Happy Deepavali...!!!!

Just a couple of hours and it'll be yet another joyous day in India.... with the whole of the country getting together to celebrate the festival of Lights...
I don't quite understand the term "Diwali" which i guess is just a corrupted form of the word "Deepavali"...
Deepavali actually when split up is - deepasya aavali iti deepavali.. it actually in Sanskrit means a row/ pattern of lights...

Deepavali is one such day when our homes/lives is filled with goody goody stuff.... sweets.. new clothes.. crackers...near ones.. and sweet memories.... from the days i was a little kid till today.. i guess i have evolved with years....learnt with time and experience... and deepavali and the preparations onto deepavali teach you a lot...

I do not wish to take this post onto a sober note on a to- be beautiful day... ultimately what i feel is that deepavali is not just to light up our homes with diyas... it's more to light up or brighten somebody else's life every year.. year after year... how to get to that on a serious , full-fledged note.. i shall post some other time... but we can for sure contribute in small ways during these festivals..

Just to share somethings we can do on the run - up to deepavali...(at least i do)

1.Crackers are a total No- No.. i shall have nothing to do with child labour... crackers get in when there's not one single child involved in it's manufacture.

2.It's not just that we buy clothes only during deepavali.. we buy them all through the year..whenever we need them... But for deepavali, i've made it a point to buy atleast 1 Khadi shirt every year in support of the numerous SHG that manufacture them... that little amount i spend on one shirt goes to one small family and might feed them for just one day.. but still for them it counts so much.. and it's such a comfy wear for me every summer...

3.All the money i get from elders as aashirwaad during deepavali goes to support some noble cause... not necessarily for charity... Last year it went to "The trust".. lets see what happens this year...

4.A share of all savouries and sweets prepared in our home make their way to an old aged home nearby.. just to share our happiness with those elderly people deserted by their well -to-do sons and daughters...

5.The ration shops or the (UN)Fair price shops as they are called in Tamilnadu.. sell a lot of stuff... rice,sugar,wheat,palm oil,all kinds of dal,wheat flour,rava,jeera and what not.. We do not buy all of these..just the rice and sugar suffices our needs.. but since all the items are available at a much cheaper price than with other grocers, we make it a point to buy all of them and donate them away to whoever needs them.. out watchman .. servant maid... or just anybody..

I know these are very small things to me or us rather... but for others it makes such a huge difference in the way it helps them celebrate the festival.. for some others it may just give them a day's lively hood.. i don't even know if it will.. but still i wish , hope and pray it reaches out to someone in a small way... at least.... and that what Deepavali is all about.... making the world a better place to live .... bringing a smile onto people's faces...!!!! Lightening somebody's life...!!

Happy Deepavali..... Deepavali Nal-Vaazhthukkal.....!!!!

Cheers...!!
S

Amazin math.. contd..

This is more of astronomy where the age of the universe till date is said,then the geographic locations where the ritual is being performed and then the physical conditions of the said location.
Ground level stats:
There are 4 yugas described in our scriptures.
Kali yuga having 432000 years
Dvapara yuga consisting of 864000(432000*2) years
Treata yuga of 1296000(432000*3) years
Sathya/kritha yuga with 1728000(432000*4) years
Adding all of ‘em together 1 chaturyuga or the combined duration of the above epochs are 4320000 years.

Now we know that Bramha is believed to be the creator. The lifetime of bramha is 100 years,each year with 360 days each.
1 day of Bramha is divided into 2 parts called Kalpa where 1 Kalpa is the duration of the Day and the other is the duration of Night of a full day of Bramha’s.
In turn 1 kalpa is divided into 14 manvantaras or manus who rule their respective period.
Each manvantara consists of 71 chatur yugas…
After each manu there is a resting period or sandhi kala of duration of 1728000 years
Summing all these up…
1 Chatur yuga = 4320000 years
1 manvantara=4320000*71= 306720000 years
14 manvataras = 14 * 306720000= 4294080000 years
1 kalpa(14 manvantara+15 sandhi kala)= 4294080000 + (15*1728000)= 4320000000 years
2 kalpas or 1 day of Bramha = 4320000000*2= 8640000000 Years
360 days / 1 year of Bramha’s lifetime = 8640000000 * 360 = 3110400000000 years
Lifetime of Bramha (100 years)= 3110400000000 * 100 = 311040000000000 years…!!!!!!!
so the meaning of the sankalpa is indeed this calculation which gives us the present day age of this universe...

