Mahashivratri and Nandipandharva

Mahashivratri falls on the 8th day of the Nandipandharva. The 15 day period of Nandipandharva it is recommended by P.P. Bapu to chant the Shivpanchakshari stotra a minimum of 11 times daily. Starting from 7 days before the Mahashivratri, and continuing to 7 days after, is considered to be the Nandipandharva. This stotra is prayer No. 62 in Aradhanajyoti.

ॐ नागेन्द्रहाराय त्रिलोचनाय
भस्मंगरागाय महेश्वराय ।
नित्याय शुद्धाय दिगम्बराय
तस्मै न काराय नमः शिवाय ।।

मंदाकिनीसलिलचन्दनचर्चिताय
नन्दीश्वर प्रमथनाथमहेश्वराय।
मंदारपुष्पबहुपुष्पसुपूजिताय
तस्मै म काराय नमः शिवाय ।।

शिवाय गौरीवदनाब्जवृन्द
सूर्याय दक्षा ध्वरनाशकाय।
श्री नील कंठाय वृषध्वजाय
तस्मै शि काराय नमः शिवाय ।।

वसिष्ठ कुम्भो द्भव गौतमार्य-
मुनीन्द्र देवार्चितशेखराय ।
चन्द्रार्क वैश्वा नरलोचलाय
तस्मै व काराय नमः शिवाय।।

यज्ञस्वरूपाय जटाधराय
पिनाक हस्ताय सनातनाय ।
दिव्याय देवाय दिगम्बराय
तस्मै य काराय नमः शिवाय ।।

पंचाक्षरमिदं पुण्यं यः पठेता शिवसन्निधौ।
शिवलोकम़वाप्नोति शिवेन सः मोदते।।

Ram Navami Celebration @ Melbourne Upasana Kendra

On 21^st of April 2013 Melbourne Upsanana Kendra celebrated Ram Navami festival with immense zeal as it marks the birthday of our beloved Lord Shree Ram. We started the day with Paduka Poojan at 10:00 am which indeed was a great way to begin this celebration.

 

We had a small refreshment break which was followed by chanting of mantras and stotras as per schedule.  

     

The whole atmosphere resonated with Ram Naam and we all could feel the divinity of the same. Ram Naam is a blessing which millions of us have treasured in our hearts. It is the supreme purifier of human mind and gives us perennial joy. When Ram Nam is chanted, a significant change takes place within us and we all could experience the same.

This was then followed by Aarti, Gajjar and Maha Prasad.

      

Ramo Rajamani Sada Vijayathe Ramam Ramesam Bhaje,

Ramenabhihatha Nisachara Chamoo Ramaya Thasmai Namaha.

Ramannasthi Parayanam Paratharam Ramasya Dasosmyaham,

Rame Chitha Laya Sada Bhavthu May Bho Rama Mamudhara.

Rama Rama Ramethi Reme Rame Manorame,

Sahasra Nama Thathulyam Rama Nama Varanane

Ramnavmi Utsav, Sydney Upasana Center

Ramorajmani Sadaa Vijayate

P.P Aniruddha Bapu in his discourses has always stressed the importance of Ram naam in our lives emphatically stating that every new beginning or accomplishment be accompanied with “Ram naam” on our lips.

We celebrate Ram Navami as the birthday of the Shree Ram on the ninth day of  first month of the Hindu calendar - Chaitra  and the preceding nine days as the Shubhankara Navratra. Celebrations are held at Shri Hari Guru Gram with much enthusiasm and devotion. Hence all Shraddhavans of Sydney Upasana Kendra collectively celebrated Ram Navami Utsav on 20th April 2013.

The venue for the event was the sparkling new residence of Mrs  Veenaveera  and Mr Nishikantsinh Bhalerao  and everyone was eagerly looking forward to the event.

The schedule for the day was as below:

·       Paduka Poojan

·       Ram janma and recitation of “PALANA”

·        Chanting of  Ramaya Ramabhadraaya Ramchandraaya Namaha (108 times)

·       Recitation of Ram Raksha ( 3 times)

·        Chanting of the Ghorakashth-oddharan Stotra (9 times)

·       Chanting of the Hanuman Chalisa (1 time)

·        Chanting of the Gurukshetram Mantra (5 times)

·       P.P Bapus Discourse on Ram Raksha

·        Parayan of the 11th Chapter from Shri Sai Satcharitra.(1 time)

·        MahaAarti

·        Satsang

 We commenced the proceedings with Bapu’s arrival in the form of His Chinmay Paaduka, welcoming him to the decorated Bhalerao dwelling

followed by Paaduka poojan as we can see here with great devotion and affection. 

 The poojan vidhi (ritual) also comprised recitation of Aniruddha Chalisa and Aarti.

This was followed by the much awaited event - the birth of Lord Ram- Ram Janma. It was definitely something which everyone was looking forward to especially the kids- little Vaanarsena.

It was an exciting occasion for them. One could see their curiosity and their innocent queries brought smiles to everyone.

