Gokulashtami

Today is Gokulashtami. Birth day of Lord Krishna. Krishana was born in Mathura, for Devaki and Vasudeva to kill his uncle Kansa who was known for his cruel deeds . After birth he was taken to Gokulam, by his father to be brought up in the safe hands of Nanda and Yasoda.

The reason for that was Kansa was killing all of Devakis' children immediately after birth by believing the prophesy  that Devaki's 8th son will kill Kansa.

Krishna grew up in Gokulam along with his brother Balaram and returned to Madura to kill his uncle with the aid of his brother.

Celebrations:
Hindus celebrate Gokulashtami or Janmashtami by fasting and staying up till midnight(When Krishna was believed  to be born inside the jail). After midnight devotees share sweets and sing devotional songs. In some temples Bhagavat Gita will be read by Pandits.

In Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai and Pune Krishnashtami or Gokulashtami is known as Dahi Hundi celebrated with great enthusiasm. During his early child hood Krishna believed to take the butter and butter from the pots which were hung high by the Gokulam ladies. As the remembrance of that incidents young people form human pyramid to break the earthen pots(by the top most person) which contains buttermilk.    

In Manipur it is one of the most significant festival celebrated in two temples.

In Uttarpredesh where many places which are associated with Lord Krishna, like Mathura, Gokulam and Virindavan this festival is celebrated with great zeal. People from all over India came here to celebrate this festival at the birth place.

In Dwaraka(Gujarat) where Lord Krishna was believed to establish his kingdom, it is celebrated by visiting Dwarakadish temple.

In Odissa, Puri and West Bengal it is celebrated by fasting and reciting Bagavat Geeta.

In Kashmir during this day kite flying is one of the important occasion.

People all over India celebrate Krishnashtami with great enthusiasm, and most people go to ISCON Temples to celebrate this day.

Mother Teresa

Yesterday(26th August) was The great woman Mother Teresa's birth day.
"By blood I am Albanian. By citizenship I am Indian. By faith I am a catholic nun."
Even though she was small built, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was entrusted with the proclaiming God's love of humanity, especially the poor people. She was a soul filled with love for Christ. Her original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She lost her father at her early age, but brought up by her mother with love and care. She left her home at the age of eighteen to join the nunnery. She received education and was sent to India to teach. Her name was changed as Teresa and she was decided to help the poor in India. Mother Teresa and her helpers built homes for orphans, nursing homes for lepers, and hospitals for the terminally ill people. Her missionary was spread all over the world and help poured from the people all over the world.

She was awarded Padmashri Award by the Indian Government in 1962 and was awarded Nobel peace prize in 1979.

During the last years of her life, despite her poor health Mother Teresa continued to govern her missionaries which includes 4000 sisters spread over 123 countries with 610 foundations and respond to the needs of the poor and the church.

On September 5 1997, her earthly life came to an end. By late 2003 she was beatified, third step towards sainthood.

I hope I could follow at least 5%  of her love to the poor, service to the poor. 

Post which is so touchy

While I was going through face book, I saw one of my friend's post which is so touchy, I wanted to share here. I am writing this in my friends words.


"I was walking around in a Big Bazar store shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old..

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll. Then the little boy turned to the cashier and asked: are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The cashier counted his cash once again and replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.'' The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much . I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY.

I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God.. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister...''

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly..

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.'

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever...

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE."

Anger- damages it cause

This is the incident I read in a book about how anger damages one's live.

Father bought a new car, parked outside the house and went inside to call his wife. When both husband  and wife came out, the father saw that his child was scribbling something on the side of the new car. He got so wild that he stuck his child's hand with a stick. The blow was so strong that the child's finger got cut. Seeing that both the parents took the child to the nearest hospital. Since the traveling time is more between the house and hospital, the surgeon told the parents, they couldn't stitch back the finger, so the child lost one finger.
When the parents were allowed to see the child, the child asked the father, "Daddy, whether I will get back my finger?"  The father couldn't answer his child's question. He felt so bad  and left for home. After reaching home, he just gone near the new car, and saw the child's scribbling. The child had written on the side of the car, "Daddy, I love you". He started crying and just put his hand on the scribbling and saw that the letters were fading away. Then only he remembered that the car's paint was unscratchable.
He couldn't control his guilty feeling,  went inside and committed suicide.  The child lost both his father and finger.

This incident narrates us, how anger spoils one's life. This must teach every one of us what are the evil effects of anger.
The second lesson we learnt from this incident is, we should not end our life, for the mistake we did. We must live and face the damage, and try to rectify the life we changed.