There are two main mythological stories that signify the importance of Deepavali. The first story is that Deepavali denotes the return of Lord Rama’s return from exile after his victorious conquest of the evil king Ravana. This story has greater significance in Northern India. In Southern India, Deepavali marks the victory of Lord Krishna over the mighty asura (demon) Narakasura. Narakasura had become a menace to the gods in heaven and had snatched the magnificent earrings of Aditi (the Mother Goddess) and imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of the gods in his harem. In desperation, the gods led by Indra requested Lord Krishna to destroy the demon as he was wreaking havoc. Krishna readily agreed, fought a fierce battle and emerged victorious. It was after this that He accepted the sixteen thousand damsels as his wives at their request.The meaning behind these mythological stories is that the villain of the piece represents the desire-ridden ego. In our lives, it is our egos and desires that create problems for us. In the story of Lord Krishna above, the sixteen thousand damsels represent our numerous desires. When they are controlled by our egos, they cause destruction and rob us of our joy. However, when we work selflessly, dedicating our actions to a higher goal, the desires remain in check, and most importantly, get sublimated. Each one of us has positive and negative tendencies. When we identify with the good in us, work towards something beyond our selfish interests the lower, negative tendencies fade away. Our desires get sublimated and through constant sadhana (spiritual practice) we overcome our ego and desires. The darkness of ego and desire are banished, replaced by the light of wisdom. Knowledge that we are not incomplete and limited as we think ourselves to be. But that we are that Divine Self that is free and independent of all the world has to offer.The scented bath by pouring gingerly oil from your head until your legs and washing your hair with "shikakai" powder before the break of dawn and the cleaning of homes during Deepavali signify the cleansing of the personality of desires and ego. The new clothes represent our newly acquired state of Realisation or at a more basic level our new spiritual orientation and commitment to self-development. This change brings sweetness in our lives which is why sweets are made and distributed in the community. It represents the fact that once we turn spiritual and begin looking within, we experience a quiet sense of peace that we cannot experience while chasing objects of the world.Thus Deepavali or Diwali has a tremendous spiritual significance in our lives. And like all our festivals, they are reminders for us to retain and cultivate that spiritual element in our lives. Because life is more than just a journey, it is a search for meaning.
Credit: http://www.citras.com.my/community/greetings/deepavali/diwali.asp
Friday, June 27, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Posting 4
Giant Manta Ray
Giant Manta Rays can be distinguished by strange paddle-like lobes or fins at the front of their bodies. They can weight up to 3 ton and a wing span of up to 8 meters. That is almost 3 stories wide!! Despite their huge size, they mainly live near shore. However, sometimes you may find them in the open seas.
Horseshoe crab
These prehestoric-looking horseshoe crabs are living fossils. They are a close relative of the trilobites that roamed the sea floors and beaches 300 million years ago! Their head and abdomen are covered by a horseshoe-shaped shell and a long tail extends from thier back. They mainly feed on molluscs, worms, and other small invertebrates.
Sea Spider
Most sea spiders have eight walking eights but some have more. Althought few can swim, most sea spiders live on the ocean floor, feeding on corals. hydroids, and anemones. They puncture the outer membrane with long proboscis, sucking at the internal tissues. Sea spiders have no gut or gill. They absorb and release gases, nutrients and waste by simple diffusion through their thin body parts. Most sea spiders are tiny but some can reach monstrous propotions.
Pacific Hatchetfish
Pacific hatchetfish are found in the Atlantic and Indian oceans as well as the Pacific. Despite their fearsome appearance, they are small harmless fish that feed on small invertebrates.Their large bulging eyes and mouth point upwards, suggesting that it attacks its prey from below. They are middle to deep-waters species living 3870 meters below sea level.
Chameleons
Chameleons vary greatly in size from 1 inch to 31 inches. On each of the chameleons foot the five toes are fused into a group of two and a group of three. These specialised feet allows them to grip tightly on branches. All chameleons are able to change their skin color. Different species of chameleons are able to change into different colours. They can change colour for camouflage or communication.
