Friday, November 28, 2014

CHHATRA / PARASOL

Chhatra (Sanskrit: छत्र "parasol") or chhatraratna (Sanskrit: छत्ररत्न "jewelled/precious parasol"; Tibetan: རིནཆེན་གདུགས, Wylie: rin chen gdugs^[1]) is an auspicious symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism.

According to Hindu mythology, it is the emblem of Varuna, also considered an embodiment of kingship. Chhatra is also a deity, yidam and ishta-devata.^{[citation needed]} In various Dharmic traditions it is an accoutrement of chakravartin. A number of deities are depicted with chhatra, and they include Revanta, Surya, and Vishnu (in his Vamana avatar). The chhatra is cordoned amongst the symbols that approach universality within the numerous octavalent suites or sets of Ashtamangala, e.g., in the Digambar Jain tradition, and the Vajrayana tradition.

In Dharmic tradition iconography, traditional Tibetan medicine thangkas and Ayurvedic diagrams, the chatra is uniformly represented as the Sahasrara.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the umbrella or parasol is included in the 'Eight Auspicious Signs' or Ashtamangala.

The chhatra shares a similar symbolic value to the baldachin, refer image of Vishvakarman.

Chhatra atop Sanchi MP, India.

A white chatra attached to a throne inside a hall in the Grand Palace, Bangkok

King Prajadhipok of Thailand signs a constitution within the Ananta Samakhom Hall. A large white chatra is seen nearby his seat.

Chhatra at the top of Sanchi, MP, India.

Chhatra at Basanta Ras Leela, Manipur, India.

A white chatra hangs over the urn of Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda of Thailand whilst the urn is being moved up to the Great Chariot of Victory.

Chhatra at Bali, Indonesia.

Chatra.

Silver Chhatra.

Chatra above Surya dev.

Golden Chatra.

Chatra atop building.

Lord Ganesh with chatra atop.

chatra with simhasan.

Golden chatra.

3 storey chatra.

Maitreya chhatra/canopy.

Chatra diamond.

Sacred chatra.

chatra.

Parasol

AKA: Umbrella, Chhatra

One of the Eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism The Parasol (Skt. chattra; Tib. gdugs): Above the mountain is the dome of the sky. This is symbolized by the umbrella, whose important function is to cast a shadow, the shadow of protection. The dictionary defines a parasol as an umbrella used for protection from the sun. Thus its function is to protect exclusively from the heat rather than the rain - as the word parasol, meaning to hold off the sun, and umbrella, meaning little shade, similarly imply. The Sanskrit term chattra, also means mushroom, in an obvious reference to its shape. The parasol or umbrella is a traditional Indian symbol of both protection and royalty. The ability to protect oneself against inclement weather has always, in all cultures, been a status symbol. In Europe, until a few decades ago, a sunshade was a status symbol for society ladies. In Oriental thought, the fact that it protected the bearer from the scorching heat of the sun was transferred into the religious sphere as a "protection against the heat of defilements." Thus the coolness of its shade symbolizes protection from the heat of suffering, desire, and other spiritually harmful forces. The dome of the umbrella is held aloft by a vertical handle (just like the mountain upholds the sky), which is identified with the axis mundi, or the central axis upholding the world. The umbrella is carried above an important dignitary or the image of a deity, to indicate that the person or symbol below the umbrella is in fact the center of the universe, and also its spiritual support. Umbrellas seem to be especially important in processional rites, being like mobile temples. Thus, depictions of the Buddha often display an elaborate and large umbrella above his head. As it is held above the head it naturally symbolizes honor and respect. In Vajrayana Buddhism, this large umbrella (atapatra) was even deified into the thousand armed, -footed goddess Sitapatra, whose name literally means the white umbrella. In Tibet, depending on their status, various dignitaries were entitled to different parasols, with religious heads being entitled to a silk one and secular rulers to a parasol with embroidered peacock feathers. Exalted personalities such as the Dalai Lama are entitled to both, and in processions, first a peacock parasol and then a silk one is carried after him. The Tibetan version of the parasol was adopted from its royal Indian and Chinese prototypes, and fashioned from a wooden, spoked frame with a domed silk cover and hanging silk pendants making up an overhanging skirt. The dome symbolizes wisdom, and the hanging skirt, compassion. Thus the composite form of the parasol signifies the union of these dual elements. Octagonal and square parasols are also common, representing the Noble Eightfold Path and the four directional quarters respectively.

