Vaishnava Saint Nityananda Rama

The Glories of Lord Nityananda Book, originally uploaded by Swami Gaurangapada.

Photo: 'The Complete Glories of Lord Nityananda Prabhu', book transcribed and published from the audio lectures of Swami Gaurangapada by Bhushan Nityananda Dasa.

The Vaishnava Saint Nityananda Rama, also known as Sri Nityananda or Prabhu Nityananda, is famous as a saint, social reformer and religious and spiritual figure within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. His disciples and followers believe that Nityananda was an incarnation of Balarama. Nityananda is also considered as the most merciful incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Sri Nityananda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's friend and disciple. They are usually mentioned together as Gaura-Nitai (Gaura for Chaitanya and Nitai being short form of Nityananda) or Nimai-Nitai (Nimai for Chaitanya).

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), also known as Sri Krishna Chaitanya and Sri Chaitanya, was a saint and social reformer in eastern India, an area comprising of the present day Bangladesh and the Indian States of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. The followers of Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition believe that he was an incarnation of Lord Krishna. Sri Chaitanya was a notable proponent of the Vaishnava school of Bhakti Yoga based on the philosophy of Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita. He mainly worshipped Radha and Krishna and popularized the chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra.

Nityananda Prabhu was born (around the year 1474, no exact date is known) to a Bandyaghati Brahmin, Mukunda Pandit (aka Hadai Pandit) and Padmavati in Ekachakra, a village in the Birbhum District of West Bengal in India. His had great talent for singing Vaishnava hymns (Bhajan) from a very early age. According to legends and folklore, as a youth, he became well known for his dramatic presentations of Lord Rama's stories, along with the other boys of the village. Nityananda used to play the role of Lakshman, Rama's younger brother.

At the age of thirteen, Nityananda left home to accompany Lakshmipati Tirtha, a travelling saint (Sannyasi) on his pilgrimages. Nityananda's father, Hadai Pandit, had offered Tirtha anything he wished as a gift, for which Tirtha wanted Nityananda to follow him in his pilgrimage to holy places. As he had already promised, Hadai Pandit reluctantly agreed to the sage’s demand and Nityananda joined him in his travels. This marked Nityananda's long physical and spiritual journey through India, and brought him in contact with great Gurus of the Vaishnava tradition. Besides Lakshmipati Tirtha, who at some point of time initiated him, he was also associated with Tirtha's other disciples such as Madhavendra Puri, Advaita Acharya and Ishvara Puri.

There are many legends and folklore on Nityananda and Chaitanya. But the Nityananda’s encounter with the brothers Jagai and Madhai is one of the most well known tales highlighting the compassion and love of Nithyananda. Though there are many versions of the story, but traditional tale can be summarized as follows.

Once, Nityananda was chanting the name of Lord Krishna on the streets. Then two irreverent drunk brothers Jagai and Madhai attacked Nityananda. Madhai threw an earthen pot which wounded Nithyananda’s forehead. At this point Nityananda is believed to have said in Bengali, "Merechhish kolshir kana, tai bole ki prem debona?" (“Shall I stop giving you love because you have hit me with an earthen pot?”). When Chaitanya came to know of the incident, he was enraged, and wanted to kill the brothers with his divine Chakra. But Nityananda begged him to pardon them, and saved them. The brothers were converted to civilized loving persons by Nityananda's compassion, and they became Chaitanya's disciples.

Prabhu Nityananda married Vasudha and Jahnava, two daughters of Suryadasa Sarakhela and he settled down in Khardaha. By his first wife Vasudha, Nityananda had a son, Virabhadra (Virachandra) and a daughter, Ganga. Virabhadra was later initiated to Vaishnava traditions by Jahnava.

The life and works of Chaitanya and Nityananda have had great religious and cultural impact in Eastern India, especially in Bengal. They are credited with the revival of Hinduism, which was plagued by the caste system, which they denounced. A large chunk of Vaishnava literature, regarded as one the finest literary heritage of medieval Bengal, was contributed by them and their disciples.

Now they have disciples and followers through out India and abroad, and institutions to spread their teachings. The idol of Nityananda and Chaitanya in the Radha-Krishna Temple in Belgium is quite famous. Also, there is a Gaura-Nitai Shrine at ISKCON Temple in Delhi.

