Happy Indian New Year (Vikrami Samvat 2076)

Nav-Varsha Pratipada…  नव वर्ष प्रतिपद संवत 2076

The Indian (Hindu) New Year (Shaka Samvat 2076)

Every culture, religion, and community has its own calendar that starts on a different day of the year. Hindus, Jains, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, all have their own calendars and a different "New Year's Day". 

However, the Gregorian or commonly known as western or Christian calendar is the most acknowledged international calendar and used all over the world. 

Since at one point in history, most of the world, including India was ruled and controlled by the European and Christian rulers, the ruled countries and colonies had to use the Gregorian calendar. For the sake of convenience, India continued using it even after it gained independence from the British rule.

Moreover, January 1st as the New Year's Day has been heavily commercialized by entrepreneurs and the media by selling cards and advertising parties and count down gatherings, etc. Nevertheless, many people all over the world; Indians**, Chinese, Egyptians, etc. still celebrate their own traditional New Year's Day also.

Whereas the New Year’s Day of Christian era (January 1st) is celebrated with eating, drinking and dancing joyfully in parties and exchanging fancy gifts, the traditional Hindu way of celebrating the New Year’s Day is quite different. 

Traditionally, the tender but bitter leaves of the Neem tree mixed with sweet Jaggery ** (Gurh) are distributed as Prasaadam (gift) on this occasion, which has a great symbolic meaning.

First, the Neem-Jaggery blend is offered to Ishwar (God) as Naivedya.

Then it is distributed among the family and friends as Prasaad (Gift).

This is one of the highest philosophical attitudes taught by the ancient Hindu spiritual masters.

The Neem, extremely bitter in taste, and Jaggery* sweet and delicious, signify the two conflicting aspects of human life —Joy and sorrow, success and failure, ecstasy and agony. 

It is a reminder that life is not always ‘Bitter’ or ‘Sweet’ all the time. It is a combination of the two, and so might be the coming New Year - a mixture of joy and sorrow. 

Although, Wishing "a happy new year" to all friends and families is a very positive thinking and a wishful gesture, however, this Indian tradition conveys more practical advice to the loved ones - and a reminder to ourselves as well.
By first offering this bitter-sweet blend to God and then accepting it as Prasaad, also has a symbolic meaning; of preparing ourselves to face, and, by the grace of God, accept whatever may happen in the future as 'Prasaad'*.

By exchanging the gift of this ‘bitter-sweet blend’ with friends and loved ones, we acknowledge that the relationships may also have some sweet and bitter moments - that by God’s grace can be accepted as part of life, and solved mutually. 

We usually tend to disregard the old traditions as ‘out of date’ or even nonsense, but if we try to understand them, we will find that many traditions have some deep and meaningful hidden messages.

                                     May God bless us all.

                                                       ‘Rajan Sachdeva’

Varsha   pronounced as Varsh वर्ष  means  year

Pratipad  प्रतिपद means Tithi or Day

*Jaggery …..  गुड़  Chunks of raw sugar made from sugarcane. 

  Prasaad ........ Gift

** Even within India, Kashmiris, Punjabis, Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, Bengalis, and South Indians have their own calendars.

इच्छारहित मन

                          निर्वासनं  हरिम दृष्ट्वा  तूष्णीं विषयदन्तिनः 
                          पलायन्ते न शक्तास्ते सेवन्ते कृतचाटवः 
                                                  अष्टावक्र गीता 18 -46 

आमतौर पर इस श्लोक का अर्थ कुछ इस प्रकार किया जाता है:
"जैसे एक शेर को आता देख कर हाथी अपना रास्ता बदल लेते हैं उसी तरह इच्छा-रहित ज्ञानी मन के आगे इच्छाएँ भी निर्बल हो कर वहां से परे हट जाती हैं और इन्द्रियाँ भी ऐसे ज्ञानी पुरुष की दासी बन जाती हैं।"
ये पढ़ने के बाद मन में यह विचार उठना स्वाभाविक है कि - 'क्या पूर्ण रुप से इच्छारहित होना संभव है?'

