GEETHA PATIL
BOSTON: The Shivalaya Temple of Greater Boston, hosted Maha Shivratri, one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals which is celebrated in reverence of Lord Shiva on March 4 with the temple remaining open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. for devotees.
The main Shivratri program was held from 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. with hundreds of devotees with utmost enthusiasm and religious fervor.
The Shivalaya temple committee organizeda week-long (February 26 to March 4) Pravachan (religious discourse) by Swami Nalinanand Giriji on Shri Mahamrityunjaya from 7:00PM to 9:00PM. On March 4, for visiting devotees, the temple arranged every hour Shiv Abhishekam sessions from 6 a.m to 6 p.m.
In the evening, Maha Rudra Abhishekam of Lord Shiva Lingam was performed by Pandit Govindji and Swami Nalinanand Giriji with all the Vedic rituals and chants. Swamiji presented the magnificent IMAGE of A beautifully decorated Shiva Lingam with flowers, and several earthen lamps to the devotees. The temple provided LED tea lights to all the devotees to perform Shiva Arati. All the devotees chanted Lord Shiva hymns, Ashtottara Shatanamavali of Lord Shiva,and ‘Om Namah Shivay’ with Swamiji to seek Lord Shiva’s blessings. The ‘Har Har Mahadev’ chant created a positive devotional atmosphere in the temple.
Beautiful bhajans were sung by the devotees throughout the evening. Before Lord Shiva’s arati, young adults and children together presented a grand “Bhole ki baraat” or Shiva’s baraat procession and the performance of the wedding anniversary of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati in front of the audiences.
“Nirvana: the Taste of India’ restaurant served delicious Maha Prasadam to all the devotees. Shri Sudarshanand Vijay Kumar Selhi , along with other team members, controlled the evening huge crowd very amicably. Temple President Vijay Kumar Selhi and Chirag Selhi thanked generously all the devotees and children for making the event a grand success. They also thanked all the volunteers for their dedication and services to the temple.
