructed, he sent the report to the manager. But manager had left for the day and forgot to forward it to the intended management. That report was crucial for the Saturday. As expected, it became a huge escalation. The manager did not take the responsibility of his failure; rather he put everything on Ramesh. The management reprimanded the manager for his negligence, which was justifiable. But, the manager took it personally and out of arrogance, the manager took a step to sack him by wrongly mentioning Ramesh`s weak performance. He was a contractor, and his vender was also a small body shopping vender.

The day came when his termination was announced. Everyone was staggering, as the worst performers were surviving and how Ramesh got terminated. But no one could do anything, as it was not in the auspice of their authority. The manager flagrantly misused his power and authority and sacked him to satisfy his ego. It was tough for the vender to put him on other project or provide compensation to this employee without getting billing from the client. Anyway, the vender got ready to provide him one month salary, but could not recourse him to put on another project. The situation became grim for him.

Desperately, He started looking for a job. He attended interview for many small companies but of no use. During his struggle for a job, he got a call from a reputed company, and confronted the written test followed by the interview. He cleared the both, and as per company standard, he got the handsome salary, almost more than double what he was getting in his previous company as a contractor, along with lucrative other facilities. Within six months, he got an onsite opportunity, and the visit was successful. He booked a penthouse. Again after a few months, he got a long term onsite opportunity along with promotion. His life is well-settled now. He should thank to that manager, who took this decision to sack him. Meanwhile, he completed one more extra degree (MBA) from correspondence. The manager is still in the same company and struggling though to maintain his job and satisfy his ego.

There was a good intention behind his sack from the job. If he would have not been sacked, then he would have not been become so serious and sincere in searching a better job and enhancing his knowledge. Something momentary failure takes place in our life to provide something huge opportunity. The onus is ours to open our eyes to notice the opportunity and stretch our arms to embrace the same.

         

Yes, He Was Determined to Succeed

According to a legend in Vishnu Puran, Swayambhu Manu had two sons- Priyavrata and Utaanpaad. Utaanpaad had two wives- Suruchi and Suniti. Suruchi had a son- Uttam while Suniti had also a son- Dhruv. King Utaanpaad loved Suruchi more than he loved Suniti.One day the king was sitting on the throne. Prince Uttam was playing in his lap. Meanwhile Dhruv also arrived there and insisted to play in the lap of his father. At his insistence, queen Suruchi ridiculed that as he was not born to her he had no right to the king’s love, "so your insistence is useless. Though you are also a son of this king but this throne belongs to my son. Don’t you know that you have been born to Suniti."
      

Getting angry over his stepmother’s ridicules, Dhruv went to his mother. Suniti consoled her son and enquired about the reason for his anger. Dhruv narrated the whole thing to his mother. Suniti too got perplexed and said: "O son! Suniti speaks the truth but you don’t worry for no one can do away the virtues of your deeds that you performed in your previous birth. Hence you should not feel sorry over such petty things. If you feel really sorry by the words of your stepmother why don’t you try to gather virtues? Why don’t you try to be a gentle and altruistic person?" Thus consoled by mother Dhruv said- "Mother! Since now onwards, I will do every such thing so that I may attain the most respected position in the world. I am no longer desirous of getting a position granted by others. I will achieve the same position as my father has." Saying this Dhruv left the palace and the town and reached a dense forest.
  

In the forest, Dhruv met with seven mendicants and narrated the whole events and also that how his stepmother Suruchi ridiculed about his inferior position in the palace. Dhruv said-"O sages! I neither long for wealth or for the kingdom. I simply long to enjoy such a position that nobody have ever enjoyed earlier. Kindly help me and guide me what I should do to attain such a position." The sages guided him for the penance and worship of lord Vishnu. And said “It is imperative for a person, who wishes to worship Lord Vishnu that first of all, he should expel all other menial thoughts from his mind and replace them with the contemplation Lord alone”. The prince Dhruv greeted the sages and continued on his journey. In the forest, prince Dhruv decided to carry out his penance. As per the dictate of the sages, he began to recite the mantra continuously. Very soon, the earth began to move because of Dhruv’s severe penance. Even the seat of Indra could not remain stable. A stampede resulted among the gods. The gods then hatched a conspiracy to disturb the penance.
      

Various formidable acts were done by Indra to disturb his penance, But Dhruv was so much sunk in the contemplation of Lord Vishnu that he did not get disturbed by all these acts.Thus, seeing their all attempts failed. The gods decided to take refuge at Lord Vishnu. There they said- "O Lord! We have come to you perplexed by the severe penance of Dhruv the son of Utaanpaad. His penance is increasing like a waxing Moon. We are not sure if he desires for the position of Indra, Surya, Kuber, Varun or any other deity. But kindly remove our fears." Assuring the gods, the Lord said- "That boy has no desire for attaining the position of any deity. But I will definitely grant him whatever he desires. But all of you need not worry." The gods greeted the Lord and returned.

