Diwali: Illumination

 Hey all! Been almost a month... Wow, seems like ages since I wrote. Urm... today I'd like to explain the importance of Diwali, i.e. the Indian Christmas and it's waaaaaaaaay cooler than the conceptual christmas. To begin with, the Indian food and the Indian clothing (du'uh, always the best and awesomeness). Then, fireworks, vedic chants, warmth, colors, lights, brightness illumination... Happiness. That's what Diwali's about. Like, christmas is just a meal, a few gifts and some lights, but Diwali is welcome to the new, clean up and suspension of the dark. What's more awesome is, it's a little after halloween, and a little before christmas. So yay! Celebration.

Okay, now that I've talked about why Diwali's so awesome, I might get on to telling on what it actually is. Diwali's referred to as the festival of lights. The Hindu people decorate their houses with lights, diyas, candles, flowers, rangolis (colored pattern made out of powdered color on ground) to make everything seem bright and awesome. We start the festivity from a week before with cleanup and disposal of waste. Waste is evil and occupies the productive space, so that way we're giving space to the God within us to come out.

Next step goes three days before Diwali when the new is bought, followed by the prayer of books. Now, the new is bought to reward oneself for bringing out the inner goodness and aslo, it's the day of donation. The prayer of books is the prayer of wisdom. The books have heard enough to be able to speak out the stories, therefore we are worshipping the onseeker of knowledge.

Now, clean up, rennovation, finishing takes a heck load of time, so a week of clean up should do it. Then finally it's Diwali! Yay! Everyone gets Indian sweets, everyone dressed in Indian clothes, everyone prayed the Vedic way, everyone lights a lot of lights and yay fireworks! Moreover, there's a Diwali special sweet called gujia. Awesome-ish enough, we people actually like the taste of feast. Diwali is all about giving, you see, so go give gifts to loved ones, to unloved ones and be polite to even your arch enemies, which I believe should be there through out the year so that there's no hatered in this world of ours. We live in the Vedic period of Kalayuga, where our inner God is losing itself. Let us speak words of kindness and put forward hearts of compassion to bring it out. =)

To why is it so important, is that it is the return of Sri Rama, the Indian God referred to as the Maryada Purushottama i.e. the man of highest regard with his wife Sita after fourteen years of living in a forest under the Aryan sect of discipline. After a victorious and virtuous battle of Karma of good over evil, he returns to his land of reign, Ayodya (i.e. the land where there is no war). His highness had been greeted with lights, and Diwali is said to be celebrated ever since.

Actually, the whole world's about happy endings. We never let our idols be in peril in a story and always manage to save them with nothing short of miracles, practically to awaken our inner faith system and make ourselves feel free and much more strong, with hope faith and love within us happening time and time again. Right now, I gotta finish last minute shopping with my mum, and then pray in the evening and, no this year I'm not bursting crackers, rather shooting them with my camera. Much love and happy Diwali everyone!

Hare Krsna

Krsna conciousness movement is taking place involuntarily on you. I swear, it's the truth!

By the way, hey everyone! Had an awesome exam sickened week, preparing for another sick class week next. First you take science, then you take insomnia, then you take health problems, and then you graduate. Damn it! Life is paranoid. But still beautiful. Isn't that why we're still alive? At least that's so in the words of a friend I got to talk to after a long long time.

Krsna conciousness is an initiative by ISKCON, an organisation which is currently running AMAZING offering hope and life to many in the form of God and prayers under His Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupadhya. What's really amazing about them is that this guy, has worked with George Harrison, and many pioneer rockers of 70's, particularly the phsycadellic ones (which is indeed awesome).

How did I find it? Well it so happened some last month ago, mum was gonna drop me to school, as usual, in her car. She turned on the radio and there were chants you know... No not those ultimate hulladbaazi (noisy in a Ted Nugget way) chants. But a choir softly singing to the sound of a single acoustic guitar,

"Krsna Krsna Chaitanya
Krsna Chaitanya
Hare Krsna Hare Rama
Rama Rama"

And really that sounded like some acoustic soft rock riff which stays with you and keeps a certain smile even on the though of that. That was my first encounter to Krsna. When I came home, I tried to find that one particular. I ended up downloading a George Harrison album called "The Radha Krsna Temple" which had some REALLY good ones but not the one that I was looking for. I just can't find that particular version. But I did found some really cool facts on the Krsna conciousness movement.

