Shirdi Saibaba Temple has come forward to give all the Indians in New Zealand an opportunity to serve Lord Vishnu as Venkateswara, the God of Kaliyuga, later this month.
The Srinivasa (Balaji) Kalyanam will be held at Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, 487 Dominion Rd, Balmoral, on November 28.
All the idols are coming from holy land Tirupathi, which is considered as Kaliyuga Vaikuntha (Heaven on the earth). The chant of mantra "namo Venkatesa" gives courage to face any situation in our life; his grace flows down and fills us with eternal joy.
An offering with sanctity to the Lord is an offering to the Nature. With Srinivasa(Balaji) Kalyanam in Auckland, Lord venkateswara will be blessing the community by coming all the way from Tirupathi to Auckland for His Kalyanam.
This is a whole day event, very similar to the schedule in Tirumala (India) on a normal day. Day starts of with Suprabhata Seva to the lord at 7:30 am, first and the foremost seva at Tirumala.
This signifies the ritual performed to wake up the Lord from His celestial sleep amidst chanting of the hymns. Devotees present at the time can have the Lord’s suprabhata darsanam, also called Viswarupa Sarvadarsanam.
This is followed by Thomala Seva at 8.30am. Thomala denotes the decoration of the deities with garlands. Deities are exquisitely decorated with floral and tulasi garlands during this seva.
Day's highlight would be Srinivasa (Balaji) Kalyanam also called Venkateswara Swamy Kalyanam starting at 9.15am. The wedding ceremony is held amidst recitation of the vedic mantras and pronouncing the family pedigree of the brides and bridegroom.
There will be a Sarva Darshan (free darshan for all) between 2pm and 5pm.
Baba's dhoop aarti at 5pm followed by Unjal Seva (swing ceremony) at 5.30pm. Lord Balaji, Srideiv and Bhudevi are seated in an Unjal (swing). The deities are swung to the accompaniment of veda parayanam and mangalavadyam.
Sahasra Deepalankarana Seva would be the highlight for the evening starting at 6.30pm. You will get to see the Lord with 1000 lights lit. In the midst of vedic chanting and singing of Annamayya sankirtanas, lord seated on the unjal is rocked gently.
The day comes to an end with Ekanta Seva at 7.30pm.
Prasad will be served during the day. All Proceeds goes to Shirdi Saibaba temple. Please contact Ravi (09 845 3239) or Anil (09 527 2244) for any Seva bookings or sponsorships. You can also email them at secretary@saibabatemple.org.nz