Janmashtami Special – Nand Ghar Anand Bhayo Jai Kanhaiya lal ki Hathi ghoda p..

Religion in India is a very big part of everyday life. The Sanskrit word for the religion is dharma. The main religious communities and the religions in India are

Hindus – Hinduism
Jains – Jainism
Parsis – Zoroastrianism
Bahá’í – Bahá’í Faith
Sikhs – Sikhism
Muslims – Islam
Christians – Christianity
Buddhists – Buddhism

India is a birth place of four religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Brahmanism (Hinduism), with its accompanying social caste system, evolved from the Vedic religion of Aryan invaders.
HINDUISM :-
Hinduism is “A Way Of Life”. There is no founder of Hinduism. The word “Hindu” is derived from the name of river Indus, which flows through northern India. In ancient times the river was called the ‘Sindhu’, but the Persians who migrated to India called the river ‘Hindu’, the land ‘Hindustan’ and its inhabitants ‘Hindus’. Thus the religion followed by the Hindus came to be known as ‘Hinduism’. The seeds of Hinduism was brought to India by the Aryans who settled along the banks of the Indus river about 2000 B. C. The Aryans first worshipped the forces of nature e.g., Surya, the Sun; Vayu, the Wind; Agni, the Fire.
Hindus pray to and worship different gods and goddesses or deities. The most fundamental of Hindu deities, is the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – Creator, Preserver and Destroyer respectively. They celebrate the festivals and perform “Pujas” or ceremonies and rituals to the particular god or deity. Hindus have many beliefs and practices that have been handed down by word of mouth and daily practice. Many of these deities are housed within ornate temples of unparalleled beauty and grandeur.

Shravan Month (July – August) is one of the holiest months in a traditional Hindu calendar. Each region in India considers this month as holy and numerous vrats and rituals are performed during the period. Shravan is the 10th month in a traditional Gujarati calendar and numerous Vrat and rituals are observed in the month. In 2009, Shravan Month in Gujarat begins on July 22 and ends on August 20.
Mondays in Shravan month is dedicated to Lord Shiva and devout Hindus perform the Shravan Somvar Vrat and continue it on all Mondays in Sawan. Some people observe it for years on the Shravan month. Usually, Shravan somwar Vrat is observed to get a good husband or for the welfare and long life of husbands and for a peaceful and happy life. Some couples also observe the fasting for saving their sons and daughters from serious diseases.Fasting, pujas and rituals on Saturdays in Shravan month is observed to escape from the bad influence of Lord ShaniVeerpasli is a vrat observed on the first Sunday of Shravan and is continued for next eight days for the welfare of male members in the family.

The Mahābhārata, is the greatest, longest and one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyana. With more than 74,000 verses, plus long prose passages, or some 1.8 million words in total, it is one of the longest epic poems in the world.

It contains eighteen Parvas or sections viz., Adi Parva, Sabha Parva, Vana Parva, Virata Parva, Udyoga Parva, Bhishma Parva, Drona Parva, Karna Parva, Shalya Parva, Sauptika Parva, Stree Parva, Shanti Parva, Anushasana Parva, Asvamedha Parva, Ashramavasika Parva, Mausala Parva, Mahaprasthanika Parva and Swargarohanika Parva. Each Parvacontains many sub-Parvas or subsections.

This wonderful book was composed by Sri Vyasa (Krishna Dvaipayana) who was the grandfather of the heroes of the epic. He taught this epic to his son Suka and his disciples Vaisampayana and others. King Janamejaya, son of Parikshit, the grandson of the heroes of the epic, performed a great sacrifice. The epic was recited by Vaisampayana to Janamejaya at the command of Vyasa. Later on, Suta recited the Mahabharata as was done by Vaisampayana to Janamejaya, to Saunaka and others, during a sacrifice performed by Saunaka in Naimisaranya, which is near Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh.

Gupt Navratri,comes  in the Hindi month of Ashada  aor (June – July). Gupt Navaratri is observed during the Ashada Shukla Paksha .From   tomorrow  Gupt Navratri begins  and ends on July 19 2010.It is also known as  Gayatri or Ashada Navratri, is nine days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti.

Some people fast on certain days of Gupt Navratri and vegetarian food is consumed during the period. The most important event during the nine-day period is community worship of the nine forms of Durga or Shakti. Women in a locality gather in a household during evening and worship Mother Goddess.

The other famous Navratri falls  during September – October and is celebrated throughout India.