Mythological Significance Of Pushkar

With a civilisation of more than 5000 years, India has a legacy of temples, monuments, palaces and sculptural masterpieces of inimitable aesthtic grandeur. During this historic process, a bewildering variety of races, religions, cult, languages and customs was produced. India's amazing diversity is also shown in her religions and religious places.

One of the famous religious places is Pushkar in Rajasthan where a bath in the lake and worship at the temple of Brahma is said to give one salvation. Pushkarji is situated in an enchanting valley of the Arravali hills, 11 kilometers north-west of Ajmer, where the temple is dedicated to Lord Brahma.

"Pushkaradhipati Tirthani Gangadhayasaritasthata" which means that in pilgrim places Pushkar occupies the highest place as sacred Ganga occupies the place among rivers. Significance of Pushkar has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, Buddha and Jain mythology.


Mythological Significance

The Pushkar lake is believed to have had a miraculous origin and Brahma performed a yajna on its banks. Legend has it that a demon called Vajra Nabha, living in Pushkar, had killed the children of Brahma and in revenge Brahma killed him with a lotus stalk. As he did so, petals from the lotus flower fell at three places in Pushkar where three lakes arose, Jyeshtha the main one, Madhyama the middle one and Kanishtha the small one. Lord Brahma was cursed by Lord Shiva not to be worshipped, but he is worshipped at this place because his wife Gayatri refused to have a shrine dedicated to her, unless Brahma also had his shrine there. Though there is no cult of Brahma, he is invoked in all the major and minor sacred ceremonies. According to Vedas, he originated directly from the Supreme Being. His attributes are his four heads, each one holding sway over a quarter of the Universe and the four Vedas are supposed to have emanated from his heads. He is, therefore, known as the god of wisdom.


Worship at Pushkar

Pushkar lake is famous for its sanctity and holy water. A holy dip from three to six a.m. on the day of Kartik Purnima (Full moon) ,some time in November,is considered most auspicious. Delicate clay lamps on leafy dishes, are lighted and allowed to float over the sacred lake.To commemorate the Great Yagna, a five day fair is organised when lakhs of people congregate at Pushkar, take a holy dip on all the five days in the lake and worship at Brahma temple. An outstanding feature of this fair is that people from all religious faiths attend this fair.

There are 400 temples in Pushkar and the most important amongst them are dedicated to Lord Brahma, Shiva, Badri Narayan, Rangjee, Gayatri, Savitri and Varaha. The lake, elliptical in shape, is encircled by 52 ghats built over the years by several kings and nobles. The important ghats are Varaha Ghat, Brahma Ghat and Gau Ghat. It also has seats of Vallabhacharya and Nimbarkacharya community. There are three Pushkars - Jyeshtha, Madhyama and Kanishtha. The last one is popularly known as 'Boodha Pushkar'. Performing oblations at the three Pushkars on foot is known as "Panch-kosi-Parikrama" as 16 Kms. distance is covered while performing it.


Cattle Fair

With lakhs of devotees congregating at Pushkar every year, cattle traders started selling cattle to the highest bidder. Later, the Rajasthan State Department of Animal Husbandary took the initiative to start a Cattle Fair in a well-organised way. Besides sale of cattle, various other government and non-government organisations participate in the exhibition organised at the Mela ground. Handicraft and rural artisan products from Punjab, Haryana, U.P., M.P. and all over Rajasthan are brought for sale. Cultural programmes , Kavi-sammelans and an unusual spectacle of camels racing and jumping can also be seen.

The events worth witnessing are dancing horses, dancing camels and laddu camel event, where the winning camel carries the maximum human load. In the evening a cultural bonanza spectacular variety of programmes with famous folk songs and folk dances of Rajasthan are organised for mass entertainment.

Mela ground on the final day provides a rare occasion where tying the turban in Mewari, Mewati, Dhudhani, Marwari, Jaisalmeri and Bikaneri styles in multicolours can be seen.


An International Tourist Spot

Initially people thronged to Pushkar to have a holy dip in the lake and worship Lord Brahma. Later the fair took prominence as the biggest cattle cum religious fair of Northern India.

