Ganesh Chaturthi 2021 | Part 1 | Special blog | Symbolism | Significance | Spirituality

 Ganesh Chaturthi Special blog  - Part 1

ॐ एकदन्ताय विद्महे वक्रतुंडाय धीमहि तन्नो बुदि्ध प्रचोदयात।। 

Hi there! and a very happy Ganesh Utsav to you and your family! 🙏🌺

It was my dream since childhood to visit a potter's home or workshop before Ganesh- utsav or Durga Puja to see the statues before the world  and capture the beauty and essence of it. I wondered how beautifully the photographers captured the beauty of half finished statues, by seeing pictures in the newspaper or internet. And Voila, this time, this dream of mine came true . I visited one of the potter's house in Bagbahra during this time and here are the glimpses of my visit, highly loaded with a combo of  spirituality and art. Literally, it was a divine experience....

Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati is popularly worshipped under different names like Sumukha, Ekadanta, Kapila, Gajakarna, Lambodara, Vikath, Vidhnanashaka, Vinayaka, Dhumraketu, Ganadhayaksha, Bhalchandra and Gajanana.

Ganesha’s form is highly charming and mesmerizing. The cute little chubby boy like body with an elephant head, a broken tusk. A rounded body carrying the wisdom of the universe. A tray of sweets by his side. A tiny mouse on the other. A lotus in one hand. A crown on his head. The second arm raised with an axe. A third lifting in benediction and blessing, has been inspiring devotion and love in the hearts of millions down the history. While the form of Lord Ganesh evokes our imaginations and pleases us beyond compare, there is also deep spiritual symbolism behind the form of Lord Ganesh.

Interesting symbolism behind Lord Ganesha's form - 

Usually elephants are the path makers in forests. When an elephant passes through thick woods, a way is created for the other animals to follow. Lord Ganesh is worshiped first before starting anything new. Lord Ganesha clears the obstacles and paves the way for us to move forward in life.

The large elephant head of Lord Ganesha symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life.

The wide mouth represents the . natural human desire to enjoy life in the world. The large ears signify that a perfect person is the one who possesses a great capacity to listen to others and assimilate ideas. Ganesha being the ruler of the worlds, he possesses large ears to keenly listen to the prayers and needs of all his subjects.

The trunk can hold anything and everything existent in this universe. Likewise, the individuals should possess qualities of high adaptability and efficiency in life. This in other words can make them attune to any circumstances of life. It also represents OM ( ॐ) the sound symbol of cosmic reality.

The two tusks denote the two  aspects of the human personality, wisdom and emotion. The right tusk represents wisdom and the left tusk represents emotion. The broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with wisdom to attain perfection. 

The right foot dangling over the left foot illustrates that in order to live a successful life one should utilise knowledge and reason to overcome emotions.

The elephant eyes are said to possess natural deceptiveness that allows them to perceive objects to be bigger than what they really are. Thus it indicates to surrender one's pride and attain humility.

The Trishul (weapon of Shiva, similar to Trident) over forehead symbolises time (past, present and future) and Lord Ganesha's mastery over it.

The four arms of Lord Ganesha represent the four inner attributes of the subtle body, that is: mind (Manas), intellect (Buddhi), ego (Ahamkara), and conditioned conscience (Chitta). Lord Ganesha represents the pure consciousness - the Atman - which enables these four attributes to function in us. The hand waving an axe is a symbol of the retrenchment of all desires, bearers of pain and suffering.

With this axe Lord Ganesha can both strike and repel obstacles. The axe is also to prod man to the path of righteousness (dharma) and truth. The second hand holds a whip, symbol of the force that ties the devout person to the eternal beatitude of God. The whip conveys that worldly attachments and desires should be rid of; the third hand, turned towards the devotee, is in a pose of blessing, refuge and protection (abhaya); the fourth hand holds a lotus flower (padma), and it symbolizes the highest goal of human evolution, the sweetness of the realized inner self.

The human body possesses a human heart, which is a symbol of kindness and compassion toward all. Lord Ganesha is usually portrayed wearing red and yellow clothes. Yellow symbolizes purity, peace, auspiciousness, sense control, and truthfulness. Red symbolizes the activity in the world. Thus an individual should perform all duties in the world, with purity, peace, and truthfulness.

