Sri Meenakshi Temple Society Celebrated Guru Peyarchi Homam & Abhishekam

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By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Guru Peyarchi Homam and Abhishekam were conducted at MTS on Friday September 1st, with Navagraha Abhishekam at 7:00pm, followed by a more elaborate event on Saturday September 2nd in a grand manner.  This year’s event had a special significance due to the torrential rain and havoc caused by Hurricane Harvey throughout the Houston area. Saturday’s event included a special shanti puja to Sri Varuna Bhagavan (the ruling deity for water and rain). Guru Peyarchi symbolizes the transit of Jupiter or Guru from Simha Rasi to Kani Rasi where he will rule for the next 14 months. The event on Saturday saw more than 150 devotees braving the high waters on the streets, and participating in the Sankalpam and Homam with 108 kalasas for Lord Dakshinamurthy. The puja started inside Ganesa temple, moved to Navagraha Sannidhi, and culminated at the main temple. The Homam was performed by priests Sri Manicka Sundaram Bhattar, Sri Kalyana Sundaram, Sri Balaji Sethuraman, Sri Pawankumar Sri Bhashyam, Sri Parameswaran, and Sri Narayana Charyalu. After performing the Purnahuthi (below), the devotees got the opportunity to carry the beautifully decorated 108 kalasas with the sacred water to Lord Dakshinamurthy’s sannadhi in the praharam of the main temple in a procession, which was truly a sight to behold.  

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Dakshinamurthy is a form of Lord Shiva who is the Adi Guru (teacher) of all types of awareness, understanding and knowledge. He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation. He is regarded as the ultimate Guru – the embodiment of knowledge and the destroyer of ignorance. He shows the Jnana Mudra with the thumb denoting God, the index finger denoting man, and the other three fingers showing the three impurities of man: arrogance, illusion and bad deeds of the past births. When man detaches himself from these impurities, he reaches God. The Abhaya Mudra with the hand lifted above thigh with palm facing out and fingers pointing is interpreted as His grace upon His students. The snake signifies tantric knowledge and the fire represents illumination, removing the darkness of ignorance. The fifth day of the week, Thursday, also referred to as Guruvar or Guru vaaram, is associated with the planet Jupiter, and are considered auspicious to start any educational efforts. Special worship services are offered to Dakshinamurthy on that day of the week. Once the devotees gave the kalasas with sacred water to the priests, the event continued with Abhishekam, Alankaram, and Archana to Lord Dakshinamurthy in the outside praharam. The attendees sat in the main temple in front of the Utsava Murthy, and recited the mantras as guided by the priests which made the event very meaningful to the devotees, and the MTS staff provided able support to the volunteers. The event ended with an extensive Deeparadhana to Lord Dakshinamurthy.

Recognizing the continuing hardships experienced by the Houston communities, MTS arranged a special prayer for peace on Sunday September 3, 2017 at 10:00 am. All the priests joined to recite the slokas in the main temple asking the almighty to bless all beings. The MTS Board has established a relief fund to help displaced citizens in all surrounding communities, and sent out an appeal for the community members to reach out to the board members for any help needed.