Ganesh Chaturthi – Celebrating Ganapati Festival

Navratri is a Hindu festival which celebrates the Goddesses.

Navratri – The Goddess Durga

Navratri – Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati

They spin round and round, going faster and faster, but never breaking the sacred circle, as they clap their hands rhythmically, dancing around the Garba or earthen pot. They smile as they twirl around for in these nine nights they are celebrating the Goddess that is enshrined in all of us.

This hugely empowering dance is called the Garba and it is the centerpiece of the celebration of the Hindu festival of Navratri or Nine Nights. Is the Almighty a He or a She? Well, we lesser mortals may never know for sure but Navratri is a celebration of the female cosmic energy that makes it possible for mankind to continue – Devi, the Mother Goddess. It marks the victory of the Warrior Goddess Durga over the Buffalo Demon Mahisa, whom she fought for nine days and vanquished on the tenth, and so is a celebration of women’s power.

Known in different regions also as Navratras or Durga Puja, this festival is one of the most important ones in the Hindu calendar and culminates in Dusshera, which leads on to Diwali, the Festival of Lights. It is a time of prayers, dance and music and is celebrated lavishly all over India and by the Hindus living abroad. The diya or light is lit for nine nights and it is a time of rituals.

The first three days are devoted to the worship of the Goddess Durga, also known as Amba, Bhavani, Jagdamba and Mahakali; the next three days are dedicated to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, and the final three days to Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, art and learning.

Navratri – Garba and Dandia Raas

In Gujarat, a western state in India, the festival is defined by the ancient village dances of Garba and Dandiya Raas, which are even mentioned in the Vedas. In India there are big Garba and Dandiya Raas parties in towns and cities, often with major dandiya performers joining in. In the US, however, celebrations are reserved only for the weekends. Raas Garba performances and celebrations are held in many venues from school auditoriums to huge tented areas where thousands turn up on three weekends for dance, music and socializing.

The word Garba is derived from the Sanskrit word Garbadeep, which means a light inside a pot and represents the Almighty shining through the perforations of the pot, which symbolizes the universe. The garba tradition revolves around Shakti-Ma or Amba, the Mother Goddess, and garba or the clay pot also represents the womb and fertility.

Navratri - Learning the Garba at the Nartan Rang Dance Academy with Swati Vaishnav

Dancing the Garba for Navratri at the Nartan Rang Dance Academy with Swati Vaishnav

The circle itself is also a very potent symbol – there’s not a beginning or an end and the end is contained in the beginning. It’s a very meaningful ritual for females because it honors the Goddess and also their own ability for creation. Garbagraha is the containment of all knowledge; it is the womb from which everything emanates.

Says Smita Amin Patel, an educator in folk arts, “It’s about parampara – the female lineage that goes back to eternity, before memory, and it’s been passed down to the females through generations.”

In the old days only male priests were allowed to conduct religious ceremonies so the women, for their part, conceived these vratas or rituals in order to partake of this time of religious activity. And what better way to do it than in a joyous manner, through dance?

Navratri in Immigrant Communities

Both Garba and Dandiya Raas have taken staunch hold in immigrant communities, handed over by grandparents and parents in a ritual that is part religious, part cultural. Garba is a religious and social event and harks back to the village traditions.

“All social events that happen in the rural areas always have a ritualistic or religious significance,” says Patel, “ Whether it’s the drawings on the walls of the huts, whether it’s the motifs you see on the women’s skirts – all of them have significance in their religious life and their vratas, the rituals they perform.”

The circle formation in garba has a great deal of symbolic and metaphorical importance because life itself is a circle, without beginning or end – an unending cycle. When you perform a garba, you do not break the circle – people go in and come out but the circle remains.

“Garba is definitely a village dance and it’s a participatory type of folk art rather than something that is learned and taught and has tenets,” explains Patel. “ It is something young women grow up with and infuse it into their being and every time there is a celebration, that is what they perform.”

Dandiya Raas was danced by Lord Krishna, the Celestial Cowherd, with the Gopis or milkmaids. “Each of the Gopis thought that Krishna was dancing with her alone because he seemed to be everywhere at the same time,” says Patel. “ But of course, he is a metaphor for the Almighty, because each one of us calls the Almighty by different names.”

While the Garba is performed by women in a circle, singing and clapping rhythmically as they worship the Goddess, in Dandiya Raas, both men and women participate, moving in two circles in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, clicking dandiya or wooden sticks with changing partners.

FOGANA, the umbrella group for all Gujarati groups in the US organizes Garba and Raas contests to ensure that the authenticity is maintained. The children of immigrants still perform these ancient dances but also bring in variations, influenced by Bollywood, Indipop and western music. So now you also have Disco Dandiya and Disco Garba.

Indeed many colleges from Rutgers to New York University have Raas Clubs and have Garba contests. With its emphasis on female energy, the dance has a special allure even in these modern times and connects women to their strength and potency.

As the writer Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee wrote in her powerful poem, The Garba:

“We spin and spin
back to the villages of our mothers’ mothers.
We leave behind the men, a white blur
like moonlight on empty bajra fields
seen from a speeding train.”

Both Garba and Dandiya Raas have many variations, depending on regions and communities but the basics are always adhered to. The dance is at the heart of any celebration and no wedding or birth of a child in a Gujarati household would be complete without it. It is so much a part of religious ritual and social interaction, that you see women of all ages, even the elderly, performing with joy and abandon, for they are celebrating the Goddess within them.

This article which has been updated, first appeared on Beliefnet.com

Related article:
A Day of Lights and Sweets

Art on Firecrackers for the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali

Tarzan – Photo Credit: counterclockwise via Compfight cc

Diwali Firecracker Art

Anyone who has experienced Diwali in India will remember the mounds and mounds of firecrackers – the bichus, phuljaris, phatkas, chakkars, twinkling stars, rockets, the atom bombs and the scores of wondrous little contraptions which lit up the night sky. Oh, the delight, the fear in lighting the match and then seeing the colors, the beauty – and the big bangs – explode!

Of course, we are now in America, a country where it is illegal for individuals to burn any fireworks. It’s always an orchestrated, disciplined show put on the Fourth of July to be seen as awe-struck bystanders, as spectators.

In India, every street kid with even a few rupees to buy crackers and every family patriarch with tokras full of crackers is a showman, creating magic. Yes, fireworks are serious business at Diwali and occupy big people – and little people.

Indeed, what is Diwali without fireworks? Bollywood has used Diwali as a dramatic storyline device in which the heroine or the hero or sometimes the hero’s mother goes blind or disfigured after an accident with firecrackers on Diwali and of course real life is also full of accidents which occurred on Diwali with people maimed or blinded on this really auspicious day.

Yet firecrackers continue to be a big part of Diwali in India.

Elephant Fight Photo Credit: counterclockwise via Compfight cc

Mother and baby – Photo Credit: counterclockwise via Compfight cc

Sivakasi – Fireworks Capital of India

Sivakasi is a town in Tamil Nadu famous for its fireworks and match factories, and produces 70 percent of India’s fireworks – although it is now finding heavy competition from China. Writes the Business Standard: “There’s a sense of the inevitable in Sivakasi town. There have been intense campaigns against firecrackers in cities and the people are buying less of the pyro products of the town. Besides, access to cheaper fireworks from China is cutting into the earnings of the industry. On top of that, the government has cracked down on unlicensed manufacturing units. The industry estimates that up to 80 units have shut shop in the past one year and around 20,000 people have lost their jobs.” You can read the article Sivakasi Cracker Industry Looks for a Sparkle

Shopping for Diwali firecrackers Photo Credit: igb via Compfight cc

Diwali Nostalgia – This too is Art!

Here we share the wrappers of those lost, long-gone Diwalis when every kid with a handful of fire-crackers was king – yes, power was setting the match to that bichu or anar firecracker! The art on these wrappers is engaging, amusing and tells so many stories. I wonder who designed these wrappers and where those nameless, unknown artists are today.

Of course, this is art-for-a-moment which is ripped to pieces immediately to get to the all important fireworks. The next morning, after the smoke and burning smell has cleared, these images lie on the floor with the remnants of firecrackers, amidst the ashes…

Diwali Firecracker Wrapper Art – Double click to enlarge

Siva Parvati on Diwali firecracker wrapper

Diwali in India
Photo Credit: San Sharma via Compfight cc

Diwali 101 – Everything You Wanted to know about the Festival of Lights

The triumph of good over evil, light over darkness. This simple sentiment is at the heart of the great festival of Diwali which is celebrated in the Hindu Diaspora all across the world. This year it falls on November 11. This ancient Hindu festival is observed with different nuances in different regions of India.

The great Hindu epic of Ramayana tells the tale of Prince Rama (the 7th avatar of the God Vishnu) of the kingdom of Ayodhya who was banished to the forests by his jealous stepmother Kaikeyi who wanted the throne for her own son Bharat. Although Rama was the heir to the throne, he being the ideal son wanted to help keep a vow his father King Dusshratha had made to Queen Kaikeyi that any wish she made would be granted. Prince Rama went into the forests for 14 years, accompanied by his loving wife Sita (an avatar of the Goddess Lakshmi) and devoted brother Lakshmana who insisted on following him into exile.