One of the Eight Auspicious Symbols

The Precious Parasol (Sanskrit: Chhatra) or Sacred Umbrella which is similar in ritual function to the baldachin or canopy. Muller Ebeling, Ratsch & Shahi (2002) scholarly chart the origins of the Sacred Parasol as a symbolic depiction of sacred medicinal and hallucinogenic mushrooms of the Himalayan pharmacopeia; representing the protection of beings from harmful forces, illness; represents the canopy or firmament of the sky and therefore the expansiveness and unfolding of space and the element aether; represents the expansiveness, unfolding and protective quality of the sahasrara; under the auspice of the precious parasol all take refuge in the Dharma;

Reference

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatra
2) http://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/parasol/index.html

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Epu Maichou Taret / Saptarishi / Seven Sages / seven stars of the Big Dipper

EPU MAICHOU TARET / SAPTARISHI

Epu Maichou taret lakhini / Re-arrival of the Saptarishi:

Epu Maichou taret / Saptarishi lak-khini haina thajanabasi eikhoi Meitei khakta nattana atopa jatisu thajanei; (Not only we Meiteis believed that the seven sages will re-incarnate on this planet, other peoples also believe like us;).

Karamba matamda lak-e haiba tarabadi ari annou sinaba matam, karigumba ahongba ama purak-pa matam-da malem-da kumthabirak-i. (When their arrival there was an impending huge changed from an old world to new era;).

They bring down to the earth the required Knowledge and Energies to strengthen the processes of Transition (Pralaya). They are naturally the most evolved Light Beings in the Creation and the Guardians of the Divine Laws.

Epu taret (Saptarishi/seven sages) lak-e/lakani haina thajaba singdi (Those who believe the birth of epu taret / saptarishi are) :-

1) Meitei,
2) Shikhism,
3) Hinduism, and
4) Jainism.

People believe these are seven stars of the Big Dipper named "Vashista", "Marichi", "Pulastya", "Pulaha", "Atri", "Angiras" and "Kratu".


Ursa Major constellation.

Big Dipper / Saptarishi.


The Big Bear / Ursa Major.

1)Epu taret (seven sages) in Manipur

Epu Maichou taret serving the Lord Lainingthou and Lairenbi.

The Epu Maichou(sage) Taret(seven) are arrived on this planet when there will be a changed to occur on this planet. They bring down to the earth the required Knowledge and Energies to strengthen the processes of Transition (Pralaya). They are naturally the most evolved Light Beings in the Creation and the guardians of the Divine Laws.

There was a big changed / renaissance all over in this planet whether it was social, economic, cultural, political, philosophical, religious, geographical boundary etc and even climate also.

Great philosophers / scholars were born in this planet Earth, and make all these necessary changed to bring a new world.

Epu taret in 17th CE, forecast the arival of NEW ERA in the history of Manipur. There was a huge changed in the cultural, social, economic, religious and political situation of Manipur.

2). Sapatrishi in Sikhism

In Dasam Granth, second scriptures of Sikhs written by Guru Gobind Singh, mentioned seven rishis as Avtar of Brahma, known as Sapatrishi. Those are

Valmiki Rishi
Kashyap Rishi
Sukra Rishi
Baches Rishi
Vyas Rishi
Khat Rishi
Kalidas Rishi

3). Sapatrishi in Jainism

In Jainism theory it is stated that, "Once at Mathura situated in Uttar Pradesh Seven Riddhidhari Digamber saints having 'Aakaashgamini Vidhya' came during rainy season for chaturmaas whose names were
1.) Surmanyu,
2.) Shrimanyu,
3.) Shrinichay,
4.) Sarvasundar,
5.) Jayvaan,
6.) Vinaylaalas and
7.) Jaymitra.

They all were sons of King Shri Nandan of Prabhapurnagar and queen Dharini. Shri Nandan king took diksha becoming shishya of Omniscent Pritinkar Muniraaj and attianed salvation. Because of great tapcharan of these seven digamber munis the 'Mahamaari' disease stopped its evil effect and they all gained the name as 'Saptrishi'. Many idols of these seven munis were made after that event by 'King Shatrughan' in all four directions of city."

4) Saptarishi in hinduism

The names of the current Saptarshis are: Kashyapa, Atri, Vashista, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvaja.

Matsya (fish) rescues the Saptarishi and Manu from the great Deluge.

Present Sapta Rishis

Sapta Rishis are the Hierarchy working under the guidance of the Highest Creative Intelligence, Parmatma. The present batch of the Sapta Rishis is

1. Bhrigu,

2. Atri,

3. Angirasa

4. Vashista,

5. Pulastya,

6. Pulalaha and

7. Kratu.

5) Saptarishi in Shaivism

Saptarishi and Lord Shiva.

FAMOUS QUATES

1. "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often."

by; Winston Churchil.

2. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
by: Mahatma Gandhi.

3. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
      by: Leo Tolstoy
4. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
      Nelson Mandela
5.   "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

by: George Bernard Shaw

6. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
by: Barack Obama
7. “This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.”
― Taylor Swift
8. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
― Lao Tzu
9. “The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.”
― Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss

10. “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

Sunday, November 9, 2014

NEW YEAR

NEW YEARs in Manipur India

This post is related to new year in Manipur, India. There are two new years celebrated in Manipur i.e. on the 1st day of Sajibu (Chaitra Masa) in Vedic calender, and the other is celebrated on 14th April mostly every year which coincides with the celestial VERNAL EQUINOX of astrology.
The position of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun at the time of new year celebration on 1st day of Chaitra and 1st day of Krishna paksa, Chaitra/Sajibu month which usually falls on 14th Apr are given below.

Fig; 1. Position of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun at the time of meitei Chairaoba/new year. The Moon enter the Aries constellation.

Fig: 2. Position of the Moon. the Earth and the Sun at the time of celestial Vernal Equinox at the time of Gaura Chairaoba/New Year on 14th April. The Sun enters Aries constellation.

Mid-April (Northern spring) New Year

The new year of many South and Southeast Asian calendars falls between 13 and 15 April, marking the beginning of spring. The Sun enters Aries constellation and starts the New year in saurama.

Tamil New Year (Puthandu) is celebrated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the first of Chithrai (சித்திரை)(13 or 14 or 15 April). In the temple city of Madurai, the Chithrai Thiruvizha is celebrated in the Meenakshi Temple. A huge exhibition is also held, called Chithrai Porutkaatchi. In some parts of Southern Tamil Nadu, it is also called Chithrai Vishu. The day is marked with a feast in Hindu homes and the entrance to the houses are decorated elaborately with kolams.
Punjabi/Sikh Vaisakhi is celebrated on 14 April in Punjab.
Nepali New Year is celebrated on the 1st of Baisakh Baisākh (12–15 April) in Nepal. Nepal follows Vikram Samvat (विक्रम संवत्) as an official calendar. (Not to be confused with Nepal Era New year)
Assamese New Year (Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu) is celebrated on 14–15 April in the Indian state of Assam.
Maithili New Year or Jude-Sheetal too fall on these days. It is celebrated by Maithili People all around the world.
Bengali New Year (Bengali: পহেলা বৈশাখ Pôhela Boishakh or Bengali: বাংলা নববর্ষ Bangla Nôbobôrsho) is celebrated on the 1st of Boishakh (14–15 April) in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
Oriya New Year (Vishuva Sankranti) is celebrated on 14 April in the Indian state of Odisha.
Manipuri New Year or Cheirouba is celebrated on 14 April in the Indian State of Manipur with much festivities and feasting.
Sinhalese New Year is celebrated with the harvest festival (in the month of Bak) when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries). Sri Lankans begin celebrating their National New Year "Aluth Avurudda (අලුත් අවුරුද්ද)" in Sinhala and "Puththandu (புத்தாண்டு)" in Tamil. However, unlike the usual practice where the new year begins at midnight, the National New Year begins at the time determined by the astrologers. Not only the beginning of the new year but the conclusion of the old year is also specified by the astrologers. And unlike the customary ending and beginning of the new year, there is a period of a few hours in between the conclusion of the Old Year and the commencement of the New Year, which is called the "nona gathe" (neutral period). During this time one is expected to keep off from all types of work and engage solely in religious activities. It will fall on 13 April for the year 2009.
Malayali New Year (Vishu) is celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala in mid April.
Western parts of Karnataka where Tulu is spoken, the new year is celebrated along with Tamil/ Malayali New year 14 or 15 April, although in other parts most commonly celebrated on the day of Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian new year. In Kodagu, in Southwestern Karnataka, however both new years, Yugadi (corresponding to Gudi Padwa in March) and Bisu (corresponding to Vishu in around April 14 or 15th), are observed.
The Water Festival is the form of similar new year celebrations taking place in many Southeast Asian countries, on the day of the full moon of the 11th month on the lunisolar calendar each year. The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed on 13–15 April. Traditionally people gently sprinkled water on one another as a sign of respect, but since the new year falls during the hottest month in Southeast Asia, many people end up dousing strangers and passersby in vehicles in boisterous celebration.

The festival has many different names specific to each country:

In Burma it is known as Thingyan (Burmese: သင်္ကြန်; MLCTS: sangkran)
Songkran (Thai: สงกรานต์) in Thailand
Pi Mai Lao (Lao:ປີໃໝ່ Songkan) in Laos
Chaul Chnam Thmey (Khmer: បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី ) in Cambodia.
It is also the traditional new year of the Dai peoples of Yunnan Province, China. Religious activities in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism are also carried out, a tradition which all of these cultures share.