Ultimately pleased by the severe penance of Dhruv, Lord Vishnu appeared before him. At the completion of the prayer Lord Vishnu said- "O son! Your penance succeeds with my sight but my presenting a sight should also not go waste. So seek a boon of your desire." Dhruv said- "O Lord! Nothing is hidden from your divine sight. I started this severe penance out of desperation caused by the harsh words of my stepmother. She had ridiculed my insistence of playing in my father’s lap saying that as I was not born to her, I had no right to the king’s love. Hence, O Lord! I wish to attain such a position that could be the base of the entire universe." O son! I will definitely accord you the position that is excellent among all the three worlds. In future you will be the base of all the planets and all the constellations. I grant you a fixed position that is far above the Sun, the Moon, the planets, constellations, Saptarishis and all the gods who fly about in divine aircraft. Besides it, you will stay there for a complete Kalpa whereas even the gods do not stay in their position more than a single Manvantara. Your mother Suniti too will come to stay with you as a bright star for the same period of time. There she will stay on an aircraft. People will see you with faith for you will show them the right direction."

Thus receiving a boon from Lord Vishnu, Dhruv occupied a fixed position in the northern sky. Even the sage like Shukracharya praises Dhruv that how fortunate he is.... that even Saptarishis go around him? That pivotal position of Dhruv would continue even in the ages to come.

Dhruva could have chosen to fight with step-brother to have his own share, the way it was happened in Mahabharata. But he ignored to have the position set by others, he had desire to have his own unique position. He got desire. He took decision to have his desire fulfilled. He went for penance; it shows his dedication and discipline. Despite various disturbances, he did not give up, it was his determination. And ultimately he got his destination.

   

Sometimes, we are so involved in petty things that we do not recognize our tangible potential to do better in our life.  And the first step towards big leap in life is to expel all other menial thoughts from the mind and replace them with the contemplation of the goal. Belief is the crucial part of the achievement. Dhruva was inculcated with the firm belief that he will achieve his highest position and he did it. Without firm belief, you cannot have dedication and determination and hence debacle. A dubious mind cannot concentrate. If you are following the path of the successful person, you are going to reach there. And if you are following the path of dubious and futile person, you will also culminate with futile.We have heard that, we should not have any desire to have happy life. But practically, it is not possible for anyone to be without any desire. Desire is inevitable.  But what kind of desire we can foster, this can be controlled. At both kinds of desires good or bad, you are right. You can achieve you desire with your conviction and determination. But remember, you are only going to bear the consequences out of that. In the pursuit of your desire, you can get temporary hurdles, failure etc. This is quite natural to make you learn more during failures. The initial failure and struggle is the preparation for the strength to sustain the impending grand success. Have the best and fecund desire in your life and undaunted determination to achieve that, the way Dhruv did.

 

काली, दुर्गा और पार्वती - एक ही शक्ति के तीन विभिन रूप क्यों?

काली, दुर्गा और पार्वती ये तीनो ही शक्ति के विभिन्न  रूप है। शक्ति भगवान शिव की अर्धागिनिं है। 

माँ दुर्गा की पूजा हर साल फसल कटने से पहले की जाती है।दुर्गा का आह्वाहन महिषासुर नामक एक राक्षस का वध करने के लिए किया गया था।

 महिषासुर, ब्रह्मा से  वरदान पाने के लिए घोर  तपस्या करता है। तपस्या से प्रसन्न होकर ब्रह्मा महिषासुर को वरदान देते है कि - किसी भी पुरुष के हाथो उसकी पराजय नहीं होंगी। यह वरदान पाकर महिषासुर बहुत खुश होता कि  उसको तीनो लोको में कोई परास्त नहीं कर सकता । अपने इस वरदान का लाभ उठाकर तीनो लोको में अपना अत्याचार फैलाता  है।

सभी देवता भगवान् शिव के पास जाते है। शिव और सभी देवता अपनी-अपनी शक्ति से दुर्गा को सुशोभित  करते है, और अपना अस्त्र-शस्त्र  देते है, ताकि महिषासुर का वध किया जा सके। अन्तत: दुर्गा महिषासुर पर विजय प्राप्त कर लेती है। यह हमने पुराणो और कथाओ में पढ़ा और सुना है। प्रत्येक पर्व और पौराणिक कथा एक सन्देश से जुडी होती है।

प्रश्न उठता है कि  एक ही शक्ति के अनेक रूप और कार्य क्यों है? देखते है यह कथा हमें  क्या सन्देश दे रही है।
    

