Bhagavatam Grand Finale – February, 2018
After having arrived at AVM on Feb 11th, Lord Krishna had planned for another round of joyous celebrations from the 19th to 25th of the same month at Anna Nagar. It was time for the much-anticipated Bhagavatam Grand Finale – a loving & gratitude-filled celebratory conclusion to the year-long Bhagavata katha that had commenced in March 2017.
The seven-day extravaganza included packed schedules on all days including Moola Parayanam of Srimad Bhagavatam by our AVM temple priest in the mornings and evenings, covering all 18,000 verses across the seven days. Following the Moola Parayanam during both morning and evening were sessions of Bhagavata Katha by Swamiji wherein the last two skandas (11th & 12th) were covered. Every evening, the katha was preluded by some mesmerizing singing of songs & bhajans by different devotee groups, each of which added a unique dimension to the occasion. Breakfast, lunch and dinner prasada was served for all devotees on all days. The Grand Finale ended with distribution of Yajna prasada and a Tulasi plant as a purifying gift for all devotees.
It’s a known fact that when one’s heart & soul is completely into something, the Lord will ensure He personally takes care of the smooth conduct of the particular activity. How evident this was at the Grand Finale that turned out to be an overwhelming experience – seven days of parayanam, katha, prasada feast, bhajans, seva and what not.
As always, Swamiji was at his best in inspiring devotees to come, participate, take up responsibility and enjoy the grand occasion. Sharing Swamiji’s energy and enthusiasm was the core team of Smt. Ranjani Nandakumar and her sisters-in-law Smt. Shanthi Chandrashekar, Smt. Ganga Rajendran and Smt. Jeyashree Ravi, who shouldered the entire responsibility of organizing and conducting the entire show with utmost love, devotion, dedication, patience and seva bhava. There were many others who supported the function in multifarious ways with the sole aim of doing their best unto the Lord and using the golden opportunity to serve the Lord & His devotees. Atma Vidya Mandir expresses its sincere thanks to all devotees who made the Grand Finale a blissful and a truly memorable occasion to remember for a lifetime.
