POLI'TICKS' FEEDS ON CASTE

India was not bought by the British; it would be more apt to say that India was sold by Indians. Along with India, Hinduism has also been shattered into pieces. Hinduism is by itself facing a lot of threats in today's world. But, still we keep quarreling about castes, while the greatness which can be achieved through unity is not looked into.

The greedy landlords of pre-British India were more than willing to part with the labour and dignity of their inhabitants in return for personal wealth and protection. Like blood sucking ticks, the British kept jumping to different landlords disguised as help and then left them desolate.

The administrators exploited the caste system as a means to heave some luxury by enforcing themselves as supreme. They divided the society and introduced unspeakable norms. This process greatly hampered unity and created a social structure as fragile and instable as a house of cards.     

Lets first trace the caste system to it’s origins. We find the birth of caste in the long departed days of Indian supremacy. A society is an intricate network of inter-dependant layers. Our ancestors realised this essential factor and hence divided groups of people based on how proficient they were in various occupations. Theses people had a natural inclination towards their profession and were already well skilled in them. Each individual used his lifetime to fine-tune their abilities and then passed on the modified knowledge to their progeny. This led to the creation of an exponential improvement in knowledge and skill in each and every field. The groups of people started being identified by their professions and this lead to the establishment of a caste. A caste was just an easy indication to what line of work the individual belongs to.

An insight about the vital need of each profession and how it is all of equal importance for the smooth development of society as a whole, is inevitable. We should be able to appreciate and respect each individual equally, based only on his/her character and not on his/her work. There should just be a single class of people called 'Hindus', i.e, those that prefer to follow the Hindu 'way of life'.

What is even worse is that the politicians of today still wield the same weapon of caste and have managed to blow it up to a nuke. They keep instilling the divide-and-rule policy of the British. But, in their unrelenting quest for power, politicians perform heinous crimes that put even the British to shame. The luxury of money and the adrenalin that power brings keeps them addicted. Wannabe politicians make caste as their warhead to victory in vote-bank politics. The people are dealt with as animals to be sacrificed. They are fed with promises of uplift, and decorated with the glorification of caste. But, after the candidate rises victoriously, the people are ultimately looted and sacrificed. So, do you still wish to voluntarily have your life sucked out by the new breed of ‘poli-ticks’.? Save Hinduism...Save Humanity...

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This post was submitted by Shyamsunder. Thank you. Dear Readers, you can also submit your articles, mantras, slokas or any other information relevant to Hinduism, through the YOUR CONTENT page

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Thank You Mr.Death

Death has a very charming way of being the most familiar guest in the living kingdom but the one who is most snubbed. But as a story once made famous, 'death is the only force that acts equal to all'. It is nature's little reminder that no matter how advanced we think we are, she still has a trump card under her sleeve.

The way death knocks at the door when least expected and refuses to leave alone is what makes it an unforgivable enemy. We all know for certain that death will hunt us down one day or the other, but still refuse to make the available time worthwhile. We neglect how fortunate we are to even be born as humans and be the only species capable of thoroughly enjoying nature. Instead we continue to cling on to our ego, hatred and greed.  We are not ready to make these few years in the beautiful home we call earth, as a happy stay.

Sure there is a lot of suffering and poverty in the world. But, wouldn't most of our problems be solved if we all just had a little more understanding and let go of our personal greed? Do we need to have death looming over the shoulder to realize how fortunate we are to be living?

Quite frankly, thats the best part about death. It serves as a constant reminder to try and keep people sane. It is the inevitable destination that everyone aboard the train called life is heading to. So while you are on the trip, you might as well be helpful and happy with your fellow passengers.

But putting all that aside, what really makes death stand-out from the crowd is the mystery surrounding it. The irony that you have to experience to know but can't tell once you experience it, ensures that nobody will and nobody should know. And if we really did know better about death, then it would certainly lead to a grave imbalance of society and everything in it. We wouldn't have anything to fear, wouldn't have anything to control and correct us. It would lead to the ultimate extinction of everything pure and noble. In a way, it is death itself or the fear of it, which keeps us grounded and prevents us from wrecking life completely.

For those of you who are wondering how this is all related to Hinduism, i would like to add that the base of Hinduism is to live a wholesome life along with making sure we do whatever help we can for our fellow living creatures. And, thats the basic message of this article :-)


So Mr.Death, thank you for being there, but you are still not welcome home. 

