ಕೊಲೆಸ್ಟ್ರಾಲ್ ಗೆ ಸೂಪರ್ ಫುಡ್ ಯಾವುದು?
ಎಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಬೊಜ್ಜಿನ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಇರುತ್ತೋ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಅದನ್ನು ಕರಗಿಸುವ ಮಾರ್ಗವೂ ಒಂದೊಂದಾಗಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರುತ್ತೆ. ದಿನ ನಿತ್ಯವೂ ಬೊಜ್ಜನ್ನು ಕರಗಿಸುವ ಹಲವು ವಿಧಾನಗಳನ್ನು ನೀವು ನೋಡುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರ್ತೀರ. ಆದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲೊಂದು ಸರಳ ಮಾರ್ಗವಿದೆ.
ಹಸಿವು ನೀಗಿಸುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬೊಜ್ಜನ್ನೂ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಿಸುವ ಕೆಲವು ಸೂಪರ್ ಫುಡ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಆಹಾರ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಎರಡು ಪಟ್ಟು ಪ್ರಯೋಜನ ನೀಡುತ್ತೆ ಅನ್ನೋದು ತಜ್ಞರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ. ಇವುಗಳು ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಣಗೊಳಿಸುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನೂ ನೀಡಿ ದೇಹವೂ ಫಿಟ್ ಆಗಿರುವಂತೆ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೆ.
ಫಿಟ್ ಆಗಿರಲು ಅವಶ್ಯಕವಾದ ಆಹಾರ:
1. ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧ ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆ: ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧ ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಎಂದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಒತ್ತಿ ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕರಿದ ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಾದ ಒಮೆಗಾ3 ಫ್ಯಾಟಿ ಆಸಿಡ್ ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಛಾ ಬಳಸಬೇಕು. ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯನ್ನು ಬಿಸಿ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ ಅದರಲ್ಲಿನ ಸತ್ವ ಬೇಗನೆ ನಶಿಸಿಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಹಸಿಯಾದ ಸಲಾಡ್ ನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯನ್ನು ಹಾಗೇ ಬೆರೆಸಿ ಸೇವಿಸಿದರೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಬೊಜ್ಜನ್ನು ಬೇಗನೆ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು.
2. ದುಂಡು ಮೆಣಸಿನ ಕಾಯಿ ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂ: ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂನಿಂದ ಅನೇಕ ಉಪಯೋಗವಿದೆ. ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂನಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಯಾನ್ಸರ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡುವ ವಿಶೇಷ ಗುಣವಿರುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇದರಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹೇರಳ ಆಂಡಿಯಾಕ್ಸಿಡಂಟ್ ಬೇಗನೆ ಸುಕ್ಕು ಮೂಡುವುದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕೆಂಪು ಮತ್ತು ಹಳದಿ ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿದೆ.
3. ಬಾದಾಮಿ: ಬಾದಾಮಿಯನ್ನು ಈ ಸೂಪರ್ ಫುಡ್ ಪಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗಷ್ಟೆ ಸೇರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಬಾದಾಮಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇರಳ ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಬಾದಾಮಿಯನ್ನು ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೆನೆಸಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಹೊತ್ತು ತಿಂದರೆ ದಿನವಿಡೀ ಚೈತನ್ಯದಿಂದಿರಲು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಒದಗಿಸುತ್ತೆ.
4. ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ: ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ, ಬಣ್ಣದ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ ಬೊಜ್ಜು ಕರಗಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಉತ್ತಮ ಮಾರ್ಗ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕಪ್ಪು ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿದೆ. ಬೆರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾಗಿರುವ ಸ್ಟ್ರಾಬೆರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಟಮಿನ್ ಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ಆಂಟಿಯಾಕ್ಸಿಡಂಟ್ ಮತ್ತು ಫೋಟೊಕೆಮಿಕಲ್ಸ್ ಬೊಜ್ಜು ಕರಗಿಸಿ ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಸ್ಲಿಮ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ.
5. ಹಸಿರು ತರಕಾರಿ: ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶ ನೀಡುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ತರಕಾರಿಯದ್ದು ಮೇಲುಗೈ. ತರಕಾರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಟಮಿನ್ ಎ, ಕೆ, ಫೊಲೆಟ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಆಂಟಿಯಾಕ್ಸಿಡಂಟ್ ಹೇರಳವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ. ತರಕಾರಿ ಸೇವನೆ ಎಲ್ಲ ರೀತಿಯಿಂದಲೂ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು. ರಕ್ತ, ತ್ವಚೆ, ಕೂದಲು ಮತ್ತು ತಾರುಣ್ಯ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ತರಕಾರಿಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವಲಂಬಿತವಾಗಿದೆ.
ಹಸಿವು ನೀಗಿಸುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬೊಜ್ಜನ್ನೂ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಿಸುವ ಕೆಲವು ಸೂಪರ್ ಫುಡ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಆಹಾರ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಎರಡು ಪಟ್ಟು ಪ್ರಯೋಜನ ನೀಡುತ್ತೆ ಅನ್ನೋದು ತಜ್ಞರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ. ಇವುಗಳು ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಣಗೊಳಿಸುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನೂ ನೀಡಿ ದೇಹವೂ ಫಿಟ್ ಆಗಿರುವಂತೆ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೆ.
ಫಿಟ್ ಆಗಿರಲು ಅವಶ್ಯಕವಾದ ಆಹಾರ:
1. ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧ ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆ: ಪರಿಶುದ್ಧ ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಎಂದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಒತ್ತಿ ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕರಿದ ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಾದ ಒಮೆಗಾ3 ಫ್ಯಾಟಿ ಆಸಿಡ್ ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಛಾ ಬಳಸಬೇಕು. ಆಲಿವ್ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯನ್ನು ಬಿಸಿ ಮಾಡಿದರೂ ಅದರಲ್ಲಿನ ಸತ್ವ ಬೇಗನೆ ನಶಿಸಿಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಹಸಿಯಾದ ಸಲಾಡ್ ನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಎಣ್ಣೆಯನ್ನು ಹಾಗೇ ಬೆರೆಸಿ ಸೇವಿಸಿದರೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಬೊಜ್ಜನ್ನು ಬೇಗನೆ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು.
2. ದುಂಡು ಮೆಣಸಿನ ಕಾಯಿ ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂ: ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂನಿಂದ ಅನೇಕ ಉಪಯೋಗವಿದೆ. ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂನಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಯಾನ್ಸರ್ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಡುವ ವಿಶೇಷ ಗುಣವಿರುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇದರಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಹೇರಳ ಆಂಡಿಯಾಕ್ಸಿಡಂಟ್ ಬೇಗನೆ ಸುಕ್ಕು ಮೂಡುವುದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕೆಂಪು ಮತ್ತು ಹಳದಿ ಕ್ಯಾಪ್ಸಿಕಂ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿದೆ.
3. ಬಾದಾಮಿ: ಬಾದಾಮಿಯನ್ನು ಈ ಸೂಪರ್ ಫುಡ್ ಪಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗಷ್ಟೆ ಸೇರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಬಾದಾಮಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇರಳ ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಬಾದಾಮಿಯನ್ನು ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೆನೆಸಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಹೊತ್ತು ತಿಂದರೆ ದಿನವಿಡೀ ಚೈತನ್ಯದಿಂದಿರಲು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ದೇಹಕ್ಕೆ ಒದಗಿಸುತ್ತೆ.
4. ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ: ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ, ಬಣ್ಣದ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ ಬೊಜ್ಜು ಕರಗಿಸುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಉತ್ತಮ ಮಾರ್ಗ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕಪ್ಪು ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿದೆ. ಬೆರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾಗಿರುವ ಸ್ಟ್ರಾಬೆರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಟಮಿನ್ ಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ಆಂಟಿಯಾಕ್ಸಿಡಂಟ್ ಮತ್ತು ಫೋಟೊಕೆಮಿಕಲ್ಸ್ ಬೊಜ್ಜು ಕರಗಿಸಿ ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಸ್ಲಿಮ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ.
5. ಹಸಿರು ತರಕಾರಿ: ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶ ನೀಡುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ತರಕಾರಿಯದ್ದು ಮೇಲುಗೈ. ತರಕಾರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಟಮಿನ್ ಎ, ಕೆ, ಫೊಲೆಟ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಆಂಟಿಯಾಕ್ಸಿಡಂಟ್ ಹೇರಳವಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ. ತರಕಾರಿ ಸೇವನೆ ಎಲ್ಲ ರೀತಿಯಿಂದಲೂ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು. ರಕ್ತ, ತ್ವಚೆ, ಕೂದಲು ಮತ್ತು ತಾರುಣ್ಯ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ತರಕಾರಿಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವಲಂಬಿತವಾಗಿದೆ.
ಸಿಕ್ಸ್ ಪ್ಯಾಕ್ ಪಡೆಯಲು ಬೇಕು ನಾಲ್ಕು ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶ
ಗಟ್ಟಿಮುಟ್ಟಾದ ಶರೀರವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಅದು ಜಿಮ್ ಬಾಡಿ ಎಂದು ಗೊತ್ತಾಗುತ್ತೆ. ದೈಹಿಕವಾಗಿ ಕಠಿಣ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವವರು ಕೂಡ ಗಟ್ಟಿಮುಟ್ಟಾದ ಶರೀರವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ.
ಗಟ್ಟಿಮುಟ್ಟಾದ ಶರೀರಕ್ಕೆ ಜಿಮ್ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಲದು ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕದಾದ ಆಹಾರಕ್ರಮ ಹೊಂದಿರಬೇಕು. ಸ್ನಾಯುಗಳು ಬಲವಾಗಲು
ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಪೋಷಕಾಂಶವಿರುವ ಅಹಾರವನ್ನು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಸೇವಿಸಬೇಕು.
1. ಪ್ರೊಟೀನ್: ಅಮೈನೊ ಅಸಿಡ್ ಇರುವ ಆಹಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರೊಟೀನ್ ಅಂಶವಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ದೇಹದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ದೇಹದ ಭಾಗಗಳು ಉತ್ತಮವಾಗಿ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಹಿಸಲು ಸಹಕಾರಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಬೀನ್ಸ್, ಬಾದಾಮಿ, ಪಾಲಾಕ್ ಸೊಪ್ಪು, ಮೀನು, ಮಾಂಸ, ಕಾರ್ಬೋಹೈಡ್ರೇಟ್ ಇರುವ ಆಹಾರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಧಿಕ ಪ್ರೊಟೀನ್ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ.
2. ವಿಟಮಿನ್: ಖನಿಜಾಂಶವಿರುವ ಆಹಾರಗಳ ಸೇವನೆ ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ನಾಯುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಲಪಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊಟ್ಟೆ. ಅಣಬೆ, ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ, ಮಾಂಸ, ಟರ್ಕಿ ಕೋಳಿಯ ಲಿವರ್, ಸಿಹಿಗೆಣಸು, ಪಾಲಾಕ್, ಬ್ರೊಕೊಲಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವಿಟಮಿನ್ ಗಳು ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
3. ಕಾರ್ಬೋಹೈಡ್ರೇಟ್: ಸರಿಯಾದ ಪ್ರಮಾಣವನ್ನು ತೂಕವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ಕಾರ್ಬೋಹೈಡ್ರೇಟ್ ಮತ್ತು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಕೊಬ್ಬಿನಂಶ (ಒಮೆಗಾ ಕೊಬ್ಬು) ಆಹಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಒಮೆಗಾ3 ಕೊಬ್ಬಿನಂಶ ಮೀನಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ದೇಹದವನ್ನು ಫಿಟ್ ಆಗಿಡಲು ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಕ್ಕಿ, ಬಾರ್ಲಿ, ಜೋಳ, ಓಟ್ ಮೀಲ್, ಪೈನಾಪಲ್, ಸ್ಟ್ರಾಬರಿ, ಕರ್ಜೂರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಧಿಕ ಕಾರ್ಬೋಹೈಡ್ರೇಟ್ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ.
4. ಗ್ಲುಟಾಮೈನ್: ಎಲುಬು ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ನಾಯುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಲವಾಗಿಡಲು ಗ್ಲುಟಾಮೈನ್ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಗ್ಲುಟಾಮೈನ್ ಒತ್ತಡವನ್ನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಗ್ಲುಟಾಮಿನ್ ಎಲೆಕೋಸು, ಹಾಲಿನ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ, ಚಿಕ್ಕನ್, ಹಂದಿ ಮಾಂಸ ಮತ್ತು ಮೀನಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಇಷ್ಟಲ್ಲದೆ ದಿನವೂ ಒಂದು ಲೀಟರ್ ನೀರನ್ನು ಕುಡಿಯಬೇಕು, ನಿಯಮಿತವಾಗಿ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ನೀವು ಬಯಸಿದಂತಹ ಸದೃಢವಾದ ಮೈಕಟ್ಟನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದು.
ಲಾಲ್ಬಾಗ್ ಫಲಪುಷ್ಪ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ
ಈ ವಾರ ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಎಂದಿನಂತಿಲ್ಲ. ಸಸ್ಯಕಾಶಿಯ ಹೂದೋಟದ ಹೂವುಗಳು ಪುಳಕಗೊಂಡಿವೆ. ದೇವದಾರು, ತೇಗ, ಸಾಗುವಾನಿ, ಮಾವು, ನೀಲಗಿರಿ ಮರಗಳು ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯತ್ತ ಕಣ್ಣು ನೆಟ್ಟಿವೆ. ಈಗಷ್ಟೇ ಚಿಗುರಿದ ಎಲೆಚಿಗುರುಗಳು ಅಚ್ಚರಿಯ ನೋಟ ಬೀರುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಗಣರಾಜ್ಯದ ಸಂಭ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆ ಫಲಪುಷ್ಪ ಅಲಂಕಾರ, ಆವಿಷ್ಕಾರಗಳಿಂದ ಮದುವಣಗಿತ್ತಿಯಂತೆ ಪೋಸ್ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ನೊಳಗೆ ಜಾತ್ರೆಯ ಗೌಜುಗದ್ದಲ ಕೇಳಿಬರುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಭಾನುವಾರ (ಜ.22) ಡಬಲ್ ರೋಡ್, ಜಯನಗರ ಬಳಿ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಒಳಗಡೆ ವಾಹನ ಪಾರ್ಕಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ಯುಸಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರೂ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕೆಲಸ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಫಲಪುಷ್ಪ ಸೊಬಗು ನೋಡಲು ಆಗಮಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯ ಹೊರಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಚೆಂಡು ಹೂವುಗಳು, ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಬಗೆಬಗೆ ಜಾತಿ ಹೂವುಗಳು ನಗೆ ಬೀರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು.
ಸಸ್ಯಕಾಶಿಯ ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ರಾಶಿರಾಶಿ ಜನರು ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲಾಗಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಕ್ಯಾಮರಾ, ಪರ್ಸ್, ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಹುಷಾರಾಗಿ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ ಅಂತ ಅನೌನ್ಸ್ ಕೇಳಿಬರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಪೊಲೀಸರಂತೂ ಹೂವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಯುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಸ್ತಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಪಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬರ್ರಿ, ಹೂಹಾಸಿಗೆ ತುಳಿಯಬೇಡ್ರಿ, ಫೋಟೊ ತೆಗಿತಾ ನಿಲ್ ಬ್ಯಾಡ್ರಿ.. ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗ್ರಿ" ಅಂತ ಬೊಬ್ಬೆಗಳು ಕೇಳಿಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ದುಂಬಿಗಳಂತೆ ಹೂವಿನ ಮನೆಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಜನಸಾಗರ ಮುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
"ಬುದ್ಧನ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆ ಮತ್ತು ಗುಹೆಯಿಂದ ನೀರು ಬೀಳುವಂತೆ ಹೂ ನದಿ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ತುಂಬಾ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಯಿತು" ಎಂದು ಮುನೇಶ್ವರ ಬ್ಲಾಕಿನ ಕೃಷ್ಣಕುಮಾರಿ ಹೇಳಿದಾಗ ಅವರ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ 15 ವರ್ಷದ ನೇತ್ರ "ಕಳೆದ ವರ್ಷದ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಸೂಪರ್" ಎಂಬ ಕಾಂಪ್ಲಿಮೆಂಟ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟಳು. "ರಷ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹಾಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬಂದೆ. ಈಗ ಎರಡನೇ ಸಾರಿ ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ" ಎಂದು ಕಾಕ್ಸ್ ಟೌನ್ ನಿವಾಸಿ ನಬಿಹಾ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಸುಳ್ಳಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ರಷ್, ತಳ್ಳಾಟ ನೋಡಿ ಶಾಂತಮೂರ್ತಿ ಹೂವಿನ ಬುದ್ಧನಿಗೂ ಕಸಿವಿಸಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಿರಬಹುದು.
ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದದ್ದು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕೊರಿಯಾ ಮಾದರಿಯ 30 ಅಡಿ ಎತ್ತರದ ಬುದ್ಧ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಮತ್ತು ಹೂನದಿ. 50 ಲಕ್ಷ ಗುಲಾಬಿ, 1.50 ಲಕ್ಷ ಕಾರ್ನೇಷನ್, 25 ಸಾವಿರ ಆರ್ಕಿಡ್ಸ್ ಹೂವು ಗೊಂಚಲು, ಡ್ರಸಿನಾ, ಲೆದರ್ ಲೀಫ್, ಮೈಸೂರು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ, ಸುಗಂಧ ರಾಜ ಹೀಗೆ ನಾನಾ ಬಗೆಯ ಹೂವುಗಳಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಹೂ ನದಿ ಕೂಡ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಆಕರ್ಷಣೆ. ಗುಹೆ ಆಕಾರದ ಹೂವಿನ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಿಂದ ನೀರು ಹರಿದು ಬರುವಂತೆ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಗಮನಸೆಳೆಯಿತು. ಉಳಿದಂತೆ ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯ ಮೂಲೆ ಮೂಲೆ ಬಿಡದಂತೆ ಹೂವಿನ ನವಿಲು, ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳು, ಹೂಗೊಂಚಲುಗಳು, ಚಿತ್ತಾರಗಳು ಆವರಿಸಿದ್ದವು.
ಭಾನುವಾರ (ಜ.22) ಡಬಲ್ ರೋಡ್, ಜಯನಗರ ಬಳಿ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಒಳಗಡೆ ವಾಹನ ಪಾರ್ಕಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ಯುಸಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗರೂ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕೆಲಸ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಫಲಪುಷ್ಪ ಸೊಬಗು ನೋಡಲು ಆಗಮಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯ ಹೊರಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಚೆಂಡು ಹೂವುಗಳು, ಬಣ್ಣ ಬಣ್ಣದ ಬಗೆಬಗೆ ಜಾತಿ ಹೂವುಗಳು ನಗೆ ಬೀರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು.
ಸಸ್ಯಕಾಶಿಯ ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ರಾಶಿರಾಶಿ ಜನರು ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲಾಗಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಕ್ಯಾಮರಾ, ಪರ್ಸ್, ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಹುಷಾರಾಗಿ ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ ಅಂತ ಅನೌನ್ಸ್ ಕೇಳಿಬರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಪೊಲೀಸರಂತೂ ಹೂವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕಾಯುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಸ್ತಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಪಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬರ್ರಿ, ಹೂಹಾಸಿಗೆ ತುಳಿಯಬೇಡ್ರಿ, ಫೋಟೊ ತೆಗಿತಾ ನಿಲ್ ಬ್ಯಾಡ್ರಿ.. ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗ್ರಿ" ಅಂತ ಬೊಬ್ಬೆಗಳು ಕೇಳಿಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ದುಂಬಿಗಳಂತೆ ಹೂವಿನ ಮನೆಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಜನಸಾಗರ ಮುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
"ಬುದ್ಧನ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆ ಮತ್ತು ಗುಹೆಯಿಂದ ನೀರು ಬೀಳುವಂತೆ ಹೂ ನದಿ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ತುಂಬಾ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಯಿತು" ಎಂದು ಮುನೇಶ್ವರ ಬ್ಲಾಕಿನ ಕೃಷ್ಣಕುಮಾರಿ ಹೇಳಿದಾಗ ಅವರ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ 15 ವರ್ಷದ ನೇತ್ರ "ಕಳೆದ ವರ್ಷದ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಸೂಪರ್" ಎಂಬ ಕಾಂಪ್ಲಿಮೆಂಟ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟಳು. "ರಷ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಹಾಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬಂದೆ. ಈಗ ಎರಡನೇ ಸಾರಿ ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ" ಎಂದು ಕಾಕ್ಸ್ ಟೌನ್ ನಿವಾಸಿ ನಬಿಹಾ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಸುಳ್ಳಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ರಷ್, ತಳ್ಳಾಟ ನೋಡಿ ಶಾಂತಮೂರ್ತಿ ಹೂವಿನ ಬುದ್ಧನಿಗೂ ಕಸಿವಿಸಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಿರಬಹುದು.
ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದದ್ದು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕೊರಿಯಾ ಮಾದರಿಯ 30 ಅಡಿ ಎತ್ತರದ ಬುದ್ಧ ಸ್ತೂಪ ಮತ್ತು ಹೂನದಿ. 50 ಲಕ್ಷ ಗುಲಾಬಿ, 1.50 ಲಕ್ಷ ಕಾರ್ನೇಷನ್, 25 ಸಾವಿರ ಆರ್ಕಿಡ್ಸ್ ಹೂವು ಗೊಂಚಲು, ಡ್ರಸಿನಾ, ಲೆದರ್ ಲೀಫ್, ಮೈಸೂರು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ, ಸುಗಂಧ ರಾಜ ಹೀಗೆ ನಾನಾ ಬಗೆಯ ಹೂವುಗಳಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಹೂ ನದಿ ಕೂಡ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಆಕರ್ಷಣೆ. ಗುಹೆ ಆಕಾರದ ಹೂವಿನ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಿಂದ ನೀರು ಹರಿದು ಬರುವಂತೆ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಗಮನಸೆಳೆಯಿತು. ಉಳಿದಂತೆ ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆಯ ಮೂಲೆ ಮೂಲೆ ಬಿಡದಂತೆ ಹೂವಿನ ನವಿಲು, ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳು, ಹೂಗೊಂಚಲುಗಳು, ಚಿತ್ತಾರಗಳು ಆವರಿಸಿದ್ದವು.
ಗಾಜಿನ ಮನೆ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೇ ಹೊರಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲು ಮಳಿಗೆಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ವ್ಯವಹಾರ ಜೋರಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಚಟ್ನಿಪುಡಿಯಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು ಕರಕುಶಲ ವಸ್ತುಗಳು ಲಭಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಕೆರೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಹೂವಿನ ತೆಪ್ಪ ಕೂಡ ಆಕರ್ಷಕ. ನಮಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಒಂದು ಲಕ್ಷಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಜನರು ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದರು. ಆರಂಭದ ಎರಡು ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಮಾರು 50 ಸಾವಿರ ಜನರು ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರಂತೆ.
ಲಾಲ್ ಬಾಗ್ ಫಲಪುಷ್ಪ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನದ ಟಿಕೇಟ್ ದರ ಒಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ 50 ರುಪಾಯಿ. ತಲಾ ಇಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ 90 ರುಪಾಯಿ. ಈ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ಜನವರಿ 29ಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊನೆಗೊಳ್ಳಲಿದೆ. ಗಣರಾಜ್ಯದಂದು ಮತ್ತು ಕೊನೆಯ ದಿನ ಲಕ್ಷಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಜನರು ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡುವ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಿದೆ. ಹೂವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹುಳಗಳಿರುವಂತೆ ಫಲಪುಷ್ಪ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಕಿಸೆ ಕಳ್ಳರು ಕೂಡ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗಮಿಸಿದ್ದಾರಂತೆ. ಸೇಫ್ ಆಗಿ ಹೋಗಿಬನ್ನಿ. ನೂರು ವರ್ಷದ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಹೂವಿನ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ಮಿಸ್ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಡಿ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮುನ್ನ ಈ ಗ್ಯಾಲರಿ ಲೋಕಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ಕಣ್ಮನ ತಂಪಾಗಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ.
ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯಕಾಲ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ
ಅನಾದಿ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ನಡೆದು ಕೊಂಡು ಬರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯಗಳ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಧನು ರಾಶಿಯಿಂದ ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವುದು ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಮಣ. ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಚಲನೆಯನ್ನು ಆಧರಿಸಿದ್ದು ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವ ಈ ಕಾಲವು ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲವೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ವೇಳೆ ಶುಭಕಾರ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಕರ ಎಂಬ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ರೂಢಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯಕಾಲ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಇದು ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಉತ್ತರ ದಿಕ್ಕಿಗೆ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ ಎಂಬ ಅರ್ಥವನ್ನು ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಉತ್ತರ ಎಂಬ ಪದಕ್ಕೆ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಎಂಬ ಅರ್ಥವಿದ್ದು, ಇದನ್ನು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠವಾದ ದಾರಿಯೆಂದೂ ಕೂಡಾ ಅರ್ಥೈಸ ಬಹುದು. ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಭಗವದ್ಗೀತೆಯ 8 ನೇ ಅಧ್ಯಾಯದ 24 ನೇ ಶ್ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವಿದೆ.
ಅಗ್ನಿರ್ಜ್ಯೋತಿರ್ ಅಹಃ ಶುಕ್ಲಃ ಷಣ್ಮಾಸ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣಂ।
ತತ್ರ ಪ್ರಯಾತಾ ಗಚ್ಛಂತಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮವಿದೋ ಜನಾಃ।।
ಅಂದರೆ ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಕರವಾಗಿ ನಡೆಯುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ವರ್ಗದ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆದಿರುವುದು. ಮುಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಲಿರುವ ಸೂತ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಈ ಶ್ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅರ್ಥಾತ್ ಅಗ್ನಿ, ಜ್ಯೋತಿ, ಹಗಲು ,ಶುಕ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಷ, ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮವಿದರಾದ ಯೋಗಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಣಗಳು ಬ್ರಹ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಲೀನವಾಗುವುವು. ಇದು ಮುಕ್ತಿಯ ಕಡೆಗಿರುವ ಯಾತ್ರೆಯಾಗಿದೆ.
ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ ಧೂಮ, ರಾತ್ರಿ, ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಪಕ್ಷ ಮತ್ತು ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನದ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಮಾಡಿದ ಯೋಗಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಣಗಳು ಚಂದ್ರಜ್ಯೋತಿಯನ್ನು ಸೇರಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಂಸಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಮರಳುವುದು. ಆದರೆ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರಣಹೊಂದಿದ ಯಾರೂ ಮರಳಿ ಸಂಸಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ಮುಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಇದರ ತಾತ್ಪರ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು ಅಂದರೆ ಸ್ನಾನ, ದಾನ, ಹೋಮ, ಪೂಜೆ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಶುಭ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಫಲ ಲಭಿಸುವುದು ಎಂದು ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲದ ಆರಂಭ
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯು ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನು ತನ್ನ ಪಥವನ್ನು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುವುದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೆ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲದ ಆರಂಭವೂ ಇದಾಗಿದೆ. ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಕ್ರಮಣದ ಅರ್ಥವು ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ಹಾದು ಹೋಗುವುದು ಅಥವಾ ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಬದಲಾಗುವುದು ಎಂಬುದಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಸೂರ್ಯದೇವನ ಸಂಚಾರವನ್ನು ಗಣನೆಗೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ಸೂರ್ಯದೇವನು ತನ್ನ ಏಳು ಕುದುರೆಗಳಿಂದ ಎಳೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಭವ್ಯ ರಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ ಎಂದು ಪುರಾತನ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೇ ಭಾರತೀಯರಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆವೂರಿರುವ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ರಥದ ಏಳು ಕುದುರೆಗಳು ಕಾಮನ ಬಿಲ್ಲಿನ ಏಳು ಬಣ್ಣಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸುತ್ತವೆ.
ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಪ್ರವೇಶವು ಇರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವುದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೆ ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಸ್ಯಗಳ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೂ ಸಹಕರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ವೇದಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಇದು ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಕಾರಿರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸಿ ಸ್ವ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯ ದಾರಿಯಾದ ಮೋಕ್ಷವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಲು ಸಹಕಾರಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಇದನ್ನು ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲವೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಕಾಲವು ಸ್ವರ್ಗದ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆದಿರುವ ಕಾಲವೆಂದು ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದು, ಈ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮರಣ ಹೊಂದುವವರು ಸ್ವರ್ಗವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂಬ ಐತಿಹ್ಯವಿದೆ. ಆದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಕಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭೀಷ್ಮ ಇಹಲೋಕ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಲು ಈ ಕಾಲದ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದದ್ದನ್ನು ನಾವು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೆನಪಿಸಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು. ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುಳಿನ ಅವಧಿಯು ಕಡಿಮೆಯಿದ್ದು ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಬೆಳಕು ಸದಾ ಭೂಮಿ ಮೇಲಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಾಗಿಯ ಚಳಿ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗುವ ಈ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆ ಕೊಯ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬಂದಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸುಗ್ಗಿ ಕಾಲ. ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನೇ ಸುಗ್ಗಿ ಹಬ್ಬವೆಂದು ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವು ಭಾರತಾದ್ಯಂತ ಕಂಡು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಭಕ್ತರು ಹೆಸರು ಬೇಳೆ, ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುವ ತಿಂಡಿ (ಪೊಂಗಲ್) ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನು ವಹಿಸಿದೆ, ಈ ಪೊಂಗಲ್ ಶ್ರೀ ನಾರಾಯಣ, ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ದೇವರ ದೈವಿಕ ಪ್ರೀತ್ಯರ್ಥವಾಗಿ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹಬ್ಬವೊಂದು ನಾಮ ಹಲವು
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯು ಭಾರತದೆಲ್ಲಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವಿಧ ಹೆಸರುಗಳಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಪಂಜಾಬ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಲೋಹರಿ, ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಬಂಗಾಳ ಮತ್ತು ಅಸ್ಸಾಂನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೋಗಲಿ ಬಿಹು, ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜಸ್ತಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ್ (ಗಾಳಿಪಟ ಹಾರಿಸುವ ಹಬ್ಬ), ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, ಬಿಹಾರ, ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಮೊದಲಾದೆಡೆ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಾಗಿಯೂ, ತಮಿಳ್ನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಉಕ್ಕಿಸುವುದ ಮೂಲಕ "ಪೊಂಗಲ್" ಹಬ್ಬ ಆಗಿಯೂ, ಕೇರಳದ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ವಿಳಕ್ಕ್ ಉತ್ಸವವಾಗಿಯೂ ಮಿಕ್ಕಿ ಉಳಿದ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಎಂದೂ ಆಚರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಎಳ್ಳುಬೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಮಾತನ್ನಾಡಿ
ಹೊಸ ಫಸಲು ಭತ್ತ, ಕಬ್ಬು, ಎಳ್ಳು ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಲಗಳಿಂದ ಮನೆಗೆ ತಂದು ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಸೇವಿಸುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯು ಪುರಾತನ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೇ ನಡೆದು ಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಕಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡು ಬರುವುದು "ಎಳ್ಳು". ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೋರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವನ್ನು "ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರುವುದು" ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎಳ್ಳುಬೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತನ್ನಾಡೋಣ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾ ಹಂಚುವ ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಜತೆಗೆ, ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯ ಅಚ್ಚುಗಳನ್ನು ,ಹಣ್ಣು ಮತ್ತು ಕಬ್ಬಿನ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ತುಂಡುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹ ಹಂಚುವ ಪದ್ದತಿ ಇದೆ. ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ಚೂರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿದ ಒಣ ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ, ಬೆಲ್ಲ, ಹುರಿಗಡಲೆ, ಸಿಪ್ಪೆ ತೆಗೆದ ಕಡಲೇ ಕಾಯಿ ಬೀಜ ಹಾಗೂ ಹುರಿದ ಬಿಳಿ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಿ 'ಎಳ್ಳ'ನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೆಲ್ಲದ ಸೇವನೆಯು ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕರವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಎಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಶಾಖವನ್ನುಂಟು ಮಾಡುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯಿರುವುರುವುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಚಳಿಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ಸೇವನೆ ಉತ್ತಮ. ಬರಿಯ ಎಳ್ಳು ಸೇವನೆಯು ಕಫ ಮತ್ತು ಪಿತ್ತ ರೋಗದ ವೃದ್ಧಿಗೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ಎಳ್ಳಿನೊಡನೆ ಹುರಿದ ಕಡಲೆ ಬೀಜ, ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು ಸೇವಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕವಾಗಿಯೂ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಜನಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯವನ್ನು ವಹಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಮನೆಯ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರಿದರೆ, ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲದ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗಂಡು ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರಲು ಕಳುಹಿಸುವುದೂ ವಾಡಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಇದಲ್ಲದೆ ಮದುವೆಯಾಗಿ ಗಂಡನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋದ ಹೆಂಗೆಳೆಯರು 5 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ವರೆಗೆ ನೆಂಟರಿಷ್ಟರಿಗೆ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಬೀರುವರು. ಈ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, ಮೊದಲ ವರ್ಷ 5 ಬಾಳೆಹಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಎರಡನೇ ವರ್ಷ 10, ಮೂರನೇ ವರ್ಷ 15 ಹೀಗೆ ಐದನೇ ವರ್ಷ 25 ಬಾಳೆಹಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವು ಕೆಲವೆಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಉಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿ ಕಂಡುಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನು 'ತಿಲ್ಗೋಳ' ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ರಾಜಸ್ಥಾನ. ಗುಜರಾತ್, ಮಹರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಮೊದಲಾದ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು ಗಾಳಿಪಟ ಹಾರಿಸಿ ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಪವಿತ್ರ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳಾದ ಪ್ರಯಾಗ, ಹರಿದ್ವಾರ್, ಉಜ್ಜೈನಿ ಮತ್ತು ನಾಸಿಕ್ ಮೊದಲಾದೆಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶೇಷ ಮೇಳಗಳು ನಡೆದು ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, 12 ವರುಷಕ್ಕೊಮ್ಮೆ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಕುಂಭ ಮೇಳವು ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಮೇಲಿನ ಯಾವುದಾದರೊಂದು ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನೆರವೇರುತ್ತದೆ. ವರ್ಷಂಪ್ರತಿ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಕುಂಭ ಮೇಳವೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಮಾಘ ಮೇಳ ಪ್ರಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ, ಗಂಗಾಸಾಗರ ಮೇಳವು ಗಂಗಾನದಿಯಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ನೆರವೇರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮಕರರಾಶಿಗೆ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಪ್ರವೇಶ
ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯು "ಪೊಂಗಲ್" ಹಬ್ಬವೆಂದು ಮೂರು ದಿನಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ತಮ್ಮ ಬೆಳೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ಕೊಯ್ಲನ್ನು ಮನೆಗೆ ತಂದು ಹೊಸ ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ಹಾಲಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬೇಯಿಸಿ ಒಂದು ಬಗೆಯ ಸಿಹಿ ತಿಂಡಿಯಾದ 'ಚಕ್ಕರಪೊಂಗಲ್"ನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಖಾದ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮೊದಲು ಸೂರ್ಯನಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ನಂತರ ಪ್ರಸಾದ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ವಿತರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಜನರು ಈ ದಿನದಂದು 'ಹೊಸಅಕ್ಕಿ ಊಟ'ವನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಧಾನ್ಯಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿಯನ್ನು ಪೂಜಿಸಿ ದೇವರ ಕೃಪೆಗೆ ಪಾತ್ರರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮನೆ ಮುಂದೆ ವರ್ಣರಂಜಿತ "ಕೋಲಂ" ಎಂದರೆ ರಂಗೋಲಿಯನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವು ಸಂಪತ್ತು, ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಏಳಿಗೆಯ ದ್ಯೋತಕವಾಗಿದೆ.
ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ರಾತ್ರಿಯಂದು ದೇವರ ಪೂಜೆಯ ನಂತರ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿಗಳಿಂದ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ಮತ್ತು ಆ ವರ್ಷದ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಫಲವನ್ನು ಓದಿಸಿ ತಿಳಿಯುವ ಪದ್ದತಿಯೂ ಕೆಲವೆಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಪುರುಷನಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ತಲೆಗಳು, ಎರಡು ಮುಖಗಳು, ಐದು ಬಾಯಿ, ಮೂರು ಕಣ್ಣು, ಜೋಲಾಡುವ ಕಿವಿ ಮತ್ತು ಹುಬ್ಬುಗಳು, ಉದ್ದವಾದ ಮೂಗು, ಕೆಂಪುಹಲ್ಲು, ಎಂಟು ತೋಳು ಮತ್ತು ಎರಡು ಕಾಲು ಮತ್ತು ಕಪ್ಪುಬಣ್ಣದ ಅರ್ಧ ಗಂಡು ಅರ್ಧ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ರೂಪವಿರುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸವು ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ ಅಂದು ಪಠಿಸುವ ದಿನ, ವಾರ, ಮಾಸ ಭವಿಷ್ಯಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಶಸ್ತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿವೆ.
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಂದು ಕೇರಳದ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುವ ಮಕರಜ್ಯೋತಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯತೆ ಇದೆ. ಅಯ್ಯಪ್ಪ ವೃತಾಧಾರಿಗಳಾದ ಜನರು ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಗೆ ತೆರಳಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಯ ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆರಗಿ ಮಕರ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯ ದರ್ಶನವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದರೆ ಜನ್ಮ ಸಾರ್ಥಕವಾಗುವುದೆಂಬ ನಂಬಿಕೆಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ಲಕ್ಷೋಪಲಕ್ಷ ಜನರು ಈ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ವರ್ಷಂಪ್ರತಿ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆ ಸನ್ನಿಧಾನಕ್ಕಾಗಮಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. "ಮಕರ ವಿಳಕ್ಕು" ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಈ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯು ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಯ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಿಂದ ಮೂರು ಬಾರಿ ಗೋಚರವಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಇದು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆಯ ಕುರುಹನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಅಂತೂ ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿ ಲೋಕದ ಕಾರಿರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವಂತೆ ಜನರು ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕ ಚಿಂತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುವಂತೆ ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ವೇಳೆ ಶುಭಕಾರ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಕರ ಎಂಬ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ರೂಢಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯಕಾಲ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಇದು ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಉತ್ತರ ದಿಕ್ಕಿಗೆ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ ಎಂಬ ಅರ್ಥವನ್ನು ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಉತ್ತರ ಎಂಬ ಪದಕ್ಕೆ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಎಂಬ ಅರ್ಥವಿದ್ದು, ಇದನ್ನು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠವಾದ ದಾರಿಯೆಂದೂ ಕೂಡಾ ಅರ್ಥೈಸ ಬಹುದು. ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಭಗವದ್ಗೀತೆಯ 8 ನೇ ಅಧ್ಯಾಯದ 24 ನೇ ಶ್ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖವಿದೆ.
ಅಗ್ನಿರ್ಜ್ಯೋತಿರ್ ಅಹಃ ಶುಕ್ಲಃ ಷಣ್ಮಾಸ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣಂ।
ತತ್ರ ಪ್ರಯಾತಾ ಗಚ್ಛಂತಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮವಿದೋ ಜನಾಃ।।
ಅಂದರೆ ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಕರವಾಗಿ ನಡೆಯುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ವರ್ಗದ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆದಿರುವುದು. ಮುಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಲಿರುವ ಸೂತ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಈ ಶ್ಲೋಕದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅರ್ಥಾತ್ ಅಗ್ನಿ, ಜ್ಯೋತಿ, ಹಗಲು ,ಶುಕ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಷ, ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮವಿದರಾದ ಯೋಗಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಣಗಳು ಬ್ರಹ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಲೀನವಾಗುವುವು. ಇದು ಮುಕ್ತಿಯ ಕಡೆಗಿರುವ ಯಾತ್ರೆಯಾಗಿದೆ.
ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ ಧೂಮ, ರಾತ್ರಿ, ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಪಕ್ಷ ಮತ್ತು ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನದ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಮಾಡಿದ ಯೋಗಿಗಳ ಪ್ರಾಣಗಳು ಚಂದ್ರಜ್ಯೋತಿಯನ್ನು ಸೇರಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಂಸಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಮರಳುವುದು. ಆದರೆ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರಣಹೊಂದಿದ ಯಾರೂ ಮರಳಿ ಸಂಸಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವರು ಮುಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಇದರ ತಾತ್ಪರ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳು ಅಂದರೆ ಸ್ನಾನ, ದಾನ, ಹೋಮ, ಪೂಜೆ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಶುಭ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಫಲ ಲಭಿಸುವುದು ಎಂದು ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲದ ಆರಂಭ
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯು ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನು ತನ್ನ ಪಥವನ್ನು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸುವುದನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುವುದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೆ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲದ ಆರಂಭವೂ ಇದಾಗಿದೆ. ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಕ್ರಮಣದ ಅರ್ಥವು ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ಹಾದು ಹೋಗುವುದು ಅಥವಾ ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಬದಲಾಗುವುದು ಎಂಬುದಾಗಿದೆ. ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಸೂರ್ಯದೇವನ ಸಂಚಾರವನ್ನು ಗಣನೆಗೆ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ಸೂರ್ಯದೇವನು ತನ್ನ ಏಳು ಕುದುರೆಗಳಿಂದ ಎಳೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಭವ್ಯ ರಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ ಎಂದು ಪುರಾತನ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೇ ಭಾರತೀಯರಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆವೂರಿರುವ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸವಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ರಥದ ಏಳು ಕುದುರೆಗಳು ಕಾಮನ ಬಿಲ್ಲಿನ ಏಳು ಬಣ್ಣಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸುತ್ತವೆ.
ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಪ್ರವೇಶವು ಇರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವುದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲದೆ ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಸ್ಯಗಳ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೂ ಸಹಕರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ವೇದಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಇದು ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಕಾರಿರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸಿ ಸ್ವ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯ ದಾರಿಯಾದ ಮೋಕ್ಷವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಲು ಸಹಕಾರಿಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಇದನ್ನು ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾಲವೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಕಾಲವು ಸ್ವರ್ಗದ ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆರೆದಿರುವ ಕಾಲವೆಂದು ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದು, ಈ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮರಣ ಹೊಂದುವವರು ಸ್ವರ್ಗವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂಬ ಐತಿಹ್ಯವಿದೆ. ಆದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಕಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭೀಷ್ಮ ಇಹಲೋಕ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಲು ಈ ಕಾಲದ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದದ್ದನ್ನು ನಾವು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೆನಪಿಸಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು. ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುಳಿನ ಅವಧಿಯು ಕಡಿಮೆಯಿದ್ದು ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಬೆಳಕು ಸದಾ ಭೂಮಿ ಮೇಲಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಾಗಿಯ ಚಳಿ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗುವ ಈ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆ ಕೊಯ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬಂದಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸುಗ್ಗಿ ಕಾಲ. ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನೇ ಸುಗ್ಗಿ ಹಬ್ಬವೆಂದು ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವು ಭಾರತಾದ್ಯಂತ ಕಂಡು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಭಕ್ತರು ಹೆಸರು ಬೇಳೆ, ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುವ ತಿಂಡಿ (ಪೊಂಗಲ್) ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನು ವಹಿಸಿದೆ, ಈ ಪೊಂಗಲ್ ಶ್ರೀ ನಾರಾಯಣ, ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ ದೇವರ ದೈವಿಕ ಪ್ರೀತ್ಯರ್ಥವಾಗಿ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹಬ್ಬವೊಂದು ನಾಮ ಹಲವು
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯು ಭಾರತದೆಲ್ಲಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವಿಧ ಹೆಸರುಗಳಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಪಂಜಾಬ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ಲೋಹರಿ, ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಬಂಗಾಳ ಮತ್ತು ಅಸ್ಸಾಂನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೋಗಲಿ ಬಿಹು, ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜಸ್ತಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ್ (ಗಾಳಿಪಟ ಹಾರಿಸುವ ಹಬ್ಬ), ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, ಬಿಹಾರ, ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಮೊದಲಾದೆಡೆ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಾಗಿಯೂ, ತಮಿಳ್ನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಉಕ್ಕಿಸುವುದ ಮೂಲಕ "ಪೊಂಗಲ್" ಹಬ್ಬ ಆಗಿಯೂ, ಕೇರಳದ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ವಿಳಕ್ಕ್ ಉತ್ಸವವಾಗಿಯೂ ಮಿಕ್ಕಿ ಉಳಿದ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಎಂದೂ ಆಚರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಎಳ್ಳುಬೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಮಾತನ್ನಾಡಿ
ಹೊಸ ಫಸಲು ಭತ್ತ, ಕಬ್ಬು, ಎಳ್ಳು ಇತ್ಯಾದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಲಗಳಿಂದ ಮನೆಗೆ ತಂದು ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಸೇವಿಸುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯು ಪುರಾತನ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೇ ನಡೆದು ಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಕಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡು ಬರುವುದು "ಎಳ್ಳು". ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತಲಿನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೋರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವನ್ನು "ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರುವುದು" ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎಳ್ಳುಬೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತನ್ನಾಡೋಣ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾ ಹಂಚುವ ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಜತೆಗೆ, ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯ ಅಚ್ಚುಗಳನ್ನು ,ಹಣ್ಣು ಮತ್ತು ಕಬ್ಬಿನ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ತುಂಡುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹ ಹಂಚುವ ಪದ್ದತಿ ಇದೆ. ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ಚೂರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿದ ಒಣ ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ, ಬೆಲ್ಲ, ಹುರಿಗಡಲೆ, ಸಿಪ್ಪೆ ತೆಗೆದ ಕಡಲೇ ಕಾಯಿ ಬೀಜ ಹಾಗೂ ಹುರಿದ ಬಿಳಿ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಿ 'ಎಳ್ಳ'ನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೆಲ್ಲದ ಸೇವನೆಯು ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕರವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಎಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಶಾಖವನ್ನುಂಟು ಮಾಡುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯಿರುವುರುವುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಚಳಿಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ಸೇವನೆ ಉತ್ತಮ. ಬರಿಯ ಎಳ್ಳು ಸೇವನೆಯು ಕಫ ಮತ್ತು ಪಿತ್ತ ರೋಗದ ವೃದ್ಧಿಗೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ಎಳ್ಳಿನೊಡನೆ ಹುರಿದ ಕಡಲೆ ಬೀಜ, ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನು ಸೇವಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕವಾಗಿಯೂ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಜನಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯವನ್ನು ವಹಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಮನೆಯ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರಿದರೆ, ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲದ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗಂಡು ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರಲು ಕಳುಹಿಸುವುದೂ ವಾಡಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಇದಲ್ಲದೆ ಮದುವೆಯಾಗಿ ಗಂಡನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋದ ಹೆಂಗೆಳೆಯರು 5 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ವರೆಗೆ ನೆಂಟರಿಷ್ಟರಿಗೆ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಬೀರುವರು. ಈ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, ಮೊದಲ ವರ್ಷ 5 ಬಾಳೆಹಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಎರಡನೇ ವರ್ಷ 10, ಮೂರನೇ ವರ್ಷ 15 ಹೀಗೆ ಐದನೇ ವರ್ಷ 25 ಬಾಳೆಹಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವು ಕೆಲವೆಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ದಿನದಂದು ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಉಂಡೆಯನ್ನು ದಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿ ಕಂಡುಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನು 'ತಿಲ್ಗೋಳ' ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ರಾಜಸ್ಥಾನ. ಗುಜರಾತ್, ಮಹರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಮೊದಲಾದ ರಾಜ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು ಗಾಳಿಪಟ ಹಾರಿಸಿ ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಪವಿತ್ರ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳಾದ ಪ್ರಯಾಗ, ಹರಿದ್ವಾರ್, ಉಜ್ಜೈನಿ ಮತ್ತು ನಾಸಿಕ್ ಮೊದಲಾದೆಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶೇಷ ಮೇಳಗಳು ನಡೆದು ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, 12 ವರುಷಕ್ಕೊಮ್ಮೆ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಕುಂಭ ಮೇಳವು ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಮೇಲಿನ ಯಾವುದಾದರೊಂದು ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನೆರವೇರುತ್ತದೆ. ವರ್ಷಂಪ್ರತಿ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಕುಂಭ ಮೇಳವೆಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಮಾಘ ಮೇಳ ಪ್ರಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ, ಗಂಗಾಸಾಗರ ಮೇಳವು ಗಂಗಾನದಿಯಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ನೆರವೇರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮಕರರಾಶಿಗೆ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಪ್ರವೇಶ
ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯು "ಪೊಂಗಲ್" ಹಬ್ಬವೆಂದು ಮೂರು ದಿನಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ತಮ್ಮ ಬೆಳೆಯ ಮೊದಲ ಕೊಯ್ಲನ್ನು ಮನೆಗೆ ತಂದು ಹೊಸ ಅಕ್ಕಿಯನ್ನು ಹಾಲಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬೇಯಿಸಿ ಒಂದು ಬಗೆಯ ಸಿಹಿ ತಿಂಡಿಯಾದ 'ಚಕ್ಕರಪೊಂಗಲ್"ನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಖಾದ್ಯವನ್ನು ಮೊದಲು ಸೂರ್ಯನಿಗೆ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು ನಂತರ ಪ್ರಸಾದ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ವಿತರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಜನರು ಈ ದಿನದಂದು 'ಹೊಸಅಕ್ಕಿ ಊಟ'ವನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಧಾನ್ಯಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿಯನ್ನು ಪೂಜಿಸಿ ದೇವರ ಕೃಪೆಗೆ ಪಾತ್ರರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮನೆ ಮುಂದೆ ವರ್ಣರಂಜಿತ "ಕೋಲಂ" ಎಂದರೆ ರಂಗೋಲಿಯನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಿ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯನ್ನು ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವು ಸಂಪತ್ತು, ಸಮಾಧಾನ ಮತ್ತು ಏಳಿಗೆಯ ದ್ಯೋತಕವಾಗಿದೆ.
ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ರಾತ್ರಿಯಂದು ದೇವರ ಪೂಜೆಯ ನಂತರ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಿಗಳಿಂದ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ಮತ್ತು ಆ ವರ್ಷದ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಫಲವನ್ನು ಓದಿಸಿ ತಿಳಿಯುವ ಪದ್ದತಿಯೂ ಕೆಲವೆಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಪುರುಷನಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ತಲೆಗಳು, ಎರಡು ಮುಖಗಳು, ಐದು ಬಾಯಿ, ಮೂರು ಕಣ್ಣು, ಜೋಲಾಡುವ ಕಿವಿ ಮತ್ತು ಹುಬ್ಬುಗಳು, ಉದ್ದವಾದ ಮೂಗು, ಕೆಂಪುಹಲ್ಲು, ಎಂಟು ತೋಳು ಮತ್ತು ಎರಡು ಕಾಲು ಮತ್ತು ಕಪ್ಪುಬಣ್ಣದ ಅರ್ಧ ಗಂಡು ಅರ್ಧ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ರೂಪವಿರುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸವು ಚಾಲ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ ಅಂದು ಪಠಿಸುವ ದಿನ, ವಾರ, ಮಾಸ ಭವಿಷ್ಯಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಶಸ್ತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿವೆ.
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಂದು ಕೇರಳದ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುವ ಮಕರಜ್ಯೋತಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯತೆ ಇದೆ. ಅಯ್ಯಪ್ಪ ವೃತಾಧಾರಿಗಳಾದ ಜನರು ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಗೆ ತೆರಳಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಯ ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆರಗಿ ಮಕರ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯ ದರ್ಶನವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದರೆ ಜನ್ಮ ಸಾರ್ಥಕವಾಗುವುದೆಂಬ ನಂಬಿಕೆಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ಲಕ್ಷೋಪಲಕ್ಷ ಜನರು ಈ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ವರ್ಷಂಪ್ರತಿ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆ ಸನ್ನಿಧಾನಕ್ಕಾಗಮಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. "ಮಕರ ವಿಳಕ್ಕು" ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಈ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯು ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಯ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಿಂದ ಮೂರು ಬಾರಿ ಗೋಚರವಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಇದು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆಯ ಕುರುಹನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಅಂತೂ ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿ ಲೋಕದ ಕಾರಿರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವಂತೆ ಜನರು ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕ ಚಿಂತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುವಂತೆ ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತದೆ.
Makara Sankranti / Shankranti / ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ
ನಮ್ಮ ಹಿಂದೂ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಬ್ಬಗಳನ್ನು ಪಂಚಾಂಗದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೀವಿ. ಪಂಚಾಂಗವು ಚಂದ್ರಮಾನ ಅಥವಾ ನಿರಯನ ಅಂದರೆ ಚಂದ್ರನ ಚಲನೆಯನ್ನು ಆಧರಿಸಿ ತಿಥಿ, ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ ಎಲ್ಲ ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಹಬ್ಬವು ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊರತು. ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿ ಹಬ್ಬವು ಸಾಯನ ಅಥವಾ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಚಲನೆಯನ್ನು ಆಧರಿಸಿದೆ. ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಧನಸ್ಸು ರಾಶಿಯಿಂದ ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವ ದಿನ ಆಚರಿಸುವ ಹಬ್ಬ ಈ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಹಬ್ಬ. (ಮಕರ - ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿ, ಸಂಕ್ರಮಣ - ಒಂದು ರಾಶಿಯಿಂದ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ರಾಶಿಗೆ ದಾಟುವ ಸಮಯ) ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಇದನ್ನು ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೀವಿ. ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಉತ್ತರಾಭಿ ಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಪರಿಭ್ರಮಣೆ ಶುರು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ.ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಕಾಲ ಎಂದೂ ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ದಿನದ ಅವಧಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ, ರಾತ್ರಿಯ ಅವಧಿ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಆಗುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಮೇಲೇರಿ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ ಬೀರುಬಂತೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಬಾಳಲ್ಲೂ ಕತ್ತಲೆ ಹೋಗಿ, ಹೊಸ ಬೆಳಕು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ಸಂಕೇತವಾಗಿ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನುಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.
ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿ ಹಬ್ಬ ನಾಡ ಹಬ್ಬವೂ ಹೌದು. ಭಾರತ ದೇಶದೆಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ, ಪೊಂಗಲ್ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಉತ್ತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಲೋಹರಿ, ಕಿಚಿರಿ ಎಂದು ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದು ಸುಗ್ಗಿಯ ಹಬ್ಬ. ರೈತರು ತಾವು ಬೆಳೆದ ಬೆಳೆಯನ್ನು ಕೊಯ್ಲು ಮಾಡಿ ಫಸಲು ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಪೂಜೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ದವಸಧಾನ್ಯಗಳ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿ ಇಂದ ನಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನವೂ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯಾಯಿತು ಎಂದು ಖುಷಿಪಡುವ ಸಮಯ.
ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೂ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು ಸಂಭ್ರಮ ಸಡಗರದಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತೀವಿ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ .ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಬ್ಬಗಳಂತೆ ಈ ದಿನವೂ ಮನೆಯನ್ನು ಸ್ವಚ್ಛ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಲಂಕರಿಸುತ್ತೀವಿ. ಮನೆಯ ಮುಂದೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಹಬ್ಬಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕವಾದ ಯಾವುದೇ ಪೂಜಾ ವಿಧಾನ / ವ್ರತ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಮಂಗಳ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಮನೆಯ ದೇವರಿಗೆ ಪೂಜೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ.ಈ ಹಬ್ಬದ ವಿಶೇಷತೆ ಎಳ್ಳು ಮತ್ತು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು. ಬೆಲ್ಲ , ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ, ಕಡಲೇಕಾಯಿ ಬೀಜ, ಹುರಿಗಡಲೆ, ಎಳ್ಳು - ಈ ಐದು ಸಾಮಗ್ರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸರಿಯಾದ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಿಶ್ರ ಮಾಡಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.ಎಳ್ಳ ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚನ್ನು ದೇವರ ಮುಂದೆ ಇಟ್ಟು ನೈವೇದ್ಯ ಮಾಡಿ ಪೂಜೆಯ ನಂತರ ಮನೆಯವರೆಲ್ಲ ತಿನ್ನುವುದು. ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತಾಡಿ ಎಂಬ ನುಡಿಯಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಸಿಹಿಯಾದ, ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತಾಡಿ, ಒಳ್ಳೆ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಯೋಚಿಸಿ, ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿರಿ.
ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಎಳ್ಳು -ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು
ಪರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ ಎಳ್ಳು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಒಂದು ಸಾಹಸವೇ ಸರಿ. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಸಿಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಲ್ಲ, ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ ಒಣಗಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನಾನೀಗಿರುವ ಊರಿನ ಹವಾಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರಿ ಚಳಿ ಹಿಮ ತುಂಬಿಹೋಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ ಎಳ್ಳು ಮಾಡುವ ಆಸೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಏನು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸುವಾಗ ತಲೆಗೆ ಹೊಸ ವಿಚಾರ ಹೊಳೆಯಿತು. ಚಳಿಗೆ ಮನೆಯನ್ನು ಬೆಚ್ಚಗೆ ಇಡುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಇರುವ room/space heater ನನ್ನ ನೆರವಿಗೆ ಬಂತು. ಈ heater ಶಾಖದಿಂದ ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ, ಬೆಲ್ಲ ಒಣಗಿತು.ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚುಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತೆಯೊಬ್ಬರ ಸಲಹೆಯಂತೆ candy molds ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ನನ್ನಎಳ್ಳು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು ಅಂತೂ ತಯಾರಾಯಿತು:)
ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿ ಹಬ್ಬ ನಾಡ ಹಬ್ಬವೂ ಹೌದು. ಭಾರತ ದೇಶದೆಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ದಕ್ಷಿಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ, ಪೊಂಗಲ್ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಉತ್ತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಲೋಹರಿ, ಕಿಚಿರಿ ಎಂದು ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಇದು ಸುಗ್ಗಿಯ ಹಬ್ಬ. ರೈತರು ತಾವು ಬೆಳೆದ ಬೆಳೆಯನ್ನು ಕೊಯ್ಲು ಮಾಡಿ ಫಸಲು ಸಂಗ್ರಹಿಸಿ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಪೂಜೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ದವಸಧಾನ್ಯಗಳ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿ ಇಂದ ನಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನವೂ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯಾಯಿತು ಎಂದು ಖುಷಿಪಡುವ ಸಮಯ.
ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೂ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು ಸಂಭ್ರಮ ಸಡಗರದಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತೀವಿ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ .ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಬ್ಬಗಳಂತೆ ಈ ದಿನವೂ ಮನೆಯನ್ನು ಸ್ವಚ್ಛ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಲಂಕರಿಸುತ್ತೀವಿ. ಮನೆಯ ಮುಂದೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಈ ಹಬ್ಬಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕವಾದ ಯಾವುದೇ ಪೂಜಾ ವಿಧಾನ / ವ್ರತ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಮಂಗಳ ಸ್ನಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಮನೆಯ ದೇವರಿಗೆ ಪೂಜೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ.ಈ ಹಬ್ಬದ ವಿಶೇಷತೆ ಎಳ್ಳು ಮತ್ತು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು. ಬೆಲ್ಲ , ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ, ಕಡಲೇಕಾಯಿ ಬೀಜ, ಹುರಿಗಡಲೆ, ಎಳ್ಳು - ಈ ಐದು ಸಾಮಗ್ರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸರಿಯಾದ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಿಶ್ರ ಮಾಡಿ ತಯಾರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.ಎಳ್ಳ ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚನ್ನು ದೇವರ ಮುಂದೆ ಇಟ್ಟು ನೈವೇದ್ಯ ಮಾಡಿ ಪೂಜೆಯ ನಂತರ ಮನೆಯವರೆಲ್ಲ ತಿನ್ನುವುದು. ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೆಲ್ಲ ತಿಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತಾಡಿ ಎಂಬ ನುಡಿಯಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಸಿಹಿಯಾದ, ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಮಾತಾಡಿ, ಒಳ್ಳೆ ವಿಷಯಗಳನ್ನು ಯೋಚಿಸಿ, ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿರಿ.
ಎಳ್ಳು, ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು , ಕಬ್ಬು, ಹಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಂಧು - ಬಾಂಧವರಿಗೆ, ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಹಂಚುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮದುವೆಯ ನಂತರ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಗಳು ಸುಮಂಗಲಿಯರಿಗೆ ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರಿ ಆಶಿರ್ವಾದ ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ . ಮಗು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ವರ್ಷ ಎಳ್ಳು ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣ / ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ಬಟ್ಟಲು ಬೀರುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿ ಕೆಲವು ಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ದಿನ ಸಂಜೆ ಆರತಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಊಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಸಿಹಿ ಮತ್ತು ಖಾರ ಪೊಂಗಲ್ /ಹುಗ್ಗಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾತಿಹಬ್ಬ ಅಂದರೆ ಸಡಗರದ ಹಬ್ಬ.
ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಎಳ್ಳು -ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು
ಪರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ ಎಳ್ಳು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಒಂದು ಸಾಹಸವೇ ಸರಿ. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಸಿಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಲ್ಲ, ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ ಒಣಗಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನಾನೀಗಿರುವ ಊರಿನ ಹವಾಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರಿ ಚಳಿ ಹಿಮ ತುಂಬಿಹೋಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ ಎಳ್ಳು ಮಾಡುವ ಆಸೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಏನು ಮಾಡುವುದು ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸುವಾಗ ತಲೆಗೆ ಹೊಸ ವಿಚಾರ ಹೊಳೆಯಿತು. ಚಳಿಗೆ ಮನೆಯನ್ನು ಬೆಚ್ಚಗೆ ಇಡುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಇರುವ room/space heater ನನ್ನ ನೆರವಿಗೆ ಬಂತು. ಈ heater ಶಾಖದಿಂದ ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ, ಬೆಲ್ಲ ಒಣಗಿತು.ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚುಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತೆಯೊಬ್ಬರ ಸಲಹೆಯಂತೆ candy molds ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ನನ್ನಎಳ್ಳು ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು ಅಂತೂ ತಯಾರಾಯಿತು:)
ಈ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಹಬ್ಬವು ನಿಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಸಂತಸ ಸಮ್ರುಧ್ಧಿ ತರಲಿ:)
ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ
ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುವ ಒಂದು ಹಬ್ಬ. ಪೈರು ತೆಗೆಯುವ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುವ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಹಬ್ಬ ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಸಂಕೇತ. ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ ತತ್ವಗಳಿಂದ ಸ್ವತಂತ್ರವಾಗಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆಯಾದರೂ ವೇದಾಂಗ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ತಳಹದಿ ಹೊಂದಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದವರಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, ಆಂಧ್ರ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ತಮಿಳುನಾಡುಗಳ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಹಬ್ಬಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯೂ ಒಂದು.
ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷದ ತಳಹದಿ
ಸನಾತನ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಬುನಾದಿಯಾಗಿರುವ ವೇದಗಳ ಅಂಗಗಳೆಂದೇ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿರುವ ಆರು ವೇದಾಂಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾದ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷವನ್ನು ವೇದಗಳ ಕಣ್ಣೆಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ವೇದದಳ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೂ ಶುಭಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಾದಿ ಕಾಲವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಣಯಿಸಿ, ಗ್ರಹಗಳ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ-ಗತಿ, ರಾಶಿ-ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ, ಗ್ರಹಣ, ಅಸ್ತೋದಯಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಣಯಿಸಿ, ಶುಭಾಶುಭ ಫಲಗಳನ್ನು ತೋರುತ್ತಾ, ಹಬ್ಬ-ಹರಿದಿನಗಳನ್ನು ಋತುಗಳಿಗನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರ ಹಾಕಿ ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವೇ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷ. ಈ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದಂತೆ, ಸೂರ್ಯನು ನಿರಯಣ ಮಕರರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿದಾಗ, "ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ"ಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಕಾಲವು ಪ್ರತಿವರ್ಷ ಗ್ರೆಗೋರಿಯನ್ ಪಂಚಾಂಗದ ಜನವರಿ ೧೪ರ ಸುಮಾರಿಗೆ ಬೀಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಹಿಂದೆ, ಈ ಕಾಲವೇ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಅಥವಾ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉತ್ತರದಿಕ್ಕಿನ ಪಯಣದ ಆರಂಭವನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುವ ಕಾಲವೂ ಆಗಿತ್ತಾದ್ದರಿಂದ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಉತ್ತರಾರ್ಧಗೋಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳಿ-ಬೆಚ್ಚನೆಯ ವಾತಾವರಣ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿ, ಬೆಳೆ ಕಟಾವಿನ ಕಾಲವೂ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨೨ಕ್ಕೇ ಆದರೂ, ಹಿಂದಿನಂತೆಯೇ ಜನವರಿ ೧೪ ರಂದು ನಡೆಯುವ ಮಕರಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಂದೇ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ಆಚರಣೆಯೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ.ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಕತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಚ್ಚಾ ಮರಣಿಯಾದ ಬೀಷ್ಮರು ಪ್ರಾಣ ಬಿಡಲು ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪರ್ವ ಕಾಲವನ್ನು ಕಾದಿದ್ದರು ಎಂಬ ಉಲ್ಲೆಖವಿದೆ. ಸಂಪರ್ಕದ ಹೆಸರು
ಈಕ್ವಿನಾಕ್ಸ್ ದಿವಸಗಳ ಹೊರತಾಗಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಪೂರ್ವದ ಬಲಕ್ಕೆ (ಅಂದರೆ ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ) ಅಥವಾ ಎಡಕ್ಕೆ (ಅಂದರೆ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಕ್ಕೆ) ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಚಳಿಗಾಲ (ಅಂದರೆ ಇರುಳಿನ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ)ಹೆಚ್ಚಾದಂತೆ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ದಿಕ್ಕಿಗೆ ಚಲಿಸುವುದು ಗೋಚರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಒಂದು ದಿನ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದ ತುತ್ತ ತುದಿಯ ಹಂತವನ್ನು ತಲುಪಿ, ಅಚಲವೆಂಬಂತೆ ಕಂಡು, ಮರುದಿನದಿಂದ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಮರಳಿ ವಿರುಧ್ಧ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗುತ್ತಾ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸೂರ್ಯ ಇನ್ನು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನತ್ತದ ತನ್ನ ಚಲನವನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ ಚಲಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಈ ದಿನ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ದಿನ. ಇದು ಚಳಿಗಾಲ ಮುಗಿದು ಮುಂಬರುವ ಬೇಸಗೆಯ ಮುನ್ಸೂಚನೆ. winter solstice ಎಂದೂ ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨೨ ಈ ದಿನ. ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯೆಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕವಾಗಿ ಜನವರಿ ತಿಂಗಳ ನಡುವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.
ಇಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯ ಇನ್ನು ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಉತ್ತರದ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತಾ ನಡುವೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಈಕ್ವಿನಾಕ್ಸ್ ದಿನವನ್ನೂ ತಲುಪಿ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಅದೇ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ (ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ)ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹೋದಂತೆಲ್ಲಾ ಹಗಲಿನ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಇರುಳು ಕಮ್ಮಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಸೂರ್ಯನ ತಾಪ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಬೇಸಗೆಯನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಒಂದು ದಿನ ಉತ್ತರದ ತುತ್ತ ತುದಿಯನ್ನು ತಲುಪಿ, ಅಚಲವೆಂಬಂತೆ ಕಂಡು, ಮರುದಿನದಿಂದ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಮರಳಿ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗುತ್ತಾ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸೂರ್ಯ ಇನ್ನು ಉತ್ತರ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನತ್ತದ ತನ್ನ ಚಲನೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಕ್ಕೆ ಚಲಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದು ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನದ ದಿನ. ಬೇಸಗೆ ಮುಗಿದು ಮುಂಬರುವ ಚಳಿಗಾಲದ ಮುನ್ಸೂಚನೆ. ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಕರ್ಕಾಟಕ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಎಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. summer solstice ಎಂದೂ ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ಜೂನ್ ೨೧ ಈ ದಿನ.
ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ವಿವರಣೆ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುವುದು ಭೂಮಂಡಲದ ಭೂಮಧ್ಯ ರೇಖೆಯ ಉತ್ತರಾರ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ. ಇದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಆದರೆ ತದ್ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾದ ವಿವರಣೆ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾರ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹೀಗೆ ಕಾಣುವ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಚಲನೆಗೆ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಅಕ್ಷರೇಖೆ (axis) ಸುಮಾರು 22 1/2 degree ವಾಲಿರುವುದು ಕಾರಣ.
ಯಾವುದಾದರೂ ಒಂದು ನಿಗದಿತ ಜಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನಾಲು ನಿಂತು, ದಿನದ ಒಂದೇ ನಿಗದಿತ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ, ಆಗಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಗುರುತು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು, ಈ ರೀತಿ ವರ್ಷವಿಡೀ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಗುರುತು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡ ಆ ಬಿಂದುಗಳೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸುಮಾರು '8'ರ ಆಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತವೆ. ಈ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸವನ್ನು analemma ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. '8'ರ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ನೆತ್ತಿಯ ಬಿಂದು summer solstice ದಿನದಂದು ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ಅಡಿಯ ಬಿಂದು winter solstice, ಅಂದರೆ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನಡುವೆ ರೇಖೆಗಳು ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಹಾದುಹೋಗುವ ಬಿಂದು equinox ದಿನಗಳು. 8 ರ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ನೆತ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಅದರ ಅಡಿಯ ಬಿಂದುವಿನ ತನಕದ ದಿನಗಳು ವರ್ಷದ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನದ ದಿನಗಳು. ಆ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ಅಡಿಯಿಂದ ಅದರ ನೆತ್ತಿಯ ಬಿಂದುವಿನ ತನಕದ ದಿನಗಳು ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ದಿನಗಳು.
ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾರತದ ಹಬ್ಬವಾದರೂ, ಇತರ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಹೆಸರುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಗಾಳಿಪಟಗಳನ್ನು ಹಾರಿಬಿಡುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವುಂಟು. ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ, ಎಳ್ಳು ಮತ್ತು ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯ ಕುಸುರಿಕಾಳನ್ನು ಬಂಧು ಮಿತ್ರರಿಗೆ ಹಂಚುವ ರೂಢಿ ಇದೆ. ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಅವರು, ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಉಂಡೆ ಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವರು ಲಡ್ಡು ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯದ ತರಹ ಬಿಡಿಕಾಳುಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾ. ಎಳ್ಳುಂಡೆಕೊಡುವಾಗ ತಪ್ಪದೆ, " ತಿಳ್ಗುಳ್ ಘ್ಯಾ, ಅಣಿ ಗೋಡ್ ಗೋಡ್ ಬೋಲ", ಎನ್ನುವ ಮಾತು ಹೇಳುವುದನ್ನು ಮರೆಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ! ಪಂಜಾಬ್ ಮತ್ತು ಹರಿಯಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಗೆ "ಲೋಹರಿ," ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರು.
ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷದ ತಳಹದಿ
ಸನಾತನ ಹಿಂದೂ ಧರ್ಮದ ಬುನಾದಿಯಾಗಿರುವ ವೇದಗಳ ಅಂಗಗಳೆಂದೇ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿರುವ ಆರು ವೇದಾಂಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾದ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷವನ್ನು ವೇದಗಳ ಕಣ್ಣೆಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ವೇದದಳ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೂ ಶುಭಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಮುಹೂರ್ತಾದಿ ಕಾಲವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಣಯಿಸಿ, ಗ್ರಹಗಳ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ-ಗತಿ, ರಾಶಿ-ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ, ಗ್ರಹಣ, ಅಸ್ತೋದಯಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಣಯಿಸಿ, ಶುಭಾಶುಭ ಫಲಗಳನ್ನು ತೋರುತ್ತಾ, ಹಬ್ಬ-ಹರಿದಿನಗಳನ್ನು ಋತುಗಳಿಗನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರ ಹಾಕಿ ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವೇ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಷ. ಈ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದಂತೆ, ಸೂರ್ಯನು ನಿರಯಣ ಮಕರರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿದಾಗ, "ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ"ಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಕಾಲವು ಪ್ರತಿವರ್ಷ ಗ್ರೆಗೋರಿಯನ್ ಪಂಚಾಂಗದ ಜನವರಿ ೧೪ರ ಸುಮಾರಿಗೆ ಬೀಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಹಿಂದೆ, ಈ ಕಾಲವೇ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಅಥವಾ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉತ್ತರದಿಕ್ಕಿನ ಪಯಣದ ಆರಂಭವನ್ನು ಸೂಚಿಸುವ ಕಾಲವೂ ಆಗಿತ್ತಾದ್ದರಿಂದ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಉತ್ತರಾರ್ಧಗೋಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳಿ-ಬೆಚ್ಚನೆಯ ವಾತಾವರಣ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿ, ಬೆಳೆ ಕಟಾವಿನ ಕಾಲವೂ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಈಗ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨೨ಕ್ಕೇ ಆದರೂ, ಹಿಂದಿನಂತೆಯೇ ಜನವರಿ ೧೪ ರಂದು ನಡೆಯುವ ಮಕರಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಂದೇ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ಆಚರಣೆಯೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ.ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಕತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಚ್ಚಾ ಮರಣಿಯಾದ ಬೀಷ್ಮರು ಪ್ರಾಣ ಬಿಡಲು ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣ ಪರ್ವ ಕಾಲವನ್ನು ಕಾದಿದ್ದರು ಎಂಬ ಉಲ್ಲೆಖವಿದೆ. ಸಂಪರ್ಕದ ಹೆಸರು
ಖಗೋಳ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಒಂದು ವಿವರಣೆ
ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯ ಪೂರ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಸೂರ್ಯಾಸ್ತಮಾನ ಪಶ್ಚಿಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೂ, ಯಾವುದೇ ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರಾರುವಾಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಪೂರ್ವದಲ್ಲೇ ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯವಾಗುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಪಶ್ಚಿಮದಲ್ಲೇ ಸೂರ್ಯಾಸ್ತಮಾನವಾಗುವುದು ವರ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡೇ ದಿನಗಳಂದು. ಆ ದಿನಗಳನ್ನು ಈಕ್ವಿನಾಕ್ಸ್ (equinox)ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಂದು ಹಗಲಿರುಳುಗಳು ದಿನವನ್ನು ಸಮಪಾಲಾಗಿ, ಅಂದರೆ ೧೨ಗಂಟೆಗಳಾಗಿ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತವೆ. ವರ್ಷದ ಉಳಿದ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಗಲಿರುಳುಗಳ ಪಾಲು ಸಮವಾಗಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೇಸಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಗಲು ಹೆಚ್ಚು, ಇರುಳು ಕಮ್ಮಿ. ಚಳಿಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಗಲು ಕಮ್ಮಿ, ಇರುಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚು.ಈಕ್ವಿನಾಕ್ಸ್ ದಿವಸಗಳ ಹೊರತಾಗಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಪೂರ್ವದ ಬಲಕ್ಕೆ (ಅಂದರೆ ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ) ಅಥವಾ ಎಡಕ್ಕೆ (ಅಂದರೆ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಕ್ಕೆ) ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಚಳಿಗಾಲ (ಅಂದರೆ ಇರುಳಿನ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ)ಹೆಚ್ಚಾದಂತೆ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ದಿಕ್ಕಿಗೆ ಚಲಿಸುವುದು ಗೋಚರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಒಂದು ದಿನ ದಕ್ಷಿಣದ ತುತ್ತ ತುದಿಯ ಹಂತವನ್ನು ತಲುಪಿ, ಅಚಲವೆಂಬಂತೆ ಕಂಡು, ಮರುದಿನದಿಂದ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಮರಳಿ ವಿರುಧ್ಧ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗುತ್ತಾ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸೂರ್ಯ ಇನ್ನು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನತ್ತದ ತನ್ನ ಚಲನವನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ ಚಲಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಈ ದಿನ ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ದಿನ. ಇದು ಚಳಿಗಾಲ ಮುಗಿದು ಮುಂಬರುವ ಬೇಸಗೆಯ ಮುನ್ಸೂಚನೆ. winter solstice ಎಂದೂ ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ ೨೨ ಈ ದಿನ. ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯೆಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಸಾಂಪ್ರದಾಯಿಕವಾಗಿ ಜನವರಿ ತಿಂಗಳ ನಡುವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ.
ಇಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಸೂರ್ಯೋದಯ ಇನ್ನು ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಉತ್ತರದ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತಾ ನಡುವೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಈಕ್ವಿನಾಕ್ಸ್ ದಿನವನ್ನೂ ತಲುಪಿ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಅದೇ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ (ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ)ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಹೋದಂತೆಲ್ಲಾ ಹಗಲಿನ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಇರುಳು ಕಮ್ಮಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಸೂರ್ಯನ ತಾಪ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಬೇಸಗೆಯನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಒಂದು ದಿನ ಉತ್ತರದ ತುತ್ತ ತುದಿಯನ್ನು ತಲುಪಿ, ಅಚಲವೆಂಬಂತೆ ಕಂಡು, ಮರುದಿನದಿಂದ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಉದಯ ಮರಳಿ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಗುತ್ತಾ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ ಸೂರ್ಯ ಇನ್ನು ಉತ್ತರ ದಿಕ್ಕಿನತ್ತದ ತನ್ನ ಚಲನೆಯನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಕ್ಕೆ ಚಲಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದು ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನದ ದಿನ. ಬೇಸಗೆ ಮುಗಿದು ಮುಂಬರುವ ಚಳಿಗಾಲದ ಮುನ್ಸೂಚನೆ. ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಕರ್ಕಾಟಕ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿ ಎಂದು ಗುರುತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. summer solstice ಎಂದೂ ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಸುಮಾರು ಜೂನ್ ೨೧ ಈ ದಿನ.
ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ವಿವರಣೆ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುವುದು ಭೂಮಂಡಲದ ಭೂಮಧ್ಯ ರೇಖೆಯ ಉತ್ತರಾರ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ. ಇದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಆದರೆ ತದ್ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾದ ವಿವರಣೆ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾರ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹೀಗೆ ಕಾಣುವ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಚಲನೆಗೆ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಅಕ್ಷರೇಖೆ (axis) ಸುಮಾರು 22 1/2 degree ವಾಲಿರುವುದು ಕಾರಣ.
ಯಾವುದಾದರೂ ಒಂದು ನಿಗದಿತ ಜಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನಾಲು ನಿಂತು, ದಿನದ ಒಂದೇ ನಿಗದಿತ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ, ಆಗಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಗುರುತು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು, ಈ ರೀತಿ ವರ್ಷವಿಡೀ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಗುರುತು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡ ಆ ಬಿಂದುಗಳೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸುಮಾರು '8'ರ ಆಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತವೆ. ಈ ವಿನ್ಯಾಸವನ್ನು analemma ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. '8'ರ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ನೆತ್ತಿಯ ಬಿಂದು summer solstice ದಿನದಂದು ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ಅಡಿಯ ಬಿಂದು winter solstice, ಅಂದರೆ ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನಡುವೆ ರೇಖೆಗಳು ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಹಾದುಹೋಗುವ ಬಿಂದು equinox ದಿನಗಳು. 8 ರ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ನೆತ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಅದರ ಅಡಿಯ ಬಿಂದುವಿನ ತನಕದ ದಿನಗಳು ವರ್ಷದ ದಕ್ಷಿಣಾಯನದ ದಿನಗಳು. ಆ ಆಕೃತಿಯ ಅಡಿಯಿಂದ ಅದರ ನೆತ್ತಿಯ ಬಿಂದುವಿನ ತನಕದ ದಿನಗಳು ಉತ್ತರಾಯಣದ ದಿನಗಳು.
ಆಚರಣೆ
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಪಟ್ಟ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಕಂಡುಬರುವುದು "ಎಳ್ಳು". ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ಸುತ್ತಲಿನ ಮನೆಗಳಿಗೆ "ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೀರುವುದು" ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರು-ಸಂಬಂಧಿಕರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಕಂಡುಬರುವ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯಗಳು. ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚುಗಳು,ಹಣ್ಣು,ಮತ್ತು ಕಬ್ಬಿನ ತುಂಡುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹ ಬೀರುವುದುಂಟು.ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ಚೂರುಗಳಾಗಿ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿದ ಬೆಲ್ಲ,ಒಣ ಕೊಬ್ಬರಿ,ಹುರಿಗಡಲೆ,ಸಿಪ್ಪೆ ತೆಗೆದ ಕಡಲೇಕಾಯಿ ಬೀಜ ಹಾಗೂ ಹುರಿದ ಬಿಳಿ ಎಳ್ಳನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಿ "ಎಳ್ಳು" ತಯಾರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.ತಮಿಳುನಾಡು
ತಮಿಳುನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಹಬ್ಬವನ್ನು "ಪೊಂಗಲ್" ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು ನಾಲ್ಕು ದಿನಗಳ ಹಬ್ಬ - ಈ ನಾಲ್ಕು ದಿನಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಆ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿನ ಆಚರಣೆಗಳು ಹೀಗಿವೆ:- ಭೋಗಿ: ಹೊಸ ಬಟ್ಟೆಗಳು
- ಪೊಂಗಲ್: ಸಮೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಸಂಕೇತವಾಗಿ ಹಾಲು-ಬೆಲ್ಲಗಳನ್ನು ಪಾತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುದಿಸಿ ಉಕ್ಕಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ
- ಮಾಟ್ಟು ಪೊಂಗಲ್: ಗೋಪೂಜೆ
- ಕೆಲವು ಕಡೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ "ಜಲ್ಲಿಕಟ್ಟು" ಎಂಬ ಗೂಳಿಯನ್ನು ಪಳಗಿಸುವ ಆಟ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ
- ಕಾಣುಮ್ ಪೊಂಗಲ್
ಇತರ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳು
ಕೇರಳದ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಂದು ಕೇರಳದ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣುವ ಮಕರಜ್ಯೋತಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪ್ರಾಧಾನ್ಯತೆ ಇದೆ. ಅಯ್ಯಪ್ಪ ವೃತಾಧಾರಿಗಳಾದ ಜನರು ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಗೆ ತೆರಳಿ ತಮ್ಮ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಯ ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆರಗಿ ಮಕರ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯ ದರ್ಶನವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದರೆ ಜನ್ಮ ಸಾರ್ಥಕವಾಗುವುದೆಂಬ ನಂಬಿಕೆಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ಲಕ್ಷೋಪಲಕ್ಷ ಜನರು ಈ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ವರ್ಷಂಪ್ರತಿ ಶಬರಿಮಲೆ ಸನ್ನಿಧಾನಕ್ಕಾಗಮಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ."ಮಕರ ವಿಳಕ್ಕು"ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯಲ್ಪಡುವ ಈ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಯು ಶಬರಿಮಲೆಯ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಿಂದ ಮೂರು ಬಾರಿ ಗೋಚರವಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಅಂತೂ ಇದು ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕವಾಗಿಸಾಬೀತಾಗಿಲ್ಲವಾದರೂ, ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕತೆಯ ಕುರುಹನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ ಭಕ್ತರು.ನಮನ
ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂರ್ಯನು ಮಕರ ರಾಶಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಿ ಲೋಕದ ಕಾರಿರುಳನ್ನು ಹೋಗಲಾಡಿಸುವಂತೆ ಜನರು ಈ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪುಣ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮಿಕ ಚಿಂತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಗುವಂತೆ ಈ ಆಚರಣೆಯು ಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾರತದ ಹಬ್ಬವಾದರೂ, ಇತರ ಸ್ಥಳಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಹೆಸರುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯ ದಿನದಂದು ಗಾಳಿಪಟಗಳನ್ನು ಹಾರಿಬಿಡುವ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯವುಂಟು. ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ, ಎಳ್ಳು ಮತ್ತು ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯ ಕುಸುರಿಕಾಳನ್ನು ಬಂಧು ಮಿತ್ರರಿಗೆ ಹಂಚುವ ರೂಢಿ ಇದೆ. ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಅವರು, ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಉಂಡೆ ಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವರು ಲಡ್ಡು ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯದ ತರಹ ಬಿಡಿಕಾಳುಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚುವ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾ. ಎಳ್ಳುಂಡೆಕೊಡುವಾಗ ತಪ್ಪದೆ, " ತಿಳ್ಗುಳ್ ಘ್ಯಾ, ಅಣಿ ಗೋಡ್ ಗೋಡ್ ಬೋಲ", ಎನ್ನುವ ಮಾತು ಹೇಳುವುದನ್ನು ಮರೆಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ! ಪಂಜಾಬ್ ಮತ್ತು ಹರಿಯಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಗೆ "ಲೋಹರಿ," ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರು.
