Category: festivals

  • Do we need to restore purity to Raksha Bandhan?

    The festival of Raksha Bandhan is one which celebrates the bond of love between brothers and sisters. That is my understanding of what Rakhi is supposed to be about. There is something about the pure nature of the brother sister relationship which has always made it one of my favorite festivals. I was fortunate enough,…

  • Makar Sankranti 2011

    Happy Makar Sankranti (January 14th) to all our readers. We hope that you are celebrating with friends and family. If you aren’t with family or friends, we hope you can celebrate online with us and elsewhere on the Internet. As I was contemplating the meaning of uttarayan and the significance of this day, this thought…

  • Significance of Bhagavad Gita Jayanti

    Gita Jayanti is a celebration of the gift of the Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna to the people of the world. It is celebrated on the Ekadashi or 11th day of the bright half of the lunar month in December/January every year (16th December 2010). While the Bhagavad Gita is considered by some to be…

  • Tulsi Vivah – Lord Vishnu’s Wedding

    Tulsi Vivah is considered the beginning of the wedding season in India in the month of Kartik, which occurs in October/November every year. Tulsi vivah is conducted on the day after Kartik Ekadashi (the eleventh bright day of the new moon, Amavasya). According to Hindu mythology, Tulsi is ceremonially married to Lord Vishnu on this…

  • Mahavir Jayanti – Om Namo Arihantaanam

    Lord Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara of the Jain religion. He was born on the 13th day of the rising moon of Chaitra, in either 599 BC or 615 BC (depending on religious tradition). It will be celebrated on March 27th 2010. According to Jain philosophy

  • Makar Sankranti

    Makar Sankranti is observed on the 14th of January every year and marks the astronomical event of the northward motion of the sun from the tropic of capricorn towards the tropic of cancer. In India, it also marks the end of winter and the onset of spring and the progression or change (sankranti) of the…