War For Treasure Board Game - How to Play (rules and questions)

Arrangements before starting the game

1. Open the board and place it on a flat surface

2. Each player should select 4 pawns (soldiers) of the same colour and have to place them in step zero on the board in the respective colours.

3. Place cards in a place as mentioned below (Card collection point)

*Gold Coin Cards - All the available cards

*Bhagavat Anugraha Cards - All the available cards

*Astra Cards should be considered based on number of players 

4. Consider one place to submit the cards (card submission point) 

How to Play

1. Players should roll the dice one after the other.

2. Number "6" is needed on dice to move one pawn(soldier) from step 0 to step1

3. From step one Pawn moves ahead as per the number on dice.

4. The player has the freedom to move any of his pawns based on his strategy

5. Soldiers (pawns) will move only in the forward direction except when they step on the tunnel

6. Cards - when a player steps on a step where there is gold, astra, and mandir he will get respective cards which can be used as per the below table

7. Astra cards are limited, after the mentioned cards are over, even if you step in Astra symbols you will not get cards. Gold & Mandir cards are unlimited.

8. Each card can be used only once, and the card should be placed in the card submission point to use

9. Tunnels - If a soldier steps on a tunnel he will move ahead or backward as per the number mentioned on the tunnels

10. Block (Trap tree) - If a soldier steps on the trap tree he will be blocked(stopped) in that step and can be unblocked (moved) only by using "one" on dice

11. Dangers (Fire, mountains, river, lion, tiger, snakes) - If a soldier steps into danger he will be out and will go back to step 0. If the player has a respective astra or bhagavat anugraha card he/She can surrender that card to protect the soldier

12.No two soldiers can be in one step (even soldiers of the same player) except in the block(trap tree), temple & doors.

13. Attacking other soldiers 

*A soldier of a player can attack a soldier of another player by coming into the step where the other player's soldier is there 

*If a soldier gets attacked by a soldier of another player, he will move back to step 0

*A soldier can't attack other soldiers in block points, Mandir and doors. Soldiers can be in those steps together

14. Doors

*A player whose soldiers stand in all four doors at first will win the treasure and he will be the winner of the game 

*If a soldier of a player has crossed Door2  and is present in any step from 72 to 75, other soldiers of the same player should not cross door2 i.e., at a time more than 2 soldiers of the same player should not be present between step 72 to 75 

*If 2 soldiers of a player have crossed Door3  and are present in any step from 68 to 75, other soldiers of the same player should not cross door3 i.e., at a time more than 2 soldiers of the same player should not be present between step 68 to 75 

*If 3 soldiers of a player have crossed Door4  and are present in any step from 64 to 75, the fourth soldier of the same player should not cross door4 i.e., at a time more than 3 soldiers should not be present after door4 (step 64 to 75)

15. Dice rolling - The player can repeat rolling dice if one gets "6" and/or when he/she attacks other player soldiers. If the player gets "6", he/she can roll dice again only after using the number "6".

16. To cross tribes (even if you don't step on step number 53) player has to submit a Golden coin card else tribes will attack the soldier and the soldier will go to step 0  

Questions

1.  when a soldier comes to step 0 after being attacked by an opponent/because of stepping in danger, does the soldier need '6' on the dice again to move from step 0 to step 1?

A. Yes,  '6' on dice is needed to move from step 0 to step 1 irrespective of the conditions

2. If all gold coin and Bhagvad anugraha (Mandir) cards are used (submitted). What to do?

A. You can move gold coin and bhagavat anugraha cards from the submission point to card collection point. This does not apply to astra cards

3. Can we reuse the Astra cards?

A. No, once submitted they can't be used.

4. After we roll '6' on the dice, do we get one more chance to roll the dice?

A.Yes, you get the chance to roll dice again provided you use the number "6"

5. After we attack a soldier of any opponent can we roll dice again?

A. Yes

6. If 3 soldiers of a player have reached three doors and the 4th soldier of that player is 2 steps away from door 4, if that player gets a number more than two, what will happen?

A.Player can't use it, he has to wait for his next turn.

7. If a soldier reaches tribes and the player doesn’t have the gold coin card to submit then what to do?

A. Then the soldier should wait till the player gets a Gold coin card else if the soldier steps or crosses the tribe he will be out.

8. If one soldier of a player steps in to block point and the other 3 soldiers of that player are still in step 0 or reached doors etc, and the player gets other than "1" on the dice, what the player should do?

A.Player can't use it , player should wait for his/her next turn.

9. When a soldier steps on any Astra card and suppose that particular astra cards are completed(already taken), what will happen?

A. If the Astra cards are completed, the soldier will not get the Astra card even if he steps on the Astra symbol.

10. Does Bhagavat anugraha card protect from an opponent attack as well?

A.No, it protects from only from dangers(fire, river, hills, lion, tiger, snake)

11. Can we purchase any Astra card with gold coin?

A. No

12. Can we attack an opponent's soldier in danger?

A. Yes, you can but if you don’t have a particular Astra card or mandir card then your soldier also comes to step 0

13. Do we have to submit gold coin only if we step in the tribes step ( step 53) or to cross it?

A. To cross tribes you have to submit a gold coin irrespective of whether you step on tribes or not

14. Can we use a medicine Astra card to protect our soldiers from lion or tiger attacks?

A. No, you have to use particular Astra cards to protect from dangers as mentioned in the rules

15. What happens if a soldier tries to cross tribes without submitting a gold coin card?

A. If a soldier tries to cross without submitting a gold coin card, soldier will be attacked by tribes and soldier will go to step 0

16. If your soldier steps on the tunnel(-2) on step no 25 and comes 2 steps back, and if any of the opponent's soldiers are present on step no 23, what will happen?

A. Your opponent's soldier will be attacked by you and that opponent soldier will go to step "0"

17. Can I skip using the number that I get on dice?

A. No. you can't skip any number that you get on dice until and unless it is not applicable to any of your soldiers.

18. If one of my soldiers has occupied door 1 or in step 72 (for example), can my second soldier cross door 2? 

A. No

19. If one of my soldiers has crossed door2 but was attacked by an opponent, can my soldier cross door2?

A. Yes

20. When I get '6' on dice can I repeat rolling dice without using the first "6" that I got?

A. No first you have to move your soldier then only you can roll dice for the second time

21. One soldier of a player earned a Gold coin card or any other card, Can the player use it for his other soldiers?

A. Yes, the Player can use the cards as he wants for all his soldiers

22.  Where to submit the cards to use them?

A. To use the Card, you can place it in the card submission point

For more queries connect with us on: "connecthindu.com@gmail.com"

 

 

GITA ABHYAS - Bhagavad Gita in Practice

Many of you might have read Bhagavad Gita but after reading it, are you able to keep it in practice? Are you able to follow what is told in Bhagavad Gita in your daily life? If you are not able to keep Bhagavad Gita in practice then mere reading will not help.

In Bhaja Govindam Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya mentioned that by practicing even a little of Bhagavad Gita one can get out of the life and death cycle and attain moksha. By this we can understand how important it is to keep Bhagavad Gita in practice.

Do you want to practice what is told in the Bhagavad Gita and change your life? But don’t know how to keep it in practice?

