Category: traditions

  • Karva Chauth – Celebrating Women

    Karva Chauth is celebrated on the fourth day (-chauth) of the waning moon (the period after Sharad Poornima). It will be celebrated in 2011 on 15th October, ten days before Diwali. According to tradition, women keep a day-long fast and pray to Goddess Parvati for the health and longevity of their husbands. Read full article…

  • 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,…

  • Is our Goddess worship really hypocritical?

    We all celebrate festivals in honor of Durga, we revere Saraswati, we pray to Lakshmi – and yet, we as a society, forget all this reverence when it comes to the choice of a child? But why raise this issue on this blog? What does this have to do with hinduism? Isn’t this a social…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Vaikuntha Ekadasi

    It is believed that by observing a fast on Vaikuntha Ekadasi day and spending the day in poojas and prayers to Lord Vishnu, one will be absolved of all sins and will attain Moksha and the doors of Vaikunta will be kept open for the soul after it leaves this physical body.