The most unique food related feature of Navaratri celebration is- BHANDARA. Bhandara is a huge gathering of people for the purpose of being served a feast. This particular bhandara was especially for sadhus, to honor and felicitate them, commemorating the time-honored, age-old Indian tradition of the sadhu way of living. During Bhandara, Prasad is distributed to each and everybody taking part in the celebration. Prasad is a gracious gift. Anything, usually edible, that is first offered to Goddess Durga and then distributed in Her name to devotees.In its material sense, prasada is created by a process of giving and receiving between a human devotee and the divine god. During Bhandara mainly fruits ,sweets, poori, chole ,halwa etc.are distributed as prasad.People enjoy with this prasad items in full devotional way. Mainly temples are arranging bhandaras regularly specially during Navaratries as well as common people. As per Indian custom, when feeding saints and holy persons a certain protocol needs to be followed. Food becomes prasad, a consecrated offering, and thus it should be served very reverentially, with love and devotion. The subtle essence of the food we eat fashions our mind. Thus, the ancient saying, "We are what we eat!" holds true indeed. Food served and eaten in this spirit enriches both, the person eating and the person serving as well.
In the 5th century B.C., India's greatest philosopher and commentator on sacred texts, Adi Shankara, organized the lineages of shamans, yogis and ascetics into India's first monastic order, the Order of the Sannyasis of the Ten Names (Dasnami Sannyasi) which exists until this day. In the 7th century A.D., 52 lineages within the Order of Sannyasis formalized their age-old network into an elite brotherhood, a society, that became known as Juna Akhara, or the "Ancient Circle".
Maha Shivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva. It is also known as padmarajarathri. Shivaratri literally means the great night of Shiva or the night of Shiva. It is celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day of the Maagha month of the Hindu calendar. Celebrated in the dark fortnight or Krishna Paksha(waning moon) of the month of Maagha according to the Shalivahana or Gujarati Vikrama or Phalguna according to the Vikrama era.The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael or Bilva/Vilvam leaves to Lord Shiva, all-day fasting and an all-night-long vigil. All through the day the devotees, chant the sacred Panchakshara mantra dedicated to Lord "Om Namah Shivaya". In accordance with scriptural and discipleship traditions, penances are performed in order to gain boons in the practice of Yoga and meditation, in order to reach life's summum bonum steadily and swiftly.
Since Varanasi is considered the city of Lord Shiva, Mahashivaratri festival holds immense importance here. Mahashivaratri (the great night of Shiva) falls on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of Phalguna (February/March) and is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri festival is purely religious in nature and observed by all Hindus. On the occasion of Mahashivaratri, all Shiva temples of Varanasi are tastefully decorated. On the day Of Mahashivaratri, a marriage procession of Lord Shiva is taken out starting from Mahamrityunjaya Temple, Daranagar to Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
Source: http://rampuri.com/about/juna-akhara & http://www.ifood.tv
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