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Sharika Bhagwati Painted by: Shailesh Dhar, Mumbai, India
Original Painted by: Pandit Niranjan Nath Razdan in 1960s (Grandfather of Sanjay Razdan, Austin, Texas)
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Sîtã, Rãma, Lakshmana and Hanûmãn Lord Rãma is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The worship of Lord Rãma is very popular among all Hindus, as is evident by the numerous temples dedicated to him in India. In the temple images, Rãma is usually shown with his faithful wife Sîtã, devoted brother Lakshmana, and his beloved devotee Hanûmãn (see color plate 8). The life story of Rãma and the main purpose of his incarnation (to destroy the demon king Rãvana) is described in the great epic Rãmãyana. A study of the epic Rãmãyana reveals the following theme:
Rãma represents an ideal man, as conceived by the Hindu mind. In the story of Rãmãyana, Rãma's personality depicts him as the perfect son, devoted brother, true husband, trusted friend, ideal king, and a noble adversary.
In images and pictures, Rãma is shown carrying a bow and arrow. The bow and arrow convey that Rãma is always ready to destroy evil and protect righteousness. He is himself an embodiment of dharma.
Sîtã symbolizes an ideal daughter, wife, mother, and queen. Whereas Rãma symbolizes standards of perfection that can be conceived in all the facets of a man's life, Mother Sîtã represents all that is great and noble in womanhood. She is revered as an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmî, the divine consort of Lord Vishnu.
Lakshmana symbolizes the ideal of sacrifice. He leaves his young wife behind in the palace and chooses to accompany his brother (Rãma) in exile. He sacrifices the amenities of his personal life to serve his elder brother.
Hanûmãn, the great monkey hero, also called Maruti, assists Rãma in his battle with Rãvana to rescue Sîtã, who had been kidnapped by Rãvana. Hanûmãn symbolizes the qualities of an ideal devotee of God, which can be represented by the letters of his name, as follows:
H = Humility and hopefulness (optimism)
A = Admiration (truthfulness, devotion)
N = Nobility (sincerity, loyalty, modesty)
U = Understanding (knowledge)
M = Mastery over ego (kindness, compassion)
A = Achievements (strength)
N = Nishkãma-karma (selfless work in service of God)
After his coronation, following victory in the battle with Rãvana, Rãma distributed gifts to all those who had assisted him in his battle with Rãvana. Turning towards Hanûmãn, Rãma said, "There is nothing I can give you that would match the service you have rendered to me. All I can do is to give you my own self." Upon hearing these words, Hanûmãn stood by Rãma, in all humility, with hands joined together in front of his (Hanûmãn's) mouth, and head slightly bent in the pose of service for Rãma. To this day, this picture of Hanûmãn, as a humble devotee of the Lord, is the most popular among the admirers and worshippers of Hanûmãn.
The worship of Hanûmãn, therefore, symbolizes the worship of the Supreme Lord, for acquiring knowledge, physical and mental strength, truthfulness, sincerity, selflessness, humility, loyalty, and profound devotion to the Lord. Source: Hindu Dharma by Bansi Pandit
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Goddess JyotiJyoti means "light" and Goddess Jyoti (see color plate 1) repre-sents the power of the Ultimate Reality (Brahman) that illuminates our minds and gives shape and form to all created things and beings of the world.
According to the Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1, the five great elements (Panchamahãbhutas)earth, water, fire, air and spaceemanate from Brahman.32 These five elements, together with the omnipresent cosmic consciousness of Brahman, constitute all created things and beings in the universe. In Hindu mythology, this creative process is symbolized by the family of Lord Shiva. The members of this divine family are Lord Shiva, His spouse the Divine Mother, their two sons Ganesha and Skanda, and their daughter Jyoti. Lord Shiva represents the cosmic consciousness, the Divine Mother denotes the creative energy, Ganesha symbolizes the elements of earth and water, Skanda represents the element of fire, and Jyoti symbolizes the two elements of air and space. Since fire uses air and burns in space, in Hindu mythology Jyoti is always associated with Skanda and is known more as Skanda's sister than as Ganesha's sister. She is worshipped in Her formless (arupa) aspect in all temples where Lord Skanda is worshipped.
According to Tantra Yoga, Jyoti is the aroused kundalini shakti (latent energy) that resides in the ajna chakra (energy center between the eyebrows in the forehead) and is experienced as light in deep meditation.32 In Her popular images, Jyoti is represented as a young girl, dressed in bright clothes. The brightness of Her attire symbolizes the light of knowledge that dispels the darkness of ignorance. Wherever a lamp is lit, Jyoti shines. By worshipping Jyoti, a Hindu seeks God's blessings to acquire intelligence and wisdom (jnãna), attain love for all of God's creatures and secure divine guidance for spiritual progress, leading to spiritual perfection.
Since Jyoti is present in all beings as the light of consciousness, social service and reverence for all forms of life are the hallmarks of Jyoti worship. Jyoti shrines have been erected at many temples, including Houston Sri Meenakshi Temple, New York Maha Vallabh Ganapati Temple, and Los Angeles Sri Venkateswara Temple. Source: Hindu Dharma by Bansi Pandit
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Sri Ganesh, as painted on Zatuk
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Devi - Navreh
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Goddess Saraswatî Saraswatî is the Goddess of learning, knowledge, and wisdom. The Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus Saraswatî means "the essence of the self." Saraswatî is represented in Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahmã, the Creator of the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswatî symbolizes the creative power of Brahmã. Goddess Saraswatî is worshipped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.
