Happy MahaShivratri!

The Symbolic Lord Shiva

By Vini Melwani 

The very first scriptures known to man were the Vedas. It is believed in Hinduism that these were in the form of mantras revealed by God as the Eternal Truth to India’s great seers.

Veda means knowledge and one of the four such scripture is called Rig Veda. Rig Vedas consists of 10,552 mantras, all written in old Vedic Sanskrit, which are a reservoir of all the knowledge of this entire Universe, including Space Science, Philosophy, Medicine, Literature and Spiritual Wisdom.

It is in the many verses of Rig Veda that we get introduced to Lord Shiva. The great Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, considered the heart of Rig Veda, is found in the Veda and refers to Lord Shiva’s intensity. A Mantra is a sequence of syllables in Sanskrit, which literally translated means ‘mind’ (man) and ‘tool’ (tra), ‘mind tool’. Their vibrational strength is realized when they are pronounced correctly and can be chanted to instill a meditative focus.

OM. Tryambakam yajamahe
Sugandhim pushti-vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan
Mrityor mukshiya mamritat

The above Mahamrityunjaya Mantra loosely translated means the following:

Almighty God, three-eyed, we worship and revere
Sweet fragranced with spiritual essence.
One who nourishes
May He severe our bondage of worldly life
Thus liberate us from the fear of death
Make us realize that we are never separated from our Immortal Nature.

If we examine Lord Shiva’s form and analyze his habiliments, possessions and markings, we start to understand the symbolisms associated with him, and why He is regarded in Hinduism as a prominent God who is one of the “Trimurti”, the Holy Trinity, the destroyer and restorer.

One of the first things one may notice is Lord Shiva’s third eye. This symbolizes a state of enlightenment as it is through this “inner eye” or “the eye of knowledge” we reach higher consciousness. The third eye is the eye of spiritual wisdom and knowledge. When we “see” through the our third eye we see beyond the physical, we transcend into the spiritual. This symbolism of enlightenment and gateway to higher consciousness is weaved into our everyday worship and adornment, as we mark our deities with and a “tilak” between their eye or one between our own eyebrows, both represent the third eye. Hindus also believe the power and strength Lord Shiva represents, that if He were to open His third eye the physical world or evil and ignorance will be destroyed, such is his might.

Hindus cremate their dead, and bodies turn into ash, which is believed to be the philosophy of life and death and the essence of nature. One will find Lord Shiva’s whole body smeared with ash, symbolizing this transcendental aspect of nature. Not to forget his domination over destruction in Hindu mythology.

The abundance of his matted hair “Jata”, as it seemingly gushes down his shoulders, houses the powerful and sacred River Ganga. Whose strength rivaled none but could be curtailed in the matted locks of Lord Shiva. Hindu mythology depicts the legend of River Ganga as she was forced to descend on earth destroying mankind with her fury when Lord Shiva trapped her in his locks and released the great river gently to traverse earth, providing purifying water to mankind. The legend, the matted locks and the ferocious nature of Lord Shiva all symbolize not just the destroyer but the restorer in Him.

On His mount of twirled locks on one side you will always find Lord Shiva with a crescent-shaped moon. The shape of the crescent represents the moon in its fifth day phase, which according to our Vedic tradition, is recognized to be an auspicious time in the cycle of the moon. The moon, in Hinduism, has great implications and used as a measure of time with its regular waxing and waning. Hindu calendars of festivals and holidays are all based on the lunar cycle, hence festivals such as Diwali are never on the same date each year. With its immense significance, the symbol of the moon placed on Lord Shiva symbolizes His control over creation, time and the brevity of the cycle of life, and with it again emphasizing His role as a destroyer and restorer.

Lord Shiva is often shown with a snake curled around His neck. This symbolism is very interesting as it introduces the science of our body and certain energy points called “Chakras”. One such chakra is located in the pit of our throat, which in essence, stops poison from entering our body, or more precisely, keeping our body in a state of deep purification. Filtering what enters the body, not merely as intake of food, but at a more deeper, fundamental and higher level of intake of our thoughts and external influences. The removal of obstructions which enable us to better comprehend and in turn express our Truth.The significance of the snake around the throat chakra is even more subtle and beautiful. Snakes are both revered and feared. They are known for their poisonous venom but also as a dominant embodiment of universal energy. This powerful energy connecting with the energy of the throat chakra create a beautiful symbol of opposing tendencies bringing on spontaneous eradication.

