THEYYAM DANCE AT THE MARTHANKANDYKAVU, CHALAD, KANNUR, KERALA (VIDEO)

The video of the theyyam dance at the Marthankandykavu, Chalad, Kannur, Kerala, India, recently.

-video courtesy of Mr. Anand Baboo, Fairman Tailors, Kannur.

The ultimate goal of earthly life is not to acquire massive wealth, name and fame but to acquire Self-Knowledge that leads to Moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death).

The ultimate goal of earthly life is not to acquire massive wealth, name and fame but to acquire Self-Knowledge that leads to Moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). The ultimate goal is Self Realization or God Realization. It is to realize that we are not our body but divine souls. We are all Shiva indeed. Jiva is Shiva. The only thing that stands between us and our true essential Self – Shiva, is our own ignorant mind. God is within us. He sits quietly within the cave of our hearts. He reveals Himself only to deserving devotees who conquer their mind by intense love and devotion for God and acquire Jnana (Self – Knowledge) by studying the scriptures and listening to the wise.

~ Shikha Narula
(Author of 'Autobiography of a Shiva Devotee')

All about Rudraksha

What's its purpose? Where does it come from? What at are the benefits of the different mukhis (lines)? Find out here in this video

The emergence of the Ardhanarishvara.

There are several legends related to the emergence of the Ardhanarishvara. This half male-half female form also finds mention in the Mahabharata epic. According to the Skanda Purana, Maa Parvati asks Lord Shiva to permit her to stay with him forever, embracing him "limb-to-limb". Ardhanarishvara was thus formed. The Matsya Purana relates that Brahma, pleased with Parvatis penance rewards her with a flawless golden complexion. This makes her many times more attractive to Shiva, who fuses into her to form the Ardhanarishvara.

In the Kalika Purana, Maa Parvati suspects Shiva of infidelity, when she sees her own reflection in Shiva. An argument ensues between them. Thereafter, Parvati wishes to stay eternally with Shiva, fusing with him as one single body.
Yet another lore about Parvati's jealousy when she sees Ganga perched on Shiva's head. Though Shiva tries to appease her by placing her on his lap, Parvati continues to be upset. This is when Shiva unites with the Goddess in the form of Ardhanarishvara.

As per Shiva Purana, Brahma once faced with a steep decline in the pace of creation. A flustered Brahma approached Shiva for help. Shiva appeared before him in the form of Ardhanarishvara and goddess then created various female powers from her body, thus speeding up the process of creation.

According to one interpretation, Goddess Parvati once playfully closed the eyes of Shiva, thus plunging the entire world into darkness. All living beings on earth suffered due to this eternal darkness. Uma, realizing her folly, was forced to leave Kailasha and started to worship the ShivaLinga in order to absolve herself of her sin and to reunite with her Lord. Lord Vishnu then gave her instructions on the austerities to attain her Lord once more. At this time, demon Mahishasura, came to the fore and started disturbing those of earth. This is when Uma takes the form of Devi Durga and engages in a long battle with him, finally slaying him. Lord Shiva then manifests as the Fire on top of the hill. He then merges into Devi Maa and gives darshan as the Ardhanarishvara, with the Devi as his left half!! ✨🌈🌺🍂👁🐍🔱🌷💀⌛️🌙🌀🌸🌻🌿📿🕉🌼🐚🍂🌈🌸🍃🔔🎨💟✨

Hari Om Tat Sat ~ Om Shiva Om Shakti ~ Jai Shri Ardhnarishwaraya Namah! ✨🌈🌺🍂👁🐍🔱🌷💀⌛️🌙🌀🌸🌻🌿📿🕉🌼🐚🍂🌈🌸🍃🔔🎨💟✨

Krishna was born to destroy evil and establish peace on earth, with his uncle Kansa being the first one in line.

The story of Lord Krishna's birth is full of celestial occurrences that's so overwhelming that it generates the same amount of excitement every time you listen to it. Krishna was born to destroy evil and establish peace on earth, with his uncle Kansa being the first one in line. The king of Mathura, Kansa, was a cruel ruler who put his father Ugrasena, in jail. While he was marrying his sister off, an Akashvani (a divine voice) announced that Kansa's end was night and that he would be killed at the hands of Devki's 8th child, who would bring the rule of righteousness to the land.

