Maha Navmi and Dussehra was celebrated in different ways by the AIM for Seva family across India.
Swami Vishnuswaroopananda Saraswati ji (coordinator of some of our projects in Maharashtra) and his team performed Kanya Puja on this auspicious occasion. At the Swami Dayananda Saraswati Vidyalaya, Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, the teachers and school students got together and performed a Garba dance during Devi Upasana.
Ayudha Puja was celebrated at Manjakkudi, the birthplace of Manjakkudi, Tamil Nadu. At the Swami Dayananda Matric Higher Secondary School, Manjakkudi, Tamil Nadu, the teachers and school principal performed the Aksharabhyasa for the new admissions (Kindergarten). This marks the beginning of education for a child.
At the Semmangudi Higher Secondary School, Sembangudi, Tamil Nadu, the girl students sang ‘Vantheham Sarada’ composed by our Founder, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati on the occasion of Saraswathi Puja.
Santana Dharma is perhaps the only living tradition in this world that accords respect to not only all living beings but also to non-living beings alike! On Ayudha Puja day, items that are part and parcel of everyday life like vehicles, computers, books, musical instruments, work tools, safes etc are deified. All the articles are first nicely cleaned and then bedecked with a tilakam and flowers. Some of the more important objects like books, musical instruments, laptops etc are placed on an altar and worshipped along with the images of the Devi trinity (Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati) for continued prosperity. It brings to mind Pujya Swamiji’s most famous saying, “All that is here is Ishvara.”