Why do we light a lamp?

In almost every Indian home a lamp is lit daily before the alter of the lord. In some house it Is lit at dawn, in some, twice a day – at dawn and dusk- and in few it is maintained
continuously- AKHANDA DEEPA. Auspicious function commence with lighting of the
lamp, which is often maintained right through the occasion

Light symbolizes knowledge, and darkness – ignorance. The lord is the “knowledge
principle “ ( chaitanya) who is the source, the enlivener and the illuminator of all
knowledge. Hence light is worshiped as the lord himself

knowledge removes ignorance just as light removes darkness. Also knowledge is a
lasting inner wealth by which all outer achievement can be accomplished. Hence we light
the lamp to bow down to knowledge as the greatest of all forms of wealth.

Why not light a bulb or tube light? That too would removes darkness. But the traditional
Oil lamp has a further spiritual significance. The oil or ghee in the lamp symbolizes our vaasanas or negative tendencies and the wick, the ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vaasanas get slowly exhausted and the ego too finally perishes. The flame of the lamp always burns upwards. Similarly we should acquire such knowledge as to take us toward higher ideals. Whilst lighting the lamp we thus pray

Deepajyothi parabrahma
Deepa sarva tamopahaha
Deepena saadhyate saram
Sandhyaa deepo namostute

I prostrate to the dawn/dusk lamp; whose light is the knowledge principle (the supreme lord), which removes the darkness of ignorance and by which all can be achieved In life

By,
Morgan Major.

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Avatharams of Ambal to kill the Asurans...

1. Sri Astha Thasa Bhuja Mahachandi, Chandi, (with 18 hands) Combination of Mahakaalee, Mahasaraswathy and Mahalakshmi; To kill Chandasuran
2. Sri MahaVarahi (A form of woman in the face of a boar) To kill Pandasuran (Click here)
3. Mahakaalee : Wife of Mahakaalan (Shiva) To kill a poisonouse form of Asuran Rakthabeejan
4. Mahishasoora Mardini : A form of Chandi (Gain the name after kills the Asuran named Mahishan (A bull headed Devil)
5.Mughambikai to kill Mughasooran
6. Bala Tripurasundari to kill Kaamagaasuran (Who received boon from Brahman to be killed by a baby form of a girl who was not been born by other woman's womb).
7. Pratyangira Thevi to destroy the arrogance of Narasimha after he killed Hiranya Kasibhu.
8. Chamundi killed Mundasooran who was the brother of Chandasooran.
9. Dhaksinakaalee killed Dhakshan, who was the father of Dhakchayani. After the death of Dhakchayani in the agni of homam which was performed by Her father, through the ashes of Dhakchayani came the Aathi Sakthi in the form of Dhakshinakaalee to teach Dhakshan a lesson.
10. Vakrakaalee to kill the Vakraasooran (Click here)
11. coming...still writing...finding for more facts...:)

Avatharam of Vishnu who killed the Asuran's
1. Krishna killed Naraghasooran which was Krishna's uncle who killed 6of Krishna's brothers n sisters after they born., 7th was Thurga Thevi which was saved by some people the avatharam of Aambal and 8th was Krishna.
2. Sri Raama killed Raavanan which was the reincarnation of Hiranya Kasibhu in previous life.
3. Narasimha killed Hiranya Kasibhu

THE GREAT MOTHER BAHUCHARA MATA

Bahuchara Mata is a Hindu goddess. She was a daughter of a charan Bapal dan Detha. She and her sister were on journey with a caravan when a marauder named Bapiya attacked their caravan. It was common practice in charan men and women if overpowered by their enemies, not to surrender but to kill themselves. Shedding the blood of charan was considered heinous sin. When Bapiya attacked the caravan, Bahuchara and her sisters announced tragu and cut their breasts. Legends tells that Bapiya was cursed and became impotent. The curse was lifted only when he worshiped Bahuchara Mata by dressing and acting like woman.[1] Today Bahuchara mata is considered patroness of—and worshipped by—the hijra community in India. Her followers believe in non-violence and consider killing of all animals and creatures a sin.

Bahuchara Mata is shown as a woman who carries a sword on her top right, a text of scriptures on her top left, the abhay hasta mudra ("showering of blessings") on her bottom right, and a trident on her bottom left. She is seated on a rooster, which symbolises innocence.

