Click For Next Image or select from list on the right. Back To Sivananda Om Page Om Namah Sivaya Loving greetings from the Camp. A month of tremendous energy and activity with TTC, Kids Camp, Subramanya Temple Anniversary, Master's Mahasamadhi, and of course the highlight of the month being the Inauguration of the new Sri Krishna Temple and the annual Kaavadi festival. The Installation festival continued over a 6 day period leading up to the Krishna Temple Inauguration. A staggering 10 homas and countless puja's were offered, ceremonies being conducted simultaneously both inside and outside the temple - thankfully a huge tarp was installed outside to ward off the occasional rain shower. The day of the Inauguration started with kirtans being chanted while the priests performed the start of many rituals and recitation of sanskrit prayers. All were in awe of the beautiful vision of the newly painted and polished Krishna statue, who stood smiling at all, and happy to be in his new home! When the time came to wake up Krishna (Netronmilanam) a bull calf was led into the temple to the sound of drums, conch, gongs and bells. The children of Kids Camp gave a burst of color to the occasion with their Indian costumes and decorative face painting (the highlight of their day being the presence of the calf and cow!). The EBM, staff and guests made offerings of holy water to the murties - Siva, Sankaracharya, Master and Swamiji (Guru Parampara installation). All EBM members were blessed with the opportunity of performing Kumbhabhishekam. Each of the six Acharya's cautiously proceeded to climb the scaffolding (which was erected at the back of the shrine) and ascend to the top where the water bowl was poured over the peak of the shrine (an amusing sight for all to see!). Dhoti's were rolled and sari's were tucked - thankfully all made it safely to the top and down again!! This was followed by the curtains being closed while the priests carefully decorated Sri Krishna with new dress and ornaments. Soon afterwards the curtains were removed to reveal the divine vision of Sri Krishna luxuriously adorned in golden dress. The positioning of Swamiji's photograph in the temple was in such a way that he was lovingly gazing at Sri Krishna in his new home. The energy and feeling of pure love and devotion was both immense and intense as Swamiji's presence could be felt by all. Each EBM member gave some inspiring words and Sri Swami Mahadevanandaji gave a vote of thanks to all who were involved in the Krishna Temple project - from architects to donators and staff who gave untiring loving service and devotion to Swamiji in seeing the project through to completion. Delicious prasad was offered to all (baklava, also a favorite of Swamiji's). The celebrations then moved outside for all (approximately 350 people) to enjoy an Indian feast in the glorious sunshine! The evening followed with a concert from Sachdev & Swapan Chawdury, the harmonious sounds of flute kept the vision and love of Sri Krishna alive in everyone's minds. Feeling content from what was a beautiful day and night, the concert came to a close. As all were leaving the temple, exclamations could be heard when the final surprise was revealed - a display of oil lamps (Dipalankaram) decorating the outside of the temple - the central display being the lotus flower, symbolizing the heart of Sri Krishna. The grand finale........ a firework display!! All watched on as the colorful display showered the clear night skies. The special guests who were invited for this auspicious occasion included Sri Gauri Sankar and wife Lalita from Kerala, Sri Mahadevan from Delhi, Patricia Guy (former secretary of Swamiji) and many other long time devotees of Swamiji were also present. We were blessed with a powerful Satsang in the Krishna temple the following morning which was led by Swami Kailasanandaji. Masters Mahasamadhi Anniversary was celebrated on Sunday with puja at Masters statue by the pond. All students, kids camp and guests were invited and participated in the Abhishekam with milk on the Master's statue. Akhanda japa - continuous chanting in the Krishna temple was performed from 6am until 6pm. A video was shown to guests the evening before to give inspiration and show Masters Mahasamadhi.

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