Lord Ganesha's belly represents the whole cosmos, the seven realms above and below and the seven oceans are inside Ganesha's cosmic belly. These are held together by the cosmic energy (kundalini) symbolized by the huge snake around him. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. The big belly signifies that a person should face all pleasant and unpleasant experiences during his life span with patience and calmness.

The mouse represents ego. Lord Ganesha using the mouse represents the need to control ego and so it's said that one who controls his ego has Ganesha consciousness. Ganesh Chaturthi is a celebration of  The Lord who controls the universe. The wandering mouse also signifies the wavering human mind. As Lord Ganesh (elephant head) controls the mouse, we must also learn to control our mind with intellect.

Yet another interpretation explains why Lord Ganesh has the mouse as his vehicle. The king must be accessible to all the subjects equally. Ganesh with a huge body and elephant head is close to the mouse which is a tiny creature. This indicates all lives are equal and it is the duty of every human to take care of the humble lives around.

                                    

Photographist : Kamya 📸

Facts curated from various websites...

Mouse also symbolizes uncontrolled desires and ego that can nibble all that is good and noble in a person. A mouse sitting near the feet of lord Ganesha and gazing at the Laddus denotes that with purified or controlled desires one can live in the world without being affected by the worldly temptations.

Like this  blog loaded with spirituality and photography or my new editing style? Don’t forget to share it and tell me what are your memories with lord ganesha or ganesh utsav in the comments section below!!

See you in the next blog soon, till then,

Have a wonderful day, take care and....

always remember to love yourself first!! ❤

May lord Ganesha give you a rainbow for every storm, a smile for every tear. A promise for every care and an answer to every prayer. Wishing you a happy Ganesh Paksh. ❤️🙏🏼✨

Ganapati bappa morya! 🙏❤🌺

पोला विशेष ब्लॉग

 

सबले पहिली, आप मन ला पोरा तिहार के गाड़ा गाड़ा बधाई 🐂🌾

( First of all, wish you a very happy Pola. 🐂🌾 ) 

 लोक परंपरा का प्रमुख त्योहार पोला पर्व (Pola Festival) प्रदेशभर में 6 सितंबर 2021 को धूमधाम से मनाया जा रहा है है. भारत कृषि प्रधान देश है, यहाँ कृषि को अच्छा बनाने में मवेशियों का भी विशेष योगदान होता है. भारत में इन मवेशियों की पूजा की जाती है. पोला का त्यौहार उन्ही में से एक है, जिस दिन कृषक गाय, बैलों की पूजा करते है. यह पोला का त्यौहार विशेष रूप से छत्तीसगढ़, मध्यप्रदेश एवं महाराष्ट्र में मनाया जाता है. पोला के दिन किसान और अन्य लोग पशुओं की विशेष रूप से बैल की पूजा करते है, उन्हें अच्छे से सजाते है. पोला को बैल पोला भी कहा जाता है.

पोला का त्यौहार भादों माह की अमावस्या को जिसे पिठोरी अमावस्या भी कहते है, उस दिन मनाया जाता है. यह अगस्त – सितम्बर महीने में आता है.

• त्यौहार का नाम पोला क्यों पड़ा?

विष्णु भगवान जब  कृष्ण  के रूप में धरती में आये थे, जिसे कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी के रूप मे मनाया जाता है. तब जन्म से ही उनके कंस मामा उनकी जान के दुश्मन बने हुए थे. कान्हा जब छोटे थे और वसुदेव-यशोदा के यहाँ रहते थे, तब कंस ने कई बार कई असुरों को उन्हें मारने भेजा था. एक बार कंस ने पोलासुर नामक असुर को भेजा था, इसे भी कृष्ण ने अपनी लीला के चलते मार दिया था, और सबको अचंभित कर दिया था. वह दिन भादों माह की अमावस्या का दिन था, इस दिन से इसे पोला (Pola) कहा जाने लगा. यह दिन बच्चों का दिन कहा जाता है, इस दिन बच्चों को विशेष प्यार, लाढ देते है.

