|| Shree Gajanan Maharaj Pragat din celebrations ||

Shri Gajanan Maharaj ‘Prakat Din’ is not the birth anniversary but appearance anniversary festival of this great saint from Maharashtra. This is the day when the great saint was first sighted by devotees in Shegaon, Maharashtra. As per traditional Hindu lunar calendar followed in Maharashtra, they saw him for the first time on Magh Krishna Paksha Saptami tithi or the seventh day during the waning phase of moon in Magh month. As per Gregorian calendar, it was February 13, 1878. Shri Gajanan Maharaj devotees all over the world annually observe this day per the lunar calendar which happened to be Friday, 5^th March in 2021.

The 143^rd ‘Prakat Din’ celebrations started off with an online cultural program by Boston and Phoenix devotees on Shree Gajanan Maharaj. More than 30 kids participated in reciting Maharaj’s stories from the Pothi and sang Maharaj’s aarti. Although all the participants were remote, the coordination was very effective, and the kids sang the aarti together wonderfully. Preschool kids performed Maharaj’s Naam Gajar by chanting his mantra. The celebrations also featured a talk (Nirupan) on Maharaj’s details before his first appearance in Shegaon, various bhajans and Aavahan. The YouTube link for the cultural event is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4M6PgHbS1A

The celebrations further continued with in-person Upasana and Darshan on 5^th and 6^th March. Two devotee families; one from Lexington, MA and another from Shrewsbury, MA graciously offered their residences as venues for the darshan. Due to the pandemic, 30-minute time slots were allotted to accommodate a small group of families at a time. Maharaj’s prasad was offered in to-go boxes. All the devotees departed for their homes carrying Maharaj’s blessings with them and feeling rejuvenated.

Anyone interested in knowing more about Shree Gajanan Maharaj can visit the website, https://shreegajanangunjan.org. This excellent website is operated by “Aum Shree Gajanan Gunjan Vishwa Parivar” and features Maharaj’s life events, teachings and more than 100 rare pictures of Shree Gajanan Maharaj. This group also conducts monthly talks (Pravachan) by highly devoted Maharaj devotees in India via YouTube and releases a magazine called ‘Gajanan Gunjana’ that has news articles, experiences of Maharaj devotees from all over the globe. YouTube talk videos and Magazine links are on the website.

Shree Gajanan Maharaj devotees in New England area conduct monthly Upasana and other Maharaj related events throughout the year. Please email santGajananbhaktpariwarboston@gmail.com for more details.

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