ધનુર્માસ

Tilak Chandlo

The tilak-chandlo has been a Hindu tradition, especially in the Vaishnav Sampraday, for thousands of years as a symbol of victory, auspiciousness, and belonging to a particular faith. Tilak, a mark of Hindu Sanatan Dharma, comes from the Sanskrit word ‘til’ which means sesame seed. The sesame seed has great importance in yagnas and charity. A tilak is imprinted on a person’s forehead because it is the location through which one can channel Divinity, thus enhancing the spiritual character of an individual. Male devotees of the Swaminarayan Sampraday apply a tilak and chandlo on their foreheads during their puja. The tilak is made of chandan, or yellow sandalwood paste, and the chandlo is made of kumkum, or red saffron powder. Female devotees only apply a chandlo, commonly known as bindi, on their foreheads. The tilak is representative of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s feet, and the chandlo is representative of the devotee. In this way, the meaning of the tilak-chandlo is two-fold. First, it represents a devotee remaining at the service of God’s feet. Secondly, it represents the dual devotion to God and the gunatit guru. In the Swaminarayan Sampraday, Bhagwan Swaminarayan introduced the tilak-chandlo to His paramhansas by applying a sample on Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami’s forehead. Today, millions of devotees wear the tilak-chandlo on their forehead, proudly symbolizing their affinity to Hindu dharma and their faith in Bhagwan Swaminarayan , Pramukh Swami Maharaj and Mahant Swami Maharaj. 

ધનુર્માસ

Date : 30/12/2016

Abhishek

Abhishek is a sacred Vedic tradition through which people offer bhakti by pouring water, milk, or panchamrut on murtis. While pouring the liquid, devotees generally chant mantras, offer prayers, or sing bhajans. Devotees pray to God and ask for a sankalp, or wish, as a form of blessings for doing the abhishek. In ancient times, people performed abhishek by dipping kush, or darbha grass, in water and then sprinkling it on the murti. Pramukh Swami Maharaj has revived this tradition by installing a Nilkanth Varni abhishek murti in many BAPS mandirs around the world.

ધનુર્માસ

Date : 29/12/2016

Ghar Sabha

The concept of ghar sabha is an innovative initiative introduced by Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Conflicting schedules and varied interests make it increasingly difficult for members of a family to spend quality time together. Ghar sabha offers a solution to this by enabling family members to gather daily to discuss satsang concepts and share updates and happenings from each others’ lives. This daily dose of communication gives parents and children a better understanding of each other’s spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. Janak Patel from Surat, India notices the difference ghar sabha made in interacting with his eleven-year-old son: “He was really hard to talk to. I knew he was hanging out with people his age that were pulling him further away from our family and closer to things I didn’t want my son around. One day he came home and said he wanted to start doing ghar sabha. What I realized was that he wanted to talk to me about it all along; he just didn’t know how to. Today, we openly discuss his plans for the day, night, and even who he is spending time with. I feel like I didn’t know my son until I started doing ghar sabha.”Pramukh Swami Maharaj launched this initiative as a remedy to social and familial unrest in our communities. He says, “Ghar sabha e ghar ni shobha che,” which means “Ghar sabha is the only way to truly beautify our homes.” Families are given access to videos, discussion topics, and short presentations which can be shared in their ghar sabha along with traditional prayers. Tutorials are also provided at training seminars and weekly forums. Ghar sabha has reinforced the family dynamic for thousands of families.

ધનુર્માસ

Date : 28/12/2016

Pradakshina

What is Pradakshina?

‘Pradakshina’ is circumambulation (walking) clockwise arround a shrine or murti of God. It is performed to symbolize, that God is the center-point of our life. It also represents the performance of a pilgrimage arround the 68 holy places of pilgrimage. While peforming the ‘pradakshina’ one should turn the rosary and chant the name of God.

Why do we do Pradakshina (circumabulate) ?

We cannot draw a circle without a center point. The Lord is the center, source and essence of our lives. Recognizing Him as the focal point in our lives, we go about doing our daily chores. This is the significance of pradakshina.

Also every point on the circumference of a circle is equidistant from the center.

This means that wherever or whoever we may be, we are equally close to the Lord. Hisgrace flows towards us without partiality.

ધનુર્માસ

Date : 27/12/2016

Thal

Thal is a form of bhakti in which devotees offer pure vegetarian food to the murtis. During thal, devotees sing devotional verses describing the different types of food being offered to God. The ashta kavis in Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s time wrote hundreds of different thals mentioning thousands of delicacies. While singing thal, devotees lovingly thank Bhagwan for providing them with the basic necessities to live, including ample nutritious food.

Thal is offered three times during the day at mandirs. Thal is performed right before or after the aarti ritual in mandirs. The greatest display of such bhakti is seen on the day of the New Year at the Annakut festival. Thousands of vegetarian items are prepared and offered as bhakti, symbolizing a form of appreciation and devotion to God. 

ધનુર્માસ

Date : 26/12/2016

What is Mala ?

A mala is a string of wooden beads, similar to a rosary, which devotees pass through their middle finger and thumb. One mala contains 108 beads. The Swaminarayan mantra is chanted as each bead is turned. Devotees perform anywhere from 5 to 51 malas during their daily pujas. Many devotees also complete additional malas when their schedules permit, such as during their commute to work and prior to retiring to bed at night. Chanting the Swaminarayan mantra while turning the mala is an extremely effective method to pacify one’s mind and silence its many fleeting thoughts.

ધનુર્માસ

Date 25/12/2016