Ugadi or Gudi Padwa

Gudi Padwa or Gudhi Padva is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra month and marks the beginning of New Year in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka. Gudi Padwa 2011 date is 4 April 2011, Monday.

Gudi Padwa is considered one of the four most auspicious days in the year when people start new ventures.
It is believed that Lord Brahma, created the world on this day and so he is worshiped specially at this time.
Lord Vishnu too is said to have incarnated as Matsya, the fish, on this day.

A gudi (banner) with a swastika -marked metal pot and silk cloth is raised to announce victory and joy. In Maharashtra, it is reminiscent of the valiant Marathas returning home from their successful expeditions of war. Maharashtrian take the opportunity to honour their favourite leader, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

People prepare for the New Year by cleaning and washing their houses and buying new clothes. On the festival day they decorate their houses with mango leaves and 'rangoli' designs, and pray for a prosperous new year, and visit the temples to listen to the yearly calendar 'Panchangasravanam' as priests make predictions for the coming year.

Traditionally bitter leaves of the neem tree with jaggery were given as Prasad of Ugadi/Gudi Padwa.

Gudi Padwa is considered as an auspicious occasion to buy ornaments, house and other new things.

The festival is celebrated when the heat of sun began intensifying and the time of harvesting the crop has come. The fragrance of ripening Mangoes, Jackfruit and other seasonal fruits fill the air with sweet smell and are ready to be sold to the marketplaces. Shrubs and trees are blooming with flowers.

Gudi Padwa, also known as Ugadi, is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month of Chaitra shukla Padyami, which corresponds to end of March or beginning of April according to the Gregorian calendar. This festival marks the beginning of 'Vasant' or spring.

Indian society is largely dependendent on agriculture and e celebrations and festivals are often linked with changing seasons and to the sowing and reaping of crops. The word 'padwa' is a Sanskrit word for crop, which literally means 'Pradurbhu.' This day also marks the end of one harvest and the beginning of a new one, which for an agricultural community would signify the beginning of a New Year. Gudi Padwa is celebrated at the end of the Rabi season.

http://www.festivalsofindia.in/gudipadwa/

Introduction
The first Holy festival which marks the beginning of the New Year, new month and new day for the Hindus falls on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. It is known as Gudhi Padwa (in Maharashtra), Ugadi (in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh). [In other parts of country it is celebrated during Nau Roz (Kashmir), Baisakhi (Punjab), Cheti Chand (Sindhi), Naba Barsha (Bengal), Goru Bihu (Assam), Puthandu (Tamil Nadu), Vishu (Kerala)] On this very day Lord Brahma created the Universe. Therefore for Hindus, this day carries special importance. The day is celebrated with an auspicious bath, followed by decorating the doorway with a ‘toran’, performing ritualistic worship and hoisting the Gudhi.

Method of raising the Gudi
gudi-raising 01 Position of the Gudi: Care should be taken to raise the Gudi next to the main entrance of the house. The spot selected should be on the right side of the entrance(when facing outwards from the entrance of the home). The right side symbolizes the active state of the soul.

1. The area selected for raising the Gudi should be cleaned and then a Swastik rangoli should be drawn on the ground. Turmeric and vermilion (Haldi-kumkum) should be offered at the centre of the Swastik.

2. While raising the Gudi, the ‘Shiva-Shakti’ principle in the Universe should be invoked. This enables all the constituents of the Gudi to accept divine principles.
3. The Gudi symbolizes the ‘Sushumna nadi’ of our body. Hence, the Gudi should be raised at the entrance. And it should be kept tilted at an angle. – A Scholar (through the medium of Ms. Anjali Gadgil)

Prayer
‘O Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu ! Please enable me to absorb the Principle of Creation and the Fire Principle present in the atmosphere. Let the Divine consciousness present in these principles be preserved constantly. Let the energy thus received, be used for my spiritual practice.’
Reason for raising the Gudi during war
The Gudi is a symbol of victory. Amongst the various qualities of God, ‘Being Victorious’ is one and it symbolizes that God has achieved victory at the outset and at various levels. To symbolize this at every level of war, a Gudi is hoisted.

