Beautiful Arati fire ceremony at Sivananda Yoga Ashram

path2yoga.blogspot.com Devi Puja and Arati at the Sivananda Ashram in Madurai, India

Shri Yoga Vedanta Ashram NJ USA students learning Bhajan PART 1

Bal Shankar Day Camp 2009 young students learning Bhajans at Shri Yoga Vedanta Ashram, Matawan, NJ set up under the guidance of Param Pujya Shri Asaramji Bapu. Volunteer Teacher: Lead Singer & Harmonium Player Prachi Makkar Supporting Singer & Tabla Player Surya Makkar Download Devotional Music: http:www.soundclick.com/prachisurya Title: Narayan (Bhajan CD) Ek Omkar (Shabad CD) [...]

Golden Durga Puja @ Cuttack

Kolkata may host the most lavish Durga puja pandals in the country complete with elaborate decoration and dazzling illumination, but in Cuttack the puja is popular for the extravagance in style reflected in gold and silver work. Lakhs of people visit the puja pandals organised by three main puja organisers who compete with each other to put gold crowns on the heads of the deities. It all started a few years back when the three organisers put up silver tableaux or ‘Chandi Medha’ in the pandals imparting a sparkling aura. But gold? Nobody thought of it till Choudhury Bazar puja committee made gold crowns for the deities in 2002 to coincide with its golden jubilee. Thereafter the three organisers are vying with each other to give the ‘golden’ touch to their worship of Durga. The budget for the Mangalabag Puja Committee this year is a whopping Rs one crore, the major chunk of which would be spent on making gold crowns. Not just the Durga idol, all the other deities that flank her will sport gold crowns this year including Ganesh, Kartik, Laxmi and Saraswati. While the main crown of Goddess Durga is made up of 2.5 kg of gold, the remaining four crowns weigh a little over 2.5 kg. The total cost for the crowns, including making charges, has crossed the Rs one crore mark, said a member of the puja committee overseeing the work. Two other two puja committees — Choudhury Bazar and Sheikh Bazar — have also made gold crowns for Durga idols this year. The crown for Mahisasura was made of 7.6 kg gold at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. Besides the crown, they have ordered gold necklaces for the Goddess Durga as well. Sheikh Bazaar had also made a gold crown for Goddess Durga in 2008. A crown of 3.5 kg gold was made at a cost of Rs 28 lakh which continues to be the star attraction of Cuttack Dusshera. Known for their impeccable dexterity, filigree artisans of Cuttack have always received appreciation worldwide. At a time when silversmiths of the city were deprived of government support, non-existence of cooperatives, poor entrepreneurship, professional rivalries and invasion of machine-finished products in markets, the competition to go for silver tableaus and golden crowns have given them a new lease of life. Click On Picture To Enlarged Image

Mahalaya Amamvasya & Durga pooja

Mahalaya is observed on the Amavasya day in the Hindu month of Ashwin or Ashwayuja (September-October). Mahalaya 2009 date is on September 18. The last day of Pitru Paksha fortnight , the period sacred for doing rituals and offering oblations to the souls of the departed ancestors, ends on Mahalaya day. Durga Puja rituals also commence on Mahalaya day. The rituals and rites on Mahalaya day are performed early morning on riverbanks or on seashore. The main offering made on Mahalaya Paksha to ancestors is food. It is believed that the offering made during this period will benefit all the departed souls. Charity in the form of food is also done by people. Mahalaya also heralds the advent of Goddess Durga to earth. Mahalaya marks the beginning of ‘Devipaksha’ and the countdown to Durga Puja 2009 Mahalaya is on the dawn of 18th September.It means that this year’s Sharodiyo Durga Puja will commence from 25th September (Shosti).This article is about the significance of Mahalaya and the Tarpan. Mahalaya marks the eve of Durga Pujo because seven days after Mahalaya the Durga pujo starts. The scriptures mention Mahalaya as the starting of days of fierce fighting between Maa Durga and the Demon Mohishashur. The tale goes as follows.Mohishashur was a powerful demon and a menace for the sages and the gods.It was beyond their might to deal with him.Worried sages and gods seek refuge in Lord Vishnu’s feet.He places the responsibility of creating a goddesses challenging the might of Mohishashur on Rishi Kartayan. Rishi Kartayan creates Maa Durga with all the powers and might of the heaven.She is armoured with a special weapon by every god in the haven.This is the reason why one of the many names of Maa Durga is Kartayini. The fierce battle between Maa Durga and Mohishashur begins.Intimidatd by the might of Maa Durga the demon hides himself in a Buffalo. Maa kills the Buffalo and that is why the demon gets his name Mohishashur. In the days to follow,the demon reappears every time a drop of his blood touches the ground.Lord Vishnu then takes the initiative and drinks the blood of the demon without allowing it to touch the ground.Maa Durga then,kills the Demon Mohishashur unleashing a fresh life in haven and earth from the menace of the demon. Do try to listen to Chanidi path melodiously chanted by Birendra Kumar Bhadra, composed by Bani Kumar and set to music by Pankaj Kumar Mallick. The above chandi path is broadcast by AIR on the Mahalaya ammavasya day at 4.30am in the morning, now we have the facility to listen to the chant at our convenient time by going to the folowing web site for the chant.The same is in two parts. http://tutun23.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/parti.mp3 http://tutun23.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/partii.mp3 Click on the images to see enlarged image.