The Story of Ramayana

There, living simply and safeguarding the holy ascetics from demons, they encountered Ravana, the ten-headed demon king who became enamored by the beauty of Sita. By deceit, he managed to carry her off to his kingdom. He is followed by the two brothers and the monkey god Hanuman who is a devotee of Lord Rama.

After many trials and tribulations, Rama manages to rescue Sita and vanquish Ravana, whose ten heads symbolize mankind’s ills such as anger, lust, avarice and greed. Diwali marks the triumphant return of Rama to the kingdom of Ayodhya where he ascended the throne and personified the Ideal Man and King.

Diwali celebrates this triumphant return and new beginnings, for we all fight a battle against our lower nature, and aspire to live the ideal life of righteousness and harmony.

Diwali, also known as Deepawali (festival of lights) is celebrated in so many ways – it’s the Hindu New Year marked by prayers and puja, both in the home and the office, as it also begins the new year for business, getting the books blessed in prayer. It is the most auspicious time of the year when Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity, is believed to visit all homes. Houses are cleaned and painted, new furnishings are installed and the homes are lit with earthen lamps to welcome the Goddess.

Children taking part in a Diwali celebration (photo-Baps)

Diwali – A Time for Celebration

Hindu families visit the temple and also conduct prayers in their home shrines. It is a time for celebration, for new clothes, new toys and finery. After the prayers families partake of rich ritualistic food with fluffy puris (bread), vegetarian dishes, fried snacks and many sweets. It is a time to visit friends and families, always exchanging home-made or store-bought Indian sweets made of milk, nuts and sugar.

Diwali is a national holiday in India and almost all buildings are illuminated with electric lights or with the more ritualistic earthen lamps. To drive by Indian villages on Diwali is to see entire landscapes of flickering lamps. The festivities begin almost ten days ahead with Dusshera which is followed by Choti Diwali and Badi Diwali – Small and Big Diwali.

According to Pew research, 79.5 percent of the population of India is Hindu while about 51 percent of all Indian-Americans are Hindu, reflecting the migration patterns. Yet Diwali is now observed by many people as a cultural holiday in India and the Diaspora, irrespective of religion. Friends get together to burn fireworks and celebrate.

Diwali 101 – A Great Watch for Families at Diwali

‘Ramleela’ is a popular tradition at Diwali – a play or dance drama retelling the entire story of the Ramayana for children and adults. Whether it is a small village show seen by lantern light or a Broadway style show with all the bells and whistles in big cities, the story of Ramayana continues to fascinate people.

The holiday is the biggest commercial event for retailers as families buy Diwali gifts, clothing, electronics and jewelry. In fact a day before Diwali, on Dhanteras, families buy gold jewelry and new utensils for the kitchen, as this is considered auspicious. Diwali gifts are given to the young as well as packages of money, after the family Lakshmi Puja (ritual prayers). Sweetmakers do a booming business and there can be no Diwali without sweets!

In fact, the sweets are first offered in temples as offerings to the Gods and the BAPS temples offer hundreds of different sweets to the Lord.

Diwali – offering prasadam before God (Photo – BAPS)

Diwali travels to America

Along with the many immigrants, the festival of Diwali has also traveled to America and it is celebrated with great energy in big cities and small towns, wherever there are Indian or Nepalese people (Nepal is the only Hindu nation in the world). During ancient times, Hinduism had traveled from India to many Asian countries and it is has many followers even today in countries from Indonesia to Malaysia to Bali in Thailand.

At the same time, Indian immigrants have taken their faith all over the world so there are Hindu temples in all parts of the world, and Diwali is celebrated from Australia to Zaire. Trinidad, where many people trace their lineage back to India, has a large Hindu population, and during Diwali, an entire Diwali Nagar or Diwali City is set up.

Besides temple visits and family get-togethers, Diwali in the modern age also has social connotations with dinners and parties in restaurants and clubs, as well as gambling parties held by friends. Playing cards is a tradition at Diwali as are social parties to celebrate the holiday season.

As the Indian-American community expands, Diwali is finding its way into popular American culture, and ‘The Office’ starring Mindy Kaling became the first American comedy series to introduce this holiday to the mainstream.

For several years now President Obama has been sending Diwali greetings to Indian-Americans on the big day. Here is a previous year’s message from President Obama.

President Obama’s Diwali message

President Barack Obama receives a red shawl from Sri Narayanachar Digalakote, a Hindu priest from Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, located in Lanham, Md., in the Blue Room of the White House, prior to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative Executive Order signing, and Diwali festival of lights ceremony, Oct. 14, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

A file photo: President Barack Obama receives a shawl from the priest from Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Lanham, MD, in the Blue Room of the White House (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Last year, Macy’s had Diwali decorations on the floor in its store in New Jersey – and that may be a taste of things to come. When Nidhi Katuria, a NJ based filmmaker walked in, she stopped, stunned. This all red and blue quintessential American department store was actually showcasing Diwali festive decor and a big poster ‘Happy Diwali’. “I felt an overwhelming feeling in my heart, like it smiled,” says Kathuria.

While children still don’t get a public school holiday in America as they do in India, small steps have been taken and the Glen Rock School District in New Jersey has this year observed Diwali as a public holiday.There are over 2000 Indian children in this district, so this Diwali will be very special for them.

Drivers do get some relief from parking rules in Manhattan, with the suspension of alternate side parking in honor of Diwali. There is talk of a Diwali postage stamp, though we’ll believe it when we see it!

Diwali was acknowledged at Macy's last year

Diwali was acknowledged at Macy’s two years back. Will there be an encore this year?

Diwali Melas or fairs are a big part of the festival and are held for several days in Indian cities and towns, with food, dance, crafts and music. Now several of these open air, free-for-all celebrations are held in the US, especially in cities in New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and California.

One of the oldest and biggest is the Deepawali Mela in South Street Seaport in Manhattan, where over 40,000 people turn up to celebrate the festival with fireworks, food and festivities. As more and more Americans learn about Diwali from their Indian friends, they realize they can share the joy as well as the ideals behind Diwali – striving for a better life and vanquishing the forces of evil and darkness.

(C) Lavina Melwani

This article was first published in Beliefnet.com

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Thanksgiving is a Time for Counting Blessings…

If Thanksgiving is a festival of gratitude, then Indians have been preparing for it their whole lives.

In India, take a walk down the Mumbai waterfront in the early morning mist, and you see ordinary citizens quietly feeding the fish and the birds. Their daily day doesn’t really begin until the deities in their home shrine have been venerated with fresh flowers and offered prasadam. It is only after eating a little of this blessed offering does the family sit down to their meals. Many remember to keep aside a portion of the food for a hungry person or the birds. It is all about sharing.

Every festival is about counting one’s blessings and thanking God for them. Indeed, buying a new car or new home entails special puja or prayer ceremonies to bless the new item and to offer thanks.

“Gratitude is one of the most important virtues in many Hindu texts” – Dr. Vasudha Narayanan

“Gratitude is exalted as one of the most important virtues (dharma) in many Hindu texts,” says Dr. Vasudha Narayanan, Distinguished Professor of Religion, University of Florida. “It is both a human and divine virtue; prayers and panegyrics say Vishnu has qualities such as compassion and gratitude. By this they mean that if a human being does a good deed, the divine being wants to show his gratitude in many ways. The Ramayana says: Krte ca prati kartavyam esham dharmah sanatanah (Ramayana, Sundara Kanda) “To repay a good deed with another–this is the essence of Sanatana Dharma.”

Narayanan, who is also Director, Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions (CHiTra) , has lived in Florida for many years and has seen how Indian Americans have interacted with the festival of Thanksgiving. She says, “It is a ‘secular’ holiday and the sentiments are something we can all resonate with but obviously, there are no ‘family traditions’ for new immigrants. We do go to friends’ homes; in the 1970s and even early 80s, we were frequently invited by local American friends who worked hard to find us vegetarian fare and make stuffing without stock.

Eventually, as the Indian population got larger, there were more events hosted by Indo-American families. In Gainesville, a university town, we used to invite students for a home cooked Indian meal, just as our professors used to invite us when we were students.”

Photo Credit: sean dreilinger via Compfight cc

New Traditions at Thanksgiving

Are there any Hindu prayers which are popular with families for this occasion? Since saying of ‘Grace’ before food is not a traditional custom in India where often food was sanctified and served, this is new territory for Hindus. In fact, even for the South Indian festival of Pongal which is generally interpreted as ‘thanksgiving’, there are no specific prayers, says Narayanan.Yet as she points out, “The Hindu traditions are dynamic; we add, we modify, we jettison, and we co-opt rituals very easily. And in some groups, the prayer brahmarpanam (see http://www.sathyasai.org/devotion/prayers/brahmar.html) has become very popular.”

Anju Bhargava, founder of Hindu American Seva Communities (HASC) finds her own way of offering thanks. She say, ” Our family tradition is to go around the table and share at least one thing that has happened to you that you are grateful for. This sharing is the communal prayer creates a spirit of thankfulness.”

