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Showing posts with label Spiritual. Show all posts
Queing up for UGADI day lunch at TIVIDALE BALAJI TEMPLE,UK
The Tividale Balaji Temple in the UK is in fact much more than a seat of God it was intented to be. It has become a place to visit for thousands of asians living in the United Kingdom and the part of their itinerary for those visiting as tourists.
The temple and its serene and vast surroundings covered by lawn adds to its attraction as a place to spend some time with family and children. On important Hindu festival days the place come alive with thousands of people, all leaving their day to day working western garb for wonderful coloured and embroidered sarees and all kinds of Indian dress, adding a lot of colour and variety to the scenery.
The temple though based on south Indian system of worship is rather generous in celebrations, missing almost none irrespective of the region of India. Consequently there are plenty of occasions and very frequently. On a nice sunny day, the celebration tend to be more colourful and prolonged like the UGADI day. All celebrations and weekends are especially looked forward to for the simple but very Indian meal as 'Prasadam' to the worshippers. On UGADI celebration, the meal take a special Telugu flavour , with a few more Telugu preparations added to the usual meal.
UGADI DAY 2011
UGADI DAY 2012
What next ?
It was all very well to be able to stop someone out of a large number of people coming out of the temple hall and get his attention! I still haven't come to the subject matter at hand which was getting him to agree to sign up for a substantial donation to the temple for building the new Lord SIVA temple.
So I had to say something about Lord SHIVA and his festival MAHA SIVARATHRI. As I mentioned bits and pieces and different things to different people it won't constitute a readable narration though each piece of information I said must have been interesting to the listener as he continued to listen. Anyway here is a good summary of the introduction, annotated from an authentic source!
MAHA SIVARATHRI falls on the 13th (or 14th) day of the dark half of Phalgun (February-March). The name means "the night of Shiva". The ceremonies take place chiefly at night. This is a festival observed in honour of Lord Shiva. Shiva was married to Parvati on this day.
People observe a strict fast on this day. Some devotees do not even take a drop of water. They keep vigil all night. The Shiva Lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk, curd, honey, rose water, etc., whilst the chanting of the Mantra Om Namah Shivaya continues. Offerings of bael leaves are made to the Lingam. Bael leaves are very sacred as, it is said, Lakshmi resides in them.
Hymns in praise of Lord Shiva, such as the Shiva Mahimna Stotra of Pushpadanta or Ravana's Shiva Tandava Stotra are sung with great fervour and devotion. People repeat the Panchakshara Mantra, Om Namah Shivaya. He who utters the Names of Shiva during Shivaratri, with perfect devotion and concentration, is freed from all sins. He reaches the abode of Shiva and lives there happily. He is liberated from the wheel of births and deaths. Many pilgrims flock to the places where there are Shiva temples.
(continued on next post.....)
(Curious what this is about ? See previous post)
Not at Harvard nor at Ahamadabad
No, they don't teach you this at Harvard or Ahamadabad!
All that you need, to be a good sales person, is a good measure of knowledge of the product you are selling! The more you have it the better you will be as a sales guy. The deeper the Guru delves in to the matter, the bigger is the following. Whether it is the woman who sells fish in the market or the suave connoisseur you deal with in the diamonds section of a big name jewellery, it is the same knowledge of the product that will impress you.
All that you need, to be a good sales person, is a good measure of knowledge of the product you are selling! The more you have it the better you will be as a sales guy. The deeper the Guru delves in to the matter, the bigger is the following. Whether it is the woman who sells fish in the market or the suave connoisseur you deal with in the diamonds section of a big name jewellery, it is the same knowledge of the product that will impress you.
I had no time though to remind me of fundamentals of marketing and sales and brush up on my product knowledge. I had to say something to the devotee who had stopped in front of me before he lost his patience and moved on. I had to somehow grab his attention before he lost his curiosity.
If I simply said Here is a leaflet which tells you everything, that would have suited us both. I can have the satisfaction of having achieved something great and the stranger in front of me a feeling of having escaped a Spanish inquisition! But that is not service to God!
I had to ask a question! My customer has to come out of the shock of being way laid and start using his brain. start thinking, start pondering for an answer. So I started asking something, in fact anything to get him to talk. Like where he is coming from, is it the first time he is visiting the temple. how log before did he arrive from India, is he married yet, any thing to strike a conversation.
I hate intruding in people's privacy but I had to get them to open their ears and eyes before they opened their hearts a bit.
Surprisingly it all seems to be working like in a trance! Suddenly everone seemed interested in what I had to say, except of course some hard core visitors who had gone through it all before with someone else!
(continued on next post.....)
(Curious what this is about ? See previous post)
(Curious what this is about ? See previous post)
What did I say to the devotees ?
Though I had been involved with this great temple (The new Balaji Temple at Tividale in the west Midlands, UK http://www.venkateswara.org.uk/) for eighteen years only as a devotee, I had some idea about how the trustees have gone about raising funds to build the temple. But this didn't help when I was standing there facing a lot of people, coming out of darshan.
Naturally, for most of them the darshan must have been a very touching and special event in their life! They must waited a long time and taken a lot of trouble by travelling long distances with families and children. The reward was evident from their faces, the peace and tranquillity they must have felt and the feeling of a divine touch they carried. Mundane things like funds or fund raising must be the last things in their minds.What can you say to these people? I didn't know.
Then what I was there for was God's own business! Soon I had to find a way to carry on with my duty before the devotees dispersed and went their way. So I plucked up some enthusiasm from the din and dizil of the ambiance and the chanting of the Vishnu sahasranama over the temple audio system and ventured to stop people coming towards to me.
I said hello, vanakkam, namaste, hello sir, excuse me madam, anything which came to my tongue just to get their attention. I suppose there was an element of natural selection in my salutation based on the perception of age and the attire of the individual and the gender of the devotee.
It seemed to be working! Though I could read the reticence and annoyance at being way laid most unexpectedly, some sense of the God's business I had to present must have somehow transpired.
I wonder if it might have been the beautiful Kathakali padam praising lord Siva (a stotram) which was going in my mind which brought the change in their minds! Just listen and see for yourself!
I wonder if it might have been the beautiful Kathakali padam praising lord Siva (a stotram) which was going in my mind which brought the change in their minds! Just listen and see for yourself!
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