My Soul My Universe-HAR HAR MAHADEV SHIV _/\_

Lord Shiva never imposes, He Inspires. Lord Shiva does not command, He Enlightens. If you know what you are supposed to do, you will follow with the fullest conviction - FB : LORD SHIVA'S post indeed touches my soul. 

"Dhimeeta Dhimeeta Dhim Dhimeeta Dhimeeta Dhim"

Nache BholaNath...............

Dhimeeta Dhimeeta Dhim Dhimeeta Dhimeeta Dhim"

Nache BholaNath............... Mridangaa Bole Shiva Shiva Shiva Om

Veena Baaje Har Har Har Om

Dhimeeta Dhimeeta Dhim Dhimeeta Dhimeeta Dhim"

Nache BholaNath...............humming this eversince a kid having learnt the same at Swami Vivekananda camp.

May be in my genes,love for Shiv and being one of His bhakt as both of my parents are His ardent devotees and fortunate enough to have Shivling at home wherein Bael Tree (seeds Grand Pa gave mom) so mystic as the branches are extending towards the temple and the sight so serene, soothing to one's eye.

Why HE is not just mine Universe but is "Priya Bhakta-favourite of the devotees?

Karpuura-Gauram Karunna-AvataaramSamsaara-Saaram Bhujage[a-I]ndra-Haaram |Sadaa-Vasantam Hrdaya-AravindeBhavam Bhavaanii-Sahitam Namaami ||

Meaning:1: Pure White like Camphor, an manifestation of sympathy,2: The spirit of experienced survival, Whose Garland is the King of Serpents,3: Always house inside the Lotus of the Heart.4: I Bow to Shiva and Shakti Together.

Trideva(Trinity) Devon ke Dev Mahadev Shiva known as destroyer of Evil..............Only one who step forward to consume poison during Samudra Manthan when other dieties refused inorder to protect His family and safety of humanity from massive destruction. He is unbiased and idolized even by social rejects and Ghosts. He loves "Bhaang"(dope, lives even in cemetry and also considered as "LORD OF DANCE".

The Ganges, the most sacred river in India, shows coolness, holinessand serenity. Lord Shiva holds her on His head, thus preaching the devotees that if they bear coolness, holiness and serenity in their head i.e. if they give up anger, envy and disturbance that haunts their mind they will achieve all kinds of perfections and successes.

Lord Shiva wears the MOON on His forehead, thus preaching for peaceful mind and forsightedness.

In scriptures and in practical life,snake is given a name Kaala i.e. the death. But Lord Shiva bears snakes on His chest. Thus he preaches the people that if they donot engage their mind and intellect in the worship of God, death is always facing them. The reason of having a snake around his chest is that, VISHASYAAVISHAMAUSHDHAMA, i.e. the best antidote for poison is poison itself.Hence to cancel the effect of the poison Lord Shiva has worn poisonous snakes around his shoulders.

Majority takes Shaani having "Ku Dhrishti" meaning causing menace but Shaani is ardent devotee of Shiv and Mahadev says Shaani only teaches correct path to those gone astray.

Shiva-Parivara is a conglomerate of strange things. Lord Shiva has Ox who is none other but His favourite Nandi as his vehicle and snake as garland. As against it, Parvati, who is the form of Shakti (power) has lion as vehicle. Lion is a natural enemy of OX. Kartikeya's vehicle is a Peacock,who is an enemy of the snakes who adorns Lord Shiva's chest.Ganesh has the mouse as His vehicle. The mouse is a natural prey of the snake.But amidst these strange diversities Lord Shiva remains submerged in His Sadhana with full concentration. In the world created by LordBrahma, all the creatures are different from one another. Hence, itis natural that their intellect and thoughts, would be different aswell. Thus if unity is maintained in a combined family despitemyriad diversities and controversies. The family would never face any wrath on the purpose of(Sadhana) and the means (Sadhan) to achieve it. Secondly, even the naturally violent animals give up their instincts in an environment where penance and spiritual.  (source : indiandivine.org)

The jyothirlinga shrines,are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. They are known as Swayambhus, meaning the lingams sprung up by themselves at these locations, and temples were built there afterwards.Originally there were believed to be 64 jyothirlingas while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy. The twelve jyothirlinga are:  Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharastra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharastra, Vaidyanath

Jyotirlinga at Deoghar in Jharkhand, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

About MahaShivratri : There is a belief that when Parvati asked Lord Shiva which devotees and rituals pleased Him the most,He replied that the 14th night of the new moon, in the dark fortnight during the month of Phalgun, is His most favourite day i.e. MAHASHIVRATRI. Shivaratri literally means the great night of Shiva or the night of Shiva.Shivratri is also when Godess Parviti and Lord Shiva married again.

