BY SONAL LADVA
BUENA PARK, CA- The Jain Center of Southern California was home to over 400 devotees from July 19-22. Param Pujya Sadhvi Ritambara Ji fondly known as Didi Maa captured their hearts, minds and virtually their ‘being’ with her eloquence in the narration of the Krishna Katha.
BUENA PARK, CA- The Jain Center of Southern California was home to over 400 devotees from July 19-22. Param Pujya Sadhvi Ritambara Ji fondly known as Didi Maa captured their hearts, minds and virtually their ‘being’ with her eloquence in the narration of the Krishna Katha.
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The stories of Krishna interspersed with rendition of bhajans laced with the parallels she drew of its relevance to the current times were no less than an intricate dance of the warp and weft of a marvelously crafted fabric.
The four-day sojourn started with the child form – Lalan Shyam Sundar and his tales growing up, Krishna’s role in Arjun’s life, his struggles in the human form and finally his death. Didi Maa narrated an incident where in Sage Durvasa for his ‘Chatur Maah’ or the four-month period of fasting, austerities and more was hosted at and served by Lord Krishna and Queen Rukmini at their Palace in Vrindavan. At the end of this period, Sage Durvasa asked Lord Krishna to smear kheer all over his body as an offering of Prasad to the Sage. An obedient devotee, Krishna consents but refrains from doing so unto the soles of his feet as a mark of respect for Sage Durvasa’s blessing. Years later, Krishna breathes his last due to an arrow that shot him in the soles of his feet; the only place that was left out of the blessings of the Prasad. The gist or message in this clip was that nothing in life is coincidental. There is a purpose to every event that occurs in our life and hence we should be wise and conscious of that which is within and around us. Didi Maa kept drawing everyone’s attention to ‘surrender to the supreme’ through ‘bhakti aur prem’ as a way of living joyfully; “When perspectives change, perceptions change,’’ she said. Some present-day issues such as obsession with name & fame, selfishness, image, looks , were dealt with through the stories of Krishna . She emphasized repeatedly on the attitude of gratitude. Irrespective of the kind of experiences, she stressed on the importance of offering thanks to Krishna. Only in doing so, does one become enlightened.”
She not only sang, but also danced on stage to the tune of the bhajan “Meethe Ras Se Bharyo,” as did the devotees . Her team of bhajan singers – Kishenchand Juneja, Vijaya Verma and tabla player Amit Mishra enhanced the emotional quotient of the program with their melodious presentations. Didi Maa’s administrative assistant, Amrita Parikh was a great help.
It takes a village to bring to fruition an event of this nature and many familiar names in the So Cal volunteer and donor list made it possible.
The volunteer donors collected a whopping $ 200,000 which added more excitement and Didi Maa thanked everyone and extended a warm invitation to all to visit Vatsalyagram and see the heroes of her stories in person.
Didi Maa is the founder of the Non Profit Organization Param Shakti Peeth headquartered in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh in India. Since its inception in 2002, it has evolved into a full-fledged non-profit serving various sectors of India . Didi Maa’s signature project, a one of its kind is Vatsalyagram.
A unique concept, which combines an orphanage, a widow shelter and an old age, home all under one roof. The philosophy of unity plays out with all these people living as a family in a happy coexistence model called the Gokulam. Other projects under Vatsalyagram are: Kamadhenu Gaushala (Home of the Cows); Samvid Gurukulam (Secondary School); Krishna Brahamratan Vidya Mandir (School); Vaishishtyam (School for Children with Special Needs); Vasuki Shreyam (Rehabilitation Program); Chikitsalya (Hospital).
Param Shakti Peeth of America Foundation is located in SoCal under the aegis of Avdhesh Agarwal and his team of Anil Parekh, Vijay Tekiker andRamjibhai Patel.
The four-day sojourn started with the child form – Lalan Shyam Sundar and his tales growing up, Krishna’s role in Arjun’s life, his struggles in the human form and finally his death. Didi Maa narrated an incident where in Sage Durvasa for his ‘Chatur Maah’ or the four-month period of fasting, austerities and more was hosted at and served by Lord Krishna and Queen Rukmini at their Palace in Vrindavan. At the end of this period, Sage Durvasa asked Lord Krishna to smear kheer all over his body as an offering of Prasad to the Sage. An obedient devotee, Krishna consents but refrains from doing so unto the soles of his feet as a mark of respect for Sage Durvasa’s blessing. Years later, Krishna breathes his last due to an arrow that shot him in the soles of his feet; the only place that was left out of the blessings of the Prasad. The gist or message in this clip was that nothing in life is coincidental. There is a purpose to every event that occurs in our life and hence we should be wise and conscious of that which is within and around us. Didi Maa kept drawing everyone’s attention to ‘surrender to the supreme’ through ‘bhakti aur prem’ as a way of living joyfully; “When perspectives change, perceptions change,’’ she said. Some present-day issues such as obsession with name & fame, selfishness, image, looks , were dealt with through the stories of Krishna . She emphasized repeatedly on the attitude of gratitude. Irrespective of the kind of experiences, she stressed on the importance of offering thanks to Krishna. Only in doing so, does one become enlightened.”
She not only sang, but also danced on stage to the tune of the bhajan “Meethe Ras Se Bharyo,” as did the devotees . Her team of bhajan singers – Kishenchand Juneja, Vijaya Verma and tabla player Amit Mishra enhanced the emotional quotient of the program with their melodious presentations. Didi Maa’s administrative assistant, Amrita Parikh was a great help.
It takes a village to bring to fruition an event of this nature and many familiar names in the So Cal volunteer and donor list made it possible.
The volunteer donors collected a whopping $ 200,000 which added more excitement and Didi Maa thanked everyone and extended a warm invitation to all to visit Vatsalyagram and see the heroes of her stories in person.
Didi Maa is the founder of the Non Profit Organization Param Shakti Peeth headquartered in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh in India. Since its inception in 2002, it has evolved into a full-fledged non-profit serving various sectors of India . Didi Maa’s signature project, a one of its kind is Vatsalyagram.
A unique concept, which combines an orphanage, a widow shelter and an old age, home all under one roof. The philosophy of unity plays out with all these people living as a family in a happy coexistence model called the Gokulam. Other projects under Vatsalyagram are: Kamadhenu Gaushala (Home of the Cows); Samvid Gurukulam (Secondary School); Krishna Brahamratan Vidya Mandir (School); Vaishishtyam (School for Children with Special Needs); Vasuki Shreyam (Rehabilitation Program); Chikitsalya (Hospital).
Param Shakti Peeth of America Foundation is located in SoCal under the aegis of Avdhesh Agarwal and his team of Anil Parekh, Vijay Tekiker andRamjibhai Patel.
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