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Vedic Heritage is one those few organizations in USA that is striving to keep the Indian culture and heritage flourishing here. Following this tradition, about ten years ago, the Gupta & Sehgal families took on the responsibility of rejuvenating the Hindu culture by having “Mata Ki Chowki” in Hanuman Mandir every year. What initially started as a small gathering of devout followers has turned into a wonderful winter event at the Mandir with a record number of fifty-three sponsors this year.
Maa Durga is the embodiment of the success of good over evil. She is personified in various forms - Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Her siginificance is Shakti or power - power to crush the evil and her forces are a combined force of the Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara.
On Saturday, February 24th, 2007, devotees gathered at Vedic Heritage to celebrate Mata Ki Chowki and to seek the blessings of Mata Durga. It was a wonderful night at the Mandir. The evening began with the Hanuman puja performed by Ramesh Panditji and Sanjeev Panditji. That was followed by Mata’s puja in which the fifty-three sponsors participated. Ashok Singh, Adya Prasad, Anshu Ravi Singh, Bhakti Gadkar, Bharatbhai Patel, Bina Swain, Bina Sabaphaty, Bina Parekh, Dr. Chabbra, Dr. Gill, Dayal Sabnan, Guru Dutt, Kishore, Madhu Jaiswal, Mahendra Soni, Manish Gill, Mahendra Amin, Monica Virk, Manisha Dua, Nayan Kisnadwala, Neera Bahl, Nilima Madan, Nisha Mehra, Nitin Ajamar, Prem Ganshani, Poonam Kewalramani, Ranjana Sharma, Ravi Verma, Kanta Verma, Ranju Sharma, Rajendra Thaman, Shanti Ben, Seema Kalra, Sangita Lunavat, Sanjiv Alka Kohli, Sandeep Sehgal, Sanghapriya, Sangeeta Gupta, Sat Sharma, Vikas Anand Sonia, Varsha Shah, Vibha Regay, Veena Dua, Veena Wadhwa, Vijaya Bhangdia, Vijay Singh, Vimal Seth, Sarla Gupta, Rohit Patel and Naveen Sahney.
After the puja, Anil Dua and his group regaled the congregation with their melodious songs and the night came alive with the spirit of Mata. They sang Bhajans of Maa Vaishno Devi, and lots of Bhents. Devotees came in with their children, family, friends and together everyone scaled the spectacular and undaunted terrain to the heavenly abode of our Maa Vaishno Devi. This will surely have an emotional impact on the second generation Hindu children, giving them an opportunity to appreciate their cultural and religious roots.
Chunnis were made available to all who wanted to capture the spirit and take it home with them and a lovely bhog was served to all.
The evening was a rousing success and it’s a great honour to have a Chowki of Maa Vaishno Devi- symbol of power, justice and universal motherhood and to listen devotional bhajans, soulful recitations, and Bhents. It was a lifetime experience like all the other events at Vedic Heritage;Inc. and we look forward to even more families sponsoring and joining us next year.
May Durga Maa bless all of us and protect us from all evils.
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