Having worked with many Hindus in creating community awareness of service or seva, she says, “The Thanksgiving observance fits in very well with the Hindu sensibility – festivities filled with food, company of friends and family and with a values- oriented focus; a time to appreciate all that you have in life and a time to share your merits with others, So it is only natural that Hindu Americans join in the spirit of the observance with a natural élan. Hindus do know how to party and celebrate. What we need to do more is to serve, to bring the UtsavSeva (service through festivals) component more to the forefront.”

She adds, ” Seva is an important aspect on this holiday. Many of us feed the homeless in some manner or form – either actually serve on that day, or before or after or even collect canned food and deliver.”

Photo Credit: Enokson via Compfight cc

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

Indeed sharing with the less fortunate, and with family and friends is an important part of Thanksgiving. But what do Indian Americans put on their Thanksgiving table? They are not a homogeneous lot so the menu is as varied as the number of Indians in this country! Many Indians do eat meat and for them the Thanksgiving turkey is a must, sometimes with tandoori coloring and spices. Yet for the large numbers of Indians who are vegetarian, the turkey is a no-no and like President Obama, they grant it an official pardon!

Indians who are vegetarian relish the many fixings on the Thanksgiving table and also turn to meatless alternatives like tofu or lasagna or celebrate with a full-fledged Indian vegetarian meal. Fortunately, vegan and vegetarian food is so popular in America now that Indians have a really easy time of it. Thanksgiving is all about sharing food so multicultural America has a lot to share. Says Vasudha Narayanan, ” Most friends I know end up with international fare and create new traditions that way; so everything from hummus to seven-layered dip to eventually moving to good Andhra fare or avial and double-ka-meetha for sweets!”

Thanksgiving is a festival totally in sync with the Indian state of mind – it’s about remembering the Almighty and his many blessings, and in turn sharing with the less fortunate.

A version of this article first appeared in Beliefnet.com

Lighting the lamps at an Indian Hanukkah celebration

One Indian-Jewish family’s story in America…

If there is one place in the world which has been a safe haven for Jews, it is India.

“India has been the only country in the world where Jews have never been oppressed or suppressed or discriminated against,” says Romiel Daniel, who is Jewish-Indian-American. Indeed, India has been nurturing home and haven for generations of Jews whose ancestors fled from persecution centuries ago. At its peak there were about 37,000 Jews living in India. “Discrimination is something that has never happened in India for 2000 years and that is something we are very proud of, and that is why we go back to India so often,” he says.

“We have never ever considered ourselves different from any Indian. We may be Jewish by religion but we are Indians by nationality.” Indeed, India gave these Jews who were fleeing persecution, citizenship, complete freedom to practice their faith, build many synagogues and celebrate their traditional festivals with an added Indian zest. Israel and the Western world may now light candles at Hanukkah but the Indian Hannukiya lamps are lit the old fashioned way, as they were in Biblical times – with oil.

The Map of India with Jewish communities

How Did the Jews Land Up So Far from Home?

Romiel Daniel, a director of global imports at an apparel company in New York, is the religious leader of the Indian Jewish community in New York. He talks to many audiences in America about the Jewish presence in India. Indeed, how did the Jews land up so far from home? He says that according to oral tradition, they fled from Palestine in 175 BC, and one of the safest refuges they could find was India, where they were already trading and they settled there because they were welcomed.

Daniel gives us a whirlwind history: the Jews of India consist of four groups: The Cochin Jews or Cochinis, the Baghdadis, the Bene Israel, and the B’nei Menashe. The Cochin Jews settled in Cranganore and around Malabar in the South and lived there for centuries. They never numbered more than 2500, and many have now left for Israel. In fact, today there are not more than 16 of them left in Cochin, mostly elderly men and women.

The Baghdadis consists of Jews from West Asia, mainly from Iraq and Syria, who came in the 19^th century as traders and refugees. They settled in Bombay, Calcutta and Pune. They spoke Arabic or Persian and English. At one time, there were about 5000 of them, but today there are less than 200, most of them having emigrated to U.K., Australia and Canada. The B’nei Menashe – they were a new group which came into being in 1964 and today there are more than 5000 living in North East India. The other community is the Bene Israel which predominates the Jewish presence in India today.

The Bene Israel Jews celebrate Purim

Celebrating Purim with the Bene Israel Jews

It is believed that the Bene Israel community was descended from the Jews who fled in 175 B.C.E. from the Syrian-Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. They were ship wrecked at Navgaon on the Konkan Coast, and the survivors started a new life there and over the years their families spread to the surrounding villages. David Rahabi, a Cochini Jew, is credited with the revival of Judaism amongst the Bene Israel, teaching them Hebrew and the rituals of Judaism. With Bombay (now known as Mumbai) an important port of British India, the Bene Israel moved there in search of opportunities. They set up their first synagogue in 1796, and expanded to 29 synagogues around Bombay and the neighboring villages. Their population grew to 30,000 around the time of independence

Magan Hassidim Synagogue in Bombay

A look at Magan Hassidam Synagogue in Bombay

This is one of the oldest synagogues in India, built around 1846 in Jacob’s Circle in Bombay. It was and is still the most active synagogue, and beautifully maintained. Asked how the other Indian communities have reacted to the synagogues, Daniel says, “We’ve never had a problem with any of the communities – our relationship is good with all of them. Many of the synagogues are right in the midst of the Muslim neighborhoods, right in the center of the city.”

When Israel became a state in 1948, many of the Bene Israel started leaving for Israel, because of religious Zionism. By 1964 more than half the population had left. By the early 70’s there were less than 10,000 and now there are less than 5000 Bene Israel Jews left in India, most in Bombay and Thane. Indian Jews, in spite of their small number, have played an important part in India: Families like the Sassoons and the Elias’, who were Baghdadi Jews, helped in the industrialization of the country. Noted Bene Israel Jews include Dr. E. Moses, the first mayor of Bombay in 1939, and Dr. Jerusha Jhirad, who started the Reform Jewish Movement in India.

Indian Jews march in the Israel Day Parade in New York

The Story of Indian American Jews

Many Indian Jews have migrated to North America for economic opportunities and today there are about 1500 in Canada and 350 in the US. It’s a small but vibrant community which observes all the high holidays and festivals. “We don’t want to lose our own traditions; we want to integrate but we don’t want to assimilate,” says Daniel who started organizing services for the community in 1995. The Indian Jews are scattered in all five boroughs of New York and in New Jersey, so they attend services at mainstream synagogues. Since they don’t have their own synagogue they rent the Bene Israel Congregation in the Village every year to hold their events. While the liturgy is the same, the trope or musical notations in Indian Jewish traditions are totally different.

Malida Ceremony, an ancient Bene Israel tradition

Malida Ceremony, unique to the Bene Israel

The Malida Ceremony offering parched grain is typical of the Bene Israel community and goes centuries back, a Jewish tradition in 1000 BC in the first and second temples of Solomon. Today only the Bene Israel and a few of the Middle Eastern Jewish communities still practice the nine sacrifices and offerings.

The Bene Israel hold Elijah the Prophet in high regard so when they celebrate a marriage, buy a house or start any new venture, they invoke the protection of God through Elijah, and these prayers are said first before any other prayers. Malida is the Persian word for confection, and parched rice is mixed with sweetened coconut, dry fruit, like pistachios and almonds, and offered with five or seven fruits. (Five represent the books of Moses; seven represents completeness in the Jewish tradition.) This ancient tradition is continued by the Bene Israel Jews in New York. In fact, even when they go to Israel, they first visit Elijah’s Cave, which is in Mount Carmel in Haifa, and perform exactly the same ceremony and prayers

Kehilat – Indian Jewish Synagogue in Israel

More than 70,000 Bene Israel Jews from India now live in Israel but maintain their links with India. Since 1992, trade between Israel and India had been good, and India is now Israel’s second largest trading partner, after Japan, in Asia. Full fledged consulates and embassies have been established between the two countries The Indian-Jewish community is prosperous in Israel and has built 55 orthodox synagogues there, in keeping with the Bene Israel tradition. Indian Jews are in many businesses, including Indian restaurants in Israel – so now you can always get kosher Indian treats there! In fact, Indian food has caught on so much in Israel that you have non-Jewish entrepreneurs – the Punjabis – who run successful Indian restaurants there.

An Indian-Jewish wedding ceremony

An Indian- Jewish Wedding

Recently Romiel Daniel’s son Lael and his wife Regina reenacted their wedding ceremony for guests to catch a glimpse of the special Indian-Jewish traditions. The bride wears a white sari with intricate gold embroidery and she and the groom enter the synagogue in ways special to the Bene Israel community.

The wedding feast is replete with Indian spices and lots of coconut. Even during the festivals and celebrations, the basic traditional dishes are the same as in other Judaic communities but the methods of preparation vary. Puris or sweet puffs are an Indian delicacy which is made from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, and at Rosh Hashanah, a special halva of wheat flour with a filling of sweet semolina, dry fruits and sugar is served.

