*Today is Vamana Jayanthi*
Today is Bhadrapada masa Shukla paksha dwadashi, an important day for devotees of Lord Vishnu because as per legend He incarnated as Vamana, His fifth avathara on this day. Vamana appeared as the son of sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi to restrain Mahabali, the grandson of Bhaktha Prahlada.
Mahabali, was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu and a competent ruler. He was very generous but also proud of his wealth. He became powerful and extended his authority over the world. Soon, he was regarded as a huge threat to the devas. In particular, Lord Indra was scared that he would be defeated by Mahabali who could become the ultimate ruler of Indraloka. He, along with the devas, requested Lord Vishnu to curtail Mahabali and prevent him from becoming the ruler of the entire universe.
To this appeal of Lord Indra, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin and approached Mahabali when he was performing a yajna. The King greeted the brahmin and told him that he would grant whatever he wished for. As bhiksha (alms), Lord Vamana asked for land measured by three steps of his feet. King Mahabali readily agreed to give this much area to the dwarf brahmin. Soon, Vamana grew huge in size and took a gigantic form. With His first step, he covered the entire earth and with the second step He conquered all the heavenly bodies. There was no place left for Him to place the third step. Mahabali, the ardent bhaktha realized that the brahmin was none other than Lord Vishnu himself: he then humbly offered his own head so that Lord Vamana could place his third step
Vamana placed his foot on Mahabali’s head and pushed him to Sutala loka. In appreciation of his devotion, He granted Bali immortality and made him ruler of Sutala. He also proclaimed that after Kali Yuga he would become the next Indra .Vamana taught King Mahabali and the world that humility is a necessary virtue and that pride should be abandoned for advancement in this life or later.
*Today is Rishipanchami*
The Rishis or sages, are at a level between the human beings and the deities. They are believed to have achieved detachment and spiritual knowledge through long-term sadhana. These sages are the adornment of Sanathana Dharma due to their intense spiritual curiosity to comprehend God and rigorous penance and intense yearning for God realisation.
Due to these noble qualities, the sages obtained rare and infinite knowledge about spirituality. They also had infinite love for the entire Creation and hence they made available to the world the treasure of knowledge they obtained by the grace of God. The sages have provided invaluable guidance on higher level sadhana to man through their conduct, thoughts and every action. It is due to this that it is possible for man to live in today’s Kaliyuga.
To express gratitude to the sages who have contributed to the welfare of humanity, an important vrata called Rishipanchami is observed every year on Bhadrapada Shukla panchami (day after Vinayaka Chathurthi).On this day, the Saptharishis,, – Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadwaja, Vishwamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Vasishtha along with Arundhati, are worshipped. There are regional variations in the observance of the vrata in the different States of Bharathavarsha.
*Tomorrow is Radhashtami*
Radhashtami commemorates the birth anniversary of the goddess Radha, consort of the Lord Krishna. It is being celebrated tomorrow (23rd Sep) on the Shukla Paksha Ashtami of the Bhadrapada month as per the lunar calendar.
It is a strange fact that though we traditionally celebrate the divine eternal love between Radha and Krishna, she is neither mentioned in Mahabharata nor in Bhagavata. She is, however, referred to in Brahma Vaivarta Purana and Padma Purana. It is believed that Radharani was born on this day in the year 3221 BC at Barsana (Rawal), Uttar Pradesh.
*Legend*
One day when Sri Vrishabhanu Maharaj, the king of Raval, went to the Yamuna river to take his daily morning bath, he was struck with wonder when he saw a beautiful, divine baby girl, lying on a glorious golden lotus flower, radiating a divine effulgence. He immediately took the baby girl and joyously took her home to his wife, Devi Kirtida, They had been praying to God for a daughter and were extremely happy though oblivious to the fact that they had been blessed to have received the original Lakshmi Herself as their daughter.
They showered all their parental affection upon her. Despite their unbounded happiness, they were greatly saddened by the fact that their daughter was not opening her eyes, because of which they did not celebrate her birth with the residents of Raval. However, anticipating the appearance of Radha, Narada Muni soon came to the house of Vrishabhanu and after the initial pleasantries inquired from him about his children. Vrishabhanu then called his son Sridam to get the blessings of the sage. However, Narada Muni was eager to know about their daughter, but due to her being blind, they did not inform him about her. Upon being asked repeatedly, he finally told about Radha, and hearing about her Narada Muni immediately felt great ecstasy in his heart. He then asked to see the child, and instructing them to make arrangements for a ceremony that he would perform for her.
He worshipped her with the choicest of prayers when they had gone to make the arrangements. In order to fulfil the desire of the great devotee, Radha appeared before him in her baby form and blessed the Muni. He then instructed them to arrange for a big festival to celebrate her birth, in which they should invite Nanda Maharaj and Krishna. During the festival, that followed, Sri Krishna crawled to the cot of Radha, and peered inside: realising that her dearest beloved was present before her, she opened her lotus like eyes and had darshan of Krishna. Seeing the miraculous event, all the Vrajavasis were over joyed and celebrated the occasion in great ecstasy. In this way, Radha appeared in this world to perform all the Rasaleelas with Sri Krishna for the well-being of all the living entities.
*Celebrations in Vrindavan*
In Vrindavan, Radhashtami, is indeed the real biggest festival of the year and is celebrated with great pomp and religious fervour. On this day, Radha Krishna icons are traditionally dressed entirely in flowers. Additionally, Radhashtami is the only day on which devotees may have darshan of Radha’s feet. On all other days, they remain covered.
Radhashtami is particularly important for the holy pilgrimage to Manimahesh Lake, called Manimahesh Yatra, which is sponsored by the Government of Himachal Pradesh. It is preceded by the “holy chhari”, (holy stick carried by the pilgrims on their shoulders). The pilgrims barefooted, singing and dancing to the hymns of God Shiva, undertake this trek of 14 km from the nearest road point of Hadsar to the Manimahesh Lake. The Manimahesh Yatra that starts from Krishna Janmashtami, ends after fifteen days with Radhashtami.
*Metaphor*
The word Radha carries a deep meaning for the spiritual seekers and devotees. Radha is a reverse dimension of dhara. When the river moves towards the sea, it is called dhara. If the river can move backwards, not towards the sea but towards the origin itself, then it is called Radha. Dhara written backwards becomes Radha. Radha simply means one who has started searching for the origin, for the very source from where (s)he has come from.
We worship Krishna as the perfect incarnation of God. He plays the flute and dances with thousands of gopis and then shares the highest wisdom of life in the battle ground without getting disturbed. In short, he represents the whole existence. And Radha, his beloved, represents one who is in tremendous love with him and listening to his call, rushes back to him.
There cannot be any rivulet without the sea. There cannot be any Radha without Krishna. The sea can be there without the rivulets, and Krishna can be there without Radha. Yet, this perfect incarnation of God would not be considered totally perfect without Radha.
*Vrishbhanujaya Vidmahe, Krishnapriyaya Dheemahi*
*Tanno Radha Prachodayat*
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