Jnana Yajna 32
Year & Dates:
September 01, 1957 to October 01, 1957
Yajna Topic:
Bhagavad Gita- Chapter 2
Place:
Thrissur, India.
The excitement was building up in the sprawling maidan (open grounds) before the famous Vadakkunnathan Temple of Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. People of all ages, backgrounds, and faiths had convened well before 5p.m on that wondrous evening of September 1, 1957. Soon, the resonant melodies of Panchavaadya and Naadaswara filled the air as royally decorated elephants moved rhythmically to divine bhajans. Fireworks lit up the sky in sparkling joy. And, in the orange hue of the evening, all eyes were fixed on the tall figure standing inside a bedecked convertible. A youth during his student days, beloved to Thrissur as “Balan,” had arrived as the glowing and eminent Swami Chinmayananda for a much-awaited Gita Jnana Yajna.
Victory, Open to All
The Governor of Kerala, Sri Ramakrishna Rao, unfurled the Om flag and inaugurated the yajna. In the yajnashala graced by the portrait of Swami Tapovanam and the divine idol of Sri Krishna, a mellow prayer song, “Akhilanda Mandalam,” which was Pujya Gurudev’s favorite, sounded the perfect starting note. The song’s refrain, “Vijayikka nin thiru Namangal Paadi – Singing Your Great Names, May we achieve victory” was meaningfully apt. Pujya Gurudev’s introduction about “Vedanta, the Philosophy of Life” and Shrimad Bhagavad Gita roused the audience. Thereafter, everyday, from 6-8p.m, He transported all into the paradise of the enlightening second chapter. To the Christians who attended regularly in large numbers, he welcomed them without distinction saying, “Gita is not meant for a particular caste or creed ; it is meant for Man. It points out the way to Man, how to live his best, individually, as well as a society or as a nation.”
The Atma Bodha classes in the early mornings, a 5-day Akhanda Kirtan from Sep.18, and a four-day Gita Homa from Sep.19 culminating in a huge procession with the Ganga waters – Thrissur was awash with spiritual fervor. Pujya Gurudev eloquently unfolded Sankhya Yoga and answered questions for two days after concluding His discourses. The Avabhrta Snaana at the scenic Sri Rama Temple at Triprayar was an unforgettable blessing. Beholding at night that illuminated temple beside the flooded river that carried hundreds of lamps lit on paper boats, devotees were enveloped in that sacred radiance. Thrissur was immersed in a mighty flow of Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti, transformed by Pujya Gurudev’s astounding Gita Jnana Yajna.
Photo Gallery
A grand procession for Gurudev as the streets themselves bow in reverence to the presence of divinity.
The originality of Gita is not "in what" it says but "in how" it states!
Like a river greeting the ocean, the community receives Gurudev with waves of love and reverence!
We give OUR STRINGS to the WORLD to PULL and make us DANCE as it WISHES!
“Think,” Says Pujya Gurudev
Death grins only at those who have no understanding, and it has no pain for those who understand its implications and working. Just as changing dress is no pain to the body, so too when the dweller in the body leaves the envelope there is no pain possible; and by undressing it does not mean that there after we are ever to live naked. So too, this embodied Self ere long discovers and appropriate equipment from which to function so as to earn for itself new sets of experiences. Evolution and change are all for the mind and intellect and not for the Self. The Self is perfect and changeless, and needs no evolution in Itself.
From Tyagi Magazine
Even this will pass away!
Explore the profound wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita as it reveals the transient nature of life’s experiences. Learn to navigate the highs and lows, knowing that every joy and sorrow is fleeting, and discover the enduring truth that lies beyond them.