Tulsi Pujan Diwas

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Tulsi Pujan Diwas
Observed byHindus
TypeCultural
Date 25 December
Next time25 December 2025 (2025-12-25)
FrequencyAnnual
First time25 December 2014
Started by Asaram

Tulsi Pujan Diwas is an Hindu festival that is celebrated annually on 25 December. The plant tulsi ( Ocimum tenuiflorum , holy basil) is planted and worshipped on the occasion. [1] The festival was started in 2014 by spiritual guru Asaram. [2] Devotees hold the belief that worshipping tulsi brings blessings from Krishna. [3] It has been promoted as an alternative to Christmas. [2]

Contents

In Hinduism, the tulsi plant is used for religious purposes. Hindus believe that it brings prosperity. [4] [5]

Spiritual importance of tulsi in Hinduism

Tulsi is revered as a symbol of purity, devotion, and spirituality in Hinduism. It is believed that worshipping tulsi cleanses soul and strengthen the bond with Vishnu or Krishna. [6] The plant is also believed to bring prosperity good fortune to homes. [7]

Celebration

The festival was introduced in 2014 by Asaram, an Indian religious leader. [2] Shri Yog Vedant Seva Samiti[ clarification needed ] organizes the celebration of Tulsi Pujan Diwas annually. [8] [9] [10] [11] Believers commemorate the event by offering water, chandan , sindoor, rice, flowers and prasad to the plant. [12] [13]

The celebration of Tulsi Pujan Diwas is marked by rituals that honor the sacredness of the tulsi plant. Devotees light a diya. [14] Many devotees donate tulsi plants to temples and plant new tulsi saplings at home. Tulsi Pujan Diwas is a celebration of the profound spiritual, cultural, and medicinal significance of the tulsi plant in Hinduism. [7]

Media commentary

In 2017, the BBC noted calls on social media to celebrate Tulsi Pujan Diwas instead of Christmas. [2] DailyO's writer said the same year:

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. [15]

Sabrangindia.in opined in 2020 that the festival, along with Good Governance Day, was part of an effort by Hindutva-proponents to impose Hindutva over Christianity. [16] A 2021 satirical opinion column in The Hindu said:

December 25, it has been decreed, will be Tulsi Pujan Divas, set aside to worship the tulsi plant. This has made life easier for all those who want to celebrate Christmas but avoid the wrath of the right-wing. They can now pot a basil on the 25th, decorate it with baubles and lights, and then party — this way, they get to have their tree and keep it too. The new festival even has its own old man origin story. Asaram might be a bit shop-soiled, what with being jailed for rape and all, but he has the requisite white beard and is a gift that keeps on giving. [17]

Pratidin Time's writer said in 2024 that the coinciding date is meant to emphasize the harmonious coexistence of diverse traditions. [1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Khan, Hasid (18 December 2024). "Tulsi Pujan Diwas Date, Theme, History and Significance". Pratidin Time . Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "क्रिसमस पर क्यों मना रहे हैं तुलसी पूजन दिवस" [Why is Tulsi Pujan Day celebrated on Christmas? (Google translate)]. BBC News हिंदी (in Hindi). 25 December 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  3. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas 2023: Observances and significance". India Today. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas will be celebrated on 25th December". dainikbhaskar (in Hindi). 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "क्रिसमस पर क्यों मना रहे हैं तुलसी पूजन दिवस".
  6. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas 2024: Date, Rituals and Significance". The Times of India. 25 December 2024. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Tulsi Pujan Diwas 2024: Date, History, Rituals, Spiritual Importance, And Health Benefits". Zee News . Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Samiti organised Tulsi Pujan Diwas in Elementary school". dainikbhaskar (in Hindi). 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ↑ "श्री योग वेदांत सेवा समिति ने तुलसी पूजन दिवस मनाया" [Shri Yog Vedant Seva Samiti organized Tulsi Pujan Diwas]. dainikbhaskar (in Hindi). 26 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "तुलसी पूजन दिवसः 25 दिसंबर को क्यों होती है तुलसी की पूजा, जानें इतिहास और पूजा विधि". Firstpost Hindi. 25 December 2018.
  11. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas 2020: Why it is celebrated on December 25?". Zee News . 25 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas: तुलसी पूजन दिवस आज, जानिए महत्व, इतिहास और पूजा विधि" [Tulsi Pujan Diwas is today. Know the significance, history and method of worshipping]. oneindia (in Hindi). 25 December 2017.
  13. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas 2017: Importance & Uses of Ocimum Tenuiflorum & Puja Rituals of This Festival". India.com . 25 December 2017.
  14. ↑ "Tulsi Pujan Diwas 2024: Date, rituals, and significance". India Today. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "A brief cultural history of the recent phenomenon called Tulsi Pujan Divas". DailyO . 25 December 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  16. ↑ "Imposing Tulsi Pujan Day on Christmas, an attack on India's diversity?". Sabrang.in . 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  17. ↑ Roy, Vaishna (31 December 2021). "Ring in the new festive year". The Hindu . Retrieved 26 March 2025.
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