Makar Sankranti (also known as Makara Sankranti) marks the transition of the sun into the zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path, which is the first change in the zodiac after the winter solstice. The festival is celebrated in various parts of the Indian subcontinent to observe the day which marks the shift of the sun into ever-lengthening days. The festival is a seasonal observance as well as a religious celebration. Makara Sankranti is a solar event making it one of the few Hindu festivals which fall on the same date in local calendars every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 15 January.
Who is Adiyogi Shiva: The First & Ultimate Zen Master
Questioner: Sadhguru, you place great importance in Shiva. Why didn’t other masters like Jesus, Buddha, or the Zen Masters mention or use him in their teachings?
Sadhguru: These questions and these thoughts are coming from a mindset which has grown in organized religions. We are not talking about Shiva versus somebody else because that you refer to as Shiva includes all these things that you are talking about. Just one little dimension, this or that they found out and they started talking about it and they became popular. I am not trying to belittle them; they are all wonderful human beings who’ve done great service to humanity. But I am saying in terms of perception, there hasn’t been another being like him. And perception is all that I value and that’s all you should value. Rest can be made up, rest is just frills.
So you are talking about Zen. What greater master than of Zen than Shiva himself? That somebody comes, his own son, he doesn’t get the point – you’ve heard of Gutei, the Zen Master? Gutei always did this (Gestures). He will be talking (Gestures), people look at it, ‘Okay why he is showing his finger to me?’ The thing is he is always trying to say everything is one, this is the teaching. Rest of what I say is not important, this is the teaching. So there was a little boy because in these Buddhists monasteries, Zen monasteries little boys become monks, four, five year olds. So the little boy who is growing up in the monastery, he saw Gutei and you know the boy takes to him. So this boy is going about (Gestures), if anybody says anything (Showing one finger), (Laughter) not this finger. (Applause) So he started doing this. So Gutei watched this. He waited for him to become sixteen. One day he called the boy and he did this (Gestures), the boy instinctively because he has been doing it all over the place, he also did this. He took out a knife and chopped off his finger and they say he attained. He suddenly saw the point that it’s not about one, it’s about nothing. (Applause)
Shiva went further long time ago. He came back from somewhere, he always carried a trishool – do we have a trishool here? No trishool in the hall? Hmm? They removed it? So trishool is a trident. He is always carrying the trident to show people there are three dimensions – yourself, your way of being, what you know and what you do not know, and what you do not know rules, not what you know. So one day he came back after a long break. He has not seen this boy, his son. Now he is ten, eleven years of age. When Shiva came, this boy is carrying a little trident, with that he tries to stop him. He looked at him and took off his head, not his trident. (Laughs) Then whatever drama happened and then he put another head, a Gana’s head on top of him and he became such a brilliant boy. Even today in India if people want to start education, anything first thing is they will worship this boy which that Gana has become gaja – a Gana’s head has become instead of Ganesha he’s become Gajesha now. They kind of modified it and made it into an elephant head but he became the very embodiment of intelligence and brilliance. They said there was nothing that he did not know.
Sadhguru: These questions and these thoughts are coming from a mindset which has grown in organized religions. We are not talking about Shiva versus somebody else because that you refer to as Shiva includes all these things that you are talking about. Just one little dimension, this or that they found out and they started talking about it and they became popular. I am not trying to belittle them; they are all wonderful human beings who’ve done great service to humanity. But I am saying in terms of perception, there hasn’t been another being like him. And perception is all that I value and that’s all you should value. Rest can be made up, rest is just frills.
So you are talking about Zen. What greater master than of Zen than Shiva himself? That somebody comes, his own son, he doesn’t get the point – you’ve heard of Gutei, the Zen Master? Gutei always did this (Gestures). He will be talking (Gestures), people look at it, ‘Okay why he is showing his finger to me?’ The thing is he is always trying to say everything is one, this is the teaching. Rest of what I say is not important, this is the teaching. So there was a little boy because in these Buddhists monasteries, Zen monasteries little boys become monks, four, five year olds. So the little boy who is growing up in the monastery, he saw Gutei and you know the boy takes to him. So this boy is going about (Gestures), if anybody says anything (Showing one finger), (Laughter) not this finger. (Applause) So he started doing this. So Gutei watched this. He waited for him to become sixteen. One day he called the boy and he did this (Gestures), the boy instinctively because he has been doing it all over the place, he also did this. He took out a knife and chopped off his finger and they say he attained. He suddenly saw the point that it’s not about one, it’s about nothing. (Applause)
Shiva went further long time ago. He came back from somewhere, he always carried a trishool – do we have a trishool here? No trishool in the hall? Hmm? They removed it? So trishool is a trident. He is always carrying the trident to show people there are three dimensions – yourself, your way of being, what you know and what you do not know, and what you do not know rules, not what you know. So one day he came back after a long break. He has not seen this boy, his son. Now he is ten, eleven years of age. When Shiva came, this boy is carrying a little trident, with that he tries to stop him. He looked at him and took off his head, not his trident. (Laughs) Then whatever drama happened and then he put another head, a Gana’s head on top of him and he became such a brilliant boy. Even today in India if people want to start education, anything first thing is they will worship this boy which that Gana has become gaja – a Gana’s head has become instead of Ganesha he’s become Gajesha now. They kind of modified it and made it into an elephant head but he became the very embodiment of intelligence and brilliance. They said there was nothing that he did not know.