महिषासुर द्वारा घोर तपस्या, उसकी आत्म-बल और दृढ़ता को दर्शता है। वह अपने तपस्या से अजेय शक्ति भी प्राप्त करता है। लेकिन अपने शक्ति का उपयोग अधर्म कार्यो में नष्ट करता है। इसीलिए इसे असुरी शक्ति कहते है, और उसका उपयोग करनेवाला असुर। शक्ति अच्छी या बुरी नहीं होती, उसका इस्तेमाल करने वाला अच्छा या बुरा होता है। 

शक्ति से ही शक्ति को नष्ट किया जा सकता है। दुर्गा का प्रदुभाव देवताओ के शक्ति से हुआ। असुरी शक्ति का विनाश करने के लिए  दैविक शक्ति का असुरी शक्ति से ज्यादा शक्तिशाली होना जरुरी है। इसीलिए अनेक देवताओ ने अपनी-अपनी शक्ति दुर्गा को दिये।

आरंभ में, काली,जिनका रंग काला, नग्न शरीर, बिखरे बाल, गले में मानव खोपड़ी का माला, जिह्वा बाहर निकली हुई, हाथ में  खंजर लिए बहुत ही भयानक और खून की प्यासी दिखती है। ध्यान दे, जो काली के हाथ में खंजर है, वह आक्रामक तरीके से पकड़ा हुआ है। वह पुरे सृष्टि को नष्ट करने निकली है। 

वह शिव से शादी करना चाहती है, मगर शिव के इंकार से, वह काली का रूप धारण कर शिव को जगाने और अपना हक जताने के लिए, शिव के शरीर पर नृत्य करती है। काली के इस मंशा और देवताओ के अनुरोध से शिव अपना ध्यान तोड़ते है, और शक्ति से शादी करने का वादा करते है। 

शक्ति खुश हो जाती है, और दुर्गा बन जाती है। दुर्गा सुसंस्कृत हो जाती है। लाल  वस्त्र, सुनहरा रंग, बाल सजे और सवरे  हुए, लेकिंन बधे हुए नहीं, नाक में  नथनी। एक दुल्हन के भाँती लगती है। हाथ में खंजर है, लेकिन सुरक्षात्मक तरीके से पकड़ा हुआ। नाक में नथनी यानी समर्पण, अर्थात धर-गृहस्ती में प्रवेश करने को राज़ी। दुर्गा सिंह पे सवार है, बाल अभी बंधे नहीं, खुले हुए है। इसका मतलब, यदि शक्ति को उचित सम्मान नहीं मिला तो, वह फिर भयानक और खूंखार काली बन सकती है।

दुर्गा अपनी  शक्ति से महिषासुर का वध करती है, जो कि किसी पुरुष के वश की बात नहीं थी। महिषासुर जबरजस्ती दुर्गा से शादी का प्रयास करता है, यानि अपने वश में करने का प्रयास करता है, और दुर्गा उसका विनाश कर देती है, जो कि नारी शक्ति को दर्शाता है। 

जो भी प्रकृति ( दुर्गा ) को जबरजस्ती कब्ज़े में रखने का प्रयास करेंगा उसका विनाश निश्चत है। इसिलए हम उन्हें माँ के सिवाय किसी और  रूप में नहीं पूज सकते। महिषासुर का वध, यानि अपने अंदर छुपे असुर का वध। अब शक्ति अपने अंदर के विनाशक असुर का वध कर चुकी है। असुरो का वध, यह भी इशारा है कि फसल काटने का समय आ गया।असुर पताल लोक में रहते है,और फसल भी जमीन के नीचे से निकलती है।

अब शिव की शादी गौरी (अन्नपूर्णा) के रूप में शक्ति से हो जाती है।  शक्ति हरी साडी, बाल सजे-सवरे और बधे हुए,बिना किसी हथियार के| यह पूर्ण समर्पण के प्रतिक है। अब अन्नपूर्णा, माँ  के रूप में अपने बच्चो  को अन्न प्रदान कर रही है।
    

दुर्गा द्धारा  महिषासुर का नाश होने के पश्चात् ही, शिव, जो कि आत्मा और परमात्मा के स्वरुप है, शक्ति को प्राप्त होते है। नवदुर्गा का  अंतिम रूप सिद्धिदात्री  है।  आप सिद्धि तभी प्राप्त कर सकते है, जब आपके अंदर के असुर नष्ट हो चुके हो चुके होते है ,और दैविक शक्ति का आगमन हो चूका होता है।

अपने-आप को मिटा देना ही सिद्धि की प्राप्ति है, परमात्मा का मिलन है। अपने-आप को मिटाना, मतलब, अपने अंदर के असुरी प्रवृति और झूठे अहंकार को मिटाना, अपने अंदर के महिषासुर को मिटाना।