KRISNA SUDAMA :: FRIENDSHIP DAY SPECIAL

Krisna Sudama friendship

Friendship day special :: Krisna Sudama

OM...



Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends who had been at the Gurukula together. Years passed by and the two friends went their own ways. Fate was not kind to Sudama and he lived in dire poverty. Although he and his wife nearly always starved and did not have decent clothes, Sudama's wife never complained.


One day, his wife asked Sudama, "Why don't you go and meet Krishna, Lord of Dwaraka, and tell him your suffering? If he is your true friend, he will surely help you". Sudama was not keen on asking Krishna for help, but he decided to meet Krishna as he was happy at the prospect of meeting his friend. He wanted to take some gift for Krishna. As there was nothing else in the house, his wife gave him a small bundle of 'Poha' (beaten rice or avil ) and asked him to give it to Krishna. With the small bundle in his hand, Sudama left to see Krishna.


After a long journey Sudama reached Krishna's palace and was hesitating to enter the palace .He was wondering whether Krishna would remember him. Just as he was engaged in thought, Krishna rushed forward and embraced Sudama. He welcomed Sudama and washed his feet with his own hands. Everyone was astonished and wondered at Krishna's hospitality to a person who looked like a beggar.


They happily chatted about their childhood days. Krishna then asked Sudama with a twinkle in his eye, "What present have you brought for me?"Sudama hesitated to give him the bundle of poha. Sensing his hesitation Krishna said, "Even the most expensive gift given to me without true love and devotion means nothing to me when compared to the smallest gift given to me with true love and affection". Thus saying he pulled out the little bundle from Sudama's hands and opened it. "Why? It's poha my favourite food" and started eating it with glee. Sudama's happiness knew no bounds.

Sudama spent the night at the palace and returned home the next morning feeling extremely happy that Krishna had treated him like his brother. Only on his way home did he realise that he did not tell Krishna about his poverty and was wondering what to tell his wife. As he neared his house he was surprised to see that his old hut had transformed into a lovely mansion. His wife came out to welcome him dressed in fine clothes. It was then that Sudama realised that all this wealth and splendour could only be due to the benevolence of Lord Krishna. But even amidst the splendour, Sudama continued his simple life and praised Krishna's glory and greatness.

KRISNA AND SUDAMA :: ON FRIENDSHIP DAY

OM..



Krishna Sudama
Krishna & Sudama's friendship is known to all. Sudama was a poor Brahmin man. He didn't even have enough money to feed his children. Once with tearful eyes, his wife told him, "It doesn't matter if we are hungry but we should at least be able to feed the children enough."


On hearing this Sudama felt very hurt & said, "What can be done? We can't ask for favors from anybody."


Sudama's wife replied, "You talk of Krishna so often. You have been saying that you have a deep bond of friendship with him. He is the King of Dwarka, so why don't you go to him? There won't be any need to ask for anything there."


Sudama found wisdom in the words of his wife. He decided to go to Dwarka & said, "I'll definitely go to Krishna but what should I take along for his children?"


Sudama's wife borrowed some rice snacks from their neighbor. She bound the food in a piece of torn cloth & Sudama took the bundle & left for Dwarka.


On seeing Dwarka, Sudama was amazed. The entire town was built with gold & the people were very well-off. He asked for directions for Krishna's palace & finally reached there. On seeing Sudama who looked like a hermit, the palace guards asked, "Why have you come here?"


Sudama answered, "I want to meet Krishna who is my friend. Go & tell him that Sudama has come to meet you."


The guard smirked on seeing Sudama's attire. However, he hesitantly went & informed Krishna of Sudama's arrival. On hearing Sudama's name, Krishna immediately stood up & ran to meet him. Everyone looked on in wonder upon seeing such a great King running bare-footed to meet his poor friend.






