Sanaa's Musings

  Thanksgiving is an ancient harvest festival celebrated around the globe. People have long held celebrations, for example, to express their gratitude for successful harvests of food.The purpose of many of these early harvest festivals was to please the gods or spirits that were believed to control the growth of corn and other crops. A lot of early cultures believed that if the gods were happy, the harvest would be large. But if the gods were angry, crops wouldn’t grow and possible starvation would follow. People have long held celebrations, for example, to express their gratitude for successful harvests of food. Baisakhi and Lohri are a few Indian festivals that are similar to this. The ancient Egyptians celebrated a festival in April, the time of the grain harvest, to honor Min, the god of fertility. The festival began with a parade to Min’s shrine in which the Pharaoh (a ruler in ancient Egypt) often joined, followed by religious ceremonies: music, dancing, and a feast. The anci...

  Diwali is coming soon, which reminds me the significance of the 5 days. This year, in 2022, the 5 days of Diwali last from October 22nd to October 26th. Navratri and Dusherra (5th October 2022) signify the time when Ram killed Ravan. And after 15 days, Diwali comes, which was the time Ram returned to Ayodhya with Sita.  The first day of Diwali is called Dhanteras. Dhanteras is the festival of wealth and prosperity. People purchase new things and worship Goddess Laxmi and Lord Kuber on this auspicious day. Dhanvanthri, who is also worshiped on the occasion of Dhanteras, is considered the God of Ayurveda who passed on the wisdom of Ayurveda for the advancement of mankind, and to help get rid of the suffering of diseases. He is considered to be the Vaidya of Gods. He emerged during the Samudra Manthan holding the Amrit Kalash [elixir pot] in one hand and all the knowledge of Ayurveda in the other hand. Dhanteras is observed as "National Ayurveda Day" The second day of Diwali...

Today on the first day of Navratri, I remember our trip to Vaishnav devi fondly.  My long-awaited dream trip to Vaishno Devi finally came true in July this year. Vaishno Devi was an incarnation of a mix of Kali, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati.A few days ago, my mom and I went to Jammu to get the darshan of Vaishno Devi. It was long upon the Trikuta mountains, 5200 feet high. The mountains are named after her name. Vaishno Devi as a child would go to the mountains every night to help and feed the villagers living there. But she didn't want to reveal her identity as a princess which is why she told the villagers that her name was Trikuta.  Our journey started on a very foggy and cold morning. We went up on a horse for the first half of the mountain and took a car for the next half to reach the top. When we reached, we saw the Ardhkuwari cave where Vaishno Devi had hidden for nine months when Bhairavnath had come to entice her.  He was considered to have control over all Tantrik...

  Today is a very special day. Today was the day when the river Ganga had first come on earth. Today is also known as Annapurna’s birthday. Indeed, today is Akshay Tritiya, marks the first day of Treta and Satya yug. Treta Yuga, the second of the four yugas, started and the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Parshuram, was born. This day is considered to be one of the most auspicious occasions. It was on this occasion that Lord Krishna met his childhood friend Sudama. Also, it is believed that Maharishi Ved Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata, started narrating the epic to Lord Ganesh on this day. People celebrate Akshaya Tritiya to bring good luck to their lives. As per common belief, buying gold and properties on this day brings prosperity and wealth in the future. People observe a day-long fast during Akshaya Tritiya. Devotees perform puja and prepare "Akshate" (unbroken rice coated with turmeric and kumkum) to offer Lord Vishnu. They also prepare bhog for Lord Vishnu, Lord Ga...

Today is Mahashivratri. Today is the day when Shiva had performed the heavenly "Tandav" of creation. There are different stories of Mahashivratri. One is also that this was the day when Shiva and Parvati tied the knot. This festival also signifies love, passion, and togetherness in married life. Shiva and Shakti are two forms of one energy and it is only together that they stand complete or powerful. I remembered our visit to 64 yogini temple in November in Jabalpur where Shiv and Parvati are on a Nandi post their marriage. The temple was attacked by the Mughals but then a swarm of bees hit the soldiers and they couldn't destroy it further. A similar story resides in the Babulnath temple of Mumbai which I visited last year. It has a "Swayambhu" Shivling which was rebuilt many times beautifully. It is said that one shepherd called Babul observed that one of his cows would only give milk at one spot. He along with others attempted to discover the mystery of the sp...

Our trip to Goa was overdue. We had booked our tickets in April 2020 and had to cancel them when the first covid wave struck. Finally, we had a chance to go last month, after almost 2 years. Meeting relatives, visiting temples, and enjoying nature were what we had in mind.  Our temple list was also long. We visited the Vetal and Ravalnaath Panchayatans, Saptakoteshwar mandir, Duttamandir of Sakhli, and Aravli Vetaoba. I liked all the temples but my favorite one was the Redi Ganapati. Redi is on the Goa Maharashtra border.   The Redi Ganapati is a little different from other temples because the idol of Ganesha was not man-made, it has come out from the ground. It is called ‘Swayambhu’(self-made) because of that. It is 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. I will tell you the story behind it.   In 1976, there was a truck driver named Sadashiv Kamble who used to drive his truck from Redi to another place every day and return and sleep in Redi. Once he had a dream of Ganapati telling ...