A couple of days ago, one of my foreign friends asked me " What is all this bullshit mass fasting going on in India ?"
( he was referring to Anna Hazare )
I told him " It is NOT just a simple fast, it is a VRAT, I will be blogging on it and you can read it from there"
So here it is--
A VRAT is a self resolution.
It is about accepting some rigid self discipline and sticking to it.
People when they want to even TURN OVER A NEW LEAF , do a vrat as a ritual. It is a thousand times more stronger than a bullshit new year resolution.
This is always a goal in mind. It is about harnessing your meandering mind , which aids self focus to awaken your dormant powers within.
Vrat has been given pride of place in Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism.
You don't harm anybody by doing your Vrat. The practical aspect is linked a lot to regulation of diet or even abstaining from sex , rather some type of austerity.
It has a spiritual tinge and hence it sends a message to an onlooker about how resolute you are in achieving your goal, that you are firm as a rock and unwilling to surrender to destiny--that you plan to forge the hinges of your destiny on your own terms.
Non-violence, love, truth , unselfishness, sacrifice, grace, honesty form the warp and weft of this vrat fabric. Optimism , courage , perseverance , contemplation and fortitude form the fibre.
Let me talk about a Sabarimala pilgrimage Vratam.
Let is be on record that Sabarimala attracted 48 million pilgrims on the season which ended in Jan 14th sunset, at Makara Vilakku (Sankranti) day.
On Makara Vilakku day itself 1.4 million pilgrims thronged at this small hillock. The temple collected 1.3 billion US dollars, in a season of 2 months
Mecca Kaaba in comparison attracts just 1.8 million pilgrims annually. The great Kumbh Mela attracts just 45 million pilgrims. This makes Sabarimala the largest pilgrim centre on this planet.
Sabarimala temple is a Hindu pilgrimage centre on the Western Ghats mountain range of Kerala. A divine light ( a Vedic camphor homam ) is lit as an unbroken tradition since the past 6000 years.
The Vatican has fudged records to make Lord Ayyapan a recent phenomenon. There is a mosque on the forest trek path. It is a very ancient temple converted into a mosque. The Vatican and the Jews ( Rothschild ) , to show that their religions are older have cooked up imaginary conversations between a Muslim and Lord Ayyappa. Islam is a recent religion like Christianity, and Judaism , while Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma is 11000 years old.
The pilgrims have to observe a 41 day VRAT or penance , before they go to the temple . There are no cheaters. Nobody monitors, as it is about your own mind cleansing.
For 41 days the pilgrims abstain from sex, alcohol, cigarettes, non-vegetarian food, foul language and lack of discipline.
They have to wear black cotton clothes, be barefooted ( in preparation for a steep forest mountain trail trek ) and cannot shave or cut their hair, to remind them of their vrat and their determination keep away from worldly objects of pleasure, and NOT to hurt the feelings of others.
They have to bathe twice a day and visit the local temple to offer prayers. They sleep for 41 days on the floor without pillows. Sabarimala pilgrimage is a great leveller.
On the first day the pilgrim will be initiated by a Guru Swami, who has undertaken 18 successive years of Sabarimala pilgrimage. He has to present himself after a bath, clean shaven with nails trimmed. A sanctified Mala or garland of Rudrakha beads is put on the neck, while chanting the mantra, "Swamiye Sharanamayyappa" . Women between 9 and 50 cannot be pilgrims.
At the moment of Makaravikkaku millions of throats look at a single light and chant an electriying and hair rasing "Swamiye Sharanamayyappa". This sends out a soliton field over the planet. Millions of coconuts are broken. Every coconut is broken with intention.
Punch into Google search VEDIC QUANTUM INTENTION EXPERIMENT- VADAKAYIL
Vrat helps you to prepare the mind for meditation and contemplation--rather observing yourself inwards. It does NOT mean instant liberation from sins.
If Anna Hazare undertook a Vrat of fasting ( he drank only water for 2 weeks ) , it was NOT to hold a gun on anybody's head as TV channels with an agenda, kept tom-tomming.
It was all about steadfastness in purpose. Nothing can bar the way of such a determined soul--never mind that the whole world is against you..
I wish people in Libya understand the power of Vrat and non-violence. People on such a courageous path burn bridges behind them.
Or do they want to go the Iraq way?
Libya has the world's best quality crude oil -- there are many who are eyeing this oil the way a spider would look at a fly.
The Libyan rebels have been armed to the teeth with the latest automatic machine guns-- if my memory serves me right, few years ago, the Al Queida was also armed in the same manner by the Yanks, and we had Rambo III riding away into the sunset with Bin Laden and company behind him to the land of hope , Pakistan ( last scene ) after blasting all the Russians to eternity. TSK ! TSK!!
CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
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