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Religious Ceremonies of Guru Nanak Dev Jaynati
‘Before becoming a Muslim, a Sikh, a Hindu or a Christian lets become a Human first’; this beautiful message of humanity was spread by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who had always inspired to become subservient to God leaving behind your religion, positions and name. The reverent founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born on 5th April 1469 at Roi-Bhoi-di Talwandi, presently in Pakistan. His birth anniversary is celebrated with enthusiasm and faith by his devotees on Kartik Puranmashi in the lunar month of November, every year.
Gurpurab:
The term Gurpurab came up at the time of Sikh gurus, where ‘Gur’ means ‘the spiritual teacher’ and ‘Purb’ means ‘Parva in Sanskrit or occasion’; so the holy occasion is to pay homage at the birth or death anniversary of Sikh Gurus.
Prior celebration ceremonies:
Prabhat Pheris i.e. the morning processions are organized few days before the festival, where devotees gather near Gurdwara and begin the procession by singing the devotional hymns and finally moves towards the home that has invited them for religious means. Prashaad is distributed among the sangat after the procession.
Three day festival:
The enthusiastic zestful festival is celebrated for three days in a row. Akhand path is performed in the Gurdwara that lasts for continuous 48 hours. It is also organized at the homes of devotees.
On the second day, a huge procession called ‘Nagar Kirtan’ is organized, led by Panj Piare (five senior and most lovable Sikhs). The Palki or palanquin is decorated with beautiful flowers and is the major attraction. The devotees singing hyms and devotional songs throughout the procession and martial arts are also performed known as ‘Gatka’.
Then finally on the main day, on the birthday date, Asa-di-Var (morning hymns) is began at around 4 am, which is followed by Katha (explanation of scriptures), reciataion of the poems and laurels of Guru. At around 2:00 pm, the celebration is followed by Ardaas and Guru ka langar. At some Gurdwaras, the night prayers are also done in which Rehras Sahib is recited followed by late night kirtan.
The devotees cherish the festival by cleaning and decorating the houses and fireworks are burnt to further rejoice. The festival is mainly celebrated in India, Pakistan and few parts of England.
Cherishing the essence of Motherhood: Ahoi Ashtami
The day for mothers to shower the precious love upon their kids by fasting, for their happiness and prosperity is Ahoi Ashtami. A different version of Karva Chauth, this vrat is considered auspicious for mothers to keep her children healthy and happy. This festival symbolises the deep rooted love of Ma (mother) and her Mamta (motherhood), who not only nourishes an embryo in her womb but also feel connected as one soul to her child.
When is Ahoi Astami celebrated?
Ahoi Ashtami falls on the eighth day after full moon or Krishna Paksha in the Kartik month of Hindu calendar. It is generally observed four days after Karva Chauth or eight days before Deepawali. This festival is more prominent in northern part of India than others.
Relevance of Ahoi Ashtami:
According to our traditional rituals, it is said that once there was a lady who had seven sons. She went to the forest for getting soil for renovating her house. As she was digging the soil, suddenly the axe slipped from her hand and it hit a baby cub. The baby cub shouted with pain and died at the spot. The lady felt sorry and depressed but now there was nothing left, which she could transform. She went back home but the clouds of misery didn’t left her way and she lost her seven sons within a year. Later she confessed her pain and agony with few of her neighbours and they suggested her to perform the remorseful act. She prayed to Goddess Ashtami Bhagwati to get rid of her sins and null the effect of her deed. From then on, she was completely involved in praying to Ahoi Mata and kept fast on the Krishna paksha Ashtami. Goddess was pleased by her faithful devotion and forgave her for killing the cub. She even got her seven sons back, by the grace of Goddess. Since then, this tale is an inspiration for mothers to fast and pray to Ahoi Mata for the well-being of their children.