Thiruchendur, one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan

Thiruchendur Lord Murugan Temple (Thiruchendur Senthilandavan Koil) is one of the six major abodes of Lord Muruga, who is worshipped here by also other names such as Senthilandavan and Senthilkumar. Lord Murugan is also known as Subrahmanya, Karthikeya, Kumaran, Skanda, Saravana, Shanmukha, Arumugan, Swaminatha and many other names. Similarly, Thiruchendur is also referred to by other names as Thirucheeralaivai, Thiruchenthil and Thiruchenthiyoor. The temple is situated so close to the sea that the waves lap at the eastern boundary wall of the temple.

The other five major abodes of Lord Muruga are at Palani (120 km west of Madurai), Swamimalai (150 km east of Madurai), Thiruthani (50 km from Chennai), Pazhamudircholai (10 km north of Madurai) and Thiruparamkunram (10 km south of Madurai). Each of the six major abodes of Lord Muruga has an event mentioned in the Hindu scriptures, of which Tiruchendur is said to be second in importance.

There is an account of Karthikeya's origin in the Mahabharata, in which he is said to have been born of Agni and Shiva, after Shiva impersonated six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi (Seven Sages). The Ramayana also has a version of him, closer to the stories told in the Puranas.

Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as Agnibhuh (son of Agni, the fire god). The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the ‘way that leads to wisdom’. The Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions Skanda as 'Mahasena' and 'Subrahmanya.' The Aranya Parva chapter of the Mahabharata narrates the legend of Kartikeya Skanda. The Skanda Purana is devoted to the narrative of Kartikeya.

Also there are references to Subrahmanya in Kautilya's Arthashastra, in the works of Patanjali, in Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumarasambhavam and in the Sanskrit drama Mricchakatika.

According to legends, Sati, the consort of Shiva immolated herself at the Daksha Yagna, which was later destroyed by Shiva. Sati was reborn as Uma (or Parvati) the daughter of the Mountain King Himavaan (the Himalayas). Shiva was deep in yogic meditation in the Himalayas. During that time, the demon Surapadman ravaged the earth and tormented its beings. The gods realized that only a son born of Shiva could lead them to victory over Tarakasuran, Surapadman and their demon armies. The gods plotted with Kamadeva, the god of love, to shoot a flower arrow at the meditating Shiva, so as to make him fall in love with Parvati. When Kama aimed his arrow, Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kama to ashes instantly.

The sparks of the fiery seed of Shiva were unbearable, and this fire was then transported by the river Ganga into the Saravana forest (probably The Sundarbans), and into a pond called the Saravana Poigai, located at mouths of river Ganga, where the sparks transformed to six children. They were raised by the six Krittika or Kartika - the stars that make up the Pleiades, earning Murugan the name Karthikeya. Parvati combined these six babies into one with six faces (Shanmukha or Arumugan).

Murugan became the supreme general of the gods and lead the army of the gods to victory against the demons. The six sites at which Karthikeya sojourned while leading his armies against Surapadman are Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudircholai, Thiruparamkunram and Tiruchendur. These six sites are known collectively as ‘Arupadai Veedu, meaning the six battle camps of the Lord.

Thiruchendur Murugan Temple is a very popular pilgrimage center and tourist destination. It located in the town of Thiruchendur in the district of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India. It is 55 km southeast of Tirunelveli, 40 km from Tuticorin and 75 km northeast of Kanyakumari. It is easily accessible by bus or car. Regular train services are available to Tiruchendur from the nearest railway junction, Tirunelveli Junction.

Thiruchendur Murugan Temple

Tiru8, originally uploaded by temppics2009.

Video: Maha Kumbha Mela 2010

Bodhi Tree at the Sri Mahabodhi Temple

Photo: The Bodhi Tree (Sacred Fig) at the Sri Mahabodhi Temple propagated from the Sri Maha Bodhi, which in turn was propagated from the original Bodhi Tree. The Mahabodhi Temple is at the spot where the Buddha attained enlightenment.

The Bodhi Tree is a large very old Sacred Fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya, about 100 km from Patna, Bihar. Under this tree Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment or Bodhi. It is believed it will take 100 to 3,000 years for a bodhi tree to grow fully.

The Sacred Fig or Bo-Tree is a species of banyan fig native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina. This tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The tree is well-known symbol for happiness, prosperity, longevity and good luck. Today in India, Hindu sadhus still meditate below this tree, and in Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the tree's massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist shrines.