Lord Shiva is always shown wearing a brown beaded necklace with 108 beads. The figure 108 is intriguing if applied to ancient Indian astronomy, where it is determined that the diameter of the Sun multiplied by 108 equals the distance between Sun and Earth, and the diameter of the Moon multiplied by 108 equals the distance between Earth and Moon. This is symbolic of Lord Shiva’s role in maintaining law and order in the universe.

Finally, we see Lord Shiva with a “Trishul” a spear with three prongs. This symbolizes His power to punish evil on all spiritual, subtle and physical level. The three points of the spear are also symbolic of the three fundamental powers will, action, and knowledge.

Happy MahaShivratri!

What It Means To Me To Be A Sindhi

MUSHTAQ RAJPAR LOOKS BACK ON HIS CHILDHOOD IN RURAL SINDH, AND HOW HIGHER EDUCATION IN SINDHI IN A KARACHI WHERE SINDHI WAS A MINORITY LANGUAGE, GAVE HIM A POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND A MORE INTIMATE UNDERSTANDING OF HIS SINDHI IDENTITY

I was born in a Sindhi family in rural Sindh. In our village and surroundings, we all spoke the same language. In winter, migrants from colder parts of the country, mainly from southern Quetta, would come, along with their women, children and livestock, to spend winter on our barren lands. Mostly Birohi tribes, they spoke a language different from ours. They looked poorer than us, and their women wore different clothes.

My father’s family was housed in a walled compound where his four married brothers, one sister and other immediate relatives lived together. Each individual family earned their own livelihood and had separate kitchens. (Four decades later, most of us have moved out of the village, some to cities, Karachi, Hyderabad, Naushehro Feroze; others to Canada and theUnited States).

In our village there were people of different castes; of the many, one was a Baloch tribe whose people spoke Sindhi, having lost contact with their native Balochi. Despite living together for generations, there have never been intermarriages between people of different castes in our village till today. Caste and class are deep rooted in Sindhi society.

While still in primary school, I moved to a small town, Shahpur Chakar, in another district where my chacha, Qurban Rajpar, had been living for over a decade, as he had a job in the local government office there. Chacha wanted me to study there, so that I would not have to walk barefoot every morning to school, which was two miles away. It proved to be an entirely different experience, a small city with mixed and diverse population of ten thousand, 50 percent of whom were Urdu speakers, Partition migrants. It was here that I understood who was a Sindhi and who was not. A few years later my chacha purchased an old pre-Partition house from an Urdu-speaking refugee. It was a house with beautiful architecture, left by a Sindhi Hindu family, and occupied by Muhajirs. Interestingly, no one remembered the family who used to own and live in this house.

There were a few Sindhi Hindu families who had stayed on in the town after Partition, traders and grocery shop owners, and their historic mandar was intact. Many of them were an underprivileged Hindu group now uniformly referred to as Dalits. Growing up, I saw them as gypsy tribes, living in temporary shelters, in pathetic conditions; they still live in the same manner. I wondered why when the affluent Sindhi Hindus were leaving their beautiful, grand homes and departing for India, these less fortunate people did not take them over. Could it be that it was simply not in their value system?

Growing up in Shahpur Chakar, I heard debates on Partition. I had a few Sindhi Hindu classmates and we called them “Vanyo” – the name of the Hindu trading caste. If we were indeed separate nationalities, which was the basis on which Partition had taken place, why was it that our Muslim refugee brothers who came from India, would not go to the same school as we did? Why did they not study in Sindhi medium? As I grew up, I began to understand what had happened to us during Partition, and was witness to the democratic activism of the adults of our community.

Shahpur Chakar was evolving into a hub of political activism where leftists, progressive and nationalist parties had a sizeable presence. This intensified after dictator Zia ul Haq’s military coup against Sindhi prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. General Zia was the head of the army, which was viewed as largely Punjabi speaking. Thousands were imprisoned for these activities, including my elder uncle Roshan Rajpar. Police would raid our villages and homes and conduct arrests.

