Happy GudiPadva and Ugadi

Namaste Friends!

Wishing you all a very happy Gudipadva, Ugadi and happy new year named Jay. Yes! That’s the glory of Indian culture every Samvatsar has a name. This year’s name is Jay.

Bharateeya Culture has supreme importance to Adhyatma and Adhyatmic growth so the New Year celebrations are also divine. Gudipadva begins with the Gudi. Then we start reading the New Year Hindu Calendar which we call as Panchangam in the morning.

At the beginning of Panchangam, the directions are given about how to use it, for finding Muhurta, and daily Panchangam. Panch means five. Anga means part. So Panchangam means the five things about every day viz. Tithi means date according to Hindu Calendar, Var – means the day, Nakshratra, Karan and the Yog.

All the important information about the year is given in Samvatsar Fala which is supposed to read after worshiping Lord Ganesha. The Panchangam I am referring is Date Panchangam and it gives the calendar according to the Surya Siddhata matam. It’s really interesting to read and to know the incredible details of the Bharateeya Calendar, like the age of Lord Brahma, fourteen names of Manus, details of four Yugs – Kritayug, Tretayug, Dwaparyug and current Kaliyug. According to the calendar, Kaliyug has 432,ooo years, out of which 5115 are passed. Isn’t this information incredible? Many folks may reject this information by assuming it as a superstition. But what I believe is it is not possible to write all this information without any fail every year just by imagination. And, even if we can’t believe, research should be done to find out how Surya Siddhanta Mat gives these details. The no. of years for every Yug is the same according to different Puranas. So, this also can’t be just the coincidence or superstition.                            

Another aspect given in the Samvatsar Fal is the prediction about this year, about rain, crops, development and about the life of people. The nine Graha –planets have nine portfolios just like different ministers handling different responsibly and one planet is their chief.  This year it’s Moon. Isn’t this amazing? Every planet has its nature and predictions are based on it. So if we know which planet is going to handle which responsibility and who the chief of them is every year, we can find the general predictions. I am not an expert in Astrology, but I find these predictions logical, they have rules which are based on the thousands of years’ study, observations and calculations. So the Yajnya or Shantis performed to improve the situation like Raining, Agriculture for the country may work. (I am using the word ‘may’ because, I am not expert and can’t give expert opinion, but I am giving my observations and the logic behind it.)  

                                                                                                                                                           

With the beginning of the Bharateeya New Year, Vasantik Devi Navaratri and Shriram Navaratri also begin. So, from today, the next eight days are divine, we can observe different Vratas like Ramacharitmanas Parayana, Devi  Saptashati Path, Ramraksha Pathan, Chanting of Bhagwanji’s name, Maun and Fast. Any one or two of the above Vratas can be observed taking the time constraints into consideration. Also, I don’t think, Sadhakas should go for very difficult Vratas if they don’t have the practice to observe or those which may affect the health like the Vrata – Nine days’ Fast. We have our daily duties and professional work so everything is not possible, but whatever little we do with the love and devotion, Bhagwanji loves it.

Apart from the spiritual and astrological aspect, there is something for the health and prosperity in this celebration. We eat pills made from Neem leaves and its flowers. These pills have Salt, sugar, asafetida, mustard seeds, and tamarind. These are very easy to make and tasty to eat with the bitter taste of Neem and the sweetness of Sugar. I know, Neem is good for the health but according to Panchagam, these pills are good for prosperity too.

Life is full of sweet and bitter moments. I feel this Neem plus sugar and tangy tamarind gives us message to stay smiling and enjoy every moment. Every moment in life can be sweet or bitter but we can make the life happy always if we learn to live with a smile.

So begin this new year with the worship of Lord Ganesha and enjoy the beauty of life….:)

Wishing you all Happy New Year once again.

Celebrate the day with a beautiful poem dedicated to the Gudipadva - 

First Day of the Universe

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