Shravan Maas or Sawan Month or Shravan Mahina

* The month of Shravan, popularly known as Sawan, is the fifth month of the Hindu calender beginning from Chaitra, and is the most auspicious month of the Chaturmas. On Purnima or fullmoon day, or during the course of the month the star ' Shravan'  rules the sky, hence the month is called Shravan.

* Shravan Mahina, or Sawan Month or Shravan Maas (July – August) is one of the holiest months in a traditional Hindu calendar. Each region in India considers this month as holy and numerous vrats and rituals are performed during the period.

* Shravan Mahina, or Sawan Month or Shravan Maas, is dedicated to Lord Shiva in North India.

* Each Monday of this month, known as Shravan Somvar, is a special day in Shiva temples where the dharanatra hangs over the linga or the idol to bathe it with holy water, day and night.

* Devotees pile the linga high with Bel leaves and flowers and fast till sunset.

* It is considered highly auspicious to wear a rudraksha in Shravan month.

* All, Mondays or Somvars of Shravan month are specially observed with austerity. All Mondays are devoted to the worship of Shiva as this day is sacred to Lord Shiva. No other Mondays of other months are so greatly honored.

* The belief is that in Shravan month, offering milk to Lord Shiva earns a lot of punya.

Story

The legend says that when the churning of oceans - Samudra Manthan - took place in the month of Shravan, fourteen different types of rubies came out. Thirteen of these were distributed amongst the demons, except Halahal (poison). Lord Shiva drank the Halahal and stored it in his throat. Hence the name Neelkantha (meaning blue throat) is attributed to Shiva.

To reduce the strong effect of poison, Lord Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. All the Gods, thereafter started offering the Ganges water to  cool Lord Shiva and to alleviate the ill effects of the poison.

Since, this happened in the month of Shravana, since then the Shiva devotees offer the Ganges water in this month. 

Guru Purnima

Hindus attach paramount importance to spiritual gurus. Gurus are often equated with God and always regarded as a link between the individual and the Immortal. Just as the moon shines by reflecting the light of the sun, and glorifies it, all disciples can dazzle like the moon by gaining from their Gurus.

What is Guru Purnima?

The full moon day in the Hindu month of Ashad (July-August) is observed as the auspicious day of Guru Purnima, a day sacred to the memory of the great sage Maharshi Veda Vyasa. All Hindus are indebted to this ancient saint who edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam. Vyasa even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus.

Significance of Guru Purnima

On this day, all spiritual aspirants and devotees worship Vyasa in honor of his divine personage and all disciples perform a 'puja' of their respective spiritual preceptor or 'Gurudevs'.

This day is of deep significance to the farmers, for it heralds the setting in of the much-needed rains, as the advent of cool showers usher in fresh life in the fields. It is a good time to begin your spiritual lessons. Traditionally, spiritual seekers commence to intensify their spiritual 'sadhana' from this day.

The period 'Chaturmas' ("four months") begins from this day. In the past, wandering spiritual masters and their disciples used to settle down at a place to study and discourse on the Brahma Sutras composed by Vyasa, and engage themselves in Vedantic discussions.

The Role of the Guru

Swami Sivananda asks: "Do you realize now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of the Guru's role in the evolution of man? It was not without reason that the India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of Guru-Tattva. It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the Guru, adores it and pays homage to it again and again, and thereby re-affirms its belief and allegiance to it. For, the true Indian knows that the Guru is the only guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death, and experience the Consciousness of the Reality."

Shivpur Rathyatra Mela

The Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath on the traditional chariot on Wednesday commenced in the city under heavy security deployment.

Amidst traditional gaiety the devotees took out a procession with the idols of Lord Jagnnath, Subhadra and Balbhadra from the Jagnnath temple in Assi area. After three-day fair, held annually as a part of Rathyatra festival in Rathyatra Crossing, the procession culminated at Shivpur where the idols were placed on the beautifully decorated traditional chariot, after religious rituals.

The one-day fair, held annually as a part of Rathyatra festival , in Shivpur Varanasi City.

Ganga Dussehra

Ganga Dussehra, held over the first 10 days of the month of Jyeshtha (in June), celebrates Gangavataran - the descent of the Ganga to earth. The Ganga, largest of India's rivers and the most sacred to Hindus, holds a unique place in Indian consciousness. Regarded as a celestial river originating in the heavens, she is worshipped as the mother who washes away all the sins of mankind.

The first ten days of the month Jyeshtha, known as Dashahara, are dedicated to honour the river Ganges. It is believed that if one offers prayers on this day, one attains salvation from ten sins. The festival's name Dussehra is derived from 'Dus' which connotes ten and ' hara' which means defeat. Thus the name Ganga Dusshera.

Celebrations

During this festival ten days of the month are devoted to the worship of Holy River Ganga venerated by the Hindus as a mother as well as a goddess, particularly by people of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal through which the river flows. Devotees flock to Rishikesh, Haridwar, Garh-Mukteshwar, Prayag, Varanasi to meditate and take a holy dip. They take the river clay home to worship.

In the evening, thousands of leaf boats laden with flames, flowers, and sweetmeats are offered to the river and they flow with the current to the sounds of the bells and bhajans, kirtans and shlokas recited during the arati.

On this day, if a devotee is unable to visit and bathe in the river Ganga, then Ganga jal (water) kept in most Hindu homes is used for purification. A bath in the river is said to purify the bather of all sins. The Ganga is revered all over India even in places far from its course.