Shubhe shobhane aadya bramhanah: - the creator bramha
Dviteeya parardhae - in the second half of his lifetime
Shweta varaha kalpe - in the kalpa called shwetavaraha
Vaivasvata manvantare - in the manu rules by vaivasvatha
Ashtavimshati tame - 28000 years of which have elapsed so far
Kali yuge Prathame Paade - in the 1st quarter of kali yuga
Jambu Dveepe - in the geographical location of jambu dveepa
Bharatha varushe bharatah: Khande - in the khanda or continent ruled by king bharata
Meroho: dakshine paarshve shakabdhe - south of the Mt.Meru
Asmin varthamane vYaavaharike - in the cycle which changes
Prabhavaadi shasthi samvatsaranam Madhye - in the cycle of 60 years starting with prabahava,vibhava
(Sarvadhaari) Naama Samvathsare - in the year known as sarvadhaari
(Dakshin)aayane - in the period where the sun moves towards the tropic of capricon
(Varusha)ritou - in the rainy season
(Ashweena)Maase - month of ashwina
(Shukla)Pakshe - in the waxing period of the moon
(Prathamyaam) shubha thithou - 1st day of the waxing period
(mangala) varsarah:the specific day whatever .. as applicable.....

phew..... never knew there would be so much to such a small verse..
need to go hog somethin nw.. i'm tired already....!!!
Cheers....!!!
S

amazin math... puts all ya calcs to shame.....!!!

This has been buggin me for a loooooon time now…. It’s been nearly 2 months since I started working on this lik mad… n still am only half way thru… there are lotsa unanswered queries that lie within me…. Answers for which I’ve been seeking… but looks lyk it’s gonna tak a epoch to get them answered…unless I’m able to find satisfying answers prior that...
In olden days it was believed people, hindus rather were forbidden from tarvelling abroad… by crossing the seas… why or how this came about..what are the logical reasons behind such ideas is what I’m looking for… I don’t believe things without a proper, sensible reason, and I don’t violate such customs/traditions whatever u may wanna call them.. until MY reason reasons me out…
In order to get to either following these beliefs or violate them asap… I’d prefer to go behind the cause…
So that’s how I get here.. now this post might b quite boring if u hate maths… and people who love maths…. Jus pick up a pen and a piece of paper.. or open up an excel sheet on your comp… calculators are of no use here.. belive me….
Now I got to asking a few learned people as to y people are forbidden from crossing the seas…
Answer 1 :
There is a ritual called a sankalpa(m) which is done by all hindus before performing any religious act.. and as per this sankalpa.. the karma bhoomi or land of karma is the land south of Mt.Meru… -- why is only this land d karma bhoomi is my next question for which I get no logical answer..
Answer 2:
In olden days people needed to travel by sea…(before the tym of flights).. sea voyages wer risky.. vegetarians had lotsa issues finding veg food in foreigh lands… change of climate affected people.. sea voyages for months sucked n blah blah… I might accept this half heartedly.. quarter heartedly rather.. but that aint enuf… am not satisfied…

I got into getting to the roots of what this sankalpa meant… this is eatin up wat too much of my head..

This sankalpa is more like a preamble or a plan as to what ritual is gonna be performed…
For those who wanna knw the actual words.. here it is…
Mamopatha samastha dirithakshayadvaara
Sri parameshwara preethyartham…
Shubhe shobhane aadya bramhanah:
Dviteeya parardhae
Shweta varaha kalpe
Vaivasvata manvantare
Ashtavimshati tame
Kali yuge Prathame Paade
Jambu Dveepe
Bharatha varushe bharatah: Khande
Meroho: dakshine paarshve shakabdhe
Asmin varthamane vYaavaharike
Prabhavaadi shasthi samvatsaranam Madhye
(Sarvadhaari) Naama Samvathsare
(Dakshin)aayane
(Varusha)ritou
(Ashweena)Maase
(Shukla)Pakse
(Prathamyaam) shubha thithou
(mangala) varsarah:

Etc etc…
Now to the real meaning.. which i guess will b on my next post..

to b continued...

S