In the Indian culture, at one time, there used to be 365 festivals in a year. In other words, they just needed an excuse to celebrate every day of the year. You don't even need an excuse, but a lot of people need an excuse, so we create one.

In Isha, there are 365 celebrations a year (and 366 every leap year!), but we also specifically celebrate several festivals which are of special significance – Mahashivarathri, Dussehra, and Pongal  being a few. The Tamil New Year on Sunday, April 14, was celebrated in a grand manner at the Isha Yoga Center. The Dhyanalinga and Linga Bhairavi were decorated with kolamsand lamps, as thousands of people poured in during the day to begin their new year on an auspicious note. Some devotees also made a special offering of fruits and their first harvest to Linga Bhairavi. Annadanam, a special offering of food, was given to all the visitors, residents and brahmacharis.

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Luni Bangsia’s Bharatnatyam dance performance was a grand finale to the new year celebrations. A student of the prestigious dance school Kalakshetra and currently an Isha Samskriti dance teacher, Luni astounded the audience with her clean and graceful movements. Beginning the recital with a Ganesha stuti followed by an invocatory item describing Ganesha’s majestic dancing form, she continued with a keertanam describing Shiva's dance and appearance at the Chidambaram Temple. It was a true pleasure to witness this ancient art form at its best.

Kolam is a form of painting, geometrical line drawing in India - Wikipedia.

Editor's Note: Find out more about the wonderful intricacies of Indian culture in this collection of Sadhguru’s articles on the subject.

Indian Culture