Omkriyayog Foundation, a West Windsor-based association, is organizing a 24-hour event beginning on Saturday, December 30, at 10 a.m.
“Local followers of Yogiraj Brahmrshi Barphani Dadaji, one of India’s most prominent saints, will guide the public workshop service and 24-hour mantra repetition to encourage fearlessness,” says Rajyalaxmi Shaha, a West Windsor resident. “Dadaji, who seldom travels outside of India, is the saint that many who teach yogic philosophy come to for advanced Kundalini Kriya.”##M:[more]##
“We do Jappa (mantra repetition) for Nada Yoga, The Yoga of Sound,” says Shaha. “With the right sounds that come from chanting, we are inviting a calming energy. You can use sound as a means of spiritual transformation. This connects you to your inner self, your internal voice. The chanting or reciting of mantras activates and accelerates the creative spiritual force, promoting harmony in all parts of the human being.”
After Yagna Subramaniyam and 25 of his students recite a sacred vedic mantra, 111 clay Lord Shiv statues will be immersed into a body of water. “Behind this ceremony lies profound symbolism,” says Shaha. “It is to remind us that our physical existence is temporary — having its origins and dissolution in the formless absolute.
There will also be a sacred fire ceremony to conclude the visual. “It is natural to revere fire, Brahmateja, Divine Flame, Sacred Glow, Divine Light, or Latent Light,” says Shaha. “The Vedic hymn ‘agne supatha raye’ prays to this omnipotent, supreme power to enlighten and inspire us towards the righteous path.”
Shaha served as the chairperson for the West Windsor Human Relation Council for four years. She was also president of India Voice of West Windsor, vice president of Community Middle School PTA, and is currently the president of Asian American Political Coalition for Princeton Chapter. She, and her husband, Shree Prakash Shaha, a civil engineer, founded the 501 (c) group in 1999.
“You could say it was a calling for me and my husband,” she says. “A pleasant breeze came and just swept us to the higher plains. We have not stopped going with the flow of the being.”
Born in Varanasi India, Shaha has her master’s degree in English from BHU University. As an undergraduate she studied Sanskrit as a language. As a project manager for MarketSource, she developed and created websites for Fortune 500 companies, Hershey, Johnson & Johnson, Mylanta, and Pepcid. She now works for a company in Piscataway. She teaches yoga and meditation on Saturdays and her hobbies include drawing, painting, gardening, and philosophy.
“Taking Sanskrit has been extremely beneficial towards my spiritual journey,” she says. “When you start offering all your being to the one who created you then work and away from work has no difference. You start doing your best because it for the one who created you. And it is his desire for you to go to work to take care of you family and friends.
The family moved to West Windsor in July 1984 because they loved the area. Their son, Arunabha (Arun) Keshari Shaha, graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, Class of 2000, and from Manhattan School of Music in 2005. Their daughter, Avantika Rajyalaxmi Devi Shaha, graduated from High School South in 2004 and is currently a student at Pratt Institute.
“Imagine what we all could do if we had no fear,” says Shaha. “Chanting this mantra erodes one’s level of fear the way drops of water eventually wear away at stone. Repetition enhances the effects and uniting voices multiplies it even more. We perform visarjan to lord Shiva with great enthusiasm to welcome the next year with great excitement.”
Mahamritunjay Jaap and Pooja, Om Kriya Yog Foundation, Durga Mandir, Route 27, Kingston, 609-936-0236. www.omkriyayoga.org. The 24-hour event, conducted in a mixture of Sanskrit, Hindu, and English, is a worship service with singing, prayers, a fire ceremony, a procession, and the immersion of 108 Parthiv Shivs (clay images) in the pond behind the temple. Bring a cushion or blanket to sit on. There will be snacks and vegetarian available for 24 hours. Donations invited. Saturday, December 30, 10 a.m.
