Transcend...!

Today is Dussehra, the day of victory to rejoice about Durga's triumph over the demons led by Mahishasura. It is essentially a festival in honour of Durga. The Divine Mother fought with him for nine nights, and killed him on the evening of the tenth day, known as the Vijaya-Dashami. 

 

Vijayadashami is also celebrated as the day when Rama killed Ravana and won back his wife (Hence also called Vijayadashmi) who had managed to save her honour from the dirty hands of Ravana and was waiting anxiously to meet her husband.

 

Dussehra is also reminiscent of the end of the exile and banishment of the Pandava princes in the epic Mahabharata and their return with their weapons to reclaim their kingdom. Vijayadashami is also the day of the Saraswati or the deity of knowledge and learning.

 

 

Many people perform "Aditya Homa" as a "Shanti Yagna" and recite Sundara Kanda of Srimad Ramayana for nine days. These Yagna performances are thought to create powerful agents in the atmosphere surrounding the house that will keep the household environment clean and healthy. These rituals are intended to rid the household of the ten bad qualities, which are represented by ten heads of Ravana as follows:
Kama vasana (Lust)
Krodha (Anger)
Moha (delusion)
Lobha (Greed)
Mada (Over Pride)
Matsara (Jealousy)
Manas (Mind)
Buddhi (Intellect)
Chitta (will)
Ahankara (Ego)

 

The more important, profound and philosophical significance of Vijayadashami is SIMOLLANGHAN – transcending boundaries…! We make ourselves infinitesimal by no. of boundaries like –

· Me and myself

· Family and relatives

· Class and status

· Cast and creed

· Religion and philosophy so and so forth.
 

 

 

If we can, just for once, look beyond these boundaries and act to transcend them that will be the real celebration of Dussehra – Defeating the TEN! To understand it better let’s read a story…

 

Two men went fishing. One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

 

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. “Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked.

 

The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan...”

 

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small.

 

We laugh at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our mind and faith?

 

Whether it’s a problem or a possibility, 

...You will never be given anything bigger than you can handle... you need to transcend your boundaries however...!

 

Stay tuned and TRANSCEND to TRANSFORM...!