Call of Peace

The Kaivalya Upanishad mentions that the rudra japam is able to wipe out all the sins of mankind and it acts as a means of penance. Explaining more about the maharudram,secretary of the Shree Hari Hara Bhajan Samajam,AS Nagaraja Sarma,says,“When 22 pandits chant the rudram 11 times for six days continuously,it is called a maharudram. This is accompanied by the chanting of another hymn ‘Chamakam’ in chorus.” The event will be attended by 200-300 devotees during the weekdays while on the weekend the numbers are expected to go over 500,says Sarma.

The first maharudram in 1991 was held under the guidance of the late Sri Radhakrishna Sastrigal and in 2006 under Adayapalam Br Sri AV Subramania Deekshadar. This year it will be held under the guidance of Ved Pandit Sengali Puram Br Sri N Vaithya Natha Deekshathar. The morning session will be held from 7 am to 1 pm while the evening programme will go on from 6-8 pm.

Sarma mentions that the entire programme is being organised at the cost of Rs four lakhs. “The money has been obtained from donations by devotees. This temple too has been built through donations,” he says,adding,“Everyone is invited to come attend the event. On the last day of the programme,we will distribute food to all the devotees who come to the temple.” The programmes that will be held in addition to the maharudram include the Dhampathi Puja,Rudra Vidhana Puja and the Sri Maha Ganapathy Homam.

Funds are the biggest hurdle in the organisation of maharudram on a regular basis; hence the gaps between the three occasions. Sarma explains,“We had the first maharudram when we built the temple. After that,to organise something on such a large scale took a lot of time,planning,resources and money.” After this programme is completed,the Samajan plans to build a second floor to the existing temple complex so that it can accommodate more devotees. This will be done over the next one year. “Since everything is run solely on donations,we take small steps towards becoming bigger,” he adds.