The Urdu-speaking people called themselves Muhajir, their children attended Urdu-medium schools, and they refused to accept our Sindhi identity. Their political party, Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), had a well-funded, armed militia. Through the 1980s, Sindh suffered bitter violence, and thousands of Sindhi-speaking people had to leave their homes in neighbourhoods in big cities like Karachi and Hyderabad, where the Urdu-speaking refugees had settled. Any Sindhi wearing Ajrak and Topi – a traditional block-printed fabric and handmade cap – was targeted. Till today, so many decades after Partition, the Muhajirs have not integrated peacefully into the communities where they settled. They claimed our land and rights with aggression, and continue to cling to an artificial identity. Today, Sindhi is one of the national languages of India – but not of Pakistan, where close to 23 percent of our people speak Sindhi, while the Urdu is the mother tongue of less than 6 per cent.

Contrast this with the fact that all the foreign invaders who settled in Sindh over the centuries assimilated our culture and language. Our two mystic giants, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Qalandar Lal Shahbaz were both from migrant families. Qalandar Shahbaz was not even born in Sindh. It is the power of our love, tolerance, and peace that others join our mystic union. There is something magical in our soil, in our dust, in the water of our great river: for centuries, whoever came, fell in love with Sindh and became Sindhi.

When I completed my schooling, I joined college in Nawabshah, around 15 miles from Shahpur Chakar. Nawabshah was a hub of business and dominated by Urdu-speaking refugees. There I experienced the same segregation: Sindhis attended the Sachal Sarmast College, and the Muhajirs went to Government College. I later read in Lachhman Komal Bhatia’s powerful autobiography Wahi Khatey Ja Panna, that Nawabshah had once had a Sindhi-speaking population, and many were killed in riots.

For my further education, I moved to Karachi in 1994 and got admission in what was once known as Sindh University. Sadly, after the creation of Pakistan and the flood of refugees in the city, the then Prime Minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, a non-native, renamed it Karachi University and asked the Sindh government to set up its university at Jamshoro. I was denied admission in the departments of my preference on the basis of a ‘category system’ which would admit me only if seats were vacant, and students with lower grade and percentage were given priority because their school education was in Karachi. Disappointed, I took admission in the Sindhi department – but realized how fortunate I was when I started getting acquainted with Sindhi literature and its history, a great treasure which has been produced over the centuries. After completing the first year, I switched my major from Sindhi to International Relations, but kept Sindhi as my subsidiary.

Moving from a deep rural area in the heartland of Sindh to non-Sindhi speaking Karachi, I found myself constantly facing stereotypes and jokes about Sindhis, and navigating through urban biases. In Sindhi, we use the word Saeen to pay respect and honour others, elders, and even call God Allah Saeen, but here they mocked us as ‘Saeen Manhoo’. When people taunted me asking if I had come from Sindh, I would respond, “No, I have come from India.” It annoyed me that for some Urdu-speaking people, Karachi was not a part of Sindh! Pakistan’s mainstream Urdu-language media continues to report Karachi and Sindh as separate, ignoring the fact that Karachi is the historic capital of Sindh, long before Pakistan was created.

In Karachi, I had the opportunity of working in two of the world’s leading diplomatic missions, first the Japanese consulate, and then the US consulate. One day at the US consulate, a woman showed up at my desk along with a security colleague who pointed at me and told her, “Here is your Sindhi guy.” Rajni Badlani, a Sindhi woman from Delhi was on a regional tour, and was shocked to know that I was the only Sindhi working at the consulate. She told me, “I have been looking for my Sindh and Sindhi people ever since I got off the plane! I did not see a single symbol of Sindh until I saw you!” I smiled and began to explain to her what had happened to us, to the Sindhis of Sindh.

Delhi Yatra

A few years later, I was in New Delhi on an official training at the US Embassy and asked Rajni to help me connect with Sindhi people. I met Rajni’s elder sister Khushi, who was born in Larkana and was five when her parents moved to India. I heard a familiar story: suffering, uncertainty, anxiety, hope, the longing to return to Sindh, and, with the passage of time, loss and detachment from Sindh. India was their new home, and there began their career success stories.

