CHICAGO: Vaman Dvadashi/Jayanti – the appearance day of Lord Vamana Deva – was celebrated for the first time at the Hindu Mandir of Lake County on Sunday September 3 by hundreds of devotees with utmost religious fervor and enthusiasm.
Some devotees observed Vamana Dvadashi fast till noon from the previous day (Ekadasi).The deity of Lord Sri Krishna was decorated with saffron robe as Vamanadeva.
An exciting Puja of the Lord was performed by Yogesh Pandya and Ramachari Ji with all the Vedic rituals and chanting of mantras that created a spiritual environment in the shrine. After the Puja, young children dressed like Vaman and King Bali entered the shrine and devotees chanted welcome slogans and displayed the episode of Lord Vaman’s teaching of lesson to King Bali.
Later, Pt. Joshi delivered his enlightening discourse. He said that the Supreme Lord Vishnu appeared as the son of Kashyapa and Aditi in the form of a dwarf Brahmana (Vamana) to teach King Bali, a great devotee born in the family of demons, a lesson about misusing of his powers and boons given to him.
Only in this Avatar, Lord Vishnu asked for something from a devotee and at the same time, he fulfilled all the desires of that devotee even after killing him. He blessed King Bali because of his devotion towards Him as a grandson of his favorite devotee Bhakta Prahalad and surrendered all that he possessed and also everything that belonged to him such as his mind that was the reason for his bad thoughts, bad actions, and ego. So, Lord Vaman “honorably transformed King Bali to a place which is more comfortable than heaven.”
With this observation, Pt. Joshi requested all devotees, along with their devotion and fasting that helps to clean the body and mind, to surrender their bad thoughts, bad action and ego to the Lord and earn his blessings for their own welfare and take a positive step towards their Moksha. Devotees also offered three items of their choice to Lord Vaman.
Pt. Joshi chanted this verse and explained the meaning as in his conclusion:
chalayasi vikramane balim adbhuta-vamana
pada-nakha-nira-janita-jana-pavana
kesava dhrta-vamana-rupa jaya jagadisa hare
O Kesava-the Lord of this universe! You have assumed the form of a dwarf-Brahmana! All glories to You! O Clever dwarf Brahman, by Your massive steps You tricked King Bali, and the Ganges water that emanates from the nails of Your lotus feet brings life within this world.
Melodious Bhajans were sung by Vishwanathan and Sangeetha Singh. After a grand Aarti to Lord Vaman and all other deities in the temple, Pt. Anil Joshi blessed all the devotees for their welfare, happiness and prosperity. The temple committee offered vote of thanks to all the children, sponsors, devotees, and volunteers for their devotion, and support to the event and making it a grand success by their active participation. Maha Prasad was served to all the children and devotees with lots of love and devotion.
“I liked being dressed up like Lord Vamana and part of this wonderful celebration. I will learn more about Vaman Puranam and other Puranas as I grow up” said one child.
Geetha Patil