Currently thousands of foreigners in join the festivities of the fair on all the five days and especially on the finale of Kartik Purnima day when various games of cattles, tug of war of men and women in between foreigners and rural farmers of Rajasthan and variety of entertainment programmes are organised. Tourism department has taken over most of the activities of Pushkar fair and the fair is now a major attraction of foreign tourists. A separate tourist village with Swiss cottages and shamiyanas is picketed for foreign and local tourists. The gradual impact of western culture and life style is evident on old Indian religious culture of Pushkar inhabitants. Local Pandas can be seen conversing with foreigners in broken English. Though it has gradually become an international tourist spot yet Indian spritualism, philosophy, culture and rural folk life still continue to dominate this major fair

Pushpa Ayurveda -FLOWER THERAPY

Once upon a time, Buddha, in the course of a journey, fell ill and some Jain priests were able to treat him successfully with nectar served on a lotus petal. The story throws light on the antiquity and efficacy of Pushpa Ayurveda (flower therapy), which is now recapturing attention all over the world. India is all poised to reap the benefits from it.

Pushpa Ayurveda is a special branch of Ayurveda which was developed primarily by Jain priests. They were especially attracted to this branch as the therapy was closer to the Jain principle of ahimsa. Flower therapy is the modern version of this age-old treatment developed in ancient India.

The first text dealing with the details of using flowers in the treatment of particular diseases appears in the 9th century text called Kalyana Karakam. Written by Ugraditya Acharyan, the text says, "ayurveda texts usually prescribe the use of plant-based medicines. But some acharyas like Charakan have used some meat-based formulae for medicine preparation. To offset this imbalance, Jain doctors have perfected Puspa Ayurveda which makes use of 18,000 types of flowers".

Written in the 3rd century B.C., the treatise is exceptional because of the wealth of detail and keenness of observation. It also vividly portrays the fact that the use of flowers in ayurvedic treatment results in much prosperity - it makes for prosperity, kalyana karakam as the title claims!

A Way of Life

In ancient India, planting and taking care of trees and plants were considered a pious thing to do. In fact this was considered one of the seven good qualities of a person. As far as a ruler was concerned the nurturing of these seven good qualities was considered a duty too. From this might have followed the custom of royalty and rich people planting shade-giving trees and maintaining gardens. Ancient foreign travellers through the Indian subcontinent have often specially noted this practice and many have described these gardens in glowing terms. Lumbini, Pataliputram and others are some of the famed gardens of those days.

The practice of making garlands using flowers was considered an art in those days. Special sections of the society were entrusted with the preparation of garlands to be used on auspicious occasions like marriages, and temple rites. Those people also usually used to collect and deliver flowers in large quantities for use on special occasions .

In Kerala, the Warriers were a special class of people who were entrusted with the task of preparing garlands used to decorate idols in temples. It is said that they were quite adept in the temple rites and used to prepare garlands in the form of stanzas in praise of the temple deity.

A Part of Life

The Vedas considered flowers as part of the primordial impulse that marked the advent of life on earth. Brahma, considered as the creator according to mythology, is also called ‘pushpa sambhavan’, or ‘one born of flowers’. Brahma is described as one who was born out of the lotus that grew out of Maha Vishnu - so sung Kunjan Nambiar, the famous Malayalam bard who systematized the genre of satirical poetry in Malayalam. One of the stanzas of the Rig Veda says that one who knows about pushpas or flowers will be blessed with prosperity, riches and good fortune.

Thus, in short, flowers were considered a part of life in ancient India. This intimacy of flowers in the way of life of the people and as a part of life of the common people has been celebrated though numerous references in many literary texts as well.

Basis of Flower Therapy

Pushpa ayurveda divides the whole kingdom of flowers into four major classes. Only one of these classes qualifies for medicinal use. These flowers are used in many ways as well as in combination with other types of treatment.

Basically, flowers are used as the foundation for making various kinds of medicines. But in addition, ancient texts have detailed myriad ways of using flowers as therapy. One set is called ‘darsanam’ or sight. The seeing of flowers at certain times of the day or night for a specified time was prescribed in this kind of treatment. Wearing a crown of flowers for specific time limits and reclining on bed made of flowers were also treatments prescribed under pushpa ayurveda.

Bhojan, Charakan and Vagbhatan were some of the illustrious masters of ayurveda who had made systematic and successful use of flowers for ayurvedic treatment. The smell of flowers, the time they were plucked, the kind of medicine prepared, the quality and kind of materials used along with the flowers in the preparation of medicines were important parameters governing the success of treatment. For example, Charakan prescribes yellow jamanthi flowers as beneficial to control cough and phlegm. Bhojan mischievously suggests that the Kethaki flower will definitely enhance the happiness of ladies.

