Janmäñöamé 2024
The rainy season might be winding down, but ÇRÉ GURUDEVA’s Rains of MERCY are always in full swing, irrespective of earthy seasons…! Kåñëa has been more than merciful, to give us birth in this Yuga of ÇRÉ GURUDEVA, in shelter of KARM.
And these merciful rains of Blessings are ever-increasing, because our ÇRÉ GURUDEVA are Ananta, unlimited, just like Kåñëa.
In KARM, everything is unique, special, magical and filled with a wow factor because it is all coming from the wow filled Lord Kåñëa Himself !
We, the maïjarés, are loyal to Sväminé! Yet, so much about Kåñëa, Kåñëa, Kåñëa… why? Because this is about His Special Day… The Ävirbhäva Mahämahotsava, the Supremely Auspicious Tithi, Janmäñöamé, Appearance Day of our Sväminé’s Beloved, Kåñëa.
Although Janmäñöamé is widely celebrated around many parts of India, but the kind of grandeur & festivities that are seen at KARM, it’s highly unlikely that something even remotely close to this, is present anywhere else.
If anything, people actually get astonished upon the magnificent & vast preparations, decorations, Prasädam, Offerings & Bhogas! Their faces can tell that they have never witnessed anything so Divine!
Our preparations begin atleast 1-2 months before the actual celebration day, for any festival. Similarly this time around, devotees were excited for chappana bhogas, deciding theme, venue, play practices, prasädam menu, cake making seväs, various ‘behind the curtain’ seväs and offerings! Messages were flowing in, from all KARM Devotees, sharing their ideas and sevä bhävas.. as all want to give their best for ÇRÉ GURUDEVA’S service and Their own Function.
And the month of August reached its last week in no time.. Everyone was ready, services were alloted, venue was decided, numerous lists were being made including prasädam menu, 56 bhoga etc., play was being practiced, Devotees were taking out time from schools & offices to devote their maximum time in sevä.
And just like that, it was the day everyone was longing for. Mostly all reached the venue at 6am, turned a basic empty space into a lively hall of whose every corner became Sevämaya, Gurumaya, Kåñëamaya, Rädhämaya.. In short, it was all spiritualised and beautified like Nikuïja Mandira.
A huge kitchen space was made operational in no time, with large quantities of highest quality ingredients being cooked in big utensils for the feast !!
Vyäsa Äsana was placed, Abhiñeka Table was set, DEITIES Altar was decorated, orchids were hanged down the ceiling, beautiful raìgolé was made with a blast of colors and 56 Bhogas were arranged, not merely on 4-5 tables; but on almost 15 tables !
The variety of Bhogas has no bounds of time, place, money or categories ! Devotees gave their days on end to buy 56 bhogas. Even upto the last day, lists of Bhogas were coming in… Hence time was not a limitation.
They got it from various States and even Those who couldn’t come themselves, didn’t miss a chance to send it via couriers, even from Karnataka. So even place didn’t matter.
The categories from market were more than what we see regularly. From Namkeens & Snacks, to Sweets & Desserts, to Candies & Mouth freshners, Biscuits & Cookies, Wafers & Juices, Sodas & Milkshakes, to Yogurts, it was a head-spinning sight !
And what to talk of money! The opulence of Bhogas in KARM is unparalleled. Devotees don’t see their budget or the price, they just buy without blinking an eye!
To top all this, extravagant cooking is done by all the Mätäjé’s & Prabhujé’s, one day before Janmäñöamé, even though huge jumbos of packed Bhogas are already bought from market by Them. Even the cooking is bifurcated in Ann Bhogas and Non Ann Bhogas, in four places, for The four DEITIES ! Some Devotees start cooking dry items few days before the function so as to serve more & more.
This detailing is exactly as per the Scriptures, how Janmäñöamé is celebrated in Nitya Våndävana. This method of celebration as prescribed by the Scriptures, is practically unfathomable by any regular Hindu Temple or even the so-called organisations that claim to be Kṛṣṇa Conscious ! It is actually beyond their area of understanding.
The theme is still a mystery, just as Kåñëa who is the most mysterious, most mystical.
As the decoration was happening, some blue and green pieces were seen here and there, increasing the curiosity of what is it going to be. While it was coming together, it turned out to be the most beautiful Peacock Feather Theme..!!
The spread out feathers of a peacock served as the background for ÇRÉ GURUDEVA’S Vyäsa Äsana!
The sight was breathtaking! Now the eyes awaited to see ÇRÉ GURUDEVA seated on that Äsana, while peacock feathers would glorify the Aiçvarya of our Lord!