Bahuchar mata is one of the goddesses like ambaji, or durga -- really she is a form of durga. She is worshipped in Yanta like ambaji and kamakshi. Her name in Tantrisam is BALA TRIPURASUNDAri or simply bala tripura or bala. Her mantra and Panchanga are also available. She is the giver of virya or semen to men, so those who are impotent worship her to get potency. She has given potency as a boon to many who were impotent. Bahuchara is a very famous goddess in Tantrisam: she gave abhaya, Varad and vidhya their desired boons and wealth as well. That temple has a very long history. Her Yantra has Nine triangles symbolising that she is Durga; Tripyra is her name which indicates that she controls everythiplease make sure these are just myths and not factual information. bahuchar mata surely did curse but being a charan goddess never asked for castration. this is a misinterpreted belief of the folk lores told. in gujarat the hijras themselves will say to become on of them you have to be born as a person with deformed genetalia to be called as a hijra. bahuchar mata is the form of the goddess bala tripura sundari and tripura sundari is part of the ultimate godess lakshmi! the belief of bahuchar mata being part of the shree yantra is true and a fact! the shree yantra is worshipped at the following shaktipeeths like ambaji of arasur mahakali of pavagadh along with bahuchar mata shankhalpur!ng in world. In Hinduisam the world is made of three like three guna, three loka, three deva three pura, etc. She is seated in sri chakra.

One important myth concerns a king who prayed before Bahuchara Mata to bring him a son. Bahuchara complied but the prince Jetho, who was born to the king, was impotent. One night Bahuchara appeared to Jetho in a dream and ordered him to cut off his genitals, wear women's clothes and become her servant. Bahuchara Mata identified impotent men and commanded them to do the same. If they refused, she punished them by arranging that during their next seven incarnations they would be born impotent. This is how the cult of Bahuchara Mata, whose devotees are required to self-castrate and remain celibate, developed [2]. In one of the many folk stories associated with Bahuchara Mata, the goddess was once a princess who castrated her husband because he preferred going to the forest and "behaving as a woman" instead of coming to her bridal bed. In another story, a man who attempted to molest Bahuchara Mata was cursed with impotence. He was forgiven only after he gave up his masculinity, dressed as a woman, and worshipped the goddess. Another theory says that she is one of the goddesses in Sri Chakra. The real symbol of her vehicle is kurkut which means the serpent which has two mouths. Bahucharaji is seated on low end and other end goes to sahastrar, which means that Bahucharaji is the goddess of starting the awakening of kundlini which eventually leads the liberation or moksha.

The temple of Bahuchara Mata is located in Bechraji town in Mehsana district of Gujarat, India. It is 110 km from Ahmedabad and 35 km west of Mahesana. The original temple complex was built in year 1783 AD. The temple is nicely decorated with stone carving. Every year 1.5 million pilgrims visit this temple [3]. Toda Mata (Bahuchara Mata) is located in Sankhalpur. The origin of Bahuchra Mata is situated at Varakhdiwala temple in Bechraji. Because Bhakta Vallabha Dhola wrote in his Aanand no Garbo the original place of Bahuchra Mata is situated at between Sankhalpur and Dedana village. The Toda Mata temple in Sankhalpur is 2 kilometers fare from Bechraji (Bahuchraji).

For referrence: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42233735@N06/3890997827/

The mystery behind the skull-garland of Bhadrakali

There is much difference of opinion on the garland of human skulls worn around the neck of the Goddess Bhadrakali, not only among the people of the West ,but also among the Orientals. In fact these skulls represent the 52 letters of the Sanskrit language. The proclamation “Hari Sree Ganapathaye Namah”, is nothing but the vow to the effect that one is ready to study all the 52 letters of the language. This mysterious code is deciphered using the ‘ KAPATAYATI ’ method. In fact, the word ‘Kapalam’ does not mean the human skull at all. As per the ‘ Tantrakasa’, the letter ‘Ka’ means ‘Parashakthi’ and ‘Pala’ means to abide by or adhere to. So the meaning of the word ‘ kapalam’ can be understood as the merger or union of Shiva and Shakthi. No wonder that Kalidasan has said that the relation between the word and its meaning is like that of ‘Parvathi Parameshwara’ relationship. All the poets including even Kalidasa, knew well that the skull worn by Bhadrakali strewn in the form of a garland depicted the knowledge of the letters. Sir John Woodraff has authored a book ‘ The Garland of Letters’, which deals at length with the knowledge and intellectual understanding of alphabetic letters. He emphasizes that the skull-garland of Bhadrakali is a euphemism. Nandikeshwaran, who is credited with the interpretation of Panini’s ‘Vyakaranasutram’ makes it very clear that he is also of the same opinion. But it is a dramatic irony that many could not decipher this great and mysterious code. In fact , at a glance, the ‘Kapalam’ in the hands of Bhadrakali is a symbolic representation of the knowledge of the letters.

