Pics: Janani Dharmasthala
Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Mar 3: “Making outwardly changes to our lives does not mean anything. Our lives cannot turn blissful unless we allow Lord Shiva’s preaching to encompass our lives in entirety,” said Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari, Dr D Veerendra Heggade.

He was speaking after inaugurating a night-long programme of chanting of Bhajans, organized on the occasion of Mahashivaratri on Wednesday March 2 at temple town, Dharmasthala.

“When we pray to the Lord all through the night, by dawn next day, darkness in our lives gets driven away, paving way for a new ray of hope and awakening, giving rise to blissful living. When we pray to the Lord, we should have total concentration, devotion, and single-minded dedication.  Lord Shiva always showers kindness and favours on others, and he is supposed to have always kept his senses under control. If we shed greed and lust, and exercise control over our senses, our lives become a celebration. For bringing this change, meditation helps a lot,” he explained.

He said chanting of Bhajans, if imbibed as a routine practice at homes, can purify our thought process. He recalled that an American woman had once asked him as to whether too much noise created during Hindu festivals does not interfere with concentration of the participants. He said he told her that when people are silent, their minds roam round, and get covered by various thoughts, and that when there is too much sound, they can concentrate on the Lord. He also said that Lord takes to streets during festival to enable the people who are not able to visit the temple, to have His darshan and pay obeisance to Him.

Hemavati V Heggade, Supriya Harshendra Kumar, litterateur, Erya Lakshminarayan Alva, Swamidasa etc., were present. Over 10,000 people, who came to Dharmasthala by foot from various places within the state, led by Swamidasa, were also present. Swamidasa has been leading such pilgrimages since the last 32 years on the occasion of Mahashivaratri.