Modern Times

With the importance given to health tourism and floriculture in modern days, pushpa ayurveda seems to have got a new lease of life. Several reputed ayurveda institutions in the private sector have come forward with proposals for combining these activities into a wholesome menu for the foreign and even domestic tourists. The development of medicinal gardens with popular help at the grassroot level, as has been spearheaded by the twin traditional ayurveda institutions in Kerala are capable of being successfully replicated elsewhere.

Teej, a festival of joy, devotion and cuisines

Festival of Teej is being celebrated with joy in Rajasthan on Sunday. Tourism department of the state has organized 5 days Saavan Teej Festival.

On Sunday a royal procession of Teej Mata will be started in the evening in Jaipur and various other cultural programmes will also be organized during the festival. Teej is a major festival of Rajasthan celebrated mainly by women.

Teej celebrates the arrival of rain and this year after a long span of heat weather is pleasant and women are celebrating the festival with joy on Sunday.
Many local fairs are being organized in various parts of the state where women are offering prayers to the goddess Parvati.
Tourism department will organize a royal procession of Teej mata in the evening in Pink city jaipur. Attractively decorated elephants and horses will be a part of this procession.
5 days food and craft fair is also being organized at jaipur where folk artists of Rajasthan and Gujrat will present their art.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Raja Ram Mohan Roy, one of the great reformers of renaissance India has commanded respect to the point of veneration and has been acclaimed as a versatile presence on the Indian historical firmament. All his life, he fought to reform the society because he believed that social and religious reform was the very foundation of political advancement. A harbinger of the idea of universal humanism, an apostle of monotheism, the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, an advocate of the freedom of the Press and a champion of women’s cause, Ram Mohan Roy was indeed, what Gopal Krishna Gokhale called him, "the maker of modern India".

Ram Mohan Roy was born on 22nd May 1772 in Radhanagar, a village in Hoogly district of West Bengal. That was a time when the Muslim rule was on the decline, law and order was at the lowest ebb, social values and religious institutions were shaken and economy was in chaos. It was a time when an all-round reconstruction and renovation was necessary for the continued existence of social life and order.

Ram Mohan received his elementary education in the village school as was the practice in those days. He acquired knowledge of his mother tongue – Bengali – which he perfected through self-study. His father sent him to Patna to learn Persian and Arabic. This proved a boon, as Ram Mohan could study the Sufi writers and glean gems from them to be tallied with the Vedantic philosophy. Thus, his mental field was broadened. It brought him out of the narrow confines of religious views. Three maxims that Roy loved to repeat were from the Sufi thoughts. These were "Man is the slave of benefits;" "The enjoyment of the worlds rests on these two points – kindness to friends and civility to enemies;" and the third one, " The way of serving God is to do good to man."

One of the most endearing traits of Ram Mohan Roy’s personality was his tolerant attitude to all religions. He had studied Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. During his pilgrimage to Tibet he got acquainted with Buddhism and from the Marwaris at Rangpur, he learnt the precepts of Jainism.

The year 1815 turned to be a decisive year in the life of Ram Mohan Roy. He formed the "Atmiya Sabha",the inner circle, to discuss theological subjects and also to translate the Upanishads. The "Atmiya Sabha" met once a week. The discussions soon led to the establishment of the Brahmo Samaj to secure freedom from the bondage of ignorance and superstitions.

Roy started his crusade against Sati after a heart-rending experience that shook him to the roots. In 1811, on the death of his brother, Jag Mohan, his wife was forced to commit Sati. Ram Mohan was filled with unbearable pity, rage and remorse. He determined to end the abominable practice. Roy raised his voice against Sati and after several attempts succeeded in drawing the government’s attention. The orthodox society turned anti-Roy but with dogged determination he persisted. In December 1828 the famous regulation was passed which declared the practice illegal and punishable as a criminal offence.

Once Sati was abolished, women’s lot drew Ram Mohan’s attention. It was a time when women had no voice. They were considered inferior, unworthy of trust and devoid of knowledge. He wrote extensively on women’s rights and once again incurred the wrath of the orthodox society.

