October
2--
Singapore:
Pujya Swamiji gave a
beautiful and inspiring lecture at the
Singapore Jain Sthanak for the Singapore
Jain Community. Pujya Swamiji has been
long revered and loved by the Singapore
community. In February, 1999 He was one
of the Chief Guests at the opening of the
Jain Sthanak (holy place of worship) in
Singapore. During the course of His day
here, en route back to India, He gave two
pravachans: one an informal satsang
gathering at the home of Smt. Roopal
Mehta, and another formal pravachan
program at the Sthanak.
October 3
--Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia:
Pujya Swamiji came to
Malaysia for only a few short hours, at
the fervent request of the Malaysian
Indian community. In November, a
beautiful Bhagwan Lord Mahavir Murti is
being installed and Pujya Swamiji was the
first to have darshan of this deity. He
also had a special question-answer
session at the home of Parul and Shrenik
Mehta.
Although initiated into the traditional
Hindu Sanyas tradition, and still a
strong adherent to the rules and
regulations of this faith, Pujya Swamiji
has also long since been tightly
connected with the Jain faith and speaks
eloquently about the merits of the
numerous tenets of Jainism. He is a
frequent speaker to the Jain community,
both within India and abroad, and His
heart is filled with great love and
devotion for the Jain faith. In fact, it
was Pujya Swamiji's deep understanding of
and commitment to both Hinduism and
Jainism that allowed Him to successfully
build and open the first Hindu-Jain
temple in America.
October 12-13
--Allahabad,
India:
Pujya Swamiji travelled to
this holy city, which is the site of the
2001 Maha Kumbha Mela, in order to begin
the elaborate preparations for Parmarth
Niketan's Kumbha mela camp. Spanning a
period through January - February, 2001,
this year's Kumbha will take place in
Allahabad (the City of God), a divine
location situated on the confluence of
three sacred rivers, the Ganges, the
Yamuna and the Saraswati.
A new "city" is erected at the
time of the Kumbha, a literal city of
tents to house the millions of pilgrims
who flock there.
Parmarth Niketan always has one of the
largest and most comfortable camps at the
Kumbha. While maintaining the tradition
of spiritual simplicity, our
accommodations also take into
consideration the modern lifestyle of our
guests. Therefore, you will find Western
style toilets and clean, comfortable
lodging and other necessary amenities. [for
more information or to reserve your
place, please write to parmarth@aol.com].
October 14--Delhi :
Pujya Swamiji was the
Chief Guest at the
Lion's Club International Conference on
Vegetarianism.
He gave a beautiful lecture on how
vegetarianism is not merely a matter of
the food we eat, but rather it is also a
matter of how we live our lives. "We
don't only eat through our mouths,"
He said. "We also eat through our
ears, through our eyes and through our
thoughts. We must therefore pay just as
much attention to the purity of what we
see and hear and think as we pay to the
purity of what we eat." He spoke
about the nature of a "vegetarian
mind," and how someone who was a
true vegetarian was calm, loving and
peaceful in all areas of his/her life.
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rPujya
Swamiji delivering his compelling
lecture, surrounded by top Lions
Club members from across India
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The
crowd listening attentively
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October 15--Vrindavan
Pujya Swamiji was the
Chief Guest at the opening of the Chitti
Jagran Meditation Camp in
Vrindavan. He gave an inspiring lecture
about the importance of meditation in our
daily lives, and how the true peace in
life comes from this great science and
practice. After the lecture, He went to
the Divine Banke
Bihari Temple
for darshan before leaving to return to
Delhi.
October 26: Rishikesh
DIWALI…
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This glorious
Festival of Light was celebrated
with great piety and devotion
here at Parmarth Niketan. The day
was filled with gaiety, love and
hundreds of devotees coming to
have Pujya Swamiji's darshan and
to receive His blessings for the
new year. All who came received
His darshan, His blessings, His
love and special prasad to begin
the New Year "sweetly."
In the
evening, we had a beautiful Laxmi
puja on the banks of Mother
Ganga. Next to the ever-present
Lord Shiva murti, we placed the
Mother Goddess Deity and special
priests came to conduct the Maha
Laxmi puja.
After aarti, the ashram was
ablaze with hundreds upon
hundreds of brightly burning
deepas, lighting every room,
hallway and pathway. No door
remained shut, no window was
sealed. Every door and window had
a beautiful lamp burning within.
The beautiful day
ended with a glorious bhajan,
kirtan, and devotional music
program in the satsang hall.
Pujya Swamiji said special
prayers and did a special puja
for so many devotees around the
world who could not be present on
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