Indian spice and sweets influence the cooking, and Indian curries are a regular at Indian-Jewish homes. As Noreen Daniel explains, “Usually the fish for Rosh Hashanah is bland but we stuff it with spices – with green coriander, ginger, garlic chilies, coconut and lime – and bake it. We try to keep our traditions in the US as much as we can – this is to pay homage to our ancestors who were in India.”

Celebrating Simchat Tohra

Celebrating Simchat Torah

Ten days after Yom Kippur is the celebration of Simchat Torah where the congregation dances joyously, holding the Sifrei Torahs. The Sifrei Torahs contain the five books of Moses and these handwritten scrolls are very precious, with it taking over a year for one scroll to be completed.

Presenting a gift of Sefrei Torahs to the Beth El Synagogue in Panvel

Remembering the Past

The Indian Jews retain their ties with India. When the Beth El Synagogue in Panvel, which is 25 miles from Bombay, was deluged with heavy rains, all six Sifrei Torahs were destroyed. The Bene Israel Jews of New York came to the rescue and gifted two Sifrei Torahs for this synagogue. These were personally delivered to the Indian-Jewish congregation in Panvel, and installed with joy, pomp and a showering of rose petals.

Romiel and Noreen Daniel continue the traditions at Hanukkah

Traditions, Indian-Jewish Style.

Romiel Daniel, clad in a Nehru jacket, and his wife Noreen dressed in a sari light the candles for Hanukkah. The Star of David is made into a Hanukkiya (instrument to hold the oil lamps) a typical sign of the Indian celebration. For lighting the lamps, others may use candles but the Indian Jews still use oil. Says Daniel, “Although our religion is Judaism, we have adapted many cultural traditions of India and are proud of them.”

The Indian Jews in New York have fond memories of their growing up years in India, of close-knit communities and a full freedom to practice their faith and be full members of the Indian family. The lure of Israel as well as economic opportunities abroad have pushed many to leave the homeland where they were born but the connections remain deep. As the Jewish population in India dwindles, the beautiful old synagogues and Jewish schools in India stand as testament to the nurturing welcome the Indian Jews received there and are a nostalgic memory for those who have now left her shores.

(With inputs from the Indian-Jewish Congregation of USA in New York)

Photo credits: The Indian-Jewish Congregation of USA.
(This article first appeared on Beliefnet.com as a photo gallery)

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Christmas is an Indian Festival too!

Some stories are evergreen and resonate year after year. This was written back in 2007 and the children in these stories have grown up but the sentiments remain the same! I remember spending a lot of time researching these stories and talking to the families profiled here. For me, these stories are almost like Christmas ornaments that I take out every holiday season to share and add sparkle to the holiday!

Christmas is an Indian festival, as you will see from the stories here. Do share your own memories too in the comments!

Indian Christmas: Beverly D'Souza and Luke experience Christmas at Rockefeller Center

Away from India, Beverly D’Souza & Luke experience Christmas in New York

Indian Christians Celebrate Christmas

If you’re an Indian Christian, your traditional Christmas cuisine travels with you – no matter where you go in the world. Christopher and Beverly D’Souza, who came to America just five years ago via Bombay and Abu Dhabi, serve this eclectic feast at their holiday table, a menu which crisscrosses various Christian communities in India.

Ever eaten this at Christmas?

Duck Moile, Chicken Shakuti, Pork Innad, Beef Stew and colorful Wedding Rice bedecked with caramelized onions, raisins, nuts and sliced boiled eggs. All this topped with an array of sweets including Kul-Kul, Thali Sweets, Milk Cream and Rose-de-Coque.

Beverly, who is East Indian and was born and brought up in Abu Dhabi, not only cooks the meals of her childhood but also those of Christopher’s, who is from Mangalore. On their festive holiday table you’ll find Chicken Khudi and Duck Moile, which are East Indian specialties as well as Chicken Shakuti which is a Goan dish. There’s also Pork Innad, a Mangalorean dish and the Anglo Indian Beef Stew.

Christmas meals amongst the Indian Christians are elaborate, holiday worthy meals under the weight of which a table can literally groan. The meal starts with appetizers like Ground Meat and Potato Croquettes or Fried Potato Chops filled with meat – this tradition has changed to also include the more healthy ground chicken, turkey or vegetables.

There’s also the weird-sounding Salted Tongue of which Beverly says, “This may seem quite strange to a lot of people but is a delicacy for some – however this tradition is changing with modern families and is rarely eaten out of India. Also, since we did not celebrate Thanksgiving in India, many homes also had the Stuffed and Roasted Pig, Chicken, Turkey or Goose served on the table ready to be carved. Some of these traditions continued when we migrated.”

She adds that besides the curries, Pork Sorpotal and Vindaloo are other traditional dishes served at Christmas and each of the Christian communities has their own recipes for these dishes. Breads served by East Indians include Fugias while Mangaloreans and Goans serve Sannas, which is white, looks like an idli but tastes very different.

Indian-Americans Chris and Beverly D'Souza celebrate Christmas in America

Chris and Beverly D’Souza, originally from India, celebrate Christmas in New York

Indian Christians, Diverse voices…

With the approach of Christmas, Indian Christians are celebrating the birth of Christ not only with their many different celebratory meals but also raising their voices in prayer in many tongues including Malayalam, Telegu, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati, besides English.

“The Indian Christian population in the US is quite diverse, both in its denominational and linguistic identification, with significant numbers of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestants, including Pentecostal,” says Raymond B. Williams, author of “Christian Pluralism in the United States: the Indian Immigrant Experience” (Cambridge University Press). He points out that there is a representative group of almost all the churches that are present in India, and these are sometimes organized in denominational groups and sometimes in linguistic groups.

According to Abraham Mammen, President of the Federation of Indian American Christians of North America (FIACONA), a US based umbrella organization, there are approximately 600,000 Indian Christians in the country, and about a third of these are in the Northeast.

“Each denomination celebrates Christmas differently,” says Mammen. “Some don’t even celebrate it in a ceremonial way because they feel that the birth of Christ is something to be remembered every day of their lives. It is a fact, though, that Christmas is the most important day of their lives, of God coming to earth as a man. For Indian Christians in America, I’ve seen that regardless of how long we’ve been here, our roots still go back to India.”

So Indian Christians can merge into the mainstream or worship at their own churches which are established across the US. Visit the Long Island Mar Thoma Church in Merrick, Long Island and you hear the Christmas carols being sung in Malayalam, by the congregation, many of them bedecked in rich silk saris. A festive meal that this writer shared with Keralite Christians after the services at their church included many ethnic dishes including chicken curry, pullao, appam or pancakes, and payasam or rice pudding.

“We bring our own music, our own costumes and our own way of Caroling at Christmas,” says Rev Jos Kandathikudy of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church. “The carolers dress up in Indian garb as Jesus, Mother Mary and the Three Kings from the East, and our musicians use Indian drums for their blend of Malayalam and English carols.”

Waiting for Santa

Indians and a New York Christmas…

Celebrating Christmas in America can be quite a revelation for immigrants who have grown up in other countries. Beverly D’Souza, who grew up in the Middle East, had never seen snow and saw her first magical snowflakes in a White Christmas in New York. “It was the first time I encountered a winter wonderland Christmas. It was snowing all day and we went to see the tree at Rockefeller Plaza. I just love the streets and the lights and the shopping. In Abu Dhabi the streets were lit up for Ramadan but never for Christmas – that’s why this is so special for me.”

Christmas was, however, not a lonely time in Abu Dhabi because Christian families would get together, and have parties, Christmas bazaars and concerts in the schools and also organize dance parties at the five star hotels.

One custom that Indian Christian communities delight in is their holiday desserts, and although there are considerable Portuguese influences in the main dishes of several Christian communities, the Hindu influences prevail in the spicing and in the sweets. Although there are traditional sweets like Mixed Fruit Cake, Plum Cake and Date Cake, the Indian mithai influence is there in Marzipan, Milk Cream, Cordials which are all cashew nut or almond based. Do Dol is made of rice flour, jaggery, cashew nut and flour dough while Thalie Sweets are suji (cream of wheat) and egg based. Deep fried Kul-Kuls and Nankhatais or cookies are also a must in the spread of holiday sweets.

The D’Souzas make many of these sweets during the holiday season. She says, “Tradition has been carried across the oceans – even here friends from Connecticut and upstate New York came with their homemade sweets to visit each other. When my mother is in town, all the sweets are made at home.”

After midnight mass, the D’Souzas visit close friends for coffee and fruitcake, and on Christmas morning their three year old son Luke opens the presents that Santa has brought him. Indeed, the Santa Claus tradition is strong with Indian Christians, be they in India, the Middle East or in America. Over the years Beverly has seen Santa arrive in Goa, Mumbai and Abu Dhabi by boat, chariot and even a helicopter – and now her son sees him arrive in the neon-lit glitz of Macy’s, probably by subway or cab!

