Puttaparthi - 19th August 2008 - Varalakshmi Vratham in Puttaparthi

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Puttaparthi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 19thNews

Varalakshmi Vratham in Puttaparthi

 

 

 

 

 

The completion of sixty years is a very spiritual event in the life of a person as per Bharatiya traditions. It is celebrated as the "Shashti Poorthi." It signifies the fact that a person has completed all his/her earthly duties and from now on, the focus is God and God alone. It is an event that marks the watershed in the life of any person. And India today, turned 60 as a free and independent nation! What greater fortune for this nation for when everyone turns Godward as they turn 60, God has turned towards her ever since her birth and also when She turned 60! As if symbolizing this Godward turn for Mother India, as everyone awoke to "life and freedom", in the words of Pandit Nehru, Puttaparthi awoke to the celebration and worship of the Mother in the form of the Varalakshmi Vratam! It is very significant that this Vratham(vow) is one that is done only by the ladies and it has very spiritual connotations. The fact that this vow was performed in

the divine presence on the occasion of independence day as Mother India completed her 60th birthday was in itself thrilling and goose bumps erupted on the being of anyone who realized the supreme significance.

The whole Kulwant hall resembled a bedecked bride awaiting her Lord! The stage had been set and a small pandal had been erected to house the presiding deity, Lakshmi. All the ladies participating in the pooja were seated neatly in rows on both the ladies and gents side of the Kulwant hall. Swami came out after 9:30 am. He moved along the lines of the ladies, all dressed up in pink, granting darshan. There was the gap in the centre but today Swami said that He wanted to go on and complete a full darshan round. The students were in one corner of the hall and Swami moved there too. After completing it, Swami moved onto the stage. There He lit the lamp to mark the auspicious beginning of the worship. The Veda chanting was told to subside and the pooja began. Swami sat for a while as the worship went on and then He moved into the interview room.

Five minutes later He was out again and He began a second round of "rounds" starting with the ladies side. He slowly moved along the lines of the worshipping ladies and blessed a few of them too by sprinkling the holy Akshatha grains. He moved around the entire gathering and surely there wasn't even a single woman who could complain of not being able to see Swami from close quarters.

As Swami went on these rounds, the pooja continued. The various aspects of Laksmi were worshipped and mantras chanted- some by everyone and some others only by the priests. Swami slowly returned to the stage and He sat witnessing the rituals. The story behind the worship and the inner significance also was explained by the chief priest. The event concluded with the women exchanging gifts with the feeling that they were welcoming and presenting to the Goddess Herself. As holy threads were tied on the wrists, Swami blessed the conclusion of the worship. He spoke to and blessed the priests. Prasadam was blessed to be distributed to everyone and as the prasadam distribution went on, Swami asked the priest to chant some special Sama Veda mantras. He chanted or rather sang them slowly and well. Swami swayed to those tunes! After that was

completed, He blessed the priests once more and then left after receiving Aarthi.

In the evening, there was a scheduled programme by Smt Sunitha. She is a renowned Playback Singer, Anchor and Dubbing Artist in Bollywood and Tollywood. She has won many awards at various levels. The stage was set by way of a wonderful blue carpet in the central marble block. The artistes were ready and Swami came for darshan rounds. He took a complete round and then moved into the interview room. He soon came out and asked for the concert to begin. She sang many light devotional songs and most of them were in Telugu. She was lost in the joy and feelings that aroused in her as she sang and Swami too was very happy listening to her sing. She was accompanied by a keyboard, a table, a veena, a tambourine and a mridangam. She completed her planned quota of 6-7 songs. Swami, however, asked her to sing some more. She sang one more and when Swami

asked her to sing another, she seemed so very thrilled and happy. She told Swami that the song she was about to sing was one that matched exactly to what she was feeling right now. She also sang a Meera bhajan. She finally concluded with Swami's bhajan, "Giridhara Naagara Kunja Vihaari" which everyone followed.

Swami called her to the stage and created a gold chain for her. He also gifted silk sarees to her and safari pieces to her accompanying artistes. He also blessed her husband who came up the side stage. He had many words of encouragement for the singer and He very lovingly blessed her. To the husband, He seemed to be advising and correcting! He blessed him too and then each of the accompanying artistes too had their share of interaction with Him. As they returned to their places, Swami asked for the boys to sing bhajans. Two bhajans with Aalaap were sung and everyone including the artistes followed with great fervour. As the bhajans concluded Swami called one of the students and asked him to sing a song. He sang the Carnatic song, "Dinakara Shubhakara"

with all its intricacies. The singer artiste of the evening, Smt Sunitha, herself was lost in appreciation of the lad's singing. After he completed Swami told her that from a young age itself the boy had been practising and that he was a student in the University. She seemed very happy and pleased for she too had begun her music training at a young age of three.

Prasadam was blessed to be distributed to all and Swami received Aarthi. Swami sat through the whole Aarthi and at the end raised both His hands in blessings and benediction. It was 7:00 pm as He retired into Yajur Mandir. Written by Eswarachandra Vidyasagar