Indian Culture

First time I attended a Kumbabishekam ceremony of a big temple.  Kumbabishekam is the powerful Hindu ritual performed in temples that is believed to synergize and reenergize the mystic powers of the deity. Kumbabishekam is also known as Samprokshanam. The word 'Kumba' means the head or the crown of the temple and 'Abishekam' is the ritual bathing. Kumbhabhisheka rituals should be carried out at least once in twelve years according to the agamas. I was fortunate, It's our ancestral temple in Mayavaram, Tamil Nadu. Parimala Ranganathar Perumal Temples of Tiruindaloor dedicated to Vishnu. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or the Alvars.This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams. According to Hindu legend, the place is where moon god, Chandra is believed to have been relieved of his curse. The sanctum houses, apart from Lord Parimala Ranganathar and Ranganayaki th...

Being blessed by a living master.  By Nash  Chronologically speaking Mahavira, Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ,  Prophet Muhammad, Gurunanak are some of the greatest spiritual masters whose followers founded 5 great religious traditions of Jainism Buddhism Christianity  Islam and Sikhism respectively. All of them was born and lived in Asia. 3 of them in India. To say India is a land of great masters is an understatement.  And Hinduism, the worlds oldest religion, had a plethora of Gurus (including Buddha and Guru Nanak who were born Hindus) who showed millions of followers how to live a good life by their own example.  Unlike other religious movements, Hinduism does not have one single founder. We had Gods who existed from time immemorial. Many Hindus consider them (Rama, Krishna, Narasimha, Shiva, Shakti) as historical figures (not mythological) who lived thousands of years ago and showed the right path to live life.  The closest thing to God, by historical...

My life is my message - experience sharing by Nash @ Sai Baba Satsang  Humble pranams at the lotus feet of Sai Baba.  Listen to Nash Narasimhan Tupil at the Sai Satsang on 2nd May 2021, covering the following topics under 90 minutes. 1. On his ancestor and great Vaishnava Guru Tupil Vedanta Desikan, who was honored by Govt of India with a postage stamp in 2018 on his 750th birthday. And the Gurus contribution to India as master teacher of spirituality, science, maths, poetry to  military strategy. 2. On Sai Baba's grace and miracles in his life. How he changed from a sceptic to a believer. 3. What is the secret recipe to stay always positive and enthusiastic, which he learnt from his grandmother Hema. 4.  On what Narayana Seva, the service to the poor and needy on the streets, in the form of God, taught him. 5. Getting out of the comfort zone and doing the 10-day Himalayan Bike adventure. 6. And tips to overcome personal and professional challenges in life  Clic...

June 17th 2019 Sai Baba grace in my life By Nash  I never believed in Sai Baba. Always thought when there is God, why do we need Gurus as middlemen? And used to dismiss miracles performed both by Shirdi Sai Baba and Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba as magic and unscientific. My engineering education and logical mind could not comprehend anything which was not scientifically proven. This was till October 2011.  April 2011, Sathya Sai Baba dies. Andhra state declared 4 days state mourning. High profile people including Prime MInister (both AB Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh), Union ministers, governors, chief ministers, filmstars, sportspersons, industrialists, to the common folk from villages and towns of India, shared their heart out with condolences. Still I'm not impressed, dismissing him as Guru of the rich and famous. Two things changed my opinion, in October 2011.  My brother, Ranga, who is a rationalist, not easily swayed by Gods or Gurus, came back after a trip from Puttapa...

Sri Tupil Vedanta Desikar - Great spiritual master of India. 12th July 2018 It is a Matter of great pride to our family, the Indian PM and the British Parliament, has decided to honor our great ancestor, Swami Vedanta Desika of Thoopul (Tupil) on his 750th birthday on 18th July2018. Vedanta Desika was one of India's greatest spiritual masters, Gurus or Saints. In India, Gurus were both spiritual teachers and masters of logic and science. Ancient Indian scientists from Aryabhatta and Pingala (Mathematics), Charaka (Ayurveda), Sushrutha (Medicine) to Patanjali (Yoga) were gurus of highest order. 1000 years later, the concept of complete man, became popular in West. Italian Leonardo Da Vinci, was one such GURU, or renaissance man, who could simultaneously excel in Mathematics, Engineering, Medicine, Art, Spiritual and Religious field all at once. Vedanta Desika, could teach anything from philosophy, poetry, maths, science, languages to erudite scholars. TO masonary, carpentry and scul...

Lord Ganesh - The first God of Hinduism  Sep 7th 2024 Today Ganesh chaturthi. Seek Lord Ganesh's blessings to remove any obstacles in life and give us good health, happiness and prosperity. Lord Ganesh.. 1) He’s known as the remover of obstacles and hence prayed as first God before starting anything new. 2) He’s the son of Shiva and Parvati 3) He’s renowned for his wisdom 4) He transcribed the Mahabharata 5) His form and sacred symbols all have deeper meanings see picture. BTW, Do you know Lord Ganesh is known in a few Asian countries like  Japan, China, Thailand apart from India? In Japan he is known as Kangiten or vinayakaten. God of bliss. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangiten http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha I was pleasently surprised to see Lord Ganesh statues along with Lord Indra in a few Buddisht temples of Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo during my visits over several years. In March 2022, I visited the உச்சி பிள்ளையார் uchi pillayar Ganesh temple in Trichy, Tamil N...

