Braving the cold and the rain on the Memorial Day weekend, members of the Soundarya Lahiri group performed the Ashtothara Sata Homa Kunda Sri Chakra Homam. The baseball field at the Oyster River High School in Durham, NH turned into a holy “Yagna Bhoomi” for a day.

Usha and Subbarao Kompella lead the New England chapter of the Soundarya Lahiri group. This special event was done under the direction of Pujya Guru Sri Sri Sri Amruthananda Saraswathi of Devipuram India. People from as far away as Texas came to take part in this special event.

Srichakram is considered as King of all the Yantras (Chakra Raja) and as per the Puranas (ancient Hindu texts), worship of it gives knowledge, wealth, health and prosperity and leading ultimately to self-realization. This is a unique Yantra as it encapsulates the entire universe with a single geometric visualization. Devotees consider it very important to do this prayer in the correct fashion.

The whole undertaking was done on a massive scale. 108 beautiful copper Homa Kundams & homa dravyas were procured and sent from India by Sri R Ramamurthy (Father of Smt. Meenakshi Venkataramani). The participants themselves who were placed all along the Sri Chakram at strategic points did the homam. Homam was done with Sowbhagya Panchadasi Mantra, Lalitha Sahasra Namavali and Khadga Mala Sthothram.

While the overall goal was prayer to Mother Goddess, participants all had their own special reasons for doing the Homam. “It is such a pleasure to be here. I am convinced that the right vibrations can truly bring about world peace,” said Vardhani Harpanahalli, one of the participants. “It has been a pleasure to be part of the Soundarya Lahiri group. The volunteers are so dedicated. Just being around them is a pleasure” said Kodhandaram Prasad. “As we live so far away from home it is important for us and our children to understand and try to keep up with the prayers” said Sharada Gopalan. For some the reason was simple. “I will sleep and not do anything useful on Sunday morning. Here I am in this special group feeling so motivated amongst people who are so positive and full of life. That is a special feeling,” said Gopal Raghavan.

The group has made special efforts to explain the shlokas and the details of the poojas to all the participants. “My mother in India used to do this prayer. But she never explained the meaning to me. The priests did the Homam. But here I get to do it with the full understanding of its significance. That is very special to me. As I hold the spatula in my hand to pour the offerings into the Homa Kumdam that is right in front of me, I feel empowered” said Kari Prasad.

The participants included a few Americans of non-Indian origin who come from Rochester, NY, Philedelphia and Hartford. Dressed in Indian clothes, the group performed the Homam with great passion. Some had got to this group through their interest in Yoga. The Swamis at the Sri Rajarajeshwari Peetam in New York had inspired others.

It was a huge undertaking and the volunteers are to be complimented on putting together such a wonderful event. While world peace is a big task, it was clear that the event brought peace at least to those who performed the Homam. To learn more about this organization please check out their website at www.srimeru.org.

|