Guruvandanam - Important Festival Dates in October 2013

Guruvandanam Important Festival Dates in October 2013 Pradosham – Wed Oct 2nd 2013 Masa Sivaratri – Thu Oct 3rd 2013 Mahalaya Amãvãsya – Fri Oct 4th 2013 ​Navaratri Kolu can be kept on this day ​ Significance of Amavasya Tarpanam Tarpanam is defined in Sanskrit as follows: Trpyanti pitaro yena tat tarpanam That (ritual) by which the ancestors are satiated is called Tarpanam. The ritual of Tarpanam is performed every month on the New moon ( Amavasya) day. On this day a son who has lost his father or both parents invokes them with two more generations of ancestors who are deceased. Divinity in the form of the deities Vasus, Rudra and Ãditya are also invoked through whom the offerings are made to the pitrs. Oblations are made with water and black sesame seeds (tilodakam). The person seeks blessings of ancestors and deities praying for the well being of himself and his family. He gives dakshina to a priest or sets aside dakshina according to his capacity as a part of the ritual. * Excerpt from "Antyeshti" by Sri Dhira Chaitanya. Sankalpam for Tarpanam Mama Upãtta samasta Durita kshayadwãrã Šree Parameswara Preetyartham, Apavitra pavitrorva sarvavastham gatopiva. Yasmaret pundareekasham sabãhya abhyantaraššuchihi. Mãnasam vãchikam pãpam karmanã samupãrjitam Šreerãma smaranenaiva vyapohati nasamšayaha. Šreerãma rãma rãma, tithirvishnuhu tathã vãraha, nakshatram vishnurevaca, yogašca karanam chaiva sarvam vishnumayam jagat. Šree hare govinda govinda govinda, adya sree bhagavataha mahãpurushasya vishnorãgnayã pravartha mãnasya, Adya Brahmanaha Dwiteeya Parãrdhe, Šwetavarãha kalpe, Vaivaswata Manvantare, Ashtã vimšati tame, kaliyuge, Prathame pãde, aindra khande, krouncha dweepe, Bhoomandalasya pašcime pãršwe, Šakãbde Asmin Vartamãne, Vyavahãrike, Prabhavãdi Shashti Samvatsarãnãm Madhye, Vijaya Nãma Samvatsare, Dakshinayane, Varsha Rutou, Kanya / Bhadrapada Mãse, Krishna pakshe, Amãvãsyãm Punya Tithou, Bhrugu vãsara yuktãyãm, Hasta Nakshatra Samyuktãyãm, Vishnu yoga Vishnu karana evanguna sakala višeshena višishtãyãm asyãm Amãvãsyãm Punya Tithou…. Mahalaya / Sraddha Paksham Thu Sep 19th - Fri Oct 4th 2013 Significance of Mahalaya / Sraddha Paksha. By Ramaswamy Sastry The krishna paksha of the solar month when Surya transits Kanya rasi is called mahalaya paksha.This corresponds to sun's placement in the nakshatras Uttara phalguni, Hasta and Chitra. . Mahalaya paksha includes the subsequent shukla paksha pratipada also. As soon as sun enters Kanya rasi, all the pitrus leave pitruloka, rendering it empty and proceed towards their descendents, hungry and thirsty looking forward to receiving the offerings in sraadham. If they are not propitiated, they become disappointed and go back cursing. Unlike in heaven where everything is provided, the pitrus can receive their food and water only through the hands of their descendents. When they come home visiting and are deprived of even these, naturally that will cause terrible grief. It is even said that, on the days of the sraadham the pitrus come and wait at the doorsteps to be called in and offered food and water. In old times, mahalaya paksha was observed by performing sraadham in parvana vidhana everyday during the entire paksha. Nowadays, most of those who observe mahalaya, perform tilatarpanam everyday during the paksha and/or perform hiranyasraddham or sraadham with bhojanam on any particular day during the pasksha often on the tithi of one of the parents and accompanied by special daanams as guided by their family priests. Sraadham/tarpanam performed on each day of the paksha yields results as follows. Prathama - wealth Dwiteeya - progeny Triteeya - suitable husband Chaturthy - success over rivals Panchami - prosperity, this day has a special status. Shashti - fame Saptami - leadership Ashtami - progress, special day Navami - suitable wife Dasami - all desires Ekadasi - vedic knowledge Dwadasi - gain of gold, special day for sanyasis Trayodasi - progeny, intellect, wealth, freedom, longevity, prosperity. This is called gajacchaya. Chaturdasi - mukti for those killed by weapons Amavasya - all desires and swargaprapti Observing mahalayapaksha is no less than performing a yajna. It should be observed with a peaceful mind and sraadham should be performed not in a hurry. In case of incapability to observe the entire paksha, one may start from panchami, ashtami or dashami and do till pratipada.. Darshasraadham (amavasya tarpanam) should be performed separately even while observing full mahalaya paksha also tarapnams such as yugadi. The Bharani nakshatra that falls within Mahalaya paksha has special status and it is called Mahabharani. Performance of sraadham on this day is equal in result to gayasraadham. When it comes to the ritual part, there are many variations based on the deshachara and family customs. One may take guidance from the family priest for this. One major difference from the normal tarpanam and sraadham is that the kaarunika pitrus (other relatives) are also included in mahalaya sraadham. Ashwayuja Masam & Devi Navaratri Begins – Sat Oct 5th 2013 Durga Pooja Sat Oct 5th 2013 – Mon Oct 7th 2013 Lakshmi Pooja Tue Oct 8th 2013 & Wed Oct 9th 2013 Saraswati Pooja Thu Oct 10th 2013 – Sat Oct 12th 2013 Chaturthi – Tue Oct 8th 2013 Sukla Shashti – Wed Oct 9th 2013 ​​Durgashtami – Fri Oct 11th 2013 ​Mahanavami – ​Sat Oct 12th 2013 ​ Vijaya Dasami & Sri Venkateswara Jayanthi – Sun Oct 13th 2013 Ekadasi – Mon Oct 14th 2013 Pradosham – Wed Oct 16th 2013 Tula Sankramanam / Ippasi Month Begins – Thu Oct 17th 2013 Sankalpam for Tula ​ Sankramana / Punya Kala Tarpanam Mama Upãtta samasta Durita kshayadwãrã Šree Parameswara Preetyartham, Apavitra pavitrorva sarvavastham gatopiva. Yasmaret pundareekasham sabãhya abhyantaraššuchihi. Mãnasam vãchikam pãpam karmanã samupãrjitam Šreerãma smaranenaiva vyapohati nasamšayaha. Šreerãma rãma rãma, tithirvishnuhu tathã vãraha, nakshatram vishnurevaca, yogašca karanam chaiva sarvam vishnumayam jagat. Šree hare govinda govinda govinda, adya sree bhagavataha mahãpurushasya vishnorãgnayã pravartha mãnasya, Adya Brahmanaha Dwiteeya Parãrdhe, Šwetavarãha kalpe, Vaivaswata Manvantare, Ashtã vimšati tame, kaliyuge, Prathame pãde, aindra khande, krouncha dweepe, Bhoomandalasya pašcime pãršwe, Šakãbde Asmin Vartamãne, Vyavahãrike, Prabhavãdi Shashti Samvatsarãnãm Madhye, Vijaya Nãma Samvatsare, Dakshinayane, Sarad Rutou, Tula / aswayuja Mãse, Sukla pakshe, Chaturdasyam Punya Tithou, Guru vãsara yuktãyãm, Uttarabhadra Nakshatra Samyuktãyãm, Vishnu yoga Vishnu karana evanguna sakala višeshena višishtãyãm asyãm Chaturdasyam Punya Tithou…. Poornima / Satyanarayana Pooja – Fri Oct 18th 2013 Kruttika – Mon Oct 21st 2013 Sankata Hara Chaturthi / Karwa Chouth ​ - Tue Oct 22nd 2013 Moon rise at 8:43 pm What is Sankatahara Chaturthi? This Vrata / Fasting is For Sri Ganesa. Sankatahara Chaturthi Viratam Occurs during the Fourth day of the Full Moon Day, Every Month. The Vratha Starts Before sun-rise and lasts until moon-rise just Before Mid-Night. This is observed in Order to Overcome Difficulties and Problems. People suffering from the bad Effects of Moon or Mars can perform this Vrata. Ekadasi – Wed Oct 30th 2013 Pradosham ​ / Dhanteras​ – Thu Oct 31st 2013 Veda Classes I am Taking (Rudram) Veda Classes every Wednesday at 8:00 pm. at Chinmaya Mission 95 Cranbury Neck Road, Cranbury, NJ 08512. http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org If you are interested Please Contact me.