And This Is What Our Culture Is. Imagine If We Were Just Allowed To Worship Our Gods And Follow Our Culture

I feel like this is heavily plagiarised

Vasantapuja

This puja is mentioned in the Ishanashivagurudeva Paddhati, and is a festival celebrating the spring season along with Damanakotsava , the associated festival of love, dedicated to Kama. In this puja, the season of spring is treated and worshipped as a goddess.

In case anyone is not aware, Vasanta, the god of spring and flowers, is the best friend of Kama (and Rati). He was mentioned to have been born from the sigh of Brahma in the Kalika and Shiva Puranas.

Vasantaradhana is one of the favorites of Shiva. The important part of worship in this festival held during the spring season (Vasantartu) is the Damanaka Puja, wherein Damanaka is an aromatic plant, and special to Kama since it was this plant that turned out to be the object of his Sapamoksha. Siva also blessed Kama, saying that whoever worships him with the Damanaka plant along with Vishnu, Brahma and other Devas will have all their wishes fulfilled. The author further states that those who do not strictly adhere to the Saivite modes of worship as stated above are, in effect, rejecting the basic tenets of Saivagama (traditionally communicated wisdom).

How The Puja Is Carried Out

For the details related to Vasantapuja and Damanakotsava, the author of the Paddhati has relied on 'Svacchandatantra' (official book of Kashmiri Shaivism) and 'SomaSambhupaddhathi' (another manual for Shaivite rituals).

Rites and rituals:

The venue for Vasantapuja has to be a garden that abounds in Damanaka creepers and Asokavrkshas (Ashoka trees). Puja is begun with the invocation and Aradhana of Ganesh in Nirti angle and Guru in Isana.

It is under the shade of an Asokavrksha that Puja takes place. Two pots of sanctified water are placed at the foot of the Asokavrksha. The one on the right side is meant for Vasanta and that on the left for Kama. The presence of their consorts, Kusumavati and Padmavati respectively, have also to be kept in mind. In the middle of the Pujavedi, the Asokavrksha is conceived as Vasanta in the guise of a vibrant youth, golden in complexion, and is to be invoked and offered Gandha-puspa-nivedyantapuja. The nine powers of Vasantartu are Ahladini, Gandhavati, Surabhi, Malini, Madira, Madayanti, Rama, Pushpavati and Vasanti.

Next is the worship of the Damanaka plant, during which the Bhairava form of Siva has to be conceived in mind. Kama has also to be conceived as remaining seated along with his consort Rati on his right thigh and holding Puspasara in his right hand. He is served on all sides by a group of beautiful and shapely maidens. The Saktidevatas of Kama may also be conceived and offered Gandhadhupa-nivedyantapujas. The Gayatrimantra of Kama is also given.

The important feature of the festival on the second day is the collection of the Damanaka plant (the whole plant including the roots) from the garden in a pot, offering of Puja, followed by the ceremonial procession carrying the three pots (Damanaka, Kama and Vasanta) on an elephant in Nagarapradaksina, to the accompaniment of Nrtta-vadyasangita-ghosas. On conclusion of the procession, the pots are placed beside the idol of Shiva after which Homavidhis, Sampatasparsa, Bali, prayer and Archana are performed. The other customary acts like Dakshina and gifts to the priests are also recommended. The Patala concludes with the following observation by the author. 

ittham vasantavihitam savasantayagam proktam tadantamiha damanakam hi parva| yadvad vasantatilakam sumanobhiramam tadvanmaunobhisitan phalatiha kaman |

Though this festival is no longer celebrated in Kerala, another festival called Vasanta Panchami, also known as Sri Panchami, is observed religiously, mainly as Saraswati Puja and also as worship of Kama, Rati, Indra, Varuna and Brahma, on a grand scale, especially in Bengal, Punjab and most of North India. The legend also bears close resemblance to that of 'Vasantotsava' described in Isanasivagurudeva-paddhati. Legend has it that on this day Shiva turned Kama into ashes.

I have this in my drafts for so long now. But this was in the context of Shri Hari Vishnu and Bholenath. People tend to compare them too and try to put them against each other saying one is better than the other.

"My heart isn't so small that it can't give respect to both Shri Hari and Shiv Sambhu. My mind not so tiny to not comprehend that they're one."

No one can annoy me more than people who hate on Shree Ram but call themselves Krishna Bhakt or vice versa. Or compare these two to prove one lesser than the other.

They're the same person for god's sake.

If you think they would disagree with each other's actions then sorry to break it to you, you're just being stupid and don't understand anything about any of them.

