“Shasti” is the sixth day in the Hindu lunar calendar and is dedicated to Lord Muruga. There are two Shastis in a Hindu lunar month. One Shasti is after Amavasay (New Moon) and another Shasti is after Purnima (Pournami / Full Moon). Even though both Shastis are important, the Shasti coming after Amavasay (new moon night), during growing phase of the moon is the one meant for fasting. Meditating on the day of Shasti, one gets the blessings of Lord Muruga.
Significance of Vel:
Goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan as an embodiment of her Shakthi (Power and Energy) to vanquish the evil asura Soorapadman. In the war between Murugan and Soorapadman, Murugan used his Vel (spear) to defeat all the evil forces of Soorapadman. When a complete defeat for Soorapadman was imminent, the asura transformed himself in to a huge mango tree to evade detection by Murugan. Murugan, not falling for the deception, hurled his Vel and split the mango tree in to two halves, one becoming a rooster and the other a peacock. Murugan, henceforth, had the peacock as his Vaahana (Vehicle) and the rooster became the emblem on his battle flag. The Vel became the symbol of courage and of the triumph of good over evil. Meditating on Vel is considered auspicious. The Vel, which is Wisdom-Absolute, also annihilates the inner Asuras or Enemies of Avidya, Karma and liberates the Soul.
Dear Friends,
We do this meditation on Sashti days. If interested, you can find the guided Sashti meditation video below. Follow the instructions to do the meditation by yourself (click the video below, to listen to the meditation recording)
