-to Parents, Guru and God Namaskaram is offering our respect in a humble way and with gratitude to our elders. It’s been followed in our culture from the beginning. This was taught to children by their parents and guru. This shapes up their character by teaching them humility, gratitude, respectfulness, dignity, love, gratitude and establishes a connection with the elders. Why should we do Namaskaram? Everyone is divine, by doing namaskar one recognizes, acknowledges and salutes the divinity in the other person and bows down to him. 🙏 this is called Anjali Mudra, this brings oneness to the expression. Tips of the fingers are major energy and acupressure points. The little finger represents thamo gunam, the ring finger- rajogunam, the middle finger - satva gunam, index- individual soul and thumb - paramathma. As Soon as the palms are joined, a feeling of calmness and well-being descends. The word namaha means not mine, it also means I am relinquishing the false ownership acquired onto you. When we do pranam to mother, we should place the anjali mudra close to stomach, signifying her sacrifice to give birth to us. While doing pranam to our father the Anjali mudra should be near our mouth to signify and respect his effort towards bring us up. While to guru, the Anjali mudra should be near brumadhyam, signifying the words of guru being agya or sashanam. To god, it’s called as pranipatham, fall down on the ground like a swarnadandam. Here men can do ashtanga namaskaram, while women do Panchanga namaskaram. By falling on one’s feet ego is destroyed. Poorna sharanagathi bhavam can be attained be doing namaskaram. How to perform Ashtanga namaskaram? The following Sanskrit verse says उरसा शिरसा द्रु्ष्ट्या मनसा वचसा तथा । पद्भ्यां कराभ्यां कर्णाभ्यां प्रणामो ऽष्टाड़ग उच्यते ।। This means, namaskaram is done by bowing down 8 parts of the body touching the ground, they are, chest, head, sight, mind, words, feet, hands and ears. Since women are mathru swaroopinis the organs giving birth and nourishing a child is considered very sacred. So our shastras say that a women performs a pancha-5 anga namaskaram. Namaskaram is a yogic posture, it stretches the spine and acts as an exercise in disguise.

Dharma is born from aacharam. Aacharam should be followed to attain karmaphalam. Without aacharam no fruit would be attained for any karma done. Anaacharam results in karma nashtam. Here we are taking about washing ones hands legs. When and how it should be done? One has to wash their legs, 1. When Entering the house and temple 2. After urination and defecation 3. Before taking food. When washing one’s legs, it is said in sashthram to wash facing west. Lord Varuna is the adipathi for water and this action reminds us of Varuna. Also, one should bend down and wash ones legs using their hands and not by rubbing one feet on the other. Care should be taken not to spill the water on others. 1. We walk around around in footwear, which might be made of animal hide. Animal hide has rajo and thamo guna. Also we step on various things while walking outside. So washing before entering the house/ temple is very hygienic and also helps get rid of -ve energies. 2. After urinating and defecation washing one’s hands, legs and gargling washes away the Rajas and thamas associated with the action as water is of satvic nature. 3. Food is the life giving source. Also revered as annalakshmi. It’s also said that the creative energy in food is Brahma, the nourishing energy is Vishnu and the energy that transforms into pure consciousness is Shiva. Washing before eating is a way to prevent infection and hygienic and also respectful towards our food. Nala Dhamayanthi charithram emphasizes the importance of washing one’s legs. People also believe that Saturn or Sanaischara enters one’s body through unwashed feet. Lord Sani signifies misfortune, losses, diseases etc. unwashed legs carries many infections, microbes. In order to avert these unwanted consequences it’s advised to wash up. Also don’t wash legs after completing Pooja or Homam and after coming back from temple.

What is tilaka dharana? TILAKA darana is decorating your forehead with a TILAKAm as per your sampradayam. But now many people wonder, why can we leave it the way it is, as was given to us by god? Is everything in us the same as given by god!! We cloth ourselves, we nourish ourselves.....whatever we do to decorate or nourish our body is not for the body alone. It travels internally from one level to the other until it reaches paramatma. Externally from body to mind, mind to buddi(intellect), buddi to anthakaranam then to atma and finally to paramathma. Tilaka darana is a must for everyone who belongs to Sanathana Dharma and who has faith in Vaidika dharma. Where do we apply tilakam? In the centre of our forehead starting from the area between the eyebrows. That’s where Ajna chakra lies. Tilaka darana not only indicates the divinity in us, but also helps attract and fill us with divinity from subtle plane. It also helps keep away the krura drishti and negative energies entering into us. Tilaka and sindoora dharanam is sowbhagya schinnam for sumangalis as Lalitha sahasranama dyanasloka says “सकुंकुम विलेपनाम्”.

