Thanks giving day in Hinduism -Ayudha pooja

 

Thanks giving Day is an annual national holiday in the United States of America and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Americans generally believe that their Thanks giving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people.

Thanks giving Day in Hinduism

In olden times, weapons used in war were worshipped as they were the means of defeating enemies. For instance, in Karnataka, celebrations on Ayudh Puja commemorate the slaying of the demon king Mahishasura by Goddess Chamundeshwari, an incarnation of Parvati Devi.

 Ayudh pooja

It is the day to express gratefulness for all types of tools that are an integral part of our lives. The instruments that are worshipped on the day of the festival comprise the small items such as spanners, scissors, and pins and the bigger items such as vehicles and machinery.

People also worship Saraswati, who is the Goddess of Wisdom; Lakshmi, who is the Goddess of wealth; and Parvati, who is also known as the divine mother. People believe that worshipping the instruments on Ayudha Pooja will give them success. Ayudha Puja is the celebration of the triumph over the sinful.

Spiritual and philosophical meaning

According to spiritual gurus and experts, the worshipping of instruments and weapons gives a feeling of fulfillment. When a person shows reverence to the things he/she possesses, it brings them to harmony with the universe, according to experts.

 Who is Goddess Saraswathi?

Saraswati is one of the Hindu gods. The Vedas also mention her name. She is the goddess of speech, learning, and knowledge. The legend states that she created the Sanskrit language and invented the Vina,  The legend also says that she is the wife of  Brahma one of the gods of the Hindus.

Worship & Rituals

Saraswati's name means 'elegant', 'flowing', and 'watery' and this is indicative of her status as one of the early Aryan boundary rivers. The Saraswati River (modern name: Sarsuti), just like the Ganges River, flows from the Himalayas and is considered a sacred source of purification, fertility, and good fortune for those who bathe in her waters. The sacred river, again like the Ganges, then developed into a personified deity.

Saraswati Pooja honouring inner calm and wisdom

Saraswati Puja includes formal rituals and temple worship on a larger scale as well. It is an honouring of inner calm and wisdom, encouraging us to be sensitive, compassionate, and attuned to the whole of life.

In India, there has never been a sharp division of the sacred and the profane such as occurred in the West that has kept the spiritual and artistic realms apart. Saraswati Devi represents this unity.

Saraswati holds together the pure white light of spiritual knowledge and all the rainbow colors of artistic expression. She represents the dance of nature as reflecting the effulgence of the cosmic Mind. The inability to see the cosmic light through an artistic image shows a limited perception. Every form in nature and everything we visualize is a symbolic expression of ourselves.