5 May 2012 is the festival of Chitra Purnima
Man suffers from the burden of past karma. This manifests in his life as lack of wealth, health, happiness and good relationships. Divinity is very compassionate. We are given many chances to redeem ourselves and rise higher. The first full moon of Chitra or Chaitra month of Hindu calendar is one such day when we are given the opportunity to erase the burdens of past and move forward in life. We are given a chance to clear karma, experience great inner transformation and evolve.
On this day due to the special planetary position in the skies, we are able to connect with the keeper of the records of our karma. The eternal book of karmic records is maintained by Lord Chitra Gupta. Chitra Gupta was created by Lord Brahma through the Sun God. He is the younger brother of Lord Yama, the Lord of Death. In Hinduism, the Lord of Death is Dharma personified and he is extremely just in his dealings. He is helped by his younger brother Chitra Gupta who maintains the records of all deeds of every living being. Those who have a balance of good deeds are sent to higher worlds and those will more of negative karmas are sent to other worlds to learn their lessons.
On this day, worship is offered to Chitra Gupta, the keeper of the records and we repent sincerely for our mistakes and appeal to him to erase our negative karmas and bless us to move higher in life. At the holy city of Kanchipuram, in State of Tamil Nadu of India, worship is offered to the image of Lord Chitra Gupta and there is a procession carrying the image around the city. The devotees then take a holy dip in the river Chitra which flows down from the nearby hills.
Legends tell us of the story behind the worship on day. Lord Indra – the leader of Gods disobeyed Brihaspati who was the Guru of Gods on one occasion. In sorrow, the Guru stopped instructing Indra in the dos and donts of ethical behaviour. As a result, Lord Indra performed many evil deeds. When the Guru resumed his duty again, Indra sought advice on how to redeem himself of his wrongs. Brihaspati asked Indra to undertake a pilgrimage. While Indra was on pilgrimage, he suddenly felt the load of sins taken off his shoulders at a certain place (near Madurai in South India). He discovered a Shiva Linga there. So he immediately built a temple for it. As he got ready to worship the Linga, the Lord Himself caused golden lotuses to appear in a nearby pond. Indra was greatly pleased and blessed. This was the day of Chitra Purnima.
Chita or Chaitra month is the first month of the Hindu Calender. When we worship Lord Chitra Gupta on the first full moon of this month, we are always reminded that there is a higher power which watches and knows every single deed performed by us. This helps us to maintain a constant check on our thoughts, words and deeds. We are aware that our future progress depends on our present actions and we pay heed. We offer worship to the Lord on this day and pray for forgiveness of mistakes and wrongs done by us knowingly and unknowingly. When our prayers are sincere and full of faith and devotion, Divinity reduces our burden of karma. We should pray to our Guru for strength to be obedient and faithful to him and to his teachings and following his advice at all times. On this day, when we renew our commitment and love to the Guru, our negative karma is wiped off and we are given a helping hand in our path and progress in life. We should live our lives consciously with awareness of our deeds and perform all our duties with the Lord in our mind and heart. Only when man lives in awareness of what he does, he can rise higher and finally reach the Light again. This is the main objective of this festival – Chitra Purnima.
