Desire or just a Need

Sometime we take a pause & think about people whom we cared or still care much more then our existence. We often wish for a miracle to take away all the obstacles of our life & just like a fairy tale have a happy ending.

I wish things were that easy. There is a famous quote about friendship. A friend in "need" is a friend "indeed". "Need" ? I mean why only there has to be a need to prove friendship. I may not be available in somebody's good times but I make sure whenever they require any emotional support or if I am able to perceive they are not following the right path, I am there to help them, guide them the right path.

But nowadays as the world is becoming a competitive unit, I fail to see any individual who can think about others & doesn't carry the self-centric behavior. You are only appreciated till you are the need for the hour. Later, just like a used tissue paper you are dumped. 

"Please. help me to complete my task as the boss needs it within an hour". "Please stay over as I have my assessment tomorrow & I need to get a good grade in order to join the volley-ball team". "Please, lend me 100 dollars I need to take my girl friend for a date" etc etc. Though some of you might say, Oh ! these are just small tasks you do it for your "buddies" , But hey, I know what's going to happen next. the same set of people will deny your existence the very next moment you are through with their work. The same colleague of yours will deny your existence at the Christmas party, the same college friend would imitate you behind your back. 

Instead of being a door-mat, one needs to rise like a flower bathed in the fresh dew drops, spreading it's fragrance everywhere  & attracting the positive signs of life. Every time you can't just be a need for someone. Refrain yourself from those energy eating worms. It's good to have handful of people who really admire your skills, your behavior, who love you for who you are, who takes the initiative by sending you a short message appreciating you  & knowing about your whereabouts. Appreciate such people as they desire to have someone like you unlike others you just need you.

Gopala : Our beloved Lord

In our house we worship the infant form of Lord Krishna, also known as Bal-Gopal. We affectionately refer him as our baby Gopala ( Gopal means the one who serves the holy cows )

As per the Indian mythology it is believed,Krishna was born to Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva on  earth in the Yadava clan; a prince named Kansa (who was actually an Asura by birth) had wreaked quite a havoc. During his sister Devaki's wedding ceremony, a divine prophecy (loud voice from the sky- Akasha Vani in Samskrutam) prophesied that the 8th son of Kansa's sister Devaki would kill Kansa.
Out of affection for Devaki, Kansa did not kill her outright. He did, however, send his sister and her husband (Vasudeva) and his father King Ugrasen to prison. Lord Vishnu himself later appeared to Devaki and Vasudeva and told them that he himself would be their eighth son and kill Kansa and destroy sin in the world. In the story of Krishna, the deity is the agent of conception and also the offspring. Because of his sympathy for the earth, the almighty lord Vishnu himself descended into the womb of Devaki and was born as her son, Vaasudeva (i.e., Krishna).

Because Kansa was uncertain of which of his 8 nephews would kill him, he brutally murdered all six of the children that Devaki had already given birth to by bashing their heads in ( a horrendeous sin he was comitting). When the 8th child was born, he was the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna. Vasudeva secretly carried the infant Krishna out of the prison and exchanged children with Nanda, a kinsman of Vasudeva, for his daughter. This daughter was yog maya, an incarnation of (Durga). She warned Kansa that his death had arrived in his kingdom and then disappeared. Krishna was adopted by Nanda and his wife Yasoda in Gokula

(in present-day Mathura district). Two of his other siblings also survived, Balarama (Devaki's seventh child, miraculously transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva's first wife) and Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini, born much later than Balarama and Krishna).



That auspicious day is celebrated as  Krishna's every year by Hindus & by the followers scattered world wide on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of the month of Shraavana in the Hindu calendar.


Ever since I was a toddler, most of my time was spent in playing with idols of the divine. I have been celebrating Janamasthami for a long time. the first Janamasthami ritual was completed by me when I was 4 years old.



The current idol of our baby Gopala is 5 years old.I have painted his facial features & all the shringar ( decor) of the Lord is done by me everyday. This year too we celebrated his grand day with our family members on the auspicious day known as Janamasthami. I will share some of the pictures clicked by me ( though it's not easy to click often as you are the sole person to arrange the things & also perform the rituals ). In this blog I will just post the pictures of the celebration. This is just an attempt to share my love & care for our beloved Lord with all of you. Keep following & sharing. 

Initial preparation of the auspicious event: The decorated cradle of our baby Gopala & the holy pitcher kept for abhishekam

                                                                     


Vastra, Abhushana, Itra, Chandana : The pearl embedded cloth of the Lord, Jewellery in form of long necklace, earrings, jodhouri-haar , crown adorned with peacock feathers, perfume & Sandalwood paste

There he is: Our baby Gopala all ready for his midnight bath

Nand ke ghar anand bhayo jai kanhaiya laal ki: And after the Maha-Abhishek at midnight, the Lord is adorned with the clothes, ornaments, smeared with sandalwood paste, adorned with scented flowers like rose, jasmine along with his favorite lotus. We offered him delicacies & after singing his praises & offering the arrti we rock the cradle & finish our fast by taking the charanamrita.