Jammu and Kashmir: In view of the prevailing Covid-19 circumstances, Jammu and Kashmir Government cancelled this year’s annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra. However, all the traditional religious rituals will be performed at the Holy Cave Shrine as per past practice.

A threadbare discussion in this regard was held with the members of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board in view of the present Covid-19 situation before arriving on the decision. Subsequently Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is also Chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, held a detailed deliberations with Chief Secretary, DGP, Principal Secretary and Principal Secretary to Lt Governor and directed that devotee should be enabled to attend to morning and evening Aarti in online mode.

The meeting was informed that Shrine Board has put in place virtual and televised mechanism for live Darshan of Aarti from the holy cave.

Lieutenant Governor said that it is important to save the lives of the people in view of the pandemic and subsequently not advisable to hold and conduct this year’s pilgrimage in the larger public interest.

Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board CEO said, the shrine board have made the arrangements for the mace of Lord Shiva- Chhari Mubarak’ to be taken to the holy cave on 22nd August, when the yatra is to conclude coinciding with the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

He said that both morning telecast of Aarti at 6 AM and evening Aarti at 5 PM, each for 30 minutes would be live-streamed on Shri Amarnath ji Shrine board’s official website and the app specifically dedicated for the devotees.

(PBNS)

Uttarakhand: Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed today between the Oil and Gas PSUs-Indian Oil, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC and GAIL, and Shri Badrinath Utthan Charitable Trust for Construction and Redevelopment of Shri Badrinath Dham as a Spiritual Smart hill Town.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan, Tourism Minister of Uttarakhand Satpal Maharaj, Secretary, MoPNG Tarun Kapoor, Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand Om Prakash, and senior officers of the MoPNG, Uttarakhand Government and Oil & Gas PSUs.

As per the MoUs, the Oil & Gas PSUs will be contributing Rs. 99.60 crore in the first phase of the developmental activities, including river embankment work, building all-terrain vehicular path, building bridges, beautifying existing bridges, establishing gurukul facilities with accommodation, creating toilet and drinking water facilities, installing streetlights, mural paintings etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said that Char Dham is close to millions of Indians, due to spiritual, religious and cultural reasons. The Oil and Gas PSUs will not only contribute to the development work of the Badrinath, but are also part of the development of Kedarnath, Uttarkashi, Yamunotri and Gangotri.  He said “Today’s event is a significant milestone in the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of developing Badrinath shrine as a mini smart and spiritual city, without compromising on the religious sanctity and mythological importance of the region.”

Lauding the efforts of Oil & Gas PSUs in developing the facilities, Pradhan said, “I am glad that Oil and Gas PSUs of this nation have come forward to realise the vision of developing Badrinath Dham into a Smart Spiritual Town. Tourism is one of the key industries, which is playing a critical role in the development of the state. Development of the sites like Badrinath would also help in attracting more tourists, which in turn would strengthen the economy of the state.”

Rawat said, “Shri Badrinath Dham has a special place in the hearts of the people of this country. It is considered to be one of the most sacred places in our country, and the developmental activities are much needed to provide the best of facilities to the pilgrims from across the country. With the concerted efforts of both Uttarakhand Govt. and Oil & Gas PSUs, we are hopeful of that the rejuvenation work of Shri Badrinath Dham will be completed within a span of three-year time.”

Gorakhpur: Known for providing Hanuman Chalisha and Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta at just Rs 2 and 4 respectively, Gita Press, the world largest printer, publisher and distributor of Hindu religious literature has turned 98.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to find at least one religious book from the Gita press at any Hindu household. The name, Gita Press itself carries a legacy with it.

It is said, Jayadayal Goyandka, the founder of Gita Press wanted to get the holy book Gita printed. After the printed document came, he was saddened to see the poor quality and spelling mistakes in it. This inspired him to have a press house of his own which would publish quality material at a low price. It was then he met Ghanshyam Das Jalan, who helped him in establishing Gita Press.

On April 29, 1923, Gita Press was breathed from a house rented at Rs 10 in the town of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Jayadayal Goyandka (1885-1965), and Ghanshyam Das Jalan, the founders of Gita Press had only one goal, to promote and popularise Gita and the principles of Sanatana Dharma.

They were later joined by Hanuman Prasad Poddar (1892-1971), who served as the founding and lifetime editor of it’s noted magazine Kalyan. Poddar also wrote articles under the pen name Shiv Kalyan.

