Shiva Shiva

Maha Shivaratri

Maha Shivaratri was solemnly celebrated at Eire Vedanta Society on Friday, 21st Feb 2020. The auspicious evening began with Sri Ramakrishna’s evening Vesper Service.

Then the Shiva Puja was duly performed. It was a combination of four prahar puja with abhishekams (pouring out) of Milk, Curd, Ghee (clarified butter) and finally honey.

At the completion of every snan (bath) of the sacred Shiva Lingam, devotees queued up and offered the same over the Shiva Lingam. Shiva bhajans and hymns were sung in chorus intermittently through out the Puja period. Maha mrityunjay mantra was chanted uninterruptedly during the offering of four items.

Devotees brought all the required items. Prasad of fruits were distributed to the devotees. Plenty of white flowers also were offered. All enjoyed the surcharged peaceful atmosphere.

For a few snaps click this Link here

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

At New Jersey…

Visit to New Jersey – 1
Swami Vimokshananda arrived at Philadelphia from Dublin on 29th Oct 2019. It was late evening. The host Ranjan Das of Moorestown who is the President of the New Jersey Vedanta Centre (NJVC) received him at the airport.


Next day on 30th Oct, a Ramakrishna Puja was performed at his home with a few close devotees joining in. The devotees met the Swami and had some discussions on spiritual life.
In the evening, the Swami was taken to the New Jersey Hindu Temple where the NJVC organised a public meeting. The Swami spoke on the difference between murti and vigraha and explained how the vigrahas become a living being and how they interact with the earnest devotees. It was followed by a Q & A session that saw interesting questions coming up from the audience.

For more photos connected to this event please click this link.

Visit to New Jersey – 2
On Thursday 31st October 2019, Swami Vimokshananda participated in a Satya Sai Baba Satsang. This was held at Moorestown, New Jersey at the home of Sri Ranjit Das. The altar was decorated with pictures of Sri Ramakrishna, Shirdi Sai Baba and Sri Satya Sai Baba.
After the opening prayers, one by one the assembled devotees sang several “namavalis” telling the glory of the Lord’s Holy Name.


At the close of singing, an Arati was performed. Swami Vimokshananda was requested to speak. The Swami expressed his happiness in participating in the Thursday Satsang.
He narrated an unusual story of battle between Lord Sri Ram and His best sevak-das Sri Hanumanji. The interesting story was concluded with the fact that God and God’s name are non-different. The Swami also explained the modus operandi of how the remembering of Name would lead to the feeling of His Presence quoting profusely from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.
The devotees partook of a sumptuous supper arranged by the hosts.
Earlier in the morning hours the Swami gave spiritual counselling to earnest seekers.

For more photos connected to this event, please click this link.

Lambodara in Limerick

||Aum hreem Vighneshwaraya Namaha ||

Namo Vrata pataye Namo Gana pataye Namah Pramatha pataye Namaste Astu Lambodaraya Ekadantaya Vighna nashine Shiva sutaya Shri Varada murtaye Namo Namaha || 10 || 

Prostrations to Vratapati, the Lord of Plenty. Prostrations to Ganapati, the Lord of various groups of Gods. Prostrations to Pramathapati, the Lord of Siva‘s hosts. Prostrations to Lambodara, the full-bellied God with a single tusk, destroyer of obstacles, the Son of Siva, the Bestower of all Blessings.

With the chanting of this auspicious Ganesha mantra, Swami Vimokshananda, the Minister in Charge of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Dublin began his Discourse at the Vinayaka Chaturthi Festival held at the Limerick town, about 180 kms south-west of Dublin. The Hindu groups of Limerick came together to celebrate the Chaturthi event grandly on Sunday, 15th Sept 2019.

The images of Ganesha and the mother Gauri were brought specially for this purpose from India by Mohan, one of the Limerick residents. He is the principal devotee who gathered the community and arranged this festival that was attended by more than 180 devoted people. The hall was almost full with elders and children in their variety garments indicated the joyous moment.

A recently married young couple from Karnataka was selected to do the puja rituals. Swami Vimokshananda was the tantra-dharaka of this puja, directing them to perform the rituals and chanting the mantras suitable to every act of propitiation. He explained the purport of this puja initially and went on giving an English rendering of the ritual practices. At the close of the Puja, the audience repeated with him the 108 names of Lord Ganesha in one voice. That created a wonderful vibration. The assembled devotees then gave the pushpanjali one by one.

