Event: Dhanteras celebration
Date: On 28th October,'16,
Venue: Chinmaya Sagar
Reported by: Varsha Dalal.
With great enthusiasm approx. 35 devotees offered Ashtottarshat Archana to their idol /coin of Shree Mahalakshmi Devi.
Mrs. Sumitra Patel sponsored Puja as well as Satsang and Samashti Bhiksha held on 29th October, '16.
Event: Diwali Satsang with Swami Swatmananda
Date: 29th October 2017
Venue: Chinmaya Sagar
Reported by: Manju Malkani
All of us felt truly blessed to have a satsang with Swamiji on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. We also felt blessed with Brni. Nidhiji’s presence. It was a full house and the audience listened with rapt attention as Swamiji spoke of the significance of Indian Festivals which mostly celebrate the victory of good over evil (Dussehra & Diwali), Knowledge and Relationships (Guru Purnima & Bhai Dooj), Wealth (Dhanteras) & Harvest (which has more than twenty festivals). A festival is an occasion not only to cleanse what is outside us , but more importantly it is an opportunity to get rid of our negativities and other impurities within.
Deepavali - means rows of lamps.
SwamijiI then explained a beautiful verse for contemplation from the “Brahma Jnanavalli” (The song of Supreme Knowledge) by Adi Shankaracharya.
Antarjyoti bahirjyoti
pratyogah Jyoti Parat parah
Jyoti Jyoti Swayam Jyoti
Atma Jyoti Shivo syaham
Within am I light, without am I light
Deep within, the depth of myself, am I light
Beyond the beyond,
Light of lights, the self- effulgent light,
The Self’s own light,
Shiva am I. Auspiciousness am I.
Our true nature is pure consciousness which is self-effulgent and which illumines everything inside and outside us.
We had a short beautiful guided meditation session on the Om mantra with Swamiji followed by watching a short clip of Pujya Gurudev on the significance of Diwali.
Leading a cultured life in tune with our higher nature we gain victory over our lower impulses. The Lamp of Knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance and we realize our true nature - the light within which is the light of all lights. This is the real Diwali.
The session concluded with Gurudev’s Aarti and lighting of diyas. Our heartfelt thanks to Swamiji for an auspicious start to the Festival of Light.
Event: Children's Day - Balvihar
Date:18th November 2016
Venue: INT Birla Centre, Babulnath
Reported by: Rakhi Gandhi
The event started with wonderful session of twin heart meditation and super-brain yoga by Kaanan Shah which have benefits like increasing the memory concentration and intuitive power of children. This meditation involved blessing everything in the universe and getting blessings from the universe. This was followed by playing long forgotten childhood games like langdi, fire on the mountain, and dumb charades.
A fun filled evening greatly enjoyed by children and sevikas.
