Sunday 25 November 2012

The spiritual significance of Tulasi Vivah

The spiritual significance of Tulasi Vivah

1. Introduction


This is a ritual of the marriage of Shrī Vishnu (idol of Balkrushna) with the holy basil (Tulasi) plant. This ritual is performed on any of the days between the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month Kartik to the full moon day (Paurnimā) of Kartik. A day prior to the marriage, the tulasi vrindavan (a special structure in which the holy basil plant is grown) is painted and decorated. Sugarcane and marigold flowers are offered on the vrindavan; tamarind and Indian gooseberry (amla) are kept at its base.
The marriage ritual (vivāh) is performed in the evening. The vowed religious observances (vrat) which are observed during the consecutive Hindu lunar months of Ashadh, Shravan, Bhadrapad, Ashwin and Kartik (Chaturmas), are fulfilled on twelfth day of bright fortnight of Kartikwhen the Tulasi marriage is done. Then the food items which were restricted during the previous months, are first donated to a Brahminand then eaten.

2. The spiritual significance of the marriage of Tulasi with Shrī Krushna *

Holy basil (Tulasi) is the symbol of spiritual purity (sāttviktā). The marriage of Tulasi with Shrī Krushna means that 'God likes purity as a quality.' The symbol of this is Shrī Krushna wearing the necklace of Vaijayanti beads.

The meaning of the word marriage is the merging and oneness of the embodied soul (jīva) and God (Shiva).
Importance: From this day the auspicious days begin. It is said that, this marriage is the symbol of the perfect marriage in Indian culture.
Method of celebration: All around the courtyard of the house, cow dung water is sprinkled. If the Tulasi plant is in a pot then the pot should be painted white. White colour attracts the Divine frequencies coming from God. Draw a sāttvik rangolī around the Tulasi plant and then do its ritualistic worship (pūja) with spiritual emotion (bhāvpurna). While worshipping, one should sit facing westward. 
Prayer to be made: 'Hey Shrī Krushna, Hey Tulasi Devi, the energy that I imbibe from you today, let it be used for the protection of Dharma and nation. Let my warrior attitude (kshatravrutti) be activated all the time. Let me not be depressed during bad times and let my faith and devotion unto God be consistent.'
Chanting: On this day Shrī Krushna's principle is activated on Earth to a greater extent. The principle is also more active around theTulasi plant. On this day one should chant Shrī Krushna's name. After the pūja (ritualistic worship), the surrounding becomes very sāttvik(spiritually pure). One should also do Shrī Krushna's chant at that time.
Uses of Tulasi: Tulasi being more spiritually pure (sāttvik) God's energy is attracted to it to a greater extent. Putting Tulasi leaves in drinking water makes it spiritually pure (sāttvik) and Energy (Shakti) is released into it. Through this water God's Energy becomes active in every part of the jīva (embodied soul).
On the eve of Tulasi marriage the subtle frequencies of Shrī Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmī arrive in the Universe from the universal vacuum. Due to this, the central channel (sushumnānādi) of the entire Universe gets activated. This meeting is termed as the 'marriage ofTulasi' or 'Tulasi Vivh.'
On this day Goddess Lakshmī in the form of Tulasi and Vishnu in the form of Shrī Krushna are worshipped. To welcome them and to imbibe the maximum benefit from their frequencies, a marriage ritual is performed in the evening. Since Shrī Krushna is the actual energy of action of Shrī Vishnu, the frequencies of Shrī Krushna get activated on these days. These frequencies are related to the absolute water (aap) and absolute fire (tēj) principles so on these days one sees the spread of the light of hope in the evenings, feels enthusiastic and experiences a coolness on the skin.
On the day of Tulasi Vivāh, the auspicious time (muhūrt) of the marriage is given. During this given time only, the force of activation of Shrī Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmī principle increase and they merge with each other. So to get the maximum benefit from the spiritually pure (Sattva) component in the atmosphere it is recommended to perform the marriage during this given time. The Vishnu-Lakshmī frequencies coming from the Universal vacuum sprinkle the colours of the rainbow in the atmosphere and for a second, appear in the form of a striped crescent. That is the reason a rangolī in the form of a half moon is drawn on that day.

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