Visit to C. R. Park Kali Mandir

Dear Friends, We went to Chittaranjan Park Kalibari during Holi and enjoyed the trip a lot! It was a blissful one! I can't describe the feeling I went through while staying in the guest house of the mandir. It is a Kali Mandir, which also has a 'Shiv Ling' and a Radhe-Krishna Mandir in it. I have tried to include all the pictures in this post so that you can get an idea about the madir and the area around it. The first picture under this post is of the Temple itself, then we have the Shivlinga and the Idol of Kali Mata. The walls have so many sculptures on them. We have Shiv- Durga, Shri Chaitanya, 'the Swaragarohan of Yudhishthira'- to name few. I have included all thes pics here. And there was one photo where Shri Ramkrishna and Sadara Devi can be ssen sitting in front of the idol of Kali Mata - I loved the pic and clicked a photo of it. The last picture is of a magazine which I brought from C R Park having the cover story of Shri Chaitanya, as it has such a nice painting of Him, I decided to click that one too:). The highlight of the trip was a Satyanarayan Puja we attended at the evening before Holi. I was filled with Bliss while attending it. The picture is at the top of this post. Very nice ambience in the courtyard of the temple... We also attended the Evening Aarti of Kali Mandir, Shiv Mandir and the Radhe-Krishna Mandir- those moments were also very very Divine! A Blessed trip indeed!

Jai Shri Krishna!

Visiting the Hanumaanji Temple in Karol Bagh

Dear Friends, we went to the famous Hanumaanji temple near Karol Bagh recently. I really liked the temple. It has the world's highest statue of hanumaanji in it, which can be seen from the nearby locality as well as from the Metro route. The views is really amazing! The Statue has Shri Ram along with Sita Mata inside the chest of hanumaanji, which looks so Divine, as you can find out from the pictures in the internet!! The temple is a small one but it has 'puja sthal' for different gods as well. I Loved the ambience of the temple, it is very very simple, quite, without any frivolous activity. Though you can have the 'darshan' of the Hanumaanji idol from the outside only, inside there are some other deities as well- Shivji, Mata Vaishno Devi and Ganga Maiya.

Visiting the temple was really a Wonderful experience :) 

Do visit this serene temple sometime :)

 Jai Bajrangbali!

'Guru Purnima' Mahotsav: Salutations to the 'Guru'

(Sorry for the late post, the celebration was on 15th July)

Vasudeva sutam devam, Kansa chanur mardanam,

Devaki parmanandam, Krishnam vande jagat Guru.

Salutations to the teacher of the world, Krishna,

Who is the God who is the son of Vasudeva,

Who killed Kamsa and Chanoora,

And who gave immense joy to Devaki.

( -'Shri Krishnashtakam' by Adi Shankaracharya)

Hindus attach paramount importance to spiritual gurus. Gurus are often equated with God and always regarded as a link between the individual and the Immortal. Just as the moon shines by reflecting the light of the sun, and glorifies it, all disciples can dazzle like the moon by gaining from their Gurus.

Guru Purnima is a festival traditionally celebrated by Hindus and Buddhists.On this day, disciples offer puja(worship) or pay respect to their Guru (Spiritual Guide). It falls on the day of full moon, Purnima, in the month of Ashadh (June'July) of the Shaka Samvat, Indian national calendar and Hindu calendar. Traditionally the festival is celebrated by Buddhists in the honor the Lord Buddha who gave His first sermon on this day at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India. While Hindus celebrate it in the honour of the great sage Vyasa, who is seen one of the greatest gurus in ancient Hindu traditions, and a symbol of Guru-shishya parampara, the Guru disciple tradition. Vyasa was not only believed to have been born on this day, but also to have started writing the Brahma Sutras on ashadha sudha padyami and ends on this day, hence their recitations as a dedication to him, are organised on this day, which is also known as Vyasa Purnima.

The festival is common to all spiritual traditions in Hinduism, where it is dedicated to the expression of gratitude towards the teacher by his/her disciple. Hindu ascetics and wandering monks (sanyasis), observe this day by offering puja to the Guru, during the Chaturmas , a four month period during the rainy season, when they choose seclusion, and halt at one selected place; some also give discourses to the local public. This day is significant for disciples who seek to get initiated by their Guru, students who desire to get the blessings of their teachers, and for everyone who wants to honor persons of great wisdom and learning. Students of the Indian classical music, which also follows the Guru shishya parampara, celebrate this festival, around the world.

Significance

Seekers try to get as much opportunity to do Satseva of the Guru as possible during this period. As the Guru principle is 1000 times more active during this period, when compared to any other day during this year, the satseva done on Guru Poornima fetches substantial grace of the Guru for their spiritual progress. (Ref : Sanatan Prabhat)

The relationship between the Guru and the Disciple is considered very sacred.This relationship is purely spiritual in nature and is independent of age of the two. It is based on maturity of Gyan (Spiritual Knowledge) andShraddha (Respect). The only awareness that a Disciple should foster is, 'I should be uplifted spiritually'. The Guru too harbours only one thought, 'May this Disciple be uplifted'. (Ref : Sanatan Prabhat)

Pranamam to all Gurus on the occasion of Guru Purnima. May the Guru's rays fall on all of us on this Auspicious day. May the Guru enlighten us in the path of our Spirutal thirst in Guru Sisya Parampara.

Wish you a very Happy Guru Purnima.

(Sources:-

http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/gurupurnima.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Purnima)

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/vedic-astrology-jyotisha/315125-auspicious-occasion-guru-purnima.html

http://www.experiencefestival.com/wp/videos/krishnam-vande-jagath-gurum-sri-krishnashtakam-a-sanskrit-sloka-on-sri-krishna-must-listen/58IJao435xw )

Some related Links:

http://www.eaisai.com/baba/docs/gurup.html

http://blog.traveladda.com/guru-purnima-respect-for-respectful-souls.html

http://vedantavision.org/guru-purnima/guru-purnima.html

http://oshospeak.blogspot.com/2005/07/guru-purnima.html

(http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/vedic-astrology-jyotisha/315125-auspicious-occasion-guru-purnima.html)

http://www.priyadarshan.org/guru-purnima-a-story-the-mahabharata-308.html