Om, Its Meaning and Importance

 ॐ / Om (AUM) this is the sound of the divine, that reverberates within the human body, and in the same way, across all creation.

OM is everything that exists. Om is the sound which is everything that manifests. We know that the most obvious signal of life within the body (any living being) is the breath.

The Sanskrit name for this is Prana Vayu (Prana means life).

Some say these are the sounds of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara.
There is something which is created, and the creator is within the created (In simple language, the source of creation is within every single thing that is created). This life force exhibit itself, as the aspects of creation, maintenance and destruction within the human body.

The sounds attached with these are aa, uu and mmm. These three sounds aa, uu and mmm referred to as the basic sounds or the Universal sounds. These sounds are manifest inside the human body, just below the navel, at the chest and then above the throat. It starts from just beneath the navel and ends at the tip of the noes. These three sounds when uttered together, form the sound OM.

OM in Shrimad Bhagavad Gita

Lord Krishna says this many times in Bhagavad Gita.Such as,
In 7th chapter (Vijnana Yoga) he says, ||...Aham pranavah sarva vedeshu...||, that means I am Prana among all knowledge.
In the 9th chapter (Raja-Vidya-Raja-Guhya Yoga) he says, ||...Aham Vedyam pavitram Ommkarah...||, that means I am the pure sound of OM that is to be realized.
In the 10th chapter (Vibhuti-Vistara Yoga) he says, ||...Giramasmyekamaksharam...||, that means I'm the single undestroyable sound, which is Omkara.

OM in Different Culture

Many cultures have tried to express Om in their own nomenclature. Om is chanted as Amen in Christianity and Ameen in Islam.

Benefits of Chanting OM

Om calms the mind, It brings a lot of peace. It helps to control the anger by building up the tolerance level. Chanting Om also helps to bring in positive vibrations in our body. The vibration that occurs when chanting OM is very good for the spine. The sound produced while chanting Om is also said to be beneficial for the thyroid gland. By Chanting Om helps to stay youthful for longer. It detoxifies the body, clears out all the harmful toxins and keeps it fresh and clean.
Chanting Om also beneficial for depression, it helps us to have a stress-free mind and it relaxes us in and out.

Why Lord Shiva is Called as Dhabaleswara here !

Dhabaleswara temple is one of the most reputed temples in India & famous for Lord Mahadev (Shiva). The name Dhabaleswar, Dhabala means White and Eeshwar means, God. This temple is situated in the middle of the Mahanadi river. Bada Osha is one of the important festivals in Odisha that mainly celebrated in this temple. In the local Odia language, ' Bada' means 'big', and 'Osha' means 'Brata' or 'fasting'.

The Lord Dhabaleshwar temple is located on an island of the river Mahanadi. Odisha’s first ever foot hang bridge about 245 feet long is connecting the exotic island with mancheswar which is the major way to reach the temple. It is situated at a distance of 35 km from the city of Cuttack and 15 km from Bhubaneswar.

The Reason Behind why Lord Shiva is called Dhabaleshwar Here!

As per mythological information, Initially, there was an old temple of Lord Shiva. Once a villager promised to Load Shiva that if he will get a bull calf he will donate it to that temple, soon his wish fulfilled with a black bull calf. But after got that black bull calf, he broke his promise due to greed. After a few days, a thief stole that black bull calf from the village and hid in the temple to escape the wrath of the villagers. The thief fervently prayed to the presiding deity Lord Shiva to save himself. Lord Shiva appeared as a Sage in front of the villagers and asked for the reason for their anger, on being appraised of the situation, the Sage (Lord Shiva) told the villagers that the calf inside a temple isn’t a black bull calf but a white bull calf. Then the Sage brought the calf outside to dispel their doubts. The calf turned out to be white, seeing which the crowd let the thief go. 

After the villagers were satisfied with his explanation, the Sage vanished, Meanwhile, the thief realized the presence of the lord and accepted his mistake, and vowed to serve the rest of his life in service of Lord Shiva.

The act of turning a black calf to white caused Lord Shiva to be also known as Dhabaleswara. 

Present Day Temple History

Though the temple architecture seems to be of recent origin, the artifacts show the creations of the 10th century AD.  The present-day temple was constructed by King Bir Kishore of Khurda around 1232 AD.

It is said that once  King Bir Kishore set out on a hunt. During the course of the hunt, he discovered the original temple which was in a derelict state and the king ordered the renovation of the temple.

Bada Osha

Here 'Bada Osha' is considered the most auspicious of festivals. The rituals of this Osha started from the beginning of Kartika Sukla Pratipada. i.e. the next day of Diwali Amavasya. Both men and women do fasts in this festival together. In other festivals, only one person used to fast, but it's joint fasting.

This Osha (Fasting) is observed during Kartika Month (end of October or in November). According to the Odia calendar, this festival is observed on the Kartika Sukla Chaturdasi (the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Kartika Month). The day-long fast culminates in prayers and offerings to Lord Shiva and the prasad offered on this day is called  Gaja Pitha. This pitha is mainly white in color.

Nagarjuna Besa Of Shree Jagannath

Nagarjuna Besa One of the Important Besa among all 32 Besas of Shree Jagannath. Nagarjuna Besa is also called as Bira Besa & Parashuram Besa.

In the local Odia language, 'Besa' or 'Vesha' means 'Costume' or 'Dress' or 'Makeup'. There are two types of Besas observed for the deities in the Jagannath temple of Puri, Daily Besas and Besas during festive occasions. During the celebration of different festivals, the deities put on different types of ceremonial costumes according to the custom of the festival. Nagarjuna Besa is not a daily Besa but is observed during the festive occasion in the Kartika month.

When does Nagarjuna Besa happen!

This Besa is occasionally done in the month of Kartika (Oct-Nov) when Panchuka (last five days of Kartika month) observed as six days instead of five.

In detail, if there will be two Dwadashi tithis (2 Days), it is considered as one tithi (Day). First  Dwadashi morning considers as Suddha tithi (Day) and Second Dwadashi morning is mala tithi. Nagarjuna Besa happens on Dwadashi mala tithi.

Speciality of Nagarjuna Besa

The lords are dressed like warriors in Nagarjuna Besa. As per custom, Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balabhadra are decorated with golden hands, Legs bids, and several weapons (16 different weapons made up of Gold)  including arrows, bows, Chakra (wheel), Hala (plough),  and Musala (mace) during Nagarjuna Besa. 

Why does Nagarjuna Besa happen?

As per mythological information, this Besa of Shree Jagannath, Shree Balabhadra, and Maa Subhadra is celebrated in commemoration of the killing of Sahashrarjuna by Parsuram or the battle between Arjuna and his son Nagarjuna.

When was the last time Nagarjuna Besa happened in the recent past?

The lords are dressed like warriors. In the recent past, this Besa was done on 16.11.1994. The previous four dates were 26.11.1993, 3.11.1968, 16.11.1967, and 26.11.1966.