Then the story GITA ABHYAS – Bhagavad Gita in Practice will teach you how to keep Bhagavad Gita in practice

Partha was a university gold medalist who refused to attend the campus placements as it was his dream to become an IAS officer and serve the nation. So immediately after graduation, he started preparing for civils. One year back, he was able to qualify in the preliminary exam but was not able to crack the mains. But this year he was not even able to qualify for the preliminary exam

This continues failure made him depressed and Partha thinks to himself “Two years ago I was a gold medalist, but now, after 2 years of preparation, I am not able to crack the preliminary exam. What happened to me? All my friends are doing good jobs and a few of them are in the US doing higher education. But what have I achieved in the last 2 years? Maybe God doesn’t want me to be successful. I have believed him so much but he cheated me. Maybe my fate is not good.”

The next day after the results visiting a 200-year-old Hanuman temple has changed his life forever.

So the book is mainly about “Whom he met in the Hanuman Temple, what that person has taught to Partha and how did Partha’s life changed after practicing those teachings ?”

In this book concepts of Bhagavad Gita like Karma yoga, Bhakthi yoga, Indriya nigraha, karma phala sanyasa yoga etc are explained in an easy and simple way by giving many practical examples. After reading this book you will not only understand the concepts of Bhagavad Gita but also you will be able to practice them as its clearly mentioned

Gita Abhyas

This book is for people

• – Who want to understand and keep Bhagavad Gita in Practice
• – Who want to achieve great things and success in life
• – Who are seeking spiritual and religious knowledge

Order book on Amazon to start you life journey by practicing GITA. Click here

Navaratri Significance and how to do Pooja at home

Navaratri is a Sanskrit word which literally translates to nine nights (Nava means ‘9’ and ratri means ‘nights’). It is a 9 day long festival observed by the Hindus. This festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

Generally sharadnavaratri is observed in the month of September / October. It starts on Aswayuja padyami (first day of Aswayuja masam) and ends on Aswayuja Navami (Ninth day of Aswayuja masam). Chaitra Navaratri is also celebrated during March/April. 

Reason behind Navaratri festival:

Once there was a demon named mahishasura who was granted immortality by lord brahma on a condition that he could only be defeated by a woman. Considering no woman could kill him, he started troubling everyone in trilok (earth, heaven and hell) and no one was able to defeat him. Finally Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together created goddess Durga who finally defeated Mahishasura. She fought with him for 9 long days.

During the fight the clever mahishasura kept changing his form to confuse goddess Durga. Ultimately on the 10th day when he took the form of Buffalo, goddess Durga pierced his chest with her trishul and killed him.

 So we worship goddess Durga these nine days in nine different forms known as ‘Nava Durga’

1st day: on the very first day Maa Durga is worshipped as ‘Shailaputri’, daughter of king of mountains. We worship Devi Shailaputri to attain highest state of consciousness.

2nd day: on the second day goddess ‘Brahmacharini’, the second avatar of Maa Durga is worshipped to explore our inner divinity. She is store house of knowledge and wisdom.

3rd day: on the third day we worship goddess ‘Chandra ganta’ for peace, tranquillity and prosperity in life.

4th day: on the fourth day we worship goddess ‘Kushmanda’. She is considered as originator of universe.

5th day: Fifth day is dedicated to goddess ‘Skandamatha’. Skandamatha means mother of skanda (Karthikeya). She represents mother who can fight anyone when need arises to protect her kids (devotees). Worshiping this form of Maa Durga brings abundance of wisdom, wealth, power, prosperity and liberation.

6th day: Devi ‘Katyayani’ is worshipped on the sixth day to put an end to all our inner foes that are an obstacle on the path of spiritual evolution.

7th day: on the seventh day we invoke Devi ‘Kalaratri’. Kalaratri is a fierce form of Devi which represents the dark night. Maa Kalaratri is known for destroying ignorance and removing darkness from universe.

8th day: on the eighth day goddess ‘Maha Gauri’ is worshipped. She is that energy which propels our lives and also liberates us.

9th day: on ninth day we worship Devi ‘Siddhidatri’. Siddhi means perfection. Devi siddhidatri brings perfection in our life. She makes the impossible possible. She takes us beyond the ever reasoning logical mind to explore the realm beyond time and space.

In some places on these 9 days Maa Durga is also worshipped as Balatripurasundari, Annapurna Devi, Gayathri, Lalitha Devi, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Mahishasura mardini and Rajarajeshwari

 The 10th day is celebrated as ‘Vijayadashami’ or ‘Dussera’ where Maa Durga killed mahishasura signifying victory of good over evil.

How to perform Navaratri puja:

Chandi saptha shathi Parayana (reading Chandi saptha shathi in Sanskrit) is done during the Navaratri under the guidance of Guru. If your family has any fixed tradition of worshipping goddess during Navaratri you follow your family tradition. If you can’t do Chandi Saptha shathi Parayana, you can follow a simple worship by which you can get the blessing of Maa Durga

Daily morning and evening after the bath, you lite a lamp in front of Goddess Murthi and offer a fruit or sweet (prepared with care at home).

Then you can chant below stotram 

1. Argala stotram
2. Aparajita stotram
3. Devi Keelakam
4. Mahishasura Mardini stotram,
5. durga kavacham

Not only above, there are many stotras of goddess. You can read them as well. If you can’t read all the stotram reading Atleast one of them is good. If you feel chanting stotram difficult you can also chant any name of Maa Durga or Maa Laxmi or Maa Saraswati for 108 or 1008 or more times with devotion. You can also visit any goddess temple and offer your prayers.

If in case anyone is unable to follow 9days of puja, we can start atleast from the 3rd day or 5th day or 7th day which also gives the same result. It is also told that at least the last three days i.e., Durgashtami, Maharnavami and Vijayadashami should be observed and we should worship Maa Durga to get her blessings.

Kanya Pooja

On the eighth day of Navaratri puja, invite nine small girls to your home (if you are not able to get 9 girls you can invite Atleast 1 or 3 or 5 girls). They are considered to be the nine forms of Maa Durga. Wash their feet and treat them with special meal and give them some small gifts they would like (include bangles and flowers). This ritual is called ‘Kanya puja’.

Also read understanding hindu calender (panchang)

Celebrations:

People together worship Maa Durga by keeping Durga idols in societies. After Durga Pooja in the Pandal people play garba, dandiya, bathukamma and dunchi (some of the dance forms)

Digital Detox - An experience you should try for sure

In this current generation, we cannot imagine a life without technology. Right from the time, we wake up to the time we sleep, and even while sleeping we are dependent on technology in one or another way. With the help of technology, we are able to do many things with less effort and there is an increase in comfort level as well.