What Is The Way of Shiva and Buddha
A questioner wonders, what is the difference between the way of Buddha and of Shiva? Sadhguru answers, it is not a question of difference, rather, of which aspect of Shiva that Buddha explored. He describes the way in which the spine of the spiritual process offered by Shiva was spread through the work of Agastya Muni, Buddha and others.
Yogi, mystic and visionary, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serves as a reminder that yoga is a contemporary science, vitally relevant to our times.
Yogi, mystic and visionary, Sadhguru is a spiritual master with a difference. An arresting blend of profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serves as a reminder that yoga is a contemporary science, vitally relevant to our times.
Significance of Vaikunta Ekadasi
Vaikuntha Ekadashi is the Shukla paksha Ekadashi that occurs during the Dhanur month in the Hindu calendar (corresponding to late December - January in English calendar).
Vaishnavism (Worship of Vishnu) culture believes that ‘Vaikuntha Dwaram’ or ‘the gate to Lord's Inner Sanctum’ is opened on this day. The Margashirsha shukla paksha ekadashi in lunar calendar is known as a 'Mokshada Ekadashi'. Special prayers, yagnas, discourses and speeches are arranged at Vishnu temples across the world on this auspicious day.
According to the Vishnu Purana, fasting on Vaikuntha Ekadashi is equivalent to fasting on the remaining 23 Ekadashis of the (Hindu) year. However, according to Vaishnava tradition fasting is mandatory on all Ekadashi of both Shukla paksha and Krishna paksha. Fasting on Ekadashi is considered holier than any other religious observation.
Vishnu opened the gate of Vaikuntham (his abode) for two demons in spite of their being against him. They also asked for the boon that whoever listens to their story and sees the image of Vishnu coming out of the door (called Dwar), called Vaikunth Dwar, will reach Vaikunth as well. Temples all over India make a door kind of structure on this day for devotees to walk through.
According to Padma Purana, the female energy of Vishnu slayed the demon Muran and protects the 'Devas'. This happened on the eleventh day of lunar month during the sun's journey in the Dhanurrashi or Dhanu Rashi. Impressed by the act, Vishnu names her as 'Ekadashi' and gives her the boon that those who worship 'Ekadashi' on the day of her victory over Muran would reach 'Vaikunth' (His abode).
Vaikuntha Ekadashi is one of the important and auspicious days for Hindus. It is dedicated to Vishnu. It occurs in the Hindu calendar, in the month of Margashirsha (between December and January). When observed, it bestows liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
According to the Vishnu Purana, fasting on Vaikuntha Ekadashi is equivalent to fasting on the remaining 23 Ekadashis of the (Hindu) year. However, according to Vaishnava tradition fasting is mandatory on all Ekadashi of both Shukla paksha and Krishna paksha. Fasting on Ekadashi is considered holier than any other religious observation.
Vishnu opened the gate of Vaikuntham (his abode) for two demons in spite of their being against him. They also asked for the boon that whoever listens to their story and sees the image of Vishnu coming out of the door (called Dwar), called Vaikunth Dwar, will reach Vaikunth as well. Temples all over India make a door kind of structure on this day for devotees to walk through.
According to Padma Purana, the female energy of Vishnu slayed the demon Muran and protects the 'Devas'. This happened on the eleventh day of lunar month during the sun's journey in the Dhanurrashi or Dhanu Rashi. Impressed by the act, Vishnu names her as 'Ekadashi' and gives her the boon that those who worship 'Ekadashi' on the day of her victory over Muran would reach 'Vaikunth' (His abode).