Science:: Ajna chakra is the centre of infinite intuition and it helps stimulate the pituitary and pineal gland and brings awareness and positivity. Applying Chandan tilak has a cooling effect and takes our attention to Ajna chakra. Kumkum helps in focusing and stores energy. Bhasma or vibhuthi has the ability to shield the brain from radiation. The bhasma obtained from Yagnas has the ability to absorb the energy from mantras that was chanted in the process. It also reminds one of the mortal nature of the body and brings back ones focus to the eternal non-changing self, the consciousness which is divine.

Turmeric signifies auspicious beginnings, prosperity and goodluck. Mahalakshmi resides in the kumkum made of turmeric. As we all know all major Poojas are commenced by offering pooja to Haridra (turmeric) Ganapathy.

It’s very beneficial to bathe with turmeric. Apart from religious significance it has numerous health benefits. Turmeric is Anti-oxidant, Anti- microbial, Anti-inflammatory and has antiseptic properties. It prevents infection, acne and removes the dead skin. Heals broken skin and wounds. Cures psoriasis, scleroderma and skin cancer. Skin looks younger. When applied with coconut oil on hair, curcumin in turmeric helps prevent hairloss and helps in hair growth.

Kasturi manjal or wild turmeric doesn’t color ur skin when applied. So working women and students can apply it.

Turmeric when consumed has many benefits. It strengthens immunity. Cures sore throat when gargled with salt. Very effective for common cold. Reduces joint pain. Improves mood & stimulates brain function. Excellent agent for prevention and treatment of age related diseases. It’s anti-carcinogenic property prevents some type of cancers. Curcumin in turmeric helps reduce weight.

First religious ceremony in a persons life is ear piercing. Earrings adds to one’s beauty and also it helps in increasing memory power, activates the brain and improves listening skills, regulates menstural cycle and pain.

The ornaments and the age or time that’s specified for a lady to wear them have many medical and spiritual reasons. Our ancestors made these into rituals so that it becomes a compulsion that everyone follow these practices. Medically the point where the piercing is done in nose is a marma or nadi point. Usually the piercing is done at an early age or when a girl attains puberty. It regulates the body temperature, awakens different energy flows relieving various diseases. It eases cold, migraine, breathing and nervous problems and eye problems. Ayurveda highly recommends nose piercing. Very beneficial during the monthly periods and child birth.

Spiritual significance:: It is considered auspicious to pierce one’s nose. Usually gold or silver is used to make the nose ring. Mahalakshmi is present in gold. These noble metals help in regulating body temperature. Adds to beauty.

It’s inauspicious for a woman to do pooja, serve food, draw a Rangoli or light a deepam without bangles. The circular shape ensures absorption and retention of electromagnetic waves and strengthens our palms. In olden days women did all there household work. It helps in increasing the white blood cells and regulates stimulates the endocrine glands. The noise from the glass bangles worn by a pregnant lady gives the fetus a secured feeling and also keeps the women excited and happy.

Such a beautiful ornament made of silver. Ornaments worn below the waist are recommended to be worn in silver. Silver has an antibacterial quality and also retains and regulates positive energy while releasing the negative energy. Silver anklets enhance ones health apart from regulating the following, irregular menstrual cycle, obesity, gynecological disorders, infertility, hormonal imbalance and relieves sciatic pain. The beautiful tinkling of anklet is so soothing and creates a positive vibe in the house.

Only married women can wear this ornament. As per the custom, the husband puts them on the second toes of the wife. The toe rings activates the pressure points. When a woman walks it gently presses the toe and is highly beneficial. Apart from the beauty, it has great benefits, it regulates problems related to menstruation, pregnancy and helps maintain the amniotic fluid levels and also helps during delivery. Also it’s very indispensable for married women to wear the sowmangalya schinnam like, mangala suthram, kumkumam, bangles earrings, nose rings and metti.