This is one side of the coin, but on the other side, it has made us mentally and physically weak. Many people are happy with technology but somewhere inside everyone is fed up with it. Most of the people want a temporary break where they want to go to a remote place where there will be no technology and wanted to stay there peacefully for some time. I think you might also have the same thought if I am not wrong. But how often we can go to such places? So is there any alternative? Yes… Digital detox or technology detox.
Now let us learn how to do it. Most people consider avoiding mobile as digital detox but let us go beyond to experience more.
First, select a day on the weekend or any other day when you will be free. And a family can do it together it will be more fun. A day before doing this activity, you can inform your close ones that you will not be available for a day. So that they don’t feel worried if your phone is switched off.
On the day of detox, early morning after you wake up switch off your phone, off all electrical devices like fans, AC, lights, etc. And you should not use them till the next day morning.
Hmm…I know you might be thinking I am crazy but believe me you will love the experience.
[ Note: Take care of water supply and you can use electricity for it else it will be a problem ]

Digital detox

OK, you have turned off your phone and all other electrical devices, now what to do? You Can do many things which you don’t do on a normal day. Most of the days we bathe in hurry, that day take your time and do a satisfying bath.
If you like reading books you can read one or you can do any activity you like or you can spend quality time with your family by playing some indoor or outdoor games. You can cook your favorite dish and can enjoy it. And at night you can sleep early which most people forgot to do nowadays. You might be thinking that avoiding mobile and TV is OK but how difficult it is to stay without a fan and AC? Yeah, I understand it is difficult but you can make use of windows and you can use hand fans.
At night use oil lamps instead of lights. It will be a different experience and you will like it.
So what are the benefits you will get if you do it? Hmm, I don’t want to mention any benefits. I  want you to try and share your experience and how beneficial you felt (in the comment section). But I can say for sure you will get a relaxing experience. You will not listen to any unwanted or negative information as you don’t use TV and social media, you will get from relief the spam, or time pass calls and your body will get in sync with nature as we are not giving it any artificial luxury.

And one special thing is you will get time to think and talk to yourself. By doing this, you will get more clarity about your life, what you need and will help you in understanding yourself more. If you understand the entire world but can’t understand yourself then there will not be any meaning to your life and you can never be happy.

Also, read Organic lifestyle

If you like the experience you can keep doing it once a month or more as you like. And there are no hard and fast rules, you can modify the detox plan as per your situation but try to avoid electric gadgets as much as possible. Hope you will try and enjoy the experience.

know this Weight loss story if you want to lose weight

There were two people Tinku and Minku. One fine day, they have realized that their weight was more than normal and decided that they should reduce their weight.

Minku was more serious about his weight reduction and wanted to become thin as soon as possible. So initially Minku skipped his meals and reduced intake of food as much as possible. In a week he reduced almost 1.5kg, but he started feeling weak, and his craving for food
Increased. He felt happy that he reduced his weight by 1.5kg, but he was not able to continue after one and a half weeks. Again he started eating normally and after two more weeks, he again gained weight.

Then he thought, it will not work like this, I should do something new. Then he started eating only vegetables and fruits. It was very effective but he was not able to continue it. After discontinuing he again gained weight.
Like this, he tried different ways but he was not able to continue them. So in 6 months, he was not able to effectively reduce any weight.

Minku weight loss journey

Tinku on other hand wanted to make changes which he can follow without much difficulty. He decided to follow only two things
1. 15 minutes work out morning and evening
2. Eating not more than 70% of his capacity

After doing this for one week he didn’t find any big change in his weight. But by doing the above two he used to feel active and good. So he continued doing it even though he didn’t get much improvement. After a month his weight reduced by 1.5kg. As doing the above two, is not very difficult, he was able to continue them for a long and they became a part of his life.
After 6 months he was able to reduce 7kg weight and he also became fit and active and he is still continuing it.

Tinku weight loss story

Also, read organic life

But Minku even after trying so many things was not able to get any permanent results.
If you are also trying to reduce your weight, try to follow the things which can become a part of your daily routine and which can be followed forever so that you will also get permanent results.

Know how to read Hindu calendar (panchang) in detail

Let me ask you a question, what is today’s date? You might say it’s 11-May-2020. But do you know that it’s from the Georgian calendar (western calendar)? Now, what if I asked you to tell the position of the Moon and Sun with respect to earth, and the sun is in a straight line with which star (Nakshatra) when seen from earth, by looking at the calendar?

Will you be able to give me all those details? Not possible right?  But what if I told you that by looking at the calendar we can tell the position of the moon, sun, star, etc. with respect to earth?

You don’t believe me? But it’s a fact that we can know all those if we can understand how to read the Hindu calendar

Let’s check on how to read the Hindu calendar to know all those interesting details.

 Importance of Hindu calendar (Panchang)

Firstly, let us know the importance of the Hindu calendar and how it is different from the other calendars.

Some calendars are prepared based on Sun for example Georgian Calendar. In this calendar, they generally consider the time taken by earth to revolve around the sun as 1 year.  It will take 365.25 days for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun. So in the western calendar, they consider 365 days in a year, and once in four years they consider an additional day i.e. 366 days in a year called a Leap year

Some calendars are prepared based on Moon, for example, the Islamic Calendar. In this calendar, they consider the time taken by the moon to revolve around earth as one month and consider 12 such months as a year. It will take 29.53 days for the moon to revolve around the earth so they will have 354.36 days (29.53*12) in a year. Generally, they will consider 354 days in a year and consider some leap years with 355 days to compensate (0.36 days).

Almost all the calendars are prepared either based on sun or moon but the Hindu calendar is the only calendar that is prepared considering Sun, Moon, and stars.

One more interesting thing is that all the calendars in the world consider reference which is only 2000 or 3000 years ago, but the Hindu calendar (Panchang) will consider the start of Lord Brahma’s life as a reference. The universe is created by Lord Brahma so by knowing the age of current Brahma, we will know the age of the current universe approximately. To understand it first we should know a few basics.

Hindu calendar lord Brahma life span

Lord Brahma’s life span (approximate life span of the universe)

Lord Brahma’s life span is 100 Brahma years.    (Note this year is different from human years)

Day of Brahma = 1000 Maha yugas (1000 Maha yugas is also called Kalpa)

Night of Brahma = 1000 Maha Yugas (during the night of Brahma, life will not exist in the universe)

So one full day of Brahma consists of 2 Kalpa’s (i.e. 2000 Maha Yugas)

1 Mahayuga = 4 Yugas ( Krita yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali-yuga)

Krita Yuga = 1728000  human years

Treta Yuga = 1296000 human years

Dvapara yuga = 864000 human years

Kali-yuga = 432000 human years

So one full day of Brahma is equal to = (432000+864000+1296000+1728000)*2000 human years

One year of Lord Brahma (Brahma year will be 360 days) = (432000+864000+1296000+1728000)*2000*360

So total life span of Lord Brahma (100 Brahma years) is = (432000+864000+1296000+1728000)*2000*360*100

So the total life span of Lord Brahma (age of the current universe) is 311.04 Trillion human years.

The current age of Brahma (how old is the universe)

By calculating the current age of Brahma we will understand how old the universe is and how many years ago the universe was created approximately

To understand this we should know about a few more details

Day time of Brahma (1000 Maha yuga/Kalpa) is divided into 14 manvantara’s + 15 sandya’s (each sandya gap occur after every Manvantara)

1 Manvantara = 71 Maha yugas

1 sandya = 1728000 human years

As of now Brahma has completed 50 years and is currently on the first day of his 51st year

On the first day of his 51st year, he has completed 6 Manvantara’s and currently in 7th Mavantara.