A frightened Kansa put his sister and her husband in jail, vowing to kill every child she gave birth to. When Devki was due with her 8th child, the fear of having their newborn killed gripped the couple again. In the month of Bhadrapad, on the 8th day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight), Devki went into labour and gave birth to a boy. That night, all the prison guards fell asleep and Vasudev's shackles broke open on their own. And a divine voice asked Vasudev to carry the newborn to Nand Gaon, and trade him with the daughter of Nand Baba and Yashoda, who later turns out to be a form of Shakti, whom Kansa is unable to kill.

When Vasudev was crossing the overflowing Yamuna river, carrying his newborn in a basket, a heavy downpour began. It was then that Sheshnaag, the five-headed snake, which is also the bed of Lord Vishnu, spread his head to protect little Krishna from the rains.

This is not the only connection that Krishna has with the rains. At a very young age, he lifted an entire hill for villagers to take shelter and saved them from drowning. Krishna seems to have a strange connection with rain. It most definitely rains on Janmashtami. ✨👁🌀🌷🐍🔆🐚🕉🎨🌧🌸🙏✨

Hari Om Tat Sat ~ Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya Namah ~ Shubh Prabhat 🐚🐍🌧🌷🔆🕉🙏

Don't get wrapped in a world of darkness, life is not over yet.

Just when the catterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. Don't get wrapped in a world of darkness, life is not over yet. 🌀👁🌀Namaste lovely Souls. It's time for Weekend Vibes. 💙🐍💙 Yes, Often we get bogged down and loose faith when things go wrong. But learn to escape the darkness and fly into the light. The hardships and challenges that you think are too hard to persevere through are the ones that change you for the better. When everything crumbled down for the caterpillar , it was born again as a new being. Alive and beautiful and also with its wings ; to fly, flutter and blow in the wind. Not dead, but alive, reborn as a different being. Similarly your life also is not over yet. Know that you can transform yourself into anything you desire and become truly great. Just as you think that life has dealt you some really nasty hands and everything is spiraling out of control; along comes something amazing that can give you new life. You can take over the world with a new life as something truly beautiful. You can be reborn again. Yes, be optimistic and Never lose hope, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Enjoy the changes of life, everything in life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Allow Shiva to transform you from the inside out. You are powerful, you are strong, never underestimate yourself. You can deal with just anything and everything. Remember, When you feel you are about to fail, it might actually be that you are about to fly!!! ✨💀💙🐍👁🔱🕉🍃🌙🔔🌀📿⌛️🐚🌷🎨✨

Loads of love, peace, happiness and blessings always ~ Hari Om Tat Sat ~ Hara Hara Mahadev ~ Jai Bholenath !! 🔱💙🐍👁⌛🌀️💀🌙🙏🏻

Rama embraces Hanuman, declaring him as dear to him as his own brother.

In the war between Rama and Ravana, when Lakshmana is badly wounded during the battle against Indrajit, Lord Hanuman is sent to fetch the Sanjivani, a powerful life-restoring herb, from Dronagiri mountain in the Himalayas, to revive him. Ravana realises that if Lakshmana dies, a distraught Rama would probably give up, and so he dispatches the sorcerer Kalanemi to intercept Hanuman Ji. Kalanemi, in the guise of a sage, deceives Hanuman, but Hanuman Ji uncovers his plot with the help of an apsara (celestial nymph), whom he rescues from her accursed state as a crocodile.

Ravana, upon learning that Kalanemi has been slain by Hanuman Ji, summons Lord Surya to rise before its appointed time because the physician Sushena had said that Lakshmana would perish if untreated by daybreak. Hanuman Ji realizes the danger, however, and, becoming many times his normal size, detains the Sun God to prevent the break of day. He traps Surya in his armpits and then resumes his search for the precious herb, but, when he finds himself unable to identify which herb it is, he lifts the entire mountain and delivers it to the battlefield in Lanka. Sushena then identifies and administers the herb, and Lakshmana is saved. Rama embraces Hanuman, declaring him as dear to him as his own brother. Hanuman Ji releases Lord Surya from his armpit, and asks forgiveness, as the Sun was also his Guru (teacher). 🌸🍃🌷🌻🌿🌼🌺🍂🕉🌸🍃🌺🕉🌷🌻🌿🌼🍃🌸🌷🍂🌺🕉🌼🍃🌸🌻

Jai Shri Ram ~ Jai Rudra Ke Roop Hanuman! 🌸🍃🌷🌻🌿🌼🌺🍂🕉🌸🍃🌺🕉🌷🌻🌿🌼🍃🌸🌷🍂🌺🕉🌼🍃🌸🌻