In Delhi, Saeen Hiro Thakur hosted a lavish dinner for me, gifted me his books, and we sat for hours talking about Sindh. Later, the Sindhi community hosted a reception for me in the community hall. About a hundred people attended, and when someone looked at me with joy in their eyes and said, “He looks like us and he speaks Sindhi like us!” it was a very emotional moment for me. In my speech I shared with them how our cities, big and small, were changing. When I started naming the cities, More, Dadu, Tharu Shah, Shikarpur – they began to clap their hands and the clapping would not end because an ocean of memories flooded their minds. These overwhelming feelings cannot be explained in words. Most of them were older than sixty and either they had been born in Sindh or their parents were, and

Sindh still lived in their hearts. Once that generation is gone, we will lose an immediate reference to Sindh, as Saaz Aggarwal seems to have predicted in the title of her book Stories from a Vanished Homeland.

The continuing political conflict between India and Pakistan has prevented cultural exchange and dialogue between our divided people. During a brief respite, in the tenure of another military dictator, General Musharraf, a large delegation of Sindhi writers, businessmen, musicians and academics visited Sindh. They were greeted with tears of joy and the Sindhi language media hosted several television programs and interviews with these brothers and sisters whom we had lost. We concluded together during a live television program that we have the same Sindhi DNA of tolerance, kindness and nothing but love. That is what Sindhiyat is, that is who we are.

Reviving Sindhi Culture in Sindh and Beyond

The first Sindhi-speaking President of Pakistan was Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Pakistan’s slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and it was something he did that sparked off our Sindhi cultural revolution.

We loved Benazir, and she was affectionately named ‘Marvi Malir ji’. Marvi is one of the strong, immortal heroines of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s poetry. She was abducted by a Sindhi ruler who wanted to marry her. Marvi came from a modest home and, while imprisoned inside the palace of Umar, she missed her people and her village, and this love and longing for her people and land is what Shah Latif expressed. She pined to return and would only be happy when she did, even if it was only her dead body that went back to Malir.

It so happened that, on an official visit to Afghanistan, President Asif Zardari wore a Sindhi Topi, which made him stand out from others who were dressed in Western style. One Pakistani television anchor made demeaning remarks, and these invited an ocean of reaction. Sindhi language media channels started celebrating Sindhi Topi and Ajrak Unity Day. I was working in the US Consulate in Karachi, and suggested to my office that the US Consulate should host an event to observe Sindh culture. Discussing the matter, it was decided to name the event Sindhi Culture Day. The US Consulate was Pakistan’s first foreign diplomatic mission to host a reception for Sindhi language journalists on Sindhi Culture Day.

It has now been ten years, and the first Sunday of December is observed as Sindhi Culture Day. While it began as a reaction, it is now considered a festival like Eid or Holi, the national day of the Sindhis, not just in Sindh but everywhere where Sindhis live. Outside the Karachi Press Club, hundreds of thousands of men and women, children and the elderly attend a day-long live music concert, folk music and dance, everyone wearing Ajrak and Topi. Sindhis who live in other parts of Pakistan and the world celebrate the day in big gatherings, in the Middle East, Europe, Canada, and in many American cities including Washington DC. In 2019, I had the honour of hosting a big gathering of Sindhi families in the Washington DC area, and we plan to carry on this tradition, which offers us an opportunity to celebrate our rich and diverse culture; our own identity. The passion for our language and culture has continued to grow in Sindh. While Pakistan’s state-run television channel and radio services ran barely an hour of Sindhi programs, we now have seven Sindhi language channels of our own and almost every district of Sindh has its own Sindhi language radio station. New songs and poetry are being composed, and Sindhi handicrafts, Topi and Ajrak are being made and purchased with pride and as the power of expression of our identity. The people of Sindh, the people whose ancestors lived by the river Sindhu for generations, now live in many parts of the world. A large number of them live in North America. Sindhis from Sindh have been working towards unity under a 36-year-old platform, the non-profit Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) which aims to promote Sindhi language, heritage, and culture. SANA has over 2,600 members, both Muslims and Hindus, mostly hailing from Sindh. Sindhis from India continue to have their own separate events. They do not invite Sindhis from Sindh. We share common values, heritage, history, culture, poets, Sufi shrines; we are one and same people, divided by political geography, but in our age of globalization, social media has already broken the barriers. The flow of ideas, books, exchanges and sharing is already happening online. The traditional concept of state boundaries looks obsolete. It is my dream that one day the damage caused by Partition will heal and we can join together in joyous celebration regaining and propagating our rich culture.

Mushtaq Rajpar lives in Washington DC, and contributes articles for the Pakistani English language newspaper The News. He is an active member of the Sindhi community organization SANA, the Sindhi Association of North America. Email mush.rajpar@gmail.com.

Sadhu Vaswani Mission Mumbai

Wednesday, 9th Feb 2022, was a great auspicious day for all of us for the formal inauguration of *Dada J.P. Vaswani Chowk* the first landmark dedicated to Revered Master - a Great Saint, renowned Visionary, Author of over 200 books, highly motivational Orator, Educationist, Messiah of Dumb and Defenceless Birds and Animals by way of promotion of Vegetarianism, Spiritual Guru and humble torch bearer of Gurudev Sadhu TL Vaswani.

It was great moment for all aspirants and humanity.The chowk (situated at Lokhandwala Back Road, Opp Joggers Park, Andheri West, Mumbai) has been successfully completed in record time of 5 days and the formal inauguration was performed at the Holy Hands of Didi Krishna Kumari (Head, Sadhu Vaswani Mission), Hon’ble *Dr Bharti Lavekar *(MLA from Versova constituency of Mumbai) and *Mr Yogiraj Dabhadkar* (Corporator)

After the formal unveiling - a small function was held across the road at Joggers park where deep gratitude and thanks were expressed to Ms Bharti Lavekar and Mr Yogiraj Dhabadkar for their unrelenting efforts in making this possible in record time and with such beautiful outcome.

While Mr Yogiraj and Ms Bharti appreciated the presence of Didi Krishna Kumari - to have travelled all the way from Pune for the love of the Master and assured the aspirants of their fullest support for any endeavours of the SVM - Didi in her address and inspirational talk expressed her deep gratitude to them and their team and quoted some very soul stirring instances from the life and teachings Dada JP Vaswani which were highly inspiring.

Our motivational speaker Ms Manju, while congratulating the MLA and Corporator team of Bharti and Yogiraj, sought some more landmarks dedicated to the Revered Master, while telling them “Ye Dil Maange More”  in lighter vein.

Didi in her talk also wanted to share some inspiring short spiritual thoughts by Dada, which she suggested, may be put up suitably for the Joggers to read and be motivated. She also inspired the aspirants to become vegetarian from today onwards.

The aspirants present time and again cheered the speakers with loud claps.

Maharaj Hiranand, the spiritual head from Purshottam Lal Sai temple also blessed the event with his gracious presence and words of wisdom. Bahrano sahib was brought to honour the occasion from Lal Sai Temple and the same was taken with loud cheers of Jai Jhulelal.

Many aspirants queued up to seek blessings from Didi as she passed through the crowd to board her car and were greeted lovingly with her joined hands and loving smile.

The event ended with expression of gratitude in the hearts and souls of all participants and audience!

Sadhu Vaswani Mission Mumbai

Tel: +91 93222 99300

E mail: svm.mumbai@gmail.com

For those who missed the event please click here for the live recording 

Chanting The Name Of The Lord

By Raj Khanchandani

What do you do all day Gran if you can’t watch the telly

I chant the name of the Lord

What do you do all day when no one comes to visit

I chant the name of the Lord

And when you get bored and all lonely Gran, what then

I chant the name of the Lord

But Gran, don’t you miss picnics in the park, the brass band,

drives to the seaside, shopping for cardigans in the Arndale,

Oh, and going to bed with Grandad and all those parties you had

No, I’m happy to chant the name of the Lord.

But what is it you chant, tell me Gran, what do you chant,

Om Tat Sat , my sweet, Om Tat Sat.

