A brief cultural history of the recent phenomenon called Tulsi Pujan Divas
Tulsi Pujan Divas seems to have many parallels with Christmas.
Jingle bells, and the chime of puja ki ghantiyan. Baubles and lights, roli and teeka. All beautiful, all festive, all to gladden the hearts of believers.
As most of the world celebrates Christmas, some in India are celebrating Tulsi Pujan Divas, or the day to worship the plant Tulsi.
Tulsi Pujan Divas, which seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon pioneered by the Asaram Trust, has many parallels with Christmas. There is a tree, there are rituals to decorate the tree. There is even a white-bearded man, though the man in this case is in jail over rape charges.
Asaram has an old habit of "rescuing" days dedicated to “western festivals” and suitably Indianising them. The intellectual property rights of celebrating Valentine’s Day as Mother Father Day, too, rest with him.
Well known for multiple benefits, Tulsi has been revered and worshipped since ages and the tradition continues till date.???? #TulsiPujan #TulsiPujanDiwas #?????_????_???? #NatureIsBeautiful @drrajivguptaias @CMOGuj @PMOIndia @moayush pic.twitter.com/pA0SKrYjW3
— GNFC Fan Club (@GNFCFanClub) December 25, 2017
Tulsi...Cures respiratory diseases,fever,and even Cancer.Strengthens immunity.Fights bacterial and viral infections and skin disorders.Protects against diabetes.Improves oral health.And many more reasons to celebrate #TulsiPujanDiwas but thn also y v r celebrating Xmas??? pic.twitter.com/vpbZodpvGY
— Apoorv Maheshwari (@ApoorvBJP) December 25, 2017
We hindus dont need to cut the trees to make artificial Xmas Treeall Christians should celebrate #TulsiPooja #तुलसी_पूजन_दिवस #TulsiPujanDiwas #TulsiPujan #Tulsa #25Dec_तुलसी_पूजन_दिवस pic.twitter.com/jvwX6fk1zC
— Ch Anuj Bhati (@Ch_AnujBhati) December 25, 2017
What are you going to celebrate today..#ChristmasEve2017 #christmas #TulsiPujanDiwas #?????_????_???? #Hinduism #NarendraModi #AtalBihariVajpayee #????????????? #BB11 #ShilpaShinde #eyehinakhan #SalmanKhan #TigerZindaHai #25Dec_?????_????_???? Retweet and like Vote for hindutva
— Shivam Dalal (@shivam_dalal) December 25, 2017
Tulsi, the basil plant, is sacred to Hindus, and is worshipped across India. It features prominently in a lot of Hindu rituals, and as it happens, already has a day dedicated to it.
Tulsi is a consort of Lord Vishnu, and their marriage is celebrated annually as Tulsi Vivah in the lunar month of Kartik shukla paksha, between prabodhini ekadashi and poornima (between the eleventh day and full moon day of the waxing cycle of the moon). This year in north India, the day fell on November 1.
However, there is nothing wrong in dedicating another day to her. It appears that the observing of Tulsi Pujan Divas involves planting a Tulsi at your home, watering it, and following the usual puja rituals. So far, so good.
But a festival is supposed to be a day of celebration. Whether we observe Tulsi Pujan Divas or Christmas, let’s be motivated by positivity and cheer, and not out of competitive festivity, insecurity, or the desire to keep out the “other”.
One of the reasons Asaram’s website lists out for observing Tulsi Pujan Divas – started in 2014 – is that around this time every year, substance abuse, suicides and other immoral activities go up, especially among the youth. To rescue them from this debauchery and denigration, he came up with the idea of worshipping a sacred plant instead.
Even if one were to look past the irony of the rescue plan coming from a rape-accused, there are other fundamental problems with this premise. Substance abuse and suicides are not part of any culture, and efforts to stem both should be made all year round.
Also, some propagating Tulsi Pujan Divas seem to be treating it as a defence mechanism against the invading armies of western, “foreign” culture, which is making “Indians” forget their own heritage.
So far, Christmas does not seem to have interfered with the celebrations of any Hindu festival. Imagining threats where none exist is fear-mongering, not really in keeping with the festive spirit.
But the most problematic notion here is that Christmas is a foreign festival. Millions of Indians are Christians, and Christmas is their festival, India’s festival, our festival.
Holi or Christmas, Lohri or Eid, are all occasions to make merry, count our blessings, and spread joy. If you erect barriers around festivals, you are essentially limiting happiness.
Tulsi has healing and cleansing properties, it is believed to purify the air around it. Hopefully, planting of Tulsi and worshipping it can also cleanse our brains of the toxins of divisiveness, hatred, and small-mindedness.