The Myths and Legends About Ramzan

Ramzan or Id -Ul-Fitr is a Musilm festival celebrated at the end of the Ramadan, the ninth lunar month of the Islamic Calendar, the day following the appearance of the new moon. The holy month of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, is very auspicious to the Muslims the world over.

It is believed that the holy book of the Islamic faith, the Quran, came into existence during this month. Prophet Mohammad who was an illiterate person was chosen by God to be His messenger to compile the holy book. The last ten days are specially significant as the faithful watch for Lailathul Qadr (the Night of Power) during which the revelation of the book to the Prophet was completed. Apart from bringing the Muslims face to face with the hard realities of life like the pangs of hunger, thirst and deprivation, Ramzaan is an annual training period inculcating discipline and declaration of subservience to the laws of God, enumerated in the holy Quran.

The gist of this charming myth goes somewhat like this:

One day Muhammad was sitting alone in the wilderness near Mecca when the Angel Gabriel appeared to him. The Angel commanded Muhammad to read. Muhammad responded "I am not a reader." The Angel Gabriel then taught Muhammad some verses from the Quran, which Muhammad memorized

These revelations continued for 10 days. Islamic scholars believe that the first revelation occurred on the night of the 27th day of Ramadan. This night is called the Laylat-al-Qadr (Night of Power). And according to the Quran, this is when God determines the course of the world for the following year.

The receiving of the Holy Quran is to the Muslims what the receiving of the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai is to the Jews and Christians

During the Fast of Ramadan strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting. At the end of the day the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar. In the evening following the iftar it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning

According to the Holy Quran:


One may eat and drink at any time during the night "until you can plainly distinguish a white thread from a black thread by the daylight: then keep the fast until night"

The good that is acquired through the fast can be destroyed by five things -

the telling of a lie
slander
denouncing someone behind his back
a false oath
greed or covetousness

These are considered offensive at all times, but are most offensive during the Fast of Ramadan

During Ramadan, it is common for Muslims to go to the Masjid (Mosque) and spend several hours praying and studying the Quran. In addition to the five daily prayers, during Ramadan Muslims recite a special prayer called the Taraweeh prayer (Night Prayer). The length of this prayer is usually 2-3 times as long as the daily prayers. Some Muslims spend the entire night in prayer

On the evening of the 27th day of the month, Muslims celebrate the Laylat-al-Qadr (the Night of Power). It is believed that on this night Muhammad first received the revelation of the Holy Quran. And according to the Quran, this is when God determines the course of the world for the following year

When the fast ends (the first day of the month of Shawwal) it is celebrated for three days in a holiday called Id-al-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking). Gifts are exchanged. Friends and family gather to pray in congregation and for large meals. In some cities fairs are held to celebrate the end of the Fast of Ramadan.

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I am the Dark Lord

Ok this aint an original work of art. I took the basic sketch of the guy in the armor with the sword from a site called artgeek, but I put my face in there myself. And I didnt have any fancy softwares to do it. The only thing I used was MS Paint that comes with your windows Operating System.

What Happened to the Saraswati

It was purported to be one of the great rivers of the Indian subcontinent, yet no trace of it exists. Well yeah there is a channel in the ground which s said to be a dry bed of the river but the river itself does not exist and it lies a bit to the south west of the Sutlej. It was said to flow from the Himalayas, or the siwaliks to be exact into the Arabian Sea. And there have even been rumors saying that the Rann of Kutch (the vast wasteland that covers the most of north eastern Gujarat) was its mouth into the Arabian Sea. It was said to have supported many ancient cities belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization.

LANDSAT PICTURE OF THE SARASWATI CHANNEL

The channel shown in this pic is about 6-8 km wide this might have been the width of the river (from Siwalik thru Kalibangan and Anupgarh to Marot); present Shatadru (Sutlej) takes a sharp turn at Ropar.

THE SARASWATI IN PUNJAB AND HARYANA

the dotted lines in this picture are the river saraswati. by the looks of it seems to have been a very large river. so the question arises, how such a large river can just disappear seemingly into thin air.

Now we know that this river was very important as it shares its name with the Hindu goddess of knowledge and music. Clearly this river did mean a lot to those who did inhabit its banks. So where did this mighty river disappear?

That remains one of the archaeological mysteries of India.

All material taken from

HINDUNET

The Gayatri Mantra

The most revered mantra in Hinduism is the Gayatri mantra. Said to be composed and written long ago by a sage by the name of Vishwamitra, the mantra is personified by the goddess Gayatri, or Savitri also known as Veda Mata (mother of the Vedas, the Vedas are the holy scriptures of the Hindu religion). This mantra is taken from the Rig Veda (the Vedas are four in number the Rig, Yajur, Atharva, and Sama, in chronological order) and is considered to be the essence of the Vedas. It is a sacred prayer to illuminate the universe and describes the unity of the multiform universe. The mantra is indicative of meditation, praise and prayer at the same time. The reigning deity of the Gayatri mantra is the Sun and the scriptures enjoin the Hindus to recite it morning noon and night to cancel out evil and bad tendencies.

While praising the Supreme Being, the chanter of the mantra meditates and prays for the rise of real intelligence within to understand creation and transcend the worldly preoccupations and attain union with the Brahman (otherwise known as nirvana or Moksha).


The Gayatri mantra is as follows:

Aum Bhurbuvaswaha
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dheeyoyonah Prachodayat

The meaning of each word in the mantra:

The first 3 lines or the first nine words describe the nature of the supreme being

Aum: The sacred symbol which is said to describe the heavens in totality

Bhurbuvaswaha: This is the compound of the following three words
• Bhuh: The earth or the physical plane of existence;
• Bhuva: The atmosphere or the ethereal or the astral plane of existence;
• Swaha: Heaven or the celestial or the causal plane of existence;

Tat: It means “that”. The supreme being is simply referred to as “that” for it evades all attempts at explanation;

Savitur: The divine powers of the sun; equated to Savitri, one of the forms of the mother goddess;

Varenyam: The best

Bhargo: Radiance, Effulgence, Illumination;

Devasya: Divine Radiance or Grace (of the supreme being)

The rest of the verse (the last line) constitutes the prayer:

Dheemahi: We contemplate or meditate upon

Dheeyoyonah: This is the compound of the following three words
• Dheeyo: The intellect
• Yo: Who
• Nah: Our

Prachodayat: Requesting, Urging Praying.

English verse form:
Aum;
We meditate on heaven, sky and earth
On the supreme spirit
Whose divine radiance and grace
Like the sun are most excellent
Constantly urging and praying
To guide and impel our intellect


The first line starts with Aum which is the sacred syllable or word as a benedictory prelude and sanction. Scientists world over have associated this age old Hindu belief that this is the sound of the universes with the background radiation that is picked up by radio telescopes. They have speculated that this might be the remnant of the big bang. Bhurbuvaswaha refers to the three planes of existence- the physical, astral and celestial.

The second and third lines describe the Brahman supreme spirit and it various attributes and qualities. It invokes the supreme spirit as an embodiment of knowledge and light. The fourth line implores the Brahma- the supreme spirit to guide, impel and enlighten us as humans.