Shrimad Bhagavat Katha in Sirsa, India
Shri Tarababa Charitable Trust in Sirsa organised Pujya Bhaishri’s Bhagavat Katha at Shri Tarababa’s tapasthali, which is 8 Kilometres from Sirsa, on 23rd July 2008. The chief hosts of this katha were Shri Gopalji Kanda and Shri Govindji Kanda.
The Shobha Yatra began from Shri Tarababa’s cottage and arrived at the katha venue accompanied by singing of bhajans and sankirtan. The host family performed pujan of Pujya Bhaishri and the Pothiji. At the beginning of the katha, Pujya Bhaishri recalled the virtues of Shri Tarababa in whose memory the katha had been organised.
Thereafter Pujya Bhaishri narrated the mahatmya (importance) of Shrimad Bhagavat. He said, “Shrimad Bhagavat contains the pure essence of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Janma janmaantare bhavetpunyam tada Bhagavatam labhet; which means, we get the opportunity to listen to the Bhagavat katha only when the merits of our good deeds performed over many lives or births bear their fruits. Therefore all of you who have gathered here are truly the fortunate ones. Partake this divine elixir very attentively. Do not waste this rare opportunity. This elixir is not available in Swarga, Satya-lok, Kailash or Vaikunth. It is only on this earth that you get such a divine opportunity.”
During the katha Pujya Bhaishri referred to the holy river Maa Ganga being polluted and said that we are not religious in the true sense; for if we were truly religious we would not have allowed the waters of Gangaji to be polluted. We bathe in its waters and also throw our garbage in it. The large industrialists of Kanpur and other cities release so much industrial waste in this holy river that its waters are not only unsuitable for drinking, but are also not clean enough for bathing in. He continued to say that building large dams on this river restricts the flow of its waters. There are many alternate sources of water but there is no alternative for Maa Ganga. Gangaji is our sacred heritage. Our saints and sages are also awakening the people of our country towards this grim situation. Consequently, the river which is the symbol of our faith and religious traditions should not be allowed to get polluted.
Important occasions like Shri Krishna janmotsav, Shri Govardhan utsav and Shri Rukmini vivah were celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm. A bhajan sandhya was also organised during this katha.