Christmas – an Indian Festival

An Indian Christmas: Mohina and Ricky Joshin with Zarina and Sabina

Mohina and Ricky Tejpaul with Zarina and Sabina

While Christmas is important to Indian Christians as a celebration of faith, many non-Christians enjoy it as a secular holiday in ways small and big. Indeed, Christmas is such a huge, high voltage commercialized event in America that few can escape its allure, be they Christians or not. For most Indians it’s hard not to get sucked into the whole holiday ambiance what with the shopping madness, the carols in public places, and the barrage of Christmas shows and music even on TV.

Also for many non-Christians who grew up in India, Christmas is very much a secular festivity since it is a national holiday throughout India, and very much a shared celebration, a time for family get-togethers in hotels and private homes.

One person who takes Christmas very seriously is Mohina Josen, a second generation Indian-American who grew up in New York. She and her husband Ricky Tejpaul buy their most expensive, big ticket items at Christmas; the kids get elaborate gift wrapped packages. The family sets up not one but two elaborate trees and hosts a rocking holiday party with Santa Claus, elves and all the trimmings – and even a pre-Christmas party to start up the festivities!

The couple is open to every festival and besides celebrating their own Sikh and Hindu festivals, they also celebrate Christmas and American festivals like Thanksgiving, Halloween and Valentine’s Days. From a young age, she saw Christmas being celebrated by her friends. Mohina also remembers going to Christmas celebrations at the home of a Catholic friend of her mother’s and the tradition just carried on. The family had many relatives in Europe and they would travel there during the Christmas holidays to celebrate together.

Christmas is celebrated by many Indian-Americans

Christmas morning

Christmas – Old Traditions & New…

“When you’re a child and you’re going to school the next day, you’d always hear from others ‘What did you get from Santa?’ It was a thrill opening the gifts,” she recalls. “We did it for the whole commercial aspect of it, for the children to have fun, for Santa Claus and for Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” So while Thanksgiving is hosted by her mother, Diwali by her mother-in-law, Mohina, who now has two little daughters of her own, Zarina and Sabina, has appropriated Christmas. All the holidays are now taken care of!

Mohina goes all the way with Christmas: The Saturday before Christmas she decorates the house, putting up two live trees and smaller trees on another floor of the house. There’s a pre-holiday party where friends and family drop in to help with the decorations of the house, sip hot chocolate with marshmallows and sing carols. Having grown up here, she has friends from many races, and they have made a tradition of baking together for their children’s schools as well as for colleagues at work.

“The children have made out their lists for Santa, and I tell them that whatever Santa can bring, he will,” she says. “They’ve already written letters to him, telling him how wonderful they’ve been and on Christmas they keep out cookies and milk for Santa, and something for Rudolph and the other reindeers.”

The family also has a tradition of doing some Christmas activities in Manhattan such as going to the Radio City Music Hall or for a holiday show like How the Grinch Stole Christmas. At the Christmas party where she hosts 20 to 40 family members and friends, she serves a huge, traditional American feast, from leg of lamb to all the trimmings and desserts. One year, she recalls, she actually created home-made chocolates encased in chocolate sleds for all the guests as a take home as party favors.

Indeed, for the second generation Indian-Americans who have grown up surrounded by Christmas and Christian friends, it’s a part of their American experience and as new parents, they want to pass it on their children. “There’s a holiday spirit and the euphoria of the whole month and I think that’s what we are celebrating,” says Mohina. “We start with Diwali, Thanksgiving and Guru Nanakji’s birth, and so we just continue celebrating.”

Indian-Americans also celebrate with many social and work-related holiday parties – it seems the perfect time to throw a bash since the whole country is in celebration mode. It’s a convenient time to get together with friends since on Christmas Eve there’s a light work schedule and a holiday the next day – a perfect opportunity to organize a get-together, which is not always possible on Diwali since that holiday often falls on a week day.

It’s all about traditions, about preserving old ones and creating new ones….

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Christmas is an Indian festival too!

At Christmas, three beautiful images from Roberto Custodio, & Peace to the World

Madonna and Child by Roberto Custodio

“Roberto Custodio has a unique way with the art of the found image. Working with the smallest of images cut out from magazines he transports the viewer into a fantastical and magical world of his imagination, where, child-like, we are astonished by his mastery of the art of make believe. In the present time with our avarice for sampling pieces of music, images, videos and then creating different works, our culture is continually referencing and commenting on the works of others, both past and present. Fully incorporating the art of the found or sampled image, we are constantly delighted by Roberto’s meticulous technique of cutting and repositioning the tiniest image, forcing change between signifier and signified. The artist has cleverly filtered and used the ephermal nature of the magazine printed image, to create a bold, romantic vision that is respectful of the past and yet grounded in the present. Roberto Custodio is a self-taught artist, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he still resides.”

(Peter Louis, R L Fine Arts which shows Custodio’s work in New York)

Roberto Custodio’s Infant Jesus – a celebration of Christmas

Infant Jesus of Prague

Infant Jesus of Prague is a famous statue located in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Mal Strana, Prague. Thousands of pilgrims pay homage to the Infant of Prague each year. Claims of blessings, favors and miraculous healings have been made by many who petitioned before the Infant Jesus.

Statuettes of the Infant Jesus are placed inside many Catholics churches, sometimes with the quotation, The more you honor me, the more I will bless you. In Ireland some brides will place a Child of Prague statue outside their houses the night before their wedding. This is meant to ensure that there will be good weather for the wedding day.

Jesus of Nazareth by Roberto Custodio in ‘A Matter of Faith’

Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth ( 7-2 BC/BCE 26-36 AD/CE), is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and incarnation of God. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, and he is an important figure in several other religions. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for their sins. Other Christian beliefs include Jesus’s virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into Heaven, and a future Second Coming.

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Saraswati, Goddess of Learning Photo by CC

A Relationship with Books

When we were young, there was one lesson we learned early from our parents – a respect for knowledge. If we dropped a book by accident, we not only had to pick it up but touch it to our foreheads and our eyes in a mark of contrition.

All learning was sacred.

For Hindus, the devotion to knowledge – be it education, music or dance – is so great that a dancer, as she ascends the stage, pays tribute to the Gods. She not only salutes the guru and the musicians, but also bows down to the musical instruments before each performance.

The guru or teacher is central to the learning process. In the ancient days students were sent to live and study with a guru and that relationship was one of total submission and respect for teachers. Students lived in a gurukulam, dedicated to a life of discipline and rigorous learning.

Little wonder then that education is pivotal to the lives of modern day Hindus, and even the poorest parent strives to get their children an education. Knowledge is seen as the passport to a better life and indeed, many Indians who migrated abroad were able to do so because of their qualifications. Their children are also on that same educational path, and many of them are successful in everything from Spelling Bees to Math Olympics, going on to Ivy League universities and other places of higher learning.

Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles

The two Hindu icons who are worshiped by all those aspiring to knowledge are Ganesha and Saraswati. Ganesha is regarded as the supreme scholar and many of us have heard the story behind his broken tusk. When transcribing the Mahabharata for Sage Vyasa, his pen wore out. So devoted was Ganesha to his task that he broke off his own tusk to continue writing the great epic without interruption.

Ganesha of course has many names and in her book ‘Eternal Ganesha’, the writer Gita Mehta points out that Ganesha also means the Lord of Ganas or Categories. Language, numbers and thought all emanate from Ganesha who is consciousness. Writes Mehta, “Ganesha provides the tools of recognition without which there is no understanding of cause and of effect, there is no speech, there is no consciousness.”

Rows of Ganeshas (from the Eternal Ganesha)

Every Hindu home has a shrine where families daily say a quick prayer before heading out to work or to school. Come exam-time, there are long lines near the Sree Siddhivinayak Ganesh Temple in Mumbai, for a visit to the Remover of Obstacles is a must to solicit divine blessings.

As Gita Mehta notes about Ganesha: “He is the Lord of learning, encompassing all knowledge. As such he is the special god of India’s vast student population. Many students believe if they slice a closed text book with a Ganesha medallion the book will fall open at the very topic on which they will be examined, and before entering an examination hall cautious students might recite the Ganesha prayer:

‘You Who are Perfect Knowledge,

Who are Absolute awareness,

Who are supreme intelligence,

Guide me in my hour of need.’ ”

The feeling that the Divine can intervene and change the outcome is always there. Before undertaking any exams, students also bow down to Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge, Arts and Learning. Indeed, Saraswati is one of the most loved goddesses and the legends behind her many. Dressed in white, symbolizing purity and knowledge, she holds a book , a rosary, a waterpot and a musical instrument – a lute or a veena – in her hands. All creativity springs from her.

Saraswati, Goddess of Knowledge

Saraswati is especially worshiped during Vasant Panchami, which is the day of initiating children into the world of knowledge by teaching them their first alphabets. Children learn to read and write on this day, and schools and colleges observe special Saraswati puja or prayers. Everyone wears yellow at this festival, which also welcomes spring, and is a celebration of kite flying and ritualistic foods. This year the festival falls on February 12, 2016.

