The Radhastami celebrations began with Mangala Aarti of Sri-Sri Radha Madhava, the most attractive couple of the City beautiful at 4:30 am followed by Tulsi Aarti, Guru-puja of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Chanting of the Holy names of Krishna with melodious tunes enthralled the devotees participating and witnessing the divine celebrations.
On the auspicious occasion, Special Darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madhava adorned with a brilliant new dress was the main attraction of the festival, which endeared the Divine couple to the hearts of one and all.
Another attraction of the festival was the Maha Abhishek of Sri Sri Radha Madhava with milk, curd, ghee, honey and different types of fruit juices which was distributed amongst devotees as Charanamrita later on.
Devotees continously performed kirtans and glorified Srimati Radharani by singing wonderful songs composed by the Vaishnava Acharyas.
The celebrations concluded with an elaborate Maha Aarati , which was performed as the devotees sang Sri Guruvastakam. Finally, prize distribution ceremony for the various cultural and artistic events for children, like Fancy Dress and Quiz etc, organised on the eve of Janmashtami , was held, wherein the participants were rewarded for their sincere devotional endeavours .
The path of bhakti or devotional service prepares one’s heart and consciousness — by eradicating selfishness and incorporating selflessness — to understand and experience that divine love which exists between Radha and Krishna. This is a wonderful day to meditate and reflect on the beautiful selfless qualities of Radharani and pray that we can to some degree follow in Her footsteps.
The Mahamahotsava concluded with divine enthusiasm in the hearts of one and all. Surcharged with the spiritual prowess obtained by pleasing Srimati Radharani on Her divine appearance, the devotees vowed to serve the Divine Couple by distributing as many Srimad Bhagavatam Sets as possible for the upcoming Bhadra Purnima Festival on 10th September, 2022, for the welfare of the whole world.
Bhadra Purnima, celebrated 8 days after the Radhaashtami festival, is the day of worship of Srimad Bhagavatam( Bhagawat Puran) written by Srila Vyasadev.
In Padma Purana, it is mentioned that Srimad Bhagavatam is non- different from Supreme Lord. Various cantos of Bhagavatam are compared with Lord’s various body parts. Srimad Bhagavatam is the ultimate source to reach Krishna. It originated just after the departure of the Lord from the material world to the supreme abode. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the panacea for respiritualizing the entire planet. Because the Bhāgavatam addresses the root cause of suffering, it is a cure-all for the many ills we suffer in this world.
It is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam that if you give the gift of Srimad Bhagavatam on Bhadra Purnima Tithi, you achieve the supreme destination Goloka Vrindavan: “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhādra one places Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.”
Author : Dr Journalist Jaswant Singh Puri, Journalist
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