Deepawali is a five day festival starting from Dhanteras ,Narak Chaturdashi, Laxmipujan, Padwa and Bhai Dooj. Everyday of the festival has its significance and a mythological story with a deeper meaning. It is notable that celebrations and legends vary in different regions.
Dhanteras is celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha,in the month of Karthik according to the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat).
Dhanteras is basically the worship of Lord Dhanvantari who is considered as the father of Ayurveda. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Dhanvantari is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the first to impart the wisdom of Ayurveda to human race. He is known to be the Vaidya (physician) of Gods. Sound health is the biggest wealth and Dhanteras is celebrated as Dhanvantari Jayanti seeking the wealth of good health and wellbeing.
Lord Dhanvantari emerged during Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean), holding a conch, leeches, healing herbs and a Kalash ( pot) of Amrit (Nectar). Lord Dhanvantari appeared as an epitome of health, young, well-built, strong arms, a broad chest, curly oiled hair and bluish black complexion.
Lord Dhanvantari the celestial physician took birth as a prince of Kashi known as Kashiraja and Devodasa Dhanvantari. Dhanvantari in this human form revealed Ayurveda to the world and systematically divided Ayurveda into eight divisions (astangas), each representing specialities.
The Indian ministry of Ayush announced that Dhanteras will be observed as National Ayurveda Day.
Lord of death Yamaraj is also worshipped to avoid untimely death and an oil deepak is lit outside the main door in the honor of Lord Yamraj. Hence this day is also celebrated as Yama trayodashi.The lighting of diya is a symbolic message to eliminate all the darkness in life.

Anupama Garg (Author:The Tantric Curse) Shishya of Baba Batuknathji

Third eye is positioned between the brows just above the eye level and is associated with intuition and wisdom. In the human body, this energy centre is traditionally associated with the pineal gland. It is associated with the power of thought and imagination. An active third eye refers to a developed ability to intuitively perceive subtle energies giving us an expanded outlook of life. This is also referred to as a sixth sense which means an ability to perceive impressions that lie beyond the recognized five physical senses. Regular practice of this meditation will lead to a greater intuition, a strong sense of identity, the ability to self-reflect and ability to command or master our mind. This meditation has a calming effect,aids in elimination of internal conflicts and enhances clarity in judgment .

Diaphragmatic breathing is the most natural and efficient way to breathe. Due to tension, poor posture, restrictive clothing and lack of training, however, it is often forgotten. Once this technique again becomes a part of daily life and correct breathing is restored, there will be a great improvement in the state of physical and mental wellbeing.

Autogenic Training with Anupama Garg shisya of Baba Batuknathji. Autogenic Training is a form of self-hypnosis to induce physiological changes within our body to attain a state of relaxation and calm. Autogenic Training allows us to use our mind to regulate our body’s stress levels.It is an effective tool to counter stress and induce specific body changes leading to deep relaxation.

Mindfulness meditation is extremely effective for stress relief and relaxation. Any activity that we perform where we stay fully present and rooted ‘in the now’ is mindfulness meditation. When practiced regularly it brings calm and tranquility in our life.

“You save yourself or you remain unsaved.” ? Alice Sebold

This article is not about feminism but about the regular and repeated crime of RAPE of women or RAPE and murder thereafter.

Reasons as I see:

1. Lack of Laws and which instil fear and act as a deterrent.
2. Poor implementation of existing laws.
3. Lack of education
4. Lack of Respect for women.

EDUCATION, MENTAL DEVELOPMENT, RESPECT BUILDING IS A LONG TERM GOAL

We lack education and we evidently lack education on sex which leads to the healthy understanding of sexuality. We need to move beyond biological study of reproductive parts and delve into sexual education covering diverse topics related to sex and sexuality. Sex education should aid in the understanding of values and acquiring skills that are needed to navigate one’s self in a civilised society. Honest conversations about sex and sexuality without guilt and disgrace attached to it are crucial and should be a part of education at home and in schools. Children learn largely from the way their mothers and sisters are treated in the house and it certainly calls for introspection and reorganization. Domestic violence is brushed under the carpet and it’s imperative to recognize that happenings in the society at large are a reflection of the conditions prevalent in our homes.

A man needs to understand the limitations of his rights and should be able to comprehend that a woman has similar rights like him. Dressing or drinking does not imply a “YES” to be violated. The perception of the word “masculine” needs a fundamental rectification and the erroneous self-worth attached to the size of one’s manhood needs to be substituted by a healthy perception of self worth. It has to be inculcated from childhood that sex can be consensual only. Men with fragile ego’s and low self esteem consider their masculinity threatened if a woman objects or denies to comply  with their wishes and in some cases resort to crime and violence.

The recent ones:

13 th MAY 2017

(23-YEAR-OLD KIDNAPPED, GANG RAPED, FACE SMASHED WITH BRICK AND RUN OVER BY A CAR IN ROHTAK, HARYANA. According to Times Now, the forensic team stated, “The victim was tortured and her body was mutilated and tortured after the gang rape. She was killed after being raped involving at least seven people. Her skull was smashed in a way which indicates that she was run over by a vehicle in order to hide her identity.”) http://beingindian.com/news/23-year-old-kidnapped-gang-raped-face-smashed-with-brick-and-run-over-by-a-car-in-rohtak-haryana

14th May

(ANOTHER GANG RAPE IN A MOVING CAR IN DELHI, THIS TIME OF A WOMAN FROM SIKKIM)

http://beingindian.com/news/another-gang-rape-in-a-moving-car-in-delhi-this-time-of-a-woman-from-sikkim

The belief that a man is superior to a woman gives rise to a fallacious mentality that a woman is simply a device through which the man may satiate his desires in whatever capacity and whenever he wills. In addition to this is the deformed conventional projection of what defines a woman with good character. Often many women are agreeable supporters of this distorted belief and contribute to the unfortunate condition they have in the society.