• पोला त्यौहार का महत्व

भारत, जहां कृषि आय का मुख्य स्रोत है और ज्यादातर किसानों की खेती के लिए बैलों का प्रयोग किया जाता है. इसलिए किसान पशुओं की पूजा आराधना एवं उनको धन्यवाद देने के लिए इस त्योहार को मनाते है. पोला दो तरह से मनाया जाता है, बड़ा पोला एवं छोटा पोला. बड़ा पोला में बैल को सजाकर उसकी पूजा की जाती है, जबकि छोटा पोला में बच्चे खिलौने के बैल या घोड़े को मोहल्ले पड़ोस में घर-घर ले जाते है और फिर कुछ पैसे या गिफ्ट उन्हें दिए जाते है.

पोला पर्व की पूर्व रात्रि को गर्भ पूजन किया जाता है। ऐसा माना जाता है कि इसी दिन अन्न माता गर्भ धारण करती है। अर्थात धान के पौधों में दूध भरता है। इसी कारण पोला के दिन किसी को भी खेतों में जाने की अनुमति नहीं होती। रात में जब गांव के सब लोग सो जाते हैं तब गांव का पुजारी-बैगा, मुखिया तथा कुछ पुरुष सहयोगियों के साथ अर्धरात्रि को गांव तथा गांव के बाहर सीमा क्षेत्र के कोने-कोने में प्रतिष्ठित सभी देवी-देवताओं के पास जा-जाकर विशेष पूजा आराधना करते हैं। यह पूजन प्रक्रिया रात भर चलती है। इनका प्रसाद उसी स्थल पर ही ग्रहण किया जाता है घर ले जाने की मनाही रहती है। इस पूजन में ऐसा व्यक्ति नहीं जा सकता जिसकी पत्नी गर्भवती हो। इस पूजन में जाने वाला कोई भी व्यक्ति जूता-चप्पल पहनकर नहीं जाता फिर भी उसे काटा-कंकड़ नहीं चूभता या शारीरिक कष्ट नहीं होता।

( P.S. her smile... :) )

सुबह होते ही गृहिणी घर में छत्तीसगढ़ी व्यंजन जैसे गुड़हा चीला, अनरसा, सोहारी, चौसेला, ठेठरी, खूरमी, बरा, मुरकू, भजिया, मूठिया, गुजिया, तसमई आदि बनाती हैं। वहीं किसान अपने गौमाता व बैलों को नहलाते हैं। उनके सींग व खूर (पैरों का निचला हिस्सा) में पेंट या पालिस लगाकर कई प्रकार से सजाते हैं। गले में घुंघरू, घंटी या कौड़ी से बने आभूषण पहनाते हैं। तथा पूजा करके आरती उतारते हैं।

तस्वीरें: काम्या साहू और इंटरनेट 📸

पोला के लिए अपने बेटों के लिए कुम्हार मिट्टी से बनाकर आग मे पकाए गए बैल या लकड़ी से बनाए बैल के पैरों में चक्के लगाकर सुसज्जित करके तथा बेटियों के लिए रसोई घर में उपयोग किए जाने वाली छोटे छोटे मिट्टी के पके बर्तनों (चुकिया, जाता, पोरा आदि) को पूजा कर बनाये हुए पारंपरिक पकवानों को भोग लगाने के बाद ये खिलौने खेलने व मनोरंजन के लिए बच्चों को देते हैं। इसके पीछे का तर्क यह है कि इन मिट्टी या लकड़ी के बने बैलों से खेलकर बेटे कृषि कार्य तथा बेटियां रसोईघर व गृहस्थी की संस्कृति व परंपरा को समझते हुए जीवन में योगदान देंगे।

मुझे लगता है कि अगर आपने यहां तक ​​स्क्रॉल किया है तो आपको ये शॉट्स और दिए गए ज्ञान पसंद आया होगा। मैं किसी भी टिप्पणी, प्रतिक्रिया या सुझाव के लिए बहुत आभारी रहूंगी। और मुझे यह जानना अच्छा लगेगा कि आपको कौन सा शॉट या तथ्य सबसे ज्यादा पसंद आया.....

मिलते हैं अगले ब्लॉग में जल्द ही, तब तक,

आपका दिन मंगलमय हो, अपना ख्याल रखें ❤

Janmashtami Special | Shree Krishna

Wish you a very happy Krishna Janmashtami!! ❤🙏

With the motivation I have got from the love from you all on the last blog, I am here with the " Janmashtami special blog" with some lesser known and spiritual facts about shree krishna and and some shotsrelated to shri krishna  by me. So, this one is gonna be a mixture of science, spirituality, religion and art ( photography).

