The Jai Jais Blog

I often get asked… How do you know so much, and where do you get your information from? Where do you learn from? How do you know what you write is correct? I even have a new title, “Jai Jais Masi”.

I am so blessed to have been brought up by my grandparents on my mother’s side, who I call Bapa and Ma.  My Bapa was my inspiration, when I was younger he would tell me stories of why Ganesh had an elephants head, why Hanuman could fly.  This was my initial introduction to our wonderful ancient stories.  My mum would tell me things growing up when we had festivals and fasting days, I was very inquisitive as a child… I guess that’s where my children get it from! I feel our generation tend to question things more, why do we pray to the cooker, why do we ring a bell? My grandparents would sit with family in the villages and share the stories, yet I feel they skipped a generation with my parents, they would not questions the rituals they would just join in!

Hinduism, the world’s third largest religion, is often considered a polytheistic faith, as the religion does not advocate the worship of one particular deity. However, the Hindu belief system includes a complex structure of deities that is not easily categorised.

Hinduism includes an abundance of deities, each one representing a certain aspect of the Supreme Absolute, which is known as Brahma, because they are all manifestations of the same divine spirit. There are deities represented in the family, the community, and the region of the country. There are deities recognised in the plants, the stars, the rivers, the mountains and the planets. We worship the divine in the form that each individual belief system supports, which are suitable and inspiring to the individual. Hindu Dharma recognises the divine is infinite. That embraces all creation, all of the worlds and something beyond. We honour the divine which is intimate to ourselves. Let's find out more in our blog.

Light is one of the oldest and most meaningful symbols, found in cultures and religions worldwide. Deepawali, Deepavali, or Diwali is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. It is the festival of lights: deep means "light" and avali "a row" to become "a row of lights." The Festival of Lights, is the most popular Hindu festival of good overcoming evil. The triumph of light over darkness is celebrated with Divas, lamps and fireworks. Diwali is composed of five days, each with its own story. 

The mystical moon, the circle of hope, light and power. The moon is a symbol, universally representing the rhythm of time as it embodies the cycle. The phases of the moon symbolise immortality and eternity, enlightenment. 

It is the harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin. Sharad Purnima marks the end of monsoon. Devotees observe fast on Kojagiri Purnima and break the fast at the end of the day by eating Kheer, which is offered to the moon-god. According to the Puranas, Goddess Lakshmi takes the rounds of Earth to watch the actions of human beings. 

With Diwali round the corner I couldn’t help turning to the epic love story of ancient Hindu Legend, “The Ramayana”.  Again a beautiful love story of the fight of good over evil. The stories of Rama and Sita are famous throughout the world and their tales are told in the Ramayana. Rama and Sita are husband and wife. Sita is kidnapped by the demon king Ravan and Rama goes to rescue her. They have many adventures and troubles along the way. In the end, Rama and Sita are reunited.

So how did Rama meet Sita?... Here is an extract from the Jai Jais Legends Series “ The Ramayana”, Page 9-10.  Find out more in our blog.

On 24^th October 2020, Hindus will be celebrating its most popular festivals- Durga Ashtmi and Maha Navmi pooja. Usually, Maha Navami pooja is celebrated on the next day of Durga Ashtami. However, this year, the two festivals are occurring on the same day. “Ashtami” and “Navmi” mean the eighth and the ninth day of Navratri that is dedicated to Goddess Durga.

How Is It Celebrated?

‘Maha Navmi’ pooja is considered to hold so much value that the worship on this day is equivalent to all the nine days of  ‘Navratri’. Traditionally every state in India has different and unique ways to celebrate the festival but what remains common is the worship of the mighty Goddess Durga.

Arti, (Hindi “the ceremony of lights”) Sanskrit “Aratrika”, in Hindu rituals is the offering of lighted divas before an image of a god or goddesses. In performing the ritual the worshiper circles the diva in a clockwise direction while chanting a prayer or singing a hymn. Aarti is one of the most frequently observed parts of both temple and home pooja. The god or goddess is honoured by the lighted ghee (clarified butter) or camphor and is protected by the invocation of the deities of the directions of the compass.