By March 2019, Gita Press has made available more than 68 crore 28 lakh copies of the holy book Gita, Ramayan, Bhagvat, Durga Saptashati, Puranas, Upnishads, Bhakta-Gathas and other character-building books in Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Nepali, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Bangla, Oriya, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Assamese, Urdu and Punjabi.

Gita Press’s archives contain over 3,500 manuscripts including over 100 interpretations of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita.

Gita Press is a legacy in itself. Amongst the various publishing houses that started before or during colonial rule, the one that still has people talking, is Gita Press.

Although it started from a small rented room in Gorakhpur, today, it has 22 branches all over the country. With around 70 retail outlets across India, including stalls at many railway stations, Gita Press has continued to survive and thrive. Today, Gita Press has also gone online, pacing with the changing demand and time of the market.

(PBNS)

Gorakhpur: The month-long khichdi mela (fair) of Makar Sankranti festival will begin at the Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur with the offering of the first ‘Khichdi’ to the deity by the Goraksh Peethadhishwar Yogi Adityanath, who is also the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

After the first offering by Yogi, the Khichdi sent by the King of Nepal will be offered to the deity as per tradition followed by the offerings made by common people.

Offering Khichdi to Baba Gorakhnath is a centuries-old tradition celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour at the Gorakhnath temple. Innumerable number of devotees from across UP, Bihar, Nepal and also from other places throng the temple to offer Khichdi.

According to a legend, Baba Gorakhnath had once gone to Jwala Devi temple in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The Goddess Jwala Devi invited him over dinner. Seeing the ‘tamasi’ (non-vegetarian) food, Baba Gorakhnath said that he takes only rice and pulses received as alms. His request was fulfilled.

Later, Baba Gorakhnath moved to Gorakhpur located in the foothills of the Himalayas. After placing his ‘Akshay patra’ (bowl for alms) on the confluence of the Rapti and Rohini rivers, he started his spiritual penance. The people started putting rice and pulses in it but could not fill the Akshay patra. For them, it was like a miracle of Baba Gorakhnath. And since then, the tradition of offering khichdi to Guru Gorakhnath continues in Gorakhpur.

Devotees from far off places gather at the temple to celebrate the occasion every year. First, they take holy bath in the Bhima Sarovar of the temple. The Khichdi fair lasts for a month from the day of Makar Sankranti in the temple premises.

As per Hindu calendar, Makar Sankranti is dedicated to the Sun God. On this day, the Sun begins its journey from Sagittarius to Capricorn beginning the start of warmer days. The Sun, which is believed to be the source of energy, transits in all 12 zodiac signs throughout the year. The entry of the Sun from one zodiac to another is called Sankranti. In this sequence, when the Sun enters Capricorn from Sagittarius, then the auspicious period of Makar Sankranti comes. In Hindu tradition, it is considered as the best period to start all auspicious works.

New Delhi: Department of Posts has decided to deliver Sabarimala ‘Swamy Prasadam’ to devotees across the country at their doorstep. The Department of Posts conceptualized and developed a comprehensive booking and delivery package for the delivery of “Swami Prasadam” of Sabrimala Temple at the doorstep of the devotees using the vast network of postal department covering every nook and corner of the country.

According to the Ministry of Communication, the Kerala Postal Circle entered into an agreement with Travancore Devaswom Board for this purpose creating a tailor made product. The devotees can now book the Swami Prasadam from any post office in India by paying only Rs. 450 for each packet of prasadam. The packet contains one packet of Aravana, Aadiya Sishtam Ney (ghee), Vibhooti, Kumkum, Turmeric and Archana Prasadam. A devotee can book up to ten packets at a time. As soon as Prasadam is booked under speed post, a message with the speed post number will be generated and intimated to the devotee via SMS. The devotee can track the movement of the Prasadam by logging in to India Post website.

This service was launched all over India with effect from 6^th of November 2020. There has been tremendous response from the public for this service. Around 9000 orders have already been booked all over India till date and the same is increasing day by day.

Sabarimala temple has been opened to the devotees, for this year’s “Mandalam season pilgrimage” from 16^th November, 2020. Due to the prevalent COVID -19 pandemic situation the pilgrims had to follow strict protocols for visiting the shrine. Only very limited number of devotees were allowed per day to visit the shrine this season. A substantive number of devotees were not able to fulfil the COVID protocols for getting the darshan of Lord Ayyappa due to the strict restrictions imposed for pilgrimage during this season.