In 7th Manvantara, he has completed 27 Maha yuga’s and currently in 28th Maha yuga

In 28th Maha yuga Krita yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara yuga are already complete and currently, Kali-yuga is running

50 years of Brahma = (432000+864000+1296000+1728000)*2000*360*50 = 155.522 trillion years

Completed six Manvantara’s in the first day of 51st year so completed = (6* Manvantara’s years )+( 7 sandhi years )

= (6* 71 * 4320000) + ( 7 * 1728000)

= 1852416000

In 7th Manvantara completed 27 Maha yuga’s = 27 * 4320000 = 116640000

In the current Maha yuga already completed Krita yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara yuga = 1728000 + 1296000 + 864000 = 3888000

In the present Kaliyuga we are in 5122 years (at the time of writing this article )

So the current age of Brahma (or universe) is

[(432000+864000+1296000+1728000)*2000*360*50]   +   1852416000   +   116640000   +   3888000   + 5122

So this is the reference for the Hindu calendar. No other calendar in the world is as old as the Hindu calendar.

Above mentioned details are only of current Brahma. Just like that, many Brahma’s have already completed their life span and many more Brahma’s will come in the future. Only Lord Vishnu and Shiva are eternal and are present all the time. After the current Brahma completes his lifetime, lord Hanuman will become the next Brahma.

Now that we have understood what is the reference year for the Hindu calendar now let us understand how we can read the Hindu calendar. When we tell date most of the calendars talk about the day, month, and year. But the Hindu calendar along with the date, month, and year will also talk about Vaar, Nakshatra, and Karana.

In this article, we will discuss the only date, month, and year. In Hindu calendar, the day is called Tithi, month as Masa, and Year as Samvatsara. There is no need for you to calculate all these details. All the calendars in local languages will provide the details of tithi and Nakshatra of that particular day and there are many Hindu calendar apps available, you can use any one of them. Below I have mentioned some basics on how Tithi, Masa, and Samvatsara are calculated so that you will have a basic understanding before you use the Hindu calendar.

Tithi

As per the Hindu calendar, a lunar month (29.53 days – time for the moon to complete one revolution around the earth) is divided into 30 tithis. A tithi (also spelt thithi) is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun to increase by 12°. Tithis can begin at any time of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours.

As per Hindu Shastra, a day starts with sunrise. So, the duration of a day is approximately 24 hours. Since the Tithi duration varies between 19 to 26 hours and since it starts at different times of the day, tithi during the time of sunrise is considered as the tithi for that entire day.

Naming of Tithi

A lunar month is divided into 2 parts namely, Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha.

Shukla Paksha is Waxing Moon when Chandra increases in size. That is from New Moon to Full Moon.

Krishna Paksha is Waning Moon when Chandra decreases in size. That is from Full Moon to New Moon (Dark).

The chart below will help you in understanding the tithi names

Hindu calendar Tithi calculation

Masa (Month)

Unlike all the other calendars, Hindu calendar will not have a same number of months every year. Generally, the Hindu calendar will have 12 months but to adjust it with the solar year, sometimes an additional month is added and sometimes a month is removed. Let us understand why and how it is done in detail.

A Hindu month will have 29.53 days (approx.).  So considering 12 months, it will have 354.36 days. Compared to a solar year (365.25 days) it will be lagging by approximately 11 days. This difference in lunar and solar years will be compensated by adding an additional month or removing a month.

You might be thinking about how can one simply add or remove a month. But if our Rishi’s (saints) have done something they will not do it without any meaning/value.

Generally, in a lunar month (Amavasya to Amavasya) there will be a sun transit from one Rashi to another Rashi.  Rashi’s are decided based on Nakshatra’s (stars). And the months are named after the Rashi in which Sun enters.

Hindu calendar Masa calculator

Once in every 3 years, in one particular month sun will not change from one Rashi to another. So, an additional month is considered when the sun does not change its Rashi in a lunar month. And that additional month is named after the Rashi in which the sun was already present with a prefix of “Adhika”. For example, assume that the sun is in Mesha Rashi and if it does not change the Rashi in that lunar month, then, an additional month is considered with the name of “Adhika Chaitra Masa”.

Once every 24 years, there will be 2 Adhika Masas (months) in a year.

Now if the sun transits into two rashis within a lunar month, then a lunar month will be removed. This will happen once every 122 years or 141 years.

By doing so, the solar and lunar year will be matched perfectly, without any error.

Samvasara (year)

As explained, above, currently we are in [(432000+864000+1296000+1728000)*2000*360*50]   +   1852416000   +   116640000   +   3888000   + 5122 year (5122 is the present running year in Kaliyuga as of May 2020 as per western Calendar) from the start of Brahma’s life which Hindu calendar consider as reference

Since it’s difficult to tell such a big number for the general-purpose we say the year as Kaliyuga 5122 (meaning in Kaliyuga we are in 5122 years).  And this year will keep on increasing in number, with every Hindu New Year (Ugadi or called with a different name in other regions of Bharat). For example, next Ugadi it will become Kaliyuga 5123.

For general use, we simply say Kaliyuga 5122 as a year but while telling a Sankalpam in Pooja or in any religious practices full details will be mentioned including details of Nakshatra, yoga, Karana etc.

You might have heard this many times in temple or in any Pooja but you might have not understood the meaning.  Next time, carefully listen to the Pujari (priest) when he is mentioning date and timing details in Sankalpam, then you will listen priest saying Adhya Brahmanahe (meaning beginning from Brahma’s life), Dwitiya Pararthe (meaning Brahma’s second half, as he has already completed 50 years of 100 years), Swetha  VarahaKalpa (name of the present Kalpa), vaivasvatha manvanthare (name of current Manvantara)…. . Generally while saying Sankalpam we should mention the place and timing details.

Now that we understood how to read the Hindu calendar, let us try to understand how we can read the Hindu calendar with some examples

Example 1

Date as per Georgian calendar (western)  06 – May – 2020

As per Hindu calendar, it is –> Chaturdashi Shukla Paksha – Vaishākha Masa – Kaliyuga 5122 (you will get these details by seeing any Hindu calendar)

Chaturdashi Shukla Paksha – Means 14^th tithi from Amavasya (as it is Shukla Paksha). From this, we can say that moon is approximately 168 degrees (12 degrees * 14) with respect to the sun when seen from earth.

Vaishākha Masa – Means Vaishākha month. By this, we can say that the sun is in Vrishabha Rashi (chart below will help you to understand). And by this, we can predict the season as well.

Kaliyuga 5122 – This means we are in 5122 years of Kaliyuga

Example 2

Date as per Georgian calendar  15 – April – 2020

As per Hindu calendar –> Ashtami Krishna Paksha – Chaitra Masa – Kaliyuga 5122

Ashtami Krishna Paksha – Means 8^th tithi from Purnima (as it is Krishna Paksha). From this, we can say that moon is approximately 276 degrees (12 degrees * 23 (15 days till Purnima and 8 days after it)) with respect to the sun when seen from earth.

Chaitra Masa –Means Chaitra month and by this, we can say Sun is in Mesha Rashi

Kaliyuga 5122 – This means we are in 5122 years of Kaliyuga

Will Hindu Festivals fall on a different day every year?

