Festival

Hari Om

'Freedays' are the 'gather our thoughts' days; Q&As; a general review of the week so far…

The first of May holds some significance for many in the Northern hemisphere and most particularly around Europe; it is a pagan festival day, acknowledging the move from the ravages of winter into the last days of spring and anticipation of a summer in which it is hoped crops will be abundant and harvest bountiful. It is one of the few truly 'glamorous' and colourful celebrations of this nature which is retained in these regions. (There are fond memories of learning how to dance around the May Pole as a youngster!)

As a small indulgence of further memory today but a little more suitably joyous and festive on the part of Vedanta, this short video…. It is a thirty minute ceremony jammed into little more than three minutes here, but it gives a wonderful feel for the Jagadeeshwara Mandir at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya. This heart has no small part still lingering there and this little video placed one directly before the gharba perfectly. For many of you this may be a first viewing of such a ceremony so it is just long enough and cut well enough to give you a worthwhile experience. The main chanting voice you will hear is that of Sw. Sharadananda, formerly Br Samvid Chaitanya, who was our sanskrit tutor for the 15th batch Vedanta Brahmacharis.