Ganesh Festival

Religion  in India is still a living force and Indians appreciate and cultivate the festival spirit even in this age of industrialisation and political upheavals. May be Ganesh festivals bring people together and make the nation move forward and grow. Ganesh Festival is very popular in our country.

The birth of Lord Ganesh is on the 4th day of the bright half of Bhadrapad Shukla (August/September). This festival is celebrated for 10 days from Ganesh Chaturthi - birth -date-to Anant Chaturdashi - the final 10th day of his immersion. Everyone loves this deity with his curving trunk, potbelly and big flat ears. He is the benevolent protector of the innocent, yet the ruthless destroyer of evil. His mount is a rat.

In several states of India, but especially in Maharashtra clay idols of Ganesh in varying sizes are made and sold. The idols are purchased and brought home the day previous to Ganesh Chaturthi, which is the day of Hartalik when women keep fast and invoke the blessings of goddess Parvati, who is Ganesh's mother.

In several states of India, but especially in Maharashtra clay idols of Ganesh in varying sizes are made and sold. The idols are purchased andbrought home the day previous to Ganesh Chaturthi, which is the day of Hartalik when women keep fast and invoke the blessings of goddess Parvati, who is Ganesh's mother.

In streets and commercial establishments community worship is offered to a life-size or even a bigger image, installed on an erected platform. This Lord Ganesh is very fond of sweets and hence khir, panchamrit, fruits and sweets and specially modaks are placed before him as "Naivedya" or "Bhog". After the ritual worship this "Bhog" is distributed as "Prasad".

On the day of immersion, which is either on 3rd, 5th, 7th or 10th day after performing of "Puja", the idol is taken out in a procession by people who dance and sing. On the 10th day - the Anant Chaturdashi day the sea fronts are packed with surging mass of humanity as the idols of Ganesh are carried towards their watery rest among shouts of "Ganapati Bappa Moriya, Pudhachya varshi lavkar ya" (Return early next year, Oh Victorious Lord Ganesh).

Many interesting legends about the birth and the greatness of Lord Ganesh are found in old ancient religious texts. He is considered to be the god of wisdom, prudence and prosperity. The worship of this god is coming down to us right from the Vedic times. Every religious ceremony is completed even today with invoking hisblessings at the very beginning with the solemn recitation of "Om Ganeshaya Namaha" (I bow to Thee Lord Ganesh). It is believed that Lord Ganesh put down on paper the slokas of our great epic Mahabharat as Maharshi Ved Vyas dictated them to him. Sant Gyaneshwar's Gyaneshwari starts with praise of Lord Ganesh.

Since the days of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the founder of the Maratha Empire this Ganesh Festival was celebrated on a grand scale in Pune and later on the Peshwas themselves participated in this festival, as Ganesh was their family deity. Today this festival is the most colourful and happy event in the religious, social and cultural life of India specially that of Pune. With the end of the Peshwa regime this festival lost its glamour and came to be observed privately in households only.

आचार्य हजारी प्रसाद द्विवेदी

आधुनिक युग के मौलिक निबंधकार, उत्कृष्ट समालोचक एवं सांस्कृतिक विचारधारा के प्रमुख उपन्यासकार आचार्य हज़ारी प्रसाद द्विवेदी का जन्म १९ अगस्त १९०७ में बलिया जिले के दुबे-का-छपरा नामक ग्राम में हुआ था। उनका परिवार ज्योतिष विद्या के लिए प्रसिध्द था। उनके पिता पं. अनमोल द्विवेदी संस्कृत के प्रकांड पंडित थे। द्विवेदी जी की प्रारंभिक शिक्षा गांव के स्कूल में ही हुई और वहीं से उन्होंने मिडिल की परीक्षा पास की। इसके पश्चात् उन्होंने इंटर की परीक्षा और ज्योतिष विषय लेकर आचार्य की परीक्षा उत्तीर्ण की। शिक्षा प्राप्ति के पश्चात द्विवेदी जी शांति निकेतन चले गए और कई वर्षों तक वहां हिंदी विभाग में कार्य करते रहे। शांति-निकेतन में रवींद्रनाथ ठाकुर तथा आचार्य क्षिति मोहन सेन के प्रभाव से साहित्य का गहन अध्ययन और उसकी रचना प्रारंभ की। द्विवेदी जी का व्यक्तित्व बड़ा प्रभावशाली और उनका स्वभाव बड़ा सरल और उदार था। वे हिंदी अंग्रेज़ी, संस्कृत और बंगला भाषाओं के विद्वान थे। भक्तिकालीन साहित्य का उन्हें अच्छा ज्ञान था। लखनऊ विश्वविद्यालय ने उन्हें डी.लिट. की उपाधि देकर उनका विशेष सम्मान किया था।

