Bliss
Festival At Vedic Temple
Los Angeles, Dec. 15, 2008
By Dilip Butani
World famous Vedic Temple will be celebrating Bliss Festival
from December 23, 2008 through January 2, 2009. This will a
grand celebration for a noble cause.
Swami Sahajananda, who is the administrative head of the temple
explains how each day of the festival has a unique theme and
the events are tailored to the theme of the day. In the temple,
decoration and pooja will be done according to the theme of
the day as well. Through the festival, a number of special Services
such as Vedic Astrology, Medical Seminars on common ailments
such as obesity & hypertension and their solutions, Nutrition,
Legal consultation, Henna etc happen on various days of the
festival.
Dr.Kalpana Savla can’t wait for Dec 23rd. It is the start
of the 10-day long Bliss Festival happening in Montclair Vedic
Temple conducted in collaboration with Life Bliss Foundation.
Dr.
Savla is excited to watch all the movies, participate in the
sessions, may be give a medical seminar or two, and soak in
blissful celebrations, leading up with the Jan 1st, which also
happens to be the Jayanthi Day of Paramahamsa Nithyananda, the
Founder of the Temple and popularly known as Swamiji. “The
ten day Bliss Festival is a celebration of all the beautiful
aspects of life and the people in our lives. It is an opportunity
to express our sincere gratitude to the existence and everyone
around us. We shall usher in the New Year and a New Beginning
in our lives with these celebrations”, says Dr.Savla.
The temple volunteers are looking forward to start of the festival,
which begins with volunteers day. They are excited about the
special awareness based games, which has seen a huge draw and
enthusiastic participation in the past. In these days of financial
woes and constant news of economic Armageddon, the temple dedicates
its Lakshmi day for prayer for wealth, prosperity & abundance.
Abhinav Mehta, an entrepreneur from Cerritos thinks title “Investing
Now: Devil God is in the details” is promising and hopes
will be useful to him. Environment and World Peace are two issues
that have gained tremendous bandwidth in the media in the last
few years. It is nice gesture on the part of the temple to dedicate
a day for this purpose with a peace prayer.
“How is 2 + 2 = 1?” This is not a math puzzle. But
a topic of seminar for the Couples day, that promises to be
fun and informative. One has to wait and see to find out the
solution to an issue that is common in every household –
communication between couples.
The temple has been regularly conducting Nithya Yoga classes.
“Ma Estelle”, a Yoga Acharya, says it has been a
transformational experience not only for those who attend but
also for her who has been teaching. She says it is a common
misconception among many that Yoga is about pretzel postures.
She finds it heartwarming to see so many such people now enjoying
its benefits through Nithya Yoga at the temple.
Devotion is an essential quality to lead day-to-day life. Devotion
is nothing but intensity. When the intensity expresses itself
from the heart, it is called devotion. Dec 28th is dedicated
to this day. Lots of bhajans, chanting and devotional stories
are in store.
“Show me the food you eat. And I’ll tell you how
you are”, says Ma Girijananda, the Anna Daata of the temple.
She is planning a massive veggie food fest at the temple with
food from 10 different cuisines from around the world. Her classes
on saatvic vegetarian cooking on weekends have been a popular
draw and she plans to offer it to everyone on the Food day on
Dec 30th. Special New Year Pooja and a number of day-long festivities
are looked forward to on Jan 1st, which is Swamiji’s Jayanthi
day.
Chitra Hariharan, who is an ardent meditator, plans to drive
down from Fremont, CA to participate in the festival. Like a
number of other folks Chitra is also looking forward to the
inspirational movies that will be screened on every day of the
festival.
Dr.Nirmala, who is a visiting physician from India is excited
that all proceeds from the Bliss Festival go towards supporting
medical camps for those in need in India. “The true soul
of India lives in its villages. But proper medical care and
health services are not always available. Even if it is, most
cannot afford it. Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, India is making
ardent efforts to bring health care at the doorstep of many
it doesn’t reach through its weekly Medical Camps”,
says Dr.Nirmala, who is has participated as a doctor and spearheaded
many of these camps. Apart from regular check ups and treatments,
medical care is also provided in specialty areas such as Ophthalmology,
ENT, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Dermatology etc. Traditional
and alternative disciplines such as Ayurveda, Siddha & Homeopathy
are also provided through these camps. What more can one ask
for when the festival happens for a noble cause that impacts
the lives of thousands of people in a positive way.
