HIndu Blog Posts, About Hindu Gods, goddesses

Purushottam Month: Dedicated to Lord Vishnu

“Lord Vishnu said that the merit acquired in this month through good deeds, charity and austerities is equal to such acts performed in all the 12 months of the year.”

The Hindu calendar is a lunar calendar, based on the cycles of the moon. A lunar month is approximately 29.5 days long, compared to a solar calendar, which is a 30 to 31 day cycle. An extra month, or AdhikMahina, is added to the Hindu calendar every 2.5 years to match a solar calendar. In 2012, Purushottam month will be held on August 18 – September 16.

This extra month is dedicated to Hindu God Lord Vishnu, the Preserver of the World and Upholder of the Dharma (moral order). It is believed that worshipping Lord Vishnu and to the Krishna Avatar of Vishnu is highly meritorious and praiseworthy at this time. Lord Vishnu is known chiefly through his incarnations, particularly Rama, Krishna and Buddha. His preserving, restoring, and protecting powers have been manifested in the world in a series of ten earthly avatars, which either help prevent a great evil or to affect good upon the earth. Lord Vishnu ensures peace and order on earth and preaches love, honesty and a staunch belief in principles of morality.

Lord Krishna was the 8th Avatar of Lord Vishnu and popularized as the youthful hero in the Bhagavad Gita. In the epic poem, Krishna persuades Prince Arjuna on the eve of the great battle of Kurukshetra to fight by instructing him in spiritual wisdom and the means of attaining union with God. Lord Krishna promoted religion, philosophy, love and art forms, such as literature, painting, and sculpture.

There is a particular Hindu God assigned to every month in a traditional calendar year. Initially, the extra lunar month carried a stigma and was not assigned to a particular Hindu God. Lord Vishnu took pity on this occasion and assigned it to him and especially to Lord Krishna. Lord Vishnu said that the merit acquired in this month through good deeds, charity and austerities is equal to such acts performed in all the 12 months of the year. Purushottam has since acquired greater significance than any other lunar cycle.

Creating a Simple Lord Krishna Puja to Celebrate Janmashtami

The significance of Lord Krishna is that he used his life to explain the great teachings in Upanishads. He taught us to remain neutral, live in the moment and celebrate every day of life.

krishna and Ganesh statue — Krishna Statue for Janmashtami Puja

Keeping in mind that Lord Krishna taught us to rise above rituals and take action; the best offering is to perform one’s duty by realizing the Braham within. Janmashtami is a day to reflect, calm the mind and feel a connection with Shri Krishna. Above all, the greatest puja is to read the Bhagavad Gita, sit in silence and contemplate.

Puja suggestions dedicated to Lord Krishna:Place a Krishna statue and Ganesha statue in a clean, quiet space
Have a lamp and prepare a plate with flowers, fruits and sweets
Meditate and pray to Lord Ganesha
Light the lamp
Meditate and pray to Lord Krishna
Offer flowers, specifically tulsi leaves and light incense
Chant the mantra – “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya”
Offer the fruits and sprinkle water on the Lord Krishna sculpture and Lord Ganesha sculpture
When completed, remove the fruits and offer as Prasad with others

The significance of Lord Krishna is that he used his life to explain the great teachings in Upanishads. He taught us to remain neutral, live in the moment and celebrate every day of life. However you chose to worship, Lord Krishna is happy with any offerings to him in true devotion. View a video of Lord Krishna puja.

Janmashtami: Celebrating the Birth of Lord Krishna

“Don’t judge me by what I am doing. Among the armed, I am like ram: I am like a crocodile among fishes, the Ganga among rivers. Dear Arjun, I am the beginning, the end, and even the middle of existence.”
Lord Krishna

Hindu devotees throughout the world will be celebrating Janmashtami or Gokolashtami as it is known in North India on August 10th, 2012. The festival, also known as Krishna Jayanti, commemorates the birth of Hindu God Lord Krishna with enormous joy and long-standing traditions. This holiday is generally celebrated over a period of two days, or after midnight when the Lord Krishna is said to have been born.

Many rituals mark this event, including fasting, bhajans or songs of praise with traditional dances, and pujas or intense worship. A Lord Krishna statue or idol plays an important role in the pooja process. The day starts with a Gopal Krishna statue receiving a bath of gangajal (holy water of Ganga), ghee (liquid butter), honey and curd. The statue is adorned with precious jewelry and new clothes, preferably in the color yellow. A blessing and offering of bhog or food is given to the statue and followed by praise of Gopal. Throughout the day, the festival is observed with much happiness and devotion to the Lord Krishna.

