Lord Ganesha is one of the most revered God in Hinduism and is worshipped by all over India, especially Maharashtra. He is always invoked the first before starting any puja or auspicious activity. Therefore, when it comes to starting anything, we say that we did its “Shree Ganesh.” Ganesha is known by a lot of names like Ganpati, Gajanan, Ganashisha, etc. Another name of his is “Ekdant”, which translates to someone with ‘one tooth’. If you look at any idol or picture of Ganesha, you would always notice that his left tusk or tooth is either broken or missing. There is a story behind this. It is ..read more

Director Pradeep P Jadhav and Vivek Iyer’s Hindi movie ‘The Legacy Of Jineshwar’ is based on the life and teachings of the Jain Tirthankar Vardhaman Mahaveer. The movie is all set to release in theatres on Mahaveer Jayanti on April 19. It will see Manish Bishla play the character of Vardhaman Mahaveer while it also stars Surendra Pal Singh and Anil Lalwani. Bishla is known for acting in mythological and devotional television shows. The movie was earlier titled ‘The Legacy Of Mahaveer’. However, there were protests and opposition to the movie by people from Jain religion as they felt it isn’t r ..read more

“He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva; and if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary.” Swami Vivekananda ************************************************************* The above quote by Swami Vivekananda is just one sentence long but it says a lot. What he is trying to say is that visiting temples and worshiping the God in it is all fine. Nothing wrong in it. But it is of no use if we don’t see God in the poor, weak, diseases, distressed, helpless, etc. It is our foremost duty to serve them and ensure that their life ..read more

It would be an understatement to say that Lord Krishna had an eventful life as the eight avatar of Lord Vishnu in the Dwapar Yug. And all these events had some profound message hidden in them. One such important incident that is one of the highlights of his life is the one where he lifts the Govardhan mountain on his little finger. Lord Indra forms the background of this incident. This story takes place when Krishna was neither a kid, nor an adult. He was enjoying the playful stage of his life with his family, friends and fellow villagers of Vrindavan. One day, he saw that his foster father Na ..read more

Goddess Kali is worshipped the most in West Bengal. Hence, the state is full of Kali Temples. During my recent visit to Kolkata I came across many Kali temples. But the one that really stunned me was the Dakat Kalibari Temple. Animal sacrifices are a regular practice in a lot of Kali temples. But there was a time long ago when human beings were sacrificed here. Dakat Kalibari temple is situated on Purna Das Road in the city. It is just like any other lively street from Kolkata. The temple is situated inside a compound. When I visited the place, I was impressed with its old world décor, which i ..read more

“How to attain purity living this life? Shall we all go to the forest caves? What good would it do? If the mind is not under control, it is no use living in a cave because the same mind will bring all disturbances there. We will find twenty devils in the cave because all the devils are in the mind. If the mind is under control, we can have the cave anywhere, wherever we are.” Swami Vivekananda *********************************************************************** The above quote by Swami Vivekananda is more relevant in today’s urban life. Life in metro cities is full of stress, mostly born ..read more

Lord Khandoba is considered to be a form of Lord Shiva. He is worshipped the most in Maharashtra and North Karnataka. He is considered as a Kuldevata (family deity) of a lot of families from these regions. But along with Hindus, Khandoba is also worshipped by a section of the Jain population. More importantly, worshipping him is considered to bring together people of different castes and communities, including Muslims. Khandoba is specifically remembered for eliminating two Asura brothers. According to the legends, Asuras Malla and his younger brother Mani performed severe austerities. After c ..read more

Despite the advancement of technology in today’s age of filmmaking, the black and white era continues its supremacy purely in terms of its content. That’s the reason that not only the elderly but also youngsters of every generation continue watching films from that era. One such film that has passed the test of time again and again is filmmaker Vijay Bhatt’s Baiju Bawra, which released in 1952. Starring Bharat Bhushan in the titular role, the movie, although a musical, tells the story of a young singing sensation Baiju who is eager to avenge the death of his father from Tansen as he considers ..read more

Lord Krishna was equipped with the powerful and celestial weapon called the Sudarshan Chakra. It had the power to kill anyone He wishes to. But Krishna used it only a few times in his life. It is believed that Shishupala was one of those few ones who was killed by Krishna through his Sudarshan Chakra. Shishupala was the son of the king of Chedi Damagosha and his wife Srutashubha. Srutashubha was the sister of Vasudeva and Kunti. This made Shishupala as Krishna’s cousin since Vasudeva was Srutashubha’s brother. Shishupala was born with three eyes and a deformed body consisting four arms because ..read more

“As long as a stray dog of my country remains without food, my religion will be to feed and take care of him. All else is either non-religion or false religion.” — Swami Vivekananda ***************************************************************** The above quote by Swami Vivekananda is very deep. It says that there is no point in carrying out religious activities if you can’t help those who are gravely in need of help and are struggling to survive. His example mentions a stray dog but it is applicable to anyone who has no means of survival. He says that even a stray dog shouldn’t be kept hung ..read more