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The Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam of Rush, New York commemorated its annual celebration of Gurupoornima on July 23, 2002. The festival, which venerates and gives thanks to one’s guru for all his teachings and blessings, generated a crowd of close to one hundred and lasted for more than four hours. The presiding priest and our guru, Sri Chaitanyananda Natha Saraswathi ( or Aiya) and his wife, Gnanamba ( or Ammah), were escorted to the Sri Vidya Temple in Rush close to 5 pm. Devotees lined the driveway and parking lot, waiting with flower petals and warm wishes. Long time devotee and friend, Dr. Viswanathan, led and performed the ceremony to honor the lotus feet of our guru.
As Aiya and Ammah came to the entrance of the temple under a
lavish umbrella, Sri Rudram was chanted, and flowers and water were placed at their
feet before each step. Two devotees covered the entrance with a long,
red cloth, and finally dropped it to reveal the temple’s Kamadhenu at
the threshold. Aarathi proceeded, then Aiya and Ammah entered, and the
ceremony began.
Inside the temple was nothing less
than marvelous. Preparations for this year’s Gurupoornima began many
months back with devotees emailing each other, formulating new ideas for
the event. Many of the temple volunteers arrived the night before the
festival to prepare. They arduously cleaned and washed both inside and
the grounds surrounding the temple into the wee hours of the morning.
Those inside the temple diligently scrubbed and shined the deities and
lamps, while those outside picked up garbage and washed clean the
pavement. The same work would carry over to the following morning of the
festival, as more devotees arrived to help out. Young children,
teenagers, and adults worked around the clock to prepare the pooja trays
and to devise new, creative arrangements for fruits to offer during
pooja.
Large photos of Sri
Chaitanyananda’s guru, Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswathi (or Gurujii) and his wife, Anapoorna; the late
Swami Svaprakashananda Natha Hamsa Avadhuta Tirtha (or Gurugaru –
Gurujii’s guru); and Kalyanananda Bharathi Tirtha (Gurugaru’s guru),
were adorned with garlands of flowers. A large carpet placed in front of
the gurus held a pair of guru padukas, and a deity of the pratama guru,
Dattatreya, also covered in flowered garlands. The devotees also placed
a large mandapam to the right of the pictures, topped with two feet,
designed in red, white, and yellow flowers, to represent guru padukas.
To keep with the theme of padukas, from the point where Aiya and Ammah
arrived to where they entered the temple, young devotees imprinted a
pair of the same footprints on the pavement all around the temple –
the left foot red and the right foot white. Along with the footprints,
another devotee drew large Kolams on the pavement surrounding the
temple. The Kolams included padukas where Aiya and Ammah arrived and in
other places, and some lotus flowers.
Once inside the temple, after paying
their respects to the Guru lineage, Aiya an Ammah sat in the mandapam as
Dr. Vishwanathan began the pooja. Devotees printed and distributed
handouts of the Sri Suktam bhijas
and Purusha Suktam, Sri
Chaitanyananda Natha’s Ashttotra Namavali, and a Mangalam, in Tamil and English. Devotees had the opportunity to do
abhishekam to Aiya and Ammah’s lotus feet and receive their blessings.
Lines from the Sri Suktam and
Purusha Suktam were
alternated and integrated into the ceremony as the devotees poured water
over and placed vibhuthi and kumkumam on Aiya and Ammah’s feet.
Following the abhishekam, Aiya
delivered a memorable speech. He spoke of the growth of the temple from
a small room in Africa, to the large, public place it is today. He
encouraged everyone to feel as if the temple belonged to him/her, and he
especially urged the youth to step into the spotlight and prepare to
assume control of the temple in the future. “It
is they who will be taking over after we leave this earth,” he said. Another
devotee, Mangai Ammah, gave a speech of her own, relaying a few miracles
that occurred in her life since becoming involved with Aiya and this
temple. Aiya’s speech was eloquently translated into Tamil, and Mangai
Ammah’s into English, by another longtime devotee, Sudharshan. Proceeding the ceremony, the ladies of the temple set up a few tables with anadhanam outside. Devotees scattered along the temple grounds, rejoicing and eating. The festivities continued past 10pm, and everyone left with a feeling of content, fulfillment, and peace. Abhirami
Somaskanda
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