His plea for the rights of females shows that he was a strong supporter of women’s uplift. He fought for their legal rights to property; he took up the cause of the destitute women; he raised his voice against the sale of daughters to prospective husbands due to pecuniary interests and he condemned the system of polygamy. In 1830 he sailed for England along with his adopted son, Raja Ram, then a boy of 12, and two servants. He visited Manchester, Bentham, and Liverpool besides London. The main objective of his visit to England was to press for certain important reforms for India. After his stay in London, he went to Bristol where he died on September 27, 1833, after a brief illness. His passing away was deeply mourned by his admirers. He believed in the divine unity of mankind because he was deeply religious and had faith in the divinity of man irrespective of caste or creed.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Scholars and historians tell us that this sacred text distils the essence of the wisdom of that great period of philosophical ferment in India, during the Sufi and Bhakti movement. That period of social and philosophical enquiry followed the unprecedented interaction between the great faiths of Islam and Hinduism in our ancient homeland. From their interaction arose a number of saints who sought to synthesize the mystic elements of both faiths. Writing in different languages, using different forms, using different idioms, they were united in the simplicity of their message and the colloquial idioms that they adopted from daily life. This common idiom, this sant bhasha, made their essentially common message enormously powerful. Therefore, even today, it can still be a matter of some surprise to recall that the great sufi and bhakti saints were separated by several centuries. This shows a certain universality of the thoughts of these mystic saints, which were inherited by their spiritual successors.

To begin with, therefore, the Guru Granth Sahib brought these different voices together in one place. While compiling the sayings of the sacred Gurus before him, Guru Arjun Dev had a plethora of material, as well as the obvious editorial freedom, to select and reject. Guru Arjun Devji collated the sayings of those who shared the broad and all encompassing spiritual outlook of Guru Nanak, such as Baba Farid, Kabir, Jaidev, Namdev, Ravidas, and several others. This illustrates his all-inclusive approach. The ideals of monotheism, rational enquiry what we call today as scientific temper, brotherhood of humankind, egalitarianism, concern for women—all of these are recurrent themes in the teachings of these saints, and in the Guru Granth Sahib. Many of them—Guru Nanak Dev in particular—embodied the spiritual convergence between Islam and Hinduism of that time. Perhaps there is also significance in the fact that efforts to include the sayings of sants of various denominations and regions was also an act of both religious and secular integration. To the extent one can extrapolate a modern metaphor to those times, the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib is a unique and pioneering example of an inter-faith dialogue.
 

 It is remarkable how, in that age of great political instability and social crisis, the teachings of these holy men are so stark and simple. Perhaps the message had to be reduced to its basics, born as it was in a time of great stress. This also explains the common message underlying the teachings of the Sufi and Bhakti saints. Many of these teachings are therefore particularly relevant today, in our troubled and weary world. I would add, however, that it is simultaneously ironic and a little saddening to realize that many of the same evils that plagued our society four hundred years ago, continue to do so even today. I therefore believe that the message that emerges from the Guru Granth Sahib aims at addressing the most basic doubts and dilemmas of humanity, which have remained unchanged over centuries.

Although this sacred text is embedded in the historical context in which the sayings were compiled, it is even today a collection of what we would now call very progressive teachings, aimed at creating an ideal universal man. This ideal world would be a world without borders, free from the pernicious divisions of caste and status, one where differences of religion and language are rendered irrelevant. The teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib seek to harmonize the world as we know it. These teachings synthesize the essential wisdom of all religions and earlier mystic saints, and the ancient traditional cultural and civilizational ethos of the Indian people. In doing so, it sets out a powerful and appealing message of gender equality, concern for the uplift of women and concern for our natural environment. It defines a moral compass for humanity to follow, but without adopting an imperative approach. Most of all, it sets out an agenda for social equity that is most relevant for our society even today.

For instance, the common teaching of the Guru Granth Sahib explicitly proscribes the reprehensible practice of female infanticide, the customs of purdah and evil of sati. Guru Nanak said, “why do you despise her who gives birth to monarchs and prophets?” Similarly, we find a common concern for maintaining the ecological and environmental balance. Guru Nanak’s reverence for life, for nature and for God’s creation is illustrated by his sayings.

To quote but one instance in the Japji:

Þ{É´ÉxÉ MÉÖ°ô, {ÉÉÉÊhÉ ÉÊ{ÉiÉÉ, àÉÉiÉÉ vÉ®iÉ àÉciÉ *

ÉÊn´ÉºÉ ®ÉiÉ nÉäA nÉ<Ç nɪÉÉ JÉäãÉè ºÉMÉãÉ VÉMÉiÉ ** Þ

Air the Guru, Water the Father,

Great Earth the Mother :

These teachings argue for a life, which if well led, would address both the internal crisis of the human spirit as well as the external crises in our society and our natural environment, which are often the result of spiritual emptiness and irresponsibility.

