MAYAPUR GAURA PURNIMA FESTIVAL.....!!

      The Annual Gaura Purnima Festival is the most exciting event of the year in Mayapur. Mayapur is the appearance place of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir serves as the international spiritual headquarters for ISKCON.
      The festival officially begins after the GBC meetings. The festivities extend to about three weeks. But many devotees start t arrive in Mayapur about a month before Gaura Purnima and Mayapur is flooded with devotees from all over the globe. The first week of the festival focuses on the " 5 - day Kirtan Mela." The second week, the devotees perform the annual "Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama." The third week is filled with festivities and cultural programs. 
       This year, the Mayapur  Gaura Purnima Festival goes on from the 24th of February to the 18th of March 2014. The schedule for this year's festival is as follows :-

 24 - 27 Feb : Svarna Utsava

 27 Feb : Devotee arrival,  Kirtan Mela Adivas Ceremony

 28 Feb - 4 Mar : Kirtan Mela

 3 Mar : Pancha Tattva Maha Abhishek

 4 Mar : Parikrama Adivasa ( 25th year)

 5 Mar : Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama begins

 11 Mar : Navadvipa Parikrama ends

 11 - 16 Mar : Festivities and Cultural Programs

 11 Mar : Sri Radha Madhav Boat Festival

 12 Mar : Elephant Procession, Immersion of ashes of departed souls

 13 Mar : Santipur festival

 14 Mar : Ganga Puja

 15 Mar : Ratha Yatra

 16 Mar : Gaura Purnima Festival

 17 Mar : Jagannath Mishra's Feast

 18 Mar : Devotees depart

Course of Devotion...!!

Hare Krsna.....!!

       Krishna, the eighth incarnation of the Hindu God, Lord Vishnu, has moved on with time - from thriving on butter or yogurt stored in earthen pots dangling from the ceiling to feasts of Italian pasta, Bruscheta, Chinese stir-fried noodles, Russian salad, American burgers, French coffee walnut mousse, etc. 

        This is just a few samples of the offerings at the Bangalore temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON. After being blessed by Krishna, the food finds its way to The Higher Taste, the temple's fine dining restaurant, where the bhajans are playing in the background to remind the guests of the food,s higher purpose - helping diners reach a higher level of consciousness. Here, Eating and Divinity are closely related.

        Various centres of ISCKON ( at present, there are 400 centres all over the world) run 100 such restaurants all over the world, promoting what it calls "Sattvic Vegetarianism." Hence, ISKCON's cuisine does not include onion, garlic, high- protein pulses and caffeinated drinks. 

         ISKCON is a non- profit organisation, but had it been a commercial organisation, its food business would be the largest in the city - through its sales from temple counters, restaurants, stores and catering, it generates a revenue of Rs 16 Crore every year. 

         Cooking at ISKCON is a complex operation and is overseen by devotees who are passionate about Food. Since the food must be offered to the Lord, the chefs cannot taste it while cooking. Hence, the chefs must perfect ISKCON's version of molecular gastronomy - a scientific cooking method which requires strict adherence to temperature and proportions of ingredients.  

         When asked how ISKCON maintains quality given the staff churn, pat comes Chamari Devi Dasi's (one of the devotees who help run the revenue - generating kitchens) reply : "Krishna is in charge. He's managing it." 

          Cooks and Devotees constantly try out new combinations in the in-house food lab, started in 2005, to keep the Sattvic Cuisine alive and kicking. One of the experiments was on Biryani : How can you create an authentic Biryani taste without using meat, onion or garlic? The result was 'Kabulistani Biryani', which substitutes meat (goat or lamb) with Cauliflower and Potato.Other innovative items on ISKCON's menu are: 

Chandan ka Sarbat :- a mocktail with a hint of Sandalwood, Mango Rasgulla Chaat :- a starter for those with a sweet tooth, Paan Ice cream :- with the traditional flavor of betel leaves and accompanying spices, etc.

 

Identity from a Name....!!

Everyone has a name.Each name has a story behind it. It is a gift that cannot be refused or put aside. It is a gift that is accepted and cherished and constitutes one's identity. It is a gift for a lifetime and more, because after our death, it is what remains behind. Our name, our memories are what our loved ones hold onto. Often, the name given to us, its meaning and the reason behind the name are discussed in the family before naming the child. Each person's name is kept with a different reason in mind. This helps give each person their own identity and individuality. Often children have the same names as their grandparents so that their memories live on in their children along with hopes and dreams and aspirations of a new and better future.

My name is Radha Pavitra. Radha or Radhe or Radhika Or Radha Rani is one of the principal gopis of Vrndavana and Lord Shri Krishna. The name is of Sanskrit origin. It means "The one who is the bestower of the ultimate divine bliss"."Radha" is "Dhara" of Krishna Prema. Pavitra is of Sanskrit origin and means "she is Pure". It is also one among the one thousand names of Shrimati Radha Rani. When my mother was expecting me and went to the doctor for her checkup, the doctor asked her if she and my father had any particular gender in mind for the baby and also asked if my parents had any problem with having a girl child. My mother told that she did not have any particular gender in mind and also told the doctor that she and my father had no problem with having a girl child. My parents and my family did not want to name me after my grandmother because they didn't want me to face problems in life like she had. But my name (Pavitra) rhymes with her name (Sumitra). I have a brother who is four years elder to me. His name (even he has two names) starts with the the same letter as my mother's name - "S". She wanted her second child to have a name with the same starting letter as my father - "P". So when I was born, the two names that they had to pick from were" Pavitra" and "Parijata". Parijata is the celestial flower which is the best flower to offer to Lord Krishna. Both these names were chosen from the Vishnusahasranama which my grandmother and my mother recited everyday when my mother was expecting both my brother and me. My parents decided to call me Pavitra. When my mother gave birth to me, the doctor who delivered me told my mother that Radhe had come home to her because she always chanted the Lord's name. So my parents decided to call me Radhe. But my grandfather told my parents to call me Radha instead of Radhe. Hence the name - Radha Pavitra.

