Divine Inspirations

The worshipers of Lord Parshuram believe in living a life dedicated to helping those around them.

As the members of the Parshuram Seva Sanstha discuss the plan of action for their next months meeting they can’t help but smile, We are planning a big things for the future. On the anvil are plans for providing services like education assitance,financial help,health insurance,matrimonial services. It will take some time but we are hoping that we will be able to achive all this by next year,says Markand Mankikar,the spokesperson of the organisation. They are a group of people who aim to bring about positive changes in the society around them,and they gain their inspiration from Lord Parshuram.

Lord Parshuram is the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu,and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka. Parshu means axe,therefore his name literally means Ram-with-the-axe. He received an axe from Lord Shiva,from whom he learned methods of warfare. He belongs to the Tretayug,and although he was born as a Brahmin,he had Kshatriya (warrior) traits in him. Hence,he is said to be a ‘Brahma-Kshatriya’ and one who possesses Brahmatej and Kshatratej. Lord Parshuram is a sage who is considered a Chiranjeevi (immortal),as well as the creator of Konkan and Malabar lands. According to legend,he fought the advancing ocean back,thus saving the lands of Konkan and Malabar,in todays Maharashtra-Karnataka-Kerala coastline. The coastal area of Kerala state along with the Konkan region is still known as Parshuramkshetra, explains Paallavi Zujam,a devotee.

We thank Lord Parashuram on Parshuram Jayanti for giving us our home,Maharashtra. It is celebrated on the same day as Akshay Trithiya, says homemaker,Sakshi Kunte. Beside the prayers done at home,there are also organisations,like the Parashuram Seva Sanstha that celebrated Parashuram Jayanti by organising a feast for the worshipers of Lord Parashuram. But this group doesn’t restrict itself to the worship of Lord Parashuram; it also engages in social service for the benefit of people around them,irrespective of their association with the group’s beliefs.

Recently,the group donated 100 kilograms of rice to a school and the contributions were made by individual members of this organisation. “This organisation is open to all,there is no hard and fast rule that they have to be worshippers of Lord Parashuram. But the core members are all great believers of the Lord,” says Markand Mankikar,the spokesperson of the organisation. “We try and solve the problems of people,as much as we can. We even focus on small problems like looking into missing street lamps in front of someone’s house,or bad roads. We as a group put pressure on the PMC,till the work gets done.”

Ajit Londe,the head of the organisation,says,We have a get together every month to discuss problems. Not everyone has a forum where they can talk about their household troubles; some may have trouble getting a job,someone’s child may not be getting admission in a school,issues of facilities like water,electricity,issues of harassment. This is the place for them to open up and express their problems,and we try to come up with solutions together.”

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