It was about time, when our Beloved MATAJI arrived, and no later than that, the Lord of everyone’s heart, Svayaà ÇRÉ GURUDEVA arrived!
The entire venue was filled with auspiciousness, melodious sounds & vibrations of Goloka, a certain golden light illuminated the scene !
ÇRÉ GURUDEVA are LORD Himself, this needs no words, just one’s presence is enough to feel way more than what is described. All felt an enchantment, due to ÇRÉ GURUDEVA’S Divine Aura.
Soon, the festivities started pacing up, time started running faster than ever ! Even the DEITIES were eagerly waiting for ÇRÉ GURUDEVA.
All had mesmerizing Darçana while ÇRÉ GURUDEVA did Abhiñeka of Kåñëa, and thereafter the same Abhiñeka was performed by All, in the footsteps of ÇRÉ GURUDEVA, while heart-melting Kértanas & Bhajanas were sung by Devotees unanimously.
ÇRÉ GURUDEVA personally went to each table of Bhoga Offerings and purified each Offering with Äcamana jala, and Guided the meditation of right way of offering Bhoga, in maïjaré svarüpa… opening each packet of Bhoga for beloved DEITIES and serving in big plates & bowls made of gold, because even though the externals are limited, but bhäva can be unlimited!
There were 7000+ Offerings! One can not even imagine how much love & acceptance ÇRÉ GURUDEVA had for each Offering, that nothing was missed and those many items were offered to the Lord !
Thereafter it was time for the Play, which was well planned & perfectly executed. It left everyone smiling ear to ear because of the Lélä depiction and helped remembering the Lélä for meditation of our sevä as a maïjaré ! Kåñëa might be the Lord of the world, but for us, He is someone who begs at our feet, so that we take Him to our Sväminé, even after He has done all the cheating & lying!
Then, a Presentation was showed reminiscing the Mona Lisa Session, which took place on Janmäñöamé in 2022 – Rüpa Mädhuré Camatkäritva.
As it was a Masterpiece & unheard things about Kåñëa were revealed by ÇRÉ GURUDEVA, Devotees never thought there could be more to it! Little did anyone know that They just touched the shore of the endless ocean that Kåñëa is !
In continuation to the Presentation, ÇRÉ GURUDEVA blessed All with the most Mesmerizing, Hypnotic, Breath-taking, Wow-filled Harikathä Session, and mercifully made All swim in nectar, describing Kåñëa a little bit, so that we can grasp at least some of it.
As stated in Däna-keli-kaumudi, even Rädhäräné has not been able to relish Kåñëa’s Mädhuryämåta to its full glory till now, despite being Mädhava-Saìginé from time immemorial! Hence it’s impossible for anyone else to know Kåñëa.
When ÇRÉ HARI Svayaà tells about HIMSELF, in the form of ÇRÉ GURUDEVA, the relishment can be felt by BLESSINGS and nothing else. All were enchanted by spell of ÇRÉ GURUDEVA’S Väëé, Darçana, Aura, Gestures, Smiles and Explanations.. ÇRÉ GURUDEVA’S Darçana were, always are a grand festival in itself.
After the intoxicating session, it was time for beautiful cake cutting & ThankYou Kértana concluding the Function & marking the unwanted, yet necessary departure of ÇRÉ GURUDEVA for that Day…
Though it was a heart-wrenching sight to watch ÇRÉ GURUDEVA go, yet all were filled with immense bliss & gratitude… That strength allowed all to come back to this world mentally and continue services.
Extensive feast Prasädam even on a fasting day is a speciality at KARM. Everyone honoured the Prasädam heartily & started wind up seväs…
It took an entire army to collect, segregate and distribute 56 bhogas to one and all. Servants, drivers, maids, cleaners, helpers, family members and anyone related to Devotees were given big packets of Prasäda & 56 Bhogas.
Then the Devotees blissfully engaged in winding up the decorations and entire setup, with dreams of next celebration & prayers to imbibe and learn from the present day BLESSINGS.
Hence, the 24 hours of Janmäñöamé 2024 ended with seeing off MATAJI & booking our cabs back home.
For some Devotees, Janmäñöamé Seväs continued till next day, as they took charge of loading and unloading the Function paraphernalia, huge utensils, decorations & furniture, while some volunteered to put these back in the store safely.
The Mädhurya, the sweet glory of Lord Kåñëa is insurmountable, so is the Vätsalya of our ÇRÉ GURUDEVA for us. This loving, nurturing, protective Shelter of ÇRÉ GURUDEVA; this beautiful umbrella of KARM is always binding us together, very tightly, in the form of loving devotional services & celebrations that satiate the hunger of heart like nothing else.