ಕತ್ತೆ ತರಹ ದುಡಿದರೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟು ಹೋದಿರಿ ಜೋಕೆ
ಅವನಿಗೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕಂಪನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉದ್ಯೋಗ. ಕೈತುಂಬಾ ಸಂಬಳ, ತಲೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಕೆಲಸ, ಟಾರ್ಗೆಟ್ ಅದು ಇದು ಅಂತ ಪುರಸೊತ್ತು ಇಲ್ಲದ ಜೀವನ. ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದರೂ ಲ್ಯಾಪ್ ಟಾಪ್ ಅವನ ಪ್ರಪಂಚ. ಹೆಂಡತಿ ಜೊತೆ ಶಾಪಿಂಗ್ ಹೋಗಲು ಸಮಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಮುದ್ದು ಮಗುವಿನ ಜೊತೆ ಆಡಲು ಸಮಯವಿಲ್ಲ.
ಕಾಲಿಗೆ ಚಕ್ರ ಕಟ್ಟಿದಂತಹ ಜೀವನದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಅವನು ಜೀವನದ ಅನೇಕ ಸಂತೋಷದ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗೆ ಅವನನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ತುಂಬಾ ಸೊರಗಿದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದ್ದ, ಕಾರಣ ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಕೆಲಸದ ಒತ್ತಡ ಅಂದ. ಯಶಸ್ವಿಗೆ ಕಠಿಣ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮ ಅಗತ್ಯ. ಹಾಗಂತ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಜೀವನ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹದಗೆಡುಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಧಿಕ ಕೆಲಸದ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಪರಿಣಾಮಗಳು ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತವೆ.
1. ನಿದ್ರಾ ಹೀನತೆ: ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ 6 ಗಂಟೆ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಕೆಲಸದ ಒತ್ತಡವಿದ್ದರೆ ಮಲಗಿದ್ದರೂ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅತಿ ಕಡಿಮೆ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಇವುಗಳಿಂದ ದೈಹಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
2. ಜ್ಞಾಪಕ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದುವುದು: ಅಧಿಕ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದ ಮೆದುಳಿನ ನೆನಪಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದುತ್ತದೆ. ಜ್ಞಾಪಕ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಲು ನಿದ್ರೆ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮೆದುಳಿನ ಗ್ರಹಿಸುವ ಮತ್ತು ನೆನಪಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದುವುದು.
3. ಅಜಾಗರೂಕತೆ: ಬೆಲೆಬಾಳುವ ವಸ್ತು ಅಥವಾ ಡಾಕ್ಯೂಮೆಂಟ್ ಮುಂತಾದವುಗಳನ್ನು ಜೋಪಾನವಾಗಿ ತೆಗೆದು ಇಡದಿರುವುದು ಕೆಲವರ ಸ್ವಾಭಾವಿಕ ಗುಣ. ಆದರೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ದುಡಿಯುವವರಿಗೆ ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟದ್ದೇವೆ ಎಂದು ತಕ್ಷಣ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬರುವುದದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಡೋರ್ ಹಾಗೆ ತೆರೆದಿಟ್ಟು ಹೋಗುವುದು, ಅತ್ಯಾವಶ್ಯಕವಾದ ಡಾಕ್ಯೂಮೆಂಟ್ ಮರೆತು ಹೋಗುವುದು ಅವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳು ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಹದಗೆಟ್ಟಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಅರ್ಥ.
4. ಅಜೀರ್ಣ: ಅಧಿಕ ಕೆಲಸ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಹೊತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಊಟ ಮಾಡದಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಜೀರ್ಣಕ್ರಿಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಂದರೆ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಪ್ರಿಯವಾದ ಆಹಾರ ಕೂಡ ಬೇಡ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
5. ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕರವಲ್ಲದ ತಿಂಡಿಗಳ ಸೇವನೆ: ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ಏನಾದರೂ ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕೆಂದು ಅನಿಸುವುದು ಸಹಜ. ಆಗ ಕುರುಕಲು ತಿಂಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇವಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಹಾಳಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
6. ಸಂಸಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿರುಕು: ಅಧಿಕ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದಾಗಿ ತೀವ್ರ ದಣಿವು ಆಗುವುದರಿಂದ ದಾಂಪತ್ಯ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲೂ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದಲಾರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ದಂಪತಿಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಭಾಂದವ್ಯ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಲು ಕೂಡ ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣವಾಗಿದೆ.
7. ರಕ್ತದೊತ್ತಡ: ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದರಿಂದ ರಕ್ತದೊತ್ತಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ರಕ್ತದೊತ್ತಡ ಅಧಿಕವಾದಷ್ಟು ತಾಳ್ಮೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಿ ಸಣ್ಣ-ಪುಟ್ಟ ವಿಷಯಕ್ಕೂ ಕೋಪ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದಾಗಿ ಮನ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ ಕೂಡ ಹಾಳಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಟೆನ್ಷನ್ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಸಾವಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಮುಖ್ಯ. ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೂ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೂ ಆಗಾಗ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಕೊಡುತ್ತ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಇದರಿಂದ ಕೆಲಸದ ದಕ್ಷತೆಯೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತದೆ. ಆರೋಗ್ಯವೂ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ.
ಕಾಲಿಗೆ ಚಕ್ರ ಕಟ್ಟಿದಂತಹ ಜೀವನದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಅವನು ಜೀವನದ ಅನೇಕ ಸಂತೋಷದ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಇತ್ತೀಚಿಗೆ ಅವನನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ತುಂಬಾ ಸೊರಗಿದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿದ್ದ, ಕಾರಣ ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಕೆಲಸದ ಒತ್ತಡ ಅಂದ. ಯಶಸ್ವಿಗೆ ಕಠಿಣ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮ ಅಗತ್ಯ. ಹಾಗಂತ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಜೀವನ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹದಗೆಡುಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಧಿಕ ಕೆಲಸದ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹತ್ತು ಹಲವು ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಪರಿಣಾಮಗಳು ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತವೆ.
1. ನಿದ್ರಾ ಹೀನತೆ: ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ 6 ಗಂಟೆ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಕೆಲಸದ ಒತ್ತಡವಿದ್ದರೆ ಮಲಗಿದ್ದರೂ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅತಿ ಕಡಿಮೆ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಇವುಗಳಿಂದ ದೈಹಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಆರೋಗ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
2. ಜ್ಞಾಪಕ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದುವುದು: ಅಧಿಕ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದ ಮೆದುಳಿನ ನೆನಪಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದುತ್ತದೆ. ಜ್ಞಾಪಕ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಲು ನಿದ್ರೆ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮೆದುಳಿನ ಗ್ರಹಿಸುವ ಮತ್ತು ನೆನಪಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದುವುದು.
3. ಅಜಾಗರೂಕತೆ: ಬೆಲೆಬಾಳುವ ವಸ್ತು ಅಥವಾ ಡಾಕ್ಯೂಮೆಂಟ್ ಮುಂತಾದವುಗಳನ್ನು ಜೋಪಾನವಾಗಿ ತೆಗೆದು ಇಡದಿರುವುದು ಕೆಲವರ ಸ್ವಾಭಾವಿಕ ಗುಣ. ಆದರೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ದುಡಿಯುವವರಿಗೆ ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟದ್ದೇವೆ ಎಂದು ತಕ್ಷಣ ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬರುವುದದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಡೋರ್ ಹಾಗೆ ತೆರೆದಿಟ್ಟು ಹೋಗುವುದು, ಅತ್ಯಾವಶ್ಯಕವಾದ ಡಾಕ್ಯೂಮೆಂಟ್ ಮರೆತು ಹೋಗುವುದು ಅವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳು ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಹದಗೆಟ್ಟಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಅರ್ಥ.
4. ಅಜೀರ್ಣ: ಅಧಿಕ ಕೆಲಸ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಹೊತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಊಟ ಮಾಡದಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ಜೀರ್ಣಕ್ರಿಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಂದರೆ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಪ್ರಿಯವಾದ ಆಹಾರ ಕೂಡ ಬೇಡ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
5. ಆರೋಗ್ಯಕರವಲ್ಲದ ತಿಂಡಿಗಳ ಸೇವನೆ: ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ಏನಾದರೂ ತಿನ್ನಬೇಕೆಂದು ಅನಿಸುವುದು ಸಹಜ. ಆಗ ಕುರುಕಲು ತಿಂಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಸೇವಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ದೇಹದ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಹಾಳಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
6. ಸಂಸಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿರುಕು: ಅಧಿಕ ಒತ್ತಡದಿಂದಾಗಿ ತೀವ್ರ ದಣಿವು ಆಗುವುದರಿಂದ ದಾಂಪತ್ಯ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲೂ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಕುಂದಲಾರಂಭಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ದಂಪತಿಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಭಾಂದವ್ಯ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಲು ಕೂಡ ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣವಾಗಿದೆ.
7. ರಕ್ತದೊತ್ತಡ: ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದರಿಂದ ರಕ್ತದೊತ್ತಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ರಕ್ತದೊತ್ತಡ ಅಧಿಕವಾದಷ್ಟು ತಾಳ್ಮೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಿ ಸಣ್ಣ-ಪುಟ್ಟ ವಿಷಯಕ್ಕೂ ಕೋಪ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದಾಗಿ ಮನ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ ಕೂಡ ಹಾಳಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಟೆನ್ಷನ್ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಸಾವಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಮುಖ್ಯ. ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೂ ದೇಹಕ್ಕೂ ಆಗಾಗ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಕೊಡುತ್ತ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ಇದರಿಂದ ಕೆಲಸದ ದಕ್ಷತೆಯೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತದೆ. ಆರೋಗ್ಯವೂ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ.
ನಿದ್ದೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟರೆ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಕೆಟ್ಟಿತು ಜೋಕೆ...!
ಕಟ್ಟುನಿಟ್ಟಿನ ವ್ಯಾಯಾಮ ಮತ್ತು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಆಹಾರಕ್ರಮದಿಂದ ದೇಹದ ತೂಕವನ್ನು ಸದೃಢವಾಗಿ ಇಡಬಹುದು. ಸುಂದರವಾದ ಮೈಕಟ್ಟಿನ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಸುಂದವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಲು ಬ್ಯೂಟಿ ಥೆರಪಿಯನ್ನು ಕೂಡ ಮಾಡಬಹುದು.
ನೀವು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸುಂದರಿಯಾಗಬೇಕಾದರೆ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಕೆಡಬೇಡಿ. ನಿದ್ರೆಯನ್ನು ಕಡೆಗೆಣಿಸಿದರೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಹೊಳಪನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಮುಖದ ಕಾಂತಿ ಕುಂದುವುದು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ ಏಕೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯಲು ಮುಂದೆ ಓದಿ.
1. ವಯಸ್ಸು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು: 30ರ ಹರೆಯದಲ್ಲಿಯೆ ಇನ್ನೂ 10 ವರ್ಷ ದೊಡ್ಡವರಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಲು ಯಾರೂ ಇಷ್ಟ ಪಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. 7 ಗಂಟೆಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಸಮಯ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಮುಖ ಬಿಳುಚಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಕಣ್ಣಿನ ಸುತ್ತ ನೆರಿಗೆ ಬಂದು ಬೇಗನೆ ವಯಸ್ಸಾದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ.
2. ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಮಂಕಾಗುವುದು: ಹೊಳೆಯುವ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಸೌಂದರ್ಯಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಮೆರಗು. ಆದರೆ ಮೇಕಪ್ ನಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಲು ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕವಾಗಿ ಹೊಳಪಿನಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿರಬೇಕು. ಆಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಮೇಕಪ್ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಹೊಳಪನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಲು ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಬೇಕೆಬೇಕು.
3. ಸೊರಗಿದ ತ್ವಚೆ: ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮುಖದ ಹೊಳಪು ಮಾಯವಾಗಿ ಸೊರಗಿದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು.
4. ತ್ವಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಅಂಶದ ಸಮತೋಲನ: ತ್ವಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಅಂಶವನ್ನು ಸಮತೋಲನದಲ್ಲಿಡಲು ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ ದೇಹ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಗ ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿ ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಉತ್ಪತ್ತಿಯಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ತ್ವಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೇವಾಂಶ ಸಮತೋಲನಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟು ಹೊಳೆಯುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ.
5. ತೂಕ: ಕಡಿಮೆ ಅವಧಿ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ದೇಹದ ತೂಕ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನಿದ್ರೆ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಇರುವವರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬೆಸಿಟಿ ಅಥವಾ ಬೊಜ್ಜಿನ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಕೂಡ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು. ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ 15 ದಿನದಲ್ಲಿ 5 ಪೌಂಡ್ ತೂಕ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
6. ಹಾರ್ಮೋನ್ ಗಳ ಅಸಮತೋಲನ: ನಿದ್ರೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಹಾರ್ಮೋನ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಏರುಪೇರು ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊಡವೆಗಳು ಬರಲು ಈ ಹಾರ್ಮೋನ್ ಗಳ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ ಕೂಡ ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣ.
7. ತಲೆನೋವು: ನಿದ್ರೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾದರೆ ತಲೆನೋವು ಬರುವುದು. ತಲೆನೋವು ಬಂದರೆ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಇರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಇವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಅಡ್ಡ ಪರಿಣಾಮವನ್ನು ಬೀರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಹೆಚ್ಚಲು ಸಮರ್ಪಕವಾಗಿ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡಿ. ಹಾಗಂತ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಹತ್ತು ಗಂಟೆಗೆ ಏಳಬೇಡಿ.
ನೀವು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸುಂದರಿಯಾಗಬೇಕಾದರೆ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಕೆಡಬೇಡಿ. ನಿದ್ರೆಯನ್ನು ಕಡೆಗೆಣಿಸಿದರೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಹೊಳಪನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಮುಖದ ಕಾಂತಿ ಕುಂದುವುದು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ. ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಅವಶ್ಯಕ ಏಕೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯಲು ಮುಂದೆ ಓದಿ.
1. ವಯಸ್ಸು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು: 30ರ ಹರೆಯದಲ್ಲಿಯೆ ಇನ್ನೂ 10 ವರ್ಷ ದೊಡ್ಡವರಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಲು ಯಾರೂ ಇಷ್ಟ ಪಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. 7 ಗಂಟೆಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಸಮಯ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಮುಖ ಬಿಳುಚಿಕೊಂಡಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಕಣ್ಣಿನ ಸುತ್ತ ನೆರಿಗೆ ಬಂದು ಬೇಗನೆ ವಯಸ್ಸಾದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ.
2. ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಮಂಕಾಗುವುದು: ಹೊಳೆಯುವ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಸೌಂದರ್ಯಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಮೆರಗು. ಆದರೆ ಮೇಕಪ್ ನಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳನ್ನು ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಲು ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕವಾಗಿ ಹೊಳಪಿನಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿರಬೇಕು. ಆಗ ಮಾತ್ರ ಮೇಕಪ್ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಹೊಳಪನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಲು ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿ ಬೇಕೆಬೇಕು.
3. ಸೊರಗಿದ ತ್ವಚೆ: ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಮುಖದ ಹೊಳಪು ಮಾಯವಾಗಿ ಸೊರಗಿದಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದು.
4. ತ್ವಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಅಂಶದ ಸಮತೋಲನ: ತ್ವಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಅಂಶವನ್ನು ಸಮತೋಲನದಲ್ಲಿಡಲು ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಕು. ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ ದೇಹ ವಿಶ್ರಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಗ ದೇಹದಲ್ಲಿ ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಎಣ್ಣೆ ಉತ್ಪತ್ತಿಯಾಗುವುದರಿಂದ ತ್ವಚೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೇವಾಂಶ ಸಮತೋಲನಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟು ಹೊಳೆಯುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ.
5. ತೂಕ: ಕಡಿಮೆ ಅವಧಿ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ದೇಹದ ತೂಕ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನಿದ್ರೆ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಇರುವವರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬೆಸಿಟಿ ಅಥವಾ ಬೊಜ್ಜಿನ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆ ಕೂಡ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು. ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿದ್ರೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ 15 ದಿನದಲ್ಲಿ 5 ಪೌಂಡ್ ತೂಕ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
6. ಹಾರ್ಮೋನ್ ಗಳ ಅಸಮತೋಲನ: ನಿದ್ರೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಹಾರ್ಮೋನ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಏರುಪೇರು ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೊಡವೆಗಳು ಬರಲು ಈ ಹಾರ್ಮೋನ್ ಗಳ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸ ಕೂಡ ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣ.
7. ತಲೆನೋವು: ನಿದ್ರೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾದರೆ ತಲೆನೋವು ಬರುವುದು. ತಲೆನೋವು ಬಂದರೆ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಇರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಇವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯದ ಮೇಲೆ ಅಡ್ಡ ಪರಿಣಾಮವನ್ನು ಬೀರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಹೆಚ್ಚಲು ಸಮರ್ಪಕವಾಗಿ ನಿದ್ದೆ ಮಾಡಿ. ಹಾಗಂತ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಹತ್ತು ಗಂಟೆಗೆ ಏಳಬೇಡಿ.
ಮಕ್ಕಳೇ ಅಶ್ಲೀಲಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡಿ ಅಮೂಲ್ಯ ಬಾಲ್ಯ ಕಳ್ಕೋಬೇಡಿ
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು: 'ಈಗಿನ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ವಯಸ್ಕರ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ತಮ್ಮ ಅಮೂಲ್ಯ ಬಾಲ್ಯ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಬಾಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಲು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನೇ ನೊಡುವಂತೆ ಉತ್ತೇಜಿಸಬೇಕು. ಆ ಮೂಲಕ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಸಹಜ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಸಹಕಾರಿಯಾಗಬೇಕು' ಎಂದು ಬೃಹತ್ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಮಹಾನಗರ ಪಾಲಿಕೆಯ ಆಯುಕ್ತ ಎಂ.ಕೆ. ಶಂಕರಲಿಂಗೇಗೌಡ ತಿಳಿಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಮಲ್ಲೇಶ್ವರಂನ ಸೇವಾ ಸದನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಂಗಳವಾರ ನಡೆದ 7ನೇ ಅಂತರರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವದ ಎರಡನೇ ದಿನ ಇರಾನಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಸಿನಿಮಾಗಳ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನವನ್ನು ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿ ಅವರು ಮಾತನಾಡಿದರು.
'ಇರಾನಿ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಂಭೀರವಾದ ಉತ್ತಮ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ತಯಾರಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವಂತೆಯೇ, ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳೂ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣವಾಗುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು' ಎಂದು ಅವರು ಆಶಿಸಿದರು.
ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಅವಸರದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಒಡ್ಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತಹ ಇಂದಿನ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ನೋಟಗಳ ಇರಾನಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಉತ್ತಮವಾದದ್ದು` ಎಂದರು.
ಚಿತ್ರನಟಿ ಭಾವನಾ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ, 'ಕನ್ನಡವೂ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಿರುತೆರೆ ವಾಹಿನಿಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ಇಂದು 16 ವರ್ಷ ಮೇಲ್ಪಟ್ಟವರಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಜ್ಞಾನ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ, ಸಹಜ ಮನೋರಂಜನೆ ನೀಡಲು ವಾಹಿನಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾಳಜಿ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಮಕ್ಕಳೂ ಹಿರಿಯರ ವರ್ತನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒತ್ತಾಯ ಪೂರ್ವಕವಾಗಿ ಅನುಕರಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ತಮ್ಮ ಮುಗ್ಧ ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಬದುಕನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ' ಎಂದು ವಿಷಾದಿಸಿದರು.
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಮಲ್ಲೇಶ್ವರಂನ ಸೇವಾ ಸದನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಂಗಳವಾರ ನಡೆದ 7ನೇ ಅಂತರರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವದ ಎರಡನೇ ದಿನ ಇರಾನಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಸಿನಿಮಾಗಳ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನವನ್ನು ಉದ್ಘಾಟಿಸಿ ಅವರು ಮಾತನಾಡಿದರು.
'ಇರಾನಿ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಗಂಭೀರವಾದ ಉತ್ತಮ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ತಯಾರಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವಂತೆಯೇ, ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳೂ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣವಾಗುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಅದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು' ಎಂದು ಅವರು ಆಶಿಸಿದರು.
ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಅವಸರದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಒಡ್ಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತಹ ಇಂದಿನ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ನೋಟಗಳ ಇರಾನಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಉತ್ತಮವಾದದ್ದು` ಎಂದರು.
ಚಿತ್ರನಟಿ ಭಾವನಾ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ, 'ಕನ್ನಡವೂ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಿರುತೆರೆ ವಾಹಿನಿಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ಇಂದು 16 ವರ್ಷ ಮೇಲ್ಪಟ್ಟವರಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಜ್ಞಾನ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ, ಸಹಜ ಮನೋರಂಜನೆ ನೀಡಲು ವಾಹಿನಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾಳಜಿ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಮಕ್ಕಳೂ ಹಿರಿಯರ ವರ್ತನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒತ್ತಾಯ ಪೂರ್ವಕವಾಗಿ ಅನುಕರಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ತಮ್ಮ ಮುಗ್ಧ ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಬದುಕನ್ನು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ' ಎಂದು ವಿಷಾದಿಸಿದರು.
ಸರಕಾರಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 1.42 ಲಕ್ಷ ಕೆಲಸ ಖಾಲಿ ಇದೆ
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ಜ.11: ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರಕಾರದ ನಾನಾ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಟ್ಟು 1.42 ಲಕ್ಷ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಯಿವೆ. ಇದು ಹೊಸದಾಗಿ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯಾದ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳಲ್ಲ. ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಸರಕಾರದಿಂದ ಅಧಿಕೃತವಾಗಿ ಮಂಜೂರಾಗಿ, ಖಾಲಿಗೊಂಡಿರುವ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಪಾಟಿ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಯಿದ್ದರೂ ಭರ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದ ಸರಕಾರ ಕಣ್ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಕುಳಿತಿದೆ ಎಂದು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರಕಾರಿ ನೌಕರರ ಸಂಘದ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಭೈರಪ್ಪ ಗುಡುಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಎಸ್ ಎಂ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಯಾದ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ಹೊಸ ನೇಮಕವನ್ನು ಸರಕಾರ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಳಿಸಿದೆ. ನಂತರ ಬಂದ ಸರಕಾರಗಳೂ ಹೊ ಸ ನೇಮಕದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಲೆ ಕೆಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿಲ್ಲ.
ಅತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಗರಿಷ್ಠ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಯಿವೆ. ಈ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ 24,518 ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಬಿದ್ದಿವೆ. ಇಒದು ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದಿಂದ ಪದವಿಪೂರ್ವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದವರೆಗೂ ಅನ್ವಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಇನ್ನು, ಸೇವಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಎನಿಸಿರುವ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ, ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹತ್ತಿಪ್ಪತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಯಿವೆ. ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವೈದ್ಯರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಶುಶ್ರೂಷಕರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಕಂದಾಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ವೇಯರುಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲ. ಗ್ರಾನಮ ಲೆಕ್ಕಿಗರಿಲ್ಲ. ಪಶು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವೈದ್ಯರಿಲ್ಲ. ಕೃಷಿ ಹಾಗೂ ತೋಟಗಾರಿಕೆ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು, ಕೃಷಿ ಸಹಾಯಕರು ಇಲ್ಲ.
ಗಮನಾರ್ಹವೆಂದರೆ ವಿಧಾನಸೌಧ, ವಿಕಾಸಸೌಧ ಮತ್ತು ಬಹುಮಹಡಿ ಕಟ್ಟಡದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಚಿವಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 504 ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜಭವನದಲ್ಲಿ 29 ಮಂಜೂರಾದ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಸಮಾಜ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಿಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ 10,546 ಮತ್ತು ವಿವಿಧ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 7516 ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಭರ್ತಿಯಾಗಬೇಕಿವೆ.
ಎಸ್ ಎಂ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಯಾದ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ಹೊಸ ನೇಮಕವನ್ನು ಸರಕಾರ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಳಿಸಿದೆ. ನಂತರ ಬಂದ ಸರಕಾರಗಳೂ ಹೊ ಸ ನೇಮಕದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಲೆ ಕೆಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿಲ್ಲ.
ಅತಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಗರಿಷ್ಠ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಯಿವೆ. ಈ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ 24,518 ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಬಿದ್ದಿವೆ. ಇಒದು ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದಿಂದ ಪದವಿಪೂರ್ವ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದವರೆಗೂ ಅನ್ವಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಇನ್ನು, ಸೇವಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಎನಿಸಿರುವ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ, ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹತ್ತಿಪ್ಪತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿಯಿವೆ. ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವೈದ್ಯರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಶುಶ್ರೂಷಕರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಕಂದಾಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ವೇಯರುಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲ. ಗ್ರಾನಮ ಲೆಕ್ಕಿಗರಿಲ್ಲ. ಪಶು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವೈದ್ಯರಿಲ್ಲ. ಕೃಷಿ ಹಾಗೂ ತೋಟಗಾರಿಕೆ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು, ಕೃಷಿ ಸಹಾಯಕರು ಇಲ್ಲ.
ಗಮನಾರ್ಹವೆಂದರೆ ವಿಧಾನಸೌಧ, ವಿಕಾಸಸೌಧ ಮತ್ತು ಬಹುಮಹಡಿ ಕಟ್ಟಡದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಚಿವಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 504 ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜಭವನದಲ್ಲಿ 29 ಮಂಜೂರಾದ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಖಾಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಸಮಾಜ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಿಲಾಖೆಯಲ್ಲಿ 10,546 ಮತ್ತು ವಿವಿಧ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 7516 ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳು ಭರ್ತಿಯಾಗಬೇಕಿವೆ.
Biography of Swami Vivekananda
A spiritual genius of commanding intellect and power, Vivekananda crammed immense labor and achievement into his short life, 1863-1902. This illustrious patriot-saint of modern India was born in Calcutta on 12 January, 1863. He was named Narendra. His father, Viswanath Datta, was a brilliant lawyer. He was highly respected for his intelligence and culture. His mother, Devi Bhuvaneshwari, was a devout woman with a great ability for training her children. As a boy, Narendra was very naughty and self-willed, and often had to be placed under a water tap to curb his mischief. Nevertheless, he was very generous, loving and devoted, with a strange attraction for wandering Sadhus. He enjoyed doing worship of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna with his mother.
After his matriculation, Narendra went to college. He was rarely absent from social parties. He was the "soul of social circles" and no gathering was deemed complete without his presence.
One day, his neighbour received a surprise visit from the saint of Dakshineshwar, Sri Ramakrishna. Narendra was also invited to sing devotional songs. As he sang, he sent thrill after thrill through Sri Ramakrishna until the saint fell into a state of ecstasy. When he became normal again, he made Narendra sit beside him and enquired lovingly of the boy. With time their friendship grew.
The death of his father forced Narendra to find work and support the family. During these years of great struggle, his sheet anchor was his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna. Narendra yearned intensely for God and began to plague the Master for realisation.
Narendra, now known as Swami Vivekananda, founded an Ashram near Calcutta, in order to organise better the Master's mission. This was the beginning of the Ramakrishna Mission.
From 1888 to 1890 Swami Vivekananda travelled widely. He went on a pilgrimage all over the country, studying the conditions of the people. Wherever he went, his magnetic personality created a great impression.
In 1893, Swami Vivekananda went to America to attend the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. His powerful speech at the opening session of the Parliament brought him instant fame and acclaimed him as a great orator and the most ideal interpreter of India's wisdom. He instantly became very popular in America.
Swami Vivekananda's powerful personality and his passionate call of service of the poor, is still influencing people all over India and the world.
Swami Vivekananda arrived in America penniless and depending only on God's Grace. After the Parliament he began to receive the homage and hospitality of all America. He lectured at all the important centres. As a true Sannyasin he refused to sell religion for the sake of amassing money. He preached the gospel of unity of faiths and scattered the seeds of purity, knowledge and faith. After his stay of two years in America he toured England and Europe for three months.