As per the Hindu calendar festivals fall on the same day every year. Since we are trying to compare it to the western calendar most people think that the Hindu festival falls on a different day.  This is because the western calendar has 365 days a year but the Hindu calendar have a different number of days compared to the western calendar

If we consider any Hindu festival for example Diwali, – it is celebrated on Amavasya Krishna Paksha – Āshvayuja Masa (Amavasya tithi (last tithi in a month) of Āshvayuja month).  Every year it is celebrated on the same day as per Hindu calendar. But when seen in the western calendar you will see it on a different day because as explained above, both calendars have a different number of days in a year.

Note: Sankranti /Pongal will almost (one day here and there) come on the same day as per the western calendar because Sankranti festival is calculated based only on the Sun.

Friends I have only mentioned a few basics of the Hindu calendar so that everyone can understand it in an easy way. There is a lot more to learn from the Hindu calendar. They talk about Nakshatra’s, yoga, Karana, and about many other things in detail.

We can use the Georgian calendar as it’s universally used but if we can start using the Hindu calendar we will know many more things. For example by using the Hindu calendar first thing you can understand is Tithi, by tithi you can say Moon is which position. And every Tithi has a presiding god, based on presiding god doing some acts on that day will help us and some other acts will harm us. So if we can understand those we can plan important events accordingly, so that we will get benefited the most.

Also read How to lead an organic lifestyle

This is only an example. Similarly, there are many advantages if one can use the Hindu calendar properly.

Hope you will start using the Hindu calendar from today. If you like this Article help us in spreading the Ancient Hindu knowledge by sharing it with your friends and family.

 

 

 

organic lifestyle: Know how to live Naturally

Whenever we hear the word ‘organic lifestyle’ we mostly think of organic food. But it’s more than just organic food. An organic lifestyle means living life as we are supposed to, in sync with nature.

As a spider gets stuck in its own web, humans got stuck in the web of their own inventions and unnatural ways of living. Let us understand more about it by knowing about Tinku.

Tinku is 25 years old young man working in an MNC. Tinku gets paid well, so he lives in a luxurious flat with all facilities including AC.  Every morning Tinku wakes up at 8 am. Immediately after getting up Tinku opens his mobile and checks if he got any messages/emails. Then he opens Facebook and checks his Facebook feed for some time and then he checks the news and random stuff.

side-effects-of-phone-morning_organic-life-style

Like this, he spends almost 30 min in bed looking at his mobile phone. Then he realizes that he is getting late, so he freshens himself up quickly and starts eating his breakfast. He eats with one hand while using his mobile in the other.

bad-eating-habits_-organic-life-style

Then he starts to his office in a car. While driving he calls one of his friends and keeps talking while driving. In between when he stops near a traffic signal he opens his mobile to check if he has got any notifications.

Then he reaches his centralized AC office where he spends 9-10 hours. After office, he starts back home in the car and reaches home by around 9 PM. He freshens up and has dinner by 10 PM. From 10 PM on he would be on his mobile checking WhatsApp, Facebook feed, random videos till late at night.

side-effetcs-of-mobile-night_organic-life-style

Tinku will continue the same routine for years and later he starts feeling life is shit. Due to these feelings, he will get health issues, and slowly he will go into depression. And for the rest of this life, he will live like a dead person.

bad-life-style_organic-life-style

Now let’s understand why Tinku who is supposed to live a happy life, got into a situation where he is suffering from diseases, depression, and living a life that does not have life in it.

If we notice Tinku is spending most of his time in AC, his physical activity is almost zero, he doesn’t spend time in the sunlight, he is spending more than 5 hours on mobile and 7-8 hours on a laptop. In a general sense, we might think about what’s wrong with it. But if we see in detail we will understand the harm he is doing to himself.

Spending most of the time in AC along with improper maintenance of AC can cause problems like

-sluggishness

-Laziness

-dehydration

-dry and itchy skin

-headaches

-increased respiratory problems

-infections

– Allergies

-Asthma

-Sinusitis

-reduced immunity level

Moreover, we will not be able to experience fresh natural air which is very much needed for the body.

Problems of not getting exposed to sun light

Staying indoors and not getting exposed to sunlight will also have a bad effect on our bodies. If we are not getting exposed to sunlight, we will not get Vitamin D which is important and we can hardly get this Vitamin D in any food or supplement. This Vitamin D has many benefits like-

-It promotes calcium absorption

-Improvesimmunity power

-Sunlight directly stimulates the production of endorphins in the body which will reduce stress and anxiety; there is no need to say that stress and anxiety are the root cause of many diseases

-Spendingtime in sunlight especially in the early morning will keep depression far fromus

Also, Read – full article on the benefits of getting exposed to sunlight

Problems we might face because of inactive lifestyle or if we are not doing any physical activity

-We willburn fewer calories because of which we will gain weight

-We mayloss muscle strength and endurance as we are not using our muscles

-Bones willget weak

-Metabolismwill be affected and our body will have trouble breaking down fats and sugars

-Immunesystem may not work well

-Poor bloodcirculation

-Hormonalimbalance

-Increasedinflammation

Because ofthe above mentioned you might get below health issues

-Obesity

-Heart Diseases

-High blood pressure

-High cholesterol

-Metabolic syndrome

-Type 2 diabetics

-Certain cancers

-Increased levels of depression and anxiety

Bad effects of more screen time like using mobile, laptop, television etc.

-Risk ofweight gain

-Diabetics

-Heartdiseases

-Seeingmobile while eating will develop bad eating habits

-Strainedand dry eyes, blurred vision and headaches

-Poorposture when using screens can cause chronic neck, shoulder and back pain

-Sleeping issues, blue light from digital devices suppresses sleep-promoting hormone melatonin because of which we will not have a restful sleep

-will reduce the ability of an individual to perform various mental activities especially learning and problems solving activities

Seeing random videos, social media and unwanted news will have more impact compared to doing some work on mobile or laptop. Because while doing work we will be using our mind but while seeing random videos, news, social media feeds we will not be using brain activity much because of which thinking, though processing and imagination power will reduce. And seeing negative or violent posts, news and videos will develop negative emotions which will disturb your mind and health.

Spending a lot of time seeing random things can disturb your personal and social life. Moreover, if we are addicted we will be using the mobile whenever we are free, because of which we will not be able to think about ourselves and we might not be able to think of future planning. If we are not able to think of ourselves and the future, there will not be any growth in spiritual life or prosperity-making.

Now youunderstand how Tinku spoiled his life? There are many ‘Tinkus’ among us. If wecan’t take proper action we will also suffer like Tinku.

There is an urgent need for us to live the organic way of life so that we will be healthy and happy. It might not be possible for all, to completely live an organic lifestyle. But if we can follow a few things we can still be happy and healthy. So now let us know the things we are supposed to do so that we can also live the organic way of life and enjoy its benefits

Organic lifestyle – things to follow

-Instead of spending 30 min the early morning with a smartphone, if we can go out and do some exercise/games/Surya namaskar/yoga- we enjoy the sunrise, which will refresh us, and we can get the benefits of getting exposed to the sun rays and also we will burn calories which will keep us fit and strong

sun-rise-health-organic-life-style

-Stop using smartphones while eating so that eating habits will be improved like we will eat the right quantity and chew food properly which is very important for good health.

