Namadwaar’s Annual Madhura Utsav
MANVEL: Global Organization for Divinity and Houston Namadwaar will conduct their annual grand celebration of bhakti and Bhagavata Dharma, from December 23 to 31 this year through a 7-day “Madhura Utsav” (sweet celebration). A ‘Madhurageetham’ devotional music competition will also be held on Dec 24, for music enthusiasts of all ages. Both the events will be held at Houston Namadwaar, 3642 Bailey Avenue, Manvel TX 77578. The devotional music competition is open to singers of all ages and levels. A suggested list of audio recordings and lyrics is shared on the registration page. Children aged 8 and under can sing any one small bhajan or namavali. 9 to 12-year-olds have to sing any one song composed by Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. Singers 13 years and older also should sing one song composed by Sri Swamiji, and they can also optionally include a relevant viruttam (sloka).
Participants can sign up at http://www.tinyurl.com/madhurageetham2017
The week-long Madhura Utsav will be filled with celebration of Bhagavan through song, dance and listening to His stories. The highlight of the Utsav will be daily evening 6:45 PM discourse in English by Sri Poornimaji, disciple of His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. on the rare, beautiful subject of “Uddhava Gita” from Srimad Bhagavatam – the beautiful message given by Lord Sri Krishna to Uddhava, right before His departure from this world. Sri Poornimaji will speak from Dec 25 to 31. On Dec 23 and 24, Sri Ramaswamyji, another disciple of Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji will speak on Bhagavata Mahatmyam and a summary of the first 9 cantos of Srimad Bhagavatam.
Daily events through the day (at Namadwaar) include chanting Tiruppavai (6 am), reading of chapters from Srimad Bhagavatam depicting Sri Krishna Leela with a chapter-wise explanation by Sri Ramaswamyji (8-10 am).
Procession of Sri Krishna-Sri Radha in different vahanas (11 am) on most days, Ashtapadi kirtan-Sampradaya bhajans with Sri Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam (2 pm), Hari Kathas and bhajans by children (5-7 pm). On some days, Divya Nama Sankirtanam (as performed by bhagavathars in India) will be performed at 9:30pm.
A highlight of the Utsav will be a grand Radha Kalyanam (Radha-Madhav Vivah) and Mass Prayer on Saturday Dec 30 evening, 4 pm. That entire day will also be a special children’s day where children/youth will get to carry the Lord in procession, play lots of games and finally also perform their own Radha Kalyanam. The event will be conducted under the guidance of Sri Poornimaji. Poornimaji leads a life of Bhagavata Dharma under the guidance of her Guru. She has studied Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures directly from him, and has thus been able to absorb their essence through his enlightening words and experiences. And when presented by her in her own powerful discoursing style, we are all sure to be inspired immensely in our own path of devotion to Bhagavan. Her talks are so deep and encompassing that they sate the appetite of those craving intellectual food, those who want to savor the bhakti rasa, as well as those who just want comfort food for the soul – practical life learnings. Everyone is welcome to participate in this unique celebration. All events are free and open to the public. Breakfast, lunch and dinner mahaprasad will be served on all the days.