Varanasi: A new temple of Shri Ram is in the offing. The temple will come up in Bhagwan Vishwanath’s Kashi, not in Ram’s Ayodhya. The ‘Shilapujan’ (worship of foundation stone) was performed by Shri Ram’s ardent Muslim devotee Nazneen Ansari, while senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar performed ‘Bhoomipujan’ of the temple at the Indresh Ashram in Lamahi, the native village of celebrated Hindi author Premchand, during the auspicious occasion of Navratri festival on Sunday.

The Shilapujan and Bhoomipujan were performed under the guidance of Pt. Pradeep Shastri and Pt. Anuj Pandey. The unique temple of Shri Ram will be built with the help of Ram’s descendants and devotees. The temple will be open for all without any discrimination. The support from all sections of the society including daliuts, kinnars and Muslims will be taken in the construction of the temple. Along with the idol of Shri Ram, the idols of all of his supporters in the ‘dharma yudha’ including deities, ascetics and other associates and devotees like Jamvant, Nal, Neel, Angad, Tatayu, Sampati, Ahilya, Shabri, Vibhishan, Sushain Vaidya, Trijata, Garud, and even the squirrel will be placed in the temple. A special aarati of the deities will be performed on every Sunday.

New Ram-Mandir coming up in Kashi

A Haryana based industrialist Sunil Goyal gifted a car –‘Shri Ram Rajya Vahan’ to the ashram for the welfare of suffering people. The vehicle was also inaugurated on the occasion.

Meanwhile, a new sect -Shri Rampanth was also established with the beginning of Navratri festival. For the propagation of the new sect, a professor of Banaras Hindu University Dr. Rajiv Srivastava took the ‘deeksha’ from his guru Indresh Kumar in presence of religious heads of different faiths. Srivastava is the founder of Vishal Bharat Sansthan and other organization. He has been active in social service for over three decades.

Varanasi: The Bhelupur center of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is preparing to make the center grand and develop it into a Cultural Centre. Its name will be Sri Sri Radha Gopal Mandir Vedic India Cultural Center.

“Our vision is to make ISKCON’s VICC the most attractive place in Varanasi after Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Ghats of Ganga. We wish to offer an irresistible centre of attraction for tourists, a source of enlightenment for the spiritual seekers and a stage for exposing the rich culture of Kashi. It’ll be an effort to present the traditional values and culture of Vedic India through modern means and help holistic development of society.” said Achyut Mohan Das, Chairman ISKCON Varanasi.

It has made its formal debut on Radha Ashtami, the Annual anniversary day of ISKCON Varanasi. The chief architect Anup Sahni, CEO Ellypsium Architects, said that the project will be completed by summer 2023. After completion it’ll be UP’s second grand ISKCON temple after Kanpur.

The temple will have yoga and other facilities along with accommodation of international standards for tourists coming from any part of the world. A Vedic ashram will also be built in the temple for dedicated spiritual students and social activists.

ISKCON Bhagavat Vidyapitha will also be established in the cultural centre. In it, both basic and advanced courses related to Srimad Bhagwad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Puranas, Upanishads, Chaitanya Charitamrita, etc. will be conducted, which will be from one week to six months. There will be qualified teachers from around the world. It will also have auditorium and three seminar halls with capacity of 125 people to attend cultural events and presentations. In this, tourists from all over the country will be given a glimpse into the Vedic culture through video shows, dance, music, theatrics etc.

ISKCON to build Radha-Gopal Mandir in Kashi

Das said that the temple hall will be made on Royal Jaipur Palace theme. More than 250 devotees will be able to participate in the Darshan, Katha and Kirtan in the temple. Deluxe, Super Deluxe, Family Suites, Royal Suite rooms will also be made for the residence of the guests coming from outside. Two Banquet halls have also been conceptualized in the temple for cultural, corporate and family events. Govindas restaurants will also be made for devotees to get satvik food. Under Food for Life free Prasad will be distributed to visitors and poor people. A gift shop, natural products shop, sales center for Bhoga Prasad will also be established in the temple premises. In addition, Ayurvedic spa will also be implemented. In this, diseases will be treated by natural methods.