According to another legend, Maha Shivratri commemorates the day on which Lord Shiva indulged in "Tandava".

Why considered IDEAL HUSBAND and both married as well as unmarried girls fast on auspicious ocassion of Shivratri?

Perfect example of "ONE MAN WOMAN" My mom always tells me to notice during wedding rituals always they say "HAR GAURI" meaning relationship as ideal like Shiv-Parvati. Of course like every relationships, it also underwent several trials & tribulations also withstood so many storms and testing times yet in Shiv's heart is always Parvati and Parvati's soul is Shiv. Of course it was ain't easy task for Parvati to get Shiv as her Hubby initially,she underwent plenty of fasts and sacrifices until Lord Himself was pleased. 

Shiva and Parvati have the ideal family life......Shiva is not just a romantic lover, He's also a good friend and companion to Parvati. In fact, Shiva is said to love Parvati so much that She becomes part of His body. Shivji is my Universe and even there would be no one beside me in testing times or any circumstances,its ok no worries coz i feel His presence always within.......... OM NAMAH SHIVAY

And traditional belief if unmarried girls fast on MahaShivratri they are blessed with soulmate as their heart desires and ideal as Mahadev. Married women keep fast for happiness and wellbeing of their husbands. I have entrusted the responsibilty to look for suitable soulmate for me to none other but Ideal Husband in the Universe and will accept who He chooses for me irrepective be Aditya Kashyap Alias Rehaan Khan but must have shadows of Mahadev Shiv :-)

I won't get into much nitty -gritty of several details as Shiv Purana,Shaivism,Sawaan,Solah Somvaar etc in this note but just highlighting about Shiva with relevance to Shivratri and Umananda Temple located on the Peacock island amidst mighty River Brahmaputra.  It is said that, when Shiva was in meditation on this hillock, Kamadeva interrupted his yoga and was therefore burnt to ashes by the fire of Shiva’s anger and hence the hillock got the name Bhasmacala. The temple of Umananda was built in 1694 A.D. by the Bar Phukan Garhganya Handique,TAI AHOM rulers of ASSAM.

My Ode To Almighty Shiva thy Universe

Jatadhari Anagha Jai O Mahadeva

Bholenath Devon Ke Dev Mahadeva

Umapati Pashupati Jai O Mahadeva

Bhairav or Handsome Chandrashekhar love is equal in every form

You always pave way for honesty, no arrogance and inner reform

Stressing upon Good Karma, Unbiased You are Me Lord

The rhythm of Dambaroo within our hearts strikes the right chord

If Third Eye opens indication impending danger,

O Rudra, evil devilish forces fear your anger

O Neelkanth JagatPita i bow infront of You innumerable times having saved us

O Tripurari who underwent so much pain & sacrifices thinking simply good of us.

Every fast without drop of water in your name is never enough

But when we think of you with purest heart things seem alright even tough

O Varada O MahaMrityunjaya you love us even with single "Belpatta" being offer

Over any riches won't satisfy if ill-mind and thoughts of a loafer.

Daily eagerly wait for popular TV saga having "Mohit Raina" essaying Your Character with sheer brilliance

You can cure the suffering O Shambu and indeed provide much needed resilience,

Adi-Shakti manifested within you depicts evergreen true Love so rare,

Beauty of the Bond,profound understanding which is prominent and glare.

Natraja NagaBhushana you are the ultimate cosmic energy.

Mahanidhi Mahayogi all the Bhakts in union will agree.

Bhoothnath Babulnath, you show me your presence amidst Nawaabi reign,

My love for you O Lingaraja is unconditional having no personal gain.

Jai Jai Shiv Shankar co-incidence thy name, my true friend always there for me even in testing times,

O Someshwara O Hara,aura you spread and positivity around as goodluck like wind chimes.

O Nrityapriya Omkara Rudraksha Trilochana I bow to you,One and Only you,

O Maheshwara Parmeshwara Paramjyoti SadaShiva, i know you help us achiveing Life's major breakthrough. 