Same goes for the people comparing Maa Laxmi, Sita, Radha and Rukmini.

THEY'RE THE SAME PERSON.

well then point it out in every single religion because they all are flawed

this hinduphobia gang is so stupid its unreal because what the actual fuck do you mean that 'caste violence is an accepted fact' WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU ACCEPT SOMETHING SO INHUMAN.

atrocities are happening in YOUR NAME. people of your religion are commintting it, and you think its enough for you to just accept it?

this is fucking privilege. you think you get to stay passive while people are killed, raped, displaced, and tortured because of a centuries-old system that was designed to maintain your comfort and power?

if you really cared about people slandering your religion, maybe start with the people within it who are using it as a tool to dehumanise. maybe fix that first. maybe stop crying “hinduphobia” every time someone points out the rot.

Subh Sita Navami 🪷

I bow down to the lotus feet of Bharateswari Mata Sita who is the mother of everyone, whose sole name is enough to bring peace to your wandering soul 🪷

कुकुर is awadhi for dog

And this is such an interesting festival. We don't appreciate our dogs much.

If that makes you happy, so be it. How you view women and I view women is totally different. That's the truth and makes me feel okay. And goodbye to you too

Hindu traditions and festivals just enslave women and reinforce patriarchal practices, karwa chauth for example, a festival where a married woman has to fast and stay famished for whole 24 hours, NO water and food and some of them don’t even swallow their own saliva and why? for the long life and well being of her husband. Husbands are placed on a pedestal in hinduism, he is more revered than god sometimes while reducing women to obedient and self sacrificing caretakers . It reinforces the idea that a woman’s purpose revolves around a man’s needs, his health, his happiness, his survival while her own identity and agency is considered as irrelevant. In this religion women’s existence will always be tied to men and are expected to embrace such misogynistic ideals or else she’ll be labelled as a “too westernised housewife” or other names they love calling when you go against the system

No. Chandra isn't a she/they. Hindus have never seen Chandra as a female.

Whoever translated this did a very bad job. I think I did point that out already in one of my previous reblogs.

So no one ever told me about Ram ji roasting the moon and listing it faults because it's just not as beautiful as Maa Sita after looking at her once in the gardens? No one?

And then he just returned to his Guru like nothing happened? As if he didn't just talk to the moon and insult it?

I generally prefer Valmiki Ramayan but the Balkand in Ramcharitmanas is pure gold.

Pakistani terrorist admitting that they are training terrorism in terror camps. Water is wet.

From the below, I just want to draw a parallel

A woman, somewhere in India, gets assaulted. The news channels picks it up. The internet erupts. People are angry, grieving, and demanding justice.

Feminists across the nation say: it's happened again, we know the criminals are clearly men, it's always men, we need stronger laws to protect us, punishment needs to be harsh for assaults, men are the danger, let's not trust them, ever again.

Parents across the nation sit down with their sons and daughters and tell them - be careful around men, be cautious, be alert.

They don't ask them to stop talking to their male coworkers, their male friends at school or college, in the neighbourhood, they don't ask them to not board a cab if the driver is male. Or ask them to never share the same space as a man.

Because fear is exhausting.

And now a hate crime against Hindus is committed in Kashmir. The news covers it, it's all over the internet, everyone is grieving, fuming over it, talking about it. And we know why the victims were shot.

The only motive terrorists have is spread fear. And they've clearly sent across that message. But it's on us to fix it. Let's not ask others to not trust their Muslim friends, neighbours, coworkers, don't let this break those bonds. Just be alert, be careful, be cautious.

Don’t let this fear turn into hate. Don’t let one crime make you burn every bridge. Don’t carry the weight of suspicion everywhere you go.

The maati(soil) of Awadh

Awadh exists in the same region as the ancient Kaushal kingdom with Ayodhya as its capital. Which was for some time moved to Shrawasti and later moved to Lucknow. People in Awadh region speak Awadhi.

The word "Awadh" comes from Ayodhya (must have heard the song "holi khele raghubeera awadh me, holi khele raghubeera")

The Awadhi language belongs to the prakrit family of Indic languages. It differs widely from the other languages spoken in Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Bihar.

For more context, Bhojpuri belongs to the language family in which you'd also find Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Magahi, Maithili and others.

Also, want to make it clear that Awadhi is not a dialect of Hindi. It is a language of its own.

It has a wide variety of artforms that still exist to this day like bhakti geet, bhajans, plays and storytelling, various forms of dance forms, various forms of lok geet and lok sangeet.