Mangalacharan = Mangal + Acharan
Unlike the common western traditions, almost all Hindu sects
that follow the Theistic tradition of thought where the Supreme Personality of
the Godhead is different from us Humans, the teachers always begin with a Mangalacharan.
Mangal means aupicious and Acharan loosely means behavior. So, culturally, we are driven
towards auspicious behavior. Before starting any activity, be it writing a
book, or giving a talk, doing the regular – deity worship, or any other puja or
ritual, Mangalacharan is something that Acharyas ensure.
It’s thus easy to understand why Goswami Tulasidas begins his
poetic epic with what he thinks is auspicious behavior. Also, it’s not
difficult to predict what auspicious behavior would really be. It is auspicious
to be blessed by the Goddess of wisdom, by the God of Auspiciousness, by the
God and Goddess that personify trust and belief and then by the very Hero and
Heroine whose leela Goswamiji
offers to narrate.
It is interesting to see that while the concept of ‘Mangal’ does not leave one with a lot of
options for synonyms. It is a feeling that’s combined with blessing,
exaltation, good, boon and so much more all combined.
It is also interesting to note that Goswamiji will
repeatedly bring up the motif of Mangal through out the text.
Auspicious is what auspicious does – which is Sri Goswami Maharaj’s Mangal
Bhawan or Sri Ramchandra and Devi Sita.
On this note, Mangalacharan is carried out immediately after the invocations
and hence Gowamiji pleads some of the most prominent deities to bless him in
his endeavour to narrate his Lord’s mahakatha.
© Anupama 2016
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