A Journey To Discover Life

Mahashivratri: The Night of Shiva. It's Story, Significance & Spiritual Meaning: Har Har Mahadev! This powerful chant means Mahadev resides in all of us. On Mahashivratri, this eternal truth is celebrated by millions across the world, as the cosmos itself feels the blessings of Shiva. The Sacred Night: Legend of Mahashivratri On the 14th night before the new moon of the Phalgun month, a transformative event occurred in the ancient lore of Hindu Dharma: Lord Shiva married the Daughter of the Mountain, Parvati. This night became known as Mahashivratri , the great night of Shiva. This was the night when the ascetic, the great yogi who cared for none, embraced the life of a householder for the second time, showing that both renunciation and worldly responsibilities are valid paths for spiritual growth. The celestial wedding of Shiva and Parvati brought together all beings of the universe. Devas, Asuras, Ganas, Yakshas, and Nagas , beings from all realms and walks of life, ce...

  Navaratri , The Nine Days Dedicated to the Nine Forms of  Goddess Adi Shakti . In different parts of India, the traditions of the Navratri are quite different from one another. But the celebration is the same. The celebration of the  Mother Goddess, The Woman, The Protector, The Slayer of Evil. Durga Puja is celebrated for four days in Bengal during the same time. Day 1: The worship of Goddess Shailputri She, in this Avatar, is the Daughter Of The Mountains. Parvati, a reincarnation of Sati, was born to King Himalaya and his wife Meneka and was the sister of Goddess Ganga and Mount Mainak. In this avatar, she is unmarried and seen making a journey on Nandi, the Bull, Shiva's ride. This reflects the fact that she is making a journey from her Father to her Husband, thus from maidenhood to womanhood. Her white clothes are a symbol of the purity of her heart and soul. Nandi reflects the calm nature of this goddess; however, she also holds a trident as a mark of he...

Shiva - Sati/Parvati:  The Destroyer of the Trinity, the supreme God of Gods, was a loner, vagabond, refusing to settle down and be tied down by earthly relationships. Enters Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksha of Kankhal. At such a young age, her love moves everyone except her father. The reluctant Shiva had to answer her calls, and for the first time, somebody wanted to marry him as a boon. What followed was wrath between Shiva and Daksha, a clash of egos that ended the soft maiden Sati's life. She chose death after overhearing her father insult her husband. Shiva's sorrow turned to the angry tandav that destroyed the world. He roamed around as a vagabond again, this time with a broken heart!  A few years passed by in her memory as he roamed the land of Aryavarta, making a Linga at every Sati Peeth beside her. In that way, this time, he will always be there by her side to protect her. Enters Parvati, the daughter of Parvat Raj. She was believed to be Sati reborn by everyo...

The King of Devas and Devguru Brihaspati were travelling to Kailash to meet the holy Lord. On the way to the Jungle, they met a naked man deep in meditation. The vain King asked the man the way. The man was so deep in his meditation that he did not reply. Fierce at this kind of humiliation, the God of Thunderstruck the man with it. The man opened his hand and neutralised the bolt. His third eye opened in rage, paralysing the King of Devas. However, he controlled his anger and instead of turning the King to ashes, the energy from his third eye met the Oceans. " Prabhu? Forgive Indra, for he did not know who you were."  Brihaspati pleaded. " DevGuru. This is my Kailash, where no man is greater than the other. He is not the king here. He should treat a man like he wants to be treated." " Please forgive him, My Lord."  The ever-forgiving Bholenath smiled. Miles away from the God of the Oceans, Samudradev found a baby. His wails were disturbingly loud. It did n...

  This is more of a personal account of one of our family stories, and the reason we are ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. We mythologically trace our roots to the age of Ramayana, as descendants of Sage Vasistha's lineage from Sage Saktri, while historically we have records of our immediate family as early as the time of Babur and that of our ancestors from Kanauj. Family Origins: This was Gaur Banga or Bengal. My forefathers lived in the Jessore district of present-day Bangladesh. They were descendants of Shaktri, the son of Ved Vyas, whose family lived in Kanauj, U.P., and we are direct descendants of Sage Vasistha, who taught Rama the Vedas. The Shaktri clan travelled from the Vasistha Ashram near the River Beas to Kanauj in UP ( Present Uttarakhand) to teach and practice medicines there. They were Vedic-age Vaidyas. They were learned people of the Brahmin class trained to cure difficult diseases. Pandit Saktridhar Sen and his family were invited to King Adhisur's court in Ben...

High in the mountains of Tibet in the Himalayas lies   Mt. Kailash,  around the dry slopes of the Himalayas that wear a bare look quite different from the evergreen valleys in other parts of the mountain range. From  Mt.   Kailash   at a distance to the left, one can spot the   Manasarovar  with its natural beauty, quite contrasting to the surrounding environment.  The environment itself seems spiritual enough away from the evils of the real world, even today. Nearby, there is a Buddhist monastery. But thousands of years before the birth of  Gautama Buddha,  there resided local tribes in this land. They struggled with basic everyday necessities of food and shelter, and fought nature daily to sustain their lives. The mountains had forests and available food then, different from what it is today. Their leader was a man of bravery and spirituality so high that they called him "  Lord of the land". His self-taught ar...