The tremendous ovation he received on his return to India in no way took his mind away from his mission of bringing religion to the doors of the poorest. His aim was to awaken the masses by reviving Vedic religion, and to clean it of the dross and impurity that had clung to it for so many centuries.
In 1902 Swami Vivekananda entered Mahasamadhi. Six years of discipleship under Sri Ramakrishna had taken him to the realms of God-vision. Seven years of travelling in India had broadened his outlook on life. Nine years of a national and international career were all that were left for him; yet, how filled with glorious work those nine years were!
Swami Vivekananda's gospel was one of hope, faith and strength. He never succumbed to despair, for he knew that India was capable of expansion and growth. His clarion call to the nation was: "Awake, arise, and stop not till the goal is reached."
Speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 11th September, 1893
Sisters and Brothers of America,
It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.
My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”
The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilisation and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.
Speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 15th September, 1893
I will tell you a little story. You have heard the eloquent speaker who has just finished say, "Let us cease from abusing each other," and he was very sorry that there should be always so much variance.
But I think I should tell you a story which would illustrate the cause of this variance. A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course the evolutionists were not there then to tell us whether the frog lost its eyes or not, but, for our story's sake, we must take it for granted that it had its eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our modern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.
"Where are you from?"
"I am from the sea."
"The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well?" and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other.
"My friend," said the frog of the sea, "how do you compare the sea with your little well?”
Then the frog took another leap and asked, "Is your sea so big?"
"What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!"
"Well, then," said the frog of the well, "nothing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so turn him out."
That has been the difficulty all the while.
I am a Hindu. I am sitting in my own little well and thinking that the whole world is my little well. The Christian sits in his little well and thinks the whole world is his well. The Mohammedan sits in his little well and thinks that is the whole world. I have to thank you of America for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of this little world of ours, and hope that, in the future, the Lord will help you to accomplish your purpose.
A speech given by Sri Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago Parliament of Religions on 19th September, 1893
Three religions now stand in the world which have come down to us from time prehistoric — Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. They have all received tremendous shocks and all of them prove by their survival their internal strength. But while Judaism failed to absorb Christianity and was driven out of its place of birth by its all-conquering daughter, and a handful of Parsees is all that remains to tell the tale of their grand religion, sect after sect arose in India and seemed to shake the religion of the Vedas to its very foundations, but like the waters of the seashore in a tremendous earthquake it receded only for a while, only to return in an all-absorbing flood, a thousand times more vigorous, and when the tumult of the rush was over, these sects were all sucked in, absorbed, and assimilated into the immense body of the mother faith.
From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multifarious mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists, and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindu's religion.
Where then, the question arises, where is the common centre to which all these widely diverging radii converge? Where is the common basis upon which all these seemingly hopeless contradictions rest? And this is the question I shall attempt to answer.
The Hindus have received their religion through revelation, the Vedas. They hold that the Vedas are without beginning and without end. It may sound ludicrous to this audience, how a book can be without beginning or end. But by the Vedas no books are meant. They mean the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different times. Just as the law of gravitation existed before its discovery, and would exist if all humanity forgot it, so is it with the laws that govern the spiritual world. The moral, ethical, and spiritual relations between soul and soul and between individual spirits and the Father of all spirits, were there before their discovery, and would remain even if we forgot them.
The discoverers of these laws are called Rishis, and we honour them as perfected beings. I am glad to tell this audience that some of the very greatest of them were women. Here it may be said that these laws as laws may be without end, but they must have had a beginning. The Vedas teach us that creation is without beginning or end. Science is said to have proved that the sum total of cosmic energy is always the same. Then, if there was a time when nothing existed, where was all this manifested energy? Some say it was in a potential form in God. In that case God is sometimes potential and sometimes kinetic, which would make Him mutable. Everything mutable is a compound, and everything compound must undergo that change which is called destruction. So God would die, which is absurd. Therefore there never was a time when there was no creation.
If I may be allowed to use a simile, creation and creator are two lines, without beginning and without end, running parallel to each other. God is the ever active providence, by whose power systems after systems are being evolved out of chaos, made to run for a time and again destroyed. This is what the Brâhmin boy repeats every day: "The sun and the moon, the Lord created like the suns and moons of previous cycles." And this agrees with modern science.
Here I stand and if I shut my eyes, and try to conceive my existence, "I", "I", "I", what is the idea before me? The idea of a body. Am I, then, nothing but a combination of material substances? The Vedas declare, “No”. I am a spirit living in a body. I am not the body. The body will die, but I shall not die. Here am I in this body; it will fall, but I shall go on living. I had also a past. The soul was not created, for creation means a combination which means a certain future dissolution. If then the soul was created, it must die. Some are born happy, enjoy perfect health, with beautiful body, mental vigour and all wants supplied. Others are born miserable, some are without hands or feet, others again are idiots and only drag on a wretched existence. Why, if they are all created, why does a just and merciful God create one happy and another unhappy, why is He so partial? Nor would it mend matters in the least to hold that those who are miserable in this life will be happy in a future one. Why should a man be miserable even here in the reign of a just and merciful God?
In the second place, the idea of a creator God does not explain the anomaly, but simply expresses the cruel fiat of an all-powerful being. There must have been causes, then, before his birth, to make a man miserable or happy and those were his past actions.
Are not all the tendencies of the mind and the body accounted for by inherited aptitude? Here are two parallel lines of existence — one of the mind, the other of matter. If matter and its transformations answer for all that we have, there is no necessity for supposing the existence of a soul. But it cannot be proved that thought has been evolved out of matter, and if a philosophical monism is inevitable, spiritual monism is certainly logical and no less desirable than a materialistic monism; but neither of these is necessary here.
We cannot deny that bodies acquire certain tendencies from heredity, but those tendencies only mean the physical configuration, through which a peculiar mind alone can act in a peculiar way. There are other tendencies peculiar to a soul caused by its past actions. And a soul with a certain tendency would by the laws of affinity take birth in a body which is the fittest instrument for the display of that tendency. This is in accord with science, for science wants to explain everything by habit, and habit is got through repetitions. So repetitions are necessary to explain the natural habits of a new-born soul. And since they were not obtained in this present life, they must have come down from past lives.
There is another suggestion. Taking all these for granted, how is it that I do not remember anything of my past life ? This can be easily explained. I am now speaking English. It is not my mother tongue, in fact no words of my mother tongue are now present in my consciousness; but let me try to bring them up, and they rush in. That shows that consciousness is only the surface of the mental ocean, and within its depths are stored up all our experiences. Try and struggle, they would come up and you would be conscious even of your past life.
This is direct and demonstrative evidence. Verification is the perfect proof of a theory, and here is the challenge thrown to the world by the Rishis. We have discovered the secret by which the very depths of the ocean of memory can be stirred up — try it and you would get a complete reminiscence of your past life.
So then the Hindu believes that he is a spirit. Him the sword cannot pierce — him the fire cannot burn — him the water cannot melt — him the air cannot dry. The Hindu believes that every soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere, but whose centre is located in the body, and that death means the change of this centre from body to body. Nor is the soul bound by the conditions of matter. In its very essence it is free, unbounded, holy, pure, and perfect. But somehow or other it finds itself tied down to matter, and thinks of itself as matter.
Why should the free, perfect, and pure being be thus under the thraldom of matter, is the next question. How can the perfect soul be deluded into the belief that it is imperfect? We have been told that the Hindus shirk the question and say that no such question can be there. Some thinkers want to answer it by positing one or more quasi-perfect beings, and use big scientific names to fill up the gap. But naming is not explaining. The question remains the same. How can the perfect become the quasi-perfect; how can the pure, the absolute, change even a microscopic particle of its nature? But the Hindu is sincere. He does not want to take shelter under sophistry. He is brave enough to face the question in a manly fashion; and his answer is: “I do not know. I do not know how the perfect being, the soul, came to think of itself as imperfect, as joined to and conditioned by matter." But the fact is a fact for all that. It is a fact in everybody's consciousness that one thinks of oneself as the body. The Hindu does not attempt to explain why one thinks one is the body. The answer that it is the will of God is no explanation. This is nothing more than what the Hindu says, "I do not know."
Well, then, the human soul is eternal and immortal, perfect and infinite, and death means only a change of centre from one body to another. The present is determined by our past actions, and the future by the present. The soul will go on evolving up or reverting back from birth to birth and death to death. But here is another question: Is man a tiny boat in a tempest, raised one moment on the foamy crest of a billow and dashed down into a yawning chasm the next, rolling to and fro at the mercy of good and bad actions — a powerless, helpless wreck in an ever-raging, ever-rushing, uncompromising current of cause and effect; a little moth placed under the wheel of causation which rolls on crushing everything in its way and waits not for the widow's tears or the orphan's cry? The heart sinks at the idea, yet this is the law of Nature. Is there no hope? Is there no escape? — was the cry that went up from the bottom of the heart of despair. It reached the throne of mercy, and words of hope and consolation came down and inspired a Vedic sage, and he stood up before the world and in trumpet voice proclaimed the glad tidings: "Hear, ye children of immortal bliss! even ye that reside in higher spheres! I have found the Ancient One who is beyond all darkness, all delusion: knowing Him alone you shall be saved from death over again." "Children of immortal bliss" — what a sweet, what a hopeful name! Allow me to call you, brethren, by that sweet name — heirs of immortal bliss — yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners. Ye are the Children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. Ye divinities on earth — sinners! It is a sin to call a man so; it is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; ye are not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.
Thus it is that the Vedas proclaim not a dreadful combination of unforgiving laws, not an endless prison of cause and effect, but that at the head of all these laws, in and through every particle of matter and force, stands One "by whose command the wind blows, the fire burns, the clouds rain, and death stalks upon the earth."
And what is His nature?
He is everywhere, the pure and formless One, the Almighty and the All-merciful. "Thou art our father, Thou art our mother, Thou art our beloved friend, Thou art the source of all strength; give us strength. Thou art He that beareth the burdens of the universe; help me bear the little burden of this life." Thus sang the Rishis of the Vedas. And how to worship Him? Through love. "He is to be worshipped as the one beloved, dearer than everything in this and the next life."
This is the doctrine of love declared in the Vedas, and let us see how it is fully developed and taught by Krishna, whom the Hindus believe to have been God incarnate on earth.
He taught that a man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world — his heart to God and his hands to work.
It is good to love God for hope of reward in this or the next world, but it is better to love God for love's sake, and the prayer goes: "Lord, I do not want wealth, nor children, nor learning. If it be Thy will, I shall go from birth to birth, but grant me this, that I may love Thee without the hope of reward — love unselfishly for love's sake." One of the disciples of Krishna, the then Emperor of India, was driven from his kingdom by his enemies and had to take shelter with his queen in a forest in the Himalayas, and there one day the queen asked him how it was that he, the most virtuous of men, should suffer so much misery. Yudhishthira answered, "Behold, my queen, the Himalayas, how grand and beautiful they are; I love them. They do not give me anything, but my nature is to love the grand, the beautiful, therefore I love them. Similarly, I love the Lord. He is the source of all beauty, of all sublimity. He is the only object to be loved; my nature is to love Him, and therefore I love. I do not pray for anything; I do not ask for anything. Let Him place me wherever He likes. I must love Him for love's sake. I cannot trade in love."
The Vedas teach that the soul is divine, only held in the bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is therefore, Mukti — freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from death and misery.
And this bondage can only fall off through the mercy of God, and this mercy comes on the pure. So purity is the condition of His mercy. How does that mercy act? He reveals Himself to the pure heart; the pure and the stainless see God, yea, even in this life; then and then only all the crookedness of the heart is made straight. Then all doubt ceases. He is no more the freak of a terrible law of causation. This is the very centre, the very vital conception of Hinduism. The Hindu does not want to live upon words and theories. If there are existences beyond the ordinary sensuous existence, he wants to come face to face with them. If there is a soul in him which is not matter, if there is an all-merciful universal Soul, he will go to Him direct. He must see Him, and that alone can destroy all doubts. So the best proof a Hindu sage gives about the soul, about God, is: "I have seen the soul; I have seen God." And that is the only condition of perfection. The Hindu religion does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma, but in realising — not in believing, but in being and becoming.
Thus the whole object of their system is by constant struggle to become perfect, to become divine, to reach God and see God, and this reaching God, seeing God, becoming perfect even as the Father in Heaven is perfect, constitutes the religion of the Hindus.
And what becomes of a man when he attains perfection? He lives a life of bliss infinite. He enjoys infinite and perfect bliss, having obtained the only thing in which man ought to have pleasure, namely God, and enjoys the bliss with God.
So far all the Hindus are agreed. This is the common religion of all the sects of India; but, then, perfection is absolute, and the absolute cannot be two or three. It cannot have any qualities. It cannot be an individual. And so when a soul becomes perfect and absolute, it must become one with Brahman, and it would only realise the Lord as the perfection, the reality, of its own nature and existence, the existence absolute, knowledge absolute, and bliss absolute. We have often and often read this called the losing of individuality and becoming a stock or a stone.
“He jests at scars that never felt a wound.”
I tell you it is nothing of the kind. If it is happiness to enjoy the consciousness of this small body, it must be greater happiness to enjoy the consciousness of two bodies, the measure of happiness increasing with the consciousness of an increasing number of bodies, the aim, the ultimate of happiness being reached when it would become a universal consciousness.
Therefore, to gain this infinite universal individuality, this miserable little prison-individuality must go. Then alone can death cease when I am alone with life, then alone can misery cease when I am one with happiness itself, then alone can all errors cease when I am one with knowledge itself; and this is the necessary scientific conclusion. Science has proved to me that physical individuality is a delusion, that really my body is one little continuously changing body in an unbroken ocean of matter; and Advaita (unity) is the necessary conclusion with my other counterpart, soul.
Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all others are but manifestations, and the science of religion become perfect when it would discover Him who is the one life in a universe of death, Him who is the constant basis of an ever-changing world. One who is the only Soul of which all souls are but delusive manifestations. Thus is it, through multiplicity and duality, that the ultimate unity is reached. Religion can go no farther. This is the goal of all science.
All science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light from the latest conclusions of science.
Descend we now from the aspirations of philosophy to the religion of the ignorant. At the very outset, I may tell you that there is no polytheism in India. In every temple, if one stands by and listens, one will find the worshippers applying all the attributes of God, including omnipresence, to the images. It is not polytheism, nor would the name henotheism explain the situation. "The rose called by any other name would smell as sweet." Names are not explanations.
I remember, as a boy, hearing a Christian missionary preach to a crowd in India. Among other sweet things he was telling them was that if he gave a blow to their idol with his stick, what could it do? One of his hearers sharply answered, "If I abuse your God, what can He do?" “You would be punished,” said the preacher, "when you die." "So my idol will punish you when you die," retorted the Hindu.
The tree is known by its fruits. When I have seen amongst them that are called idolaters, men, the like of whom in morality and spirituality and love I have never seen anywhere, I stop and ask myself, "Can sin beget holiness?"
Superstition is a great enemy of man, but bigotry is worse. Why does a Christian go to church? Why is the cross holy? Why is the face turned toward the sky in prayer? Why are there so many images in the Catholic Church? Why are there so many images in the minds of Protestants when they pray? My brethren, we can no more think about anything without a mental image than we can live without breathing. By the law of association, the material image calls up the mental idea and vice versa. This is why the Hindu uses an external symbol when he worships. He will tell you, it helps to keep his mind fixed on the Being to whom he prays. He knows as well as you do that the image is not God, is not omnipresent. After all, how much does omnipresence mean to almost the whole world? It stands merely as a word, a symbol. Has God superficial area? If not, when we repeat that word "omnipresent", we think of the extended sky or of space, that is all.
As we find that somehow or other, by the laws of our mental constitution, we have to associate our ideas of infinity with the image of the blue sky, or of the sea, so we naturally connect our idea of holiness with the image of a church, a mosque, or a cross. The Hindus have associated the idea of holiness, purity, truth, omnipresence, and such other ideas with different images and forms. But with this difference that while some people devote their whole lives to their idol of a church and never rise higher, because with them religion means an intellectual assent to certain doctrines and doing good to their fellows, the whole religion of the Hindu is centred in realisation. Man is to become divine by realising the divine. Idols or temples or churches or books are only the supports, the helps, of his spiritual childhood: but on and on he must progress.
He must not stop anywhere. "External worship, material worship," say the scriptures, "is the lowest stage; struggling to rise high, mental prayer is the next stage, but the highest stage is when the Lord has been realised." Mark, the same earnest man who is kneeling before the idol tells you, "Him the Sun cannot express, nor the moon, nor the stars, the lightning cannot express Him, nor what we speak of as fire; through Him they shine." But he does not abuse any one's idol or call its worship sin. He recognises in it a necessary stage of life. "The child is father of the man." Would it be right for an old man to say that childhood is a sin or youth a sin?
If a man can realise his divine nature with the help of an image, would it be right to call that a sin? Nor even when he has passed that stage, should he call it an error. To the Hindu, man is not travelling from error to truth, but from truth to truth, from lower to higher truth. To him all the religions, from the lowest fetishism to the highest absolutism, mean so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realise the Infinite, each determined by the conditions of its birth and association, and each of these marks a stage of progress; and every soul is a young eagle soaring higher and higher, gathering more and more strength, till it reaches the Glorious Sun.
Unity in variety is the plan of nature, and the Hindu has recognised it. Every other religion lays down certain fixed dogmas, and tries to force society to adopt them. It places before society only one coat which must fit Jack and John and Henry, all alike. If it does not fit John or Henry, he must go without a coat to cover his body. The Hindus have discovered that the absolute can only be realised, or thought of, or stated, through the relative, and the images, crosses, and crescents are simply so many symbols — so many pegs to hang the spiritual ideas on. It is not that this help is necessary for every one, but those that do not need it have no right to say that it is wrong. Nor is it compulsory in Hinduism.
One thing I must tell you. Idolatry in India does not mean anything horrible. It is not the mother of harlots. On the other hand, it is the attempt of undeveloped minds to grasp high spiritual truths. The Hindus have their faults, they sometimes have their exceptions; but mark this, they are always for punishing their own bodies, and never for cutting the throats of their neighbours. If the Hindu fanatic burns himself on the pyre, he never lights the fire of Inquisition. And even this cannot be laid at the door of his religion any more than the burning of witches can be laid at the door of Christianity.
To the Hindu, then, the whole world of religions is only a travelling, a coming up, of different men and women, through various conditions and circumstances, to the same goal. Every religion is only evolving a God out of the material man, and the same God is the inspirer of all of them. Why, then, are there so many contradictions? They are only apparent, says the Hindu. The contradictions come from the same truth adapting itself to the varying circumstances of different natures.
It is the same light coming through glasses of different colours. And these little variations are necessary for purposes of adaptation. But in the heart of everything the same truth reigns. The Lord has declared to the Hindu in His incarnation as Krishna, "I am in every religion as the thread through a string of pearls. Wherever thou seest extraordinary holiness and extraordinary power raising and purifying humanity, know thou that I am there." And what has been the result? I challenge the world to find, throughout the whole system of Sanskrit philosophy, any such expression as that the Hindu alone will be saved and not others. Says Vyasa, "We find perfect men even beyond the pale of our caste and creed." One thing more. How, then, can the Hindu, whose whole fabric of thought centres in God, believe in Buddhism which is agnostic, or in Jainism which is atheistic?
The Buddhists or the Jains do not depend upon God; but the whole force of their religion is directed to the great central truth in every religion, to evolve a God out of man. They have not seen the Father, but they have seen the Son. And he that hath seen the Son hath seen the Father also.
This, brethren, is a short sketch of the religious ideas of the Hindus. The Hindu may have failed to carry out all his plans, but if there is ever to be a universal religion, it must be one which will have no location in place or time; which will be infinite like the God it will preach, and whose sun will shine upon the followers of Krishna and of Christ, on saints and sinners alike; which will not be Brahminic or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan, but the sum total of all these, and still have infinite space for development; which in its catholicity will embrace in its infinite arms, and find a place for, every human being, from the lowest grovelling savage not far removed from the brute, to the highest man towering by the virtues of his head and heart almost above humanity, making society stand in awe of him and doubt his human nature. It will be a religion which will have no place for persecution or intolerance in its polity, which will recognise divinity in every man and woman, and whose whole scope, whose whole force, will be created in aiding humanity to realise its own true, divine nature.
Offer such a religion, and all the nations will follow you. Asoka's council was a council of the Buddhist faith. Akbar's, though more to the purpose, was only a parlour-meeting. It was reserved for America to proclaim to all quarters of the globe that the Lord is in every religion.
May He who is the Brahman of the Hindus, the Ahura-Mazda of the Zoroastrians, the Buddha of the Buddhists, the Jehovah of the Jews, the Father in Heaven of the Christians, give strength to you to carry out your noble idea! The star arose in the East; it travelled steadily towards the West, sometimes dimmed and sometimes effulgent, till it made a circuit of the world; and now it is again rising on the very horizon of the East, the borders of the Sanpo,* a thousandfold more effulgent than it ever was before.
Hail, Columbia, motherland of liberty! It has been given to thee, who never dipped her hand in her neighbour’s blood, who never found out that the shortest way of becoming rich was by robbing one’s neighbours, it has been given to thee to march at the vanguard of civilisation with the flag of harmony.
Following was a speech given by Swami Vivekananda on 26th September, 1893 in America
I am not a Buddhist, as you have heard, and yet I am. If China, or Japan, or Ceylon follow the teachings of the Great Master, India worships him as God incarnate on earth. You have just now heard that I am going to criticise Buddhism, but by that I wish you to understand only this. Far be it from me to criticise him whom I worship as God incarnate on earth. But our views about Buddha are that he was not understood properly by his disciples. The relation between Hinduism (by Hinduism, I mean the religion of the Vedas) and what is called Buddhism at the present day is nearly the same as between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus Christ was a Jew, and Shâkya Muni was a Hindu. The Jews rejected Jesus Christ, nay, crucified him, and the Hindus have accepted Shâkya Muni as God and worship him. But the real difference that we Hindus want to show between modern Buddhism and what we should understand as the teachings of Lord Buddha lies principally in this: Shâkya Muni came to preach nothing new. He also, like Jesus, came to fulfil and not to destroy. Only, in the case of Jesus, it was the old people, the Jews, who did not understand him, while in the case of Buddha, it was his own followers who did not realise the import of his teachings. As the Jew did not understand the fulfilment of the Old Testament, so the Buddhist did not understand the fulfilment of the truths of the Hindu religion. Again, I repeat, Shâkya Muni came not to destroy, but he was the fulfilment, the logical conclusion, the logical development of the religion of the Hindus.
The religion of the Hindus is divided into two parts: the ceremonial and the spiritual. The spiritual portion is specially studied by the monks.
In that there is no caste. A man from the highest caste and a man from the lowest may become a monk in India, and the two castes become equal. In religion there is no caste; caste is simply a social institution. Shâkya Muni himself was a monk, and it was his glory that he had the large-heartedness to bring out the truths from the hidden Vedas and through them broadcast all over the world. He was the first being in the world who brought missionarising into practice — nay, he was the first to conceive the idea of proselytising.
The great glory of the Master lay in his wonderful sympathy for everybody, especially for the ignorant and the poor. Some of his disciples were Brahmins. When Buddha was teaching, Sanskrit was no more the spoken language in India. It was then only in the books of the learned. Some of Buddha's Brahmins disciples wanted to translate his teachings into Sanskrit, but he distinctly told them, "I am for the poor, for the people; let me speak in the tongue of the people." And so to this day the great bulk of his teachings are in the vernacular of that day in India.
Whatever may be the position of philosophy, whatever may be the position of metaphysics, so long as there is such a thing as death in the world, so long as there is such a thing as weakness in the human heart, so long as there is a cry going out of the heart of man in his very weakness, there shall be a faith in God.
On the philosophic side the disciples of the Great Master dashed themselves against the eternal rocks of the Vedas and could not crush them, and on the other side they took away from the nation that eternal God to which every one, man or woman, clings so fondly. And the result was that Buddhism had to die a natural death in India. At the present day there is not one who calls oneself a Buddhist in India, the land of its birth.
But at the same time, Brahminism lost something — that reforming zeal, that wonderful sympathy and charity for everybody, that wonderful heaven which Buddhism had brought to the masses and which had rendered Indian society so great that a Greek historian who wrote about India of that time was led to say that no Hindu was known to tell an untruth and no Hindu woman was known to be unchaste.
Hinduism cannot live without Buddhism, nor Buddhism without Hinduism. Then realise what the separation has shown to us, that the Buddhists cannot stand without the brain and philosophy of the Brahmins, nor the Brahmin without the heart of the Buddhist. This separation between the Buddhists and the Brahmins is the cause of the downfall of India. That is why India is populated by three hundred millions of beggars, and that is why India has been the slave of conquerors for the last thousand years. Let us then join the wonderful intellect of the Brahmins with the heart, the noble soul, the wonderful humanising power of the Great Master.
Given below was Swami Vivekananda's address at the final session of Chicago world parliament of religions on 27th September, 1893
The World's Parliament of Religions has become an accomplished fact, and the merciful Father has helped those who laboured to bring it into existence, and crowned with success their most unselfish labour.
My thanks to those noble souls whose large hearts and love of truth first dreamed this wonderful dream and then realised it. My thanks to the shower of liberal sentiments that has overflowed this platform. My thanks to his enlightened audience for their uniform kindness to me and for their appreciation of every thought that tends to smooth the friction of religions. A few jarring notes were heard from time to time in this harmony. My special thanks to them, for they have, by their striking contrast, made general harmony the sweeter.
Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if any one here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, “Brother, yours is an impossible hope.” Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.
The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth; or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant, it develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.
Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.
If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written, in spite of resistance: "Help and not Fight," "Assimilation and not Destruction," "Harmony and Peace and not Dissension."
Karma in its effect on character (A talk by Vivekananda)
The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit Kri, to do; all action is Karma. Technically, this word also means the effects of actions. In connection with metaphysics, it sometimes means the effects, of which our past actions were the causes. But in Karma-Yoga we have simply to do with the word Karma as meaning work. The goal of mankind is knowledge. That is the one ideal placed before us by Eastern philosophy. Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge. Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure is the goal. The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal to strive for. After a time man finds that it is not happiness, but knowledge, towards which he is going, and that both pleasure and pain are great teachers, and that he learns as much from evil as from good. As pleasure and pain pass before his soul they have upon it different pictures, and the result of these combined impressions is what is called man's "character". If you take the character of any man, it really is but the aggregate of tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind; you will find that misery and happiness are equal factors in the formation of that character. Good and evil have an equal share in moulding character, and in some instances misery is a greater teacher than happiness. In studying the great characters the world has produced, I dare say, in the vast majority of cases, it would be found that it was misery that taught more than happiness, it was poverty that taught more than wealth, it was blows that brought out their inner fire more than praise.
Now this knowledge, again, is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man "knows", should, in strict psychological language, be what he "discovers" or "unveils"; what a man "learns" is really what he "discovers", by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.
We say Newton discovered gravitation. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him? It was in his own mind; the time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is simply the suggestion, the occasion, which sets you to study your own mind, but the object of your study is always your own mind. The falling of an apple gave the suggestion to Newton, and he studied his own mind. He rearranged all the previous links of thought in his mind and discovered a new link among them, which we call the law of gravitation. It was not in the apple nor in anything in the centre of the earth.
All knowledge, therefore, secular or spiritual, is in the human mind. In many cases it is not discovered, but remains covered, and when the covering is being slowly taken off, we say, "We are learning," and the advance of knowledge is made by the advance of this process of uncovering. The man from whom this veil is being lifted is the more knowing man, the man upon whom it lies thick is ignorant, and the man from whom it has entirely gone is all-knowing, omniscient. There have been omniscient men, and, I believe, there will be yet; and that there will be myriads of them in the cycles to come. Like fire in a piece of flint, knowledge exists in the mind; suggestion is the friction which brings it out. So with all our feelings and action — our tears and our smiles, our joys and our griefs, our weeping and our laughter, our curses and our blessings, our praises and our blames — every one of these we may find, if we calmly study our own selves, to have been brought out from within ourselves by so many blows. The result is what we are. All these blows taken together are called Karma — work, action. Every mental and physical blow that is given to the soul, by which, as it were, fire is struck from it, and by which its own power and knowledge are discovered, is Karma, this word being used in its widest sense. Thus we are all doing Karma all the time. I am talking to you: that is Karma. You are listening: that is Karma. We breathe: that is Karma. We walk: Karma. Everything we do, physical or mental, is Karma, and it leaves its marks on us.
There are certain works which are, as it were, the aggregate, the sum total, of a large number of smaller works. If we stand near the seashore and hear the waves dashing against the shingle, we think it is such a great noise, and yet we know that one wave is really composed of millions and millions of minute waves. Each one of these is making a noise, and yet we do not catch it; it is only when they become the big aggregate that we hear. Similarly, every pulsation of the heart is work. Certain kinds of work we feel and they become tangible to us; they are, at the same time, the aggregate of a number of small works. If you really want to judge of the character of a man, look not at his great performances. Every fool may become a hero at one time or another. Watch a man do his most common actions; those are indeed the things which will tell you the real character of a great man. Great occasions rouse even the lowest of human beings to some kind of greatness, but he alone is the really great man whose character is great always, the same wherever he be.