March New Year

Ugadi, the Telugu and Kannada New Year, generally falls in the months of March or April. The people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in southern India celebrate the advent of New Year's Day in these months. This day is celebrated across entire Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as Ugadi (in Sanskrit, Yuga (era or epoch or year) + adi (the beginning or the primordial), start of a new year). The first month is Chaitra Masa. Masa means month. This day is a government holiday in Tamil Nadu, too.
Kashmiri Calendar, Navreh (New Year): 5083 Saptarshi/2064 Vikrami/2007–08 AD, 19 March. This holy day of Kashmiri Brahmins has been celebrated for several millennia.
Gudi Padwa is celebrated as the first day of the Hindu year by the people of Maharashtra, India. This day falls in March or April and coincides with Ugadi. (see: Deccan)
Sindhi festival of Cheti Chand is celebrated on the same day as Ugadi/Gudi Padwa to mark the celebration of the Sindhi New Year.
The Thelemic New Year on 20 March (or on April 8 by some accounts) is usually celebrated with an invocation to Ra-Hoor-Khuit, commemorating the beginning of the New Aeon in 1904. It also marks the start of the twenty-two-day Thelemic holy season, which ends at the third day of the writing of The Book of the Law. This date is also known as The Feast of the Supreme Ritual. There are some that believe the Thelemic New Year falls on either 19, 20, or 21 March, depending on the vernal equinox, this is The Feast for the Equinox of the Gods which is held on the vernal equinox of each year to commemorate the founding of Thelema in 1904. In 1904 the vernal equinox was on a 21st, and it was the day after Aleister Crowley ended his Horus Invocation that brought on the new Æon and Thelemic New Year.

TERMINOLOGIES WHICH WILL BE HELPFUL IN READING THE ABOVE POST.

March equinox

The March equinox (or Northward equinox) is the equinox on the earth when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward. The March equinox is the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.

Fig: 3. Vernal Equinox

Fig; 4. Celestial equator and ecliptic equator.

Celestial equator

The celestial equator is a great circle on the imaginary celestial sphere, in the same plane as the Earth's equator. In other words, it is a projection of the terrestrial equator out into space.^[1] As a result of the Earth's axial tilt, the celestial equator is inclined by 23.4° with respect to the ecliptic plane.
An observer standing on the Earth's equator visualizes the celestial equator as a semicircle passing directly overhead through the zenith. As the observer moves north (or south), the celestial equator tilts towards the opposite horizon. The celestial equator is defined to be infinitely distant (since it is on the celestial sphere); thus the observer always sees the ends of the semicircle disappear over the horizon exactly due east and due west, regardless of the observer's position on Earth. (At the poles, though, the celestial equator would be parallel to the horizon.) At all latitudes the celestial equator appears perfectly straight because the observer is only finitely far from the plane of the celestial equator but infinitely far from the celestial equator itself.^[2]
Celestial objects near the celestial equator are visible worldwide, but they culminate the highest in the sky in the tropics. The celestial equator currently passes through these constellations:

Celestial bodies other than Earth also have similarly defined celestial equators.

CONSTELLATION

In modern astronomy, a constellation is a specific area of the celestial sphere as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). These areas had their origins in star patterns from which the constellations take their names. There are 88 officially recognized constellations, covering the entire sky. When astronomers say an object is "in" a given constellation, they mean it is within the boundaries of one of these defined areas of sky.

Fig: 5. Earth at the center of constellations.

Fig: 6. Aries constellation.

Fig: 7. Constellations.

Fig: 8. Constellations.

Fig: 9. Constellations.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

MUDRAS

DHYAN MUDRAS

Lord Shiva in Dhyan mudra

Lord Budha in Dhyan mudra.

A Manipuri lady in Dhyan mudra.

Different forms of mudras.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Lord Marjing or Lord Shiva

Lord Marjing or Lord Shiva

Guardians of the directions (Maikei ngakpa lai), similarities in between them.

Lord Ishana is an avatar of Lord Shiva, who is Guardian of the direction of North East. In Manipur Lord Marjing is Guardian of North East and is always riding on horse. Lord Shiva usually used Nandi or bull as His vehicle, but Lord Khandoba an avatar of Lord Shiva is always riding on horse. Lord Marjing and Lord Ishana/Shiva govern North east direction only;

Both Lord Shiva and Lord Marjing are using horse and Guardian of North East (Chingkhei). Picture below:-