30th March to 7th April 2006
Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas
celebrated Vasant-Navaratri from 30th March to 7th April 2006 with full
fervour. The Pandits of Omkarananda-Kamakshi-Devi Mandir conducted this
festivity in the Yajnashala of the sacred temple.
Every day powerful |
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The most auspicious rituals
commenced in the morning of 30th March at 7 a.m. with Panchanga Pooja and
Kalasha Sthapana, in which the holy Kalasha was installed along the chanting
of hymns. This grand event was followed by Devi-Maha-Abhishekam followed by
Mandapa-Devata Pooja, Yantra Pooja, Chandi Pooja and Guru Pooja. The last
morning ritual was Chandi Parayana that concluded with Arati, Bhog and
distribution of Prasadam for the devotees and invitees.
In the evening Pooja was
conducted for all Deities. Mahaganapati Hawana was performed after Agnimukham.
 Kumari Somashekhari offers Arati to Gurudev Swami Omkarananda, Durga Maa and all other Gods and Goddesses |  Swamini Vidyaprakashanandaji offers Arati during the Navaratri-Celebrations |
From 30th March to 6th April
2006, daily in the morning at 8 a.m., Panchanga Pooja, Devi-Maha-Abhishekam,
Yantra Pooja, Durga Saptashati Parayana were devoutly performed, followed by
Arati, Bhog and distribution of Prasadam.
In the evening, after the Poojas
for all the Deities, a special Hawan was performed every day for all Deities,
namely Ganapati, Mahalakshmi, Rudra, Chandi, Durga, Guru and Tripurasundari.
On 6th April 2006, Ram Navami, a
special Bhajan and Dance Programme was performed by Kumari Somashekhari and
her students to worship Devi. A separate report of this sparkling event is
given in the following.
| Many Ashram-Devotees |
On 7th April morning, Vijaya
Dashami, the Navaratri Celebrations were concluded with Sarva-Devata Pooja,
Devi Pooja, Agni Mukham, Sarva-Devata Hawana, Navavarana Hawana, Chandi Pooja
and Homa, Maha Purnahuti, Kanya Pooja, Suvasini Puja and Devata Visarjana. The
Hawan on this day lasted for hours and was very impressive. Swami
Vishveshwarananda, Swami Satchidananda, Swamini Vidyaprakashananda, Swami
Narasimhulu and Kumari Somashekhari took part in it, and many guests watched
the Hawan with enthusiasm. Swami Vishveshwarananda, President of Swami
Omkarananda Ashram, performed the auspicious Purnahuti with great devotion.
After completion of the
Purnahuti, nine small girls (Kanyas), were worshipped as Goddesses with Puja,
Arati, Prasadam etc. Beautiful gifts of various items were presented by Kumari
Somashekhari to those children.
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Swamini Vidyaprakashananda
honoured an elderly married Lady, whose husband is alive, a “Suvasini”, with
Puja and gifts.
In the end all received the
Prasadam in the form of Bhandara and thus the Vasant Navaratri concluded.
Everybody taking part in it, deeply felt the unforgettable powerful spiritual
vibrations of this beautiful event in Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas.
Cultural
Evening on Ram Navami in
Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas, Muni-ki-reti
As every year, this year too,
Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas has celebrated Navaratri in a grand way.
Omkarananda-Kamakshi-Devi Mandir was nicely decorated with beautiful flowers and
all kinds of lights. The evening of Ram Navami (6th April 2006) was fully
dedicated to the art of Dance and Bhajans to glorify the Deities.
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Before the function started, a
powerful Yajna took place which was followed by Arati. Later on, in the
Maha-Mandapa of the Temple, the daily Arati, prayers and worship were performed.
After that the students of Kumari Somashekhari, in beautiful costumes, sang
Bhajans under the guidance of Kumari Somashekhari as worship to
Omkarananda-Kamakshi-Devi. This was followed by various dances. Every dance was
explained by Kumari Somashekhari in pure Hindi as well as in English for all
those non-Hindi speaking guests. The temple was packed full with the audience.
There was a sparkling atmosphere, especially when Kumari Somashekhari herself
performed the dances in front of Omkarananda-Kamakshi-Devi.