For example, it all started with a Hinduism book gifted to him in Bahamas, and the quiet Beetle (George Harrison) gave some really amazing songs. Stuff like My Sweet Lord.


(Notice the Hare Krsna)



Try Reciting it at least once!



The japa of the Mahamantra, also known as the Hare Krsna mantra in popular culture actually induces happiness. Really, first it comes out of the well-it's-funny feeling. Then it goes to a this-sounds-somewhat-cool syndrome. Then it goes like, well-it's-fun stage. And then you feel happy about it.

The meaning of Krsna is all attractive. Wow! No wonder the Gopis were always fascinated with him.

Sri Krsna is the manipulator of right and wrong, the void between man and God, and the God of nothing. That's the imperfection in him, that he is so perfect.



No, I do NOT work for this movement, but just it fascinates me that people have been praying Krsna without knowing who he is. I do not worship him, but I just respect him and wish to see what Krsna's most raw state must have been. I am currently reading the SrimadBhagwadGita, which is a dialogue between Sri Krsna and Arjuna before the war of Mahabharata. Now, I know it's mythologic, but there's historical evidence to that. Moreover, 95% of the things in the scriptures are highly personified and waaaaaaaay to metophoric. For example, the god of skies closed the clouds so that the Kauravas thought it was getting dark and time to stop the battle. However, it was just a lot of horses running therefore creating a sand cloud.

Srila Prabhupadhya has a lot to offer on Krsna. Try googling him, you'll find a HECK lot of interviews, and go through some. You'll be fascinated, perhaps as much as I am.

That's pretty fascinating litterally, cuz Sri Krsna is what we all consist of, and what we all make together.

-Peace out!

Neetzi

The Collective Heritage

Let me tell you this before hand, for this one blog I did needed a bit of research because the most fragile issue in this planet is racism, especially regarded that to religion. Even in my heaven, India, this is the most heart breaking realities.

Okay I know that my blog might be read by a few people who refer to themselves belonging to the category "Hindus". I mean, following the religion. History has it that the belonging of hindutva or the Aryan religion dates back to some 7500B.C. who came from the coasts of Caspian Seas, to settle in the sub Indian continent. I am not here to give a history lesson, but the words "Hindu" and "Hindustan" came to origin when a Mouslem invader, Babur invaded the country. The reason the four basic Hindu religions have the same Gods is because of the collective belonging. Really, sorry to pop your bubbles you racists, but Hindu is the term to anyone living in Hindustan. Not JUST some preachers.

For past couple of days, I have been keeping tab on the unrest in the Kashmir valley, which is the most heartbreaking news I have come across. Kashmir, the once heaven, now fosters as the underbelly of unrest and terrorism. Practically because army isn't willing to let people "just be". They aren't worried over the future, because they see that they have no future. Is this the India we are trying to create?

Face it guys, we don't have a collective heritage. The Aryan vansha is supposed to be following the practice of the Vedas ever since it came to existence. And the Mouslem folk are supposed to be following the Koran (or Horan in pronunciation). Both have the same basic principles. For example, the Koran doesn't permit seven marriages, but only one marriage, however, it is acceptable in the society if you give shelter to the needy seven women. IT DOES NOT REFER TO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT!

Hindutva does NOT fit you in any caste by birth. You have to prove yourself to belong to somewhere. For example, I can be a Brahman only if I attain knowledge enough to be spread. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF THE WILL OF SOME GOD I AM BORN IN A HIGH CLASS FAMILY!

The worst thing is that the religious leaders of today are also preaching something that is for the collective good of a section as they claim, but the idea practically doesn't even do any good for the minority.

The reason I don't like the word God is that the wars happening in His name. My counter question that if God is such an advocate of love, why is there hatred in our hearts? Hate isn't the absence of love, rather the presence of a negative element, that can separate the one true bond, mother and child.

However, I am not an atheist. What I believe in isn't a religion. It's a collective heritage. I am a wanderer monk in my own ways. I only learn.My "God" is nature, the true chaos and the absolute truth that I have faith in. I wouldn't suggest anybody to follow my routes in life though, because everyone lead a different life.

But in my ways, I have found peace, freedom and certain things I can't tell. Maybe, because words are too small to express...

My new found freedom does bind me though. My religious unconventionalism, my mind make-ups stand out, maybe they are the ones binding me. At least they are better than being bounded to conventionalism.

So, sorry to pop all your bubbles and perceptions and preconceptions people, but the truth is truth.

Peace

--Neetzi