WHAT IS THE SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE OF SHARAD PURNIMA& ?IS IT THE NIGHT OF UNION WITH SRI KRISHANA

07 FACTS;--- 1-Sharad (Sharath) Poornima (Purnima) is the full moon day in October and occurs four days after Dusshera. In mythology the day is associated with Raas Lila by Lord Krishna with Radha and Gopis. 2-Also known as Kojaagari Purnima it is celebrated as Kaumudi (moonlight) celebration. The brightness of the full moon brings special joy, especially after monsoon.This full moon comes during Sharad ritu of the year and hence it is called Sharad Purnima 3-The ‘Sharad’ in Sharad Purnima signifies the ‘Sharad Ritu’ (season) of the year, a harvest festival. Sharad Ritu in Ayurveda is consistent with Pitta predominance. In Allopathy terms Pitta correlates to strong metabolism. 4-Balancing Pitta requires cooling atmosphere and cooling foods.Sharad Ritu brings in very hot days and cool nights. In this Ritu ‘Pitta’ or acidity becomes predominant. Consumption of cold milk & rice flakes is a good remedy for ‘Pitta’. 5-Moon is close to the earth Purnima day and as per Ayurveda the moon rays has several curative properties i.e.certain healing properties of nourishing the body and the soul.. 6-As per rituals Poha, puffed rice, and kheer, sweet, is prepared and left in the moonlight and is consumed later. Some prefer not seeing moon directly but through a vessel filled with boiled milk. 7-Some people believe that on this night Laxmi goes around from place to place asking, and shows her pleasure on those she finds awake. Hence, the night is spent in festivity and various games of amusement, in honour of the goddess. So people sit in the moonlight singing songs, or keep themselves entertained in some other way. They fast from solid food and take only fluids like coconut water or milk. MYTHOLOGY OF SHARAD PURNIMA;--- 03 FACTS;--- 1-1. The Sanatkumar Samhita cites the story of 'Kojaagari Punam.' In the Samhita Vaalkhil rishi narrates that in ancient times, a poor Brahmin named Valit lived in Magadhdesh - Bengal. 1-2- While he was a learned and virtuous man, his wife revelled in quarrelling, behaving totally opposite to his wishes. Once on his father's `Shraddh' - day of paying homage to the deceased- she flung the 'pind' - ball of wheatflour - in a sewage pit, rather than the sacred Ganga, as custom required. This infuriated Valit. 1-3-Therefore, he renounced home to search for wealth. In the forests, he met 'Naagkanyas' - girls of Kaliya Naag's ancestry. These Naagkanyas had performed the 'Kojaagari Vrat' - staying awake on Aso sud Punam. They then sat gambling with Valit. The night happened to be Aso sud Punam. Valit lost everything. 1-4-At that moment, Lord Vishnu and consort Lakshmi, happened to pass by. Since Valit had incidentally observed the 'Kojaagari vrat', Lakshmi graced him handsomeness similar to that of 'Kamdeva' - the deity of love. Now attracted to him, the Naagkanyas married Valit and gave him their riches. He then returned home with the riches, whence his wife received him warmly. After this episode, the Samhita declared that those who remain awake on this Punam will be graced with wealth. 2.Shrimad Bhagvat Describing the 'lila' in the Bhagvat , Shukdevji narrates to king Parikshit: 'O Parikshit! Of all nights, that night of Sharad Punam became the most resplendent. With the Gopis, Shri Krishna roamed the banks of the Yamuna, as if imprisoning everyone in His lila!. 2-1- On this night, Lord Krishna invited His faithful devotees, the Gopis of Vrundavan, to play the Maha Raas (traditional folk-dance) with Him. They had earned His grace by overlooking society's disdain on them (`loklaaj'), to offer Him unalloyed devotion. When They left Their homes in Vraj and arrived in Vrundavan, Shri Krishna welcomed Them. Yet to further test Their love for him, He averred: 'Women of character such as you, should not leave home to meet another man in the middle of the night!' 2-2-These words seared the Gopis' hearts. In extreme grief, They uttered: 'Our feet will not budge the slightest from Your lotus-feet. So how can we return to Vraj?' Pleased with such immutable love for Him, Shri Krishna initiated the Maha Raas, by assuming as many forms as there were Gopis. 2-3-At this point, They beamed with pride that, 'Nobody's devotion can excel ours, by which the Lord favored us.' Instead of accepting the Maha Raas as the Lord's grace, ego marred Their devotion. Therefore, He instantly vanished from the Raas mandal! Now filled with remorse, the Gopis repented. Recalling Shri Krishna's divine episodes - 'lila', They lamented the separation and sang kirtans known as 'viraha geet': ' 3-At this night, goddess Lakshmi is worshiped and night vigil is observed. According to a folk-tale, once a king fell on evil days, and was in great financial straits, but then his queen observed this fast and night vigil, and worshiped the goddess of wealth, Laxmi. Consequently, they were blessed by the goddess and they regained their prosperity SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE OF SHARAD PURNIMA;-- 05 FACTS ;--- 1-Just as the night sky of Sharad Punam is clear and suffused with lunar resplendence, the aspirant should similarly endeavor to purify his 'antahkaran.' For this he has to eradicate body-consciousness and mundane desires and imbibe Brahma-consciousness, in order to incessantly experience Parabrahma. 2- For this the aspirant needs to seek the Gunatit Sadhu, who is the gateway to moksha (the Lord), as proclaimed in the Bhagvat .''The sages decree that if a jiva who is deeply attached to his body and bodily relatives, similarly attaches himself to the Gunatit ..Sadhu, the doors of moksha will be opened for him.'' 3-The vigilance in one's heart is the gateway to the Lord's divine abode. Devotees should not let mundane desires, of wealth, lust and so forth, enter their hearts. 4-When faced with obstacles such as: success and failure, happiness and misery, honor and insult, the devotees should remain unflinching in their devotion to God. In this manner, they should remain vigilant at the gateway to God, not letting any mundane objects through. 5-Therefore, every moment in our lives requires vigilance and this in itself becomes a subtle form of 'tapas' - austerity. Those who performed severe austerities without vigilance, succumbed to Maya. Vishwamitra performed austerities for 60,000 years, but lost 'Jaagruti' - vigilance - in Menka's company. Similarly, lack of vigilance toppled Saubhari rishi, Ekalshrungi, Parashar and mony others. IS SHARAD PURNIMA - THE NIGHT OF NECTAR ! 1-The night of Sharad Purnima holds special significance. On this night the moon showers nectar through its rays. The moon in its full bloom and with all its parts showers the ambrosial rain in the form of cooling, nourishing energy and peace. 2-From the spiritual point of view, moon signifies coolness. You may face any number of problems and troubles in the outward life but they should not cause any complaint in your heart. You should be so strong from within that the ordinary worldly troubles should not trouble you. The showering of Bhakti Raas on the Sharad Poornima night by Krishna on Gopis and Radha has been a main theme for poets and philosophers and still continues to attract the fantasies of common man. THE KEY POINT;-- The word ‘Kojagiri’ means ‘who is awake’ MEANS ..ENLIGHTENED ONE . So,this is the night of union; of soul & supersoul.........SHIVOHAM.......