Geetha Patil
CHICAGO: Hindu Mandir of Lake County, Grayslake, a Chicago suburb celebrated Hindola (Swing) Festival with much enthusiasm and devotion on Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Many devotees participated in the event with their own family deities and brought in lots of flowers, fruits, and fruit juices. The mandir ambience is charged with the sound and fragrance of bhakti.
In the Hindu month of Shravan, the monsoon provides relief from the intense summer heat and an exuberant spirit. The environment is colored by lush greenery, sweet-smelling flowers, and fruiting trees. Devotees brought home-made fruit juices for Abhishekam as nature gives us fruits and flowers as gifts. So, we need to offer them first to God as Bhoga before consuming them ourselves.
Temple priest, Pt. Radha Krishna performed Lord Ganesh and kalash Pujan. Pt. Anil Joshi performedAbhishekam of all the deities of the devotees along with Lord Krishna with homemade fruit juices while both Pt. Balaji Gopalan and Radha Krishna were chanting Maha Mantras.
Pt Joshi delivered a brief discourse on how we enjoy going outside to enjoy nature, we need to take our deities outside and offer them all the new juicy fruits and fruit juices and obtain the divine joy of rocking the almighty Lord for His pleasure. He further said that Yashoda Ma had arranged Hindolas and fruit Juices stations for Lord Krishna and his friends when he had gone to the forest for the first time to graze the cows. That day, all other Gods came there as BalaGopals and enjoyed Hindola Utsav.
Pt. Joshi blessed all the devotees for their active participation and honored Rita Patel and Kamlesh Desai for their contribution as singers. After Maha Mangalarati, Mahaprasad was served to all the devotees. He also thanked all the volunteers for their self-less contribution.