Karma in its effect on character is the most tremendous power that man has to deal with. Man is, as it were, a centre, and is attracting all the powers of the universe towards himself, and in this centre is fusing them all and again sending them off in a big current. Such a centre is the real man — the almighty, the omniscient — and he draws the whole universe towards him. Good and bad, misery and happiness, all are running towards him and clinging round him; and out of them he fashions the mighty stream of tendency called character and throws it outwards. As he has the power of drawing in anything, so has he the power of throwing it out.
All the actions that we see in the world, all the movements in human society, all the works that we have around us, are simply the display of thought, the manifestation of the will of man. Machines or instruments, cities, ships, or men-of-war, all these are simply the manifestation of the will of man; and this will is caused by character, and character is manufactured by Karma. As is Karma, so is the manifestation of the will. The men of mighty will the world has produced have all been tremendous workers — gigantic souls, with wills powerful enough to overturn worlds, wills they got by persistent work, through ages, and ages. Such a gigantic will as that of a Buddha or a Jesus could not be obtained in one life, for we know who their fathers were. It is not known that their fathers ever spoke a word for the good of mankind. Millions and millions of carpenters like Joseph had gone; millions are still living. Millions and millions of petty kings like Buddha's father had been in the world. If it was only a case of hereditary transmission, how do you account for this petty prince, who was not, perhaps, obeyed by his own servants, producing this son, whom half a world worships? How do you explain the gulf between the carpenter and his son, whom millions of human beings worship as God? It cannot be solved by the theory of heredity. The gigantic will which Buddha and Jesus threw over the world, whence did it come? Whence came this accumulation of power? It must have been there through ages and ages, continually growing bigger and bigger, until it burst on society in a Buddha or a Jesus, even rolling down to the present day.
All this is determined by Karma, work. No one can get anything unless he earns it. This is an eternal law. We may sometimes think it is not so, but in the long run we become convinced of it. A man may struggle all his life for riches; he may cheat thousands, but he finds at last that he did not deserve to become rich, and his life becomes a trouble and a nuisance to him. We may go on accumulating things for our physical enjoyment, but only what we earn is really ours. A fool may buy all the books in the world, and they will be in his library; but he will be able to read only those that he deserves to; and this deserving is produced by Karma. Our Karma determines what we deserve and what we can assimilate. We are responsible for what we are; and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. You will say, “What is the use of learning how to work? Everyone works in some way or other in this world.” But there is such a thing as frittering away our energies. With regard to Karma-Yoga, the Gita says that it is doing work with cleverness and as a science; by knowing how to work, one can obtain the greatest results. You must remember that all work is simply to bring out the power of the mind which is already there, to wake up the soul. The power is inside every man, so is knowing; the different works are like blows to bring them out, to cause these giants to wake up.
Man works with various motives. There cannot be work without motive. Some people want to get fame, and they work for fame. Others want money, and they work for money. Others want to have power, and they work for power. Others want to get to heaven, and they work for the same. Others want to leave a name when they die, as they do in China, where no man gets a title until he is dead; and that is a better way, after all, than with us. When a man does something very good there, they give a title of nobility to his father, who is dead, or to his grandfather. Some people work for that. Some of the followers of certain Mohammedan sects work all their lives to have a big tomb built for them when they die. I know sects among whom, as soon as a child is born, a tomb is prepared for it; that is among them the most important work a man has to do, and the bigger and the finer the tomb, the better off the man is supposed to be. Others work as a penance; do all sorts of wicked things, then erect a temple, or give something to the priests to buy them off and obtain from them a passport to heaven. They think that this kind of beneficence will clear them and they will go scot-free in spite of their sinfulness. Such are some of the various motives for work.
Work for work's sake. There are some who are really the salt of the earth in every country and who work for work's sake, who do not care for name, or fame, or even to go to heaven. They work just because good will come of it. There are others who do good to the poor and help mankind from still higher motives, because they believe in doing good and love good. The motive for name and fame seldom brings immediate results, as a rule; they come to us when we are old and have almost done with life. If a man works without any selfish motive in view, does he not gain anything? Yes, he gains the highest. Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practice it. It is more paying from the point of view of health also. Love, truth, and unselfishness are not merely moral figures of speech, but they form our highest ideal, because in them lies such a manifestation of power. In the first place, a man who can work for five days, or even for five minutes, without any selfish motive whatever, without thinking of future, of heaven, of punishment, or anything of the kind, has in him the capacity to become a powerful moral giant. It is hard to do it, but in the heart of our hearts we know its value, and the good it brings. It is the greatest manifestation of power — this tremendous restraint; self-restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action. A carriage with four horses may rush down a hill unrestrained, or the coachman may curb the horses. Which is the greater manifestation of power, to let them go or to hold them? A cannonball flying through the air goes a long distance and falls. Another is cut short in its flight by striking against a wall, and the impact generates intense heat. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret; they nevertheless want to rule mankind. Even a fool may rule the whole world if he works and waits. Let him wait a few years, restrain that foolish idea of governing; and when that idea is wholly gone, he will be a power in the world. The majority of us cannot see beyond a few years, just as some animals cannot see beyond a few steps. Just a little narrow circle — that is our world. We have not the patience to look beyond, and thus become immoral and wicked. This is our weakness, our powerlessness.
Even the lowest forms of work are not to be despised. Let the man, who knows no better, work for selfish ends, for name and fame; but everyone should always try to get towards higher and higher motives and to understand them. "To work we have the right, but not to the fruits thereof:" Leave the fruits alone. Why care for results? If you wish to help a man, never think what that man's attitude should be towards you. If you want to do a great or a good work, do not trouble to think what the result will be.
There arises a difficult question in this ideal of work. Intense activity is necessary; we must always work. We cannot live a minute without work. What then becomes of rest? Here is one side of the life-struggle — work, in which we are whirled rapidly round. And here is the other — that of calm, retiring renunciation: everything is peaceful around, there is very little of noise and show, only nature with her animals and flowers and mountains. Neither of them is a perfect picture. A man used to solitude, if brought in contact with the surging whirlpool of the world, will be crushed by it; just as the fish that lives in the deep sea water, as soon as it is brought to the surface, breaks into pieces, deprived of the weight of water on it that had kept it together. Can a man who has been used to the turmoil and the rush of life live at ease if he comes to a quiet place? He suffers and perchance may lose his mind. The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert. He has learnt the secret of restraint, he has controlled himself. He goes through the streets of a big city with all its traffic, and his mind is as calm as if he were in a cave, where not a sound could reach him; and he is intensely working all the time. That is the ideal of Karma-Yoga, and if you have attained to that you have really learnt the secret of work.
But we have to begin from the beginning, to take up the works as they come to us and slowly make ourselves more unselfish every day. We must do the work and find out the motive power that prompts us; and, almost without exception, in the first years, we shall find that our motives are always selfish; but gradually this selfishness will melt by persistence, till at last will come the time when we shall be able to do really unselfish work. We may all hope that some day or other, as we struggle through the paths of life, there will come a time when we shall become perfectly unselfish; and the moment we attain to that, all our powers will be concentrated, and the knowledge which is ours will be manifest.
Each is great in his own place (Talks By Vivekananda)
According to the Sânkhya philosophy, nature is composed of three forces called, in Sanskrit, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. These as manifested in the physical world are what we may call equilibrium, activity, and inertness. Tamas is typified as darkness or inactivity; Rajas is activity, expressed as attraction or repulsion; and Sattva is the equilibrium of the two.
In every man there are these three forces. Sometimes Tamas prevails. We become lazy, we cannot move, we are inactive, bound down by certain ideas or by mere dullness. At other times activity prevails, and at still other times that calm balancing of both. Again, in different men, one of these forces is generally predominant. The characteristic of one man is inactivity, dullness and laziness; that of another, activity, power, manifestation of energy; and in still another we find the sweetness, calmness, and gentleness, which are due to the balancing of both action and inaction. So in all creation — in animals, plants, and men — we find the more or less typical manifestation of all these different forces.
Karma-Yoga has specially to deal with these three factors. By teaching what they are and how to employ them, it helps us to do our work better. Human society is a graded organization. We all know about morality, and we all know about duty, but at the same time we find that in different countries the significance of morality varies greatly. What is regarded as moral in one country may in another be considered perfectly immoral. For instance, in one country cousins may marry; in another, it is thought to be very immoral; in one, men may marry their sisters-in-law; in another, it is regarded as immoral; in one country people may marry only once; in another, many times; and so forth. Similarly, in all other departments of morality, we find the standard varies greatly — yet we have the idea that there must be a universal standard of morality.
So it is with duty. The idea of duty varies much among different nations. In one country, if a man does not do certain things, people will say he has acted wrongly; while if he does those very things in another country, people will say that he did not act rightly — and yet we know that there must be some universal idea of duty. In the same way, one class of society thinks that certain things are among its duty, while another class thinks quite the opposite and would be horrified if it had to do those things. Two ways are left open to us — the way of the ignorant, who think that there is only one way to truth and that all the rest are wrong, and the way of the wise, who admit that, according to our mental constitution or the different planes of existence in which we are, duty and morality may vary. The important thing is to know that there are gradations of duty and of morality — that the duty of one state of life, in one set of circumstances, will not and cannot be that of another.
To illustrate: All great teachers have taught, "Resist not evil," that non-resistance is the highest moral ideal. We all know that, if a certain number of us attempted to put that maxim fully into practice, the whole social fabric would fall to pieces, the wicked would take possession of our properties and our lives, and would do whatever they liked with us. Even if only one day of such non-resistance were practiced, it would lead to disaster. Yet, intuitively, in our heart of hearts we feel the truth of the teaching "Resist not evil." This seems to us to be the highest ideal; yet to teach this doctrine only would be equivalent to condemning a vast portion of mankind. Not only so, it would be making men feel that they were always doing wrong, and cause in them scruples of conscience in all their actions; it would weaken them, and that constant self-disapproval would breed more vice than any other weakness would. To the man who has begun to hate himself the gate to degeneration has already opened; and the same is true of a nation.
Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God. Therefore, the only alternative remaining to us is to recognise that duty and morality vary under different circumstances; not that the man who resists evil is doing what is always and in itself wrong, but that in the different circumstances in which he is placed it may become even his duty to resist evil.
In reading the Bhagavad-Gita, many of you in Western countries may have felt astonished at the second chapter, wherein Shri Krishna calls Arjuna a hypocrite and a coward because of his refusal to fight, or offer resistance, on account of his adversaries being his friends and relatives, making the plea that non-resistance was the highest ideal of love. This is a great lesson for us all to learn, that in all matters the two extremes are alike. The extreme positive and the extreme negative are always similar. When the vibrations of light are too slow, we do not see them, nor do we see them when they are too rapid. So with sound; when very low in pitch, we do not hear it; when very high, we do not hear it either. Of like nature is the difference between resistance and non-resistance. One man does not resist because he is weak, lazy, and cannot, not because he will not; the other man knows that he can strike an irresistible blow if he likes; yet he not only does not strike, but blesses his enemies. The one who from weakness resists not commits a sin, and as such cannot receive any benefit from the non-resistance; while the other would commit a sin by offering resistance. Buddha gave up his throne and renounced his position, that was true renunciation; but there cannot be any question of renunciation in the case of a beggar who has nothing to renounce. So we must always be careful about what we really mean when we speak of this non-resistance and ideal love. We must first take care to understand whether we have the power of resistance or not. Then, having the power, if we renounce it and do not resist, we are doing a grand act of love; but if we cannot resist, and yet, at the same time, try to deceive ourselves into the belief that we are actuated by motives of the highest love, we are doing the exact opposite. Arjuna became a coward at the sight of the mighty array against him; his "love" made him forget his duty towards his country and king. That is why Shri Krishna told him that he was a hypocrite: Thou talkest like a wise man, but thy actions betray thee to be a coward; therefore stand up and fight!
Such is the central idea of Karma-Yoga. The Karma-Yogi is the man who understands that the highest ideal is non-resistance, and who also knows that this non-resistance is the highest manifestation of power in actual possession, and also what is called the resisting of evil is but a step on the way towards the manifestation of this highest power, namely, non-resistance. Before reaching this highest ideal, man's duty is to resist evil; let him work, let him fight, let him strike straight from the shoulder. Then only, when he has gained the power to resist, will non-resistance be a virtue.
I once met a man in my country whom I had known before as a very stupid, dull person, who knew nothing and had not the desire to know anything, and was living the life of a brute. He asked me what he should do to know God, how he was to get free. "Can you tell a lie?" I asked him. "No," he replied. "Then you must learn to do so. It is better to tell a lie than to be a brute, or a log of wood. You are inactive; you have not certainly reached the highest state, which is beyond all actions, calm and serene; you are too dull even to do something wicked." That was an extreme case, of course, and I was joking with him; but what I meant was that a man must be active in order to pass through activity to perfect calmness.
Inactivity should be avoided by all means. Activity always means resistance. Resist all evils, mental and physical; and when you have succeeded in resisting, then will calmness come. It is very easy to say, "Hate nobody, resist not evil," but we know what that kind of thing generally means in practice. When the eyes of society are turned towards us, we may make a show of non-resistance, but in our hearts it is canker all the time. We feel the utter want of the calm of non-resistance; we feel that it would be better for us to resist. If you desire wealth, and know at the same time that the whole world regards him who aims at wealth as a very wicked man, you, perhaps, will not dare to plunge into the struggle for wealth, yet your mind will be running day and night after money. This is hypocrisy and will serve no purpose. Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfil your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but until you have fulfilled this desire, until you have passed through that activity, it is impossible for you to come to the state of calmness, serenity, and self-surrender. These ideas of serenity and renunciation have been preached for thousands of years; everybody has heard of them from childhood, and yet we see very few in the world who have really reached that stage. I do not know if I have seen twenty persons in my life who are really calm and non-resisting, and I have travelled over half the world.
Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he can never hope to accomplish. For instance, we take a child and at once give him the task of walking twenty miles. Either the little one dies, or one in a thousand crawls the twenty miles, to reach the end exhausted and half-dead. That is like what we generally try to do with the world. All the men and women, in any society, are not of the same mind, capacity, or of the same power to do things; they must have different ideals, and we have no right to sneer at any ideal. Let every one do the best he can for realising his own ideal. Nor is it right that I should be judged by your standard or you by mine. The apple tree should not be judged by the standard of the oak, nor the oak by that of the apple. To judge the apple tree you must take the apple standard, and for the oak, its own standard.
Unity in variety is the plan of creation. However men and women may vary individually, there is unity in the background. The different individual characters and classes of men and women are natural variations in creation. Hence, we ought not to judge them by the same standard or put the same ideal before them. Such a course creates only an unnatural struggle, and the result is that man begins to hate himself and is hindered from becoming religious and good. Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest ideal, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth.
In the Hindu system of morality we find that this fact has been recognised from very ancient times; and in their scriptures and books on ethics different rules are laid down for the different classes of men — the householder, the Sannyâsin (the man who has renounced the world), and the student.
The life of every individual, according to the Hindu scriptures, has its peculiar duties apart from what belongs in common to universal humanity. The Hindu begins life as a student; then he marries and becomes a householder; in old age he retires; and lastly he gives up the world and becomes a Sannyasin. To each of these stages of life certain duties are attached. No one of these stages is intrinsically superior to another. The life of the married man is quite as great as that of the celibate who has devoted himself to religious work. The scavenger in the street is quite as great and glorious as the king on his throne. Take him off his throne, make him do the work of the scavenger, and see how he fares. Take up the scavenger and see how he will rule. It is useless to say that the man who lives out of the world is a greater man than he who lives in the world; it is much more difficult to live in the world and worship God than to give it up and live a free and easy life. The four stages of life in India have in later times been reduced to two — that of the householder and of the monk. The householder marries and carries on his duties as a citizen, and the duty of the other is to devote his energies wholly to religion, to preach and to worship God. I shall read to you a few passages from the Mahâ-Nirvâna-Tantra, which treats of this subject, and you will see that it is a very difficult task for a man to be a householder, and perform all his duties perfectly:
The householder should be devoted to God; the knowledge of God should be his goal of life. Yet he must work constantly, perform all his duties; he must give up the fruits of his actions to God.
It is the most difficult thing in this world to work and not care for the result, to help a man and never think that he ought to be grateful, to do some good work and at the same time never look to see whether it brings you name or fame, or nothing at all. Even the most arrant coward becomes brave when the world praises him. A fool can do heroic deeds when the approbation of society is upon him, but for a man to constantly do good without caring for the approbation of his fellow men is indeed the highest sacrifice man can perform. The great duty of the householder is to earn a living, but he must take care that he does not do it by telling lies, or by cheating, or by robbing others; and he must remember that his life is for the service of God, and the poor.
Knowing that mother and father are the visible representatives of God, the householder, always and by all means, must please them. If the mother is pleased, and the father, God is pleased with the man. That child is really a good child who never speaks harsh words to his parents.
Before parents one must not utter jokes, must not show restlessness, must not show anger or temper. Before mother or father, a child must bow down low, and stand up in their presence, and must not take a seat until they order him to sit.
If the householder has food and drink and clothes without first seeing that his mother and his father, his children, his wife, and the poor, are supplied, he is committing a sin. The mother and the father are the causes of this body; so a man must undergo a thousand troubles in order to do good to them.
Even so is his duty to his wife. No man should scold his wife, and he must always maintain her as if she were his own mother. And even when he is in the greatest difficulties and troubles, he must not show anger to his wife.
He who thinks of another woman besides his wife, if he touches her even with his mind — that man goes to dark hell.
Before women he must not talk improper language, and never brag of his powers. He must not say, “I have done this, and I have done that.”
The householder must always please his wife with money, clothes, love, faith, and words like nectar, and never do anything to disturb her. That man who has succeeded in getting the love of a chaste wife has succeeded in his religion and has all the virtues.
The following are duties towards children:
A son should be lovingly reared up to his fourth year; he should be educated till he is sixteen. When he is twenty years of age he should be employed in some work; he should then be treated affectionately by his father as his equal. Exactly in the same manner the daughter should be brought up, and should be educated with the greatest care. And when she marries, the father ought to give her jewels and wealth.
Then the duty of the man is towards his brothers and sisters, and towards the children of his brothers and sisters, if they are poor, and towards his other relatives, his friends and his servants. Then his duties are towards the people of the same village, and the poor, and any one that comes to him for help. Having sufficient means, if the householder does not take care to give to his relatives and to the poor, know him to be only a brute; he is not a human being.
Excessive attachment to food, clothes, and the tending of the body, and dressing of the hair should be avoided. The householder must be pure in heart and clean in body, always active and always ready for work.
To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit down in a corner and weep, and talk nonsense about non-resistance. If he does not show himself a hero to his enemies he has not done his duty. And to his friends and relatives he must be as gentle as a lamb.
It is the duty of the householder not to pay reverence to the wicked; because, if he reverences the wicked people of the world, he patronizes wickedness; and it will be a great mistake if he disregards those who are worthy of respect, the good people. He must not be gushing in his friendship; he must not go out of the way making friends everywhere; he must watch the actions of the men he wants to make friends with, and their dealings with other men, reason upon them, and then make friends.
These three things he must not talk of. He must not talk in public of his own fame; he must not preach his own name or his own powers; he must not talk of his wealth, or of anything that has been told to him privately.
A man must not say he is poor, or that he is wealthy — he must not brag of his wealth. Let him keep his own counsel; this is his religious duty. This is not mere worldly wisdom; if a man does not do so, he may be held to be immoral.
The householder is the basis, the prop, of the whole society. He is the principal earner. The poor, the weak, the children and the women who do not work — all live upon the householder; so there must be certain duties that he has to perform, and these duties must make him feel strong to perform them, and not make him think that he is doing things beneath his ideal. Therefore, if he has done something weak, or has made some mistake, he must not say so in public; and if he is engaged in some enterprise and knows he is sure to fail in it, he must not speak of it. Such self-exposure is not only uncalled for, but also unnerves the man and makes him unfit for the performance of his legitimate duties in life. At the same time, he must struggle hard to acquire these things — firstly, knowledge, and secondly, wealth. It is his duty, and if he does not do his duty, he is nobody. A householder who does not struggle to get wealth is immoral. If he is lazy and content to lead an idle life, he is immoral, because upon him depend hundreds. If he gets riches, hundreds of others will be thereby supported.
If there were not in this city hundreds who had striven to become rich, and who had acquired wealth, where would all this civilization, and these alms-houses and great houses be?
Going after wealth in such a case is not bad, because that wealth is for distribution. The householder is the centre of life and society. It is a worship for him to acquire and spend wealth nobly, for the householder who struggles to become rich by good means and for good purposes is doing practically the same thing for the attainment of salvation as the anchorite does in his cell when he is praying; for in them we see only the different aspects of the same virtue of self-surrender and self-sacrifice prompted by the feeling of devotion to God and to all that is His.
He must struggle to acquire a good name by all means. He must not gamble, he must not move in the company of the wicked, he must not tell lies, and must not be the cause of trouble to others.
Often people enter into things they have not the means to accomplish, with the result that they cheat others to attain their own ends. Then there is in all things the time factor to be taken into consideration; what at one time might be a failure, would perhaps at another time be a very great success.
The householder must speak the truth, and speak gently, using words which people like, which will do good to others; nor should he talk of the business of other men.
The householder by digging tanks, by planting trees on the roadsides, by establishing rest-houses for men and animals, by making roads and building bridges, goes towards the same goal as the greatest Yogi.
This is one part of the doctrine of Karma-Yoga — activity, the duty of the householder. There is a passage later on, where it says that "if the householder dies in battle, fighting for his country or his religion, he comes to the same goal as the Yogi by meditation," showing thereby that what is duty for one is not duty for another. At the same time, it does not say that this duty is lowering and the other elevating. Each duty has its own place, and according to the circumstances in which we are placed, we must perform our duties.
One idea comes out of all this — the condemnation of all weakness. This is a particular idea in all our teachings which I like, either in philosophy, or in religion, or in work. If you read the Vedas, you will find this word always repeated — fearlessness — fear nothing. Fear is a sign of weakness. A man must go about his duties without taking notice of the sneers and the ridicule of the world.
If a man retires from the world to worship God, he must not think that those who live in the world and work for the good of the world are not worshipping God: neither must those who live in the world, for wife and children, think that those who give up the world are low vagabonds. Each is great in his own place. This thought I will illustrate by a story.
A certain king used to inquire of all the Sannyasins that came to his country, "Which is the greater man — he who gives up the world and becomes a Sannyasin, or he who lives in the world and performs his duties as a house holder?" Many wise men sought to solve the problem. Some asserted that the Sannyasin was the greater, upon which the king demanded that they should prove their assertion. When they could not, he ordered them to marry and become householders. Then others came and said, "The householder who performs his duties is the greater man." Of them, too, the king demanded proofs. When they could not give them, he made them also settle down as householders.
At last there came a young Sannyasin, and the king similarly inquired of him also. He answered, "Each, O king, is equally great in his place." "Prove this to me," asked the king. "I will prove it to you," said the Sannyasin, "but you must first come and live as I do for a few days, that I may be able to prove to you what I say." The king consented and followed the Sannyasin out of his own territory and passed through many other countries until they came to a great kingdom. In the capital of that kingdom a great ceremony was going on. The king and the Sannyasin heard the noise of drums and music, and heard also the criers; the people were assembled in the streets in gala dress, and a great proclamation was being made. The king and the Sannyasin stood there to see what was going on. The crier was proclaiming loudly that the princess, daughter of the king of that country, was about to choose a husband from among those assembled before her.
It was an old custom in India for princesses to choose husbands in this way. Each princess had certain ideas of the sort of man she wanted for a husband. Some would have the handsomest man, others would have only the most learned, others again the richest, and so on. All the princes of the neighbourhood put on their bravest attire and presented themselves before her. Sometimes they too had their own criers to enumerate their advantages and the reasons why they hoped the princess would choose them. The princess was taken round on a throne, in the most splendid array, and looked at and heard about them. If she was not pleased with what she saw and heard, she said to her bearers, "Move on," and no more notice was taken of the rejected suitors. If, however, the princess was pleased with any one of them, she threw a garland of flowers over him and he became her husband.
The princess of the country to which our king and the Sannyasin had come was having one of these interesting ceremonies. She was the most beautiful princess in the world, and the husband of the princess would be ruler of the kingdom after her father's death. The idea of this princess was to marry the handsomest man, but she could not find the right one to please her. Several times these meetings had taken place, but the princess could not select a husband. This meeting was the most splendid of all; more people than ever had come to it. The princess came in on a throne, and the bearers carried her from place to place. She did not seem to care for any one, and every one became disappointed that this meeting also was going to be a failure. Just then came a young man, a Sannyasin, handsome as if the sun had come down to the earth, and stood in one corner of the assembly, watching what was going on. The throne with the princess came near him, and as soon as she saw the beautiful Sannyasin, she stopped and threw the garland over him. The young Sannyasin seized the garland and threw it off, exclaiming, "What nonsense is this? I am a Sannyasin. What is marriage to me?" The king of that country thought that perhaps this man was poor and so dared not marry the princess, and said to him, "With my daughter goes half my kingdom now, and the whole kingdom after my death!" and put the garland again on the Sannyasin. The young man threw it off once more, saying, "Nonsense! I do not want to marry," and walked quickly away from the assembly.
Now the princess had fallen so much in love with this young man that she said, "I must marry this man or I shall die"; and she went after him to bring him back. Then our other Sannyasin, who had brought the king there, said to him, "King, let us follow this pair"; so they walked after them, but at a good distance behind. The young Sannyasin who had refused to marry the princess walked out into the country for several miles. When he came to a forest and entered into it, the princess followed him, and the other two followed them. Now this young Sannyasin was well acquainted with that forest and knew all the intricate paths in it. He suddenly passed into one of these and disappeared, and the princess could not discover him. After trying for a long time to find him she sat down under a tree and began to weep, for she did not know the way out. Then our king and the other Sannyasin came up to her and said, "Do not weep; we will show you the way out of this forest, but it is too dark for us to find it now. Here is a big tree; let us rest under it, and in the morning we will go early and show you the road."
Now a little bird and his wife and their three little ones lived on that tree, in a nest. This little bird looked down and saw the three people under the tree and said to his wife, "My dear, what shall we do? Here are some guests in the house, and it is winter, and we have no fire." So he flew away and got a bit of burning firewood in his beak and dropped it before the guests, to which they added fuel and made a blazing fire. But the little bird was not satisfied. He said again to his wife, "My dear, what shall we do? There is nothing to give these people to eat, and they are hungry. We are householders; it is our duty to feed any one who comes to the house. I must do what I can, I will give them my body." So he plunged into the midst of the fire and perished. The guests saw him falling and tried to save him, but he was too quick for them.
The little bird's wife saw what her husband did, and she said, "Here are three persons and only one little bird for them to eat. It is not enough; it is my duty as a wife not to let my husband's effort go in vain; let them have my body also." Then she fell into the fire and was burned to death.
Then the three baby-birds, when they saw what was done and that there was still not enough food for the three guests, said, "Our parents have done what they could and still it is not enough. It is our duty to carry on the work of our parents; let our bodies go too." And they all dashed down into the fire also.
Amazed at what they saw, the three people could not of course eat these birds. They passed the night without food, and in the morning the king and the Sannyasin showed the princess the way, and she went back to her father.
Then the Sannyasin said to the king, "King, you have seen that each is great in his own place. If you want to live in the world, live like those birds, ready at any moment to sacrifice yourself for others. If you want to renounce the world, be like that young man to whom the most beautiful woman and a kingdom were as nothing. If you want to be a householder, hold your life a sacrifice for the welfare of others; and if you choose the life of renunciation, do not even look at beauty and money and power. Each is great in his own place, but the duty of the one is not the duty of the other
After his matriculation, Narendra went to college. He was rarely absent from social parties. He was the "soul of social circles" and no gathering was deemed complete without his presence.
One day, his neighbour received a surprise visit from the saint of Dakshineshwar, Sri Ramakrishna. Narendra was also invited to sing devotional songs. As he sang, he sent thrill after thrill through Sri Ramakrishna until the saint fell into a state of ecstasy. When he became normal again, he made Narendra sit beside him and enquired lovingly of the boy. With time their friendship grew.
The death of his father forced Narendra to find work and support the family. During these years of great struggle, his sheet anchor was his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna. Narendra yearned intensely for God and began to plague the Master for realisation.
Narendra, now known as Swami Vivekananda, founded an Ashram near Calcutta, in order to organise better the Master's mission. This was the beginning of the Ramakrishna Mission.
From 1888 to 1890 Swami Vivekananda travelled widely. He went on a pilgrimage all over the country, studying the conditions of the people. Wherever he went, his magnetic personality created a great impression.