One of the most potent mantras that many Hindu families recite and teach their children is the Gayatri Mantra. As the Satya Sai International organization explains it, ” In the Gayatri Mantra, the unity of body, mind and soul is depicted in the first line, “Bhur-Bhuvah-Suvaha.” The next line, “Bhargo Dhevasya Dheemahi”, means “Throw away the darkness.” “Dheeyo yonah Pracho-dhayaath” means “Let the effulgence of the Divine dispel the darkness of ignorance.”

Hindus believe that mantras are potent and even in modern days many teach their children to chant these prayers. As Hari Ravikumar notes in DailyO, “So the Gayatri mantra is a prayer to the Supreme, in the form of the sun which stimulates our mind and empowers us. Just like the sun wakes us up every morning, we pray that the Supreme light wakes up our intellect. It is indeed a prayer for internal strength.”

So in their quest for knowledge, many young Hindus use all the cool technological tools of the modern age – but also seek the blessings of Saraswati and Ganesha and powerful chants to remove all obstructions to learning.

(This article first appeared in Beliefnet)

Maha Shivaratri 2013 – The Great Night of Lord Shiva

Mahashivaratri

Mahasivaratri – “Himself Creates. Himself Preserves. Himself Destroys.”

For millions of Hindus Mahasivaratri is a very meaningful day, a day of oneness with the Supreme Being. Why do Hindus observe it? What is the Sivalinga? And do believers fast or feast on this day? If you’ve ever wondered what the different rituals signify, the editors of Hinduism Today share an all-comprehensive report with readers of Lassi with Lavina, dispelling the myths and clarifying the power behind this observance.

Mahasivaratri is the most important festival dedicated to Lord Siva. This holy day is observed by millions of Hindus all over the world. It is one of Hinduism’s most esoteric holy days, when yoga practices, mantras and meditation take the devotee closer to God’s essence within the core of himself. Hindus typically fast, maintain silence and stay up all night to perform spiritual practices, such as worshiping, chanting and singing. In some regions, devotees visit as many Siva temples as they can on this night.

Devotees throng a Hindu temple for the Maha Shivaratri celebration

Maha Shivaratri Celebrations in a Hindu temple

Who is Siva?

For hundreds of millions of Hindus Siva is the Supreme Being, the absolute One God who both transcends creation and pervades it–thus existing as our own innermost essence. Siva is the powerful Deity whose energetic dance creates, sustains and dissolves the universe in endless cycles. He is the master yogi delving into unfathomable mysteries, the supreme ascetic, the prime mystic, the Light behind all light, the Life within all life. Siva is often called Mahadeva, “Great Being of Light,” for He created other, lesser Gods such as Ganesha and Karttikeya. Although Siva is usually depicted as male, in reality God and the Gods are beyond gender and form, as depicted by His half-male, half-female form, Ardhanarishvara. Parvati, regarded as Siva’s consort in village Hinduism, is mystically understood as His manifest energy, inseparable from Him. The ancient Tirumantiram scripture says of Siva, “Himself creates. Himself preserves. Himself destroys. Himself conceals. Himself all of this He does and then grants liberation–Himself the all-pervading Lord.”

What happens on Mahasivaratri?

Many Hindus perform an all-night vigil, plunging the soul into its own essence, led by Siva, the supreme yogi, who is both the guide and the goal of the search. Staying awake through the night is a sacrifice and a break from life’s normal routine, a time out of time to be with God within, to reach for the realization of our true, immortal Self. Siva is known as Abhisheka Priya, “He who loves sacred ablutions,” and thus many temples and home shrines have water always dripping on the Sivalinga. On this special night, Sivalingas are bathed with special substances, sometimes several times. Mahasivaratri occurs on the night before the new moon in February/March.

Shiva Lingam is worshipped on Maha Shivratri

Shiva Lingam
Photo Credit: Natesh Ramasamy via Compfight cc

What is the Sivalinga?

Linga means “mark, token or sign.” A Sivalinga, representing Siva, is found in virtually all of His temples. The Sivalinga is the simplest and most ancient symbol of the Divine. It is especially evocative of Parasiva, God beyond all forms and qualities, the unmanifested Absolute. Sivalingas are commonly made of stone, but may also be of metal, precious gems, crystal, wood, earth or even transitory materials like sand or ice. Ardent devotees make special Sivalingas to worship during Mahasivaratri.

Is there a special mantra for Siva?

Namah Sivaya is among the foremost Vedic mantras. It means “adoration to Siva” and is called the Panchakshara, or “five-letters.” The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation. Na is earth, Ma is water, Si is fire, Va is air, and Ya is ether, or space.

Mahasivaratri: Holy Ash, Bilva Leaves & the Kumbh Mela

What is holy ash? Holy ash is a sacrament that is dear to devotees of Siva. Taken from sacred fires, it purifies and blesses those who wear it. This fine, white powder is worn on the forehead as a reminder of the temporary nature of the physical body and the urgency to strive for spiritual attainment and closeness to God.

What is the special offering to Siva? Hindus believe that offering bilva leaves (Aegle marmelos) on Mahasivaratri is most auspicious. Legend tells of a hunter who was chased by a tiger. Scrambling up a thorny tree, he plucked and dropped its leaves to stay alert. The tree was a bilva, The leaves happened to fall on a Sivalinga, and it was the night of Sivaratri. That all-night worship of God, though inadvertent, earned the hunter liberation from rebirth. Siva accepts devotees irrespective of their faults and foibles, forgiving man’s cognizant and innocent mistakes.

What is the Kumbha Mela? The Kumbha Mela is a grand festival held every few years in rotation at four places where several sacred rivers converge: Haridwar, Prayag, Nasik and Ujjain. The largest melas, at Haridwar and Prayag, fall in January to April and often include Mahasivaratri. Devotees come from near and far to immerse themselves in the holy waters, with prayers for purification and spiritual liberation on their lips. In 2001, the Kumbha Mela at Prayag, held on the river bank, was attended by more than 60 million people. It was the biggest human gathering held on Earth, seven times the population of New York City.

Fasting & Silence

While virtually every Hindu festival comes with a sumptuous list of foods to feast on, during Mahasivaratri most Hindus fast. A spiritual practice found in almost all of the world’s religions, fasting calms the physical, mental and emotional energies, helping the devotee draw nearer to the ineffable Self within. While the most strict fast on nothing but water; others permit themselves fruits, milk or rice.

Many observe silence on this night, thinking of nothing but God. Silence, known in Sanskrit as mauna, quiets the demands of the mind and body, bringing forth spiritual clarity.

In Hinduism, God is not separate from creation. A virtuous life and certain techniques, such as yoga and ascetic practices, allow a person to remove the veil that makes us think of ourselves as separate from Him.

Fact & Fiction

FACT: Hindus undergo numerous traditional rites of passage at critical junctures throughout life. These ceremonies invoke divine blessings for the individual and help bind him with his community as he advances on the path of virtue. Name-giving, first feeding, commencement of learning, coming of age, marriage and cremation are primary examples.

FICTION: It is commonly believed that rituals are mandatory. In fact, there are no absolute requirements within Hinduism. Each devotee is free to practice his faith according to his family tradition and personal preferences.

(Text courtesy: Hinduism Today)

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The Power of Gayatri Mantra

Janamashtmi celebrates the birth of Krishna

Janamashtami Story

To know Sri Krishna is to adore him. He is the blue-skinned God, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, Preserver of the World. He is the Cosmic Cowherd, the mischievous deity that Hindus love the most for his pranks, for his butter-thievery, for his melodious flute, for his romantic interludes with Gopis, the milkmaids. He fought demons, danced on the mighty serpent’s head and lifted Govardhana Hill with his little finger, using it as an umbrella to protect the people from torrential rains.

Yet one anecdote encompasses it all: as a naughty child hankering after butter, he would stand on the shoulders of other children to reach the pots of butter that hung from the ceiling. His mother, sure the incriminating proof was in his mouth, ordered him to open his mouth. She was mesmerized to see entire universes in the child’s mouth, and knew then that all the incidents were merely part of the Lord’s Leela or celestial play.

This year Janmashtami – the birth of Sri Krishna – falls on August 25, 2016. It is little surprise then that devotees gather in the hundreds, in the thousands in temples across India, and the world. It is a very special day and they wait in anticipation, surrounding the symbolic baby crib, singing devotional songs.

The story behind the birth of Krishna is intriguing: the wicked King Kansa had been told that he would meet his death at the hands of his yet unborn nephew. To thwart that, he had his only sister Devaki and her husband Vashdev imprisoned, and murdered each of their seven sons as they were born.

Bal Krishna enjoys butter thievery

Just as the eighth child – Sri Krishna – was born – the prison locks magically opened and Vashdev managed to escape with the baby Krishna in a wicker basket on his head. The river was raging but touching the divine baby’s feet, it receded. Krishna was brought up by a simple cowherd Nand and his wife Yashoda, and the evil Kansa did meet his death at his hands, as it was foretold.

Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita

Sri Krishna is the vanquisher of all evil and the guide for right living. In the mighty Mahabharata war in which the Pandavas battled their kinsmen, the Kauravas, he drove the Pandava warrior Arjuna’s chariot and instructed him to perform his duty, to be on the side of dharma or righteousness.

