Tulabharam (Deepavali)

On the day after Deepavali — the day after Mother Kali gave rebirth to the body of THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAVAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM — the Tulabharam at Adi Kailasa is the offering of one's own weight in gratitude for that rebirth.

Significance

Tulabharam is the traditional Hindu way of offering: an offering equal in weight to oneself, placed on the sacred scale before the Guru. The most celebrated Tulabharam is that of Satyabhama, who could not outweigh Sri Krishna with all her riches until Rukmini placed a single Tulasi leaf of devotion on the scale. Hindu giving is about offering with gratitude the highest emotion we have; only when we offer to our maximum potential and beyond do we open ourselves to receive the best possible manifestations in life.

Just as Rukmini's single Tulasi leaf outweighed Satyabhama's riches, on this day devotion placed on the scale before THE SPH outweighs every karma, and the offering becomes the declaration that the Guru is our entire wealth.

The Ritual

The devotee is weighed against offerings — groceries, rice, jaggery, turmeric, books, silver, or gold — which are then offered at the Feet of THE SPH, the Sarva Deva Devi Swarupa. Tulabharam is an opportunity to declare and celebrate the Guru as one's entire wealth: as we place items that are unequal to the treasure of the Guru on the scale, we liberate ourselves from the bondage those items cause in our lives. In the presence and grace of THE SPH, this becomes a moment when lifetimes of karma are washed away in the silence of surrender.

When

• Mon 9 Nov (Tula Masa Amavasya) · time to be announced · Adi Kailasa

Shastra Pramana

यस्य स्मरणमात्रेण ज्ञानमुत्पद्यते स्वयम् । स एव सर्वसम्पत्तिः तस्मात्सम्पूजयेद्गुरुम् ॥ ५५ ॥

yasya smaraṇamātreṇa jñānam utpadyate svayam | sa eva sarvasampattiḥ tasmāt sampūjayed gurum || 55 ||

Translation: “By the mere remembrance of whom the knowledge of the Self dawns by itself — He, the Guru, alone is one's entire wealth. Therefore, worship the Guru.” — Guru Gita 55

Benefits

• In that instant of total offering, being lifted into Paramadvaita, the ultimate state of oneness with Paramashiva.
• Liberation from karmic bondages.
• Miraculous transformation in health, wealth, and relationships.
• Dissolution of the ego by the recognition that devotion outweighs all riches.
• Fulfillment of prayers, and the direct experience of divine grace and inner fulfillment.