हर इन्सान के मन में अपनी शारीरिक आवश्यकताओं को पूरा करने की इच्छा रखना उसके अस्तित्व के लिए ज़रुरी है। वैसे भी देखा जाए तो हर इन्सान को एक सुरक्षित, आरामदायक और सुखपूर्वक जीवन जीने की इच्छा ज़रुर रहती है। एक तपस्वी और एकांतवासी के मन में भी आश्रय और भोजन प्राप्त करने की इच्छा तो ज़रुर होती होगी, क्योंकि यह उसके जीवित रहने के लिए नितान्त आवश्यक है।
इसलिए यह कहना ग़लत नहीं होगा कि मनुष्य के मन का पूरी तरह से इच्छारहित होना संभव नहीं है।
और दूसरी बात जो उपरोक्त श्लोक में कही गई है कि जागृत व्यक्ति की इन्द्रियाँ उसकी दासी बन कर कार्य करती हैं - तो विचार करने की  बात है कि एक इच्छारहित मन के लिए इन्द्रियों का क्या उद्देश्य रह जाता है?
यदि मन में कोई इच्छा ही नहीं होगी तो इन्द्रियों के लिए कोई कार्य भी नहीं होगा।

इसलिए मेरे विचार में हमें व्यावहारिकता की दृष्टि से 'इच्छारहित' शब्द का अर्थ 'अवाँछित इच्छा से रहित' करना चाहिए।
इच्छारहित होने का तात्पर्य अवाँछित, अनैतिक एवं आवश्यकता से बहुत अधिक प्राप्त करने की इच्छा से मुक्त होना है। क्योंकि ज़रुरत से अधिक प्राप्त करने की इच्छा इंसान को स्वार्थी बना देती है और मन में दूसरों के हानि-लाभ को नज़रअंदाज़ करने की भावना भी भर देती है। ऐसा भी देखने में आता है कि ज़रुरत से अधिक इकट्ठा करने की इच्छा इन्सान को अक़सर अत्यधिक लालची, झूठा, धोखेबाज़, निर्दयी अथवा दयाहीन भी बना देती है। इस से दूसरों का नुक्सान तो होता ही है लेकिन ऐसा करने से इंसान स्वयं भी अक़्सर अशांत ही रहता है।
इसीलिए आठवीं शताब्दी के प्रारम्भ में आदि शंकराचार्य ने कहा:
"यल्ल्भसे निज कर्मोपातन वित्तम तेन विनोदय चित्तं"
अर्थात स्वयं अपने नेक कर्मों से आवश्यकता अनुसार प्राप्त किए हुए धन से ही अपने मन में संतुष्टि एवं आनंद का अनुभव करो।
ज्ञानी पुरुष न तो अवांछित और आवश्यकता से अधिक की इच्छा करता है और न ही उसका मन उन्हें प्राप्त करने के लिए उद्विग्न अथवा अशांत होता है।
आगे चलकर पन्द्रहवीं शताब्दी में गुरु नानक ने भी यही संदेश दिया:
'घाल खाये किछ हत्थो देह। नानक राह पछाने से'
अर्थात धर्म का सही मार्ग उसी ने समझा है जो स्वयं (नेक कर्मों से) कमा कर खाए और हाथ से किसी और को भी दे अर्थात सामर्थ्य अनुसार दान दे और दूसरों का भला करने की भावना रखे।
' राजन सचदेव '

On This April First

Let us do something new on this first of April -
By changing the old practice.
For decades, we have been sending some funny messages to each other on this day - 
to make fool of others. 
Let's change this tradition now, and start a new one today.
Let us start sending our best wishes on April first - 
Seeking happiness, prosperity, satisfaction and peaceful life for everyone.
Remember - whatever we ask for others, 
The Almighty - God - the Universe or the Supreme power - whatever we may call it -  
will grant the same to us as well.
                                             ' Rajan Sachdeva '