Procedure of Vrat:
Ladies wake up early morning before sunrise, eat something and then begin their fast till evening. The nirjalahaar (without food and water) vrat ends when the moon appears at night or few of them end it by seeing stars in the sky. An idol of Ahoi Mata is placed or painted on the wall. A bowl of water is kept on it and the red colour thread is twisted around the bow
l, smeared with turmeric. Story of Ahoi Mata is recited by the elderly lady of the house and everybody listens to her.
Special food items are prepared on this day like puris, halwa, boiled channa and jowar, etc depending upon the tradition. Sweets are offered to Goddess Ahoi and further distributed among the other family members. A garland of silver coins is also offered to Ahoi Mata and the coin keeps on increasing as further generations are added to the family.
This festival is an epitome of love and care of motherhood. It’s a celebration of cherishing the eternal bond between kids and mothers. This fast is just an occasion but actually it is a scientific process of personal development through which the selfless love is nurtured within beings and spreads the message of humanity among the world.
Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja
Improve love, luck and destiny – Why should you worship during Navratri?
Every festival has its relevance and it’s better to know and believe rather than just follow it. Similarly the nine nights of Navratri has a hidden story behind them which varies according to the belief in varied parts of India.
North India:
The North Indians hold the belief that the violent devil Mahishasura was the faithful worshipper of Lord Shiva. He adored him for years and finally achieved the fruit of eternity. On obtaining immense power, his evil energies became prominent and his ego made him feel that he can conquer all the three worlds. The devil carried on with his cruelty and evil deeds for long, which finally disturbed the Gods and other deities, as he challenged them too. Helpless innocent people along with all the other Gods pleaded the supreme power of Lord Brahma, Lords Vishnu and Lord Shiva to take some urgent action. The divine power gathered all their Shaktis together which lead to the birth of beautiful female warrior Goddess Durga. Mahishasura lost control over his emotions and felt in love with the beauty of Goddess Durga. He proposed her for marriage and Ma Durga accepted his proposal on a condition. She kept a clause that she will marry him only if he wins her in a battle. As lost in love and his pride, he accepted the condition and was sure about his victory. The fierce battle between them continued for about nine nights and finally on the ninth night, Goddess Durga beheaded demon Mahishasura. The beheading of Mahishasura symbolise the cutting down of our evil devilish qualities which resides within us. It inspires us to get rid of these traits and inculcate positive qualities otherwise our condition will be similar to Mahishasura. The tenth day is celebrated to glorify the power of goodness and spread the message around. These nine nights of struggle is the period of navratri which is considered auspicious by Hindus.
East India:
This belief holds the story about the beautiful and dedicated daughter of King of Himalayas, Daksha. Uma was madly engrossed in worshipping Lord Shiva and wanted him to accept her as his consort. She performed severe penance for several years and finally pleased by her devotion, Lord Shiva married her. Uma’s father was against their marriage and he never wanted his daughter to reside in Mount Kailash with Shiv ji. One day Daksha organized a huge yagna and invited everybody except Lord Shiva. This news irritated Uma and she went to her father, who was answerable for this insult. When she reached there, she heard her father insulting lord Shiva. This was against her self-respect and she jumped into the fire of yagna and united with eternity. She was named as Sati from then on. Later Sati took rebirth as Goddess Parvati and married Lord Shiva again. So every year Uma along with Ganesh, kartikeya, Saraswati and Lakshmi and her two friends named Jaya and Bijaya; comes to visit her parent’s home when Durga Puja is celebrated.
Another major belief is from the Hindu epic, Ramayana which says that Lord Rama worshipped the nine forms of Goddess Durga for nine days to achieve immense positive strength for ending the cruelty of Ravana. So the tenth day marks the end of evil Ravana which is still celebrated by burning huge effigies of Ravana on Dusshera.
For rejuvenating your mind, body and soul along with immense blessing of Ma Durga, book your puja package now- http://www.shubhpuja.com/Navratri-puja-depid-359796-page-1.html
Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja
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