Janmashtami is also a time of gifting to your friends and relatives to show respect and care for your elders. Lotus Sculpture carries the finest polished bronze and three metal Gopal Krishna statues. Each of them are one-of-a-kind, hand-made masterpieces made from the lost wax method from artists in South India.

Above all, it is a time to rejoice in the glory and share the teachings of Krishna.

Shiva as Dhakshinamurti Quotes

Dhakshinamurti, Shiva as the south facing lord — Bronze Shiva as Dhakshinamurti, the south facing lord

“Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, the abode of all wisdom, teacher of the whole world, healing those who suffer from the disease of samsara.
Salutations to Lord Dakshinamurti, who is the meaning of “Om“, whose form is pure knowledge, who is taintless and utterly silent.”

“I extol Dakshinamurthy, the handsome youth who has transmitted the truth of Parabrahm by silent speech; who is surrounded by a host of venerable sages as disciples, all absorbed and established in meditation upon Brahman; who is the Supreme Teacher; who displays the sacred sign of fusion of the soul with the Absolute — the joining of forefinger and thumb — the paragon of bliss; who has a resplendent face replete with the rapture of the Self-Existent.”

“May this obeisance be directed to the Blessed Dakshinamurti to Him who takes the guise of the auspicious Guru, to Him whose eight-fold Form is this entire motionless and mobile cosmos, manifesting as earth, water, fire, air, ether, the sun, the moon and the soul; beyond whom, all-pervading and supreme, there exists nothing else for those who truly search!”

“Let us Praise Dakshinamurthy, the Supreme Father,
who is ‘having the Opening to Delight’,
who Delights in the Self alone,
who is the Embodiment of Delight,
who is with a Hand (with fingers closed in the fashion of) Sealing in
Brahman (as it were),
who is the pre-eminent among Spiritual Masters abiding surrounded,
by the foremost among spiritual disciples, who are Rishis resting in
Brahman,
who is a small boy,
who is of the Form of the Supreme Brahman, and
who denoted (the Supreme Brahman) by the Expounding that is Silence.”

“A young guru, imparting knowledge of Brahman through silence, surrounded by rishis who are firmly established in wisdom.
Teacher of teachers, whose gesture signifies wisdom, whose nature is fullness, smiling, reveling in himself, I worship that Lord Dakshinamurti.
Seated on the ground under the banyan tree, bestowing knowledge to all the rishis who have assembled near him…
teacher of the three worlds, destroyer of the miseries of birth and death, I bow to that Lord.”

Shiva, Lord Nataraja Quotes

Bronze Shiva Nataraja statue

“Because You love the Burning -ground, I have made a Burning-ground of
my heart – That You, Dark One, hunter of the Burning-ground, May dance
Your eternal dance.”~ Bengali Hymn~

Nataraja in Puja ceremony — Bronze Nataraja statue in puja ceremony

“The source of all movement,
Shiva’s dance,
Gives rhythm to the universe.
He dances in evil places,
In sacred,
He creates and preserves,
Destroys and releases.
We are part of this dance
This eternal rhythm,
And woe to us if, blinded
By illusions,
We detach ourselves
From the dancing cosmos,
This universal harmony…”
Ruth Peel

“O my Lord, Thy hand holding the sacred drum has made and ordered the heavens and earth and other worlds and innumerable souls. Thy lifted hand protects both the conscious and unconscious order of thy creation. All these worlds are transformed by Thy hand bearing fire. Thy sacred foot, planted on the ground, gives an abode to the tired soul struggling in the toils of causality. It is Thy lifted foot that grants eternal bliss to those that approach Thee. These Five-Actions are indeed Thy Handiwork..”
~ Chidambara Mummani Kovai~

Hindu God Shiva Nataraja statue — 4 Foot tall Dancing Shiva as Lord Nataraja

O Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram,
King Dancer of Thillai Ambalam,
Beloved consort of Sivakami Sundari,
Bhuvanesvari, Rajarajesvari,
Destroyer of sin, bestower of prosperity,
Remover of suffering, giver of Immortality,
Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

Holder of Trident, drinker of poison,
Master of Yogis, ruler in the Sun,
Dweller in Kailas, rider of Nandi
Destroyer of Cupid, Lord of Siddhi,
The three-eyed Lord, the five-faced God,
The blue-necked God, the God of gods,
Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

Thou art my Guru and sole-refuge,
Salutations unto Thee O Lord of Mercy,
Bless me with Thy shower of Grace,
Let me behold Thy benign face,
Let me merge in Thee for ever,
This is my real fervent prayer.
Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah,
Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

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