There was a small cradle (Palana) literally handmade from items of household use which was the brainchild of Mrs Nilambariveera and Mr Dineshsinh Nagwekar and it was indeed quite innovative. Other Shradhhavaans contributed in decorating and providing finishing touches to the Grand Palana as is seen here

A small idol of Bal Krishna and a childhood photo of P.P Bapu ( our Aniruddha Ram ) was placed inside the cradle affectionately and the stage was set.

The Ram Janma was celebrated with enthusiasm and affection with all the ladies rocking it gently in the background of the melodious recitation of the hymn “Palana”. 

There was a joyous atmosphere in the house and one can only imagine how ecstatic people would have been in the actual era when Shree Ram was born.

This was followed by the continuous chanting of Om Shree Ramaaya Ramabhadraaya Ramchandraaya Namaha, Ram Raksha and  the Ghorakashth-oddharan Stotra followed by ‘Naivedya arpan’.  

 Shraddhavans continued with recital of Hanuman Chalisa and chanting of Shri Gurukshetra Mantra then had a short break for lunch.

The afternoon session began with the pathan of eleventh chapter of Sai Sat Charitra with voice of Param Poojya Suchitdada being played in the background. His deep baritone filled up the entire house with vigor and one could sense the immense vibrations in the power of the recitation of the chapter and importance of regular recitation.

We also listened to the one of the first discourses by P.P Bapu on Ram Raksha Stotra.

This was followed by Mahaarti during which continuous Aartis of Sadguru Bapu, Nandaaai, Suchit Dada were performed. After another short break for tea and snacks, Satsang commenced.

It was a fantastic session with Dineshsinh Nagwekar and Rajeshsinh Chavan rendered a medley of all choicest gazars of Shree Ram and P.P Bapu amidst a fervent chorus. 

Though after a long session, not even a single person was not even slightly tired as one would expect. Infact all looked invigorated with smiles and laughter all around making  it a memorable occasion.  All Sydney Shraddhavaan celebrated the birth of our dearest Lord Ram under the guidance and blessings of our beloved Sadguru Aniruddha Bapu with great devotion and fervor. The immense all pervasive grace of Chandikakul made the whole occasion memorable oozing tons of positive vibrations and all this was evident by the camaraderie amongst us. We all pray to Lord Ram to help us decimate the Raavan in our minds and life and certainly it is not possible without the Grace of Shree Raamvardaayini  Aadimata and we all are Ambadnya to her. Also, infinite Shree ram to everyone for the venue, decoration, naivedya, lunch and snacks arrangement and overall enthusiastic participation and may Lord Ram keep us bonded together.

 Sahastra naamtat tulyam RAAM NAAMvaraanane . 

SHREE RAM.

Ram Navami Celebration in Perth

Ram Navami is an auspicious occasion and this day is celebrated as a birthday of the Shree RamChandra who was born on the ninth day of the month of Chaitra to King Dashratha and mother Kaushalya. It's specially regarded as 'Ram Navami' because it's the ninth day of the Shukla Paksha of the month of Chaitra, as per the Hindu calendar and also close to the beginning of New Year. This day is celebrated in Shri Hari Guru Gram with such an ardent fervor by all the shraddhavans/devotees of the entire Bapu Parivar and we celebrated it with the same energy and enthusiasm in Perth. We started this day by gathering together at the centre (around 11:00 am) with light refreshments accompanied by listening to the gajar CD. The Ram Janama was done by singing the 'Palana' song and moving the cradle at 12:00pm and everyone indeed experiencing immense joy and happiness. We then followed the same sequence as per the blog until evening. The following people participated in this event including both of us.

(Jigalveera, Vipulsinh) (Jyotiveera , Sureshsinh) (Sachinsinh, Belaveera) (Abhaysinh, Leenaveera)

The junior group included following people

(Riya, Sara, Tirtha, Aum, Charvi and Parth)

"Ramo Rajmani Sada Vijayte"

