4 Jul 2016

Paramahamsa Vishwananda blesses Bhakti Marga UK Ashram


Directly a day after receiving the Bharat Gaurava Award, Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda blessed the site for the Bhakti Marga UK ashram. The blessing of the ashram and its surrounding area came in the form of Guru Puja, Abishekam, and a special yagna dedicated to Lakshmi-Narasimha, all with the presence of the living Master. 

Paramahamsa Vishwananda also announced that the presiding deity for the ashram's temple will be Mohini Devi, the female-form of Narayana. Lord Narayana had taken this form during the Churning of the Milky Ocean to ensure that the devas received the Amrit of immortality, and that the demons would not consume any. 



During the Shreemad Bhagavatam course in 2015, Paramahamsa Vishwananda told the story wonderfully about Mohini Devi which we would like to share with you now. This is a direct excerpt from the book, The Essence of Shreemad Bhagavatam by Paramahamsa Vishwananda

The Story of Mohini Devi

"…at that moment, they saw in front of them a beautiful lady, even more beautiful than Maha Lakshmi. She was Mohini Devi. The demons were mesmerised by Her beauty. As soon as they saw Her, they stopped fighting, and they even forgot about the Amrit. That’s the power of temptation. Like when you say, “Come, sing the Name of the Lord! Come, pray to God in order to attain Him! Come, I will give you the Love of God!” Then, you put a beauty there. People would say, “I’ll take that one.” If you put a million there, most people would say, “God can wait till I die. After I die I’ll see. Now let’s enjoy what is here.” But how would you see Him when you die? You would not see Him. You have to start seeing Him now! If you don’t see the reality now, you will never see it. 

Mohini was standing there very elegant in Her incomparable beauty, but the devas knew that She was the Lord’s Maya. Then Mohini said, “Listen my dear ones, give me this pot of Amrit. I shall give both of you the nectar.” The demons could not say ‘no’ to Her. The mesmerised demons told Her, “Take it, my dear.” Next, Mohini instructed them, “Sit in two lines, here the demigods and there the demons. I will pass by all of you, and I will give each one of you your share.” Mohini started dancing because She knew the mind of the demons, how stupid they were. They would be attracted to that beauty which does not last for long time. That’s why the Lord took that aspect. If He had appeared as Narayana in front of them, they would have not paid any notice. 

The Lord said to Himself, “These fools.” He knew their weaknesses. Everybody has their own weakness and the Lord knows them all. So Mohini took the pot of Amrit and started serving them. First, She went to the devas. She poured the amrit on their hands, and the devas drank it. Then She moved to the demons side, changed the Amrit by Her power, and gave them normal water to drink. Like that, the devas were getting the Amrit, but not the demons. At that time, the demons didn’t notice anything, because they were busy looking at Her beauty. They were staring at Her in such a way that they could not see that She was changing the Amrit into water for them. 

Among the demons was one by the name of Rahu. He saw that when the devas drank the Amrit they were full of energy, but there was not such a visible change in the demons. So Rahu quietly slipped into the line of the demigods. He got the Amrit but as he was swallowed it, Surya (the Sun) and Chandra (the Moon) noticed that he was not one of the demigods. At that moment they raised their voices to say, “Mohini, this is not a demigod, he is a demon!” Mohini turned immediately and She became Maha Vishnu again. Then, He threw His Sudarshana Chakra and beheaded Rahu. 

Due to the nectar that he had drunk, the head became immortal. Bhagavan sent his head up into the sky, and ever since then, Rahu has been known as the eighth planet, one of the planets that brings darkness into your life. It is said that it is Rahu that covers the Sun and the Moon on eclipse days to take revenge on them. The demigods were very happy and praised the Lord, whereas the demons lost all faith in God, because due to their selfishness, they lost the opportunity to receive the Amrit. Whatever the demigods were doing, they were always praising God and they were always offering everything to the Lord..." - Paramahamsa Vishwananda, Essence of Shreemad Bhagavatam


Since the presiding deity to be installed and inaugurated at the ashram is Mohini Devi, one can be reassured that the divine qualities of each spiritual seeker will be well taken care of, just as Mohini Devi had taken care of the welfare of the devas. Check out some more pictures from Swamiji's visit to the ashram by following this link to the Bhkati Marga Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bhaktimarga/albums