-Stop using your mobile phone 2 hours or a minimum 1 hour before sleeping so that you will sleep peacefully because of which your body will be re-energized

-You might not be able to avoid AC in office but try to avoid or reduce AC usage at home

-In-office you can’t avoid using a laptop or computer but try to take small breaks in between and try to reduce mobile as much as possible

-In office keep drinking water as you will be dehydrated because of AC

-Make a habit of evening walk or exercise or try to play some physical game

organic-life-style-exercise

-Spend a minimum of 1 hour and maximum unlimited with your family and friends (only good friends- please note this point)

family-time-organic-life-style

-Spend some time doing what you really love. It might be reading a book, learning a new skill which you like or visiting a temple, etc. If you can’t spend time daily, at least do it on weekends. This will make you happy and satisfied.

hobby-for-health-organic-life-style

If we can make these small changes in life wewill be active, fit & strong, healthy and happy.

Also Read 20+20 Funda for healthy and peaceful life

So friends hope you will follow this organicway of live and lead a happy and healthy life.

Thank you

Kindly share this article with your friends andfamily

Mahabharat Teachings - Arjun's Concentration

Once Guru Drona prepared a toy bird and tied to the top of atree. Then he called both Pandavas and Kauravas. All assembled in one place.First guru Drona called Yudhishthira and ask him to take bow and arrow and aimat the toy bird on the tree. Yudhisthira aimed at the bird. Then Guru Dronaasked

“Are you able to see the bird on the top of the top?”

Yudhisthira replied

“Yes Guruji I can see”

Guru Drona asked

“Are you able to see the tree, your brothers andme?”

Yudhishthira replied

“Yes Guruji I can see”

Then Guru Drona said that you are not able to concentrate100% on the target so you will not be able to hit the target. Like this Guru,Drona was calling all the students one by one, asking them to aim the bird andasking them what all they can see. Everyone was saying that they are able tosee other things as well along with the toy bird. Finally, Arjuna number came.

Guru Drona asked him to aim the toy bird and asked

“Are you able to see the bird on the top of thetree?”

Arjuna replied

“Yes Guruji, I can see”

Guru Drona asked

“Are you able to see the tree?”

Arjuna replied

“No guruji, I can’t see”

Then Guru Drona asked

“Tell me what all you can see”

Arjuna replied

“Guruji I can see only the head of toy bird, other thanthat I am not able to see anything”

Guru Drona said to release the arrow from the bow and hitthe toy bird. Then Arjuna released the arrow and it hit the head of the toybird.

From this incident, we can easily understand that if we wantto achieve something we should concentrate on that goal completely. Else wewill not be able to achieve what we want. So friends while working on importantthings don’t talk to others or think about something else and switch off allyour disturbances and concentrate completely on the work which you are doing.If you can do like this you will also hit the target like Arjuna for sure.

Mahabharat Teachings - Ekalavya

Ekalavya is a young prince of the Nishadha tribe. Listeningto the greatness of Guru Drona, Ekalavya went to Guru Drona and requested toteach him Archery. But Guru Drona rejected Ekalavya as he belongs to lowercaste.

Then Ekalavya went back to the forest. But his desire tolearn archery didn’t die. So he prepared an idol of Guru Drona with mud andconsidered himself as the student of Guru Drona. Ekalavya used to worship theidol of Guru Drona and used to practice archery in front of the idol. Like thisekalavya learnt archery and became a great Archer.

One day Pandavas and Kauravas went into the forest forhunting. A dog which belongs to Pandavas went to the place where Ekalavya waspractising and started barking at Ekalavya. Then Ekalavya shot seven arrowsinto the mouth of that dog so that it can’t bark. That dog went back toPandavas. Both Pandavas and Kauravas were shocked after seeing that dog. Theywent in search of the person who shot the arrows and found Ekalavya.

After seeing Ekalavya they asked him who was his guru andfrom whom he has learnt the archery. Ekalavya replied that Drona was his guruand shown them the idol of Guru Drona.

Both Pandavas and Kauravas went back and told about thisincident to Guru Drona. Arjuna was not able to digest that Guru Drona taughtEkalavya and made him a better archer than him. So he went to Guru Drona aloneand asked: “Guruji you told that I am your favourite disciple and told that youwill make me the best archer in the world but I think you made Ekalavya abetter archer than me”.

Drona didn’t understand what Arjun was saying so along withArjun he went to Ekalavya. Seeing Guru Drona Ekalavya received him with highrespect.

Then Guru Drona asked Ekalavya how you learned this Archeryfor which Ekalavya replied that he has learned with his blessings. Then GuruDrona asked what you will give me as Guru Dakshina. Ekalavya replied that hecan offer whatever you ask for. Guru Drona asked Ekalavya to offer hisright-hand thumb. Ekalavya without a second thought has cut his right-handthumb and offered to Guru Drona. Ekalavya lost all his skills as he lost hisright-hand thumb.

Some people say it is an injustice done to Ekalavya, somesay Guru Drona has done this for a reason and all. For now, we will keep thisargument aside and talk about a different point “how Ekalavya was able to learnarchery without Guru?”

Nowadays we can get info. about many things online or atleast there are many books available. But during those days Ekalavya didn’thave these sources. Some people say that Ekalavya used to watch what Guru Dronawas teaching to Pandavas and Kauravas from far. But I don’t agree with thispoint as Ekalavya used to be in the forest and even if we think that he used towatch from far, it’s not practical to learn by watching from that much fardistance.

So how Ekalavya did became expert in Archery?

I think Ekalavya was able to learn Archery because of belowpoints

1. Desire and Belief

Ekalavya had a strong desire to learn Archery so he didn’tgive up when Drona rejected him. He made an idol of Guru Drona and used toworship the idol with a strong belief that Guru will guide him. He might haveimagined as if Guru Drona is teachings him. So because of his strong desire andbelief, he might use to get guidance in the form of intuition.

2. Practice

Ekalavya might have practised a lot. He might have learnt bytrial and error method like he will try one method to achieve something if heis not successful he might have tried a different way. Like this, he might havekept trying until he found the best way to do that thing.

So friends learn these qualities from Ekalavya then you willalso be able to learn anything and get success.

Mahabharat Teachings - what will happen if we hurt innocent?

Once king Janamejaya who is the son of Parikshit and great grandson of Arjun was performing  great Yagna. There is a dog which belongs to Gods called Sarama. Sarama has a kid called Sarameya. This puppy Sarameya went to the place where Janamejaya was performing Yagna and was playing in the surrounding areas. Younger brothers of Janamejaya saw the puppy. They beat the puppy and made it to go away from that place.

That Puppy went crying to its mother Sarama and told what all has happened. Sarama got angry after listening to all this. Sarama met the king Janamejaya and told “Hey King, without proper thinking and kindness your brothers have beat my son, who is innocent and who has not done any mistake. If  good and innocent are punished without proper thinking, then sudden problems will come for sure in the life of those people”.

After saying the above words Sarama left from that place. Later King janamejaya along with brothers did prayashitta karma’s for the mistake done by his brothers.

There are many people who keep harming innocents physically/mentally just because they are in powerful position or financially/physically strong than others. They should keep in mind the words of Sarama. They might think that they have power and that innocents can do nothing. But it’s wrong, that innocents might not fight back but the pain they felt will come back with compound effect and will harm you for sure.

Somethings might look small but we can’t estimate how much it has hurt others. And if we hurt others who has not done any mistake it will us come back.

