Samvatsar (Gudi Padwa) - The beginning of a new year

Happy Vikram Samvat 2072!!!

I started tinkering with the idea of beginning this blog close to the tithi of the new Samvatsar. New year marks the beginning of new things - new stuff, new ideas, new mentality, new everything. New year resolutions, a common western phenomena is actually a great concept which has a very positive impact on you life; provided you choose the right resolutions.

"Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress."

Charles Kettering - 

Keeping in line with this fresh and new attitude, a new idea for the new year, I have decided to talk about New year itself (oh so meta! -_-) or the Samvatsar as the first topic of this new blog.

Naye Samvatsar ki Badhai!

Samvatsar - Simply is the sanskrit word for Year. So the popular greeting 'Samvatsar ki badhai'  is not wrong but actually an incomplete sentence. It translates to 'Happy Year'. The proper way is to say 'Naye Samvatsar ki badhai' so you actually greet for the new year, not just an year. I hope you correct the person who texts you Samvatsar ki badhai' the next time.

2071 was not a typo, the Hindu New year is 2072!

The most widely accepted calendar of Hinduism is Vikram Samvat. The calendar of 'all things Hindu'. The Vikram Samvat calendar was initiated by King Vikramāditya and the Hindus all over still use this calendar out of respect for him and his righteous ways of running a kingdom. He is the same Vikram from the stories of 'Vikram and Vetaal'. These are very famous and almost all Indians know of these personalities, either through the famous TV series, through Amar Chitra Katha comics or of course! though our grandparents! The stories reveal the wisdom and wit of this great king as he works his way out of the impossible to solve riddles and unanswerable questions imposed on him by Vetaal (Betaal). If you know even a few of these stories, you won't doubt the eligibility of this man as worthy of an entire calendar system on his name! 

If you have not read the stories, I highly recommend that you read about the stories of Vikram & Vetaal. They have entertained generations of Indians and imparted tremendous wisdom to its readers.

An artist's impression of the great Raja Vikramāditya

My Calendar!

2071 years and 14 days have elapsed as of today, Chaitra Shukla Paksha 14, fourteen days after the beginning of this new year, since the day Raja Vikramāditya officially started this calendar, marking his victory over the enemy king Shaka. Don't you feel proud to be a part of a cultural tradition so old and so close to our lands!? The lands of India have been celebrating this historical calendar, our calendar, our own calendar. 

For me, it's a matter of great pride and a part of my identity, to celebrate the new Samvatsara - The Indian Calendar, to celebrate the Indian way of life, to celebrate everything I find as my own!



I found this Hindi line somewhere on the internet.

भरतपुत्र रात के अँधेरे में नव-वर्ष का स्वागत नहीं करते ...

...अपितु सूर्य की पहली किरण का अभिवादन करके नव वर्ष का स्वागत करते हैं ।

Don't take the literal meaning, understand what this suryakiran is? What is being lit by this suryakiran. To me, on this auspicious occasion of the new year, suryakiran has fell on Pushtimarg, has fell on Hinduism & myself. Thus the title of this blog series - Pushtiprakāsh

So welcome this new year with enlightenment, with knowledge - about your own culture, your own self. With your own culture, your own self - for your culture is not just Vikramaditya's stories, but the combined wisdom of Vedas, Vedantas, Maharishis collected since infinitely long time back!

Welcome to Pushtiprakāsh - A blog on Shudhdhādwait Pushtimarg (Vaishnavism)

INTRODUCTION

A blog on Pushtimarg, focusing on core concepts & seva prakār.

In this introductory blog post, let us get acquainted with how this blog in going to work. The objective of this blog is to focus on fundamental concepts on which Pushtimarg is based upon.  All concepts essential in understanding Pushtimarg - The path of Grace will be discussed in great detail & the posts will be written in a way which assume minimum knowledge on the reader's part. Although, if a topic has already been covered in an earlier blog post, it shall be assumed that the reader is aware of it.

Keeping in line with the objective, there is a natural transition to application of the concepts once you learn them, therefore practical aspects of Pushtimarg, such as seva prakār and seva praṇali will also be covered.