When Sadhana is performed with deep and true intensity, nectar starts exuding from the Brahmarantras situated in the brain. This flowing nectar is called ‘Somam’.There is a mention in the RigVeda about this.( Rig 10 – 5 – 3 ). It is generally believed that ‘Somam’ is the crushed juice of the raw herbs. This is drunk by the common man. But the somam known to Vedic exponents is beyond the reach of the common man. This somam is the causative factor for the origin of language. At another context in the Rig Veda ( Rig 10 -7 -14 ), which states as follows – One cannot understand the meaning of the word in spite of looking at the word, another cannot hear it , in spite of listening to it, but the one who has understood the true meaning is the blessed one. For him, the Goddess of learning throws open and offers Her Real Self. In other words, she offers her genious( pratibha), just like an exhilarated, devoted wife, who is longing to attain her beloved during the mating period. Those who worship Bhadrakali achieve such pratibha( genious). There is an excellent description about this Mahabharata ( Vanaparvam – 229 ). The word ‘pratibha’ means – light, that light which is produced in the intellect of the listener , by the word which travels from the producer of the word and enters the listener’s intellect.. This is the flower which is blossomed out of this Sadhana. Again at another context in the Rig Veda ( Rig -10 – 125 – 5 ), listen to the Goddess of words-“ It is me and me alone, who says this fact which is dear to human beings, and the Devas ; Listen; He whom I desire, I will make him brilliant and powerful, the knower of all Vedas, a Rishi and a genious.”

It was for acquiring this genious , that all the people of India performed Sadhana. When this practice deteriorated, our decline started.. The transformation Bhadrakali to the family deity, the kapalam in the hands of the Bhadrakali and the ‘somarasam’ contained in the kapalam-all these were nothing but a euphemism (beautiful, figurative usage of the language). It is because of the same reason that we have references in the Lalithasahasranaamam as follows-

Sarvajnayai Namah

Vaagwadinai Namah

Vidyayai Namah

Srividyayai Namah. 

Maha Kaalee And Her History

This is Mother Kali, one of the millions of deities in Hinduism. She is the Aathishakti (The Mother Divine in any fierce form as 'Kali,' it's a kind of short-hand that inclues Durga, Chandika, Mahishasoora Mardini and other fierce forms of Mother.

Other names for Kali include: Kali Ma, The Dark Goddess, Dark Mother, Kalika, The Black Goddess, Kali the Destroyer, Consort of Shiva, Dancing Lady of Death.it's also part of Shiva's nature, to give boons to rakshasas, even though those boons usually wind up threatening the whole creation. Shiva is 'bolo-shankara', purely innocent and open-hearted. generous to a fault.

Notice she holds weapons and a severed head and a bowl to catch the blood in. Her jewelry is dismembered bodies, her necklace severed heads, her skirt is made of severed arms from the devils. According to Hinduism, within the human body, Kali is the Kundalini, the "Serpent Power", the key to liberation-if properly controlled. If not, the Kundalini will do great mental and bodily harm.

Why the Divine Mother came this way? Read this friends...and please change ur perception about Her!  

Once upon a time, a demon (again, he has many names depending on what region in India the story is told, like Mahesasura, Raktabija, etc.) spent a great deal of time and effort worshipping Shiva, in deep meditation. the demons, or rakshasas, are actually great meditators, and are very good at doing austerities to win the attention and the love of Lord Shiva. it's a curious point that the rakshasas often have more powerful souls, at the pure level, than the avataras do. it's a mystery as to why this is, since at some point the rakshasas make some fatal (and usually highly selfish) blunder and lose all the fruits of their meditation in some stupid way. but that's nature.

Anyway, this rakshasa did his austerities, got the darshan of Lord Shiva (got to see Shiva, physically, in a super-natural form) and Shiva was so pleased with the hard meditations the rakshasa had done, he granted the demon whatever boon he wanted. the clever demon asked for the boon that every time his blood hit the ground from a wound, a THOUSAND more Mahesasuras would spring up from that blood. essentially, he was making himself invincible, immortal. Shiva granted the boon.

Immediately the demon came attacking the gods, killing and harming many of the divine beings in creation. they were powerless against him, even though they had fantastical weapons -- because Shiva's boon was in place and every time Mahesasura was wounded and his blood hit the ground, a thousand more of him would spring up, ready to fight.

The level of destruction that he threatened to carry out in creation was too much for any of the devatas (the gods) to fight. they couldn't do it. no one was powerful enough to stop the rakshasa, so they all came together, all the gods (like Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and the OTHER millions of divine forms in the pantheon), all the goddesses, (like Saraswati, Laxmi, Parvati and the others), all the rishis (the great creator-sages), all the angels, all the divine beings in this creation, every last one of them. they united and merged together and made ONE form.

That one form, the highest divinity form of Mother Divine, is known as Maha Kali. SHE came into creation and killed that rakshasa by a simple method -- every time She wounded him, and his blood was starting to drip, She would extend her humongous tongue and eat his blood before it ever had a chance to hit the ground!

This is why there are so many many misunderstandings about Maha Kali -- many people have the mistaken impression that because She is so fierce, so hideous-looking (wild-eyed, long bloody tongue hanging out of Her mouth, fangs dripping blood), She is some kind of demonic force in creation.
the truth is that She is the highest divine form of the Mother energy -- She is the convergence of ALL the divine beings in Her one form. it takes that fierce an expression of the high positivity to defeat the highest negativity.

It's also part of Shiva's nature, to give boons to rakshasas, even though those boons usually wind up threatening the whole creation. Shiva is 'bolo-shankara', purely innocent and open-hearted. generous to a fault.