Rape is never a victims fault and women who have been raped need the support and understanding of all those around them including the males.

No society can progress till it lacks respect for women; this is a land where the three Gods, Brahama, Vishnu and Mahesh have complementing Goddesses Saraswati, Laxmi and Shakti.  The woman of the house is equated with goddess Laxmi which is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, goddess Saraswati represents education and goddess Shakti represents the entire creation. The aforesaid fact needs to be instilled in the society in this country which is greatly reverential towards its deities.

No civilisation can prosper with women victimised, degraded and disrespected.

IMMEDIATE ACTION(Justice delayed is justice denied.)

Laws should be modified and perpetrators need to be punished adequately and speedily in a way that even the idea of rape becomes an implausible thought. The law enforcement agencies should be held accountable for any lapses. Procedures should be laid down to expeditiously review the actions and strategy adopted by them in investigation. Fear unquestionably acts as a deterrent both for the accused and enforcement agencies. Our own ancient wisdom “Laaton ke bhoot bataon se nahi mante” works the best and fastest. The light of the day has to begin with the law makers and law implementers who first need to educate themselves, amend and implement the laws speedily and step up to bring about the transformation.

Questions

How preposterous is the fact that a juvenile can conveniently commit a heinous crime of rape and torture but is juvenile to bear the punishment?

Is an exclusive fast track court required to handle cases on rape and rape and murder?

Don’t women irrespective of their age, caste, creed, religion, education and social strata who have given and will give birth to the entire population of human beings have a right to live a fearless life?

Does the answer lie in the fact that barbaric punishments should be given for barbaric acts? If life imprisonment or capital punishment is not deterrent enough do we need some other stringent measures both against the accused and delinquent law enforcement officers till responsibility and respect towards women in society at large is fully ingrained in its constituents?

Is public humiliation in one’s hometown the answer or widely publicised and advertised PUBLIC CASTRATION the answer?

Healthy relationships in all areas of our life are essential to our well being. Though we may have different views on what healthy relationships are, certain ingredients remain common.

Anything to grow requires space. A beautiful relationship demands togetherness with space to evolve individually. It is important that we as individuals retain and nurture our individuality. It will help us give space in relationships, as we would understand its significance. It is essential to keep our interests alive and have a personal space that helps us to evolve as better human beings. The courage to trust comes naturally, if we respect our self and have a healthy self esteem. The balance has to be struck between independence and intimacy.

Friendship remains the basis of any relationship, be it life partners, parent child, siblings and of course our close friends.

Respect in any relationship remains the backbone on which the relationship rests. It is important to respect the individual with his individual world which may have his/her set of work commitments, friends, hobbies and principles which we may not necessarily agree with. A good relationship means that we agree to disagree. When we respect the other in most cases we also set the standard of how we will be treated.

  Many a times while trying to discipline our children we cross the line of respect. As parents our concern about them may result in failure to realize that most of our time is spent in correcting them. This may lead to scarce happy moments of togetherness. A child is more likely to understand us if he/she sees a friend in us. Raising a child is balance of unconditional love and support with guidance, giving direction and correction. We can approach our children with gentle explaining and understanding. It is fine to give them space to make them feel responsible. It is also natural for them to make mistakes. If we go back to our childhood, we too made mistakes and we still do, as adults. Its good to be protective but any excesses lead to degeneration of the relationship. It is always more effective to practice what we tell and expect out of our children. Our actions speak louder than our words in any relationship.

Successful relationship with our spouse, siblings and friends, requires the same ingredients of respect, trust, care and space. The need to mould someone according to our parameters is disastrous to any relationship. The urge to control comes with one single phenomenon, which is insecurity. An insecure person will cling, be over possessive, will want to control and mould a person according to his/her needs. The core lies in trusting our own self to be able to trust someone else. Self expansion leads to long-lasting relationships. The golden rule remains “Do unto others what you want other to do unto you”.

It is unfair to burden a loved one to fulfill all our needs, it ends in sheer disappointment .It is important to cultivate our individual space with a sense of purpose, friends and activities that contribute to our experiences and in turn enrich our relationships. It is important to strive to be a complete individual contributing constructively in our relationships. It is human nature that any relationship that gives us the feeling of being imprisoned cannot be healthy and fulfilling. Being alone does not mean being lonely. Physical and emotional space helps the relationship grow stronger as it gives room to grow.

All harmonious relationships are built upon by caring, dependability, responsibility, trust, empathy, acceptance, time for the relationship and time for self. It always works well to see things from the others point of view. We all change with time and experiences and we should respect and value these changes in others too.

It is reassuring to believe that relationships last for ever. But the truth is that there are relationships that will endure and there are relationships which will not. Every person close to us today may not be there in our life to come. Deceit and dishonesty can end a great relationship. When situations arise, our relationships can also change, and that can lead us to examine where we are investing our time and energy. If consciously the decision leads to let go…LET GO and move on