- Ekadashi, Shashti, amavasya Orupozhudu What is fasting/ उपवास ? Why and how it’s done? First let’s look at the health and scientific aspect of it. Fasting is consciously or willfully abstaining from food. The term उपवास means “staying close” to god through devotion and Bhakti. The body is made or formulated to be healthy. We interfere in its functioning by unhealthy eating habits. Upavas has been practiced to give a break or rest to the system to recover. It helps cleanse the body, mind and soul. It helps excrete at cellular level. Unhealthy eating is the cause of many diseases, both yogic and modern medical science tell us the necessity of eating right. It has been formulated by our age old traditions to fast every fortnight on Ekadashi day, it increases longevity, keeps one looking youthful and less diseased. Have you heard of telomeres? Telomeres are little protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that prevent deterioration or fusion of frayed ends of DNA. Each time our DNA replicates, telomeres shorten a little bit. More replication, we get older and our telomeres shortens, causing the cell and therefore the body to age. Fasting decreases the replication of cells and prevents excessive shortening of the telomeres. There by keeping the body young and healthy.

Autophagy is the body’s way of cleansing out damaged cells in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. It removes toxic proteins from the cells that are attributed to Neuro degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Researchers are of the opinion that autophagy may lower the risk of cancer. Fasting is the most effective way to trigger autophagy.

Our ancestors have designed rituals and lifestyle to enhance our health and spiritual well being. There are specified days for fasting. One of the most important and beneficial fasting is done on Ekadashi days. By fasting on Ekadashi both our body and mind will be rejuvenated. How to observe the Ekadashi upavasam? Bathe in the morning and have a darshan of lord in the temple or pray at home. During these days focus less on eating and engage in devotion. Understand the purpose of fasting. Unhealthy eating makes us lethargic. If the body isn’t vibrant, we don’t do anything spiritual. So on days of fasting we have to eat or drink just the right amount of food or juices. There are various types of fasting. One can go without water which is called nirjal upavas, or just drink tulsi teertham. People who cannot stay just with water can have fruit juices, sugarcane juice or tender coconut. Or else can fast on fruits and milk etc. usually this Ekadashi fast is kept for 36 hrs. Starting from the dasami night till Dwadashi morning till the paranai. During the fasting days we should focus on pooja, Japam, nama sankeerthanam, Vishnu sahasranama parayanam, bhagavatham or Ramayana shavanam or parayanam etc. shouldn’t sleep during the daytime. Then complete the vratam on Dwadashi day with tulsi teertham. On Dwadashi amala, agathikeerai and sundaikai along with indigenous vegetables should be cooked and had. This is all done to stay close to or be absorbed in Lord Vishnu through all the 11 senses ie., 5 gyanedriyam, 5 karmendriyam and mind.

There’s a saying in Tamil, “shashtiyil irunthaal aga paiyyil kuzhandai varum”. Lord Muruga is prayed to beget children. The Kanda shashti comes after deepavali. Both husband and wife together can fast during these 6 days. Aahara niyamam is same for shashti as ekadasi. Some people just eat 1 pepper on the first day , 2 on the second and so on till the 6th day. Parayanam of Arunagirinathar’s Swamimalai thirupugazh should be done to beget children.
Also kanda shasti kavacham parayanam can be done with bakthi while seeking upliftment in one’s life

Amavasya is the day for pitrus. Pitru tharpanam to be performed by the sons in remembrance of their deceased parent or parents. Usually only one meal during lunch time is to be taken. Also during night very light food or fruits to be taken.

Many people fast in the morning alone skipping the breakfast which is called as oru pozhuthu. People do it on Monday’s. Old people or people with health conditions who cannot fast for the whole day follow this. Usually on all fasting days only satvika food should be has. Onion, garlic and masala items should be avoided. Eating outside should also be avoided except during yaatras.

