Akshaya Trutiya - Blessings and Significance
Blessings of Their Holiness is conveyed on the auspicious Akshaya Trutiya Day.
Significance of Akshaya Trutiya
(Source: http://forumforhinduawakening.org/articles/id/understanding/akshay-trutiya)
1. Introduction
There are three and a half auspicious times (muhurtas) in a year. These are the entire days of Akshaya Trutiya, Samvatsaraarambh (Gudhi Padwa) and Dasheraa and the half day of Balipratipada. The importance of these days is that there is no need to check the auspicious time for any auspicious deeds (kaarya) because each and every moment of these three and half days is auspicious.
Below we see the explanation from the holy text Madanratna about how the third day (trutiya), of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Vaishakh, acquired its name. अस्यां तिथौ क्षयमुर्पति हुतं न दत्तं ।
तेनाक्षयेति कथिता मुनिभिस्तृतीया ।
उद्दिश्य दैवतपितृन्क्रियते मनुष्यै: ।
तत् च अक्षयं भवति भारत सर्वमेव ।। - मदनरत्न
Meaning: Lord Sree Krushna tells Yudishthira "Oh King! Donation or sacrificial fire done on this day never goes waste. Thus our great sages have called this day 'Akshaya Trutiya.' The rituals performed on this day, for pleasing God and helping ancestors in going to higher planes, always prove to be fruitful.
2. Akshaya Trutiya : The first day of Tretayug*
Akshaya Trutiya is the day when Tretayug (the second era of existence) commenced. Hindu Scriptures (Dharmashaastra) attach great importance to the day when one yuga (era) ends and another yuga commences. This day marks the end of bad times (kalahakaal) of the earlier yuga and the beginning of good times (Satyayug) of the next yuga. Although this transition is only momentary, the whole day is considered to be auspicious, since the effect of the transition lasts for twenty four hours. Hence this day is considered as an auspicious day (muhurta). On this very day, Lord Hayagriv, Lord Naranarayan as well as Lord Parshuram descended on Earth. This helps us in understanding the importance of this day.
3. The importance of donation on Akshaya Trutiya*
By making charitable donations we gain merits. The donations offered on Akshaya Trutiya day are never wasted. Hence offering donations on this day accrues a lot of merit.
If in the previous birth an individual has done positive deeds (karma), the sins committed by him reduce and his merits increase when he gains merit by donating on this day. As a result, he can go to heaven (Swargalok). However, a seeker's aim is not to attain heaven but to merge with God (Moksha). Hence a seeker should offer donations for the cause of God (Sat) or to the deserving (Satpaatre daanam) on this day. Here satpaatre daanam means offering a donation for the spread of spirituality, nation and righteousness (Dharma). By offering satpaatre daan, the donor does not acquire merit, but his karma (of donation) becomes akarma (karma performed without any doer-ship and so not attracting any merit or demerit) and he gets elevated, spiritually. With spiritual progress, the seeker, instead of going to Heaven, goes further in the higher positive spiritual planes (loka).
4. Offering sesame seeds (tiltarpan) to deities and ancestors on Akshaya Trutiya*
Due to an increase in spiritual purity (saattviktaa) on Akshaya Trutiya, on average there is a 60-70% chance of feeling good and a 30-40% chance of experiencing distress due to departed ancestral souls. By sincerely offering sesame seeds (tiltarpan) with devotion and spiritual emotion (bhaav), the debt unto God and ancestors reduces to some extent as God and the ancestors are pleased. They bestow their blessings on the seeker for his spiritual progress and obstacles in his personal life are removed.
5. Worshipping Goddess Mother Earth (Mrutika Devi) on Akshaya Trutiya*
Due to the everlasting blessings/grace of the Goddess Mother Earth (Mrutika Devi) we are bestowed with the grace of the Goddess of food grains (Dhaanyalakshmi), the Goddess of wealth (Dhanalakshmi) and the Goddess of Prosperity (Vaibhavlakshmi). Akshaya Trutiya is the day when we pay obeisance and worship the Goddess Mrutika with the spiritual emotion of gratitude.
5.1 The cultivation of fields and sowing of seeds*
The advent of Akshaya Trutiya hails the advent of the monsoon in India (Bhaarat). The arrival of the monsoon season, that is the first day of the mrug nakshatra (the deer star cluster) and this day are closely related. Generally, fields should be ploughed on the auspicious day of Hindu New Year (Gudhi Padwa or Yugaadi). The ploughed fields should then be prepared (cultivated) for sowing the seeds till Akshaya Trutiya. Then on this day we should pay obeisance and worship Mrutika devi in the cultivated field with the spiritual emotion of gratitude. By performing this ritual on the auspicious day of Akshaya Trutiya, we get an abundant crop from such fields and there is never any shortage of seeds.
5.2 The planting of trees*
The trees planted on this auspicious day, blossom with abundant fruits. Similarly ayurvedic medicinal herbs, planted on this auspicious day, survive forever and we do not face the shortage of medicinal herbs.
* Based on divine knowledge received by some seekers doing saadhanaa per Gurukrupaayoga.
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