P.S Many names of Shiva been used in the above ODE and every name has own unique meaning. Its indeed most difficult task to pen down about your Soul, the most Inspiring Character in few words and space. I just made an attempt to highlight in brief about Mahadev and MahaShivratri's significance.

HAR HAR MAHADEV

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

BOM BOM BHOLE

JAI BHOLENATH _/\_

Celebrating FEMININITY globally :-)

Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” ― Joseph Conrad

The UN declares an International Women's Day theme and for 2013 it is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women”.Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Gone are the days when women just remained confined to four walls of the house and managed the kitchen.Over the period of time there is global momentum for championing women's equality.

On this occasion i felt nice to pen down and give tribute to some wonderful women who has inspired me in various life phases so far :-

My Mom : "You were my strength when i was weak,my voice when i could not speak" Ma you are the very reason of my existence today and honestly i feel blessed to have a woman of substance  integrity and outmost courage as my mother. I love you so much that don't wish to tie the knot and move elsewhere coz you are my heartbeat, my oxygen cylinder and dunno how my life would be without you beside me and our 24/7 non stop chatters. On this auspicious occasion i urge please don't keep deadly wish of getting me married in future :-) I want you as my mom in every birth i take and hope can make you feel proud someday.

Sushmita Sen : Personally having met her in Maximum City and can't get over her charisma till date. Perfect example of "Beauty with Brains" who created history by being first Indian Woman to grab coveted Miss. Universe Title in 1994.Her expression when winning the crown is still fresh in our minds.Glam Diva who created ripples at age 25 by being single mother and example to millions of women out there. Someone who is so blunt regarding her relationships and so comfortable in her skin being herself amidst hypocrisy and fabricated industry.Her statement "Just being a woman is God's gift. The origin of a child is a mother, a woman. She shows a man what sharing, caring, and loving is all about. That is the essence of a woman",captured hearts of millions across the globe.

Sudha Murthy : If you guys looking for a real unconditional love story then definitely read about Sudha and Narayan Murthy-Founder Infosys and she is best example for "Behind success of every man there is a woman". 

Naina Lal Kidwai : A chartered accountant by profession, country's 1st woman MBA graduate from Harvard Business School and currently Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India. Also the first woman to guide the functioning of a foreign bank in India. Simply loved one of her articles where she clearly pointed out the importance of diversity and how to encourage more girls securing admission in B-schools having male : female ratio very uneven.

Kiran Bedi : India's first woman officer in the IPS who fought against all odds and also established few NGOs. Her strong dynamic persona and boldness is something we girls should imbibe and raise her voice against injustice as the old adage goes "Only Crying Babies get milk"

Shakira : Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, choreographer and model who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s. Dance being my passion, i love imitating Shakira's moves and wish can get them even 1% close to perfection.Her track : Hips Don't lie,Wherever,Waka Waka became kind of dance anthem across the globe.

Madhuri Dixit Nene : The Dhak Dhak girl whose gracious dance steps showed jhalak across the nation. What i simply admire about her more than her classical beauty that post 30s establishing a great career she found her Prince Charming- a surgeon in USA and now happily settled. A success story of career and relationship in deceptive world of Bollywood.

  

Kaneko Ikeda : Comrade in Faith and wife of Dr. Daisaku Ikeda-president of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI), a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which has 13 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions. The book - Kaneko's story is a beautiful read for women on marriage,faith and balancing everything in life. I salute their bond of togetherness over 6 decades and more which has shone like a diamond than just the mere ring people fancy.

Gauri Khan : When asked her did Bollywood Badshah SRK ever bestowed diamonds upon her and prompt reply was " I am quite a grabber, what i like i go and pick myself ,don't wait for him to get". Wife of nation's most successful Bollywood actor and ideal example of inter-religion marriage who has inculcated respect to all religions in their kids as at their house-MANNAT which is always centre of attraction in Bandra celebrates Diwali and Eid with great pomp and joy. What i love about her that she was with SRK when he was struggling,got married when she was 21 and had no proper furniture and dwelling on rented place in Mumbai coming from Hindu Brahmin family whose father was a retired army officer. 