Our ancient literature talks vividly about women’s hairstyles. Let’s start from Devi. Usually Devi had her hair braided or tied into a bun, but when she’s doing Asura samharam, she lets her hair loose. Many of us have heard about Satyabhama’s hair. In Ramayana, Valmiki Maharishi also describes Matha Sita as having a single braid (एक वेणी) when kept in Ashoka vanam by Ravana.
In our Shashtras, it is recommended for women to braid and tie their hair up. Even after head bath, women tie a knot at the end of their hair for it to dry. These days it has become fashionable to let one’s hair loose, which is considered inauspicious in our custom. Why? Because only during times of grief, women let their hair loose. Woman are instrumental in maintaining a good relationship between their birth and in-laws house. This is represented by the braid. The three parts in a braid represents birth house, in-laws and herself, these are interchangeably braided into one single braid. It is also believed that positive energy from the body diffuses or escapes through the hair ends. Braiding your hair and attaching a kunjalam to the end prevents the positive energy from leaving the body.
A girl’s hair can also be used to enchant a girl so care should be taken to keep the hair tied at all times. Loose hair falling all over the house also creats a negative environment signifying Alakshmi, and it is so unpleasant when it gets into food and pooja items.

Everyday in pooja we pray for chathur vida purusharthas, that is, Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. In order to attain these purusharthas, we have the chathurashrama vyavastha, ie., Brahmacharyam, Gruhasthashamam, Vaanaprastham and Sanyasam. The first one is Brahmacharyam. What is Brahmacharyam? Brahma is god and acharyam is to follow or to go after. Bhagavat Gita says, Lust is the eternal enemy of Brahmacharya कामरूपेन कौन्तेय ज्ञानिनो नित्यवैरिन: । Vidura says, सुखार्थिन: कुतो विद्या: नास्ति विद्यार्थिन: सुखम। सुखार्थि वा त्यजेद् विद्यां विद्यार्थि वा त्यजेत् सुखम्।। Those who run after pleasure, cannot acquire knowledge. Those who run after Vidya, should never expect pleasures. Brahmacharyam is to retain the energy within the body and use it for greater purpose of life, that is god realization. In olden days there use to be gurukuls where the children were sent to learn from their gurus. They used to live with their gurus and follow Brahmacharyam till they were 25 years old. Then the guru will bless the student and guide him towards gruhasthashrama or sanyasa. The benefits of being a Brahmachari ब्रह्मचर्य प्रतिष्ठायां वीर्यलाभ: On being established in celibacy VIGOUR is gained. It improves mind power, will power, focus and memory power. 2) Eligibility to realize god How to master Brahmacharyam? Look at women as mothers and sisters. The following 3 triggers are to be avoided to follow Brahmacharyam. Bad company, staying away from the opposite sex and stop watching bad content. Always eat satvic food and never take addictive substances. The following helps to boost and upkeep of Brahmacharyam. Involve yourself in satsang and seva, selfless seva and company with saints. Chanting mantras, this keeps your mind focused. Engage the mind in goal oriented activities. Always chase greater goal and greater purpose of life. The deep knowledge obtained through the eons are from god realized souls. Siddha purushas gave us all that we need to live our lives happily in this world and also attain moksha. They showed us how to lead a pure life. Let’s talk about Swamy Vivekananda, the patriotic saint. He owed his super human mind and mental power to Brahmacharyam.In Swami Vivekananda’s words 1. Power comes to him who observes unbroken Brahmacharyam for 12 years. 2. Attributed his phenomenal mental powers to lifelong observance of Brahmacharyam. “Do you see, simply by the observance of strict brahmacharya (continence) all learning can be mastered in a very short time- one has an unfailing memory of what one hears or knows but once. It is owing to this want of continence that everything is on the brink of ruin in our country “. 3.Samiji once said to his friend that he never needs to prepare for his lectures, whatever he needs to talk will pass before his eyes as pictures. 4. The chaste brain has tremendous energy and gigantic will power. Without chastity there can be no spiritual strength. 5.Every boy should be trained to practice absolute Brahmacharya and then, then alone faith and shraddha will come. 6. What we want are western science coupled with Vedanta, Brahmacharya as the guiding motto, and also shraddha and faith in one’s own self. 7. In order to attain ideal Brahmacharya one has in the beginning to observe strict rules and keep themselves away from the opposite sex atleast for 12 years. 8.”Brahmacharya should be like a burning fire within the veins”.

