Mahashivratri – Great Night of Shiva – Gayatri Mandir, Boondall
By Dharmesh Prasad
Mahadevya Namah
Mahashivratri at Gayatri Mandir was celebrated over three days from 7th Mar to 9th Mar, two days of program was conducted by Pujanye Pundit Sanat Pandey and the final day was conducted by Pujanye Pundit Bharat Solanki.
Pt Sanat Pandey expounded Shiva Katha and spoke about Maan aur Anthakarn ki shudi, to read or gain knowledge just by reading the Shastra is just merely an intellectual exercise without enhancing a change in one’s character, Gyan/knowledge requires purification of the heart. Here, Anthakarn refers to the inner medium of mind and intellect, to embark on the journey of spirituality one must work upon himself/herself to cultivate the virtues, habits, behaviours, and attitudes that purify one’s life and illuminate it with divine light of knowledge.
Mahashivratri was celebrated with great fervour, blissful rendition of shiva bhajan. On the final day, Shiv Abhishek was performed by devotees led by Pt Bharat Solanki, he explained the significance of Abhishek, it is an ancient Hindu practise of pouring water, milk, yoghurt, honey and ghee over the shiva Linga to honour Shiva and attain his blessings. Shiva Linga reminds us that Shiva is the source of creation, protection and destruction(dissolves) the universe, Shiva is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.
Mahashivratri is celebration of many qualities and deeds of Shiva, there are many different schools of thought and approach. On a profound level, there are two aspects in this universe, Shiva and Shav. Shiv is consciousness/Chetna and Shav is corpse-dead body. Shiva pervades all living entity, micro and macro, Shiva is shakti/energy. On the Great Night of Shiva planet earth is aligned in such a way that celestial energy enhances each human being based on their personality, disposition, and temperament.
From a tantric Marg it is divine wedding, mythical union of Shiva and Parvati, essentially Parvati is seated in muladhar chakra and on the great night she travels upward transcending the chakras to unite with her beloved – Shiva whose seat is the crown chakra – sahasrara, the union symbolizes the harmonious balance of opposites, where Shiva, the ascetic and destroyer, finds completeness and companionship in Parvati, the embodiment of divine grace and love.
Management of Hindu Society of Qld takes this opportunity to thank all the Mandali’s for their sewa and look forward for their continued support in future programs.
Annual General Meeting was held at Gayatri Mandir on 26th November 2023, new incoming Management Committee led by President Mr Anit Ram were elected. President elect was away overseas, in his absence, Pt Sanat Pandey acknowledged and praised the previous President Dr Jai Ram for all is hard work and dedicated service to the Society and wished him well in his future endeavours.
The President has promised to continue the hard work and see the completion of the New Mandir project. Devotees will be updated on the new project and a public forum will take place to discuss the next stage of the project.
The following members were elected unopposed in the Management Committee for the year 2023/24
President – Mr Anit Ram
Secretary Mrs Nirmala Shandil
Treasurer – Mr Rajneel Raj
Vice Presidents/PRO – Mrs Neelima Chand
Vice President – Mr Om Deo Mishra
Committee Members
Ms Manju – Assistant Secretary
Brijesh Singh – Assistant Treasurer
Shalend Shandil – Assistant Treasurer
Mrs Nirla Pandey – Events Coordinator
Ms Reena Prasad – Assistant PRO
Pt Sanat Pandey – Fundraising Leader
It is heartening to see Bal Vikash has started for the year, we had 15 students last year, however a few of the students are now in high school and we wish them all the best. Bal Vikash teacher Mrs Nirmala Shandil is continuing to provide sewa and she has vowed to carry on in the capacity as long as she can, that is a welcome gesture by the Management Committee and the parents.
It is also worthy to note and HSQ Management committee would like extend our great appreciation to one of our devotees Mr Rajnil Prasad who has helped HSQ to set up a CRM/Database, this has gone live from 15th Mar. Lot of work was involved to clean and update devotees’ data, past and present Committee members concerted effort made it possible. According to Mr Rajnil Prasad, “CRM/Database is essential tool in the modern world, it gives immediate visibility and access to our customers/devotees, the system is able to do AI, marketing, emails, domain hosting, Social Media and even live streaming”. In the coming months HSQ will be collecting/updating data in the CRM so that it become a central hub to send communication quicker and cheaper.
Hindu Society of Queensland has completed CRM/ database project, many devotees have moved and have new details as such we are updating membership details like mobile phone numbers, email address etc. This would assist us to communicate better and update members on latest developments at the mandir, please contact Secretary Mrs Nirmala Shandil on 0466 436 964 or Vice President/PRO Mrs Neelima Chand on 0405 409 156 or alternatively email us at gayatrimandirqld@gmail.com. Many Thanks for your support.
Upcoming Events
Somwar Shiva Pooja every Monday: 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Ramayan Recital every Tuesday: 7.00pm to 8.30pm
9 April to 17 April – Ram Naumi
Sundarkand and Triodashi is held every month at the mandir, for details and sponsorship please kindly visit our website and Facebook page. Regular updates will be sent to all devotees via Facebook and SMS.
Stay Connected with Hindu Society of Queensland
Website www.hindusocietyqld.org.au Facebook: Hindu Society of Qld and email us on gayatrimandirqld@gmail.com Phone: (07) 38653164 Address: 178 Lyndhurst Rd, Boondall QLD
