23 Feb 2009 Vrindavan, India
Category: Celebration
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Today is Maha Shivaratri and like each year we had a very busy day. Last year I already told about the deeper meaning of this day and that this night is one out of four very important nights of the year. It is the day in which we celebrate the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and it is a special day to do deeper in your practice of Mantra and Tantra.
On this day the energy is said to be very powerful and it is a popular day to ask for blessings and success in projects. In the morning we had a Bhandara with two hundred people and with special food for this day. A friend from Canada, whom I did not meet in person yet, sponsored this food to get blessing for her newly born baby.
While everybody was busy in preparing the big feast we got a nice surprise. Purnendu received a phone call from a very popular musician and singer: Jagjeet Singh. He performed at the Taj mahal in Agra yesterday and was on the way to Delhi. He said he would come by at the Ashram in about one hour together with his group of musicians. He was very happy to come and we were happy to have him here. He enjoyed visiting the school and meeting the children there. After a match of pool and a nice lunch he continued on his way to Delhi.
When he was gone the students started the preparations for the Pooja ceremony in the evening. The ceremony started with showering Shiva with five nectars: milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar. Afterwards everybody drank from this mixture before the fire ceremony started. People from around the world asked us to perform a ceremony for them on this day so we had representatives for all of them and it was again a wonderful Maha Shivaratri day!
My friend Michael wrote his opinion on the topic of money and energy about which I was talking in the last days’ diary. Of course it is in German, so not everyone will be able to read it but I wanted to give those who know the language the link to read something interesting.
Click here to read Michael’s article
Click here to see pictures of today’s Bhandara
Click here to see pictures of Jagjeet Singh’s visit
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Tags:: Celebration, Ceremony, Festival
2 Comments
Posted By Swami Balendu
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It sounds as if you all had a lovely time on this special day. I hope everyone enjoyed and blessings came upon you. It always interesting to hear and find out about the different celebrations in India.
Reply By Bernie on May 05, 2012 07:38
blessings to you on your holiday celebrations! I really love reading about you all enjoying life together.
Reply By Susan Banth on October 20, 2010 06:58
Today was the last day of the school year 11/12. The children got their report cards, the olde...
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