( Janmashtami darshan of Sri Sri Radharasbihari ji, ISKCON Raipur 🙏 )

So, do you think that krishna is only there in Hinduism or is he there in other religions or cultures too? Let's find out....

Jainism

The Jainism tradition lists 63 Śalākāpuruṣa or notable figures which, amongst others, includes the twenty-four Tirthankaras (spiritual teachers) and nine sets of triads. One of these triads is Krishna as the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Baladeva, and Jarasandha as the Prati-Vasudeva. In each age of the Jain cyclic time is born a Vasudeva with an elder brother termed the Baladeva. Between the triads, Baladeva upholds the principle of non-violence, a central idea of Jainism. The villain is the Prati-vasudeva, who attempts to destroy the world. To save the world, Vasudeva-Krishna has to forsake the non-violence principle and kill the Prati-Vasudeva.

Buddhism

The story of Krishna occurs in the Jataka tales in Buddhism.^[252] The Vidhurapandita Jataka mentions Madhura (Sanskrit: Mathura), the Ghata Jataka mentions Kamsa, Devagabbha (Sk: Devaki), Upasagara or Vasudeva, Govaddhana (Sk: Govardhana), Baladeva (Balarama), and Kanha or Kesava (Sk: Krishna, Keshava).^[253][254]

Like the Jaina versions of the Krishna legends, the Buddhist versions such as one in Ghata Jataka follow the general outline of the story,^[255] but are different from the Hindu versions as well.^[253][78]

^Other

• Krishna is mentioned as Krishna Avtar in the Chaubis Avtar, a composition in Dasam Granth traditionally and historically attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.^[263]
• Baháʼís believe that Krishna was a "Manifestation of God", or one in a line of prophets who have revealed the Word of God progressively for a gradually maturing humanity. In this way, Krishna shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad, Jesus, the Báb, and the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, Bahá'u'lláh.^[264][265]
• Ahmadiyya, a 20th-century Islamic movement, consider Krishna as one of their ancient prophets.^{[266][267][268]} Ghulam Ahmad stated that he was himself a prophet in the likeness of prophets such as Krishna, Jesus, and Muhammad,^[269] who had come to earth as a latter-day reviver of religion and morality.
• Krishna was canonised by Aleister Crowley and is recognised as a saint of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica in the Gnostic Mass of Ordo Templi Orientis.^[273][274]
• Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folk religion, the figure of Krishna has been amalgamated and merged with that of Nalakuvara to influence the formation of the god Nezha, who has taken on iconographic characteristics of Krishna such as being presented as a divine god-child and slaying a nāga in his youth.^[261][262]

 

                                                   

( Janmashtami darshan of Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra, NVCC (ISKCON) Pune 🙏 )

Why is he blue or blue skinned??

 Blue is the color of all-inclusiveness. You will see in the existence, anything that is vast and beyond your perception generally tends to be blue, whether it is the ocean or the sky. Anything which is larger than your perception tends to be blue because blue is the basis of all-inclusiveness. It is based on this that so many gods in India are shown as blue-skinned. Shiva has a blue skin, Krishna has a blue skin, Rama has a blue skin. It is not that their skin was blue. They were referred to as blue gods because they had a blue aura. 

 The bluish tinge in Lord Krishna’s skin is not the colour of the material body but the eternal spiritual body of the Lord that emits blue aura. According to Bhagavad Gita, the blissful form of Lord Krishna is visible only to pure devotees. He may have bewildered the non-devotees, but those who offered pure devotional service to Him had always seen Him in his blue blissful form.

What does peacock feathers on his crown signify?

Even though Lord Krishna also manifested inside His own 'Maya', He was never controlled or disturbed by its powers.

The feathers of peacock exemplify Lord's Maya in a manner which human mind can try to grasp. The brilliant colors of peacock do not arise from the correspondingly colored pigments. Instead, they arise from the phenomenon called 'structural coloration'. The light waves entering the different thickness of keratin layers on peacock feathers get out of phase and undergo interference. The resulting light wave patterns give the beautiful play of colors which the human eyes see. The 'actual' color is just deep brown pigment which occurs in the background of these keratin layers.