Apne hi man se kuch bole

Short Biography of Anna Hazare – Story of Army Driver becoming the Father of Nation Bigger than Bharat Ratna

 Short Biography of Anna Hazare – Story of Army Driver becoming
the Father of Nation Bigger than Bharat Ratna

Name - Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare known as Anna Hazare

Birth date - 15 January 1940

Anna Hazare was born in Bhingar village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in western India to Baburao Hazare and Laxmi Bai, an unskilled labourer family
He was raised by his childless aunt in Mumbai but could not continue beyond VII standard and had to quit midway due to problems.
He has two sisters.


He is unmarried.

1963
Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army.
During his 15-year tenure as a soldier, he was posted to several states like Sikkim, Bhutan, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Mizoram, Leh and Ladakh and braved challenging weathers.

Anna was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.

In the year 1965, Pakistan attacked India and at that time, Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border. On November 12, 1965, Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian base and all of Hazare’s comrades became martyrs

In 1978, he took voluntary retirement from the 9th Maratha Battalion

After serving 15 Years in Army Anna took the voluntary retirement and returned to his native place in Ralegan Siddhi, in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district.

Ralegan Siddhi falls in the drought-prone area with a mere 400 to 500 mm of annual rainfall.
There were no weirs to retain rainwater.
During the month of April and May, water tankers were the only means of drinking water.
Almost 80 per cent of the villagers were dependent on other villages for food grains. Residents used to walk for more than four to six kilometers in search of work

Hazare came across the work of one Vilasrao Salunke, a resident of Saswad near Pune who had started a novel project of water management through watershed development in a joint venture with the Gram Panchyat. Hazare visited the project and decided to implement it in Ralegan Siddhi.

He steered the villagers to begin working towards water conservation.
At the outset, they completed 48 Nala Bunding work, contour trenches, staggered trenches, gully plugs, meadows development and of forestation of 500 hectares of land. Thereafter, they constructed five RCC weirs and 16 Gabion Weirs.

This resulted in increase in the ground water level.

Hazare’s Ralegan Siddhi became the first role model of an ideal village from the worst village to an ideal village.

Anna rightly thought that Development is marred by corruption and started a new venture in 1991 called Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) or public movement against corruption.
It was found that some 42 forest officers had duped the state government for crores of rupees through corruption in confederacy.
Hazare submitted the evidences to the government but the latter was reluctant to take action against all these officers as one of the ministers of the ruling party was involved in the scam.

A distressed Hazare returned the Padmashree Award to the President of India and also returned the Vriksha Mitra Award given by then prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

He further went on an indefinite hunger strike in Alandi on the same issue.
Finally, the government woke up and took action against the criminal and corrupt officers as well as six of the ministers were forced to resign and more than 400 officers from different government offices were sent back to home.

In 1995 Shiv Sena-BJP government came to power in the state
Hazare raised the issue of alleged massive land purchase by Gholap's wife Shashikala in Nashik between April to September 1996.
He forwarded the available documentary evidences in support of his allegations to then Maharashtra Governor P. C. Alexander
On 4 November 1997, Gholap filed a defamation suit against Hazare for accusing him of corruption.
On 9 September 1998, Anna Hazare was imprisoned in the Yerawada Jail after being sentenced to simple imprisonment for three months by the Mumbai Metropolitan Court all political parties, every one from Maharashtra except the BJP and the Shiv Sena came in support of him
Later due to public protest, outcry the Government of Maharashtra ordered his release from the jail.

