A short series at some photos from the ongoing Pilgrimage taking place in Southern France with Sri Swami Vishwananda.
Showing posts with label Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda. Show all posts
14 Jan 2012
Swami Vishwananda pilgrimage in Mauritius
http://vishwananda4mauritius.wordpress.com
11 Jan 2012
South France Pilgrimage
25 Dec 2011
Pilgrimages in 2012
We are happy that under the guidance of Sri Swami Vishwananda it is once again possible to visit sacred places:
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Registration possible 'til 20. January 2012
For further questions: france.pilgrimage@bhaktimarga.org
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Registration possible 'til: 15.January 2012
For further questions: pilgrimages@bhaktimarga.org
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We are especially happy that Swami Vishwananda will give 2 more workshops in Lanzarote:
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Note:
There is a limited number of participants on all trips. Please register as soon possible.
In case of any questions please contact:
pilgrimages@bhaktimarga.org
26 Nov 2011
Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 7th part
The group of Swami Vishwananda spent the last days in Vrindavan and Mathura, the the birthplace of Krishna and the place where all the Gopi stories come from.
The group of Swami Vishwananda was welcomed very heartfully by Dr. Satya Narayan Das and stayed at his Jiva Institute in Vrindavan.
They visited the prison in Mathura, where Krishna was born and some also took a "dip" in the Radha Kund and the Shyama Kund.
Thank you, Anuprabha, for the pictures.
23 Nov 2011
Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 6th part
Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy
The next stop of the tour with Swami Vishwananda was at Mantralayam, a city on the banks of the river Tungabhadra on the way back to Hyderabad.
Mantralyam is a Hindu religious place where the Moola Brindavanam of Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy is located.
Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy, (1601-1671), was an influential saint in Hinduism. He advocated Vaishnavism (i.e. worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) and Dvaita philosophy advocated by Sri Madhavacharya.
It is believed that Guru Raghavendra Swamy is in the Vrindavana for the past 339 years and will remain there in Jiva-Samadhi for another 361 years. While entering the Vrindavana, Guru Raghavendra Swamy stated that he would be there (in the Vrindavana) for 700 years.
He is considered to be a reincarnation of Lord Rama and Sri Krishna. Shri Raghavendra Swamy is said to have performed many miracles during his lifetime and is believed to continue to bless his devotees to this day and will continue to do so.
His devotees sing this Stotra every day.
22 Nov 2011
Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 5th part
The next place where the group with Swami Vishwananda went is Ahobilam, about 400 km south of Hyderabad, (8 hours by bus).
The landscape is green, with hills and valleys and a lot of waterfalls and a deep dark forest.
Ahobilam is the place where Lord Narasimha appeared. There are 9 different Narasimha Temples in this aera.
Legend:
According to legends it is believed that when the Devas saw the manifestation of Lord Vishnu as half-lion, half-man, they shouted "Ahobala" (great strength) as well as "Ahobila" (a great cave in which the current sanctum is). Hence, the place can be called either "Ahobalam" or "Ahobilam". The mention of this place is present in the Brahmanda Purana.
The place where Lord Narayana appeared from the stone pillar to kill Hiranyakashipu can be seen in this place. The name of this pillar is Ugra Sthambha, which is now referred to as “Ukku Sthambha” in Telugu, which incorrectly translates to iron pillar.
Prayer to Lord Narasimha:
durgesv atavy-aji-mukhadishu prabhuh
payan nrisimha shura-yuthaparihi
vimunchato yasya mahatta-hasam
disho vinedur hyapatamsh cha garbhaha
"May Lord Nrisimhadeva, who appeared as the enemy of Hiranyakashipu, protect me in all directions. May that Lord be kind enough to protect me in difficult places like the forest and battlefront."
21 Nov 2011
India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 4th part
In Shirdi the group also had some time to shop and to have a drink in between. (here enjoying sugar cane juice with Swamiji)
Swami Vishwananda takes care that the non-indians in the group don't get ripped off by some clever shop owners.
The group went to the ashram of Upasani Baba and Godavari Maa, great devotees of Shirdi Sai and saints themselves.
There bhajans were sung and Swami was gifted with a shawl and cloth belonging to both saints....the ashram is for ladies only.
The group also visited Shanipur where they participated in a puja and prayed to lord Shani, the planet saturn, to protect from enemies and ask him not to curse us since he is the God that curses people's lives and makes all bad things happen. The deity is the stone.
18 Nov 2011
India Pilgrimage with Swami Vishwananda - 3rd part
Swami Vishwananda and his pilgrimage group spent the last few days in Shirdi.
The City of Shirdi is always packed full with crowds of people, meaning that reaching sacred places often involved standing in long queues.
The group also visited the main and most important place in Shirdi, the Samadhi of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba.
Thanks to a very good and divine timing, the group managed to make it just in time for the Aarti and were able to stay in front of His samadhi for some moments to meditate and receive His blessings.
Another very impressive place was Dwarkamai (Masjid): Baba stayed at this place continuously for 60 years. Innumerable devotees got the blessing of Baba here. The Shila (Stone) on which Baba used to sit is located nearby. The Sacred Fire (Dhuni) lit by Baba is ever burning here. Baba used to give Sacred Udi (Ash) to the devotees to solve their problems in life. Udi distributed to the devotees now comes only from this Dhuni. Baba used to cook food here for distribution to devotees.
Nowadays the house has a big roof and a fence around it. If you come at the right time (very early in the morning ) it is possible to sit and meditate there.
Revati, one of the devotees attending the pilgrimage, writing about the picture below "Swami with the man looking after the temple (...his grandfather was a saint at that temple many years ago...) he was a very, very nice man and gave us all a lecture on why we should cherish and follow our Satguru.
(Thanks to Revati for the pictures!)
15 Nov 2011
India Pilgrimage - 1st part
From time to time, we will post an update sharing some info about the course of the pilgrimage along with a few photos from the holy places that Swami Vishwananda and the pilgrimage group have already visited. Here is the first part:
After arriving at Mumbai Airport on Saturday night, all of the travellers boarded a bus to Nashik, one of the world's holiest Hindu cities. This place is important for Hindu rituals related to afterlife offerings. The Kumbha Mela is also held here once in every 12 years along the holy river Godavari.
Godavari Ghat: The Godavari river runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the biggest river basins in India.
The Godavari Temple was built by Elder Madhavrao Peshwa's mother, Gopikabai in 1760. This temple is open for devotees for 13 months during the period of Kumbha Mela (once in 12 years). It is also called the Ganga Temple.
Kalaram Mandir:
This temple was built in 1794 and is similar in its architectural design to the Triambakeshwar temple found nearby. The temple is 70 feet in height and was raised from the idea of Gopikabai Peshwa. It was built with black stone from the mines of Ramsej Hill. There is a beautiful gold-plated copper peak on the temple. Beautiful, lavishly adorned icons of Rama, Sita and Lakshman are found in the temple. The temple is surrounded by several smaller temples such as the Vithal temple, Ganapati temple and Maruti temple.
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