पहली अप्रैल

आओ इस एक अप्रैल को कुछ नया करें 
पुरानी प्रथा को बदलें 
हम बहुत समय से पहली अप्रैल को एक दूसरे को ऐसे संदेश भेज कर उन्हें यह महसूस 
कराने की कोशिश करते हैं कि मैंने आपको मूर्ख बना दिया l
आओ आज से एक नई शुरुआत करें 
एक अप्रैल का जो संदेश भेजना है उसमें हर एक के भले की कामना करते हुए, 
हर किसी के लिए सुख ,समृद्धि ,संतोष और सुखी जीवन की कामना करें
याद रखें - हम जैसा भाव औरों के लिए मन में रखेंगे 
परमात्मा वैसा ही फल हमे बिना मांगे देगा

Farewell to Imma

We meet many people in our lifetime. Some just come and go, and some leave an everlasting impression on our mind. One such great - caring and loving person who came in my life was Mrs. Vimal Purohit- who was affectionately called Imma by everyone. Three days ago, she left this physical world at the age of 92. Though physically she has left us, her memories will always be cherished by those who had the privilege of knowing her. 

In 1983, Dr. Sugandha Purohit called me and requested to teach a group of about fifteen students in Toledo Ohio and offered the basement of her house to be used for the classes. It was about an hour and a half away from my place, and the classes were supposed to be once a week.
That is when I first met Imma, Dr. Purohit's mother, who also wanted to continue learning Sitar, the instrument of her passion. Then, within a couple of weeks, I saw the other side of Imma's personality - the compassionate and loving side of her nature. Every hour or so she will ask if I need anything. Every couple of hours she would make some tea and snacks and tell me to take a break and insisted on having dinner before leaving.
The classes in their home continued for about fifteen years. 
Imma was a great cook. Week after week, I enjoyed delicious north and south Indian dishes she used to prepare for lunch and dinner. But more than the food, it was that look in her eyes - the look of motherly love and the way she cared. She did not have to do any of those things, yet she did all those things selflessly - out of love. And that was the most valuable thing for me. 
She was brought up with South Indian cultural traditions which she continued to follow while living in the USA as well. She spoke Marathi, Telugu, and Hindi fluently - had learned Kannada and had enough knowledge to communicate in English as well. Twice a year, on the day of Guru-Poornima and my birthday, she along with her daughters, arranged a get-together with all the students (about 20 by then) and told everyone to pay respect by touching my feet. However, when she wanted to touch my feet, I asked her not to do that. 
"You are like my mother," I said. 
"But you are my guru too." She said. "At least today - on the day of Guru-Poornima you must let me do it."
That showed how strong her cultural background was. 
Meeting such wonderful people in life is always a great privilege and good fortune. My only regret is that I was never able to do anything to repay her love and kindness towards me. But her sweet memories will always be cherished in my heart. 
May the Almighty Lord bless her and give strength to her family to bear this loss. 
                                        'Rajan Sachdeva'

The Emptiness

If there is no emptiness in between - the letters cannot be formed.
If there is no emptiness between the letters, then the words cannot be formed.
If there is no emptiness between the words - then the sentences cannot be formed.
We cannot build a room with few walls and a roof without some emptiness in between. 
We certainly cannot fill the whole room with some objects - we must have some emptiness to live. 
There is emptiness between everything we see.
We need emptiness around us to walk.
Bigger the emptiness, farther we can go.
There is always a little emptiness between the thoughts - between one thought and the other. 
Longer the emptiness between the thoughts - more peace, and bliss we will attain.

Living in that Emptiness, Nothingness or Formless is called living in Nirankar. 
Try to attain that state of ‘Emptiness’.
Although, it's not possible to do that all the time - however, we should try to spend some time at least living in that state of Emptiness or Thoughtlessness every day. 

                            ' Rajan Sachdeva '

The Missing Goat

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town.
Two school-going friends had a crazy idea.

They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the numbers one, two and four on their sides. 
That night they let the goats loose inside their school building.

The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.

They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.

Immediately a search was launched, and three goats were found in the building. 

But the authorities were worried. They wondered where goat number three was?