In 1893, Swami Vivekananda went to America to attend the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. His powerful speech at the opening session of the Parliament brought him instant fame and acclaimed him as a great orator and the most ideal interpreter of India's wisdom. He instantly became very popular in America.
Swami Vivekananda's powerful personality and his passionate call of service of the poor, is still influencing people all over India and the world.
Swami Vivekananda arrived in America penniless and depending only on God's Grace. After the Parliament he began to receive the homage and hospitality of all America. He lectured at all the important centres. As a true Sannyasin he refused to sell religion for the sake of amassing money. He preached the gospel of unity of faiths and scattered the seeds of purity, knowledge and faith. After his stay of two years in America he toured England and Europe for three months.
The tremendous ovation he received on his return to India in no way took his mind away from his mission of bringing religion to the doors of the poorest. His aim was to awaken the masses by reviving Vedic religion, and to clean it of the dross and impurity that had clung to it for so many centuries.
In 1902 Swami Vivekananda entered Mahasamadhi. Six years of discipleship under Sri Ramakrishna had taken him to the realms of God-vision. Seven years of travelling in India had broadened his outlook on life. Nine years of a national and international career were all that were left for him; yet, how filled with glorious work those nine years were!
Swami Vivekananda's gospel was one of hope, faith and strength. He never succumbed to despair, for he knew that India was capable of expansion and growth. His clarion call to the nation was: "Awake, arise, and stop not till the goal is reached."
Speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 11th September, 1893
Sisters and Brothers of America,
It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.
My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”
The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilisation and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.
Speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 15th September, 1893
I will tell you a little story. You have heard the eloquent speaker who has just finished say, "Let us cease from abusing each other," and he was very sorry that there should be always so much variance.
But I think I should tell you a story which would illustrate the cause of this variance. A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course the evolutionists were not there then to tell us whether the frog lost its eyes or not, but, for our story's sake, we must take it for granted that it had its eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our modern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.
"Where are you from?"
"I am from the sea."
"The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well?" and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other.
"My friend," said the frog of the sea, "how do you compare the sea with your little well?”
Then the frog took another leap and asked, "Is your sea so big?"
"What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!"
"Well, then," said the frog of the well, "nothing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so turn him out."
That has been the difficulty all the while.
I am a Hindu. I am sitting in my own little well and thinking that the whole world is my little well. The Christian sits in his little well and thinks the whole world is his well. The Mohammedan sits in his little well and thinks that is the whole world. I have to thank you of America for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of this little world of ours, and hope that, in the future, the Lord will help you to accomplish your purpose.
A speech given by Sri Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago Parliament of Religions on 19th September, 1893
Three religions now stand in the world which have come down to us from time prehistoric — Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. They have all received tremendous shocks and all of them prove by their survival their internal strength. But while Judaism failed to absorb Christianity and was driven out of its place of birth by its all-conquering daughter, and a handful of Parsees is all that remains to tell the tale of their grand religion, sect after sect arose in India and seemed to shake the religion of the Vedas to its very foundations, but like the waters of the seashore in a tremendous earthquake it receded only for a while, only to return in an all-absorbing flood, a thousand times more vigorous, and when the tumult of the rush was over, these sects were all sucked in, absorbed, and assimilated into the immense body of the mother faith.
From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multifarious mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists, and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindu's religion.
Where then, the question arises, where is the common centre to which all these widely diverging radii converge? Where is the common basis upon which all these seemingly hopeless contradictions rest? And this is the question I shall attempt to answer.
The Hindus have received their religion through revelation, the Vedas. They hold that the Vedas are without beginning and without end. It may sound ludicrous to this audience, how a book can be without beginning or end. But by the Vedas no books are meant. They mean the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons in different times. Just as the law of gravitation existed before its discovery, and would exist if all humanity forgot it, so is it with the laws that govern the spiritual world. The moral, ethical, and spiritual relations between soul and soul and between individual spirits and the Father of all spirits, were there before their discovery, and would remain even if we forgot them.
The discoverers of these laws are called Rishis, and we honour them as perfected beings. I am glad to tell this audience that some of the very greatest of them were women. Here it may be said that these laws as laws may be without end, but they must have had a beginning. The Vedas teach us that creation is without beginning or end. Science is said to have proved that the sum total of cosmic energy is always the same. Then, if there was a time when nothing existed, where was all this manifested energy? Some say it was in a potential form in God. In that case God is sometimes potential and sometimes kinetic, which would make Him mutable. Everything mutable is a compound, and everything compound must undergo that change which is called destruction. So God would die, which is absurd. Therefore there never was a time when there was no creation.
If I may be allowed to use a simile, creation and creator are two lines, without beginning and without end, running parallel to each other. God is the ever active providence, by whose power systems after systems are being evolved out of chaos, made to run for a time and again destroyed. This is what the Brâhmin boy repeats every day: "The sun and the moon, the Lord created like the suns and moons of previous cycles." And this agrees with modern science.
Here I stand and if I shut my eyes, and try to conceive my existence, "I", "I", "I", what is the idea before me? The idea of a body. Am I, then, nothing but a combination of material substances? The Vedas declare, “No”. I am a spirit living in a body. I am not the body. The body will die, but I shall not die. Here am I in this body; it will fall, but I shall go on living. I had also a past. The soul was not created, for creation means a combination which means a certain future dissolution. If then the soul was created, it must die. Some are born happy, enjoy perfect health, with beautiful body, mental vigour and all wants supplied. Others are born miserable, some are without hands or feet, others again are idiots and only drag on a wretched existence. Why, if they are all created, why does a just and merciful God create one happy and another unhappy, why is He so partial? Nor would it mend matters in the least to hold that those who are miserable in this life will be happy in a future one. Why should a man be miserable even here in the reign of a just and merciful God?
In the second place, the idea of a creator God does not explain the anomaly, but simply expresses the cruel fiat of an all-powerful being. There must have been causes, then, before his birth, to make a man miserable or happy and those were his past actions.
Are not all the tendencies of the mind and the body accounted for by inherited aptitude? Here are two parallel lines of existence — one of the mind, the other of matter. If matter and its transformations answer for all that we have, there is no necessity for supposing the existence of a soul. But it cannot be proved that thought has been evolved out of matter, and if a philosophical monism is inevitable, spiritual monism is certainly logical and no less desirable than a materialistic monism; but neither of these is necessary here.
We cannot deny that bodies acquire certain tendencies from heredity, but those tendencies only mean the physical configuration, through which a peculiar mind alone can act in a peculiar way. There are other tendencies peculiar to a soul caused by its past actions. And a soul with a certain tendency would by the laws of affinity take birth in a body which is the fittest instrument for the display of that tendency. This is in accord with science, for science wants to explain everything by habit, and habit is got through repetitions. So repetitions are necessary to explain the natural habits of a new-born soul. And since they were not obtained in this present life, they must have come down from past lives.
There is another suggestion. Taking all these for granted, how is it that I do not remember anything of my past life ? This can be easily explained. I am now speaking English. It is not my mother tongue, in fact no words of my mother tongue are now present in my consciousness; but let me try to bring them up, and they rush in. That shows that consciousness is only the surface of the mental ocean, and within its depths are stored up all our experiences. Try and struggle, they would come up and you would be conscious even of your past life.
This is direct and demonstrative evidence. Verification is the perfect proof of a theory, and here is the challenge thrown to the world by the Rishis. We have discovered the secret by which the very depths of the ocean of memory can be stirred up — try it and you would get a complete reminiscence of your past life.
So then the Hindu believes that he is a spirit. Him the sword cannot pierce — him the fire cannot burn — him the water cannot melt — him the air cannot dry. The Hindu believes that every soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere, but whose centre is located in the body, and that death means the change of this centre from body to body. Nor is the soul bound by the conditions of matter. In its very essence it is free, unbounded, holy, pure, and perfect. But somehow or other it finds itself tied down to matter, and thinks of itself as matter.
Why should the free, perfect, and pure being be thus under the thraldom of matter, is the next question. How can the perfect soul be deluded into the belief that it is imperfect? We have been told that the Hindus shirk the question and say that no such question can be there. Some thinkers want to answer it by positing one or more quasi-perfect beings, and use big scientific names to fill up the gap. But naming is not explaining. The question remains the same. How can the perfect become the quasi-perfect; how can the pure, the absolute, change even a microscopic particle of its nature? But the Hindu is sincere. He does not want to take shelter under sophistry. He is brave enough to face the question in a manly fashion; and his answer is: “I do not know. I do not know how the perfect being, the soul, came to think of itself as imperfect, as joined to and conditioned by matter." But the fact is a fact for all that. It is a fact in everybody's consciousness that one thinks of oneself as the body. The Hindu does not attempt to explain why one thinks one is the body. The answer that it is the will of God is no explanation. This is nothing more than what the Hindu says, "I do not know."
Well, then, the human soul is eternal and immortal, perfect and infinite, and death means only a change of centre from one body to another. The present is determined by our past actions, and the future by the present. The soul will go on evolving up or reverting back from birth to birth and death to death. But here is another question: Is man a tiny boat in a tempest, raised one moment on the foamy crest of a billow and dashed down into a yawning chasm the next, rolling to and fro at the mercy of good and bad actions — a powerless, helpless wreck in an ever-raging, ever-rushing, uncompromising current of cause and effect; a little moth placed under the wheel of causation which rolls on crushing everything in its way and waits not for the widow's tears or the orphan's cry? The heart sinks at the idea, yet this is the law of Nature. Is there no hope? Is there no escape? — was the cry that went up from the bottom of the heart of despair. It reached the throne of mercy, and words of hope and consolation came down and inspired a Vedic sage, and he stood up before the world and in trumpet voice proclaimed the glad tidings: "Hear, ye children of immortal bliss! even ye that reside in higher spheres! I have found the Ancient One who is beyond all darkness, all delusion: knowing Him alone you shall be saved from death over again." "Children of immortal bliss" — what a sweet, what a hopeful name! Allow me to call you, brethren, by that sweet name — heirs of immortal bliss — yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners. Ye are the Children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. Ye divinities on earth — sinners! It is a sin to call a man so; it is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; ye are not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.
Thus it is that the Vedas proclaim not a dreadful combination of unforgiving laws, not an endless prison of cause and effect, but that at the head of all these laws, in and through every particle of matter and force, stands One "by whose command the wind blows, the fire burns, the clouds rain, and death stalks upon the earth."
And what is His nature?
He is everywhere, the pure and formless One, the Almighty and the All-merciful. "Thou art our father, Thou art our mother, Thou art our beloved friend, Thou art the source of all strength; give us strength. Thou art He that beareth the burdens of the universe; help me bear the little burden of this life." Thus sang the Rishis of the Vedas. And how to worship Him? Through love. "He is to be worshipped as the one beloved, dearer than everything in this and the next life."
This is the doctrine of love declared in the Vedas, and let us see how it is fully developed and taught by Krishna, whom the Hindus believe to have been God incarnate on earth.
He taught that a man ought to live in this world like a lotus leaf, which grows in water but is never moistened by water; so a man ought to live in the world — his heart to God and his hands to work.
It is good to love God for hope of reward in this or the next world, but it is better to love God for love's sake, and the prayer goes: "Lord, I do not want wealth, nor children, nor learning. If it be Thy will, I shall go from birth to birth, but grant me this, that I may love Thee without the hope of reward — love unselfishly for love's sake." One of the disciples of Krishna, the then Emperor of India, was driven from his kingdom by his enemies and had to take shelter with his queen in a forest in the Himalayas, and there one day the queen asked him how it was that he, the most virtuous of men, should suffer so much misery. Yudhishthira answered, "Behold, my queen, the Himalayas, how grand and beautiful they are; I love them. They do not give me anything, but my nature is to love the grand, the beautiful, therefore I love them. Similarly, I love the Lord. He is the source of all beauty, of all sublimity. He is the only object to be loved; my nature is to love Him, and therefore I love. I do not pray for anything; I do not ask for anything. Let Him place me wherever He likes. I must love Him for love's sake. I cannot trade in love."
The Vedas teach that the soul is divine, only held in the bondage of matter; perfection will be reached when this bond will burst, and the word they use for it is therefore, Mukti — freedom, freedom from the bonds of imperfection, freedom from death and misery.
And this bondage can only fall off through the mercy of God, and this mercy comes on the pure. So purity is the condition of His mercy. How does that mercy act? He reveals Himself to the pure heart; the pure and the stainless see God, yea, even in this life; then and then only all the crookedness of the heart is made straight. Then all doubt ceases. He is no more the freak of a terrible law of causation. This is the very centre, the very vital conception of Hinduism. The Hindu does not want to live upon words and theories. If there are existences beyond the ordinary sensuous existence, he wants to come face to face with them. If there is a soul in him which is not matter, if there is an all-merciful universal Soul, he will go to Him direct. He must see Him, and that alone can destroy all doubts. So the best proof a Hindu sage gives about the soul, about God, is: "I have seen the soul; I have seen God." And that is the only condition of perfection. The Hindu religion does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma, but in realising — not in believing, but in being and becoming.
Thus the whole object of their system is by constant struggle to become perfect, to become divine, to reach God and see God, and this reaching God, seeing God, becoming perfect even as the Father in Heaven is perfect, constitutes the religion of the Hindus.
And what becomes of a man when he attains perfection? He lives a life of bliss infinite. He enjoys infinite and perfect bliss, having obtained the only thing in which man ought to have pleasure, namely God, and enjoys the bliss with God.
So far all the Hindus are agreed. This is the common religion of all the sects of India; but, then, perfection is absolute, and the absolute cannot be two or three. It cannot have any qualities. It cannot be an individual. And so when a soul becomes perfect and absolute, it must become one with Brahman, and it would only realise the Lord as the perfection, the reality, of its own nature and existence, the existence absolute, knowledge absolute, and bliss absolute. We have often and often read this called the losing of individuality and becoming a stock or a stone.
“He jests at scars that never felt a wound.”
I tell you it is nothing of the kind. If it is happiness to enjoy the consciousness of this small body, it must be greater happiness to enjoy the consciousness of two bodies, the measure of happiness increasing with the consciousness of an increasing number of bodies, the aim, the ultimate of happiness being reached when it would become a universal consciousness.
Therefore, to gain this infinite universal individuality, this miserable little prison-individuality must go. Then alone can death cease when I am alone with life, then alone can misery cease when I am one with happiness itself, then alone can all errors cease when I am one with knowledge itself; and this is the necessary scientific conclusion. Science has proved to me that physical individuality is a delusion, that really my body is one little continuously changing body in an unbroken ocean of matter; and Advaita (unity) is the necessary conclusion with my other counterpart, soul.
Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all others are but manifestations, and the science of religion become perfect when it would discover Him who is the one life in a universe of death, Him who is the constant basis of an ever-changing world. One who is the only Soul of which all souls are but delusive manifestations. Thus is it, through multiplicity and duality, that the ultimate unity is reached. Religion can go no farther. This is the goal of all science.
All science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light from the latest conclusions of science.
Descend we now from the aspirations of philosophy to the religion of the ignorant. At the very outset, I may tell you that there is no polytheism in India. In every temple, if one stands by and listens, one will find the worshippers applying all the attributes of God, including omnipresence, to the images. It is not polytheism, nor would the name henotheism explain the situation. "The rose called by any other name would smell as sweet." Names are not explanations.
I remember, as a boy, hearing a Christian missionary preach to a crowd in India. Among other sweet things he was telling them was that if he gave a blow to their idol with his stick, what could it do? One of his hearers sharply answered, "If I abuse your God, what can He do?" “You would be punished,” said the preacher, "when you die." "So my idol will punish you when you die," retorted the Hindu.
The tree is known by its fruits. When I have seen amongst them that are called idolaters, men, the like of whom in morality and spirituality and love I have never seen anywhere, I stop and ask myself, "Can sin beget holiness?"
Superstition is a great enemy of man, but bigotry is worse. Why does a Christian go to church? Why is the cross holy? Why is the face turned toward the sky in prayer? Why are there so many images in the Catholic Church? Why are there so many images in the minds of Protestants when they pray? My brethren, we can no more think about anything without a mental image than we can live without breathing. By the law of association, the material image calls up the mental idea and vice versa. This is why the Hindu uses an external symbol when he worships. He will tell you, it helps to keep his mind fixed on the Being to whom he prays. He knows as well as you do that the image is not God, is not omnipresent. After all, how much does omnipresence mean to almost the whole world? It stands merely as a word, a symbol. Has God superficial area? If not, when we repeat that word "omnipresent", we think of the extended sky or of space, that is all.
As we find that somehow or other, by the laws of our mental constitution, we have to associate our ideas of infinity with the image of the blue sky, or of the sea, so we naturally connect our idea of holiness with the image of a church, a mosque, or a cross. The Hindus have associated the idea of holiness, purity, truth, omnipresence, and such other ideas with different images and forms. But with this difference that while some people devote their whole lives to their idol of a church and never rise higher, because with them religion means an intellectual assent to certain doctrines and doing good to their fellows, the whole religion of the Hindu is centred in realisation. Man is to become divine by realising the divine. Idols or temples or churches or books are only the supports, the helps, of his spiritual childhood: but on and on he must progress.
He must not stop anywhere. "External worship, material worship," say the scriptures, "is the lowest stage; struggling to rise high, mental prayer is the next stage, but the highest stage is when the Lord has been realised." Mark, the same earnest man who is kneeling before the idol tells you, "Him the Sun cannot express, nor the moon, nor the stars, the lightning cannot express Him, nor what we speak of as fire; through Him they shine." But he does not abuse any one's idol or call its worship sin. He recognises in it a necessary stage of life. "The child is father of the man." Would it be right for an old man to say that childhood is a sin or youth a sin?
If a man can realise his divine nature with the help of an image, would it be right to call that a sin? Nor even when he has passed that stage, should he call it an error. To the Hindu, man is not travelling from error to truth, but from truth to truth, from lower to higher truth. To him all the religions, from the lowest fetishism to the highest absolutism, mean so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realise the Infinite, each determined by the conditions of its birth and association, and each of these marks a stage of progress; and every soul is a young eagle soaring higher and higher, gathering more and more strength, till it reaches the Glorious Sun.
Unity in variety is the plan of nature, and the Hindu has recognised it. Every other religion lays down certain fixed dogmas, and tries to force society to adopt them. It places before society only one coat which must fit Jack and John and Henry, all alike. If it does not fit John or Henry, he must go without a coat to cover his body. The Hindus have discovered that the absolute can only be realised, or thought of, or stated, through the relative, and the images, crosses, and crescents are simply so many symbols — so many pegs to hang the spiritual ideas on. It is not that this help is necessary for every one, but those that do not need it have no right to say that it is wrong. Nor is it compulsory in Hinduism.
One thing I must tell you. Idolatry in India does not mean anything horrible. It is not the mother of harlots. On the other hand, it is the attempt of undeveloped minds to grasp high spiritual truths. The Hindus have their faults, they sometimes have their exceptions; but mark this, they are always for punishing their own bodies, and never for cutting the throats of their neighbours. If the Hindu fanatic burns himself on the pyre, he never lights the fire of Inquisition. And even this cannot be laid at the door of his religion any more than the burning of witches can be laid at the door of Christianity.
To the Hindu, then, the whole world of religions is only a travelling, a coming up, of different men and women, through various conditions and circumstances, to the same goal. Every religion is only evolving a God out of the material man, and the same God is the inspirer of all of them. Why, then, are there so many contradictions? They are only apparent, says the Hindu. The contradictions come from the same truth adapting itself to the varying circumstances of different natures.
It is the same light coming through glasses of different colours. And these little variations are necessary for purposes of adaptation. But in the heart of everything the same truth reigns. The Lord has declared to the Hindu in His incarnation as Krishna, "I am in every religion as the thread through a string of pearls. Wherever thou seest extraordinary holiness and extraordinary power raising and purifying humanity, know thou that I am there." And what has been the result? I challenge the world to find, throughout the whole system of Sanskrit philosophy, any such expression as that the Hindu alone will be saved and not others. Says Vyasa, "We find perfect men even beyond the pale of our caste and creed." One thing more. How, then, can the Hindu, whose whole fabric of thought centres in God, believe in Buddhism which is agnostic, or in Jainism which is atheistic?
The Buddhists or the Jains do not depend upon God; but the whole force of their religion is directed to the great central truth in every religion, to evolve a God out of man. They have not seen the Father, but they have seen the Son. And he that hath seen the Son hath seen the Father also.
This, brethren, is a short sketch of the religious ideas of the Hindus. The Hindu may have failed to carry out all his plans, but if there is ever to be a universal religion, it must be one which will have no location in place or time; which will be infinite like the God it will preach, and whose sun will shine upon the followers of Krishna and of Christ, on saints and sinners alike; which will not be Brahminic or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan, but the sum total of all these, and still have infinite space for development; which in its catholicity will embrace in its infinite arms, and find a place for, every human being, from the lowest grovelling savage not far removed from the brute, to the highest man towering by the virtues of his head and heart almost above humanity, making society stand in awe of him and doubt his human nature. It will be a religion which will have no place for persecution or intolerance in its polity, which will recognise divinity in every man and woman, and whose whole scope, whose whole force, will be created in aiding humanity to realise its own true, divine nature.
Offer such a religion, and all the nations will follow you. Asoka's council was a council of the Buddhist faith. Akbar's, though more to the purpose, was only a parlour-meeting. It was reserved for America to proclaim to all quarters of the globe that the Lord is in every religion.
May He who is the Brahman of the Hindus, the Ahura-Mazda of the Zoroastrians, the Buddha of the Buddhists, the Jehovah of the Jews, the Father in Heaven of the Christians, give strength to you to carry out your noble idea! The star arose in the East; it travelled steadily towards the West, sometimes dimmed and sometimes effulgent, till it made a circuit of the world; and now it is again rising on the very horizon of the East, the borders of the Sanpo,* a thousandfold more effulgent than it ever was before.
Hail, Columbia, motherland of liberty! It has been given to thee, who never dipped her hand in her neighbour’s blood, who never found out that the shortest way of becoming rich was by robbing one’s neighbours, it has been given to thee to march at the vanguard of civilisation with the flag of harmony.
Following was a speech given by Swami Vivekananda on 26th September, 1893 in America
I am not a Buddhist, as you have heard, and yet I am. If China, or Japan, or Ceylon follow the teachings of the Great Master, India worships him as God incarnate on earth. You have just now heard that I am going to criticise Buddhism, but by that I wish you to understand only this. Far be it from me to criticise him whom I worship as God incarnate on earth. But our views about Buddha are that he was not understood properly by his disciples. The relation between Hinduism (by Hinduism, I mean the religion of the Vedas) and what is called Buddhism at the present day is nearly the same as between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus Christ was a Jew, and Shâkya Muni was a Hindu. The Jews rejected Jesus Christ, nay, crucified him, and the Hindus have accepted Shâkya Muni as God and worship him. But the real difference that we Hindus want to show between modern Buddhism and what we should understand as the teachings of Lord Buddha lies principally in this: Shâkya Muni came to preach nothing new. He also, like Jesus, came to fulfil and not to destroy. Only, in the case of Jesus, it was the old people, the Jews, who did not understand him, while in the case of Buddha, it was his own followers who did not realise the import of his teachings. As the Jew did not understand the fulfilment of the Old Testament, so the Buddhist did not understand the fulfilment of the truths of the Hindu religion. Again, I repeat, Shâkya Muni came not to destroy, but he was the fulfilment, the logical conclusion, the logical development of the religion of the Hindus.
The religion of the Hindus is divided into two parts: the ceremonial and the spiritual. The spiritual portion is specially studied by the monks.
In that there is no caste. A man from the highest caste and a man from the lowest may become a monk in India, and the two castes become equal. In religion there is no caste; caste is simply a social institution. Shâkya Muni himself was a monk, and it was his glory that he had the large-heartedness to bring out the truths from the hidden Vedas and through them broadcast all over the world. He was the first being in the world who brought missionarising into practice — nay, he was the first to conceive the idea of proselytising.
The great glory of the Master lay in his wonderful sympathy for everybody, especially for the ignorant and the poor. Some of his disciples were Brahmins. When Buddha was teaching, Sanskrit was no more the spoken language in India. It was then only in the books of the learned. Some of Buddha's Brahmins disciples wanted to translate his teachings into Sanskrit, but he distinctly told them, "I am for the poor, for the people; let me speak in the tongue of the people." And so to this day the great bulk of his teachings are in the vernacular of that day in India.
Whatever may be the position of philosophy, whatever may be the position of metaphysics, so long as there is such a thing as death in the world, so long as there is such a thing as weakness in the human heart, so long as there is a cry going out of the heart of man in his very weakness, there shall be a faith in God.
On the philosophic side the disciples of the Great Master dashed themselves against the eternal rocks of the Vedas and could not crush them, and on the other side they took away from the nation that eternal God to which every one, man or woman, clings so fondly. And the result was that Buddhism had to die a natural death in India. At the present day there is not one who calls oneself a Buddhist in India, the land of its birth.
But at the same time, Brahminism lost something — that reforming zeal, that wonderful sympathy and charity for everybody, that wonderful heaven which Buddhism had brought to the masses and which had rendered Indian society so great that a Greek historian who wrote about India of that time was led to say that no Hindu was known to tell an untruth and no Hindu woman was known to be unchaste.
Hinduism cannot live without Buddhism, nor Buddhism without Hinduism. Then realise what the separation has shown to us, that the Buddhists cannot stand without the brain and philosophy of the Brahmins, nor the Brahmin without the heart of the Buddhist. This separation between the Buddhists and the Brahmins is the cause of the downfall of India. That is why India is populated by three hundred millions of beggars, and that is why India has been the slave of conquerors for the last thousand years. Let us then join the wonderful intellect of the Brahmins with the heart, the noble soul, the wonderful humanising power of the Great Master.
Given below was Swami Vivekananda's address at the final session of Chicago world parliament of religions on 27th September, 1893
The World's Parliament of Religions has become an accomplished fact, and the merciful Father has helped those who laboured to bring it into existence, and crowned with success their most unselfish labour.
My thanks to those noble souls whose large hearts and love of truth first dreamed this wonderful dream and then realised it. My thanks to the shower of liberal sentiments that has overflowed this platform. My thanks to his enlightened audience for their uniform kindness to me and for their appreciation of every thought that tends to smooth the friction of religions. A few jarring notes were heard from time to time in this harmony. My special thanks to them, for they have, by their striking contrast, made general harmony the sweeter.
Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if any one here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, “Brother, yours is an impossible hope.” Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.
The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth; or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant, it develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.
Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.
If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written, in spite of resistance: "Help and not Fight," "Assimilation and not Destruction," "Harmony and Peace and not Dissension."
Karma in its effect on character (A talk by Vivekananda)
The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit Kri, to do; all action is Karma. Technically, this word also means the effects of actions. In connection with metaphysics, it sometimes means the effects, of which our past actions were the causes. But in Karma-Yoga we have simply to do with the word Karma as meaning work. The goal of mankind is knowledge. That is the one ideal placed before us by Eastern philosophy. Pleasure is not the goal of man, but knowledge. Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure is the goal. The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal to strive for. After a time man finds that it is not happiness, but knowledge, towards which he is going, and that both pleasure and pain are great teachers, and that he learns as much from evil as from good. As pleasure and pain pass before his soul they have upon it different pictures, and the result of these combined impressions is what is called man's "character". If you take the character of any man, it really is but the aggregate of tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind; you will find that misery and happiness are equal factors in the formation of that character. Good and evil have an equal share in moulding character, and in some instances misery is a greater teacher than happiness. In studying the great characters the world has produced, I dare say, in the vast majority of cases, it would be found that it was misery that taught more than happiness, it was poverty that taught more than wealth, it was blows that brought out their inner fire more than praise.
Now this knowledge, again, is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man "knows", should, in strict psychological language, be what he "discovers" or "unveils"; what a man "learns" is really what he "discovers", by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.
We say Newton discovered gravitation. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him? It was in his own mind; the time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is simply the suggestion, the occasion, which sets you to study your own mind, but the object of your study is always your own mind. The falling of an apple gave the suggestion to Newton, and he studied his own mind. He rearranged all the previous links of thought in his mind and discovered a new link among them, which we call the law of gravitation. It was not in the apple nor in anything in the centre of the earth.
All knowledge, therefore, secular or spiritual, is in the human mind. In many cases it is not discovered, but remains covered, and when the covering is being slowly taken off, we say, "We are learning," and the advance of knowledge is made by the advance of this process of uncovering. The man from whom this veil is being lifted is the more knowing man, the man upon whom it lies thick is ignorant, and the man from whom it has entirely gone is all-knowing, omniscient. There have been omniscient men, and, I believe, there will be yet; and that there will be myriads of them in the cycles to come. Like fire in a piece of flint, knowledge exists in the mind; suggestion is the friction which brings it out. So with all our feelings and action — our tears and our smiles, our joys and our griefs, our weeping and our laughter, our curses and our blessings, our praises and our blames — every one of these we may find, if we calmly study our own selves, to have been brought out from within ourselves by so many blows. The result is what we are. All these blows taken together are called Karma — work, action. Every mental and physical blow that is given to the soul, by which, as it were, fire is struck from it, and by which its own power and knowledge are discovered, is Karma, this word being used in its widest sense. Thus we are all doing Karma all the time. I am talking to you: that is Karma. You are listening: that is Karma. We breathe: that is Karma. We walk: Karma. Everything we do, physical or mental, is Karma, and it leaves its marks on us.
