HAJ PILGRIMAGE

There are five compulsory acts of worship that are paramount to Islam. They are the Vow of truth, Salat (Prayer), Zakaat (Charity), Fasting and Haj (Pilgrimage).

Every healthy and affluent Muslim should undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, once in his life time. This pilgrimage is known as Haj. People of different nationalities, languages and colours, gather in millions at Mecca during the month of Haj. The concept of one humanity upheld by Islam is explicit during Haj pilgrimage when the pilgrims have the same thought, carry the same prayer on their lips, and are uniformly dressed (the man using just two pieces of cloth – one to wear and the other to cover and the women covering all the parts of their bodies except their face and hands). A single humanity, where there is no discrimination between master or labourer, black or white, elite or lowly, native or foreigner, is symolized by the multitude of humanity that assemble for this holy pilgrimage.

The Quran says that Haj is an obligation for those who can afford it after taking care of family and fulfilling basic obligations.Personal health should not be constraint.Haj is an obligation only once in life time. Funds intended for performing Haj more than once are better diverted to help the poor and needy.

Through Zakat ( charity ) , one -fortieth of one's net value is to be spent annually to help the needy. 

A wealthy person is only a temporary custodian of funds.He or She has to meet God's expectations for their proper utilisation.The proof of genuine altruism is giving away something that one personally values and cherishes. In addition to material support , one can give ones energy , time , knowledge , skill or moral support.The scriptures warns those who perform religious rites but deny assistance to less privileged fellow thus jeopardising socio-economic balance and integration. 

PURANAS AND UP-PURANAS

पुराण एवं उप पुराण 


The Puranas are the richest collection of mythology in the world. Most of them attained their final form around 500 A.D. but they were passed on as an oral tradition since the time of Lord Krishna. The aim of Puranas is to impress on the minds of the masses the teachings of the Vedas and to generate in them devotion towards God. The Puranas were meant , not for the scholars , but for the ordinary people who could not understand high philosophy and who could not study the Vedas 

Once, while describing the origin of puranas, Sutji told the sages who had assembled at Naimisharanya- ‘ Lord Shiva had first revealed the contents of Skanda puran to Parvati at Kailash Mountain. Lord Brahma and few other deities were also present there at the time when Shiva was narrating the tale. Subsequently, Parvati narrated this tale to Skanda, Skanda to Nandi and Nandi to sages like Sanak, etc. and finally Sanak narrated it to Vyas. Now I am going to tell you the same tale which Vyas had narrated to me.’

Sutji began by saying-’ During ancient times, Lord Brahma once did a very austere penance resulting into the manifestation of all the four Vedas. Later on, all the eighteen Puranas too appeared from his mouth. These eighteen Puranas were-

1. Brahmanda Puran
2. Vishnu Puran
3. Shiva Puran
4. Bhagawat Puran
5. Bhavishya Puran
6. Narad Puran
7. Markandeya Puran
8. Agni Puran
9. Brahma vaivarta Puran,
10. Linga Puran,
11. Padma Puran,
12. Varah Puran,
13. Skanda Puran,
14. Vaman Puran,
15. Kurma Puran,
16. Matsya Puran,
17. Garuda Puran
18. Vayu Puran.

Apart from these eighteen main Puranas, there are also similar number of secondary Puranas known as Up- Puranas. These Up- Puranas are - Sanat kumar, Narsimha, Skand, Shiva Dharma, Durvasa, Narad, Kapil, Manu, Ushana, Brahmand, Varun, Kalika, Maheshwar, Saamb, Saura, Parashar, Maarich and Bhargava.’

Sutji then went on to describe the other features of each Purana-’ Brahma Puran contains ten thousand shlokas in it whereas Padma Puran contains fifty-five thousand shlokas. Similarly, there are twenty-three thousand shlokas in Vishnu Puran. Vayu Puran contains the tales related with Lord Shiva and it contains twenty-four thousand shlokas in it. Similarly the remaining Puranas like Bhagawat, Narad, Markandeya, Agni, Bhavishya, Brhmavaivarta, Linga, Varah, Skanda, Vaman, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and Brahmanda Puran contain 18,000, 25,000, 9,000, 16,000, 14,500, 18,000, 11,000, 24,000, 81,100, 10,000, 17,000, 14,000, 18,000 and 12,200 shlokas respectively.’

Sutji told the sages that all the Up-Puranas owe their origin to the main Puranas which are eighteen in number. He also revealed to them that they could be categorized into three main types- Satvik, Rajas and Tamas. Satvik Puranas contain the tales of Lord Vishnu while Rajas Puranas contain the tales of Brahma and Tamas Purans contain the tales of Agni and Rudra. One of the chief characteristics of Puranas is that each of them is divided into five sections- ‘Sarg’ (Description of how creation began), ‘Pratisarga’, ‘Vansh’ (Description of prominent dynasties), ‘Manvantar’ and ‘Vanshanucharit’ (Tales related with the descendants of the famous sages).

Of the 18 major Puranas , the Vishnu Purana is the most complete , in that it conforms more than the others to the definition of a Purana.The Bhagavata Purana is believed to be the most recent and is most popular.

गृहस्थ आश्रम

१. गृहस्थ  आश्रम ही ऐसा आश्रम है जहाँ पूरे परिवार के साथ प्रभु के प्रार्थना की जाती  है |


२. सुशील माता संतान को अच्छे संस्कार देकर भाग्य का स्तम्भ और सुखों का नींव  डालती  हैं |


३. प्रत्येक माँ को घर को मंदिर बना कर घर का काम काज इस प्रकार करना चाहिए की वही प्रभु की  पूजा बन जाये |


४. पत्नी और पति का सच्चा प्यार तभी होता है जब दोनों का प्रेम परमात्मा की  ओर झुकता है |


५. परिवार ऐसा होना चाहिए जहाँ बड़े छोटों की  रक्षा करें ओर छोटे बड़ों की  सेवा एवं आदर करें |                                                                                


६. वह व्यक्ति धन्य है, जो गृहस्थ आश्रम के कार्य को कर के भी ईश्वर की वंदना करता है |