On the auspicious
day of Kartik sud 11 (Tuesday 4 November 2003), Prabodhini Ekadashi
was celebrated in traditional style at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
in Neasden.
The first day of the Dev Diwali period,
Prabodhini Ekadashi is also the day on which Bhagwan Swaminarayan was
handed the reins of the Sampraday by His Guru Ramanand Swami. An offering
of vegetables was displayed in the traditional manner. The theme of
the offerings was the Shakotsav – Festival of Vegetables –
that Bhagwan Swaminarayan celebrated in the village of Loya. The scene
was depicted in a life-like way with Bhagwan Swaminarayan preparing
‘shak’ and ‘rotlas’. In the main shrines of
the Mandir, over 64 different varieties of vegetables were offered to
mark the 64th anniversary of the day His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj
was initiated as a sadhu by his guru Shastriji Maharaj.
After the 7p.m. evening arti, sadhus sang
bhajans. Pujya Atmaswarup Swami explained the glory of the festival.
Over 600 devotees participated in this festival, following which the
sanctified vegetables were distributed to the attendees.
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