Of all days, Eka:dasi is the most auspicious day. Celebrating uthsavams and Kalyanam to the lord on this day is like adding a silver lining to the cloud. Morning program concluded with thirtha gosti, thirumanjanam to Lord and Sri Rama Ashtoththara puja. Blessing the devotees before giving thirtham, HH Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji emphasized the importance of time and how one should utilize it fruitfully in a place and occasion such as this. HH pointed out a few small services one can do – circumambulating around the ya:gasa:la or volunteering or help the bhagawad bandhus or doing some service such as picking up a waste paper which is on the way and throwing it in a dust bin. HH cited a small village called ‘mapalle’, located near the banks of Krushna river. People here follow a golden rule. They never talk while eating. Though more than 10,000 people gather at one place, no one utters even a single word while eating.  Everyone eat very silently.  It was an amazing experience for HH and His parivaram to see such discipline in a remote village. We all should learn good things from such people, learn to serve Lord and His devotees and not waste time.
In the afternoon puja program, HH Swamiji explained the significance of E:kadasi day. Later, the devotees sailed through the divine experience hearing to the melodious music performance by well known artists.
In the evening, Lord gave his darshan on adisesha vahana along with His parivaram. It was wonderful to see how Adishesha provided service to the lord by becoming a vehicle to the lord And, as if it were not enough, He became Lakshmana and stood near Rama to serve Him. Indeed, Adisesha’s service is inspirational to all of us.
Lord was then brought to the Kalyana mandapam. It was a treat to see Lord Ranganattha and Goda devi in the middle of the stage , HH’s perumal on the side, and Sita Devi and Sri Rama on the either side of the stage. The stage was filled with the deities, acharyas and bhagawad bandhus.  It was as if the Lord wanted to show the devotees that He is Narayana – existing everywhere with his divya kalyana vigraham and kalyana gunas.
Watching the  kalyanam of the Lord and Mother, devotees became ecstatic. They clapped their hands along with the music – sannai and enjoyed the divine event. Akshatha:ropana is one of the final activities in Kalyanothsavam. It is offered 4 times. Manthras are chanted the first three times and the fourth time, no manthra is chanted.
The 1st manthra ‘ praja:me:ka:m smaruddhatha:m’ blesses the couple to have good children. We are all His children. If we realize that, we will all be peaceful. There will be no fights.
The second manthra – ‘ sriyo:me:ka:maha samruddhatha:m’  – Let the couple be blessed with good wealth.  Parents earn for the sake of their kids. If they are wealthy, then we their children will automatically become wealthy. Hence, it is wrong to ask – God bless me with wealth. If they flourish, we too become strong and wealthy.
The third manthra –‘ yajno:me:ka:maha samruddhatha:m’ – let all activities be turned into yajnas.
The fourth time there is no manthra. We pray that they be blessed with whatever is required for their happy and peaceful life, catering to all their needs. Thus blessings should become akshathas – imperishable.
La:ja homam was then conducted to bless the divine couple to enjoy in both worlds. They make 3 parikramas and offer lajas to enjoy the blessings of the lord. This ritual is done to get blessings from  Lord in deity form for us to lead a peaceful, dharmic and spiritual life.
After the exchange of garlands, pachchai kalyanam – singing of Va:rana ma:yiram took place. In Va:ranama:yiram song, Goda devi sang a song about the wonderful dream she dreamt. She dreamt that Lord approached to marry her on a Huge elephant which was followed by 1000s of elephants. He came there along with His friends. Her father Vishnuchittha made huge arrangements decorating the whole earth and sky to celebrate her marriage.
HH concluded the program with the release of JIMS souvenir  in the presence of Dr. Praveen Tagodia, International President for Vishwa Hindu Parishat (V.H.P).
Jai Srimannarayana
