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The curse of the white elephant

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  The curse of the white elephant When we read our puranic stories many of us have a doubt. If God is supposed to be loving, why does he punish people? If the rishis are knowledgeable and learned, why do they curse people? We need to understand that many of these stories are told to us not to narrate what happened to one person or some people but to help us learn a lesson. Some of these incidents also turn out to be a blessing by which man kind gains something. Let us see one such incident. The forest was thick and dark. It was spring. Flowers of all variety were blooming in the smaller plants. The big canopy of trees made it difficult for sunlight to pierce through. In between all this thick vegetation, a dark elephant was wandering listless. Unlike other elephants in the wild, this one seemed to have a regal bearing. It was looking tired and sad. The elephant thought about its glorious past and regretted its current plight. Who was this elephant? It was none other than Aira...
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The Shiva Run

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  It is a practice to visit many Shiva temples on the night of Shivarathri. This practice perhaps helps us in keeping awake while at the same time. There is an interesting story in the Mahabharata that is related to this. The Kurukshetra war was over. The Pandavas after the initial period of depression and gloom over the death and destruction, started to enjoy the kingdom and the riches. Even though their victory was the result of blessings from the Gods and even with the help of the Gods, they had started to believe that they achieved it by their own prowess. Pandavas continued to respect and venerate Lord Krishna, who was their cousin and their guide and mentor. They had forgotten to thank Lord Shiva who had given the Pashupata Asthra, a very powerful weapon. Arjuna did not use this very powerful weapon thanks to the constant help he got from Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna observed the brothers getting arrogant and decided to teach them a quick lesson. Like every other lesson t...
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Shiva the ultimate teacher

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  Shiva – The Ultimate teacher Many a time there are linkages between multiple happenings. What seems like separate incidents are actually inter – linked to a larger cause. Once Sage Narada did a deep penance for thousands of years. Lord Indra tried to disturb him as he was worried that Narada was trying to take over the Devalok. Narada was committed and successfully finished his tapasya. Narada became a arrogant that he achieved what even Lord Shiva could not achieve. (Remember, Shiva got disturbed by Manmatha when he was in meditation and angered by the disturbance burnt Manmatha!!) The smug and arrogant Narada wanted to show off. He first went to Shiva loka and boasted about his completion of the tapasya despite many disturbances. Shiva looked at him and smiled and said “Maybe. If you go to Vaikunta, do not talk about this to Vishnu.” Narada then went to Brahmaloka and met his father Lord Brahma. He repeated his boast to ...
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Seven seas come to Madurai

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  Seven seas come to Madurai   Madurai is an ancient city with a lot of history, culture, religion and beliefs attached to it. With all this can stories be far behind. Yes. It has many stories associated with it too. Madurai was blessed like Kashi. Lord Shiva and Goddes s Parvati actually ruled the city as King Sundara Pandyan (Sundareswara) and Queen Raja Mathangi (Meenakshi). Imagine a city ruled by the Divine couple. It must have been a flourishing city where the people were happy, prosperous and dharmic. Even in regular courts, there will be visitors who come to meet the king on various matters. Imagine if the king is Lord Shiva himself. It meant that not only the citizens of the kingdom and the city of Madurai met their divine king, but sages and others came to meet the Lord and Devi to discuss many issues and problems. It was indeed a busy, spiritual and blessed time in Madurai. One day Sage Gautama came to see the Lord to discuss a few matters. Having finished...
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Harina Kridana

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  Harina Kridana   It was a warm, sunny day in VrajBhumi. Krishna, Balarama and others were playing a game. The game was called Harina Kridana. (Deer play) Harina Kridana was a game were the boys jumped in pairs. Whoever jumped higher was the winner. The loser had to carry the winner up to a banyan tree and return to the starting point. The boys made pairs. Krishna was paired with Sridaman. Balarama was paired with Pralamba. The other boys did their own pairing. They all started jumping. Krishna easily defeated Sridaman. With a smile, he let Sridaman carry him on his back. Balarama defeated Pralamba. Balarama, who was tall and heavy for his age, felt sorry for the small looking Pralamba. He almost thought of letting him go free of the punishment. Pralamba, on the other hand did not seem to mind. He lifted Balarama and started moving towards the tree. Balarama was actually surprised with the ease at which Pralamba was carrying him. Pralamba reached the tree. Balarama ...
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Pundalika and Pandarinatha

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  Pundalika and Pandarinatha   Temples are often built by kings and the wealthy as a thank you for blessings. Have you seen a God who is patiently awaiting for the devotee to find the time to attend to him. Surprised!!! Who is this God and which is the temple? This is none other than our dear Vittala of Pandarpur. So how did he come there? In the thick forest called Dandirvan there lived a young man called Pundalik, the son of Janudeva and Satyavati. He was a spend thrift and was irresponsible. He abused local people and extorted money to take care of himself. Even his own parents were not outside of his ill deeds. Pundalik harassed them and periodically took money from them for his activities. Frustrated and ashamed with the behaviour of their son, Pundalik’s parents left on a pilgrimage to Varanasi. Even this Pundalik did not allow. He decided to accompany them with his wife. Even in the route, he made his parents tend to the horses and other chores. The parents were...
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Madurai Meenakshi - A Cinderella moment

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  Madurai Meenakshi – A Cinderella story   As children we were all wide eyed when listening about the glass slippers of Cinderella story. But did you know that there is a real-life occurrence in our own back yard in Bharat? Only difference was here the miracle was performed first and the shoes came as a thank you whereas in the Cinderella story the shoes were part of the magic. When and where did this happen? This happened in the early 19 th century in Madurai. Madurai, like the rest of the country was under the control of the British. Once there was a British collector by the name of Peter Rous. Peter, was the collector of Madurai from 1812-1828. We need to understand that the many of the British officials in those days were disrespectful of local traditions and customs. Peter was an exception. One of his administrative responsibilities included managing the temple activities. He was very sensitive to the local practices. While passing the temple on his way to work, ...
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