In his Talks, the Swami described the importance of puja in one’s spiritual life and how the puja transforms the concept of God from God outside to God within. Dattareya Valenkar, a close devotee from Bengaluru who was on a visit to Ireland as a guest of the Vedanta Society, Dublin was present. He is a popular Hindustani Classical music vocalist.

He sang Ganesha bhajans in Hindi, Marathi and Kannada languages to the delight of the audience. The vocalist was aptly accompanied on Tabla by Rupak Pandit from Dublin.

The event concluded with sumptuous lunch prasad. The musician and the Tabla player were duly honoured with gifts by the Limerick Hindu community.

(The above is a short Report on the event from a devotee who attended the programme)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

Sri Jagaddhatri Stotram

Today, I remember with nostalgia the wonderful Sri Jagaddhatri Puja held every year at Ramakrishna Mission TB Sanatorium in Ranchi District. By Her grace, I had the best moments of my life by organising for twelve years, this mammoth function where more than twenty thousand people were given lunch prasad! Many devotees requested me for the Jagaddhatri Stotram which I reproduce below with English Transliteration. By reading this Stotram, the grace of Divine Mother Sri Jagaddhatri will be ours. Earlier this Blog has published two posts on Mother Jagaddhatri. Links are given below:

Joyous Jagaddhatri

Magnanimous Mother

श्री जगद्धात्री स्तोत्रम्

आधाररूपे चाधेये धृतिरूपे धुरन्धरे ।
ध्रुवे ध्रुवपदे धीरे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ १॥
शवाकारे शक्तिरूपे शक्तिस्थे शक्तिविग्रहे ।
शक्ताचारप्रिये देवि जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ २॥
जयदे जगदानदे जगदेकप्रपूजिते ।
जय सर्वगते दुर्गे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ३॥
सूक्ष्मातिसूक्ष्मरूपे च प्राणापानादिरूपिणि ।
भावाभावस्वरूपे च जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ४॥
कालाधिरूपे कालेशे कालाकालविभेदिनि ।
सर्वस्वरूपे सर्वज्ञे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ५॥
महाविघ्ने महोत्साहे महामाये वरप्रदे ।
प्रपञ्चसारे साध्वीशे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ६॥
आगम्ये जगतामाद्ये माहेश्वरि वराङ्गने ।
अशेषरूपे रूपस्थे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ७॥
तीर्थयज्ञ-तपोदान-य्योगसारे जगन्मयि ।
त्वमेव सर्वं सर्वस्थे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ८॥
दयारूपे दयादृष्टे दयार्द्रे दुःखमोचनि ।
सर्वापत्तारिके दुर्गे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ९॥
आगम्यधाम-धामस्थे महायोगीश-हृत्पुरे ।
अमेयभावकूटस्थे जगद्धात्रि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ १०॥

इति श्रीजगद्धात्रीस्तोत्रं सम्पूर्णम् ।

Sri Jagaddhatri Stotram

AdhArarUpe chAdheye dhRRitirUpe dhurandhare | 
dhruve dhruvapade dhIre jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 1 ||
shavAkAre shaktirUpe shaktisthe shaktivigrahe |
shAktAchAra priye devi jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 2 ||
jayade jagadAnande jagadeka prapUjjite |
jaya sarvagate durge jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 3 ||
sUkShmAti sukShmarUpe cha prANapAnAdi rUpiNi |
bhAvAbhAva svarUpe cha jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 4 ||
kAlAdirUpe kAleshe kAlAkAla vibhedini |
sarvasvarUpe sarvaGYe jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 5 ||
mahAvighne mahotsAhe mahAmAye varaprade |
prapanchasAre sAdhvIshe jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 6 ||
agamye jagatAmAdhye mAheshvari varA~Ngane |
asheSha rUpe rUpasthe jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 7 ||
tIrtha yaGYa tapodAna yogasAre jaganmayi |
tvameva sarvaM sarvasthe jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 8 ||
dayArUpe dayAdRRiShTe dayArdra duHkhamochani |
sarvApattArike durge jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 9 ||
agamyadhAma dhAmasthe mahAyogisha-hRRitpure |
ameyabhAva kUtasthe jagaddhAtri namo.astu te || 10 ||  

iti Sri Jagaddhatri stotram sampoornam |

Transliteration courtesy: Subhodeep Mukhopadhyay

A few snaps of Sri Jagadddhatri Puja of this year 2018 at Ramakrishna Mission TB Sanatorium, Ranchi 
Photos Courtesy: Debu Bhowmik, Ranchi

This slideshow requires JavaScript.