What is common between solah somvar vrat by women and Kanwar Yatra by men?

During the month of Chaturmas, married women and women eligible to be married are often asked to observe 16 Monday fasts and worship Shiva Lingam. Similarly, boys and young adult males travel for days together towards Haridwar to carry Ganga Jal (positive thoughts) and come back and pour it onto the Shiva Lingam in their respective places.

In both the situations, the spiritual ritual is to control one’s sexual desires which are known to increase during Chaturmas, especially in the months of Shravan and Bhadon.

 For Monday fast, it is also a ritual for the wife not to go to the husband in the night.

Apart from that, the festival of Raksha Bandhan, Jagannath Rath Yatra (the only festival of brother and sister where Subhadra, Krishna and Balram are worshipped) and Bhai Dooj, all talk about controlling lust and respect for a women folk in the society.

During these four months, no marriages are held and it is said that men and women should not attempt to produce a child during this period. 

HCFI Update: Gift your sister a Health Package on this Raksha Bandhan

Traditionally, we recognise Raksha Bandhan as a bond of love between a brother and a sister. Rakhi is synonymous with purity of the relationship. The tying of the rakhi also denotes the brother’s vow to protect his sister. Give your sister the precious gift of good health on Raksha Bandhan. Gift her a Health Check Up Package, said Padma Shri and Dr BC Roy National Awardee Dr KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.

Share love not sweets. Sweets are rich in trans fats and refined carbohydrates. Trans fats increase LDL or the bad cholesterol and lower HDL or the healthy cholesterol and increase the risk for diseases like heart attack, Dr Aggarwal further added. Sweets that are made of hydrogenated fats are rich in trans fats.

Also, do not gift chocolates as they are rich in sugar and saturated fats. They can be harmful to your health. Chocolates can increase the chances of fatty liver, abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Give dry fruits, gur chana, sattu, fruits instead of sweets, chocolates and cookies.

Spiritual Significance of Jagannath Yatra

Why Subhadra is worshipped along with Lord Krishna in Jagannath Yatra
In 2011 Jagannath Rath Yatra starts July 2nd and has a special significance when it comes to the relationship between brother s and sisters.
 The value of relation between brother and sister has been shown in many festivals and rituals in our country.
 Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj are two major festivals devoted to this sacred relationship. In Raksha Bandhan, the brother vows for the safety of his sister and sister prays for the long life of the brother. The Raksha Bandhan rakhi or the red thread ‘moli’ works as a reminder and is removed on the date of Janmashtami falling after Raksha Bandhan. When Bahadur Shah of Gujarat attacked Chittor, Rani Karnavati sent a Rakhi to Emperor Humayun, calling him a brother and requested for his help. Humayun did come to his Rakhi sister's help.
 In the ritual of Bhai Duj, the sister anoints her brother’s forehead with vermilion and performs aarti. This festival is similar to that of Raksha Bandhan. Only the ritual of tying Rakhi has been replaced with tikka (vermilion spot on forehead).
In terms of symbolism, the brother-sister relationship is depicted in Jagannath Mandir in Puri and is one of the temples in the country where Gods and Goddesses are not worshiped in the form of husband and wife.
The other example is Ganesha and Lakshmi worshipped together as brother and sister. Goddess Lakshmi is symbolic of good fortune and wealth and Lord Ganesh is symbolic of the intelligence required to utilize the wealth that we have.
At the Jagannath temple, Subhadra, the sister, is depicted in the center and Krishna and Balram (Lord Balabhadra) are shown on the left and right side of Subhadra. Here, Krishna is worshipped along with his brother and sister. Subhadra was married to Arjuna and a brave boy Abhimanyu was born to them.

A synonym of Purushottam is Jagannath and his abode. Puri is known as Purushottam Kshetra, which is one of the four most sacred places in India for the Hindus. The famous festival related to the Jagannath temple is the Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, which occurs yearly in June or July. During this festival, the three deities are taken from the temple and placed in large chariots which are then drawn along Grand Road to the Gundecha temple, a few kilometers away. After they have stayed in that temple for seven days, the deities again ride the chariots back to their home temple. Then three idols are made of margosa (neem) wood.
Brother-sister relationship is always a sacred relationship in Indian law. Marriages or illicit relationship between brothers and sisters are prohibited. Consanguineous marriages are also known to end up with diseases. While in some religions, a marriage of the daughter with maternal uncle is allowed, but in no religion, a marriage between a brother and sister is allowed.  
Devaki and Kansa depict the extreme opposite of brother-sister relationship. Kansa was the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna and brother of Devaki. There was a prediction that the eighth child of Devaki would kill him. When Kansa came to know about that prediction he decided to kill all children born to his sister.
 All three festivals Jagannath Yatra, Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj are observed in the last six months of a year in the period of dakshinayana, which is the period with darker or the negative side of the mind. In Chaturmas the mind is more negative, violent, irritable and with more non fulfillment of desires. All festivals which relates to purity of relationship are thus observed in this period.