Author: kajmani

  • Pitra Paksha – Remembering our Ancestors

    Pitra Paksha, also known as “Shraadh” or “Mahalaya”, is a fortnight (fourteen days) dedicated to paying homage to our departed ancestors. It is observed during the dark fortnight of Ashwin or Aswayauja and usually occurs in September/October. The last day of the Pitra Paksha is known as “Mahalaya Amavasya” – the final night of the…

  • Ganesha Chaturthi – History and Celebration

    The festival of Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated as the “birthday” of Lord Ganesha in many parts of India. Ganesha Chaturthi is perhaps the most actively celebrated festival in the state of Maharashtra. The festival last for ten days – beginning on the fourth day after the new moon in the month of Ashwin. Traditional celebrations…

  • Kena Upanishad – Who moves this universe?

    That which makes the tongue speak, but cannot be spoken; That is the nature of the Self. It is not someone other than you. Those who say they know the Self really do not know it. The Self cannot be known by the intellect because it is beyond the duality of the knower and the…

  • Janmashtami – Celebrating Lord Krishna

    Krishna Janmashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna, the eighth Divine Incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It falls on the 8th day of the dark half of the month (in the waning part of the lunar cycle between the full moon and the new moon) of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is a festival celebrated with great devotion…

  • On Creation and Destruction – Brahma and Shiva

    On the one hand, we have Brahma the creator – he, looking in all four directions, creating the three universes, with the five elements at his disposal. He is said to create all that exists. On the other hand, we have Shiva, the destroyer. He, of the long-matted hair through which the Ganga is said…

  • OM or AUM – The Seed Sound – The Beginning

    AUM or ओम् originally ओं = आं , which may be derived from आ, a word of solemn affirmation and respectful assent, sometimes translated by ” yes , verily , so be it “ it is placed at the commencement of most Hindu works, most mantras and shlokas, and as a sacred exclamation may be uttered…