Giant Manta Rays can be distinguished by strange paddle-like lobes or fins at the front of their bodies. They can weight up to 3 ton and a wing span of up to 8 meters. That is almost 3 stories wide!! Despite their huge size, they mainly live near shore. However, sometimes you may find them in the open seas.
Horseshoe crab
These prehestoric-looking horseshoe crabs are living fossils. They are a close relative of the trilobites that roamed the sea floors and beaches 300 million years ago! Their head and abdomen are covered by a horseshoe-shaped shell and a long tail extends from thier back. They mainly feed on molluscs, worms, and other small invertebrates.
Sea Spider
Most sea spiders have eight walking eights but some have more. Althought few can swim, most sea spiders live on the ocean floor, feeding on corals. hydroids, and anemones. They puncture the outer membrane with long proboscis, sucking at the internal tissues. Sea spiders have no gut or gill. They absorb and release gases, nutrients and waste by simple diffusion through their thin body parts. Most sea spiders are tiny but some can reach monstrous propotions.
Pacific Hatchetfish
Pacific hatchetfish are found in the Atlantic and Indian oceans as well as the Pacific. Despite their fearsome appearance, they are small harmless fish that feed on small invertebrates.Their large bulging eyes and mouth point upwards, suggesting that it attacks its prey from below. They are middle to deep-waters species living 3870 meters below sea level.
Chameleons
Chameleons vary greatly in size from 1 inch to 31 inches. On each of the chameleons foot the five toes are fused into a group of two and a group of three. These specialised feet allows them to grip tightly on branches. All chameleons are able to change their skin color. Different species of chameleons are able to change into different colours. They can change colour for camouflage or communication.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Posting 2
I was born on 30th June 1996 at Mount Elizabeth hospital. I only learnt how to walk a year later and talked a few months later. I was toliet trained and progressed faster than most babies. That saved my parent a sum of money from buying diapers.
On year 2000,I went to Nayang nursary and went to Nayang kindergarden after spending two years at Nayang nurasary. I went to Henry Park Primary School, HPPS, two years later and learnt how to buy my own food. There the teachers were alot fiercer than my teachers in kindergarden. But it was a good thing as I remembered to bring my homework most of the time. As the years got by, the teachers got more strict and studies got harder and harder. However i managed to adept to the changes very quickily. I joined Lion dance for two years before changing to scouts for one year and then switched to table tennis. I had my first lion dance stage performance when I was in primary two. I was nervous the first time but after many stage performances it seemed natural to me.
The streaming year was in primary four and i had to work hard to get in a good class. Now I am in primary 6 and I am still in table tennis. I hope i can get a good score for PSLE so i can get into my dream secondary school. :)
On year 2000,I went to Nayang nursary and went to Nayang kindergarden after spending two years at Nayang nurasary. I went to Henry Park Primary School, HPPS, two years later and learnt how to buy my own food. There the teachers were alot fiercer than my teachers in kindergarden. But it was a good thing as I remembered to bring my homework most of the time. As the years got by, the teachers got more strict and studies got harder and harder. However i managed to adept to the changes very quickily. I joined Lion dance for two years before changing to scouts for one year and then switched to table tennis. I had my first lion dance stage performance when I was in primary two. I was nervous the first time but after many stage performances it seemed natural to me.
The streaming year was in primary four and i had to work hard to get in a good class. Now I am in primary 6 and I am still in table tennis. I hope i can get a good score for PSLE so i can get into my dream secondary school. :)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Posting 1
Today i watched a video on Elizaberth Choy. Althought sad, I feel that Elizabth Choy is a great heroine. She not only excels in her studies, she also is very determine. However, she was greatly affected by the World War II. She was very brave to have gone through such torture. She had been electrocuted by a Japanese officer to sqeeze out information from her. The incident made her afraid of the any machines which uses electricity. She made many contributions to the society like making a school for the blind.She has won many medals for her bravery and contribution to society. Her efforts will not be forgotten and I hope everyone would follow in her footsteps.
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