There are certain works which are, as it were, the aggregate, the sum total, of a large number of smaller works. If we stand near the seashore and hear the waves dashing against the shingle, we think it is such a great noise, and yet we know that one wave is really composed of millions and millions of minute waves. Each one of these is making a noise, and yet we do not catch it; it is only when they become the big aggregate that we hear. Similarly, every pulsation of the heart is work. Certain kinds of work we feel and they become tangible to us; they are, at the same time, the aggregate of a number of small works. If you really want to judge of the character of a man, look not at his great performances. Every fool may become a hero at one time or another. Watch a man do his most common actions; those are indeed the things which will tell you the real character of a great man. Great occasions rouse even the lowest of human beings to some kind of greatness, but he alone is the really great man whose character is great always, the same wherever he be.
Karma in its effect on character is the most tremendous power that man has to deal with. Man is, as it were, a centre, and is attracting all the powers of the universe towards himself, and in this centre is fusing them all and again sending them off in a big current. Such a centre is the real man — the almighty, the omniscient — and he draws the whole universe towards him. Good and bad, misery and happiness, all are running towards him and clinging round him; and out of them he fashions the mighty stream of tendency called character and throws it outwards. As he has the power of drawing in anything, so has he the power of throwing it out.
All the actions that we see in the world, all the movements in human society, all the works that we have around us, are simply the display of thought, the manifestation of the will of man. Machines or instruments, cities, ships, or men-of-war, all these are simply the manifestation of the will of man; and this will is caused by character, and character is manufactured by Karma. As is Karma, so is the manifestation of the will. The men of mighty will the world has produced have all been tremendous workers — gigantic souls, with wills powerful enough to overturn worlds, wills they got by persistent work, through ages, and ages. Such a gigantic will as that of a Buddha or a Jesus could not be obtained in one life, for we know who their fathers were. It is not known that their fathers ever spoke a word for the good of mankind. Millions and millions of carpenters like Joseph had gone; millions are still living. Millions and millions of petty kings like Buddha's father had been in the world. If it was only a case of hereditary transmission, how do you account for this petty prince, who was not, perhaps, obeyed by his own servants, producing this son, whom half a world worships? How do you explain the gulf between the carpenter and his son, whom millions of human beings worship as God? It cannot be solved by the theory of heredity. The gigantic will which Buddha and Jesus threw over the world, whence did it come? Whence came this accumulation of power? It must have been there through ages and ages, continually growing bigger and bigger, until it burst on society in a Buddha or a Jesus, even rolling down to the present day.
All this is determined by Karma, work. No one can get anything unless he earns it. This is an eternal law. We may sometimes think it is not so, but in the long run we become convinced of it. A man may struggle all his life for riches; he may cheat thousands, but he finds at last that he did not deserve to become rich, and his life becomes a trouble and a nuisance to him. We may go on accumulating things for our physical enjoyment, but only what we earn is really ours. A fool may buy all the books in the world, and they will be in his library; but he will be able to read only those that he deserves to; and this deserving is produced by Karma. Our Karma determines what we deserve and what we can assimilate. We are responsible for what we are; and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. You will say, “What is the use of learning how to work? Everyone works in some way or other in this world.” But there is such a thing as frittering away our energies. With regard to Karma-Yoga, the Gita says that it is doing work with cleverness and as a science; by knowing how to work, one can obtain the greatest results. You must remember that all work is simply to bring out the power of the mind which is already there, to wake up the soul. The power is inside every man, so is knowing; the different works are like blows to bring them out, to cause these giants to wake up.
Man works with various motives. There cannot be work without motive. Some people want to get fame, and they work for fame. Others want money, and they work for money. Others want to have power, and they work for power. Others want to get to heaven, and they work for the same. Others want to leave a name when they die, as they do in China, where no man gets a title until he is dead; and that is a better way, after all, than with us. When a man does something very good there, they give a title of nobility to his father, who is dead, or to his grandfather. Some people work for that. Some of the followers of certain Mohammedan sects work all their lives to have a big tomb built for them when they die. I know sects among whom, as soon as a child is born, a tomb is prepared for it; that is among them the most important work a man has to do, and the bigger and the finer the tomb, the better off the man is supposed to be. Others work as a penance; do all sorts of wicked things, then erect a temple, or give something to the priests to buy them off and obtain from them a passport to heaven. They think that this kind of beneficence will clear them and they will go scot-free in spite of their sinfulness. Such are some of the various motives for work.
Work for work's sake. There are some who are really the salt of the earth in every country and who work for work's sake, who do not care for name, or fame, or even to go to heaven. They work just because good will come of it. There are others who do good to the poor and help mankind from still higher motives, because they believe in doing good and love good. The motive for name and fame seldom brings immediate results, as a rule; they come to us when we are old and have almost done with life. If a man works without any selfish motive in view, does he not gain anything? Yes, he gains the highest. Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practice it. It is more paying from the point of view of health also. Love, truth, and unselfishness are not merely moral figures of speech, but they form our highest ideal, because in them lies such a manifestation of power. In the first place, a man who can work for five days, or even for five minutes, without any selfish motive whatever, without thinking of future, of heaven, of punishment, or anything of the kind, has in him the capacity to become a powerful moral giant. It is hard to do it, but in the heart of our hearts we know its value, and the good it brings. It is the greatest manifestation of power — this tremendous restraint; self-restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action. A carriage with four horses may rush down a hill unrestrained, or the coachman may curb the horses. Which is the greater manifestation of power, to let them go or to hold them? A cannonball flying through the air goes a long distance and falls. Another is cut short in its flight by striking against a wall, and the impact generates intense heat. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret; they nevertheless want to rule mankind. Even a fool may rule the whole world if he works and waits. Let him wait a few years, restrain that foolish idea of governing; and when that idea is wholly gone, he will be a power in the world. The majority of us cannot see beyond a few years, just as some animals cannot see beyond a few steps. Just a little narrow circle — that is our world. We have not the patience to look beyond, and thus become immoral and wicked. This is our weakness, our powerlessness.
Even the lowest forms of work are not to be despised. Let the man, who knows no better, work for selfish ends, for name and fame; but everyone should always try to get towards higher and higher motives and to understand them. "To work we have the right, but not to the fruits thereof:" Leave the fruits alone. Why care for results? If you wish to help a man, never think what that man's attitude should be towards you. If you want to do a great or a good work, do not trouble to think what the result will be.
There arises a difficult question in this ideal of work. Intense activity is necessary; we must always work. We cannot live a minute without work. What then becomes of rest? Here is one side of the life-struggle — work, in which we are whirled rapidly round. And here is the other — that of calm, retiring renunciation: everything is peaceful around, there is very little of noise and show, only nature with her animals and flowers and mountains. Neither of them is a perfect picture. A man used to solitude, if brought in contact with the surging whirlpool of the world, will be crushed by it; just as the fish that lives in the deep sea water, as soon as it is brought to the surface, breaks into pieces, deprived of the weight of water on it that had kept it together. Can a man who has been used to the turmoil and the rush of life live at ease if he comes to a quiet place? He suffers and perchance may lose his mind. The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert. He has learnt the secret of restraint, he has controlled himself. He goes through the streets of a big city with all its traffic, and his mind is as calm as if he were in a cave, where not a sound could reach him; and he is intensely working all the time. That is the ideal of Karma-Yoga, and if you have attained to that you have really learnt the secret of work.
But we have to begin from the beginning, to take up the works as they come to us and slowly make ourselves more unselfish every day. We must do the work and find out the motive power that prompts us; and, almost without exception, in the first years, we shall find that our motives are always selfish; but gradually this selfishness will melt by persistence, till at last will come the time when we shall be able to do really unselfish work. We may all hope that some day or other, as we struggle through the paths of life, there will come a time when we shall become perfectly unselfish; and the moment we attain to that, all our powers will be concentrated, and the knowledge which is ours will be manifest.
Each is great in his own place (Talks By Vivekananda)
According to the Sânkhya philosophy, nature is composed of three forces called, in Sanskrit, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. These as manifested in the physical world are what we may call equilibrium, activity, and inertness. Tamas is typified as darkness or inactivity; Rajas is activity, expressed as attraction or repulsion; and Sattva is the equilibrium of the two.
In every man there are these three forces. Sometimes Tamas prevails. We become lazy, we cannot move, we are inactive, bound down by certain ideas or by mere dullness. At other times activity prevails, and at still other times that calm balancing of both. Again, in different men, one of these forces is generally predominant. The characteristic of one man is inactivity, dullness and laziness; that of another, activity, power, manifestation of energy; and in still another we find the sweetness, calmness, and gentleness, which are due to the balancing of both action and inaction. So in all creation — in animals, plants, and men — we find the more or less typical manifestation of all these different forces.
Karma-Yoga has specially to deal with these three factors. By teaching what they are and how to employ them, it helps us to do our work better. Human society is a graded organization. We all know about morality, and we all know about duty, but at the same time we find that in different countries the significance of morality varies greatly. What is regarded as moral in one country may in another be considered perfectly immoral. For instance, in one country cousins may marry; in another, it is thought to be very immoral; in one, men may marry their sisters-in-law; in another, it is regarded as immoral; in one country people may marry only once; in another, many times; and so forth. Similarly, in all other departments of morality, we find the standard varies greatly — yet we have the idea that there must be a universal standard of morality.
So it is with duty. The idea of duty varies much among different nations. In one country, if a man does not do certain things, people will say he has acted wrongly; while if he does those very things in another country, people will say that he did not act rightly — and yet we know that there must be some universal idea of duty. In the same way, one class of society thinks that certain things are among its duty, while another class thinks quite the opposite and would be horrified if it had to do those things. Two ways are left open to us — the way of the ignorant, who think that there is only one way to truth and that all the rest are wrong, and the way of the wise, who admit that, according to our mental constitution or the different planes of existence in which we are, duty and morality may vary. The important thing is to know that there are gradations of duty and of morality — that the duty of one state of life, in one set of circumstances, will not and cannot be that of another.
To illustrate: All great teachers have taught, "Resist not evil," that non-resistance is the highest moral ideal. We all know that, if a certain number of us attempted to put that maxim fully into practice, the whole social fabric would fall to pieces, the wicked would take possession of our properties and our lives, and would do whatever they liked with us. Even if only one day of such non-resistance were practiced, it would lead to disaster. Yet, intuitively, in our heart of hearts we feel the truth of the teaching "Resist not evil." This seems to us to be the highest ideal; yet to teach this doctrine only would be equivalent to condemning a vast portion of mankind. Not only so, it would be making men feel that they were always doing wrong, and cause in them scruples of conscience in all their actions; it would weaken them, and that constant self-disapproval would breed more vice than any other weakness would. To the man who has begun to hate himself the gate to degeneration has already opened; and the same is true of a nation.
Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God. Therefore, the only alternative remaining to us is to recognise that duty and morality vary under different circumstances; not that the man who resists evil is doing what is always and in itself wrong, but that in the different circumstances in which he is placed it may become even his duty to resist evil.
In reading the Bhagavad-Gita, many of you in Western countries may have felt astonished at the second chapter, wherein Shri Krishna calls Arjuna a hypocrite and a coward because of his refusal to fight, or offer resistance, on account of his adversaries being his friends and relatives, making the plea that non-resistance was the highest ideal of love. This is a great lesson for us all to learn, that in all matters the two extremes are alike. The extreme positive and the extreme negative are always similar. When the vibrations of light are too slow, we do not see them, nor do we see them when they are too rapid. So with sound; when very low in pitch, we do not hear it; when very high, we do not hear it either. Of like nature is the difference between resistance and non-resistance. One man does not resist because he is weak, lazy, and cannot, not because he will not; the other man knows that he can strike an irresistible blow if he likes; yet he not only does not strike, but blesses his enemies. The one who from weakness resists not commits a sin, and as such cannot receive any benefit from the non-resistance; while the other would commit a sin by offering resistance. Buddha gave up his throne and renounced his position, that was true renunciation; but there cannot be any question of renunciation in the case of a beggar who has nothing to renounce. So we must always be careful about what we really mean when we speak of this non-resistance and ideal love. We must first take care to understand whether we have the power of resistance or not. Then, having the power, if we renounce it and do not resist, we are doing a grand act of love; but if we cannot resist, and yet, at the same time, try to deceive ourselves into the belief that we are actuated by motives of the highest love, we are doing the exact opposite. Arjuna became a coward at the sight of the mighty array against him; his "love" made him forget his duty towards his country and king. That is why Shri Krishna told him that he was a hypocrite: Thou talkest like a wise man, but thy actions betray thee to be a coward; therefore stand up and fight!
Such is the central idea of Karma-Yoga. The Karma-Yogi is the man who understands that the highest ideal is non-resistance, and who also knows that this non-resistance is the highest manifestation of power in actual possession, and also what is called the resisting of evil is but a step on the way towards the manifestation of this highest power, namely, non-resistance. Before reaching this highest ideal, man's duty is to resist evil; let him work, let him fight, let him strike straight from the shoulder. Then only, when he has gained the power to resist, will non-resistance be a virtue.
I once met a man in my country whom I had known before as a very stupid, dull person, who knew nothing and had not the desire to know anything, and was living the life of a brute. He asked me what he should do to know God, how he was to get free. "Can you tell a lie?" I asked him. "No," he replied. "Then you must learn to do so. It is better to tell a lie than to be a brute, or a log of wood. You are inactive; you have not certainly reached the highest state, which is beyond all actions, calm and serene; you are too dull even to do something wicked." That was an extreme case, of course, and I was joking with him; but what I meant was that a man must be active in order to pass through activity to perfect calmness.
Inactivity should be avoided by all means. Activity always means resistance. Resist all evils, mental and physical; and when you have succeeded in resisting, then will calmness come. It is very easy to say, "Hate nobody, resist not evil," but we know what that kind of thing generally means in practice. When the eyes of society are turned towards us, we may make a show of non-resistance, but in our hearts it is canker all the time. We feel the utter want of the calm of non-resistance; we feel that it would be better for us to resist. If you desire wealth, and know at the same time that the whole world regards him who aims at wealth as a very wicked man, you, perhaps, will not dare to plunge into the struggle for wealth, yet your mind will be running day and night after money. This is hypocrisy and will serve no purpose. Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfil your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but until you have fulfilled this desire, until you have passed through that activity, it is impossible for you to come to the state of calmness, serenity, and self-surrender. These ideas of serenity and renunciation have been preached for thousands of years; everybody has heard of them from childhood, and yet we see very few in the world who have really reached that stage. I do not know if I have seen twenty persons in my life who are really calm and non-resisting, and I have travelled over half the world.
Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he can never hope to accomplish. For instance, we take a child and at once give him the task of walking twenty miles. Either the little one dies, or one in a thousand crawls the twenty miles, to reach the end exhausted and half-dead. That is like what we generally try to do with the world. All the men and women, in any society, are not of the same mind, capacity, or of the same power to do things; they must have different ideals, and we have no right to sneer at any ideal. Let every one do the best he can for realising his own ideal. Nor is it right that I should be judged by your standard or you by mine. The apple tree should not be judged by the standard of the oak, nor the oak by that of the apple. To judge the apple tree you must take the apple standard, and for the oak, its own standard.
Unity in variety is the plan of creation. However men and women may vary individually, there is unity in the background. The different individual characters and classes of men and women are natural variations in creation. Hence, we ought not to judge them by the same standard or put the same ideal before them. Such a course creates only an unnatural struggle, and the result is that man begins to hate himself and is hindered from becoming religious and good. Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest ideal, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the truth.
In the Hindu system of morality we find that this fact has been recognised from very ancient times; and in their scriptures and books on ethics different rules are laid down for the different classes of men — the householder, the Sannyâsin (the man who has renounced the world), and the student.
The life of every individual, according to the Hindu scriptures, has its peculiar duties apart from what belongs in common to universal humanity. The Hindu begins life as a student; then he marries and becomes a householder; in old age he retires; and lastly he gives up the world and becomes a Sannyasin. To each of these stages of life certain duties are attached. No one of these stages is intrinsically superior to another. The life of the married man is quite as great as that of the celibate who has devoted himself to religious work. The scavenger in the street is quite as great and glorious as the king on his throne. Take him off his throne, make him do the work of the scavenger, and see how he fares. Take up the scavenger and see how he will rule. It is useless to say that the man who lives out of the world is a greater man than he who lives in the world; it is much more difficult to live in the world and worship God than to give it up and live a free and easy life. The four stages of life in India have in later times been reduced to two — that of the householder and of the monk. The householder marries and carries on his duties as a citizen, and the duty of the other is to devote his energies wholly to religion, to preach and to worship God. I shall read to you a few passages from the Mahâ-Nirvâna-Tantra, which treats of this subject, and you will see that it is a very difficult task for a man to be a householder, and perform all his duties perfectly:
The householder should be devoted to God; the knowledge of God should be his goal of life. Yet he must work constantly, perform all his duties; he must give up the fruits of his actions to God.
It is the most difficult thing in this world to work and not care for the result, to help a man and never think that he ought to be grateful, to do some good work and at the same time never look to see whether it brings you name or fame, or nothing at all. Even the most arrant coward becomes brave when the world praises him. A fool can do heroic deeds when the approbation of society is upon him, but for a man to constantly do good without caring for the approbation of his fellow men is indeed the highest sacrifice man can perform. The great duty of the householder is to earn a living, but he must take care that he does not do it by telling lies, or by cheating, or by robbing others; and he must remember that his life is for the service of God, and the poor.
Knowing that mother and father are the visible representatives of God, the householder, always and by all means, must please them. If the mother is pleased, and the father, God is pleased with the man. That child is really a good child who never speaks harsh words to his parents.
Before parents one must not utter jokes, must not show restlessness, must not show anger or temper. Before mother or father, a child must bow down low, and stand up in their presence, and must not take a seat until they order him to sit.
If the householder has food and drink and clothes without first seeing that his mother and his father, his children, his wife, and the poor, are supplied, he is committing a sin. The mother and the father are the causes of this body; so a man must undergo a thousand troubles in order to do good to them.
Even so is his duty to his wife. No man should scold his wife, and he must always maintain her as if she were his own mother. And even when he is in the greatest difficulties and troubles, he must not show anger to his wife.
He who thinks of another woman besides his wife, if he touches her even with his mind — that man goes to dark hell.
Before women he must not talk improper language, and never brag of his powers. He must not say, “I have done this, and I have done that.”
The householder must always please his wife with money, clothes, love, faith, and words like nectar, and never do anything to disturb her. That man who has succeeded in getting the love of a chaste wife has succeeded in his religion and has all the virtues.
The following are duties towards children:
A son should be lovingly reared up to his fourth year; he should be educated till he is sixteen. When he is twenty years of age he should be employed in some work; he should then be treated affectionately by his father as his equal. Exactly in the same manner the daughter should be brought up, and should be educated with the greatest care. And when she marries, the father ought to give her jewels and wealth.
Then the duty of the man is towards his brothers and sisters, and towards the children of his brothers and sisters, if they are poor, and towards his other relatives, his friends and his servants. Then his duties are towards the people of the same village, and the poor, and any one that comes to him for help. Having sufficient means, if the householder does not take care to give to his relatives and to the poor, know him to be only a brute; he is not a human being.
Excessive attachment to food, clothes, and the tending of the body, and dressing of the hair should be avoided. The householder must be pure in heart and clean in body, always active and always ready for work.
To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit down in a corner and weep, and talk nonsense about non-resistance. If he does not show himself a hero to his enemies he has not done his duty. And to his friends and relatives he must be as gentle as a lamb.
It is the duty of the householder not to pay reverence to the wicked; because, if he reverences the wicked people of the world, he patronizes wickedness; and it will be a great mistake if he disregards those who are worthy of respect, the good people. He must not be gushing in his friendship; he must not go out of the way making friends everywhere; he must watch the actions of the men he wants to make friends with, and their dealings with other men, reason upon them, and then make friends.
These three things he must not talk of. He must not talk in public of his own fame; he must not preach his own name or his own powers; he must not talk of his wealth, or of anything that has been told to him privately.
A man must not say he is poor, or that he is wealthy — he must not brag of his wealth. Let him keep his own counsel; this is his religious duty. This is not mere worldly wisdom; if a man does not do so, he may be held to be immoral.
The householder is the basis, the prop, of the whole society. He is the principal earner. The poor, the weak, the children and the women who do not work — all live upon the householder; so there must be certain duties that he has to perform, and these duties must make him feel strong to perform them, and not make him think that he is doing things beneath his ideal. Therefore, if he has done something weak, or has made some mistake, he must not say so in public; and if he is engaged in some enterprise and knows he is sure to fail in it, he must not speak of it. Such self-exposure is not only uncalled for, but also unnerves the man and makes him unfit for the performance of his legitimate duties in life. At the same time, he must struggle hard to acquire these things — firstly, knowledge, and secondly, wealth. It is his duty, and if he does not do his duty, he is nobody. A householder who does not struggle to get wealth is immoral. If he is lazy and content to lead an idle life, he is immoral, because upon him depend hundreds. If he gets riches, hundreds of others will be thereby supported.
If there were not in this city hundreds who had striven to become rich, and who had acquired wealth, where would all this civilization, and these alms-houses and great houses be?
Going after wealth in such a case is not bad, because that wealth is for distribution. The householder is the centre of life and society. It is a worship for him to acquire and spend wealth nobly, for the householder who struggles to become rich by good means and for good purposes is doing practically the same thing for the attainment of salvation as the anchorite does in his cell when he is praying; for in them we see only the different aspects of the same virtue of self-surrender and self-sacrifice prompted by the feeling of devotion to God and to all that is His.
He must struggle to acquire a good name by all means. He must not gamble, he must not move in the company of the wicked, he must not tell lies, and must not be the cause of trouble to others.
Often people enter into things they have not the means to accomplish, with the result that they cheat others to attain their own ends. Then there is in all things the time factor to be taken into consideration; what at one time might be a failure, would perhaps at another time be a very great success.
The householder must speak the truth, and speak gently, using words which people like, which will do good to others; nor should he talk of the business of other men.
The householder by digging tanks, by planting trees on the roadsides, by establishing rest-houses for men and animals, by making roads and building bridges, goes towards the same goal as the greatest Yogi.
This is one part of the doctrine of Karma-Yoga — activity, the duty of the householder. There is a passage later on, where it says that "if the householder dies in battle, fighting for his country or his religion, he comes to the same goal as the Yogi by meditation," showing thereby that what is duty for one is not duty for another. At the same time, it does not say that this duty is lowering and the other elevating. Each duty has its own place, and according to the circumstances in which we are placed, we must perform our duties.
One idea comes out of all this — the condemnation of all weakness. This is a particular idea in all our teachings which I like, either in philosophy, or in religion, or in work. If you read the Vedas, you will find this word always repeated — fearlessness — fear nothing. Fear is a sign of weakness. A man must go about his duties without taking notice of the sneers and the ridicule of the world.
If a man retires from the world to worship God, he must not think that those who live in the world and work for the good of the world are not worshipping God: neither must those who live in the world, for wife and children, think that those who give up the world are low vagabonds. Each is great in his own place. This thought I will illustrate by a story.
A certain king used to inquire of all the Sannyasins that came to his country, "Which is the greater man — he who gives up the world and becomes a Sannyasin, or he who lives in the world and performs his duties as a house holder?" Many wise men sought to solve the problem. Some asserted that the Sannyasin was the greater, upon which the king demanded that they should prove their assertion. When they could not, he ordered them to marry and become householders. Then others came and said, "The householder who performs his duties is the greater man." Of them, too, the king demanded proofs. When they could not give them, he made them also settle down as householders.
At last there came a young Sannyasin, and the king similarly inquired of him also. He answered, "Each, O king, is equally great in his place." "Prove this to me," asked the king. "I will prove it to you," said the Sannyasin, "but you must first come and live as I do for a few days, that I may be able to prove to you what I say." The king consented and followed the Sannyasin out of his own territory and passed through many other countries until they came to a great kingdom. In the capital of that kingdom a great ceremony was going on. The king and the Sannyasin heard the noise of drums and music, and heard also the criers; the people were assembled in the streets in gala dress, and a great proclamation was being made. The king and the Sannyasin stood there to see what was going on. The crier was proclaiming loudly that the princess, daughter of the king of that country, was about to choose a husband from among those assembled before her.
It was an old custom in India for princesses to choose husbands in this way. Each princess had certain ideas of the sort of man she wanted for a husband. Some would have the handsomest man, others would have only the most learned, others again the richest, and so on. All the princes of the neighbourhood put on their bravest attire and presented themselves before her. Sometimes they too had their own criers to enumerate their advantages and the reasons why they hoped the princess would choose them. The princess was taken round on a throne, in the most splendid array, and looked at and heard about them. If she was not pleased with what she saw and heard, she said to her bearers, "Move on," and no more notice was taken of the rejected suitors. If, however, the princess was pleased with any one of them, she threw a garland of flowers over him and he became her husband.
The princess of the country to which our king and the Sannyasin had come was having one of these interesting ceremonies. She was the most beautiful princess in the world, and the husband of the princess would be ruler of the kingdom after her father's death. The idea of this princess was to marry the handsomest man, but she could not find the right one to please her. Several times these meetings had taken place, but the princess could not select a husband. This meeting was the most splendid of all; more people than ever had come to it. The princess came in on a throne, and the bearers carried her from place to place. She did not seem to care for any one, and every one became disappointed that this meeting also was going to be a failure. Just then came a young man, a Sannyasin, handsome as if the sun had come down to the earth, and stood in one corner of the assembly, watching what was going on. The throne with the princess came near him, and as soon as she saw the beautiful Sannyasin, she stopped and threw the garland over him. The young Sannyasin seized the garland and threw it off, exclaiming, "What nonsense is this? I am a Sannyasin. What is marriage to me?" The king of that country thought that perhaps this man was poor and so dared not marry the princess, and said to him, "With my daughter goes half my kingdom now, and the whole kingdom after my death!" and put the garland again on the Sannyasin. The young man threw it off once more, saying, "Nonsense! I do not want to marry," and walked quickly away from the assembly.
Now the princess had fallen so much in love with this young man that she said, "I must marry this man or I shall die"; and she went after him to bring him back. Then our other Sannyasin, who had brought the king there, said to him, "King, let us follow this pair"; so they walked after them, but at a good distance behind. The young Sannyasin who had refused to marry the princess walked out into the country for several miles. When he came to a forest and entered into it, the princess followed him, and the other two followed them. Now this young Sannyasin was well acquainted with that forest and knew all the intricate paths in it. He suddenly passed into one of these and disappeared, and the princess could not discover him. After trying for a long time to find him she sat down under a tree and began to weep, for she did not know the way out. Then our king and the other Sannyasin came up to her and said, "Do not weep; we will show you the way out of this forest, but it is too dark for us to find it now. Here is a big tree; let us rest under it, and in the morning we will go early and show you the road."
Now a little bird and his wife and their three little ones lived on that tree, in a nest. This little bird looked down and saw the three people under the tree and said to his wife, "My dear, what shall we do? Here are some guests in the house, and it is winter, and we have no fire." So he flew away and got a bit of burning firewood in his beak and dropped it before the guests, to which they added fuel and made a blazing fire. But the little bird was not satisfied. He said again to his wife, "My dear, what shall we do? There is nothing to give these people to eat, and they are hungry. We are householders; it is our duty to feed any one who comes to the house. I must do what I can, I will give them my body." So he plunged into the midst of the fire and perished. The guests saw him falling and tried to save him, but he was too quick for them.
The little bird's wife saw what her husband did, and she said, "Here are three persons and only one little bird for them to eat. It is not enough; it is my duty as a wife not to let my husband's effort go in vain; let them have my body also." Then she fell into the fire and was burned to death.
Then the three baby-birds, when they saw what was done and that there was still not enough food for the three guests, said, "Our parents have done what they could and still it is not enough. It is our duty to carry on the work of our parents; let our bodies go too." And they all dashed down into the fire also.
Amazed at what they saw, the three people could not of course eat these birds. They passed the night without food, and in the morning the king and the Sannyasin showed the princess the way, and she went back to her father.
Then the Sannyasin said to the king, "King, you have seen that each is great in his own place. If you want to live in the world, live like those birds, ready at any moment to sacrifice yourself for others. If you want to renounce the world, be like that young man to whom the most beautiful woman and a kingdom were as nothing. If you want to be a householder, hold your life a sacrifice for the welfare of others; and if you choose the life of renunciation, do not even look at beauty and money and power. Each is great in his own place, but the duty of the one is not the duty of the other
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