They spent the rest of the day looking for goat number three.

The school declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day.

The teachers, students, helpers, and guards - all were searching for goat number three - which, of course, was never found- Simply because it did not exist.

Those among us - who in spite of having a good life, are always feeling a lack of fulfillment - are actually looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat number three.

Whatever the area of complaint or dissatisfaction - relationships, job, finance, or achievements - the absence of something is always larger than the presence of so many other things. The thought that our life will be fulfilled after we achieve that one missing thing, does not allow us to enjoy our present life. 

So, Stop worrying about goat number three and start enjoying life as it is.

Happy Holika Dahan

According to Bhaagvat Purana, a king named Hiranyakashyap who, like many demons and Asuras, had the intense desire to be immortal. To fulfill this desire, he performed some hard Tapa or penances until he was granted a boon by Brahma. 
Having received that boon, he became extremely egotistic and ordered everyone to worship him. However, his son Prehlad refused to do so. He said none other than God. which is Omnipresent - prevalent in the earth, waters, and the sky is worthy of worship. 
This made Hiranyakashyap extremely angry, and he made various attempts to kill Prehlad. During a particular attempt on Prahlad's life, King Hiranyakashayap called upon his sister Holika for help. Holika had a special cloak - a garment that prevented her from being harmed by fire. Hiranyakashayap asked her to sit on a bonfire holding  Prahlad on her lap. However, as the fire roared, the garment flew from Holika and covered Prahlad. Holika burnt to death, and Prahlad came out unharmed.

Like all other ancient Hindu stories - regardless of whether it is a true story or not, it has a deeper meaning. 
Holika was a demon - with evil thoughts. But she was able to cover her evil intentions with the special cloak -the mask of goodness - that prevented her from the fire of people's anger. However, when she faced that fire of test along with Prehlad, her cover was blown away. Everyone saw her real face, without the mask, and the goodness of Prehlad became obvious. She lost, and Prehlad came out unharmed.
We often see these kinds of scenarios in our life as well. Many people pretend to be saints by hiding their real intentions behind the masks of sainthood. They think that they cannot be harmed by anyone - because they are wearing that cloak - the mask of goodness - which will save them from the fire of people's anger. 
However, when the real saints like Prehlad appear on the scene, the falsehood is blown away - and the Truth prevails. 
When we understand the hidden meanings and messages behind these stories, the celebration of these festivals makes more sense and beneficial to all. 
                                          ' Rajan Sachdeva '

To Accept the Truth

To accept the truth as true is acceptance of Truth.
To accept the untrue as untrue is also acceptance of the Truth.

Becoming Desireless

                          निर्वासनं  हरिम दृष्ट्वा  तूष्णीं विषयदन्तिनः 
                          पलायन्ते न शक्तास्ते सेवन्ते कृतचाटवः 
                                                  अष्टावक्र गीता 18 -46 

Nirvaasnam Harim drishtvaa tooshneem vishyadantinah 
Plaayantay na-shaktaastay, sevantay kritchaatvah

Translation:
Just as seeing a lion, the elephants quietly move away -
Seeing a desireless mind, the desires find themselves helpless, and they leave. 
And the senses become servants (of the awakened mind).

                                                          Ashtavakra Geeta  18-46

Whenever we read such phrases in the Holy Scriptures, we may start wondering- is it even possible to become desireless? 

Desires to fulfill our physical needs and requirements are necessary for our survival. Moreover, everyone has a desire to live a secured and comfortable life. Even an ascetic, a hermit must have the desire to find food and shelter for his survival. Therefore, it is not possible for the human mind to become desireless. 

Secondly, what would be the purpose of senses serving the mind that has absolutely no desires?

So, I believe, for all practical purposes, we should translate the word desireless as free of excessive and unwanted desires. Desires that make us greedy, dishonest, cruel and relentless. Desires that make us want to rule over everyone and keep everything for our-self. Such desires not only hurt others but make us restless as well. We become over-jealous, anxious and over-worried, and lose our own peace of mind.

                                                   ' Rajan Sachdeva '