Krishna took Sudama into the palace. They recalled their childhood days at the Sandipani's school. Seeing Krishna's wealth, Sudama felt ashamed of the rice snacks that he had brought & tried to hide the bundle but Krishna snatched it from him. While enjoying the snack Krishna said, "I have never tasted such sweetness in anything else."


Later, they sat to have their meal which was served in gold plates. Sudama felt sad as he remembered his hungry children at home. He stayed at the palace for two days but he couldn't prepare himself to ask Krishna for any favors. On the third day, he got ready to go back home. Krishna embraced Sudama & escorted him out as he bid him farewell.


On the way back, Sudama wondered, "What shall I say when my wife asks me what I've brought back?"


As Sudama approached home, he could not find his hut! Instead, his wife came out from a magnificent palace & dressed in elegant clothes. She told Sudama, "Look at Krishna's might; we have been rid of our poverty. Krishna has ended all our miseries." Sudama recollected Krishna's pure love & his eyes welled up with tears of joy.


Moral: So friends, did you see how pure was the friendship of Krishna & Sudama? True love doesn't distinguish between high & low status or between riches & poverty. Therefore today, even after thousands of years, the friendship of Krishna & Sudama is remembered all over the world as a symbol of true love.

RAKHI :: picture gallery

RAKHI FESTIVAL

There is no doubt that rituals like Rakhi help ease out various societal strains, induce fellow-feeling, open up channels of expression, give us an opportunity to rework on our role as human beings and, most importantly, bring joy in our mundane lives. This has always been the idea of an ideal Hindu society.

RAKHI :: Hindu festival

The chaste bond of love between a brother and a sister is one of the deepest and noblest of human emotions. 'Raksha Bandhan' or 'Rakhi' celebration is the festival to express this immaculate love by tying a holy thread around the wrist which pulsates with sisterly love and sublime sentiments. It means 'a bond of protection' 

 On this day, sisters pray for long life of their brothers and ask God to bless them with his blessings. Brothers, in turn, give them enticing rakhi gifts and promise to care life long.

The ritual is observed on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravan, on which sisters tie the sacred Rakhi string on their brothers' right wrists. When a Rakhi is tied on the wrists of close friends and neighbors, it underscores the need for a harmonious social life, where every individual co-exist peacefully as brothers and sisters.

As we see it in our History, the strong bond represented by Rakhi has resulted in innumerable political ties among kingdoms and princely states. The pages of Indian history testify that the Rajput and Maratha queens have sent Rakhis even to Mughal kings who, despite their differences, have assuaged their Rakhi-sisters by offering help and protection at critical moments and honoured the fraternal bond. Even matrimonial alliances have been established between kingdoms through the exchange of Rakhis. History has it that the great Hindu King Porus refrained from striking Alexander, the Great because the latter’s wife had approached this mighty adversary and tied a Rakhi on his hand, prior to the battle, urging him not to hurt her husband.

SHIVA :: who is Shiva

Who is Lord Siva ?


Siva or Shiva is one the gods of Hindu Trinity. He is worshipped by millions of Hindus all over the world. He is known as the destroyer of the worlds in His aspect of Rudra. He personifies anger, passion as well as compassion. He subdues all our passions and transforms the human body so as to make it divine. The human body devoid of Siva is Sava or a dead body. 

Parvathi is His consort while Ganga, His second consort adorns his head. Parvathi is his better half. Parvathi literally means parva+thi, the one who occupies the one half. Ganga is the divine consciousness he bears and then allows it to flow into human or earth consciousness. The bull Nandi is his vehicle. It symbolizes ignorance, passion and animality. 

Lord Vinayaka and Kumaraswamy are his two children, who are gods of great powers in their own right. Lord Siva symbolizes innocence, purity, charity, spiritual wisdom, inner harmony and greater good. 


If He is worshipped sincerely he is bound to response and free us from the bondage or Pasa. He transforms the Pasu (animal qualities) in us. And He is the Lord of All (Pasu Pathi).