Thus, Lord Krishna wears a brilliant example of His own Maya in His crown and stimulates our intelligence to understand the fact that the whole universe is a diverse manifestation of one single divinity. Thus, we are also supposed to understand the nature of Maya continuously during our life so that we do not get carried away and suffer due to its influence. If we also start wearing this idea in our mind, like Krishna wears its symbolically in His crown, then we can also enjoy this life in the manner Lord Krishna wants us to live.

Sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna , https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/why-is-krishna-blue , https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/did-lord-krishna-really-have-blue-skin--55392 

Photographist : Kamya 🌸

I think you have loved these shots and the knowledge given if you have scrolled till here. I'd be much grateful for any comments, feed backs or suggestions you might have for me. And I would love to know which shot  or fact you liked the most :)

See you in the next blog soon, till then,

Have a wonderful day, take care and....

always remember to love yourself first!! ❤

 Let there be love, light, happiness and laughter in your life with Lord Krishna’s blessings.

Jai shree Krishna 🙏❤

Metamorphosis | Butterfly blog | Capturegenic

 Everyone is like a butterfly at starting, we start out ugly and awkward and under go remarkable transformation  in life but it depends upon us that how patiently we wait for the right time and how bravely we break our cocoon, our comfort zone with our elegant but strong wings and then morph into beautiful , graceful butterflies that everyone loves, that’s ready to share its beauty with the world. And then, there is no looking back....

                                                                                                        -  Kamya 🦋

Facts to stimulate your mind :  1.The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape.

 2.  Butterflies are cold-blooded and require – in ideal settings – a body temperature of approximately 85 degrees to activate their flight muscles. If the weather begins changing some species simply migrate in search of sunshine. Some, like the North American Monarch, travel an average of 2,500 miles!

 

Photographist : Kamya 🌸

Macro Shots : Skyvik signi 3 in 1

I think you have loved these butterfly shots by me if you have scrolled till here. I'd be much grateful for any comments, feed backs or suggestions you might have for me. And I would love to know which shot you liked the most :)

See you in the next blog soon, till then,

Have a wonderful day and take care and....

always remember to love yourself first!! ❤

Rakshabandhan Special Blog

 The bonding between a brother and a sister is simply unique and is beyond description in words. The relationship between siblings is extraordinary and is given importance in every part of the world. However, when it comes to India, the relationship becomes all the more important as there is a festival called "Raksha Bandhan" dedicated for the sibling love. ❤

During the Mahabharata period, when Lord Krishna got hurt in his finger while killing Shishupala. As soon as the injury occurred, a stream of blood started flowing from the finger of Lord Krishna. Seeing this scene, Draupadi immediately tore the pallu of her sari and tied it on Lord Krishna's finger. Due to which the bleeding stopped.  After which Shri Krishna promised that he would repay the debt of each thread. The day this incident happened was the full moon day of Shravan month. It is said that since then the tradition of celebrating the festival of Rakshabandhan started. 

Lord Shri Krishna remembers the promise given to Draupadi during Shishupala's slaughter and he rushes to save Draupadi's shame when the Kauravas wanted to rip off Draupadi in a crowded meeeting. Lord Krishna creates a Leela to save Draupadi's shame and performs such a miracle that Draupadi's sari starts growing continuously and Dushasana fainted while pulling the sari. Thus Lord Krishna protected Draupadi and fulfilled his promise.

So, on this auspicious occasion, I am presenting the snippets from "Rakhi Photo Shoot" done by me.  

 

❤

Camera ke peeche ki ladki - Kamya ❤

Camera : Canon 1500D 📷

I hope you liked the shoot by me. This is the first time I have experimented with the backdrop like this. And if you liked it, don't keep it to yourself, share this blog to the world through your social media. :)

And guess in the comments below, what have I exactly used  for the background? 🤔

 Tell me your opinion about the love and relation of a brother and a sister. Are there any thoughts you'd like to share? Your insight would be much appreciated. And once again, 

Wish You all a very Happy Rakshabandhan!!!

See you in the next blog, till then,

Take Care ❤