Tell me what that means, Gran, that Tom Sat At

It’s Om Tat Sat, say it slowly my dear,

Say it gently, it'll be music to your ear.

It sounds strange, Gran, what does it mean, do tell

It’s just the name of the Lord, that’s all

There are so many gods Gran, why did you choose Sat

Why not Ram or Jesus or the one with the trunk who is fat

Oh my child, how you ask. Where do I start, how do I begin.

Start at the beginning, as you always say again and again.

This god has no beginning, it has no end

It has every name, yet has no name

It has no enemies and has no friends

It can seem so lame, or speed like a train,

It looks like you, it looks like me,

It’s here, then there like the air you breathe,

People search for it everywhere, except...

Go on Gran, except where Gran, except where.

...except where it matters, inside their hearts

Inside their heads, inside themselves.

But Gran, Gran how do you search inside your head

Oh my sweet, it’s easier than you think,

Easy as breathing or talking,

Easier than answering your questions

How Gran, how Gran, oh do tell, do tell.

By chanting the name of the Lord

Om Tat Sat

***********************

HAR HAR MAHADEV. DEVON KA DEV MAHADEV

By SAROJ SHAHANI- PUNE

KNOWN BY 108 NAMES BUT THERE ARE ABOUT

11 NAMES BY WHICH HE IS COMMONLY KNOWN.

1:  SHIVA MEANS ALWAYS PURE

2:  MAHESHWARA MEANS LORD OF GODS

3.  SHAMBHU MEANS ONE WHO BESTOWS PROSPERITY

4.  PNAKIN MEANS ONE WHO HAS BOW IN HIS HAND

5.  BHAIRAV MEANS LORD OF TERROR

6.  BHOLENATH MEANS KIND HEARTED LORD

7.  KAILASHNATH MEANS MASTER OF MOUNT KAILASH

8.  MAHADEV MEANS GREATEST GOD

9.  NATRAJA MEANS KING OF ART OF DANCING

10. UMAPATI MEANS CONSORT OF UMA

11. VISHVESHWARA MEANS LORD OF UNIVERSE

WITH CLEAR THOUGHTS  AND PURE HEART WE RECITE

HIS MAIN MANTRA  “ OM NAMAH SHIVAY”

WE PRAY TO DIVINE LORD FOR HIS BLESSINGS AND LOVE

BY BESTOWING HIS GRACE AND FORGIVING OUR IGNORANCE

ALSO LEADING US TO HIS WISDOM BY HAVING MERCY ON US

AS HE IS THE LORD OF TRINITY WE TOO CAN BATHE IN PURITY

& LET OUR ACHING  HEARTS BE HEALED BY OUR FAILINGS & SINS

SAROJ PRAYS TO YOU DEAR  LORD SHIVA

TO GUIDE US ON THE RIGHT PATH

AS YOU ARE ONLY ONE WHO CAN RELEASE US FROM CIRCLE OF LIFE & DEATH 

Parpati had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.

While on the operating table she had a near death experience......

Seeing God she asked "Is my time up?"

God said, "No, you have another 33 years, 2 months and 8 days to live."

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a

Face-lift, Liposuction, Nose Job and a Tummy Tuck.

She even had someone come in and change her hair colour and whiten her teeth!

Since she had so much more time to live, she figured that she might as well make the most of it.

After her last operation, she was released from the hospital.

On her way home, after being discharged from the hospital, she was killed by an ambulance just as she was crossing the road!

Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 33 years to live? Why didn't you pull me out of the path of the Ambulance?"

God replied, "I didn't recognize you!!!!!"

Launched with love for everything Sindhi, our newsletter, Sindhi Samachar, aims to be circulated amongst our Sindhi family and friends intended to forge unity and interaction within our community. We hope our brothers and sisters globally participate and contribute towards it with your views, Sindhi news, Sindhi jokes, or Sindhi recipes, which we will be happy to publish under your name.

Editorial Content

Raj Daswani

Umesh Daswani

Vini Melwani 

Geeta Raj

Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in Sindhi Samachar by our contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the editorial team of Sindhi Samachar. Any content provided by our contributors, bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.