North East sisters-Mary Kom and Iron lady Irom Chanu Sharmila : Mary Kom paved the way for girls from remotest regions that nothing can deter a true spirit and talent by winning Olympics medal. Iron Lady of Manipur,  the only voice of the voiceless and has been fasting for the past 11 years(the Indian Govt. giving liquid food through her nose from 11 yrs )and will be completing 12 years. These two women are greatest examples of undaunted strength and courage.

Neighbourhood sisters from Pakistan-Benazir Bhutto and Nazia Hasan : Ms. Bhutto, a former prime minister of Pakistan and the founder of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) paving the way and emphasizing upon importance of girl's education who was was assassinated in a bombing on 27 December 2007, after leaving PPP's last rally in the city of Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled 2008 general election in which she was a leading opposition candidate. The following year, she was named one of seven winners of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.

Nazia Hasan was an iconic Pakistani pop singer. Her song "Aap Jaisa Koi" from the Indian film Qurbani (1980) made her a legend and pop icon in Pakistan and all of South Asia in the 1980s, where she is admired and loved even today, years after her death.

Goldie my Niece : She gave me a glimpse into Motherhood via Mausihood. I learnt from the tiny tot what kind of mental preparation needed in future along with a caring partner if i ever decide to tie the knot and have a baby. And salute to all single mothers in the world because as i realized raising a baby single handedly is quite a task and motherhood though changes everything doesnot come so easy.

Apart from the above mentioned list, there are tons of names of many unsung admirable true heroines who has led exemplary lives juggling between daily to do list and pursuing their wildest dreams and those who have been victims of domestic violence, abuse, dowry killings, rape and other injustices-SIGH :-(  Its time we change HISTORY, and work for progressive development of women who is at par and not just an object to fulfill sexual desire.

Men who treat women as helpless and charming playthings, deserve women who treat men as delightful and generous bank accounts - by UNKNOWN 

My hearfelt special Thanks to the wonderful sensitive MEN in my life who made this journey so worthwhile so far and also those losers,morons and heartbreakers i would like to extend my Thanks with a broad smile coz you guys made me supertough and independent woman of this 21st century :-) After all, the word WOMAN has MAN and hence both are equal partners in a society and coexists-Purush and Prakriti and one is incomplete without the other.

Vitamin F (for F.R.I.E.N.D.S :-)

Dear friends, 

The most successful SITCOM-F.R.I.E.N.D.S took millions via Idiot Box by huge storm with its immense popularity and characters- Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston),Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) became a household name. The title awesome track by Rembrandts-I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU strikes chords in every heart and soul and could even pacify one in lonely testing times that there is someone out there who genuinely cares :-)

Har ek friend zaroori hota hai ! :-) ya kabhi kabhi kuch bohut kamina bhi hota hain :P 

Vitamin F (for Friends)

Why do one may have a variety of friends who are all so different in character?How can one get along with them all? I think that each one helps to bring out a "different" part of us. 

Just as cherry, plum, peach and damson blossoms all possess their own unique qualities, each person is unique. We cannot become someone else. The important thing is that we live true to ourselves and cause the great flower of our lives to blossom-DR DAISAKU IKEDA

With one of them may be we are polite,joke with another friend,sit down and talk about serious matters with one.With another we tend to laugh a lot, listen to one friend's problems.Then listen to another one's advice for me.My friends are all like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.When completed, they form a treasure box.A treasure of friends!They are my friends who understand me better than myself, who supportme through good days and bad days.We pray together and for each other.Doctors tell us that friends are good for our health.

Then comes a time unexpectedly when one of your Friends gives you lifetime inspiration.How wonderful the journey can get and may be if life were a book then meeting that one awesome multitalented buddy is the most beautiful chapter for me :-) Insha'Allah

Dr. Oz calls them Vitamin F (for Friends) and counts the benefits offriends as essential to our well being. Research shows that people instrong social circles have less risk of depression and terminalstrokes.If you enjoy Vitamin F constantly you can be up to 30 years youngerthan your real age. The warmth of friendship stops stress and even inyour most intense moments it decreases the chance of a cardiac arrestor stroke by 50%.

I'm so happy that I have a stock of Vitamins F!

In summary, it is wise to value our friends and keep in touch with them.We should try to see the funny side of things and laugh together, andpray for each other in the tough moments.

Thank you for being one of my Vitamins! 

God Bless You

(P.S This article is edited and given different perspective by the author from a forward email received ages back and found it worthwhile to share in social media :-)

Cheers!!