| The annual Shivaratri festival is a unique time when the Vedic rituals for Shiva are most effective and his blessings and protection are more easily received. These are the most elabortate and comprehensive yagyas that we perform every year. As with all yagyas and mantras, maximizing the number of repetitions is the key to the power and success of the yagya. We maximize the effects by performing the largest possible yagyas in three places on Shivaratri night.
From February 17th to the 26th, seven of our best priests will perform the Maha Rudra Yagyas featuring 1,331 recitations each of the Sri Rudram text from Yajur Veda. This leads up to an all night program in Kanchipuram, Pune and Varanasi on the 26th. At sunrise on the 27th we will have a soothing Ganga Yagya in Varanasi.
Duringthe 10 day series, we will also continue with our monthly progress toward the Ati Rudra yagya in Chidambaram. This involves the recitation of Sri Rudram 11 times by 11 priests every month. We continue for another year of monthly perforances as a part of our program for everyone.
Participating in this program brings the Sri Rudra yagya benefits to you - removal of obstacles, a smoother life experience, prosperity, family harmony, good health, protection, and significant progress towards enlightenment and liberation.
There is a growing group of planets in Pisces which will culminate with two eclipses; a total lunar eclipse on 3/14 and a partical solar eclipse on 3/29. While these eclipses may bring some dramatic events, they are aso very valuable for spiritual practices like meditation, pujas and yagyas.
That makes this an exceptionally good time to participate in the Shivaratri program. It is worth nothing that Saturn will change signs at the end of March. Shiva mantras and especially the Mrytunjaya mantra are very effective antidotes to the negative effects of Saturn. Mrytunjaya mantra comes from the Sri Rudram hymn in Yajur Veda that we will be repeting 1,331 times this month.
There are so many good reasons to participate in Shivaratri this year. I hope you will join us!
The complete 10 Day Shiva Yagya Program includes:
-Every morning 11 repetitions of Sri Rudram with Abishekam plus Navagraha, Nakshatra, Godess, Health and other deities in Kanchipuram performed by 7 priests
-Every evening 11 repetitions of Sri Rudram with Abishekam in our Kanchipuram Temple performed by 7 priests
-Eleven Sri Rudram repetitions in Chidambaram Shiva Temple performed by 11 priests.
-All night Shivaratri temple yagyas in Kanchipuram (7 priests), Pune (25 priests), and Varanasi (15 priests) on February 26th.
-Soothing sunrise Ganga Yagya in Varanasi on February 26th performed by 10 priests |