I am the second girl to be born after my atte (father's elder sister) in my father's side of my family. I have an elder brother of my own, three elder and one younger cousin brother. Being the only girl among five boys, i get a lot of attention and pampering whenever i got to Hyderabad to visit my cousins. My atte was so happy that a girl was born in the family that she and my aunt came to Bangalore from Hyderabad to see me. She also distributed sweets to all her co-workers. 

People keep asking me why I have two names. Honestly, I myself didn't know why till I was asked to write about it. Now, I'm very proud to have been given two beautiful names.....

               

            During my Naming Ceremony...!!!

A Week of Bliss..!!

       The Much awaited Rath Yatra started yesterday. It is also known as the Roth Jatra or the Chariot Festival. The Rath Yatra in Puri is a seven – day festival.

        The Rath Yatra is held once every year in the month of Asadha {the rainy season that falls in June – July}. The three deitiesare namely Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra {elder brother of Lord Krishna} and Lady Subhadra {younger sister of Lords Krishna and Balabhadra}.

        The “Rath Yatra” of Puri Jagannath is a rare, special and a very unique one.The chariots in which these Lords and Lady respectively go around in are very huge, very grand and have different specifications. They are as follows :

       The chariot of Lord Jagannath is called 'Nandighosa' - has 18 wheels and is 23 cubits in height. Jagannatha's ratha is marked with a cakra and garuda, is yellow in color, with four white horses. The protecting deity is Nrsimha.

        The chariot of Lord Balabhadra is called 'Taladhvaja' - has 16 wheels and is 22 cubits in height. Baladeva's cart is blue, with a palm tree insignia, and four black horses. The protecting deity is Sesa.

        The chariot of Lady Subhadra is called' Devadalana' - has 14 wheels and is 21 cubits in height. Subhadra's cart is black, with lotus insignia, protected by Vanadurga.

The three charioteers attached to the chariots of Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra respectively are Daruka, Matali and Arjuna.  

       The Puri Rath Yatra is world famous for the crowd that it attracts. Puri being the abode of these three deities, the place plays host to devotees, tourists and some millions of pilgrims from across India and abroad.

       I have attended around 5 Rath Yatras myself . I love it as the ambience and the people are just full of bliss and wonder for the Lordships.  People will be singing kirtan with joy and love and will be enjoying themselves. Prasad will be distributed. 

         The significance of the Rath Yatra is that the Lord helps the devotees to pull their chariot of life. In these seven days, the Lord allows his devotees to pull the chariots of him and his siblings.

   “ Simply touching the rope of the chariot or the chariot itself is believed to bring prosperity. ”

                                                 

                                    Nandighosha Rath....

                                    

                               Taladhwaja Rath…

                                                             Dwarpadalana or Padmadhwaja or  Devadalana Rath…

                                        

A New Beginning.....!!

MY FIRST DAY OF COLLEGE…..

Jain University.

      During my school days, I had glimpses of college life from my elder brother. I was curiously awaiting the day when I would start college. At last that day dawned.  It was the 12^th of June, 2013.

      I was admitted to Jain University for the BA + MSc ( Psychology ) program. The nervousness and the fear that I was feeling since the previous day as I was about to enter a new college , a new environment, and make new friends  was also accompanied by feelings of excitement and happiness when I left home in the morning along with my dad. He dropped me to college. It was like a customary thing for me that my dad drop me on all the important days of my life . My friend was waiting for me outside college as we had already decided the previous day that we would go together. We walked inside the campus and were asked to go to a classroom on the fifth floor. Feeling quite nervous we went inside the classroom and sat down together in a bench at the back of the class. We were then asked to introduce ourselves.  After some time we were asked to go to the auditorium. We went and after we settled down the orientation program began.

      The program was not so good but the person who was talking to us {Sri Chakravarthy Sulibele} told some interesting and funny things. The auditorium was a good place for people to talk and get to know each other. They told us some information about the college, its rules, some course details, some of the cultural activities that were going to take place in the coming year and also about where and what time we were to assemble the next day.

       I felt happy and relieved that my first day of college got over in a pleasant manner and went home feeling very cheerful .

Friendship

                     
              

When we first talked to each other

I knew we would always be friends.

Our friendship has kept on growing

And I’ll be here for you till the end.

You listen when I have a problem

And help dry the tears from my face.

You take away my sorrow

And put happiness in its place.

We can’t forget the fun we’ve had

Laughing ‘til our faces turn pink.

Talking of things only we find funny

People think we’re insane – If they only knew !

I guess this is my way of saying thanks

For catching me when I fall.

Thanks once again for being such a good friend

And being here with me through it all...

~ This is for you Pratheelsha for all the times we’ve had.

       Miss you so much...

                           

Hi all......
   This is my first blog....
       Here's hoping it will be a nice experience...!!!