|
Shri
Tulsi
 Tulsi
came out of the ocean during Amrita manthan as a
younger sister of Lakshmi. She too was devoted
to Lord Vishnu and wanted to marry him. But
Lakshmi who was already married to him did not
like the idea and cursed her to become a plant.
Thus the tulsi plant was born. But the all
merciful Lord Vishnu took pity and fulfilling
her wish declared that when he will be in the
form of a saligram she will remain close to him
in the form of a tulsi leaf. Therefore even
today a saligram will have a tulsi leaf along
with it. In front of every GSB home there will
be a tulsi katta in which a plant grows round
the year.
Although
the prayers are offered to the Lord in Tulsi
everyday by watering the plant in the morning
and lighting an oil lamp before it in the
evening, on Kartik Shukla Dwadashi there will be
an annual Tulsi Pooja in the evening (in some
quarters morning also) when the tulsi katta will
be beautifully decorated and there will be clay
tray lamps glowing besides firework by the
children with the support of the elders in the
home. It will be a joyous occasion. In the
northern India in some communities it is called
the Tulsi vivah or the wedding day of Tulsi with
the Lord.
Choodi
Puja:
A
tulsi plant has medicinal properties capable of
purifying the surroundings. In the month of
shravan our ladies will adore tulsi on every
Friday and Sunday with ‘chudis’ of flowers
which in fact are the tiny bouquets of flowers
like red Ratnagandhi and yellow Mithayi flowers
with durva grass. While praying, Surya also is
invoked and virtually it is a pooja
both toTulsi and Surya Narayan who are
the visible gods. There are no mantras and no
shlokas but the married ladies alone can perform
this pooja with a waving of arti and an offering
of panchakajjaya or even a few spoonful of sugar
or jaggery, after a fast in the morning. Pooja
over, the chudis will be given to elderly
married ladies seeking their blessings.
Among the married ladies, those who are
close in relation but far away by location are
remembered and a mini-chudi will be sent by mail
with a little kumkum. The recipient will send a
similar chudi with her blessings. Thus in the
month of Shravan our chudis will cross the seven
seas and travel to far off lands like America.
Surprisingly as a part of our unique cultural
heritage, now quite a few GSB organisations are
organising collective chudi exchange programme
in one place where our ladies can meet and
exchange instead of going from home to home.
This is regarded as a best form of retaining the
link between the nature and human beings and
among human beings an opportunity to meet and
seek the blessings of the elderly ladies.
|
Back