Significance of Gudi Padwa
gudi-natural01There are several ways of commencing a New Year. According to the Christian calendar, 1st January marks the beginning of the year. The financial year begins from 1st April, the Hindu New Year from the first day (Pratipada) of the month of Chaitra from the Hindu lunar calendar, the commercial year from the first day of the Hindu lunar month of ‘Kartik’, the solar (soura) year, the lunar (chandra) year, the luni-solar year and so on. In all these, the year comprises of twelve months. Who first proclaimed that a year should consist of twelve months and how did the world come to accept it ? The foremost exponent of this concept is undoubtedly the Vedas, the most ancient literary texts. The Vedas say, ‘A year consists of twelve months’. It is because they say so that the world has accepted it. Out of all these days of beginning a year the most ideal one is the first day of the month of Chaitra according to the Hindu lunar calendar. There is no explanation as to why the 1st of January is the beginning of the New Year. Someone conceived that it should be so and thus it began. Contrary to this, there are natural, historical and spiritual reasons to mark the commencement of the year on the first day of the month of Chaitra.
 

1. Natural: Towards the first day of the month of Chaitra (Padva), the sun assumes a position above the Vasant intersection (the point of intersection of the equator and the meridians) and the spring season commences. In Shrimadbhagvadgita (10.35), The Lord says, ‘Among the seasons, the exhilarating Vasant season (spring) is my manifestation’. In this season, the weather is pleasant and exhilarating. In the Shishir season (autumn) the trees shed their leaves. Towards Padva, trees bear new foliage and appear fresh.
2. Historical: Rama slayed Vali on this day. Lord Ramachandra returned to Ayodhya after slaying the evil demons and Ravan on this very day. The Shakas too defeated the Huns on this day. This day also commemorates the commencement of the Shalivahan calendar after Shalivahan vanquished his enemies.
3. Spiritual
3 A. Creation of the universe: Since on this day Lord Brahma created the universe and the Satyayug began, it marks the commencement of the New Year.
3 B. One among the three and a half auspicious days (‘Muhurts’): Gudhipadva, Akshay trutiya and Dasra (Vijayadashmi) each make up one, and the first day of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik comprises half of the total three and a half auspicious days. The special feature of these three and a half auspicious days is that unlike other days when one has to choose an auspicious moment to perform a ritual, in contrast, on these auspicious days one does not need to, as every moment of these days is auspicious.

3 C. The higher incidence of prajapati sanyukta (conjoint) frequencies on the earth: The tantra text Ganeshyamal states that in all 108 frequencies, one each from the four parts (charans) of the twenty-seven lunar asterisms from the region of lunar asterisms (nakshtralok / karmadevlok) 27×4=108 reach the earth. They disintegrate further into four types of frequencies – yama, surya, prajapati and sanyukta (conjoint).
On this day, the Tej and Prajapati frequencies are effective in large measures. During sunrise on this day, the Chaitanya (Divine Consciousness) emitted from these frequencies can be retained for a longer period. It is accumulated in the cells of the embodied soul and is used by the embodied soul as and when required. Therefore within 5-10 minutes of sunrise one should perform ritualistic worship of the Gudi.
The method of celebrating Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (Gudi Padwa)
1. Ablution with oil (abhyangasnan) - an auspicious bath: On this day one should wake up early in the morning and take an oil bath. With an ordinary bath the raja and ‘tama’ components decrease by 1/1,00,000 % and the sattva component increases by the same amount for a duration of only three hours. However with an oil bath it lasts for four to five hours. An oil bath consists of an oil massage to facilitate the absorption of oil by the skin followed by a warm water bath. Oil should be applied to retain the elasticity of the skin. Warm water is auspicious and pleasing to the body. Bathing after an oil massage retains only that amount of oiliness that the skin and hair require. Hence an oil massage is necessary before a bath. Application of oil after a bath is inappropriate.

‘One should narrate the description of the time period (‘deshkal’) when taking an oil bath. The manner of narration of the time period is peculiar among the Indians (Bharatiyas). This encompasses everything from the birth of Lord Brahma to the duration of His reign, the current ‘manvantar’, the great era (mahayug) in that ‘manvantar’ and the sub-era (‘upayug’) in that ‘mahayug’. This will also give one an idea of the vast amount of time that has elapsed and is yet to come. Each one thinks he is great. It is only after narrating this vast time frame of the universe that one realises how small and subtle one is ! This helps in reducing man’s vanity and is thus a great benefit.’  The scriptures have recommended an ablution with oil on five days of the year that is 1. The commencement of the New Year (sanvatsar).
A. The first day of the celebrations of the Vasant (spring) season, that is the first day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalgun.
B. The three days of ‘Divali’, namely the fourteenth and the new moon day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin and the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of ‘Kartik’.

2.  Decorating the doorstep: After a bath one should decorate the lintel of every door with a bunting of mango leaves and red flowers. Red flowers are used because red colour indicates auspiciousness.

