Vinayagar Agaval
Avvaiyar is one of the important and famous woman poet-saints of Tamilnadu. Vinayagar Agaval is one of her great works and is a hymn on Lord Ganesha. Listen to this beautiful hymn in Tamil through the following link.
Lord Ganesha wrote the Mahabharata
Most of you are aware of the Mahagharata, one of the two great epics of India. Sage Vyasa is the author of the Mahabharat. There is an anecdote in the puranas which says that Lord Ganesha, the cute little god of Hinduism is also involved in the composition of the Mahabharat. In this episode, Nithya Venkataraman presents this short story on how Lord Ganesha was involved in the writing of this great epic.
Firmness or determination is an important aspect of life. This story highlights the importance of the quality of determination in the personality of an individual.
Listen to this story through this youtube link.
https://youtu.be/fY72zWHS5-U
Adi Sankara
Adi Sankara spread the tenets of Advaita Vedanta, the supreme philosophy of monism or non-dualism. Listen to this brief talk on Adi Sankara through the following link.
Shaivism and Vaishnavism
Shaivism and Vaishnavism are the two most important facets of Hinduism. Shaivism is a branch which believes Lord Shiva as the supreme deity and Vaishnavism believes Lord Vishnu as the Supreme deity. Listen to a brief talk on this through the following link.
The festival of Dasara
It is not only Mylapore but all the areas in Chennai were vibrant with energetic movement. Dasara is one of the longest and popular Hindu festivals in India. The festival of Dasara is celebrated for ten days in Tamilnadu. Three days each are dedicated to the worship of three goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati, in that order.
According to the Vedic Religion, God has no attributes. But the attributeless form of God can be approached only through attributes. Attributes are therefore given to God.
Goddess Durga personifies the divine energy which destroys the negative tendencies. The negative tendencies are portrayed as demons and the puranas symbolically depict Goddess Durga as waging war and destroying the demons. People worship Durga for the first three days.
Goddess Lakshmi represents the divine wealth. The Goddess personifies the positive qualities and not merely the gross wealth or prosperity. As a giver of the divine wealth, the worship of Goddess Lakshmi is done for the next three days.
The main objective of life is to obtain the knowledge of the Supreme. Goddess Saraswathi is considered as the embodiment of this Supreme Knowledge. The next three days of the Dasara are dedicated to worshipping Goddess Saraswati.
The tenth day is Vijaya Dasami, or the festival of victory. Vijaya Dasami marks the victory of good over evil and is, therefore, considered the most auspicious day
Thus, the negative qualities are first controlled by the spiritual aspirant. Then virtuous qualities are ingrained. And finally in the mind so purified, the supreme spiritual knowledge is acquired. This is the significance of each stage of worship.
Dasara, however, is not only significant for spiritual aspirants. It has its significance for the worldly life also. In the material world, it is necessary to obtain divine grace in the form of Durga to surmount obstacles, in the form of Lakshmi to obtain peace and prosperity, and in the form of Saraswati to gain knowledge.
These three ingredients are just as necessary for a full and complete worldly life as it is for spiritual progress.
During this period, there would be the arrangement of grand ‘Kolu’ not only in the houses but also in temples with special forms of worship and cultural activities. In the evenings, women would invite other women in their neighbourhood to each other’s homes to see the ‘Kolu’. They sing songs and exchange gifts, sweets etc. The visiting women are considered as the personification of these goddesses. In short, the festival is a grand mixture of religion, culture and tradition.
(Excerpts from the book titled 'Paradise comes to Mylapore')
https://youtu.be/pt_U5fMNZjo
Hymn-Pratah Smarana Stotram
According to Advaita Vedanta, the Almighty God is the only reality. The world which we see, the world wherein we live and in fact, we ourselves are nothing but this supreme reality. Referred to as Brahman in the scriptures, this Almighty God eludes any categorisation.
This hymn consists of only three verses and is the quintessence of Advaita-Vedanta. As we all know, the dawn is the most important time in everyday life. The first thoughts, words and actions of the day greatly influence the life of every individual. If we think of the divine in early morning, it will profoundly influence spiritual illumination.
So, Adi Shankara composed this Morning Prayer on this Supreme Spirit in which the mind, the speech and body of the individual are sought to be dedicated to the Almighty. The first verse starts with प्रातः स्मरामि, the second with प्रातर्भजामि and the third with प्रातर्नमामि.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8gVSGEzbI
Hymn-Runa Vimochana Narasimha Stotram
This is a hymn in praise of Lord Narasimha, the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This is from the Narasimha Purana. “Runa” means debts and it is believed that reciting this hymn shall make the devotees pay back their debts and successfully come out of their obligations. The prayer is not merely the removal of material debts but also of Karma.
The hymn comprises nine stanzas each describing the attributes of Lord Narasimha. Each stanza ends with the words श्री नृसिंहं महावीरं नमामि ऋणमुक्तये meaning, ‘Oh Lord Narasimha, the great valorous God, I sincerely worship you to alleviate my debts and obligations.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpWHZUUIyf8