Ayudha Puja
The purpose of this blog was mainly to capture my experiences living in India, from the perspective of a person who has spent half his life, including the 'formative years' in the U.S. For my Indian friends in the U.S., this blog was meant to remind them of visions, things and happenings in India which they would be missing out on. For my American friends, it was meant to increase their knowledge about India in general.
Unfortunately, I think my last India related post was a while ago, and since these days, I do nothing but concern myself with studying for the GRE Biology Test and prepare to apply for schools, I haven't really done much in India and as a result, this blog has come out sounding more like my former columns in my college's student newspaper than what it was intended for.
That will change. I am going to make an earnest effort henceforth to go back to what this blog was supposed to be. Of course, I will still continue to comment on world and political issues (I am anticipating a post containing the scream "YEEEEEAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHH" once we take back Congress in early November).
But anyway, yes, a greater focus on daily happenings in India is what I am going to strive for. And the perfect way to begin that is this post on Ayudha Puja.
Ayudha Puja is a Hindu festival we celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 1 this year. The dates aren't constant because the Hindu calendar is a lunar-based calendar, so the dates keep moving around from year to year. Ayudha Puja is a part of Dasara, a festival that is grandly celebrated in southern India.
What we basically do on this day is wash all our vehicles and conduct a puja to them, where they are smeared with kumkum and yellow turmeric powder. Lemons are placed under the wheels and the vehicle is driven over the lemons, crushing them. I'm not too sure about the symbolic significance of the lemons, but it's done with all vehicle pujas. Something to do with good luck ... I remember that when I bought my car in the U.S. and did a vehicle puja at the Venkateshwara Temple in Bridgewater, NJ, I drove the car over lemons as well.
Anyway, after smearing kumkum and turmeric, we say a short prayer to the vehicle. Now non-Hindus and Hindus who don't know why we do this might be thinking, why are vehicles worshipped again?
Well, Dasara is a festival that coincides with Navarathri (nine nights) (it's basically like a 10 days / 9 nights deal, very convenient for travel agencies I suppose). It celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana. In the olden days, Ayudha Puja was a day during which the tools used in everyday life were worshipped, mainly weapons, farming tools, and books that imparted knowledge.
Today, our 'modern' tools are vehicles and books (while the vehicles were being worshipped, my grandmother was simultaneously worshipping my textbooks in front of the idol of the Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning. Hinduism in short teaches that God is all-pervasive, present in anything and everything. Ayudha Puja is a day for us to see the divinity of God in our vehicles, books, and anything else we use to navigate our lives. It's a day to reaffirm that God exists everywhere, not just in our idols and puja rooms (the room in the house where the idol is kept).
When I was living in the U.S., I really didn't keep track of Hindu festivals such as this. When living in India, it's easy to remember when the festivals are. The streets vendors begin to start selling festival items and everyone is talking about it. In the U.S., you're really cut off, especially if you go to the temple only once in a while. Anyway, my resolution is from next year onwards, I'll try my best to keep track of festivals in the U.S. and at least try to follow them.But enough of that, here are some pictures from Ayudha Puja including a picture of my bike.
Oh, but before that, as with any Hindu festival, Ayudha Puja had its environmental consequences as well. With Ganesha Chaturthi, which was about a month ago, the main environmental concern is people immersing the idols of Ganesha, often painted with toxic paints, in lakes and rivers killing aquatic life. In the olden days, paints used to be made from vegetable dyes, so it was ok. Today, it's really a major concern. I am however proud to announce that my family has been buying a plain clay idol, without any coloring, for the past seven Ganesha Chaturthis now, since the year 2000. After all, the idol hardly matters. It could be a lump of clay for all we care. As long as you imagine it to be Ganesha in your heart, that's what counts.
And Ayudha Puja had its environmental side effect as well. Can you imagine how much water is needed if everyone is washing their vehicles? According to The Times of India, Bangaloreans used 100 million liters of water (almost 15% of daily usage for the city) just to wash their vehicles! My solution was to delay washing my scooter until the day of the puja, so I wouldn't waste any extra water on account of the puja. Our car was washed only two days before the puja, so I didn't wash it on the day of the puja, just a quick wipe-thru with a wet cloth did the job.
As for the scooter, we took a half a bucket of water and took a cloth. We didn't use any kind of soap, but wiped down the entire scooter with the cloth. My cousin used the same half-bucket of water for his own scooter and after we carefully ensured that we didn't wipe any portion of the scooter where the water might get contaminated with oil or grease. After we were done, we just dumped the water in the garden in front of the house. So there, environmentalism and tradition need not be mutually exclusive.
Anyway, yes, the pictures ...
Unfortunately, I think my last India related post was a while ago, and since these days, I do nothing but concern myself with studying for the GRE Biology Test and prepare to apply for schools, I haven't really done much in India and as a result, this blog has come out sounding more like my former columns in my college's student newspaper than what it was intended for.
That will change. I am going to make an earnest effort henceforth to go back to what this blog was supposed to be. Of course, I will still continue to comment on world and political issues (I am anticipating a post containing the scream "YEEEEEAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHH" once we take back Congress in early November).
But anyway, yes, a greater focus on daily happenings in India is what I am going to strive for. And the perfect way to begin that is this post on Ayudha Puja.
Ayudha Puja is a Hindu festival we celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 1 this year. The dates aren't constant because the Hindu calendar is a lunar-based calendar, so the dates keep moving around from year to year. Ayudha Puja is a part of Dasara, a festival that is grandly celebrated in southern India.
