- A personal account of Ram Mandir celebrations in
Washington and Maryland with pictures.
A
large section of Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Non-Resident Indians (NRI)
across the United States have been enthusiastic about the building of the Ram
temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi. Ahead of pran
pratishta, large billboards had been placed at various places on national highways. Also, a few days ago the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America organized a Jai Shri Ram Tesla Light Show as a tribute to Shri Ram Bhagwan in which about 100 Tesla’s participated. This was performed at the Sri Bhakta Anjaneya Temple
on Ayodhya Way in Maryland (click on link to view 5 minute video)
A
similar show was also subsequently organized in the Bay Area of California,
where more than 300 Tesla cars participated.
On
Sunday, 21st January evening US time, hours before the pran pratishta ceremony took place in Ayodhya, various events were organized by the PIO and the NRI community to celebrate the historical event. We were lucky to be able to participate in two of those three-hour events in the Washington, DC and Maryland region because they were not at the same time but sequential – from 4:30 to 7:30 and from 8:00 to 11:00 pm!
The first one was a “Shri Ram Vandana” organized at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Beltsville. More than 1,000 people of all ages attended this event in the large temple hall. Videos, photos, presentations, and talks highlighted the involvement of the BAPS organization in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement from its early days. We learnt that Bhagwan Swaminarayan had moved from Chhapaiya to Ayodhya in 1786 and would regularly bathe in the holy Saryu and visit the Hanuman Gadhi for the next seven years. Also, Yogiji Maharaj visited Ayodhya in 1953, 1956 and 1968, and the late Pramukh Swami Maharaj visited Ayodhya eight times during his life, and they both prayed for a peaceful reconciliation and a beautiful mandir at the birthplace of Shri Ram.
The
most important thing was that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust had approached
Pramukh Swami Maharaj and requested him to offer the first brick to build a
mandir at the birthplace of Bhagwan Shri Ram. As such on August 16, 1989, on the
auspicious occasion of Rakshabandhan, Pramukh Swami Maharaj sanctified the
first shila (brick) of the Shri Ram
Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ahmedabad.
Amidst
Vedic chants, Pramukh Swami Maharaj prayed for a grand mandir to be built on
the Ram Janmabhoomi and offered the brick to the committee. Subsequently, 31
years later, on August 3, 2020, on the auspicious occasion of Rakshabandhan,
Mahant Swami Maharaj performed the pujan of the shila yantra, which was placed
at the foundation of the Shri Ram Janmaboomi Mandir. In 2023, Shri Govind Dev Giri
Ji Maharaj, a trustee and treasurer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirthkshetra
Trust attended the murti-pratishtha ceremony of the sacred shrines at BAPS
Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, USA, and also performed
the prana-pratishtha of Shri Ram
Darbar there.
Due
to the intense connection between the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir and Ram
Janmaboomi, 1,500 mandirs and 21,000 satsang centers around the world had
organized similar events to participate in celebrating this occasion.
The
second event at the Chinmaya Mission Washington
Regional Center was to celebrate Bhagwan Shri Ram Ji’s Homecoming. About 50 devotees gathered to sing Ram bhajans, Hanuman Chalisa, Sunderkand followed by the recitation of the Ram Janam Chand from Tulsi Ramayan.
Pranams Gurudev.
We
then saw a video of Swami Chinmayananda explaining the essence of Ramayan. Then
Swami Dheerananda showed us a letter dated 9th November 1990 written by Swami Chinmayananda to a Swamini Dr. Suhasini, which ended with “we will build the Temple and you will see its inauguration”! It was a soulful evening which ended with the Hanuman Aarati and the Ram Aarati.
California's Silicon Valley also organized a large rally to commemorate this significant occasion. More than 1,100 enthusiastic participants, bearing saffron banners featuring the image of the Ram temple, took part in a massive car rally in the Bay Area.
Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco.
Light show in
California.
Digital
billboard vehicles displaying various scenes from the Ramayana along with the
image of Lord Ram and the grand Ram temple built in Ayodhya fueled the
excitement to another level. See a short video on PGurus
And To hear 1 minute video
in Kannada of celebrations in California
The grand celebrations also extended to New York city's iconic Times Square, where the Indian diaspora assembled to illuminate the well-known location in honor of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. Attendees came in colorful traditional attire and participated in dancing, singing bhajans and other songs. To see 2 minute video
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by author
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Rama
in Tamil Nadu
2.
Marathas
and Ayodhya
3. Why making Ram
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Architecture of
Ram Mandir
5.
What is Pran
Pratistha
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On Chanting the Name of SRI RAM
8.
What is the deeper
meaning behind the names of Sri Ram and his brothers
9.
Adhyatma Ramayan marries Bhakti with Advaita Vedanta
10.
Many versions of the Ramayana
11.
A sacred journey to meet Pandit Ramashraya Tripathi
Ji, a present-day disciple in the lineage of Goswami Tulsi Das