Tulsi PujaThe Tulsi plant is found in every Hindu home. It is a species resembling the basil that grows in Europe.The following episode was written by Huyler as he witnessed Tulsi worship in an Orissan home. It conveys the intimate relationship the Hindu has with Tulsi, and it teaches, through exquisite example, how we may worship Her."'O Tulsi, you who are beloved of Vishnu, You who fulfill the wishes of the devout, I will bathe You. You are the Mother of the World. Give me the blessings of Vishnu.' The high, cracked voice of Manjula pierces the damp predawn hush. Joining her voice, other women also sing the praises of the Goddess. They all kneel before a meter-high terracotta planter shaped like a miniature temple adorned with sculptures, and containing a green-leafed Tulsi. Rising to her feet, Manjula pours holy water from a small, brightly polished brass pot into the cupped palm of her right hand and sprinkles it upon the leaves of the bush. Her expression is one of adoration but also one that portrays many years of close association, of friendship. For Manjula, the Goddess is incarnate in this herb, representing the duty and dedication, the love, virtue and sorrow of all women. She is a link to Manjula's own soul."Manjula's actions are repeated by the other women. Beneath their feet are designs of flowers and conch shells painted directly onto the ground with white rice powder and sindur (vermilion). Placing the brass pot on the ground amid the paintings, Manjula lights camphor incense in a clay pot and waves the clouds of sweet smoke over and around the bush and its container. Holding a clay lamp filled with lighted ghee in her right hand, she rotates it in a large circle three times in front of the tulsi plant. Bowls of fruit (bananas, apples, guavas and the meat of dried coconuts) and hibiscus and marigold flowers are placed on the ground before the terracotta."Incense sticks are lit as Manjula once again presses her hands together in reverence, singing: 'O Tulsi! Within your roots are all the sacred places of the world. And inside your stem live all the Gods and Goddesses. Your leaves radiate every form of sacred fire. Let me take some of your leaves that I may be blessed.' With her right hand clasped around the stem of the small bush, she shakes it gently, causing three leaves to flutter to its base. Thanking the Goddess, she places a single leaf between her palms and prostrates herself before the planter. After lying in this posture of absolute supplication for several minutes, Manjula again kneels before the Tulsi shrine and lovingly asks the Goddess if she may be allowed to dress Her. Taking a length of red cotton cloth from a basket, she wraps it around the bush. Then she places bright red hibiscus flowers in the upper leaves and hangs garlands of marigolds around the stem and the planter. Culminating the ceremony, Manjula puts the tulsi leaf in her mouth, taking into her body the spirit of the Goddess. Followed by the other women, she walks seven times around the elaborately sculpted planter, chanting: 'O Goddess Tulsi, You who are the most precious of the Lord Almighty [Vishnu], who live according to His Divine Laws, I beseech you to protect the lives of my family and the spirits of those who have died. Hear me, O Goddess!'"As the first rays of the rising sun hit the tulsi's top leaves, the ritual has ended. Every morning and every evening of the year, Manjula prays to Tulsi at the shrine on the doorstep of her house, but that worship is usually simple and straightforward, entailing sprinkling the bush with holy water, adorning it with a few hibiscus blossoms, and shaking down a few leaves to eat as part of her prayers. This morning's elaborate ritual celebrates the first day of Kartika, a month particularly sacred to Vishnu and his Goddess-consort Tulsi. By caring for and honoring this sacred bush, Manjula creates a bond with the Goddess. Representing honor, virtue and steadfast loyalty, this humble bush of herbal leaves is the archetype of Hindu femininity, revered by men and emulated with empathy by women. She is Tulsi, Mother of the World." (1)(1)SELECTION REPRINTED FROM GIFTS OF EARTH: TERRACOTTAS AND CLAY SCULPTURES OF INDIA BY STEPHEN P. HUYLER (AHMEDABAD: MAPIN PUBLISHING PVT, LTD, DISTRIBUTED IN THE USA BY THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS)________________________________________This article is taken from Hinduism Today.
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I heard this long back in a small temple in Sonepat. The temple priest was delivering lecture on Bhagavata one early morning in the month of Kartik.There was a competition among the consorts of Krishna over who have greater love for Him. One day Krishna pretended to be very ill. He cried of severe stomach ache and no medicine would soothe him. At last Akrurji prayed to the Lord and said that it is only He who can give a remedy to His illness. Then Krishna said only one thing can cure him and that is the dust of the feet of a lady. His immediate consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama bit their tongue and said they do not want to comit sin and go to hell by giving their charandhuli (dust of their feet). So Krishna asked Uddhav to go to Radharani in Vrindavan for an amicable solution.Uddhav left for Vrindavan immeditely on the instruction of Lord Krishna. The moment Uddhav informed her of Krishna's illness, she became very restless and started inquiring about the treatment. Uddhav told Radharani the remedy as suggested by the Lord. Radharani immediately dusted her feet and gave the dust to Uddhav and asked him to rush to Mathura. When Uddhav referred her of the sin she is committing by her action she reverted by saying that she is ready to go to hell thousand times for her Krishna.When Rukmini and Satyabhama came to know about Radharani's love and devotion for Krishna their infighting stopped.
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This is a story of a Bengali saint of Vrindavan. I heard it on TV during the discourse of Bhagavata by Shri Gaurav Krishna Goswamiji long back.The saint worshipped his deity - Thakurji in his small room. Everyday he would collect Mahaprasad and offer to his Thakurji. Only then he would accept any food.What is Mahaprasad? The prasad of Banke Bihariji in Vrindavan is taken by the great saints. The left over is the Mahaprasad.One day he came to know that due to some reasons the Mahaprasad's availiability will be delayed. He returned home. It was hard for him to tolerate that his Thakurji will be without food for so long. So he offered Misri available at his room, to his Thakurji and decided to offer the Mahaprasad later.Later in the afternoon he brought the Mahaprasad. He thought that he had already offered Misri so he sat down to take the Mahaprasad without offering to his Thakurji. He had just placed the first bit and it occurred to him that throughout his life it had never happened that he had accepted food without offering Thakurji. Now it became impossible for him to either swallow or take out the Mahaprasad from the mouth. He had no answer / solution to his dilemma. So he quitely sat near the main door pondering. It is said that on the third day a little boy came running to his door. The boy asked for the Mahaprasad and when the saint did not respond he inserted his small fingers into the mouth of the saint, took out the Mahaprasad, ate and ran away. By the time the saint realised anything the boy had gone.
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An old farmer lived with his grandson. Each morning grandpa would read his Gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him. One day the grandson asked, 'Grandpa! I try to read the Gita just like you but I don't understand it and what I do understand I forget. What good does reading the Gita do?' The grandfather quietly replied, 'Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.' The boy did as he was told but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time,' and sent him back. This time the boy ran faster but again the basket was empty. Out of breath, he told his grandfather, that it was impossible and went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, 'I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible but he wanted to show that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath he said, 'See grandpa, it's uselless!' 'So you think it is useless?' the old man said, 'Look at the basket.' The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. 'Son, that's what happens when you read the Gita. You might not understand or remember everything but slowly you will be changed inside and out.'courtesy: Samvit, No. 57. March 2008. published by Sri Sarada Math, Dakshineswar, Kolkata
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