Happy MAHA SHIVARATRI. 21st February 2020 Lord Shiva. Out of all Gods in the Hindu pantheon, I must say he is the UBER COOL GOD. Why? . He is chilled out and casual and confident all at the same time. He does not seem to care much about his looks or his surroundings.  Despite his matted hair, dark skin, snakes, tiger skin snd nomad like appearance people love him. . According to Hindu tradition he is the God who can bring mend all contradictions ☺ Wish we can be like him too.. . No protocols to worship him. He is easily pleased even with an offering of water and bilva leaf. But he gives boons as big as the ability to save oneself from any curse. . No one knows where he is from, who are his parents, which city etc. Many say he is a Tibetan from mount kailash. But his family is well known. Wife Parvati Shakti, sons Ganesh the cute elephant headed God and Lord Kartikeya (or Murugan in south) . He is the ADI YOGI..the first YOGI of this world. He is the greatest YOGI who can be Absolut...

Lord Krishna - A Friend, Philosopher and Guide Let us all celebrate the birthday of Lord Krishna, on 3228 BC on the same day, more than 5000 years ago. Happy Janmashtami.  What makes Krishna one of the most popular Hindu Gods?  You can relate to him at every age and stage of your life. As a young child who Stole butter, a cow herd who protected his friends,  a yadav king who took care of his subjects, an astute strategist in battle field, a lover to gopikas, ideal son, husband, brother and role model friend in need and lastly as the greatest philosopher-Teacher and God incarnate who gave us srimad bhagavad gita the holy book for millions of Hindus around the world. Jai shri Krishna. Govind jai jai. Gopala Jai Jai. ..... The Most famous Lord Krishna temples in India Banke Bihari, Vrindavan, UP Jugal Kishore, Mathura, UP Sri Nathji, Nathwara, Rajastan Puri Jagannath, Orrisa Dwaraka nath, Gujarat Rajagopalaswami, Mannargudi, TN Guruvayoor Krishna, Kerala Mathura, Vrindavan, ...

Lord Ram: The Original Superhero (Maryadha Purushottam) & Ayodhya (The Invincible City) Originally written 5th April 2017, updated on 22nd Jan 2024 (Ram Janma Bhoomi Prathista day) .... Ayodhya for Hindus is like Bethlehem for Christians and Mecca for Muslims. It's the birth place of Lord Ram (an avatar of God Vishnu). and Today - Monday Jan 22nd it's getting it's due, with a grand inauguration of a Ram temple. Let me explain. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in center of Warsaw,  Poland, then a part of the Russian Empire. It took 18 years to build between 1894 to 1912 and it was the tallest building in Warsaw, when completed. It was demolished in 1926, by the Polish authorities less than 15 years after its construction. Do you know why? The negative connotations in Poland associated with Russian imperial policy towards Poland, and belief it was built purposely to hurt Polish national feelings, was cited as the major motive by the proponen...

Varanasi - The soul of indic civilization  On my bucket list was a visit to Varanasi with family. Varanasi, aka Banaras aka Kashi on the banks of the holy river Ganges, is among the oldest continously inhabited cities of the world with a history of over 5000 years. It's a center of learning, culture, yoga, spirituality and religion. It has many epithets, the city of lights (Kashi), the eternal city etc For Hindus and Buddhists this is like Vatican for Christians and Mecca for Muslims. Hindus believe God Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati live here. And dying here is supposed to give Moksha (liberation) from the cycle of births and deaths. Gautama the BUDDHA founded Buddhism by giving his first sermon at Sarnath near Varanasi around 600 BC. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Tulsidas wrote his epic, the Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa here, and several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi,...

Gaya and Bodh Gaya  - The place for Salvation and Enlightment We were blessed to visit Gaya and Bodh Gaya. These are not just two ordinary towns. But towns having huge influence on mankind, like Jerusalem or Mecca. Before that, allow me to tell you three stories. First story, about powerful people in this world.There was once a survey, to decide who were the most powerful or impactful historical figures in the world? Total impact = Length of time of Impact × absolute number of people impacted. Surprisingly the hard power of emperors from Genghis Khan, Julius Ceaser, Emperor Chin to Queen Victoria was no match to the soft power of religious leaders. Gautama Buddha was in top 3, with number of years (2600 years) × number of followers (500 million plus people).  Second story, about Vishnupaad temple in Gaya. Gaya, in Bihar state of India, is an ancient town, which predates the Buddha, is known for Vishnupad Temple , 'temple of Lord Vishnu's feet', it is one of the ancient and ...