The transcendental vision embodied in the Adi Granth is described by our scholar President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in the following words:

“In the tradition of India, Nanak Dev believes in religion as realisation, anubhava. Those who adopt his view subordinate ritualistic practices and creedal definitions. Nanak Dev does not believe in the ultimacy of the distinction between Hindu and Mussalman. He goes beyond these distinctions and fosters a religion of spirit which is universal in character… Nanak Dev affirms the possibility which is now becoming popular and was anticipated by the Sikh Gurus. No wonder that the Adi Granth, which is sacred scripture of the Sikhs, contains the utterances of holy men of both Hinduism and Islam.”

Such an ideal social order, without religious or political boundaries, is described by Guru Arjun Dev as Halemi Raj.

This concept of Halimi Raj as described in the Guru Granth Sahib resembles, in some ways, the modern ideal of a welfare state. Such a society is not defined or created by state directives or legislation but is the result of a spiritual transformation of all its constituents. This concept of an egalitarian society, free from the exploitation of man by his fellow man, is further corroborated in the hymns of Bhagat Ravidas, who describes an ideal city --Begumpura – a city without defined boundaries, free from fear and grief. According to Ravidas the citizens of such an ideal society would not have excess of taxes, nor would they live in fear of injustice. That’s the heritage that Guru Granth Sahib and our Gurus have bequeathed to us.

This is by no means an exhaustive elaboration of the eternally relevant ideals of the Guru Granth Sahib. As participants in this important seminar, you have the opportunity to provide new and valuable insights into the continuing relevance and validity of the eternal message of the great Gurus. Once again, I thank you for inviting me to participate in this meaningful and evocative event. I wish you every success in your deliberations.

The age-old value system of Indian consciousness

The age-old value system of Indian consciousness revolves around the concepts of vasudhaiva kutumbakam (this world is one family) and ekama sat viprah bahudha vadanti(the universal reality is the same, but different people interpret it by different names). These two proclamations bear the essence of eternal way of life, coherent with thoughts and practices of the Upanishad, advocate adherence to the meditation, service towards others, changing oneself through self-awareness, compassion and wisdom. Briefly, the Hindus follow the vision that everything is divine, while the Jains believe that all living beings are related with divinity and the Buddhists proclaim self realization by disciplining base desires through right conduct. The exhibition seeks to celebrate this eternal Indian consciousness running through various works of art of the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist origins.

The Indian consciousness, for example, is reflected in the triad or trimurti representing the three principal gods of Hinduism, namely Brahma (creator) Vishnu (preserver) and Mahesha (destroyer). Around these deities revolve the Hindu pantheon with countless gods and goddesses. Embodied in the traid are three essential principles of the universe – rajas (the cause of desire), sattva (mercy, goodness and intelligence) and tamas (darkness or inertia). Similarly, the dance of bliss (ananda tandava) of Nataraja combines the panchkrityas, namely creation (srishti), preservation (sthiti), destruction (samhara), veiling (tirobhava) and grace (anugraha). A few exhibits of mundane consideration include the images of Lakshmi-Narayana as divine couple of Kalyanasundaramurti portraying the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. A panel depicting the conservation of Sita and Lakshmana in the Panchvati reflects an earthly feeling of distrust and obedience, which led to the abduction of Sita. Likewise, Krishna lifting mount Govardhan highlights his pastoral character. The essence of magnanimity is seen in the bronze image of Bharata and Ardhanarishvara of composite nature, reflecting syncretic ideology, have been canonized to bring harmony and peaceful coexistence among the sects.

The Buddhist themes like turning of the Wheel of the Law of Dharma by the Buddha at Sarnath signifies the establishment of the sovereignty of Dharma or righteousness, while the Mahaparinirvana or the Great Decease of the Buddha at Kushinagar endorses the teachings of the Buddha that ‘Decay is inherent in all component beings. Work out your own salvation with diligence’. The elements of ultimate sacrifice and generosity to all living beings have been narrated in the panels of Sibi Jataka, subjugation of Nalagiri and honey to the Buddha. A few exhibits reflecting the esoteric nature of Indian thought, which views life in a swiftly changing perspective, form part of the exhibition.

Jainism believes existence of souls in all living beings, where it is possible for the soul to purify itself and attain enlightenment through the path of truth and asceticism and subsequent to this, help other beings to attain the same. The images of Rishabhanatha Neminatha, Ajitnatha and Parshvanatha are a few exhibits displayed here for appreciation.