Sai
Ram All,
This
month, we bring to your attention the festivals of the month, Vasant Panchami
and the Islamic New Year. Do check out our new section, ‘Useful Link for the Month’. As always, suggestions and contributions are most readily
welcome.
Enjoy!
Sharan
To
contribute, please write to shazer40@hotmail.com ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Birthday of the Goddess of Wisdom
This was celebrated on the 13th of
February 2005. Vasant Panchami is dedicated
to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning. She represents the free
flow of wisdom and consciousness. She is the mother of the Vedas, and chants to
her, called the 'Saraswati Vandana' often begin and end Vedic lessons.
The festival is celebrated every year on the 5th day of the
bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magha — the day called 'Vasant
Panchami'. Hindus celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm, and temples
and households are full of activities on this day. This 'Panchami' is also
known as Saraswati Day, because it is believed that on this day the goddess was
born.
Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, art and music is the daughter of Lord Shiva
and Goddess Durga. It is believed that goddess Saraswati endows human
beings with the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She has four hands
representing four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect,
alertness and ego. She has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus — the
symbol of true knowledge — in the second. With her other two hands she plays
the music of love and life on a string instrument called the veena. She
is dressed in white — the symbol of purity — and rides on a white swan that
symbolises Sattwa Guna or purity and discrimination. Saraswati is also a
prominent figure in Buddhist iconography — the consort of Manjushri.
The colour yellow is given special importance on Vasant Panchami. On this day,
Saraswati is dressed in yellow garments and worshipped. People prefer to wear
yellow clothes on this holy day. Sweetmeats of yellowish hues are distributed
among relations and friends. Some people feed Brahmins, some perform Pitri-Tarpan
(ancestor worship) and many worship Kamadeva, the god of love on this day.
However, the most significant aspect of this day is that children are taught
their first words on this day, for it is considered an auspicious day to begin
how to read and write. Educational institutions organise special prayer for
Saraswati. The great Indian guru Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya laid the
foundations of the world class academic institution of Kashi Hindu Vishwa
Vidyalaya on Vasant Panchami.
Saintly people and individuals inclined towards spiritual progress attach great
importance to the worship of goddess Saraswati. As a practice, only educated
people and men of principle worship goddess Saraswati for spiritual
enlightenment. In their opinion, there can be no comparison between the king
and the learned or the spiritually advanced. The king is honored within his
kingdom, whereas the learned is respected or worshipped throughout the world.
Hinduism has taken into account special significance of seasons and interwoven
them with religious festivals. During Vasant Panchami, seasons undergo change
and the coming of springtime is heralded. Trees display new shoots and new life
is evident in the woods and fields. Nature decorates the mango trees with new
blossoms, wheat and crops enliven with evidence of new life.
Vasant Panchami is a festival full of religious, seasonal and social
significance and is celebrated by Hindus all over the world with verve and new
sense of optimism. The first faint signals of the forthcoming festival of Holi
— the festival of colours — also manifest at Vasant Panchami.
Islamic
New Year
By Divya Soni
Sai Ram
all readers…Last week on Sunday 13th February 2005 the Baal Vikas
children of the Sathya Sai Centre of Glasgow did a short talk on Islamic New
Year. This is a very important day for all Muslims. And as Swami says…there is
only one religion; the religion of love.
Islam has a calendar based on the revolutions of the
moon. Thus, it is only 354 days long. Islamic New Year is celebrated on the
first day of Muharram, the first Islamic month. Compared to Western calendars,
the Islamic Year goes 11 days backwards every year (So, in 2005 on the Western
Calendar, the New Year is February 10).
The marking of the beginning of the new year is
usually quiet, unlike New Year’s celebrations associated with other calendars.
The appearance of the new moon is recorded in the mosques and special prayers
and readings are said. A major part of the holiday is the telling of the hegira, Muhammad’s flight from Medina to
Mecca which marks the beginning of the historical Islamic calendar. Muslims
also reflect on the passing of time and their own mortality.
The New Year itself is known to Muslims as Maal Hijra.
Baba On Love
Where exactly does God reside? God is everywhere in
all beings. Really speaking, God is Love, and Love pervades everywhere. There
is no being without a trace of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks)
Love all religions. Forms of worshipping God differ,
for they are shaped by time and place, but Love is the basic content of all the
forms. (Sathya Sai Speaks)
What is religion? It is Love. When one practices his
religion with faith, there can be no hatred in the world, for all religions are
built on Universal Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks)
Sathya Sai Baba's ABC
ABC
Always Be Careful
Always Be Carefree
Always Be Cheerful
Always Be Calm
Always Be Charitable
Always Be Courteous
Always Be Considerate
Always Be Cooperative
Avoid Bad Company
Accept Benign Company
Four F's
Follow the Master
Face the Devil
Fight to the End
Finish the Game
Five
D's
Devotion
Discipline
Duty
Determination
Discrimination
Useful Link for the Month
http://laluni.helloyou.ws/askbaba/saibabagita
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
editor sharan soni team
divya soni, parag agarwal