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All important guests were welcomed
with a flower garland. Among the prominent persons were Swamini
Vidyaprakashananda, monastic disciple of Gurudev Paramahamsa Omkarananda
Saraswati, who actively took part in establishing this beautiful temple, Shri
Varshney, Shri I.D. Joshi, Prof. Rajwar, Shri Singhal, Shri Anil Mehrotra and
Shri Kamal Narayan Mishra. In the end Shri Kamal Narayan Mishra, in a firing
speech, addressed the public.
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On this occasion, Kumari
Somashekhari also introduced a group of her students, who henceforth will form
the Omkarananda Bhajan Mandali. The release of a CD will take place soon. A
special issue of the Ashram’s quarterly magazine ‘Vidya Prabodhini’ about the
Omkarananda Mahotsava celebrations, was offered to everybody who attended this
function. The function concluded with Prasad Distribution.
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Swami Vishveshwarananda, the
President of the Ashram, himself guided and addressed the function as “Master of
Ceremonies”. Among the Saints, Swami Rakeshananda, Swami Satchidananda,
Narasimhulu Swami and Veeraraghavulu Swami attended the function.
The audience was thrilled by the excellent performance of Kumari Somashekhari
and her students and everybody appreciated that she has taken much pain in
teaching this beautiful art to the children, who are coming from different walks
of life.
Visit
to Ruskin Bond by Students of
Omkarananda Patanjala Yoga Kendra
on 2nd April 2006
By Saskia, Yoga Student
Oblivious of which bookshop I was
supposed to be to meet Ruskin Bond, I suddenly noticed an elderly man, stoutly
built with a soft and kind expression, comfortably seated on a small chair
amongst hundreds of books, stacked and placed in every possible corner of a tiny
bookshop. This man I had somehow met before, it suddenly occurred to me that it
was Ruskin Bond himself – and the picture became clear. Usha sitting next to him
with sparkling eyes and a glow on her face, her book was being signed by him. I
went in and sat beside him on the small stool at his other side.
 | Smt. Usha Devi and Shri Ruskin Bond |
I read but so little of his work,
but the little I had read appealed to me. It was only four days previous to our
meeting that I casually came across Ruskin’s writings in some small bookshop in
Rishikesh. He captivated me at once. This man who writes with such sensuousness
about India, portraying love for life in India, bringing back to life playful
childhood memories, was to touch my heart.
To then hear that Usha had
coincidentally arranged to meet Ruskin Bond in Mussoorie Cambridge bookshop was
for me so exciting.
I could not help being playful as
if I felt comfortable with him, as if I knew him always. I had remembered
reading in one of his short stories that he as a child often read upside down
and ever since for fun still does. “Do you still read upside down?” I asked him,
he answered as if he enjoyed the question, with a playful smile he replied “Yes
I do, when children ask me I sometimes show them how.”
Seated next to him, enjoying his
gentle presence, he signed my books. I just watched him. He could have been my
granddad with his blue mischievous eyes ready for sharing stories. The only
stark difference being that he had adopted Indian gestures along with an Indian
accent. As he asked for my name so to sign my book he looked into my eyes, his
thick glasses seemed to make his eyes go smaller and sweeter.
Gradually whole groups of people
came into the shop and without any sort of resistance Ruskin looked each one of
his fans warmly into their eyes, asking for their names so to sign their books.
He commented that this is not very usual to have so many people visiting (I
somehow could not believe him). His English charm and politeness seemed to still
be a part of his heritage.
The afternoon flew by. Meanwhile
all of us Yoga students from Omkarananda Patanjala Yoga Kendra were gathered
around him. Coincidentally a Yoga group from Delhi dropped into the bookshop to
greet Ruskin as well.
Ruskin was surrounded by young
Yoga ladies, and I think he seemed to secretly enjoy all the attention. We were
offered coffee by the bookshop keeper and shared stories of monkeys sitting on
potties and traffic jams in Delhi. By the end of the afternoon he concluded that
it may be time to write something about Yoga as there are so many Yoga students
around nowadays. I cannot but think of him as a charming gentleman who may
someday flatter us all with a book about Yoga.
posted by VICKY at 11:17 AM
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