What is panchangam and why do we need panchangam. As the name clearly states, it has the details regarding the pancha angam ie., vaaram, thithi, nakshatram, yogam and karanam. Panchangam is a vedic calendar with the above said details plus many more to mark all the events of a person from time of birth to until death. It’s based on science. Our panchangam is not like Gregorian calendar. Let’s now recap some of our early science lessons. The panchangam is based on Sun, moon and earth rotation and revolution. Earth takes 365.25 days to revolve around the sun =1 year. The earth spins o its own axis and takes 24 hours to complete one circle, creating 1 day The moon revolves round the earth and takes 29.5 days to complete one full circle and that’s the month. Now, there’s the waxing and waning phase of the moon and also the no moon and full moon days. The waxing phase is called Sukla paksha or the bright fortnight and the waning phase is called the Krishna paksha or tge dark fortnight. Starting from amavasya or pournami the thithis have the sanskrit number names from 1 to 14 repeating itself every fortnight. Some festivals are specifically celebrated on certain thithis eg., Vinayaka chathurthi, naga panchami, kanda shashti, krishna ashtami etc. Now to nakshathra. Nakshathra is nothing but the moon’s position in a said constellation on a particular day. Yogam - there are 27 yogams, each one is 13 degrees and 20 minutes. There are 11 Karanams, 7 fixed and 4 moveable. A karanam is half a thithi. We need to know how to read the panchangam in order to celebrate one’s star birthday. And to look for auspicious days to begin something new, to determine the muhurtham for marriages, to find the vaastu days to do bhoomi pooja, to determine the day when gruhapravesam can be done based on the couple’s nakshathram etc. apart from this the most fascinating is the Nithya sankalpam for the pooja that we do every day. Isn’t that mind blowing? Look at the division of time from the beginning of creaction till date. No other culture or religion has it. As per the Hindu cosmology the earth is 4.32 billion years old. Scientists have radio actively dated the earth as 4.543 billion years old. Coming back to the Nithya sankalpam, we say, we are in the 2nd half of Chathurmuka Brahma’s life span, white boar kalpam, Vaivasvatha Manvantharam,kali yuga’s 1st part, and then comes the description of the place we live in and then the year we are in, ayanam, season, the month, dark or bright fortnight, thithi, day, nakshathram after which we ask for Dharma, artha, Kama moksham and conclude with the details of the pooja that we are about to perform. What’s more interesting is all our years have names. There are 60 names and they repeat themselves after every cycle indicating the cyclical nature of time. Having understood the importance of panchangam, it is required for the children to understand and learn how to read panchangam.

We have all seen many people taking up mandala deeksha before going to Sabarimalai Iyyappan Temple. If you ask them they would it prepares them for the difficult and strenuous journey uphill to the temple. Many people take up mandala deeksha to fulfill their prayers. Like sabarimala, people also do Bhavani deeksha and go to Kanakadurga Ammavari temple in Vijayawada. Now let’s see what is deeksha and what kind of rules are to be followed during the deeksha period. First of all one needs Druda sankalpam- strong will to take up deeksha for a mandalam. Deeksha is a process of following certain rules and regulations with shraddha and bhakthi, in order to discipline oneself to make one’s body and mind healthy and in synchronization with each other which makes the person eligible and ready to receive the devatha’s anugraham. It is also a process of teaching oneself how to lead a disciplined life in order to attain moksha at the end. It’s like a prelude to the 4th and final aashrama ie., the sanyasa ashrama. Now let’s see the rules and regulations: Wake up during Brahma muhurtham. Waking up in Brahma muhurtham plays a key role, it’s the auspicious time that promotes physical, mental, social and spiritual health. Brahma muhurtha is a very crucial time, which reboots and regulates the biological clock everyday. During Brahma muhurtha, some elements like ozone help in brain stimulation and endorphin concentration is at peak level. Meditating at this time will give extraordinary results. Waking up and being active at that time increases intelligence and concentration. Bathe in cold water. Start pooja before suyodayam and do Japam. Select a calm place in the house or pooja room to complete the anushtanams everyday, preferably at the same time. When it comes to food, eat satvic food and only the required quantity to maintain this body. When talking to others, don’t get angry. Talk less use sweet words and do nama japam more. Don’t sleep in the afternoons. During nights, sleep alone on a mat on the floor. Avoid sleeping on a bed. To cultivate a habit successfully, one has to to the same thing at same time every day for 21 to 41 days. This journey with deeksha leads to success. Swami Vivekananda says “your beliefs become thoughts, your thoughts become actions, your actions become habit, your habit becomes character, your character becomes destiny. In today’s lifestyle we have lost the awareness of being in synch with nature. Mandala deeksha will help us to bring the rhythm back into our lives.

