Yugpurush Saardh Shatabdi Mahotsav
A euphoric 4-day celebration to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary Year of spiritual luminary Shrimad Rajchandraji
The year 2017 marks the 150th Birth Anniversary Year of Shrimad Rajchandraji (1867-1901) – a profound spiritual luminary, poet-philosopher and the spiritual guide to Mahatma Gandhi. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid a glorious tribute to the Mahatma’s Mahatma – Shrimad Rajchandraji, by launching two commemorative coins and stamp bearing the His portrait, myriad organisations and spiritual seekers worldwide are celebrating this monumental occasion.
Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur (SRMD) hosted a 4-day festival that jubilantly venerated the revered saint Shrimad Rajchandraji through a multitude of festivities. The occasion saw the august presence of numerous saints, dignitaries and scores of spiritual seekers from around the world from 2nd Nov to 5th Nov ‘17. The thousands of spiritual apirants had converged at Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram Dharampur – a pious site blessed by Shrimad Rajchandraji’s presence for approximately 35 days during His life’s final year. The Yugpurush Saardh Shatabdi Mahotsav was graced by the presence of saints including Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai –founder of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur, Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji, Pujyashri Morari Bapu, Pujyashri Viveksagar Swami, Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Pujya Acharyashri Lokesh Muniji, Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasenaji, Pujya Brahmakumari Didi Dr. Nirmala.
The celebrations witnessed the unveiling of the world’s tallest statue of Shrimad Rajchandraji, a Mahamastakabhishek ceremony of the statue, a majestic shobhayatra-parade in Dharampur town, an enthralling devotional evening with renowned singers and the inception of the new 250-bed Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital. A special segment was devoted to celebrate the phenomenal milestones reached by ‘Yugpurush – Mahatma ke Mahatma’ a play portraying the deep bond between Gandhiji and his spiritual mentor Shrimadji.
Day 1
A majestic Shobhayatra (procession) of thousands of people marked the start of the celebrations on the morning of 2nd November – making this one of the largest shobhayatra’s to take place . The procession began with the freeing of 150 caged birds marking the 150th Birth Anniversary Year of Shrimadji. Auspiciously decorated vehicles carried images of Lord Mahavira, Shrimad Rajchandraji, the 4 highly revered devotees of Shrimadji and Pujya Gurudevshri, while elephants, camels and horses added to the proceeding. Five stations along the route depicted incidents from Shrimadji’s life and engaged the townspeople with activities and games on the evenings of 30th Oct to 1st Nov. Selected women-folk in the procession carried ‘Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrut’ a book-compilation of Shrimadji’s letters and works, and the women of Dharampur made ‘ghauli’ artwork from dry rice, while blazing drums, a band and chants with Shrimad Rajchandraji’s pious name added to the elation.
The evening of this day witnessed the unveiling of the world’s tallest statue of Shrimad Rajchandraji at the hands of Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai and Sri Sri Ravishankarji. The statue in ‘padmasan mudra’ is 34-feet tall symbolising the 34 uplifting years of Shrimadji’s life, surrounded by a water body in an open air amphitheatre. Seekers then enjoyed an elevating evening of devotional music with the popular composer duo Sachin-Jigar and artist Bhoomi Trivedi. A special performance that mesmerised the crowd was the unique yoga dance composed of movements of yoga postures synchronised with music, along with an ‘ocean dance’ that created a unique visual display.
Day 2
On 3rd Nov there was a mahapujan of Shrimad Rajchandra Vachanamrut – a book-compilation of Shrimadji’s letters and works, while the evening witnessed a grand celebration to celebrate the milestones reached by the play ‘Yugpurush – Mahatma ke Mahatma’. Produced by SRMD, ‘Yugpurush’ surpassed all milestones of success reaching 1000 shows in over 290 cities worldwide, reaching over 6,40,000 viewers within one year. The Gujarati play is directed by acclaimed director Rajesh Joshi of ‘Code Mantra’ fame, scripted by well-known playwright UttamGada of ‘Maharathi’ fame and the music direction is by popular composer duo Sachin-Jigar. In order to cater to the huge demand for the play, eight teams are now performing ‘Yugpurush’ simultaneously in various cities globally. The play is currently running in Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Bengali, Tamil & English.
Day 3
The first Mahamastak Abhishek of the 34-feet statue of Shrimadji took place on the morning of 4th Nov, where Pujya Gurudevshri along with saints and devotees who showered five types of specially prepared holy water on the statue. The awe-inspiring sight enthralled the eager devotees. Next, was the ground inception of the soon-to-be Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital in the presence of Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai and renowned spiritual leader Pujyashri Morari Bapu. The site will soon see a new 250-bed multi-specialty charity hospital with state-of-the-art facilities for the economically underprivileged in this belt of Southern Gujarat. In the evening, Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai was bestowed with the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal, by Padma Shri S.P. Varmaji on behalf of Gandhi Global Family, a United Nations DPI accredited Peace NGO.
Day 4
The final day of the Yugpurush Mahotsav (5th Nov) witnessed the uplifting Atmarpit diksha ceremony, wherein 5 young devotees (two males and three females) were initiated into Atmarpit diksha. The ‘Atmarpit’ group is a group of life-long celibate devotees who have chosen to lead a life of sadhana (spiritual pursuit) and seva (selfless service). Under the direction of Pujya Gurudevshri, they are progressing on the path of spirituality. Several highly qualified individuals have chosen to be atmarpits and to use their lives towards a higher purpose, including doctors, dentists, engineers and the like.
All four days of the Mahotsav witnessed enthralling and power packed ‘satsangs’ (discourses) by the highly revered spiritual leader Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai that elicited reverberating applause from the inspired audience. Thus the Yugpurush Mahotsav was a phenomenal and befitting culmination of Shrimad Rajchandraji’s 150th Birth Anniversary Year.
Other initiatives by Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur for Shrimadji’s 150th Birth Anniversary Year include:
- Shrimad Rajchandra Educational Aids Distribution – an initiative that distributes notebooks and stationery items at highly subsidised rates to over 1.2 lakh rural families in Gujarat.
- Naming of roads and chowks in the memory of Shrimad Rajchandraji
- An engaging and interactive travelling exhibition showcasing Shrimad Rajchandraji’s virtuous life, literary compositions, and teachings.
See Video: Euphoric Highlights | Yugpurush Saardh Shatabdi Mahotsav, Dharampur 2nd – 5th Nov 2017
