[Advaita-l] Maha Rudra Yajnam in California, USA

[Sundar Rajan]

Namaskar,

I am not sure how many in this group are in Northern California, this
temple is accessible to most in the bay area though it may involve some
driving.

I am in Sacramento, about 3 hours away and plan to attend.

If there is any suggestion of substance, I can relate to the organizers ,
it looks like there is more noise than substance in this thread :-).

Speaking of who is allowed and barred and what not, while I can't speak for
this temple, I live close to other temples in my area.
Everyone is allowed and does participate, including many Americans who are
regular visitors.

During Shivarathri etc, the temple places a lingam in the main hall for
everyone to do abhishekam.
I am sure if there is a way for everyone to offer oblation into the homa
kunda, the temple will do it.
Everyone seems to know their roles as well, meaning, those that can chant
do so, while numerous others from different communities are busy with
serving etc.

Regards



On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 10:15 AM S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Aravinda Rao karavind09 at gmail.com wrots:
>
> >
> > Namaskars,
> >
> > Great news. Great to see that so many ritwiks are available.
> >
> > A small suggestion may be considered. Usually at the time of havanam
> > several families (husband and wife) would be sitting, offering oblation
> > into the homa-kunda. Some temples restrict this to one community only,
> > leaving a bad taste in others.
>
> Firstly, I don't believe anyone at all is excluded from participating in a
> Yajna.
>
> The community of dairy farmers can donate ghee to the Yajna.
> The community of flower sellers can donate flowers to the Yajna.
> The community of grocers can donate uncooked vegetables to the Yajna.
> The community of woodcutters can donate "Samit" to the Yajna.
>
> ...and so on.
>
> It's a major mistake to imagine that anyone at all is barred from a Yajna.
> Everyone is welcome to serve the Yajna to the best of their limited
> ability.
>
> Now, the recitation of Mantras and offer of Havis, etc. in the Yajna comes
> with certain pre-requisites: e.g. the ability to chant the Rudram, not
> eating
> out at restaurants, taking a ritualistic bath, etc. In fact, here's a
> webpage
> delineating all the rules that have to be followed by a person who wants to
> recite the Mantras at a Maha Rudra Yajnam that was conducted a few years
> ago:
>
> --------------------------
>
> https://www.srimaharudram.bayareahindutemple.org/ritwik_guidelines.html
>
> Sri Maha Rudra Yagna
>
> Three Day Event June 21 / 22 / 23, 2019 at Bay Area Hindu Temple
>
> Sri Maha Rudra Yagna Rithvik Guidelines
>
> 1. Must Perform Sandhya Vandanam and Gayatri Japam daily. Must do a
> minimum of 5000 Gayatri Japams before the Maharudram.
> 2. Learn the required Mantras (Mahanyasam (at least Laghunyasam), Sri
> Rudram, Chamakam, Purusha Suktam, Durga Suktam and Sadhyojatam) from a Guru
> and should preferably be able to chant the mantras without the help of a
> book.
> 3. Report on Friday June 21st evening (requested); be present from 7 am
> Saturday till the end of japam; 7am Sunday until the end of all
> celebrations (8 PM).
> 4. DO NOT SHAVE on all the 3 days of the event.
> 5. The dress code for the event will be the traditional Pancha Kachcham
> with angavastra for married ritwiks and regular dothi with angavastra for
> bachelors. 6. Deeksha vastram will be provided and the ritwiks should wear
> only this vastram during the event.
> 7. Please eat only the food offered to Ritwiks during and at the end of
> the event
> 8. Always wash your feet and hands and do Achamana before entering the
> Yagashala, if you happen to use the restroom or after you eat or drink
> anything during the event.
>
> --------------------------
>
> To tell the truth, I want to be a Ritwik for the event, and I'm struggling
> to follow the above rules as much as possible. The privilege to be a Ritwik
> doesn't follow from birth alone, but by a serious adherence to the codes of
> conduct as well!
>
> Regards,
> Kartik
>
> > I persuaded my local temple authorities (in
> > Hyderabad) to allow people from all sections so that such discontent is
> > avoided. And also the temple gets more resources. This may be
> particularly
> > important in view of the discrimination laws which are promoted in the
> > state of California. Someone can even deliberately create a situation.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Aravinda Rao
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 12:26 AM 'S Jayanarayanan' via advaitin
> <advaitin at googlegroups.com> wrote:
> >
> > > A Maha Rudra Yajnam is planned to be conducted on April 15th,
> Saturday, by
> > > the Vaidica Vidhya Ganapathi Center
> > > at Sri Vallabha Maha Ganapathi Temple in San Martin, California, USA.
> This
> > > involves 121 Ritwiks reciting
> > > the Sri Rudram 11 times for a total of 1,331 times along with Rudra
> > > Abishekam with eleven kinds of Dravyams.
>
> [..]
>
>
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