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Torrential Rains of Hari Nãma!
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“Hare Rama! Hare Rama! Rama Rama Hare Hare!
Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna! Krishna Krishna Hare Hare!”
The main objective of Sri Swamiji is to propagate ‘Bhagavan Nãma’ (the Name of the Lord)
amongst the masses, particularly the downtrodden.
Around 25 young devotees of Sri Swamiji visit the villages surrounding our Mathurapuri
Ãshram, on weekends and public holidays and chant “Hare Rama” Maha Mantra.
The sessions are broadly divided into two - morning and evening - and are generally of
two-hour duration. Each village is served by a group of three or four of these young men.
For the first 15 minutes, they go around the village chanting “Hare Rama” and the local
children join them. They then assemble at a common place and help the children with their
school lessons for an hour and a half. The session concludes with singing of Sri Swamiji’s
kirtans and narration of a short story from our puranas. These stories mainly pertain to
bhaktas who come from the lower strata of the society.
The response from the villagers is excellent. They chant the Nãma without any
inhibition whatsoever. The deep response from the villagers - children and elders alike -
is seen in their greeting the young men with “Radhe Krishna!” Presently the focus is on the colonies.
This work began in November 2000 in two villages - Mãhãnyam and
Malaipattu. Gradually, the number of villages have increased and the Nãma chanting is
carried out in all of them.
Diary of events:
Activities during December 2002:
On the 1st , 7th and 8th of December, Hare Rama was chanted in the villages of
Gunduperumbedu, Vellarai, Kolathur, Galattupattu, Poonthandalam, Pillaipakkam,
Mettukolathur, Malaipattu, Venkadu, Pazhanthandalam, Nallur village and colony,
Amarambedu, Karunagachery, Irumbedu and Mahanyam. The children were helped
in their studies in most of the villages.. Hare Rama was chanted for a minimum of half
an hour in each village and the sessions were concluded after distributing rock candy
prasad to the participants. The response in the villages was good.
On the 15th of December, being the auspicious Vaikunda Ekadasi day, in the morning
"Sri Ram, Jai Ram …." Mantra was chanted at the Kalyana Srinivasa Perumal temple
by 40 volunteers from Anandashram of
Sri Papa Ramadas.
Sri Swamiji rendered a discourse to all the participants about the Glory of Srimad Bhãgavatam and the importance of chanting
of Hare Rama. He also emphasised the importance of chanting Bhagavan Nama on
auspicious days.
Hare Rama akhandanãma was conducted in the Bhagavata Bhavanam Hall at Mathurapuri
Ashram during the night. Hare Rama chanting was started at around 10.00 pm on Sunday night
and concluded at around 2.30 am on Monday morning (16th December). There were 70 participants
from the villages of Galattupattu, Pillaipakkam, Mettukolathur, Irumbedu, Pillaipakkam, Mahanyam,
Nallur , Poonthandalam, Pazhanthandalam and Amarambedu and 50 participants from the Satsang.
The chanting was done in the presence
of Sri Swamiji, to the accompaniment of cymbals and dholkis. The sound from cymbals and dholkis
resonated through the entire hall. It was an exhilarating experience for all those who were fortunate to
attend the akhandanãma. The participants were absorbed in
the chanting and enjoyed it oblivious of the surroundings. Some kirtans were also sung by the villagers. At the end, Sri Swamiji
gave all the participants from the villages a memento to remember. Prasad was arranged for the villagers at the Ashram.
On 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th of December, the villages of Galattupattu, Pillaipakkam, Kolathur,
Karunagachery, Mettukolathur, Irumbedu, Poonthandalam, Venkadu, Amarambedu, Malaipattu,
Nallur village and colony and Mahanyam were visited. In Nallur village, the participants were
engrossed in chanting Hare Rama. They chanted Hare Rama with great religious fervour. In most of the
villages, this being the Tamil month of Margazhi, Hare Rama cassettes are played in the morning. In
Galattupattu, Nãma sankirtan is being done daily from 4.00 am to 5.00 am by the villagers.
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