In Her popular images and pictures, Goddess Saraswatî is generally depicted with four arms (some pictures may show only two arms), wearing a white sari and seated on a white lotus (see color plate 7). She holds a book and a rosary in Her rear two hands, while the front two hands are engaged in the playing of a lute (veena). Her right leg is shown slightly pushing against Her left leg. She uses a swan as Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:
The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswatî signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color symbolizes purity and knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
The four arms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two front arms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas) is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear left hand, and the ego (ahankãra) by the rear right hand.
The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.
The rosary signifies concentration, meditation, and contemplation, leading to samãdhi, or union with God. A rosary in the rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation (moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.
The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all mankind.
Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess. A swan is said to have a sensitive beak that enables it to distinguish pure milk from a mixture of milk and water. A swan, therefore, symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswatî uses the swan as Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is dominated by ego can destroy the world.
A peacock is sitting next to Saraswatî and is anxiously waiting to serve as Her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswatî is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to acquire true knowledge. Source: Hindu Dharma by Bansi Pandit
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Kshir Bhawani, Tula Mulla Painted by: Late Sh. Kailash Nath Fotedar
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Goddess DurgãGoddess Durgã represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the creation. The Sanskrit word Durgã means a fort or a place that is protected and thus difficult to reach. Durgã, also called Divine Mother, protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, and ego.
The worship of Goddess Durgã is very popular among Hindus. She is also called by many other names, such as Pãrvati, Ambikã, and Kãlî. In the form of Pãrvati, She is known as the divine spouse of Lord Shiva and is the mother of Her two sons, Ganesha and Kãrttikeya, and daughter Jyoti. There are many temples dedicated to Durgã's worship in India.
In Her images, Goddess Durgã is shown (see color plate 5) in a female form, wearing red clothes. She has eighteen arms (for simplicity the color plate shows only eight arms), carrying many objects in Her hands. The red color symbolizes action and the red clothes signify that She is always busy destroying evil and protecting mankind from pain and suffering caused by evil forces. Following is the symbolism associated with Goddess Durgã:
A tiger symbolizes unlimited power. Durgã riding a tiger indicates that She possesses unlimited power and uses it to protect virtue and destroy evil. The eighteen arms of Durgã signify that She possesses combined power of the nine incarnations of Lord Vishnu that have appeared on the earth at different times in the past. The tenth incarnation, the Kãlkin (a man on a white horse), is still to come. Thus, Goddess Durgã represents a united front of all Divine forces against the negative forces of evil and wickedness.
The sound that emanates from a conch is the sound of the sacred syllable AUM (), which is said to be the sound of creation. A conch in one of the Goddess's hands signifies the ultimate victory of virtue over evil and righteousness over unrighteousness.
Other weapons in the hands of Durgã such as a mace, sword, disc, arrow, and trident convey the idea that one weapon cannot destroy all different kinds of enemies. Different weapons must be used to fight enemies depending upon the circumstances. For example, selfishness must be destroyed by detachment, jealousy by desirelessness, prejudice by self-knowledge, and ego by discrimination. Source: Hindu Dharma by Bansi Pandit
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Amriteshwar Bhairav Painted by: Late Sh. Kailash Nath Fotedar
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Nandikeshwara BhairavaA painting by Omkarnath Sadhu, Srinagar, Kmr.
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Sharada - Goddess of Learning Goddess of Learning SHARADA, the Presiding Deity of SHARADA PEETH (Kashmir). Annual festival GAURI TRITIYA falls on Magha Shukla Tritya, usually in the month of February. On this day family Guru presents a picture of Sharada to the children and blesses them. Painting by Bhushan Kaul.
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Rãdhã and Krishna Lord Krishna is the eighth and the most popular incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He was born in approximately 3200 BCE in Vrindãvan, where he was brought up by the cowherd family of Yashodã and Nanda. His childhood playmates were gopas (cowherd boys) and gopis (cowherd girls), who were greatly devoted to him. Of all gopis, Rãdhã loved Krishna the most.
In the forests of Vrindãvan, Krishna often played his flute and gopis danced with him in ecstasy. The Gopis represent the individual souls trapped in physical bodies. Rãdhã symbolizes the individual soul that is awakened to the love of God and is absorbed in such love. The sound of Krishna's flute represents the call of the divine for the individual souls.
The gopis' love for Krishna signifies the eternal bond between the individual soul and God. The dance of the gopis and Krishna (Rãsa Lîlã) signifies the union of the human and Divine, the dance of the souls. In the forest, the gopis dance with Krishna and are absorbed in their love for him. This illustrates that when an individual soul responds to the call of the Divine, the soul enjoys union with the Lord and becomes absorbed in the divine ecstasy.
Of all the incarnations, Lord Krishna is revered as a full and complete incarnation (pûrna avatãra) of Lord Vishnu. He commands love, respect, and adoration from all Hindus of all walks of life. Source: Hindu Dharma by Bansi Pandit
(1 votes)
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