What we basically do on this day is wash all our vehicles and conduct a puja to them, where they are smeared with kumkum and yellow turmeric powder. Lemons are placed under the wheels and the vehicle is driven over the lemons, crushing them. I'm not too sure about the symbolic significance of the lemons, but it's done with all vehicle pujas. Something to do with good luck ... I remember that when I bought my car in the U.S. and did a vehicle puja at the Venkateshwara Temple in Bridgewater, NJ, I drove the car over lemons as well.
Anyway, after smearing kumkum and turmeric, we say a short prayer to the vehicle. Now non-Hindus and Hindus who don't know why we do this might be thinking, why are vehicles worshipped again?
Well, Dasara is a festival that coincides with Navarathri (nine nights) (it's basically like a 10 days / 9 nights deal, very convenient for travel agencies I suppose). It celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana. In the olden days, Ayudha Puja was a day during which the tools used in everyday life were worshipped, mainly weapons, farming tools, and books that imparted knowledge.
Today, our 'modern' tools are vehicles and books (while the vehicles were being worshipped, my grandmother was simultaneously worshipping my textbooks in front of the idol of the Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning. Hinduism in short teaches that God is all-pervasive, present in anything and everything. Ayudha Puja is a day for us to see the divinity of God in our vehicles, books, and anything else we use to navigate our lives. It's a day to reaffirm that God exists everywhere, not just in our idols and puja rooms (the room in the house where the idol is kept).
When I was living in the U.S., I really didn't keep track of Hindu festivals such as this. When living in India, it's easy to remember when the festivals are. The streets vendors begin to start selling festival items and everyone is talking about it. In the U.S., you're really cut off, especially if you go to the temple only once in a while. Anyway, my resolution is from next year onwards, I'll try my best to keep track of festivals in the U.S. and at least try to follow them.But enough of that, here are some pictures from Ayudha Puja including a picture of my bike.
Oh, but before that, as with any Hindu festival, Ayudha Puja had its environmental consequences as well. With Ganesha Chaturthi, which was about a month ago, the main environmental concern is people immersing the idols of Ganesha, often painted with toxic paints, in lakes and rivers killing aquatic life. In the olden days, paints used to be made from vegetable dyes, so it was ok. Today, it's really a major concern. I am however proud to announce that my family has been buying a plain clay idol, without any coloring, for the past seven Ganesha Chaturthis now, since the year 2000. After all, the idol hardly matters. It could be a lump of clay for all we care. As long as you imagine it to be Ganesha in your heart, that's what counts.
And Ayudha Puja had its environmental side effect as well. Can you imagine how much water is needed if everyone is washing their vehicles? According to The Times of India, Bangaloreans used 100 million liters of water (almost 15% of daily usage for the city) just to wash their vehicles! My solution was to delay washing my scooter until the day of the puja, so I wouldn't waste any extra water on account of the puja. Our car was washed only two days before the puja, so I didn't wash it on the day of the puja, just a quick wipe-thru with a wet cloth did the job.
As for the scooter, we took a half a bucket of water and took a cloth. We didn't use any kind of soap, but wiped down the entire scooter with the cloth. My cousin used the same half-bucket of water for his own scooter and after we carefully ensured that we didn't wipe any portion of the scooter where the water might get contaminated with oil or grease. After we were done, we just dumped the water in the garden in front of the house. So there, environmentalism and tradition need not be mutually exclusive.
Anyway, yes, the pictures ...
The front of my scooter. Notice the flowers just above the license plate and the 'Om' sketched out with kumkum just above the tire.
You can see the lemons that I rolled over, as well as the juice staining the pavement. I also show off my scooter in this picture, which during my last tank of gas managed to get a phenomenal (for a six-year old scooter) 44.28 kilometers per liter (104.62 mpg).
The car after the puja was performed. You can see the flowers near the center of the windshield wipers and if you look closely, you can make out the Om in the center of the hood.
You can see the lemons that I rolled over, as well as the juice staining the pavement. I also show off my scooter in this picture, which during my last tank of gas managed to get a phenomenal (for a six-year old scooter) 44.28 kilometers per liter (104.62 mpg).
The car after the puja was performed. You can see the flowers near the center of the windshield wipers and if you look closely, you can make out the Om in the center of the hood.
posted by Vivek at 11:30 PM
4 Comments:
Namaste Vivek -
Thank you for your blog and thank you for your comments and compliments on our blog this morning. I only have time to read your latest posting, but when I have some chill-time, I'll definitely read more. It seems we have more than a few things in common. Elizabeth and I just moved here from New Jersey and we visited the Venkateshwara Temple in Bridgewater, NJ more than a few times.
I appreciate your environmental concerns. My master's thesis (which I'm just getting started on) is on "the ecological ethics of advaita vedanta."
Speaking of studying, I have to get back to it. Thanks again for your blog and your comments. I look forward to reading more!
-Brad
So, my husband beat me to the punch...so I'll just go with, um, DITTO! :) Oh, what school did you go to in the states? Where are you looking for grad schools? I'm thinking of taking the Biology GRE as well. Still deciding what I want to do when I grow up.
Anyway, thanks for getting in touch.
I am sure you know about this already, but in case you dont know, here is a very nice link for energy saving
http://www.doe.gov/energysavingtips.htm
An interesting post (came here from Kamla Bhatt) and some interesting commentors. Brad - doing a masters degree in the Ecological Ethics in Advaita Vedanta - Whoa!
I also faithfully resolve to try to remember the festivals here in the U.S. It's difficult to drum up the spirit of the thing when the world around you does not stop for it.
Post a Comment
<< Home