It is a common habit for many people to make fun of others by commenting about their size, color, habits, inabilities etc. But remember it might be fun for you but it will harm them mentally which will come back to you. If they have not done anything to you why should you comment ?

So friends from now even for fun sake don’t hurt people who have not done any mistake. Because it will come back to you for sure. And  If you feel that you have hurt someone in the past try to apologize and do prayashitta as Janmejaya did in Mahabharat

Importance of Implementatioin - Ramayan Life lessons

After Hanuman had got the darshan of Sita Mata, he wants to know how powerful the rakshas are. So he created a quarrel with them and killed many Rakshasas. Finally, Ravana’s son Indrajeet came there and by seeing Hanuman he thought that Hanuman can’t be controlled by normal weapons and used Brahma Astra on him. To respect Lord Brahma, Hanuman surrendered himself to Brahma Astra. Then Hanuman was taken to Ravan.

Hanuman told Ravan who he was, why he came and also told that if Ravan doesn’t return Sita Mata he will be killed for sure.

Listening to all this Ravan got anger and order Rakshas tokill Hanuman. Then Ravan’s brother Vibhishan stood and told that as per Dharmaa messenger should not be killed. Hey, king Ravan, you have read all theshastras and you know them very well. So even after knowing dharma if you don’tfollow them, there is no value for your study.

What Vibhishan told should be an eye-opener for presentgeneration people. We will learn a lot about a particular thing and will spenda lot of time in knowing about it. But when it comes to practice, we will notput any effort.

Many people will read books on Yoga and will spend a lot oftime seeing yoga videos on YouTube but finally, they will not even spend 15minutes daily to practice it. If you don’t practice then your learning is purewaste.

In the same way, some people keep on seeing videos oncooking but will never make a new dish. If you don’t want to try what the useof seeing?So friends from now if you learn something putit in practice then only it will have some value

Failure before Success - Ramayan Life Lessons

In the war when almost all the great warriors of Ravan including Kumbhakarna died only 2 main great warriors were left that is Indrajeet and Ravan. So the situation is more favourable for Rama. During that time Rama was making a plan on how to kill Indrajit because Indrajit will become invisible and he will keep on attacking. So Rama was thinking of a strategy on how they should find Indrajeet and defeat him.

Indrajit has noticed that Rama was making a strategy and he thought that he should divert Rama and his army. When they are diverted Indrajeet want to do Nikumbala Homam. If Indrajit completes that Homam it will become almost impossible to defeat him. So he left the war field and created a Maya Sita (an illusion/doll which exactly looked like Sita Mata).

Then he came to war field along with Maya Sita in his chariot. Then in front of Hanuman and Vanara Sena, he has cut the head of Maya Sita and told like this “I have killed Sita for whom you are doing war”.

Then he became invisible and went to do Nikumbala homam. Then everyone including Hanuman who saw this thought that Indrajit has killed Sita Mata. They went to Rama and told about it. Because of this everyone became depressed and stopped doing war.

After sometime Vibishana (Ravan’s brother) came there and saw that everyone was in depression. He finds the reason for their depression and told to Rama that it’s not Sita whom Indrajeet has killed. It might be Maya Sita which was created by Indrajit to divert them. Because Ravan has kept Sita in such a place that even Indrajit don’t know where she was. And I come to know that Indrajeet has went to do Nikumbala homam.

If he completes that Homam it becomes very difficult to defeat him. So stop crying and send Laxman & hanuman along with me. So that we can go to the place where Indrajit is doing Nikumabala homam and stop that homam and kill him. Then they went and killed Indrajit.

So when Victory came nearer to Rama Indrajit created an illusion and made Vanara Sena and Rama feel that the main purpose for which they are fighting has been lost. If Vibishana has not told the truth then it might have been a different story.

In our life as well when we are working hard for somethingand we are close to victory nature will create a situation or problems becauseof which we will feel depressed and can stop putting efforts. If you stop yourefforts you will not get Victory.

Many people will lose Victory because when they are close tovictory they will stop putting efforts. Later they recognise their mistake andkeep saying that if I had put little more efforts I might have got Victory.

So friends, if nature gives you Hurdles, don’t stop your efforts and start putting more efforts as you are close to Victory.

When Everything Goes wrong - Ramayan Life Lessons

As you all know Ravan was very powerful who defeated manygods and his Indrajeet was even greater than him who defeat god Indra. Ravan’sbrother kumbakarna was also very powerful. There are many powerful Rakshasunder Ravan who never faced defeat.

Rama killed 14 thousand undefeatable Rakshas alone. Hanuman entered Lanka and killed many Rakshas including one of the sons of Ravan and set Lanka on fire. And when the war started all the powerful Rakshas were getting killed one by one.

Even Kumbhakarna and Indrajit were also killed. Even Ravan was once defeated by Rama, but Rama didn’t kill him saying that “you are tired now I don’t want to kill you. Go take rest and come next day for war”.

But even after so many incidents which are not normal Ravan never thought back on how a normal Human being and Vanaras are able to defeat Rakshas who has even defeated Gods. Ravan was always with the Ego that no one can defeat him but if he had cross-checked how all this is happening, he might have easily recognised that Rama was not a normal human but Lord Vishnu himself.

If he has done this he might have given back Sita Mata and saved his life and also the life of many Rakshas. But he has not done that which lead to his own destruction.

So friends in your life if everything is going wrong onceslow down and check where the problem is & why everything is going wrong.If you can correct the base problem then everything goes well for you.

Give and Take policy - Ramayan life Lessons

In Ramayan when Rama got problem he never hesitated to takethe help of others. But at the same time, he helped them back and he wasgrateful to them throughout his life.

Rama helped Sugriva in becoming king of Kishkinda and also in getting back his wife by killing Vali. After Sugriva became the king of Kishkinda, Rama took the help of Sugriva and Vanara Sena to find Sita Mata and in war with Ravan.

Rama also took help of Ravan’s brother Vibhishan in war andafter the war, Rama made Vibishan as the king of Lanka. If you notice Rama wasfollowing the win-win situation. He has taken help from people and at the sametime helped them back.

Here you should be careful about one thing. Before takinghelp from anyone Rama used to check if the person is good or not. He never usedto think whether he is rich or poor, what is his background and all. You cannotice this from the below incident.

When Rama shot Vali and when Vali is in his last minutes, Ramawent and stood beside him. The Vali asked Rama like this “Rama if you need helpin searching for your wife. Why didn’t you, asked me for help? I am alreadyking of Kishkinda and more powerful than Sugriva. Why you did friendship withSugriva instead of me?”

Then Rama told, you are doing Adharma by taking awaySugriva’s wife. So I will not make friendship either take a favour from theadharmic people.

So friends from now never hesitate to take help from otherswhen needed but at the same time be ready to help others. There will be somepeople who hesitate to take help from other even in bad situations and therewill be some people who will take help but will not help others. Both are notcorrect. Life is all about giving and taking.

But before taking help make sure you are taking it from a good person. If you take a favour from a bad person, later he might force you to help him by doing a non-ethical work.

For example, if you take favour of a person who does smuggling. In future, he might ask you to help him in smuggling. So never take a favour from a bad person.