Vaikuntha Ekadashi is one of the important and auspicious days for Hindus. It is dedicated to Vishnu. It occurs in the Hindu calendar, in the month of Margashirsha (between December and January). When observed, it bestows liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Significance:
The significance of Vaikuntha Ekadashi is mentioned in the Padma Purana. The legend says that the Devas were unable to bear the tyranny of 'Muran', a demon, approached Shiva, who directed them to Vishnu. A battle ensued between Vishnu and the demon and Vishnu realized that a new weapon was needed to slay Muran. In order to take rest and create a new weapon, Vishnu retired to a cave named for the goddess Haimavati in Bhadrikashrama. When Muran tried to slay Vishnu, who was sleeping, the female power that emerged from Vishnu burned Muran to ashes with her glance. Vishnu, who was pleased, named the goddess 'Ekadashi' and asked her to claim a boon. Ekadashi, instead, beseeched Vishnu that people who observed a fast on that day should be redeemed of their sins. Vishnu thus declared that people who observed a fast on that day and worshipped Ekadashi, would attain Vaikuntha. Thus came into being the first Ekadashi, which was a Dhanurmasa Shukla Paksha Ekadashi.
The demon Muran stands for the Rajasic and Tamasic qualities in people, attributed to lust, passion, inertia, arrogance etc. When one conquers these tendencies, one attains the purity of mind, Satva, indispensable for attaining of moksha, the liberation or realization of the self. For realizing the self as pure awareness, purity of mind is required. Fasting helps to keep at bay tendencies which could be triggered by intake of certain foods. Keeping vigil in the night is symbolic of awareness, or being watchful of the contents of the mind. When the mind is looked at, it becomes still. To abide in the stillness is to attain freedom or peace, acquired through merging of the mind with the self. This is symbolic of the mind automatically being absorbed at the sight of Vishnu after the arduous fast and vigil.
The belief that rice is prohibited, because Muran dwells in it, symbolically signifies that the eating of rice makes one feel heavy and hampers the vigil. This signifies that entertaining negative tendencies could hamper one's progress towards awareness or consciousness. Observance of the rituals on this auspicious day even without understanding their importance is beneficial. Hence the merit accrued through observing them with piety is believed to be immeasurable. In the Mahabarata, Bhagavad Gita the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna at the beginning of Kurukshetra War is said to have occurred on this day.
The demon Muran stands for the Rajasic and Tamasic qualities in people, attributed to lust, passion, inertia, arrogance etc. When one conquers these tendencies, one attains the purity of mind, Satva, indispensable for attaining of moksha, the liberation or realization of the self. For realizing the self as pure awareness, purity of mind is required. Fasting helps to keep at bay tendencies which could be triggered by intake of certain foods. Keeping vigil in the night is symbolic of awareness, or being watchful of the contents of the mind. When the mind is looked at, it becomes still. To abide in the stillness is to attain freedom or peace, acquired through merging of the mind with the self. This is symbolic of the mind automatically being absorbed at the sight of Vishnu after the arduous fast and vigil.
The belief that rice is prohibited, because Muran dwells in it, symbolically signifies that the eating of rice makes one feel heavy and hampers the vigil. This signifies that entertaining negative tendencies could hamper one's progress towards awareness or consciousness. Observance of the rituals on this auspicious day even without understanding their importance is beneficial. Hence the merit accrued through observing them with piety is believed to be immeasurable. In the Mahabarata, Bhagavad Gita the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna at the beginning of Kurukshetra War is said to have occurred on this day.
Fasting on Ekadashi:
Vaikuntha Ekadashi fasting is an important aspect of those associated with it. People fast the whole day and keep vigil. Special prayers are offered to Vishnu and devotees engage in Japa (chanting of Vishnu's name) and Dhyana (Meditation). On 'Dashami', the previous day of the observance, devotees who take up Vaikuntha Ekadashi fasting are to take only lunch. On Ekadashi, the next day, they have to maintain a complete fast and engage in prayers and meditation of Vishnu. They are strictly prohibited from taking rice. That night, people keep vigil the whole night and visit the temple of Vishnu, mostly in the wee hours of the morning.
On this day, the Vaikuntha Dwaram or the Vaikuntha Vaasal, 'The Gates of Vaikundam' are believed to be kept open. The area encircling the sanctum is referred to Vaikuntha Vaasal and devotees throng to gain entry into the temple, to seek Vishnu.
On this day, the Vaikuntha Dwaram or the Vaikuntha Vaasal, 'The Gates of Vaikundam' are believed to be kept open. The area encircling the sanctum is referred to Vaikuntha Vaasal and devotees throng to gain entry into the temple, to seek Vishnu.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Flags
