Guru Purnima was celebrated in a grand scale at the Montclair Vedic Temple on the 18th of this month. Guru Purnima is the day to pay our deep gratitude to all the great Gurus and Masters who have happened on planet Earth. The guru is one who dispels darkness and infuses light of awareness in to our lives. It was apt that this celebration was taking place at the energy field of a living Enlightened Master - Swamiji Paramahamsa Nithyananda. Hundreds of devotees witnessed a unique celebration which combined rituals, meditation, bhajans and cultural performances.

People walking into the temple were greeted by a beautiful sight of Panchadaatu moorthies of Anandeshwara & Anandeshwari (Shiva & Parvati sitting together) that were arranged in rows with a Shiva Linga and the Guru Padukas in front of them. These were arranged for the patrons of "Partnership with Divine" - devotees who take these moorthies home as a symbol of the Vedic Temple.

Also arranged were Guru Pooja sets for the sponsors of the Guru Paduka Pooja. The evening began with the Guru Paduka Pooja - an offering of gratitude at the Master's feet. "We can neither add nor subtract from the guru by giving or not giving. Just by the very act of offering our gratitude we allow the grace of the Guru or the Master to flow through us" - explained Nithya Aikyananda Maharaj who guided the ritual as the devotees performed the pooja along with him. Offerings of flowers, silver and gold lotus flowers were made to Swamiji's Padukas as a way of expressing one's gratitude to the Gurus and Masters.This was followed by Bhajans by Gopi and group who sang about the grace of the Master and dedicated their songs at the feet of Swamiji.

The Bhajans were followed by a guided meditation as the devotees silently expressed their gratitude to everyone from their parents and their family, to the Existence and the Guru, who is an embodiment of the Existence.

As they relaxed into the gratitude, they enjoyed the traditional Arati ritual to Anandeshwara, Dakshinamoorthy, the Sadguru and the other deities.The event was graced by Swami Nithya Bhaktananda, a Spiritual Head of the Nithyananda Mission, and one of Swami's senior disciples. Swami Bhaktananda was introduced to the devotees by Popat Savla who also shared some of his experiences with Swami and the Vedic Temple.

"This whole temple and all these deities, each of them weighing several tons, all came into place within a period of 15 days. Swami was personally involved along with 15 disciples, more than half of them women, to make this a reality. The whole temple is being run 100% by volunteers in the presence of a Living Enlightened Master." - explained Savla. Swami Bhaktananda released a new Music CD title Gurum Bhaje - Songs on Nithyananda, created by a devotee from Los Angeles, Sean Kumar.

He also inaugurated the new Snacks and Groceries place run in the temple complex. This place will have premium quality grocery products and snacks and all the proceeds go towards charitable activities including "anna dhaan" conducted by the Mission. Swami Bhaktananda, initiated as a medium by Swami, gave Energy Darshan to one and all following this.

The devotees then offered their gratitude to Swami in the form of Biksha contributions - an offering directly from the heart - fruits, flowers and anything. This is a beautiful technique devised by our Vedic Rishis as a way of offloading one's karmas. This was followed by beautiful dance recital presented by Ma Paulomi Pandit and her students from Rangashree Dance School. The whole group enjoyed the dance recital which people said took them into a deeper meditative state.