Celebration
Gita Jayanti is celebrated worldwide by all Hindus (followers of Sanatana Dharma), who revere Bhagavad Gita as their Divine Mother because She teaches us (in a non-sectarian and scientific manner) how to re-establish our lost relationship with God Almighty (The Supreme), our Divine Father.
It is generally observed by en-masse recitation of all 700 verses of the Gita chanted throughout the day. Devotees also fast on this day since it is an Ekadashi day (Ekadasi is the eleventh day of the waxing moon and waning moon - it occurs twice every lunar month and is observed by fasting from grains and lentils (peas, beans, dhals) by those who seek to progress spiritually. Bhajans and Poojas are held on this day. In places where this festival is celebrated grandly, stage play and Gita chanting competitions are held for kids to show their talents as a way to encourage their interest in reading Gita. Yogis, Sanyasins and learned scholar gives talks and held forums of this holy scripture. Leaflets, pamphlets and books containing the essence of Gita are distributed to the public. It is especially auspicious to distribute free copies of the Gita on this holy day.
For this festival, the Swadhyay Parivar encourage youth from 16–30 years of age, of many religions and cultures, to speak on a certain topics about Gita. Last year from around the world 3.5 million youth spoke on the Gita. This year, youth spoke on the topic Bhagvad Gita: The Destroyer of Kali yuga and the divine song of Unity. People have gone from house to house spreading the thoughts of the Gita.
In Malaysia, The Gita Jayanti Team celebrates Gita Jayanthi annually with the cooperation of different Hindu organizations in order to create self realization among all Hindus.
In Singapore, Gita Jayanti celebrations have become a grand, month-long 'mega event' (see their official website in External Links below) It is coordinated by the Singapore Hindu Endowments Board with at least 36 Hindu Temples and Indian social & cultural organizations support. It has become a great platform for 'intra-faith' cooperation and harmony between the followers of various branches and sects of Sanatana Dharma ('hinduism'). Each year, in a very exemplary way, a different organization takes the leading role supported by all the others.
A unique development in the observance of Gita Jayanti was introduced in 1997 by Dina Anukampana Das, a Singaporean, who is a dedicated preacher of the Bhagavad Gita. He developed a way of very simply singing the Gita with a nursery-rhyme type of tune that anyone can follow, accompanied by kartals and mridanga (drum). He also presented the verses in a format he invented called 'simplified romanized Sanskrit' wherein all the long syllables are marked in red to guide the novice (beginner). All resources for Gita Jayanti resources, such as the verses of the Gita in various formats and languages, audio and text, are available for download from the sites wwwgitajayantiningcom and wwwgitajayantiorg
When these verses are projected on a large screen, and sung to that simple tune, the results have proven to be very amazing, and a stark contrast to the traditional mode of chanting - because everyone is able to join in and sing along by the second or third chapter. (A sample of this new style of singing the Gita is online at wwwgitasingalongonto Generally it is thought that 'Sanskrit is very hard' so I cannot chant it. This is true for the traditional way of chanting - only those who know Sanskrit to some degree can join in, because the speed of reading is so fast that any beginner will find it very hard to keep up. Furthermore, the tendency is to speed up as the hours go by. But in the new format, which is gaining popularity in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere, the musical instruments control the pace, and the tune is so simple that there is time for the beginner to see and enunciate each and every syllable. The music thus unites the slow (beginners) and the fast (advanced) participants, in harmonious singing, enabling everyone to participate. (The system of romanized Sanskrit used is called IAST and its creation in Athens in 1912 is documented elsewhere on Wikipedia.)
These developments have proved effective for promoting the event to Hindus around the world, especially the younger generation, who are not fluent in reading Indian or Sanskrit scripts (with their hundreds of complex alphabets), but who can easily read the romanized version. Dina Anukampana Das has shared this method of observing the Gita with Hindu leaders in Malaysia, Bali (Indonesia), Cambodia, Auckland (New Zealand), Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Chennai and its popularity has been growing. In this regard, the President of the Divine Life Society in Malaysia, His Holiness Swami Guhabhaktanandaji Maharaj, has written a strong supporting letter xxxxxxx addressed to all Hindu leaders in Chennai, to give strong support to this method of observing Gita Jayanti and to include it in their temple's annual calendar of events.
Read more about this topic: Gita Jayanti
Famous quotes containing the word celebration:
“And, indeed, is there not something holy about a great kitchen?... The scoured gleam of row upon row of metal vessels dangling from hooks or reposing on their shelves till needed with the air of so many chalices waiting for the celebration of the sacrament of food. And the range like an altar, yes, before which my mother bowed in perpetual homage, a fringe of sweat upon her upper lip and the fire glowing in her cheeks.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“No annual training or muster of soldiery, no celebration with its scarfs and banners, could import into the town a hundredth part of the annual splendor of our October. We have only to set the trees, or let them stand, and Nature will find the colored drapery,—flags of all her nations, some of whose private signals hardly the botanist can read,—while we walk under the triumphal arches of the elms.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: A day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham.”
—Frederick Douglass (c.1817–1895)