Chants of Jai Mata Di Resonate Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Houston

 By Vanshika Vipin Varma

HOUSTON: There are various ways to begin the New Years and while some enjoy celebrating it with a grand party, or outing with family and friends, others believe in experiencing the spiritual trance that is attained from a religious get-together, and Mata ki Chowki serves as a perfect devotional gathering where people of all age groups preach about Mata to seek blessings from ‘Her’ divine powers. Considering this, Pandit Ravi Shankar Puri has been hosting successful and blissful Mata ki Chowki’s. This year, Ravi Shankar and Group organized the Vishal Mata Chowki on January 1, 2018, at the Sri Radha Krishna temple in Houston. The rough and cold weather was no barrier for those hundreds of devotees who made it to this venue, to pay their respect through their prayers.

The evening started at 4 pm, which also served as a perfect time considering most of the people had a late night from New Year’s Eve. The hall was decorated with chunris, kalash, flowers and garlands. Light snacks and tea was served to the enthusiastic devotees as they greeted each other. Around 5 pm, Mataji’s Akhand Jyot was lighted with the chanting of Langar Vira and a pooja. Mata’s darbar then resonated to the sound of dholak and keyboard amidst thundering claps, as the devotees praised the Goddess through Mataji’s bhents and bhajans. The continuous chanting of Jai Mata Di left a mystic effect in the air, making a complete transformation of everyone’s body and soul. It seemed that everyone’s mind was freed from all kinds of worldly affairs and was completely lost in a reverie of gratitude to the divine Mata.

Maa Durga is the divine mother who protects people from evil forces of selfishness, jealousy, hatred, anger and ego. She, being the most powerful Goddess is known to bestow immense blessings upon her followers. This Mata ki Chowki was such an auspicious way to seek something magnificent, something resplendent as blessings from the Goddess. It was such a positive environment where all the devotees sung praises in harmony. Pandit Ravi Shankar Puri recited melodious hymns, as he was accompanied by Rupesh, Ramesh, Bhola, Amit Joshi, Sunil Mishra, Surinder Sharma, Sunny, Renison, Zubair and Nirav Puri. The devotees were so enthralled by this spiritual trance that they started singing along, clapping and dancing. To add up to the spiritual vibe, a member from the group appeared as Durga Maa, while another came up to the stage dressed as Lord Ganesha. In their bhakti mode, enthusiastic devotees performed to the Garba and Raas traditional dances, to honor the warrior goddess Durga. Scrumptious langar prashad was served at 9.30pm, after the aarti. Siblings Gopal and Sanjay Aggarwal carried out the duties of priests, while Bijay Dixit did the photography.

The credit for the success of any event lies with the person who envisions it, and here it was the vision of Ravi Shankar Puri. He mentioned that he would like to thank everyone who attended the event, particularly the several dedicated volunteers and donors from Houston, without the support of whom the event would not have been possible.

As the first evening of the New Year sank in, it left behind joyous memories and the blessings of the Divine Mother.

For more information on Mata Chowki, Satyanarayan Katha, Bhajan Sandhya contact Pandit Ravi Shankar Puri at 713-480-7284 or email: jaimaahouston@gmail.com

 

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