Legend of Ganga Dussehra

According to the legend, King Sagara of the Ikshvaku dynasty ruling at Ayodhya had two queens, Keshani and Sumati, but neither had a child. Sagara performed severe austerities before his wives could produce sons. But whereas Keshani gave birth to a son called Asmajas, Sumati bore 60,000 sons. Sagara performed the Ashwamedha sacrifice to declare his suzerainty over the neighboring kingdoms. According to the prevalent custom, the sacrificial horse were let loose and allowed to wander into the neighboring kingdoms. 

If the horse was caught, a battle ensued and the outcome decided the winner. The 60,000 sons of Sagara were following the horse when they saw him enter a cavern where sage Kapila was meditating. Not seeing the horse in the cavern, they presumed that Kapila had captured it. They did not kill Kapila as he was a sage but they started disturbing his meditations. Annoyed at being disturbed, Kapila with a curse burnt the 60,000 sons of Sagara. Time passed and later Bhagiratha, the great grandson of Sagara, chanced to come across the bones of his dead ancestors. He wanted to perform the shraddha of his ancestors but there was no water available for the ceremony. Agastya having drunk all the waters of the ocean, the country was passing through a severe drought. Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma, the Creator, to end the drought. Brahma asked him to pray to Vishnu to allow Ganga that was sourcing from his toe, to come down to earth. 

Vishnu when prayed to by Bhagiratha agreed, but asked him to request Shiva, the third member of the Hindu trinity of Gods, to allow the torrential rain to fall on his head before it came to the earth as the river was very forceful and if she were allowed to come down unchecked, her fall would split the earth. Shiva agreed to take the gigantic weight of the cascading Ganga on the matted hair piled high on his head. This ensnared and delayed the progress of the river and flowed to the plains bestowing its waters on the parched earth.

Buddha Purnima

Buddha Purnima, reverentially, the most important day for the followers of Buddhism, commemorates Lord Buddha's enlightenment in 588 B.C and also his attainment of the highest of spiritual goals, 'Nirvana' in Bodh Gaya and 'Parinirvana' (or "final cessation") in Kushinagara. Alternatively called Buddha Jayanti, this day consecrates the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha who was born in Lumbini, Nepal. As the name itself suggests, Buddha Purnima is observed on a bright full moon in the Vaisakha month (April/May), a time especially suited for introspection, charity and puja. This year, Buddha Purnima in India will be celebrated on May 14, 2014.

Historically, the importance of Buddha Purnima goes back to the era of Chinese scholarship where the day is mentioned in the works of the Chinese scholar, Fa-Hien. Buddha Purnima is known by different names in different countries. As per the native tongue of different countries, Nepal observes 'Swanyapunhi', Singapore upholds Lord Buddha's teachings on 'Vesak Day', Indonesia celebrates 'Hari Waisak', while Thailand commemorates this day as 'Visakha Bucha Day'. Buddha Jayanti is celebrated across south-east Asian countries that have a recognizable Buddhist population. Countries that observe Buddha Purnima include Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tibet, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Korea, China, Cambodia, and Japan.

वैशाख पूर्णिमा को बुद्ध पूर्णिमा भी कहते हैं। यह गौतम बुद्ध की जयंती है और उनका निर्वाण दिवस भी। इसी दिन भगवान बुद्ध को बुद्धत्व की प्राप्ति हुई थी। भगवान बुद्ध का जन्म, ज्ञान प्राप्ति और महापरिनिर्वाण ये तीनों एक ही दिन अर्थात वैशाख पूर्णिमा के दिन ही हुए थे। हिन्दू धर्मावलंबियों के लिए बुद्ध विष्णु के नौवें अवतार हैं। अतः हिन्दुओं के लिए भी यह दिन पवित्र माना जाता है।

इसी कारण बिहार स्थित बोधगया नामक स्थान हिन्दू व बौद्ध धर्मावलंबियों के पवित्र तीर्थ स्थान हैं। गृहत्याग के पश्चात सिद्धार्थ सात वर्षों तक वन में भटकते रहे। यहाँ उन्होंने कठोर तप किया और अंततः वैशाख पूर्णिमा के दिन बोधगया में बोधि वृक्ष के नीचे उन्हें बुद्धत्व ज्ञान की प्राप्ति हुई। तभी से यह दिन बुद्ध पूर्णिमा के रूप में जाना जाता है। बुद्ध पूर्णिमा के अवसर पर बुद्ध की महापरिनिर्वाणस्थली कुशीनगर में स्थित महापरिनिर्वाण मंदिर पर एक माह का मेला लगता है। इस मंदिर का महत्व बुद्ध के महापरिनिर्वाण से है।

श्रीलंका व अन्य दक्षिण-पूर्व एशियाई देशों में इस दिन को 'वेसाक' उत्सव के रूप में मनाते हैं जो 'वैशाख' शब्द का अपभ्रंश है। विश्व भर से बौद्ध धर्म के अनुयायी बोधगया आते हैं और प्रार्थनाएँ करते हैं।

Adi Keshava Ghat

In Ghadavala inscription (c. C.E. 1100) this ghat was referred as Vedesvara Ghat. This is assumed to be the oldest and the original (Adi) site of Lord Visnu (Keshava). The temple complex of Adi Keshava has a pleasant pastoral setting on he bank above the confluence of the Varuna and the Ganga rivers. Among the oldest puranic listings of sacred sites in the city, this is one of them. This sacred spot is fully eulogized in the MP (185-68), the VP (3.34-50), the KKh (84.109; see also 51.44-82). This was the most favorite holy site of the Gahadavala kings, as evident from the Gahadavala inscription that" a great number of regal ritual occasions in Varanasi included the worship of Adi Kesava or a dip in the Ganga at the Varana confluence: (Niyogi 1959: app. B as in Eck 1982:233). The ghat was made pucca in 1790 by a Divan of Scindhia State.