He said that this holy land was originally donated by the Dabur family in memory of Shri Guru Achyutanand Maharaj Ji which is now being developed by ISKCON Society as a mega tourism project.

Future annual contribution of Vedic India Cultural Center:

◼️ Free fresh prasadam will be distributed daily to 2000 pilgrims and poor people

◼️ 250 students will be given fully sponsored certificate courses.

◼️ More than 1000 students will be given value education and de-addiction related courses.

◼️ 350 youths to be trained under Skill India initiative.

◼️ 100 women will be trained with appropriate skills to get jobs.

◼️ More than 500 cultural events will be organized for youth and tourists.

◼️ More than 15 startups will be provided with seed fundin, incubation facilities and business-friendly environment.

◼️ More than two thousand people will join campaigns related to organic farming, cow protection and Ayurvedic awareness.

◼️ More than twenty main spiritual curtural festivals will be celebrated in a grand manner.

ISKCON to build Radha-Gopal Mandir in Kashi

ISKCON Youth Welfare Center

Varanasi: Under the social responsibility of ISKCON Varanasi, a “Youth Welfare Center” will be established near Hyderabad Gate of Banaras Hindu University for the welfare of youth. In this, workshops will be conducted to make the youth intellectually competent, technically skilled and most importantly pure in character.

The center will be operated in the four-storey building and many-many youths can take benefit of this facility to rise in life by connecting to Vedic knowledge. The center has seminar halls for anti-addiction seminars, mega kitchen for sharing free meals, multipurpose halls for cultural events, counseling facilities, recording studio for online courses, conference rooms for value education classes and mental and physical health. Meditation room will be made. The centre is a part of the Samskara Project for Youth Empowerment www.samskara.org.in.

ISKCON to build Radha-Gopal Mandir in Kashi

“Youths are the future of society, and thus their good character will be the very root of society’s welfare. If the youths get character education & training at the right juncture of their life, then their families can be saved from a great deal of trouble, otherwise the families whose young sons and daughters get into bad habits often face big challenges and lose a lot. This Youth Welfare Center will be aiming to produce young leaders of future generation with Character, Competence and Devotion just like Arjuna, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Mother Teresa, Ratan Tata, Srila Prabhupada, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. We wish to facilitate the potential of Youth in a culture of care and positivity to empower them to bring out their potential and make sustainable contributions to the society at large. Our effort is to equip the youths with all necessary support, association and positive value system to help them bridge the gap between their dreams and accomplishments,” said Sandeep an Alumnus of IIT BHU and director of ISKCON Varanasi’s cultural branch UMEED.

This Youth Welfare Center will aim to offer following services annually

◼ Providing nutritious meals to over 250 youths everyday

◼ Providing free Academic education to 120 youths

◼ Providing 60 scholarships to promising students

◼ Training 100 youths in employment skills

◼ Providing in-depth meditation to over 40 youths

◼ Incubation center for facilitating 10 start-ups annually

◼ Providing 500 hours of online education videos creation

◼ Providing anti-addiction training to over 150 youths

◼ Providing Value Education course to 225 teenagers

ISKCON to build Radha-Gopal Mandir in Kashi

ISKCON National Vedic Olympiad

It is an initiative of ISKCON Varanasi’s cultural branch, UMEED Foundation and Aakash Institute. It is an online Olympiad that will be held nationally. Children from primary, junior, senior and graduate level will participate in it. The Olympiad will be held in three phases, including Regional Vedic Olympiad, Zonal Vedic Olympiad and National Vedic Olympiad. To register for Olympiad, you can visit www.vedicolympiad.com. The medium of Olympiad will be English and the questions will be from 11 subjects including Vedic Mathematics, Vedic Science and Astronomy, Vedic History, Ayurveda and Lifestyle, Spirituality and Yoga.

“Our aim is to steer the awareness and interest of our modern youths to the timeless treasure of Vedic sciences that has offered sustainable solutions to all fields of life from time immemorial. Vedic knowledge is a priceless gift of India to the World and we wish to revive it to its original Glory. We shall be giving exclusive study material to the registered students and then offer them a platform to compete at national level. The course will be designed in mind keeping the tenets of the new National Educational Policy,” said Himanshu Datt a IIT BHU alumnus and chief coordinator of NVO. This initiative is started by a group of IIT and NIT alumni in order to help develop better character and competence in teenagers, as a celebration and assistance to the Govt. of India’s new National Educational Policy.

