clearing thaipusam confusions ...

"thai" is the 2nd last month in the Hindu lunar calendar. Traditionally, in India and Sri Lanka, this month is auspicious to farmers and businessmen. As the harvest is completed during this month, which usually signs the end of the monsoon, the farmers converge at the village temples (usually Goddess Durga or Lord Murugan) to bestow gratitude for a bountiful harvest.

The first festival is called "Ponggal" or "boiling over". The freshly harvested rice is prepared and on the first day of "thai", the farmers families rise early before the Sun and await for the sunrise. During the auspicious time, usually right at sunrise, milk is boiled in an earthen pot. Just as the milk boils over, rice and jaggery (pure sugar cane based brown sugar) is added. The resulted "ponggal" is then offered to "Suryan" of Sun God as an offer of thanks and hope.

"Thaipusam" or festival of the "thai" month, however, in most places is a different celebration. As legend goes, Lord Murugan, the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi, is angered by what he sees as injustice and favoritism by his parents towards his elder brother, Lord Ganesha, and leaves to set up his own kingdom in Palani. Goddess Parvathi tries to supplicate him and succeeds.

Devotees of Lord Murugan, follow in the footsteps of Goddess Parvathi, and bring an offering of milk to him. In India, the trip to Palani is most accessible only by foot as the temple is situated on a hilltop. The journey a devotees takes, carrying the pot of milk to Lord Murugan, denotes the devotion and love for him. Many Hindus (mostly South Indians) fast during this period and offer milk, with hopes of redemption and hopes of a better year. Some even carry "kavadi" or peacock-feathered mini chariots, with tiny pots of milk as a sacrifice.

Throughout the years (couple of hundred actually), the original meanings of "thaipusam" has been turned into a commercial carnival rather than a personal religious journey. Many now use the festival as a platform to make money or political agendas.

Well, I still hold on to the path that my Guru, Sri Subramaniswamy of Sri Lanka, set, that God foresees each of our actions, and the path to God is personal and committal is a prerequisite. It doesn't matter how many days you fast or how heavy is your kavadi or how many lights you fix to it, but if there is no love or devotion, what is the use?