The state government has opened cooperative societies, credit societies & urban banks everywhere in states.
However, the directors of such societies do the corruption and failed to pay back the basic amount to the members of the societies.
Thus poor people get cheated when Anna saw this he again began his agitation against this.

Hazare agitated for over eight months.
The result was that more than Rs 125 crore was recovered from defaulters and the members of such societies heaved a sigh of relief.
Recovery of around Rs. 400 crores is in the pipeline.
Anna Hazare has declared he has got Rs68, 688 in bank balance and cash and three pieces of land
Hazare's lands were either donated to him or family owned
In his statement, Hazare said two land pieces measuring 0.07 Hectares and two hectares are in his native village in Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra while 0.46 hectare of land is in Pimpianer.
one of the pieces of land in Ralegan Siddhi was donated by Army to him which he has donated for village use
the Pimpianer land was donated to him by a villager.Hazare has further donated this land for village use.

Life of Subhash Chandra Bose

Subhash Chandra Bose was born into an affluent Bengali family on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. Subhash's public prosecutor father ensured that his son availed the best of education in eminent institutions such as Scottish Church College, Calcutta and Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge University. In 1920, at the insistence of his parents, Bose appeared in the prestigious Indian Civil Service and secured the fourth place.
During this period the civil disobedience movement called by Mahatma Gandhi was sweeping across the country and Bose resigned from the ICS in April 1921 to join his fellow countrymen in the freedom struggle. He joined the youth wing of the Congress Party and soon rose up the party hierarchy by virtue of his eloquence and leadership skills. At an early stage of his life Subhas Bose accepted Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das as his political guru.
Over a span of 20 years, Bose was imprisoned eleven times by the British, the first one being in 1921. In 1924, after a brief period of incarceration, Bose was exiled to Mandalay in Burma. Subhash Bose was imprisoned again in 1930 and deported to Europe. During his stay in Europe from 1933 to 1936, Subhash Bose zealously espoused the cause of Indian freedom while meeting a number of prominent European statesmen. In 1937, Bose married Emilie Schenkl who was his secretary.
Subhash Bose was twice elected president of the Indian National Congress (1938 and 1939) but following his disagreements with Mahatma Gandhi he relinquished his post and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block. The Second World War broke out in 1939 and Bose launched a campaign of mass civil disobedience to protest against the Viceroy's decision to declare war on India's behalf. Bose was put behind the bars but because of his hunger strike he was later placed under house arrest.
Taking advantage of the laxity of the house guards and aided by his cousin Sishir Bose, Subhash managed to escape and traversing through enemy territories he reached Moscow. Bose tried to garner the help Nazi Germany but due to the indifferent attitude of Hitler and other German leaders he left for Japan and soon assumed the leadership of Indian National Army (INA) founded by Rash Behari Bose.
Bolstered by material assistance from the Japanese forces, the INA attacked the British forces in Manipur and Nagaland in northeastern India and hosted the National Flag in the town in Moirang, in Manipur. But with the defeat of Japan, the invasion by the INA soon petered out and Netaji was forced to retreat to Malaya. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose allegedly died in a plane crash over Taiwan, while flying to Tokyo on August 18, 1945.

