Mother’s Day Celebration Dedicated to Shakti for Shakti and Shakti for Prakriti
A very special Mother’s Day was celebrated today at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh (Himalayas). Nearly twenty five members of the Rescue Foundation, including twenty young girls, came from Mumbai to seek the blessings of HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, President of Parmarth Niketan, Founder of Divine Shakti Foundation and Ganga Action Parivar, and to be on the holy banks of Mother Ganga.
The Rescue Foundation is a non-profit, registered NGO working for the rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims of human trafficking, which is the third biggest illegal trade after drugs and arms, from different parts of India, Nepal & Bangladesh. They are one of the largest organizations in India involved in rescuing about more than 300 girls annually.
Rescue Foundation’s President Mrs.Triveni Balkrishna Acharya who was also visiting discussed with Pujya Swamiji ways in which they could come together with the Divine Shakti Foundation to help empower more and more young girls and to start a center on the beautiful and sacred banks of Mother Ganga in Uttarakhand.
Pujya Swamiji shared: “Our scriptures have always said that we must respect, revere and honour the Divine Feminine – the Divine Shakti. In Hinduism the Divine Feminine is always placed before the Divine Masculine that’s why people often chant, Gauri Shankar, Sita Ram and Radhye Shyam. Unfortunately, today the neglect and exploitation of our young girls and women is not different from the neglect of Mother Ganga and Mother Nature. On the occasion of Mother’s Day we have the opportunity to renew our pledge to stand up for the protection and preservation of all forms of the Divine Feminine – including stopping exploitation in the form of human trafficking or pollution and degradation of Mother Nature”.
The young girls were tearful of leaving but promised that on the occasion of Mother’s Day they would bring what they had learned back to their six hundred sisters in Mumbai and inspire them also to pledge, as Pujya Swamiji said: ‘Shakti for Shakti’ and ‘Shakti for Prakriti’. Their weeklong stay at Parmarth was filled with yoga, meditation, satsangs, self-study and divine Ganga Aarti.
Mrs.Triveni Balkrishna Acharya said: ‘Working for nearly a decade with my dedicated staff this vital service has filled me with great purpose, satisfaction and joy. It is such a joy to have a home on the banks of Mother Ganga and to recharge and renew our efforts and to continue on this path with the blessings of Pujya Swamiji.’
During the special day, the life and spirit of Smt Vijaya Gargji, a disciple of Pujya Swami Shukdevanand Saraswatiji, Founder of Parmarth Niketan, was also honoured and celebrated with a beautiful Sundarkand recital by Parmarth Niketan’s Rishikumars and devotees. Smt Vijaya Gargji’s family and friends present on the occasion performed divine Aarti to Lord Rama and to the dedicated soul of Smt. Gargji, who continues to inspire and uplift all with her spirit.
Pujya Mahamandeleshwar Swam Asanganand Saraswatiji shared: ‘We must learn to live our lives just like her. She was not only a wonderful daughter, wife, and mother but she was also a great devotee of the Divine. She has graced us all with her life as her message.’
Pujya Swamiji said on the occasion: ‘It is so fitting that on this occasion we recite the Sundarkand because she was and is a living example of a life that is made sundar (beautiful) by being a vessel and an instrument in the hands of the Divine. We can all make our lives beautiful by recognizing that we too are instruments. When we live our lives like these divine examples then every moment and every minute becomes beautiful and divine.’