The fig tree is known by various local names in Indian languages such as pipal (also spelt as peepal, peepul, pippala, etc) in Hindi, pimpald in Marathi, assattha or rukkha in Pali, kaṇavam or arasa maram in Tamil, arayal in Malayalam, asbattha or peepal in Bengali, raavi or raagi in Telugu and arali in Kannada.

The Bodhi Tree is believed to be a direct descendant of the original banyan tree under which Budha used to meditate. This tree is a destination for pilgrims because it is the most important of the four main Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Other holy Bodhi trees in the history of Buddhism are the Anandabodhi tree in Sravasti (in the present day's Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, India) and the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Both are believed to have been propagated from the original Bodhi tree.

According to Buddhist texts the Buddha, after his Enlightenment, spent a whole week in front of the tree, standing with unblinking eyes, gazing at it with gratitude. A shrine was later erected on the spot where he stood.

According to the Mahavamsa, the Sri Maha Bodhi in Sri Lanka was planted in 288 BC, making it the oldest verified specimen of any angiosperm. The right branch of the Bodhi tree was brought by Sanghamitra, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka and his Buddhist queen Devi, to Anuradhapura and placed by Devānāmpiyatissa in the Mahāmeghavana.

Pope to investigate apparition of Virgin Mary in Bosnia

Our Lady of Međugorje, aka Queen of Peace, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who appeared to six Croat children in Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 24, 1981. On that day young Mirjana Dragicevic and Ivanka Ivankovic saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a village in Bosnia-Hercegovina in Europe. The next day four more children, Marija Pavlovic, Jakov Colo, Vicka Ivankovic and Ivan Dragicevic had the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to reports.

Reports say, since then she has purportedly been appearing to the six visionaries, and many miracles have been reported, such as, ‘the sun spinning, dancing in the sky, turning colors, or being surrounded by objects such as hearts or crosses.” Many people claim that they could look at the sun without any damage to their eyes, and the tall cement cross erected on Mount Podbrdo has disappeared and reappeared, or glowed as if lit with lights, although there is no electricity there. Miracle healing has also been reported.

It may be noted that Vatican has not endorsed these claims. However, the Roman Catholic Church has declared that it cannot be affirmed that the reported apparitions are supernatural in character.

On 4th June 2008 Pope Benedict XVI blessed the statue of Our Lady of Međugorje in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City. On 28 July 2009, the Pope granted a request for laicisation from Father Tomislav Vlašić, who had been under investigation for ‘dubious doctrine, the manipulation of consciences, suspect mysticism and disobedience towards legitimately issued orders.’ He was also accused of sexual immorality with a nun which case he had covered up.

"We are now awaiting a new directive on this issue", Cardinal Vinko Puljic, who is the head of the Bosnian Bishops' conference told the press. "I don't think we must wait for a long time, I think it will be this year, but that is not clear… I am going to Rome in November and we must discuss this…It is not a sin to pray, it's not a sin to hear confessions, it is not a sin to give penance, this is a good climate. But this phenomenon, apparitions or visions, falls to the (Vatican) commission... It is a very delicate question."

Currently Međugorje has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites, with over30 million pilgrims having visited since the first sighting of ‘Our Lady, as the local people call her. Many people have claimed to have witnessed strange phenomena including ‘the sun spinning in the sky or changing colors and figures such as hearts and crosses around the sun’.

On Wednesday, 17 March 2010, Vatican announced a commission to investigate the claims, and that Pope Benedict XVI had formed an investigative commission composed of cardinals, bishops, and other experts that will report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the top doctrinal body.

Omkareshwar Shiva Jyotirlinga Shrine

The Hindu temple Omkareshwar, located in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh State in India, is on a river island called Mandhata or Shivapuri in the Narmada River. The shape of the island resembles the Om symbol. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva. There are two temples here, one of Omkareshwar and the other of Amareshwar. A lot of pilgrims and tourists from India and other countries visit Omkareshwar throughout the year.

Omkareshwar is about 77 km (48 miles) from Indore on the Indore-Khandwa highway. It is about 12 km (7 miles) from the Omkareshwar Road railway station. There are steamboats across the Narmada River and also two connecting bridges.

Omkareshwar is about 72 km from Khandwa and about 77 km (48 miles) from Indore. You can travel by road or train. Khandwa is connected to all the major cities of India by railways and it is on the New Delhi-Mumbai railway route. You can also reach Omkareshwar from Ujjain via Indore. Buses and trains are available from Ujjain to Indore.