Vriddhi is the custom of isolating the new born and the mother for 10 days. On 11th day after performing the punyahavachanam the isolation comes to an end. During this period doing pooja at home and visiting temples is not advisable. After childbirth, the mother is very weak and exhausted and needs ample rest to recoup and also to adjust and take care of the new born. The new born has less immunity and is even more at risk when exposed and is susceptible to infection. The mother, as she’s weak cannot handle the household work and needs help atleast for sometime till she regains some strength. At the same time her diet needs to be nutritious and medicinal (pathyam), to improve her health and in turn nourishing for the infant. This vriddhi helps her to focus fully on the new born and herself. Our ancestors designed this custom for the benefit of the mother and child. There is neither superstition nor discrimination attached to this.

All the spiritual activities start with the lighting of deepam. Everyday deepam has to be lit twice a day, ie., in the morning and evening. Lighting deepam fills our homes with positivity, calmness and contemplation. A lit lamp signifies the light of knowledge (atmaprakasha), which dispels the darkness of ignorance. It purifies the atmosphere. It is also a way to thank the almighty for having given the light within us to enjoy through our 5 senses. The following Sanskrit slokas are chanted while lighting the deepam शुभं करोति कल्याणमल आरोग्यम् धनसंपदा। शत्रुबुद्धिविनाशाय दीपज्योति र्नमोस्तु ते ।। Salutations to the light of the lamp, which brings auspiciousness, health and prosperity , which destroys inimical feelings दीपज्योति: परब्रह्म दीपज्योतिर्जनार्दन:। दीपो हरतु मे पापं दीपज्योतिर्नमोस्तुते।। The light of the lamp represents supreme Brahma, Vishnu, let the light of the lamp remove my sins, salutations to the light the the lamp. As we can see from the above 2 slokas, lighting deepam brings immense benefits for everyone. During the month of karthika special significance is attached to lighting deepam. There’s also a festival called karthika deepam where oil lamps are lit all over the house. Let’s also see the science behind lighting the lamps. The light rays produces magnetic forces and purifies the atmosphere. The pure air that’s in direct contact with the humans activates the nerves, thus curing the blood. The electromagnetic forces penetrates the body and encourages the blood cells, having negative effect on diseases. How to light a deepam? In every house there will a custom as to what kind of lamp to light eg., some people light kamakshi velakku, some kuthu vilakku etc. everyday new wick should be used to light the lamp. The left over oil from previous day should be thrown away. The lamp should be decorated with Chandan and kumkum and a small kolam has to be drawn and then the lamp needs to be placed on top of it. Flower should be offered to the lamp. After lighting the lamp we can do our regular pooja. For working people atleast lighting the lamp twice a day is very important. It keeps negative and evil energies away. Panju thiri(wick) is usually recommended. Two wicks should be made into one and then placed in the lamp to be lighted. साज्यं त्रिवर्तिसंयुक्तं बह्निना योजितं मया ग्रुहाण मंगलं दीपं, त्रैलोक्य तिमिरापहम्। भक्त्या दीपं प्रयश्चामि देवाय परमात्मने त्राहि माम् नरकात् घोरात् दीपं ज्योतिर्नमोस्तुते ।। Oh Lord! Please accept this deepam lit by me with ghee and joined with wick is connected by fire. Please accept this deepam oh lord of devas, you are the remover of darkness (of ignorance) of the three worlds. With devotion I offer this deepam to you oh Deva! You are the Paramatman. Please protect me from this terrible hell (of ignorance) salutations to you oh Deepa Jyothi.