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This is a guest post by Mr.Ramkumar. Thank you. You can submit your articles, mantras, slokas or anything relevant to Hinduism through the YOUR CONTENT page

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Rama Navami Pooja (final day)

On the Rama Navami day (Aptil 1st in 2012), try to make all your family members to participate in the pooja/ritual. In the morning after you finish your bath, light two lamps in front of Lord Rama, or light one lamp with five threads. Then place the plate which has the key, in front of the lamp(s), and open the cloth. Now place a bowl with some rice beside you and keep another plate in front of the lamp. On the second plate, keep a few bananas. Then chant the following mantra as you take rice in between the ring finger and thumb of your right hand :

om ramaya ramachandraya ramabhadrya namosthuthe raghunathaya nathaya sithayampathaye namah

Then shower the key with the grains of rice. Repeat this process 108 times. It can be done simultaneously by all your family members as well. Then chant "hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare" as many times as possible. Now light camphor and shower the photo of Lord Rama with flowers. Then distribute the bananas among your family members and friends. 

The key should then be tied in the same cloth without rice, and kept near the main door of your house. It can either be nailed over the frame of the main door or kept in a shelf beside the main door. If you have a lawn or empty area in front of your home, you can bury the key in front of your entrance. This will protect your house and family from all evil , and also ensure that you are all blessed with happiness and prosperity. Om

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Rama Navami - Introduction
Rama Navami - First Day Pooja
Rama Navami - 2nd to 8th day Pooja
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Rama Navami Pooja (2nd to 8th Day)

This post explains the rituals which have to be performed from the 2nd day to 8th day of Rama Navami celebrations. Hope you have already gone through the rituals for the first day (Rama Navami - First Day Pooja).

Rama Navami Rituals : 2nd Day - 8th Day (25th - 31st March 2012)
After bathing in the morning, light a lamp in front of Lord Rama's photo. Then place the plate which has the key, in front of the lamp. Open the cloth and keep the key exposed. Then take a bowl of water  and put a inch of turmeric in it. Then hold a spoon by it's opposite end (non-handle end) and dip the handle into the water. Now let the drops of water flow onto the key as you chant the following mantra 21 times :

om namo dasharathaputhraya ramabhadraya mahadevaya vasudevaya rama ramaya namah

Then tie the key in the same cloth and keep it in front of Lord Rama. If possible, light some camphor and chant "hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare" as many times as possible.

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Rama Navami - Introduction

Rama Navami - First day pooja
Rama Navami - Final Day Pooja

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Rama Navami - First day pooja

Rama Navami celebrations are usually conducted over a period of 9 days, such that the ninth day falls on Rama Navami (which is on April 1st in 2012). Rama Navami is an apt occasion to change one's habits and to lead a more righteous life. The focus of this post is a simple ritual/pooja which anyone can perform for the betterment of their security, health, prosperity and happiness. I have split the rituals that have to be done during the 9 days of celebration , into 3 posts.

First Day (24th March 2012)
On the first day of Rama Navami celebration, make sure you finish your bath early in the morning. Then place a lamp in front of a photo of Lord Rama, and keep a new key (of any size) at the base of the lamp. Now keep 3 plates in front of the lamp. Now place few pieces of jaggery on one plate, this is meant for Lord Ganesha. Then keep some cooked rice on the second plate, this is meant for Lord Rama. In the third plate, keep few bananas, for Lord Hanuman. Now keep a bowl of ghee/honey near you. Then after all your family members are seated in front of Lord Rama's photo, light the lamp. Then together chant "om gum ganapathaye namah" 18 times. Then place the ring finger of your right hand on the rim of the plate which has jaggery. Then keep your left hand over the right hand and chant the following sloka 11 times.

om lambhodaraya ganapathaye kshipraprasadhaya mahabhala vigneshwaraya ekadantha gowriputhraya samarpiyami 

Now wash your palms with a few drops of water and then let your family members chant "hare rama hare rama rama rama hare" while you perform the following rituals. 

Take a spoon and hold it by the curved end. Now dip the handle of the spoon in honey/ghee and then hold the spoon over the rice, such that drops of honey/ghee fall over it. Then chant the following mantra 11 times as the drops of ghee/honey fall over the rice :

om ramachandraya namosthuthe om shree rama ramaya samarpiyami

Then wash your palms with a few drops of water. Now peel one side of the bananas which you have kept in the third plate, and chant the following mantra 5 times :

om ramabhakthaya vajradehaya namosthuthe om vayuputhraya samarpiyami

Then wash your palms again with water. Now end your pooja by lighting camphor and showering the photo with flowers. Then you may take the edibles on the plates and distribute it among your family members. Keep the key at the base of the lamp for sometime and then tie it in a piece of cloth and place on a plate in front of Lord Rama's photo. Thus ends the  first day's Rama Navami pooja.

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Rama Navami - Introduction
Rama Navami Pooja - 2nd to 8th day
Rama Navami - Final Day Pooja

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