Piyaray Lal
Raina
Piyaray Lal Raina was born in Srinagar Kashmir in 1936. After
receiving his early education n Kashmir he did his masters in Geology from Lucknow University.
He served as geologist in the Geology and Mining Dept J&K Govt.
In his childhood he received his spiritual guidance from his maternal uncle which mushroomed during his long stay, in Kashmir through the guidance of various saints / learned scholars. After migration he came in contact with Karunamai Maa, a greheta saint of Kashmiri origin in Delhi / Gurgaon in India and made progress in spirituality under her guidance.
He has been writing extensively on religious matters in various KP journals and internet. He has written a masterly book “Socio- Cultural and Religious Traditions of Kashmiri Pandits” (Published in USA ) which has been described as encyclopedia of Kashmiri traditions by learned scholars and readers.
Mr. Raina is life time president of Samarpan Public
Charitable Trust (Regd.) which among other things is engaged in spreading awareness of KP Traditions among KP youth.
Currently he lives in Gurgaon (India) and Atlanta (USA).
Attached herewith are some of the writings of Mr. Raina
which have appeared in various journals.
 Ganesh
Astuti
He
who
is
son
of
the
daughter
of
the
kingdom
of
mountains
Parvati,
He
who
is
leader
of
the
multitude
of
Gods,
He
who
is
dear
to
Shiva,
He
who
has
one
tusk,
He
who
has
a
curved
trunk,
He
who
has
snake
around
his
neck
as
yagnopavit. >>>
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 Karunamai
Maa
Karunamai
Maa believed in purity in
all phases of life. She
taught that cleanliness of
mind is as essential for the
spiritual growth as physical
one. She adored deities in
temple with choicest dresses
and ornaments and was
herself dressed well. She
lived by the principle of
"sound mind in a sound
body".
>>>
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 Navratra
Celebrations
Not
all KP's observe all nine days as Navratras. Some people
observe it from the 5th to the 8th day and some only the 8th
day which is Ashtami and traditionally a sacred day for our
community.
>>>
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 Diwali
Celebrations by Kashmiri Pandits
Deepawali
is one of the oldest rituals for Kashmiri Pundits. We find a
mention of its celebrations in Nilmat Puran. It was then
celebrated as SUKHSUPTIKA which literally means sleep with
happiness. The celebration would start from Ekadeshi and last
on Amavasya.
>>>
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 Pun
Deun
This
is a traditional celebration which almost all Kashmiri
families celebrate in the month of Bhadron (August/September)
by preparing very delicious Roths of wheat pan-cakes) which
are fried in Ghee (Butter). Some people consider it as a
celebration of Bhagwan Mahavir Hanuman day. People in south
India celebrate this day as Ganesh Puja celebration.
>>>
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Kashmir
Shaivism versus Vedanta - A Synopsis
Vedas, which are considered revealed knowledge through the
medium of Indian seers (rishis), are revered as mother of all
religions in India. They form the matrix of all the theistic
philosophies of Indian religions including Kashmir Shaivism.
Therefore, the objective here is not to compare Vedas with
Kashmir Shaivism but to present their complementary roles in the
development of post- vedic India.
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Pitr Rin
According to Shastras, a Hindu is born with three
debts (rin) which he/she has to repay during his/her lifetime.
>>>
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Shiv
mahimna strotum
Mahinapar
recitation for Lord Shiva is very common among Kashmiri Pandits.
While non-Kashmiri Hindus recite 32 hymns, Kashmiri version has three
additional hymns which are recited in the beginning. >>>
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Kashmiri
Pandits Traditions at Cross Roads
Superficially, Hinduism looks like one religious philosophy with beliefs in
trinity of Gods and performance of rituals to propitiate them. But if one delves
deeper there are beliefs so divergent that one can get confused with the very
fundamentals of Hinduism.
>>>
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What is Karmkanda?
We humans are strange beings. Our intelligence is far
above the normal intelligence of our fellow animal beings into which
biological science has classified us together. To put it in empirical
terms human
brain cavity, which is the measure of intelligence is
around 1200 CCs , that is, four
times the tiger ( 300 CCs), the most swift and ferocious animal and three
times the elephant (400 CCs) the most intelligent animal next to a human
beings. >>>
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The
Relevance of Muhurat for KP Diasporas
For a
Kashmiri Pandit observance of muhurat (saath) is an essential part of his
life. Be it time for undertaking a journey, performance of religious duties,
observing a fast on auspicious days, shradda of an ancestor, celebrations
such as birthday, marriage or any other auspicious function such as making or
entering a new house. In short, observance of muhurat is a sin qua non
for us. >>>
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Some
thoughts on preserving our cultural traditions
There
is a lot of discussion going on through all our modes of communications as to
how we can preserve our cultural after our migration from Kashmir. It is genuine
concern. We have a glorious culture of our traditions guarded and developed by
our ancestors over a long period of more than five thousand years nobody would
like to dissociate himself with such an inheritance. The culture of a group of
people does not evolve overnight. >>>
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Why is there
need to save our religious traditions?
Unlike western societies most of the Hindu
traditions are linked with our religious beliefs. Thus, it is important to
understand our religious philosophy and how our Kashmiri traditions are
different from the rest of the country. >>>
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The Essence
of Yagnya
Performance of
yagnya is
essential part for the performance of our rituals. It has been in vogue right
from Vedic times. It was vedic people’s belief that devas who represent various elements like fire, water, air, sky and
earth control the fate of human beings by providing abundance of rain essential for
cultivation of crops, children, cattle (wealth), long life and after
life in the heavenly abode of ancestors. >>>
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Revisiting
Kashmir after 17 years
The first thought that comes to my mind before writing
my impressions of visiting Kashmir after 17 years of exile is to thank my Isht Devi Ragnya Bhagwati for giving me a chance to pray at Her feet
after such a long time. I used to go there almost on every Shukla
Ashtami come summer or winter .and kept on praying to Her every day of my exile
with the hope
that before my final exit I will get a chance to pray at Khirbhawani Temple once again.
>>>
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BOOK: Socio-Cultural
and Religious Traditions of Kashmiri Pandits by
Piyaray Raina
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Download Book
