5th to 8th January 2017 - Janmotsav celebrations organized by Hyderabad Dhyan Kendra
Yogoda Satsanga Dhyana Kendra, Hyderabad organized the Janmotsav celebrations from January 5-8, 2017 at Arya Vysya Abhyudaya Sangam - A function hall in Paradise, Secunderabad. This hall was located in the heart of the city to enable easy commuting for local and outstation devotees.
5th January 2017
The programme on January 5, 2017 which was also Gurudeva Paramahansa Yogananda's birthday was attended by around 850 devotees. There were a total of 909 registrations for the programme. 210 outstation devotees were accommodated in the venue and nearby hotels. Majority of the devotees hailed from various districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh including Warangal, Nizamabad, Vijayawada, Tandur, Tenali, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Anantapur etc. The entire programme was presided by Swamis Smarananandaji and Madhavanandaji and Bramhacharis Kedarananadaji and Raghavanandaji. The programme included a public talk on 5th graced by Swami Raghunayakananda from Ramakrishna Mission which focused on the significance of the centenary celebrations, and the yoga ideals as propounded by our Gurudeva.
The opening satsanga had an attendance of around 800 devotees. In a remarkable incident just a few minutes prior to the opening satsanga, the power was completely gone as panel board got completely burnt due to short circuit and some volunteers did the fire fight and brought the fire under control within 10 minutes, the transformer having a major break down, with no hope of it being restored for the next 2 hours. This kind of breakdown was a rarity and surprised everyone at the sudden power cut. The backup generator was limited, providing light only for the leader and the mics were not connecting. While it took time to fix everything, the programme started without the main power. But within a few minutes the power was resumed. In the opening Satsanga held by Swami Smaranananda ji, swamiji referring to this incident, recalled an incident during the release of the Telugu Autobiography of a Yogi.The much awaited book was translated in 1980. Usually it takes 6 months to publish a book which has been translated, but this particular book took almost 6 years! The book finally released only in 1986, after having faced a lot of obstacles. Swamiji mentioned that whenever there is a possibility that devotees would turn to God, the stronghold of Maya with its equal and opposing force, stops people from getting away from its hypnosis back to God. Once the Telugu Autobiography was released, it went to the remotest places in India and aided people to come on to the path. The book won awards for the best translation. It was the best seller for three consecutive years, only second to the English version.
Swamiji said that the way to mitigate the force of maya, is by being determined to get to God, no matter what the obstacles. Referring to the power mishap before the opening satsanga, Swamiji remarked, “We were determined to start the programme even without power, because one does not need power to contact God or to meditate.” He also said that there is a great good that would come when people gather to meditate and maya will try subtle means to stop that.
A beautiful cake was offered to our Gurudeva following the opening satsanga. The cake was cut amidst the birthday song and the voice of Guruji from “Awake in the cosmic Dream.” The cake was later served to the devotees during lunch.
The review classes on the techniques were held simultaneously in Telugu attended by an average of 500 members and English attended by 50 members. The centenary celebrations were officially inaugurated on the evening of January 5th during a public satsanga with our chief guest Swami Raghunayakananda from Ramakrishna Mission who graced the occasion on behalf of Swami Jnanadananda, Head of Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad. The talk by Swami Smaranananda ji focused mainly on the work of our Guru Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda and the objectives and ideals of YSS, marking the centenary year. One of the points that Swami Smaranananda ji spoke of, was the harmonious development of a sadhak’s spiritual life which rests on meditation, right behaviour and right activity. Swami Raghunayakananda later spoke reiterating the points made by Swamiji in a lively manner.
6th and 7th January 2017
On the following days of 6th and 7th, there was the techniques review, 6 hours long avirbhav meditation and also questions and answers session by Swami Madhavananda ji, who focused on the common problems encountered by devotees during meditation.
On the 7th , Dr Nagendra ji was invited as the chief guest on the centenary special public function. Dr Nagendra ji has several acclaims to his credit as a mechanical engineer, Yoga therapist, academic, writer and the founder vice chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA), a deemed university located in Bengaluru. He is best known as the personal yoga consultant of Sri Narendra Modi ji, the prime minister of India and is a recipient of Yoga Shri title from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. He has authored 35 books and over 100 research papers on Yoga. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padmashree, in 2016, for his contributions to society. He came from Bangalore especially for the programme and gave a talk on “Meditation for the Well-being of Body, Mind and Soul.” His speech was interspersed with slokas from the Gita and his immense knowledge of Yoga was evident. Using interesting allegories, Dr Nagendraji explained the futility of man’s life without the strong foothold of Yoga meditation. His talk was preceded by a talk given by Swami Smarananandaji, based on the wisdom of Bhagwad Gita on the importance of being a Yogi. In essence both the talks not only expressed the necessity of Yoga but also the urgency of it. The enlightening speeches of both the speakers was attended by over 800 people which majorly included devotees and general public.
8th January 2017
The entire Janmotsav programme concluded with the Kriya Ceremony on the auspicious day of Vaikuntha Ekadasi, when 66 devotees were initiated into Kriya yoga. The ceremony was held by Swami Smaranananadaji who explained the technique in Telugu with crystal clarity for the benefit of many, who might otherwise not understand the technique. Post the Kriya review and closing meditation, the closing satsanga was held by Swami Madhavanandaji.
Simultaneously Swami Smarananandaji gave a public talk on 8th January evening at IIIT, Gacchibowli, Hyderabad on “Meditation as an Antidote to stress, attended by several IT professionals.
Devotees fruitfully spent the four days in reviewing the techniques, Kriya Diksha, Public talks, Video Show, Bhajans and daily meditation led by monastics.
The overwhelming response from the programme showed a deep hunger and evolution towards God and divinity. The total book sales amounted to over 1.5 lakh over four days, with over 50 new member applications sought during the entire programme.
Service Activities
The service activities during Janmotsav included distribution of medical equipment which includes mobile ventilator ( Rs 2.5 Lakhs) at Gandhi Hospital and 25 wheel chairs (Rs 1 lakh) at Osmania General Hospital on January 2, 2017. On December 31st, there was a food distribution programme for around 350 people at the local Rama Temple in Tandur. 200 blankets were purchased by the Kendra to be used during the Janmotsav programme for the accommodation of devotees. These blankets will later be distributed among the poor. Hyderabad Kendra in association with Ranchi has been distributing scholarships to girl students with limited economic means to pursue professional courses.