By Girish Pandey

Ayodhya: After the Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed bhoomipujan of Ram Mandir on August 5, the Ram Nagari Ayodhya is now looking forward to a complete makeover with the world class modern amenities in the years to come.

The UP government led by Yogi Adityanath has already engaged a global consultancy agency -PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for infrastructure development of Ayodhya. The PwC has suggested construction of star hotels and an international airport. The development projects worth of Rs Rs 458 crore are underway. Main projects include sewer lines, an auditorium for ‘bhajan sandhya’, potable water, and sewerage.

https://newsbasket.in/ayodhya-railway-station-under-makeover/.html

Several government agencies have been engaged to work in coordination for Audhya’s development. Besides, several central ministries like surface transport, railways, tourism, and civil aviation have also joined hands for the development of Ayodhya, which has been in the priority list of the CM for its development as a major pilgrimage destination. His frequent visit to Ayodhya exhibits his commitment for the development of Shri Ram’s birthplace.

https://newsbasket.in/pm-performs-bhoomi-pujan-at-shree-ram-janmabhoomi-mandir/.html

According to reports, the government has planned several projects like renovation of ‘parikrama’ roads of Ayodhya, 10-km-long riverfront, vedic city, multilevel parking, underground cabling, and bus stand on international standard. The projects like ghat beautification have been undertaken under Rama Circuit and Swadesh Darshan schemes.

Ayodhya readies for a makeover

Ayodhya, situated on the banks of holy river Saryu, also known as Saket. It is the birthplace of Shri Ram and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya used to be the capital of the ancient Kosala Kingdom. Owing to the belief as the birthplace of Bhagwan Shri Ram, Ayodhya (Awadhpuri) has been regarded as first one of the seven most important pilgrimage sites (Mokshdayini Sapt Puris) for Hindus.

Varanasi: The foundation laying of Ram Mandir by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020 will be the culmination of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement spearheaded by the mahants of Gorakshpeeth in Gorakhpur presently headed by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

In fact, Gorakshpeeth, which had been epicentre of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement since the period of Mahant Digvijaynath, played as an important role in the movement. According to the records, the movement itself started under the leadership of Mahant Digvijaynath, who played a lead role in December 1949 which culminated in the appearance of idol of Ram Lalla at the site. Mahant Digvijaynath, who had joined the Hindu Mahasabha in 1937, was later elected as the MP from Gorakhpur in 1967 on Hindu Mahasabha ticket.

Later, his successor Mahant Avaidyanath played an important role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He was a leader of the movement, founding the Sri Ramjanmabhoomi Mukti Yagna Samiti in 1984. In September of that year, the Samiti launched a religious procession from Sitamarhi in Bihar to Ayodhya, with the mission of ‘liberating’ the Ram temple. He had given sermons exhorting the listeners to give votes only to those parties that promised to liberate the Hindu sacred places.

From Gorakshpeeth to Ram Janmabhoomi

In 1986 when the then Faizabad DM gave orders to open the locks of the disputed site to allow Hindus to offer prayers there, Mahant Avaidyanath was present at the site. Under his leadership, Gorakhspeeth had become the centre of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

Mahant Avaidyanath was also a politician of the Hindu Mahasabha and later Bharatiya Janata Party being elected to the Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur for four times. He was also elected MLA from Maniram assembly constituency for five times. He was the mentor and guru of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who succeeded him as the head of Gorakshpeeth.

After the death of Mahant Avaidyanath in 2014, Yogi Adityanath was made the head of Gorakshpeeth. He had been the MP from Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms since 1998. Yogi visited Ayodhya many times. Now, Yogi will witness the historic moment of foundation stone laying ceremony, the cherished dream of his predecessors. He visited Ayodhya to review the preparations for the foundation laying ceremony.

According to the Railways, modelled on the Ram Mandir, the first phase of the new looking Ayodhya station is likely to complete by June 2021, while the complete makeover is expected to finish in 2023-24.

The works are on to give a new look to the Ayodhya railway station with all required modern facilities for the visiting devotees and tourists, as after the construction of Ram Mandir Ayodhya will a centre of great attraction not only for the Hindu devotees but also the people from across the world.

According to railway authorities, a fund of Rs. 104.77 crores has been allocated for this project. The station is being constructed by the RITES Enterprise of Railways.