Blessings and the Dashain

The Dashain Season of Blessings

 

The Dashain is a time for Tika and blessings.

Showering someone with blessings is a spiritual act which is practiced in all the religions of the world and has been practiced for thousands of years. 

Now, may we ask fondly if the blessings have worked? 

No sociologist has collected any data about this; nor has science proved it. But then, science hasn't proved any thing against it either.

If a blessing is a wish and therefore a thought; then, how is it different from any other thought? What attitude is behind this thought called blessing?

Masaru Emoto  has proved in his scientifically controversial experiments that a person's attitude can change matter. A loving attitude can produce invariably different shaped crystals of blessed water from cursed water when frozen. It means both blessings and curses work; and this may be the reason why, of all the rivers in the world, the Ganges and its holy water is different. The Catholics also use blessed  holy water.

Apparently, people who have developed this skill of blessing can bless for a visible result without any doubt; and all those modern monkeys who bless without any skill developed in them may be even dangerous to have blessings from.

Emoto shows us that attitude is very important; and the stronger an attitude is, the more effective its impact will be. In order to be effective, one has to practice; and develop a very strong attitude before blessing anyone. It is a spiritual practice, an inner journey; and is available.

Drunvalo, a spiritual teacher, warns against careless blessings. According to him, if you bless someone with a fragmented mind, your blessing will invariably become a curse. In a real blessing, the act calls for the involvement of total energy like in sadamanaskam arghyam which means offering is that mind which is constantly arrowed to That. Modern physics knows much about energy but it still does not have much to tell us about what conscious energy is like.

If, with practice, you can develop your mind to have no thought and then allow it to have a single thought without any wavering at the time of blessing, then bless or else stop cursing your children. The higher laws have no excuse for ignorance.

Tika and the Dashain

  The Importance of Tika and the Dashain

Among the numerous religious festivals, the Dashain is considered to be the greatest of all by the Hindu. It is a national festival in Nepal and India where the population is predominantly Hindu. It is also the longest festival of all. As the Janeupurnima is the main festival for the priestly caste, so is the Dashain for the warrior caste. It being the festival of the rulers, its long duration is understood. This festival comes mostly in the month of October every year but the date varies.

The festival is celebrated for at least ten days starting with Ghatasthapana when people sow seeds in a vessel or Ghata for seedlings to be used on the 10th day. Schools, colleges and government offices close and people come to their homes from far and near to celebrate this festival. Every day of the festival has its important rituals to perform. 

The 10th day is called Tika in Nepal and it is the most important day. Even those people, who find it difficult to arrive home earlier, try to come and be at home on this day. The sole aim of this day is to receive Tika, Jamara and blessings from the elder members of the family. Some go to temples to receive Tika from the temple priest in case there is no one from whom to receive at home. In Kathmandu, people go to Pashupatinath temple and in those times when kings ruled Nepal, many people went to the palace to have Tika from the king. 

What is Tika and why do people have it from their elders? 

Tika is also known as Tilak. It is applied on the forehead. The science behind the application of Tika or Tilak is connected with the renowned third eye or the eye of Shiva. 

Is there such an eye apart from the two physical eyes we all have? 

The answer is positive and this so-called third eye is also a physical eye. In biology, it is known as the pineal gland in our brain. The pineal gland is shaped like an eye and it is located a little below the surface of the forehead. It is said to be equidistant from the two eyes. It is not blind but inactive because of remaining unused for a long time. It can be activated through effort. It is said that the third eye is hungry for consciousness and if you feed it with consciousness, it will become active. Once it becomes active, one realizes for the first time that one is not blind. With the activation of the third eye, many uncanny psychic powers are activated and one no longer remains weak and helpless. That is the spiritual aspect of Tika during the Dashain.

Tika is applied on this day by someone who knows where the pineal gland of a person is located. The location is not same for everyone. This is the day when younger people are shown the spot where they have to apply tika starting from that day. As one applies tika, one's consciousness moves to the pineal gland and the latter starts to become active when it receives sufficient attention. If it becomes active within one year, it is ok but if it doesn't, the person has to go to the elder to spot the location because, the location of the pineal gland shifts to a bit lower position. In the ancient times, the activation of the pineal gland was thought to be so important that a festival was planned and it became a tradition which has come down to us. Thus Tika is not for only Hindus but also for all human beings for spiritual progress. So, do you see the science and beauty behind Tika and the Dashain?

Never apply Tika to the wrong place and it is also harmful for women to apply fancy tikas from the market for cosmetic purposes. It may help you become stupid. Learn it from a person who has the skill to find out your third eye and apply tilak there every day. Its cooling effect will draw your attention often to your pineal gland and eventually, it will become active either sooner or later according to the amount of impressions or samskaras you have accumulated in your subconscious.