Shubhankara Navratra Jaagran Celebrations at Melbourne Upasana Kendra

Hari Om,

ll Anasuyo Trisambhuto Dattatreyo Digambarah

Smartrugaami Swabhaktaanaam Uddhartaa Bhavsankataat ll

As is the norm at our Melbourne Upasana Kendra we listen to our Param Poojya Bapu’s pravachan after the weekly upasana. So one day while we were watching the DVD of our Param Poojya Bapu’s Marathi pravachan (Thursday 7th October 2010 at Shri Hari Guru Gram) Bapu emphasised on the importance of Navratri and also explained everyone the upasanas that should be performed in this period. Bapu said that during Navratri period maximum sacrosanct and extremely holy waves and vibrations are being transmitted throughout this universe. In the pravachan, Bapu stressed on the presence of word 'Ratri' in the word Navratri and further emphasised on the importance attached to all the nights that fall in this period. Bapu urged everyone to do Jaagran i.e. staying up till late night atleast once during the period of nine nights. But while we do jagran we should do recitations of Ashubhanashini Stavanam, Shubhankara Stavanam, Ram Raksha, Shree Gurukshetram Mantra, etc without counting the number of recitations and / or perform reading of Matruvalsalya Vindanam or Ram Rasayan (both these books are authored by Param Poojya Bapu Himself). One can even keep reciting just the word "Aai" from the bottom of his heart and call "Her (Aadi Mata)". These recitations or readings should ideally begin from 9:30 pm at night and should end not before 2:30 am in the morning. But it would be best to stay up for the entire night. And while we observe jagran we should take care that the others around us are not disturbed for which we should refrain from creating any noise or being vocal. Bapu completely ridiculed and criticised the practice of playing cards under the name of Jaagran and the waste of time that is associated with it. Bapu also criticized the wrong way in which this holy festival is now-a-days celebrated in the society (where people drink alcohol and participate in the Navratri festival, dandiya and processions, involve in immoral activities under the name of garba or dandiya and offer non-vegetarian foodstuffs and alcohol to Goddess by considering it to be a holy offering). Finally before ending his discourse Bapu again urged all the Shraddhavans to seriously observe the night recitations and reading and also visit Shree Aniruddha Gurukshetram and take darshan of both the forms of Aadi Mata (Anusaya Mata and Mahishasurmardini Mata) and offer our love and worship whole heartedly to the Goddess. Moreover, He again stressed on the point that the statue of Mahishasurmardini Mata at Shree Aniruddha Gurukshetram is actually not just a statue but the Goddess Herself.

After the pravachan was over we unanimously decided to observe a Navratri Jaagran from this year onwards. And almost immediately we had the program chalked out and everyone was poised to take this opportunity to make it happen. The first opportunity to observe jaagran was during the Chaitra Navratra on the night of 13 April 2013 to thank the Aadi Mata for her blessings and love she has bestowed upon every one of us.

The first session of jaagran started at 10 PM, with regular Saturday Upasana of our Param Poojiya Bapu. The upasana was followed by extended Gajar and Garahane session praising our Bapu mauli’s grace. As you can see in the photo our youngest Bhakta Riyaveera taking the lead on singing the Garahane (as always).

The second session started with pathan of eleventh, twenty second and thirty third chapter of Sai Sat Charitra with voice of our Param Poojya Suchitdada being played in the background. This was followed by chanting of Adimata Subhamkara Stavanam and Ashubnashini Stavanam  for approximately half an hour and 108 times of the powerful matra ‘OM AIM RHEEM KLEEM CHAMUNDAYE VICHAY'. The way the whole atmosphere crackled with energy during chanting of this mantra was amazing, absolutely awesome.

The jaagran also included a session of listening to Bapu’s pravachan and the then Anubhav kathan. The jaagran ended at 6.30 am with five continuous Aartis of Sadguru Bapu, Nandaaai, Suchit Dada, Anusaya Mata and Mahishasurmardini Mata. Towards the end and many a times, we found ourselves completely ecstatic enjoying every moment of the night. We included tea and snack sessions in between to stay up and awake for the entire night.

All the Bhaktas celebrated the jaagran with great devotion and fervor with blessings of our beloved Aadi Mata. By the grace of Chandika kul the whole experience of the jaagran was memorable with lots of positive vibrations experienced and all this was evident by the look of absolute reverence on the faces of all Bhaktas.

Om Namahshchandikaye...

Birthday Celebrations @ Melbourne Upasana Kendra

Hari Om.

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday morning of the 24th of March 2013. There was excitement in the air as we were getting ready to celebrate P.P. Suchit Dada and Poojya Samir Dada’s birthday at our Melbourne Upasana Kendra.

When we reached the Upasana Kendra, we realised that no one was immune to the cheer of the day!! Attending our beloved Bapu’s Upasana is always something that we look forward to every weekend. However, on that day, there was palpable enthusiasm in all of us.

We started off with our regular Upsana. But today, P.P. Dada, being as loving as He is, decided to give us a gift on the occasion of His birthday!! The Chandikakul Samvad CD had reached our Kendra and we were all set to have our first ever conversation with the divine Chandikakul!!

It is impossible to describe what we experienced during those 5 minutes. When Bapu told us that the Chandikakul would be sitting right in front of us to listen to what we have to say, all of us were very intrigued as to how it will feel. And in those 5 minutes, the proximity to Mothi Aai and her divine family was undoubted. When we opened our eyes after the Samvad, there were tears rolling down all of our eyes. It was probably one of the most intense experiences ever and we are truly Ambadnya that our loving Bapu, Aai and Dada thought us worthy of having this Samvad (conversation).

Now it was time to cut the Birthday cake. Our little Shraddhavans, Riyaveera and Neevsinh volunteered to cut the cake on behalf of P.P. Suchitdada and Poojya Samirdada. This was followed by a small tea and cake break (yummm)!!!

After that, we saw the video CD of P.P. Bapu’s Pravachan in which he addressed all of us to be fearless and recounted the greatness of our all-pervasive Gurukshetram Mantra.

The day and all the excitement should have tired us. However, we felt recharged and re energised instead. An impromptu session of Gunasankirtan followed which made us forget our lunch as well. It was well after 3pm when we realised that we hadn’t even had lunch!! Such is the greatness of the Parmatma trayi’s Gunasankirtan.

On that note, we concluded the joyous celebration of our beloved Dadas’ birthday. We are indeed Ambadnya to have experienced this day in its full glory!!!

Shree Ram !!!