वैराग्य -मुंशी प्रेमचंद

 मुँशी शालिग्राम बनारस के पुराने रईस थे। जीवन-वृति वकालत थी और पैतृक सम्पत्ति भी अधिक थी। दशाश्वमेध घाट पर उनका वैभवान्वित गृह आकाश को स्पर्श करता था। उदार ऐसे कि पचीस-तीस हजार की वाषिर्क आय भी व्यय को पूरी न होती थी। साधु-ब्राहमणों के बड़े श्रद्वावान थे। वे जो कुछ कमाते, वह स्वयं ब्रह्रमभोज और साधुओं के भंडारे एवं सत्यकार्य में व्यय हो जाता। नगर में कोई साधु-महात्मा आ जाये, वह मुंशी जी का अतिथि। संस्कृत के ऐसे विद्वान कि बड़े-बड़े पंडित उनका लोहा मानते थे वेदान्तीय सिद्वान्तों के वे अनुयायी थे। उनके चित्त की प्रवृति वैराग्य की ओर थी।
http://www.bharatdarshan.co.nz/hindi/index.php?page=Varagya 

नागमती वियोग खंड

  अगहन दिवस घटा, निसि बाढी। दूभर, रैनि जाइ किमि काढी॥
अब यहि बिरह दिवस भा राती। जरौं बिरह जस दीपक बाती॥
काँपै हिया जनावै सीऊ। तो पै जाइ होइ सँग पीऊ॥
घर-घर चीर रचे सब का। मोर रूप रंग लेइगा ना॥
पलटि न बहुरा गा जो बिछाई। अबँ फिरै, फिरै रँग सोई॥
बज्र-अगिनि बिरहिनि हिय जारा। सुलुगि-सुलुगि दगधै होइ छारा॥
यह दु:ख-दगध न जानै कंतू। जोबन जनम करै भसमंतू॥
पिउ सों कहेहु संदेसडा, हे भौरा! हे काग!
जो घनि बिरहै जरि मुई, तेहिक धुवाँ हम्ह लाग॥

पूस जाड थर-थर तन काँपा। सूरुज जाइ लंकदिसि चाँपा॥
बिरह बाढ, दारुन भा सीऊ । कँपि-कँपि मरौं, लेइ-हरि जीऊ ॥
कंत कहा लागौ ओहि हियरे। पंथ अपार, सूझ नहिं नियरे॥
सौंर सपेती आवै जूडी। जानहु सेज हिवंचल बूडी॥
चकई निसि बिछुरै, दिन मिला। हौं दिन रात बिरह कोकिला॥
रैनि अकेलि साथ नहिं सखी। कैसे जियै बिछोही पँखी॥
बिरह सचान भयउ तन जाडा। जियत खाइ और मुए न छाँडा॥
रकत ढुरा माँसू गरा, हाड भएउ सब संख।
धनि सारस होइ ररि मुई, आई समेटहु पंख॥

लागेउ माघ परै अब पाला। बिरहा काल भएउ जड काला॥
पहल-पहल तन रुई जो झाँपै। हहरि-हहरि अधिकौ हिय काँपै॥
नैन चुवहिं जस माहुटनीरू। तेहि जल अंग लाग सर-चीरू॥
टप-टप बूँद परहिं जस ओला। बिरह पवन होई मारै झोला॥
केहिक सिंगार, को पहिरु पटोरा? गीउ न हार, रही होई होरा॥
तुम बिनु काँपौ धनि हिया, तन तिनउर-भा डोल।
तेहि पर बिरह जराई कै, चहै उडावा झोल॥

फागुन पवन झकोरा बहा। चौगुन सीउ जाई नहिं सहा॥
तन जस पियर पात भा मोरा। तेहि पर बिरह देइ झझकोरा॥
परिवर झरहि, झरहिं बन ढाँखा। भई ओनंत फूलि फरि साखा॥
करहिं बनसपति हिये हुलासू। मो कह भा जग दून उदासू।

फागु करहिं सब चाँचरि जोरी। मोहि तन लाइ दीन्हि जस होरी॥
जौ पै पीउ जरत अस पावा। जरत मरत मोहिं रोष न आवा॥
राति-दिवस बस यह जिउ मोरे। लगौं निहोर कंत अब तोरे॥
यह तन जारौं छार कै, कहौ कि 'पवन उडाउ।
मकु तेहि मारग उडि पैरों, कंत धरैं जहँ पाँउ॥