3. Ritualistic worship (puja): First ritualistic worship of God as a routine ritual is done. ‘One should perform a ‘mahashanti’ on New Year’s day. The shanti begins with the worship of Lord Brahma, as He is responsible for creating the universe on this day. He is offered davna (a kind of fragrant plant) during the worship. Later a sacrificial fire (hom) and offering of oblations through the fire (havan) are performed and offerings to Brahmans are made. Then Lord Viíhnu who manifests Himself in countless forms is worshipped. Obeisance is paid to Him chanting the mantra meaning ‘I bow to Lord Vishnu who manifests in innumerable forms.’ Then the Brahmans are offered money or presents (dakshina) and if possible historical and mythological texts (Purans) are presented to them. It is said, that by performing this ‘shanti’ one is cleansed of all sins, no new sins are generated, the lifespan is increased and one becomes wealthy.’ (1) By performing a sanvatsar worship, all sins are cleansed, the lifespan is prolonged, a woman’s married life is prolonged and one acquires serenity. On this day, the Deity of that day of the week is also worshipped.

4. Hoisting of the Gudi: The gudi, which is Brahma’s flag (Brahmadhvaj) is hoisted in every house as a symbolic representation of Rama’s victory and happiness on returning to Ayodhya, after slaying Ravan. Since a symbol of victory is always held high, so is the gudi (flag).
A bright green or yellow cloth adorned with brocade (zari) is tied to the tip of a long bamboo over which gaòhi (a type of sweet), neem leaves, a twig of mango leaves and a garland of red flowers is tied. This is then hoisted by placing a silver or copper pot placed in the inverted position over it. Beautiful designs with special powder of soft, white stone (rangolis) are drawn on the floor in front of it. Everyone eagerly waits to usher in the New Year. Then uttering the words, ‘I offer obeisance to the flag of Lord Brahma’ one should ritualistically worship the gudhi with a resolve. Since Lord Brahma created the universe on this day, this flag is called ‘the flag of Brahma’ (Brahmadhvaj) in the scriptures. Some also refer to it as ‘the flag of Indra’ (Indradhvaj).
gudi-raising02The prajapati frequencies enter the house from the atmosphere using the gudhi as a medium. (This operates just like the antenna of a television set). The next day onwards one should use the pot for drinking water as it is charged with the prajapati frequencies and imparts the same kind of impressions to the water in it. Thus one gets the benefit of the prajapati frequencies throughout the year.

5. Listening to the religious almanac (Panchang shravan):  One should ritualistically worship the astrologer or priest and ‘listen to the benefits in the coming year. The benefits of listening to the religious almanac are as follows : ” By listening to the discourse on auspicious dates (Tithis) one acquires money (Lakshmi), by that of the day of the week – longevity; by that of lunar asterisms – nullification of sins; by that of the constellation – cure of disease and success in whatever one plans. Listening to the religious almanac daily endows the merit equivalent to bathing in the holy Ganga.”

6. An offering (Prasad) of neem: Since neem has the highest ability to absorb prajapati frequencies, on this day it is partaken of as an offering (Prasad). One should distribute this offering prepared by mixing together tender leaves and flowers of neem, soaked split gram lentil (dal) or soaked gram, honey, cumin seeds and alittle of asafoetida amidst chanting of a mantra.

The following table gives the ability of certain substances to absorb frequencies. From that one will become cognisant as to why neem is partaken of on Gudhipadva day and milk, curd, clarified butter (ghee) and sugar are avoided in the month of Chaitra.

7. Ploughing the soil: On this day one should start ploughing the soil. As a result the soil below is churned up. The subtle soil particles get charged with the prajapati frequencies and its ability to germinate seeds increases manifold. Consecrated rice (akshata) should be sprinkled on the instruments used in farming and on the oxen amidst chanting of the mantra, which generates the prajapati frequencies. Labourers working in the fields should be gifted with new clothes. The meal given to the labourers and oxen on that day should comprise of ripe pumpkin, lentil (mung dal), rice, puran [gram lentil (dal) cooked till soft and ground to a paste with jaggery], etc.

8. Donation: The needy should be given all kinds of offerings. For example, offering free drinking waterby setting up a stall. This appeases the ancestors.

9. Performing actions which bestow happiness: One should spend this day happily, listening to auspicious songs, musical instruments and stories of holy men. One should enjoy the night with one’s wife. Thus the entire year becomes a happy one.

http://nitinjagdale.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/gudi-padwa/

 Happy Gaudi Padwa!!