Omkareshwar

Omkareshwar, originally uploaded by Soumitra Agnihotri.

Omkareshwar, an island in the course of the River Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, is home to the Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga shrine and the Amareshwar temple.

Temple of Omkareshwar at night

Temple d'Omkareshwar, India, originally uploaded by mafate69.

Kumbh Mela in Haridwar - Video

Haridwar is currently hosting the Purna Kumbha Mela from Makar Sankranti (14th January 2010) to Shakh Purnima Snan (28th April 2010), attracting millions of pilgrims from almost all walks of life, and from around the world. According to Indian astrology, it is celebrated when the planet of Brahaspati (Jupiter) moves into the zodiac sign of Aquarius (Kumbha).

The Purna Kumbh Mela takes place at four locations of India: Prayag (Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), and Nashik (Maharashtra) after every twelve years, while the Ardh Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag. The Maha Kumbh Mela ('Great' Kumbh Mela) that comes after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas' (every 144 years) is held at Prayag (Allahabad). Each location’s celebration dates are calculated in advance according to a special combination of zodiacal positions of Sun, Moon and Jupiter.

Kumbh Mela is attended by millions of people on a single day (according to reports, the Maha Kumbh Mela of 2001 was attended by about 60 million people, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world). The major event of the festival is a ritual bath. Other activities include religious discourses, devotional songs, religious assemblies, etc. Many thousands of holy men and women (monks, saints and sadhus) attend the religious fair. The sadhus are seen clad in saffron cloths as per the requirements of ancient traditions. Some saints called Naga Sanyasis may be seen without any clothes even in severe winter.

After visiting the Kumbh Mela of 1895, Mark Twain wrote, “It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites.”

The auspicious bathing dates of Haridwar Purna Kumbha Mela are as follows:

• 14 January 2010 (Thursday) - Makar Sankranti Snan
• 15 January 2010 (Friday) - Mauni Amavasya and Surya Grahan
• 20 January 2010 (Wedesday) - Basant Panchmi Snan
• 30 January 2010 (Saturday) - Magh Purnima Snan
• 12 February 2010 (Friday) - Maha Shivratri - Pratham Shahi Snan (First Royal Bath)
• 15 March 2010 (Monday) - Somvati Amavasya - Dvitya Shahi Snan (Second Royal Bath)
• 16 March 2010 (Tuesday) - Navsatrambh Snan
• 24 March 2010 (Wednesday) - Ram Navmi Snan
• 30 March 2010 (Tuesday) - Chaitra Purnima Snan
• 14 April 2010 (Wednesday) - Baisakhi - Pramukh Shahi Snan (Main Royal Bath)
• 28 April 2010 (Wednesday) - Shakh Purnima Snan

The Temple of Tunganath in Garhwal

The Temple of TUNGANATH, originally uploaded by asis k. chatt.

Tunganath is an important temple of Lord Shiva, the 3rd of the five important Shiva temples in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India, known collectively as The PANCH-KEDARS. It is situated at an altitude of 3886 metres above sealevel in the mighty Himalayan ranges. Tunganath Temple is the HIGHEST of all temples in India.

Tunganath can be reached from CHOPTA, a small hamlet well connected by road to important places like CHAMOLI and UKHIMATH. From Chopta, it is a journey of about 3.5 km, but the road is very steep, gaining a height of about 3500 feet for a distance of only 3.5 km, one of the steepest motorable roads.

The scenic beauty of this area is just fantastic, with a large number of Himalayan peaks visible in clear weather.

Vaishno Devi Darshan

Vaishno Devi Darshan, originally uploaded by simon_ram.

St. Anthony’s Church at Terekhol, North Goa

 

The church at Terekhol (Tiracool), North Goa, originally uploaded by vm2827.

The photographer ads, "One of the most peaceful and prettiest, churches that I have seen. The fort surrounding it is now a resort, again, very graceful, done in yellow and black."

Valluvar "The Poet"

Valluvar "The Poet", originally uploaded by Muthu - முத்து.

Kanya Kumari seen from Vivekananda Rock

Lovely Kanya Kumari from Vivekananda Rock, originally uploaded by Anandarup Bhattacharyya.

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Sunrise at Kanya Kumari

Sunrise at Kanya Kumari, originally uploaded by Anandarup Bhattacharyya.