When Arjuna hesitated to fight against his own brethren, Krishna enlightened him with wisdom that encompasses all aspects of living. These words are immortalized in the 700 slokas of the Bhagavad Gita or the Song of the Lord, which has sustained people across the world.

The teachings of Bhagavad Gita are applicable to the entire human race irrespective of race or faith. It has been said that when you are faced with difficulties, open any page in the Gita, you will find the answer.

Janamahtami celebrates Krishna's Leela or Celestial play

Janamashtami celebrates Krishna’s Leela or Celestial play

Krishna and Cosmic Love

Why do Hindus love Krishna so much? He is the all-pervading, omnipresent One without whom even a leaf cannot stir, but he assumes a very accessible human form, becoming babe, naughty child, son, friend and lover. There is an instant bonding and connection between this deity and his devotees because Krishna is all about love.

In fact, the Bhakti or devotional movement in many parts of India revolves around Krishna, for his love for his beloved Radha is about cosmic love, about the union of soul and the Supreme Being.

Krishna is very much a part of a Hindu’s life: Many children are named after him – the deity has hundreds of names so there’s plenty to choose from! Interestingly, Krishna is a name for both male and female children and the parents certainly hope they will take on his shining attributes. Other names include Gopala, Govinda and Sreenath. Everything associated with Krishna is auspicious – there’s even a Krishna Savings Bank in Delhi and a Lord Krishna Bank in Kerala!

His devotees are also found in the Krishna Consciousness Movement that was started in the U.S. by A.C. Bhaktivedanta in the 60’s and which now has centers all over the world. You may have seen the Hare Krishna devotees of ISKCON, the Society for Krishna Consciousness, dancing on the streets and at airports.

Walk into a Hare Krishna temple and you see the same blissful abandon before the images of Krishna, and vegetarian feasts are served, based on the many delicacies that Krishna loved – butter, ghee and milk.

Since the 60’s, many Indian immigrants have settled in America and there are now scores of temples across the nation where Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated with pomp and pageantry, with dance performances and plays of his life.

Many devotees also fast on this day, eating only after midnight, says Pundit Mahesh Shastri, a Hindu priest. He explains that the icon of Sree Krishna is bathed in milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, sugar and water. A traditional prasad or benediction is given to all the devotees – the Panchajiri, made of five ingredients, in North Indian temples while South Indian temples favor puffed rice, a great favorite of Krishna.

Krishna, the celestial charioteer with Arjuna

Janmashtami Celebrations

In India, the day after Janmashtami is one of revelry, keeping with Krishna’s fun-loving spirit. Clay pots of curds and butter are suspended from poles in the streets in towns like Mathura and Vrindaban, where Krishna lived, and also in cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai.

Bands of boisterous youth form human towers to get to the pots, mimicking Krishna’s exploits. To shouts of ‘Govinda Ala Re!’ (Govinda is coming!) colored water is thrown on bystanders and participants – and yes, the pots contain money for those daring enough to reach them!

Indeed, what’s a birthday without fun and games? Yet Janmashtami has a much deeper meaning – it’s a reminder to do one’s duty in life, no matter how difficult, and to keep on the path of dharma, to surrender one’s life to Krishna because all else is maya or illusion.

As Sree Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita: “Before creation I alone existed. There was nothing, neither existence nor non-existence. I am that which remains after dissolution.”

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(This article first appeared in Beliefnet.com)

(Photos courtesy: Iskcon Desire Tree)

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A Day in the Life of India – the Power of Faith

Faith in a higher power infiltrates all of life in India. When things are tough or challenging, you see God is at every corner. There are countless ways spirituality merges into all aspects of life from small roadside shrines to massive temples; how nothing begins without the invocation to Ganesha, be it a new store, a new film or just a school examination. There is a puja or prayer ritual for every joyous occasion, from the birth of a child to a new job to settling into a new house. There’s even a puja to bless a newly acquired car, with flowers, incense and a priest!

Since life in urban India is lived out in the open with multitudes in close proximity, you often get to see these interactions first-hand. Every small temple has just so many visitors, laden with garlands and fruits. Alongside each temple sprout up flower, food and sweets stalls.

There is so much belief in the power of the Almighty that Gods play a civic watch dog role too: as cleanliness inspectors! The ideal way to discourage people from throwing garbage in a public location is to paint Lakshmi or Ganesha on the walls. The space immediately becomes sacred, ultra-clean, a space for worship!

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Ganesha, the Driver of Cars, Taxis and Rickshaws

Ganesha, the Lord of Good Beginnings, sits on the dashboard of many a car and symbolically steers the wheel. I have seen many drivers fold their hands in prayer before beginning a driving journey. In fact, huge trucks which regularly ply the frenetic highways have colorful images and names of God painted on them. Even the smallest auto-rickshaw has a makeshift shrine on the dashboard. After all, what can be better than having God on your side, a combination of infallible driving instructor and guardian angel?

Driving through towns and cities, I am always amazed to see the number of small roadside businesses and eateries which have the name of God embedded in the name of the business. Sai, Krishna, Ganesha, Shiva, Lakshmi and Sri Ram are all popular invisible partners in these businesses – now who wouldn’t trust enterprises with a name like Krishna Bank or Ganesh Groceries? Google ‘Shiva Restaurant’ and you get 621,000 results! Ganesh Group gets over 706,000 results. No wonder the day doesn’t begin at these businesses without the lighting of incense, invoking the blessings of the deity.

Weddings are of course big on divine blessings and Hindu rituals invite all 300,000 Gods and Goddesses to bear witness and bless the couple. Every region has its own intricate wedding rituals and favorite Gods are invoked in different regions of India. There are also temple visits by the couple, feeding of the poor and rituals (hawans and kathas) at home – all to connect with the Divine Power. Ganesha is the favorite at weddings and most Hindu wedding invitation cards will have his image embossed on them.

Baby Krishna by Roberto Custodio

God is not Someone Sitting Far Away in the Sky

Major Hindu festivals are a parade of the power of belief as hundreds of thousands gather to celebrate these auspicious days. On Ganesh Chaturthi, the 10-day celebration of Ganesh’s birth, entire cities are involved. On the last and final day, they carry small and big images of Ganesha to immerse them in the ocean and to bid him farewell. There is just so much love and devotion and children often have their own small Ganeshas to worship. For Hindus, God is not someone sitting far away in the sky – he is within them, and a friend. Many have an intimate relationship with Ganesha, even creating images of Ganesha playing cricket or in the image of a Superhero. The love and devotion that they feel is expressed in these forms of art and decor.

Janamasthmi is the birth celebration of Sri Krishna and it celebrated with as much joy as a family members. Temples are decorated and illuminated, and thousands of devotees spend the day fasting and chanting. A decorated crib is the center of their attention and when it’s past midnight, the veils are removed to reveal the Baby Krishna. Huge celebrations and feasting follow.

Of course the one day where faith is proclaimed in lights and with amazing firework displays is Diwali, the Festival of Lights, a joyous celebration of the return of Prince Rama from a 14-year banishment to the jungles by his stepmother. His return and victory over the demon Ravana is proclaimed with festivities, food and lights. The festival is celebrated for three days and all work shuts down as the masses celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

Prayer threads in the lobby of Medanta Medicity

A simple red thread, a lifeline of hope…

Faith, however, is a daily part of life which begins with a special routine for each individual. One person may begin the day with early morning meditations; another might pick marigolds from the garden to place in the home shrine; another may choose a quick visit to a temple before work; yet another may stop at a roadside shrine with urban chaos all around. I have seen others begin their day on the waterfront, by feeding the pigeons and the fish, as an act of devotion to God. Some people make silent chanting a part of their commute, others may read a sacred text. For many the belief in a higher power is entwined with their daily lives.

Prayer Threads in the Medanta Hospital

Indeed, the power of belief works everywhere – from street-side vendors to a Clean India campaign to even major hospitals. In these interactions between man and God, even a cancer patient finds a way to connect one-on-one with God. On a recent visit to the ultra-modern Medanta Hospital in New Delhi, I saw that in the large lobby there was an entire wall strung with prayer threads. The afflicted and their friends and families could each pick up a thread from a large bowl which had the inscription ‘Every life is Priceless’. They say a silent prayer and then tie their sacred thread on the wall, next to hundreds of others. One can see that even a highly modern hospital, the epicenter of science and technology, recognizes that belief is all-powerful, sending out positive vibes. For patients to heal and recover, prayers and God’s help are vital.

(This article was first published in Beliefnet.com)

Gita Mehta’s Eternal Ganesha

Lord Ganesha is invoked before a new venture, such as the start of this blog, Lassi with Lavina

Rows of Ganesha idols. Photo: Vendome Press & Dinodia Photo Library

Lassi with Lavina, A New Start with Ganesha

What better way to start a new blog than with Ganesha, the Lord of New Beginnings? Give him whichever name you choose – He is that consciousness that is within us and around us and in the very breath we take.