Namasmarana - Ramayan Life Lessons

Once in war Ravan and Laxman are fighting with each other. Laxman has broken the Ravan’s bow and hit Ravan with 3 arrows. Angered by this Ravan used Shakti Astra which was given to him by Lord Brahma on Laxman. Shakti Astra started coming towards Laxman with smoke and fire.

Laxman tried to stop it but he was not successful. Shakti Astra was hit on Laxman chest. Laxman fell down on the ground. But Laxman didn’t lose his consciousness.

It was clearly mentioned in Ramayan that even after getting attacked by Shakti Astra, Laxman didn’t lose consciousness because Laxman was doing Vishnu Nama Smarana inside. So Shakti Astra was not able to show its full effect on Laxman

In the same way, we will also face problems/ sudden incidents which can harm us. And we might not know when and how these problems or incidents can come in our life. So like Laxman, if we can also keep doing Bhagawan namasmarana (keep saying god name) all the time, these problems will not be able to affect us much. They can only show a partial effect.

For example, as per your Karma if you are supposed to get anincident where you should loss 100 drops of blood. If you keep doing Bhagawannamasmarana the effect of the incident will be reduced. Instead of losing 100drops of blood, you will lose only 1 or 2 drops.

So friends from now whatever work you are doing keep sayingthe name of God in your manas (inside). It might be Vishnu namasmarana or Shivanamasmarana or your Ista devata namasmarana, it will protect you for sure.

Know the Real well Wisher - Ramayan Life lessons

Ravan came to know that Rama along with Vanara Sena startedcoming towards Lanka, so Ravan called a meeting with all his ministers. Ravanasked his minister to tell their suggestions. Many ministers started praisingthe power of Ravan and kept telling that Rama was nothing in front of you sothere is no need to fear about him.

Vibhishan listened to all the ministers and said that Ravan has done a mistake by bringing Sita Mata. He should return back Sita Mata with respect. Then there will not be any war.

Ravan got anger on listening to Vibhishan. He scoldedVibhishna very badly.

Then Vibhishan decided to leave from that place. Beforeleaving he told like this “Hey Ravan, you will easily find people who keeppraising you, who will be speaking pleasing words to get favors from you. Butit is very difficult to get people who will tell right things, even if youdon’t like and even if it’s harsh”

What Vibhishan told was very true. If you show interest in a bad habit, there will be many people who will encourage you to start that habit. But it’s very difficult to find a friend who will scold and tell you to be away from that bad habit.

For example if you are not using a helmet while drivingthere will be many friends who will give n number of suggestions on how toescape from traffic police but it’s very rare to get a friend who will scold usfor not using a helmet. If you find a person like that never leave him becauseit’s not that easy to get a person who always tells which is correct even ifit’s harsh. They are the real well wishers, listening to them will always dogood to you.

Human efforts + God blessings - Ramayan life lessons

When Hanuman met Sita Mata in Lanka, Sita Mata asked Hanuman many questions about Rama like how is he? Is he good? And many other questions. Then she asked like this “why Rama didn’t still come to save me?

Is he believing only in God without putting efforts or is he only putting efforts without praying God?” Here Sita Mata is saying that to successfully complete any work, we need both Human efforts plus Gods blessings.

Most of us either completely believe in god without keepingefforts from our side or we completely believe in our efforts without believingin God.

You might have seen many people who believe in God a lot butthey don’t put efforts from their side. And when the work is not done theycomplain saying my fate is not good or my God didn’t help and all.

There are other type of people who put a lot of efforts butthey don’t believe in God so they will not be getting fruits equal to theirefforts.

So friends from now if you want to do some work, put all your efforts and at the same time worship God with 100 percent trust that he will help you in doing your work. Then you will complete your work and will enjoy the fruits of it for sure.

Go Extra mile - Ramayan Life Lessons

After Sugriva became the king of Kishkinda he called all the vanaras and sent them in search of Sita Mata. The task given by Rama and Sugriva to the vanaras is that they should find where Sita Mata is. Of all the vanaras it was Hanuman who went to Lanka and got the darshan of Sita Mata. With that, his task was completed and he was supposed to go back and inform Rama about it.

But Hanuman after seeing Sita Mata didn’t go back immediately. He talked with Sita Mata and gave courage to her. And Hanuman didn’t stop with it. He thought that he should know how powerful the rakshas are so that it will help them in the war which will happen in future. So Hanuman fought with them and killed lacs of Rakshas including one of the sons of Ravan. And also kept entire Lanka on fire.

If you observe Hanuman behavior, he has done more than whathe was supposed to do. In the same way, if we can also do more than what we aresupposed to do, we will get good results for sure.

For example, think there are 2 bicycle showrooms – A&B in the same street. Both sell the same company bicycles for the same cost. Showroom A gives 6 months free servicing but showroom B doesn’t give. In this case which showroom attracts customers more? Obviously, A. Because it is giving more service than it was supposed to do.

So from now whatever work you are doing try to do more thanwhat you are supposed to do. It might be in your job or business or in arelationship, you will for sure get good results.

Sixth Sense - Ramayan Life lessons

Initially, Hanuman searched entire Lanka, except Ashoka Vana. Finally, Hanuman saw Ashoka Vana and starts searching for Sita Mata in Ashoka Vana. Ashoka Vana was very beautiful with a lot of trees, mountains, and waterfalls. Hanuman kept searching for Sita Mata by jumping from one tree to another.

But when he reached Simsupa Vruksha (a kind of tree) he suddenly felt that Sita Mata might be somewhere near. So he stopped there and started looking by sitting on that tree. As he felt Sita Mata was near that Simsupa tree and Hanuman got the darshan of Sita Mata.

If you notice properly Hanuman has listened to his Sixth sense. Once he felt that Sita Mata might be nearby he believed his sixth sense and stopped on that tree and kept looking from there. If he might not have given importance to his sixth sense then he would have been moved from that place with the same speed with which he was moving. Then there are high chances that he might have missed seeing Sita Mata.

In the same way, our sixth sense will also keep guiding us. Itkeeps telling what is good, what is bad and how to proceed. Nowadays we becameso practical that we stopped listening to it. Because of this, we are missing atrue guide who can help us in making good decisions.

So from now listen to your sixth sense and believe in it. Itwill really guide you.

Organized Work - Ramayan Life Lessons

Initially while searching for Sita Mata, Hanuman searched inan unorganized way. Because of this, he searched some places again and again.Later he thought that he should search in an organized way. So that it willsave time and he will know what all the places he had searched and he hadsearched and what places are remaining.

In our life also if we work in an organized way it willreally help us. For example, think there is a big basket with 5 differentflowers (Rose, sun flower, marigold, Jasmine, Lilly) and you are supposed tomake a garland of each flower. So if you start preparing garland withoutseparating the flowers, it will take more time as you first have to pick theneeded flower from a mix of 5 different flowers. And there will be a change oferror as well.

So if you start preparing garland without separating the flowers, it will take more time. As you first have to pick the needed flower from a mix of 5 different flowers. If you do like this there will be a change of error as well.

But if you do the work in an organized way like first youseparate all the 5 flowers and the start garland preparation it will be easyfor you. In the same way, if you have work, first organize your work and divideit into small tasks and then do one by one so that you will have good trackingof what you are doing and at the same time work will become easy.