Geetha Patil
BOSTON: Shivalaya Temple of Greater Boston organized a grand Mata Ka Jagran on Friday, October 20, 2023 with hundreds of devotees participating in the Jagran program with lots of devotion and spiritual zeal.
Mata Ka Jagran is a holy program for all the Sanatan communities. The Ma Durga worship and late-night Kirtan singing by the singers were done with much devotion.
At Mata Ka Jagran, firstly Pandit Bharani, the temple priest lit the Akhand Jyoti of Mataji. After that, Usha Kamal and her team sang the Vandana devotional song. The devotees of Jagran offered red color Chunni, coconut, fruits, and Shringar materials, along with sweets as their humble offerings to Ma Durga. Light snacks and tea were served to all the devotees before starting the program.
Often, the Jagran is performed in honor of Ma Durga and it brings the community together. Devotees worshiped Ma Durga by singing Bhajans with the lead singer and the team paying attention to legends narrated in the songs. The pleasing and divine sound of the Bhajans, and the music cleaned all the negativities to positive vibes in the body, and instantly uplifted their spirit getting them immersed in the Bhajans. Then came Radars, which was followed by MahanMangaAtari of Ma Durga and other deities of the temple. Mouthwatering Mahan Prasadam was distributed to all the devotees.
On Sunday, October 22, 2023, the temple organized Baba Balak Nath Ji’s Chowki, Ma Durga Ashtami and Kanjak Pujan and Bhenta offering. Baba Balak Nath is believed to be a reincarnation of Lord Kartikeya, son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, born in Satya Yuga to annihilate demon Tarkasur. He is worshipped with great reverence in the North-Bharat states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Devotees sang melodious Baba Balak Nath Bhajans.
The Temple priest, Pt. Bharani performed Ma Durga Ashtami Pujan. Later many devotees performed more than 75 Kanya Pujan of young girls and babies by washing their feet and applying Tilak and Akshat along with offering gifts, sweets, and fruits to them. At the end, Maha Mangal Arati was performed and Maha Bhog was given to all the children and parents and other devotees.
Pt. Bharani blessed all the devotees for happy, healthy, and prosperous life. Vikas Selhi, Sudarshan Sharma, Subhas Bansal, and many other dedicated volunteers were controlling the crowd and helping elderly devotees have quick Darshan and find seats to relax and meditate. Vikas thanked all the devotees for their active participation, singers for singing melodious Bhajans, and the young children and their parents for attending Kanya Pujan event with much enthusiasm.
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