I’ve never been able to discard a Ganesha image, be it on a wedding card or a flyer. There He is, dancing, playing a lute, eating a sweet. All these playful Ganesha images lie wedged in between my books and my papers, hopefully merging into the pages, increasing my knowledge, making me a better writer and removing obstacles!

Ganesha appears just about everywhere in India from ancient temples to contemporary art work to posters plastered in the bazaars, and is the most beloved of the Hindu gods. With his elephant head, his potbelly, his weakness for sweets and his preferred vehicle of a mouse, he is quite irresistible. He is a god who has crisscrossed faiths in India to become the icon of good luck and prosperity. Any new task – be it the signing of a business deal, the making of a movie or the buying of a house – will begin only after Ganesha is invoked.

The writer Gita Mehta says in her book “Eternal Ganesha’ (Vendome Press): “He is regarded as the Origin of the Universe, the Lord of Connection, of Cause and Effect, the Moment of Creation. He’s really a metaphor for a philosophical quest, an eternal search.”

As she points out, Ganesha is also the special god of India’s vast student population: “Many students believe if they slice a closed text book with a Ganesha medallion the book will fall open at the very topic on which they will be examined, and before entering an examination hall cautious students might recite the Ganesha prayer.”

So since starting a new blog is somewhat of a test and I myself am a newbie blogger, I invoke Ganesha, He who already has a mouse and is suited perfectly to Cyberspace! He is also the Lord of Wisdom – a passionate scribe who broke off his own tusk to use as a pen when transcribing the epic tale of Mahabharata for the sage Vyasa. What greater inspiration for a writer?

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Monkeys enjoy an Onam feast – (Photo via FB – Seenivasan Narayanasamy)

Feasting with the Monkeys at Onam…

I’m not monkeying around! There really is an Onam feast for monkeys – the guests seem to be having a monkey of a time!
Of course, monkeys are especially beloved because of Lord Hanuman, the monkey god and diehard devotee of Sri Rama. In any Indian town or city, monkeys can do a lot of mischief but get away without punishment due to this divine connection.
During the festival season of Onam, there is a special feast for these honored guests. Here is a video showing the monkeys feasting at Sasthamkotta Sree Dharmasastha Temple in Kollam district of Kerala, South India.

An Onam Feast…Forget the table manners!

Onasadya – a traditional vegetarian feast

According to Indiavideo.org, “The temple premise is home to a monkey brigade, considered as favorites of the presiding deity. Regardless of their naughty behavior at times, devotees and people living nearby never harm the monkeys.”

During the festival season of Onam in Kerala, Onasadya (traditional vegetarian feast), just like the one in households is given to this respected monkey brigade that live in and around the Sree Dharmasastha Temple at Sasthamkotta. The video features Onasadya being served to the monkeys and shows them enjoying the delicacies in a manner that suits their table manners!

Compassion and Caring

One of the things I love about India is this sense of oneness with all creation. During early morning walks I have seen people feeding the birds, throwing dough balls into the water for fish and feeding the cows. My own mother always put aside food for the birds and the cows before starting her midday meal.
Indeed Indians, especially Hindus, make offerings to many animals. In some other temples of Kerala, there are offerings to different animals who are connected with the presiding deity: bulls at the Shiva Temple in Thirunakkara; cows at Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna Swamy Temple; elephants at Guruvayur Sri Krishna Swamy Temple; peacocks in Subrahmanya Temple at Haripad and dogs in Parassinikadavu Muthappan Temple at Parassinikadavu.
All very well – but one wishes city animals also received such devotion and kindness on the streets of busy streets. One has only to see the scrawny ragged dogs and flea-bitten cats which haunt major metropolises to wish some of this love and largess could be extended to them. Privately owned pets get a lot of love but it’s the abandoned animals which need to be taken care of.
Meanwhile enjoy this delightful video of the feasting monkeys!

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Thanksgiving is a Time for Counting Blessings…

If Thanksgiving is a festival of gratitude, then Indians have been preparing for it their whole lives.

Every festival is about counting one’s blessings and thanking God for them. Indeed, buying a new car or new home entails special puja or prayer ceremonies to bless the new item and to offer thanks.

“Gratitude is one of the most important virtues in many Hindu texts” – Dr. Vasudha Narayanan

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Thanksgiving is a festival totally in sync with the Indian state of mind – it’s about remembering the Almighty and his many blessings, and in turn sharing with the less fortunate.

A version of this article first appeared in Beliefnet.com

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Christmas is an Indian Festival too!

Christmas is an Indian festival, as you will see from the stories here. Do share your own memories too in the comments!

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Christmas – Old Traditions & New…

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If there is one place in the world which has been a safe haven for Jews, it is India.

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Remembering the Past

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(This article first appeared on Beliefnet.com as a photo gallery)

At Christmas, three beautiful images from Roberto Custodio, & Peace to the World

Madonna and Child by Roberto Custodio

“Roberto Custodio has a unique way with the art of the found image. Working with the smallest of images cut out from magazines he transports the viewer into a fantastical and magical world of his imagination, where, child-like, we are astonished by his mastery of the art of make believe. In the present time with our avarice for sampling pieces of music, images, videos and then creating different works, our culture is continually referencing and commenting on the works of others, both past and present. Fully incorporating the art of the found or sampled image, we are constantly delighted by Roberto’s meticulous technique of cutting and repositioning the tiniest image, forcing change between signifier and signified. The artist has cleverly filtered and used the ephermal nature of the magazine printed image, to create a bold, romantic vision that is respectful of the past and yet grounded in the present. Roberto Custodio is a self-taught artist, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he still resides.”

(Peter Louis, R L Fine Arts which shows Custodio’s work in New York)

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Raksha bandhan

Raksha Bandhan – The Bond of Protection

One of the most anticipated festivals in the Hindu calendar is Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan, the Festival of Threads. This is the day when brothers and sisters renew their bonds and sisters receive money and gifts from their brothers. Now which little girl can argue with that? Lucky are the sisters who have several brothers!

Indeed, if you are Hindu and have a brother, no matter where you are, you will try to meet up with him on Raksha Bandhan which falls this year on August 7. This is an ancient Hindu festival which occurs in the month of shravan on the full moon. Sisters pray for their brothers health and well-being, tying the sacred Rakhi thread on their wrists, and brothers pledge to protect their sisters.

Raksha Bandhan.

Rakhi: A Lifelong Bond

It is said that Lord Krishna formed this brotherly bond with Draupadi when she tore off a piece of her saree to bandage his cut finger, and he was always there for her when she called for help. In the Mahabharata epic, one learns that when she was being disrespected by the Kaurava princes who were trying to disrobe her, Lord Krishna saw to it that her saree was unending, thus honoring her modesty.

On Rakhi, sisters prepare a tray with ceremonial items and sweets and pray for the welfare of the brother, placing a tikka on his forehead and tying a bracelet of silken threads on his wrist. The sister feeds him sweets and the brother gives her a gift of money, clothes or jewelry, pledging to be there for her always. Families continue the tradition through the years and often you see brothers and sisters, in their 70’s, observing this ritual and renewing the lifelong bonds.

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Rakhi, the Shining Talismans

Indeed weeks before the festivals, the bazaars in India are ablaze with the colorful bracelets of silken threads, bonbons and sequins, and rakhi shopping is a must, along with sweets for the occasion. From London to New York, the Indian markets in ethnic neighborhoods bloom with rakhis, jeweled bracelets of tinsel and sequins. Indian migrants have brought this tradition to the countries they migrated to and many 2nd and 3rd generation Hindu children also observe this tradition in spite of having grown up in foreign lands. Earlier migrants recall that they had to be creative and craft their own rakhis but now the Indian stores in many American cities are bursting with these shining talismans.

In today’s day and age, online stores have sprouted up and rakhis can be ordered online too and yes, there are electronic rakhis or e-rakhis sent by thousands of sisters to brothers across the world. Many years ago, brothers and sisters parted by many miles would use the postal system, pushing the rakhis into an envelope and sending it half way across the world to a loved one. Now it’s been replaced by all these different versions – but the sentiment remains the same.

Celebrating the festival of Rakhi

A Pledge of Caring

The rakhi has also become a symbol of caring for those who are not in the sibling relationship. Women will often tie a rakhi on males with whom they have a platonic relationship, making them their ‘rakhi brother’. Children and workers also tie it on older people and authority figures – often schoolchildren descend on the prime minister’s office to tie rakhis on the Indian prime minister – till his entire arm is festooned with these festive bracelets!

The sentiment of Rakhi – that of caring, great love and a pledge of protection – remains unchanged and even strengthens over the years. Bollywood songs often refer to this pledge between brothers and sisters with many tear-jerking songs and there’s even an entire film devoted to these sentiments titled ‘Rakhi’.

Each year a fresh group of children get initiated into this brother-sister bond. One wonders, will the sentiments change over the years? As gender roles change, will both sisters and brothers tie the rakhi on each other and give gifts to each other? I recall one independent little girl saying she didn’t need protection or gifts. After all, in a perfect world, both males and females have the power to love, protect and pray for each other!

Photos – credit Creative Commons

This article first appeared in Beliefnet.com

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Raksha Bandhan desserts