St James here we come!

On Sunday October 17th 2004, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha is asking all mandirs for that day only to relocate their Sunday morning devotional services to the Paschim Kashi Mandir, Ethel Street, St James. The SDMS will be conducting a National Navratri Puja on this occasion. The devotional service at St James is scheduled to begin at 8.30 am and end with the entire congregation taking part in a religious procession along the Western Main Road to the Queen’s Park Savannah. The spiritual leader of the mandir Pundit Bhadase, along with other SDMS pundits such as Pundit Uttam Maharaj, President of the Pundits’ Parishad, Pundit Lakshmidath Persad-Maharaj, and Pundit Satyanand Maharaj will be officiating. The historic Port-of-Spain Hindu Mandir known as Paschim Kaashi (Benares of the West) is one of Trinidad’s most magnificent Hindu Mandirs. It was built in 1962 to serve the religious needs of the Hindus of Port-of-Spain. Within its walls are the most beautiful murtis imported from India made especially for the mandir. A manicured garden exists to provide fresh flowers used for worship. The president of the mandir and the branch is Surendranath Capildeo.

What is Navratri celebration? Navratri means: Nav = nine ; Ratri = nights. Navratri festival sacred to the Mother Goddess is celebrated in the month of October / November. The first three nights are dedicated to the goddess of action and energy. Her different manifestations viz Kumari, Parvati and Kali are worshipped during these days. They represent the three natures/ classes of womanhood — the virgin young girl, auspicious wife/ mother and the angry old hag! This is not a criticism of women, just a classification. It helps recognise the different aspects of our own nature. Mother Lakshmi is worshipped for the three days in her various aspects as the goddesses of peace, plenty and bliss. Fulfilment is more important than wealth itself. As the goddess of wealth, she governs not just the bank balance, but also such basic things as family, friends, food etc. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge. Not just the knowledge of how to earn a living, but how to “live” as well. She is the goddess of the spiritual knowledge and the knowledge that frees us from this bind of Samsara. She is worshipped during the final three days of the Navratri.

The Port-of-Spain Hindu Mandir is also the only mandir in Trinidad to have the Dashavatars (ten avatars) of Lord Vishnu. Avatar is a word that is commonly heard but rarely understood. In English, the word has come to mean “an embodiment, a bodily manifestation of the Divine.” However, the Sanskrit word avatar means “the descent of God” or simply “incarnation.” Lord Vishnu is one of the principal Hindu deities, worshipped as the protector and preserver of the world and restorer of dharma. He is known chiefly through his avatars (incarnations), particularly Rama, Krishna and Buddha. In theory, Vishnu manifests a portion of himself anytime he is needed to fight evil, and his appearances are innumerable; but in practice, ten incarnations are most commonly recognised. Vaishnavites, one of the largest Hindu groups, are the devotees of Vishnu as Ishvara, the Supreme Being, worshipped in the forms of his manifestations or incarnations. Because of his pervasive presence, images as the focus of worship are of great importance.

The ten avatars of Lord Vishnu at the Port-of-Spain Mandir are: Matsya the Fish — Saved humanity and the sacred Veda text from the flood. Kurma the Turtle — Helped create the world by supporting it on his back. Varaha the Boar — Raised the earth out of water with his tusks. Narasimha, half-man, half-lion — destroyed a tyrant demon king. Vamana the Dwarf — Subdued king Bali, a powerful demon. Parashurama the Brahmin — destroyed the warrior caste. Rama —rescued his wife, Sita, with his loyal servant Hanuman and his brother, Lakshmana, and killed the demon Ravana. Krishna — told the Epic poem Bhagavad Gita to the warrior Arjuna. Buddha — the enlightened one. Kalki the Horse — yet to come to the earth. Following the conclusion of the Maha Sabha’s religious observances at the Port-of-Spain Mandir, the organisation will begin a religious procession along Ethel Street to the Western Main Road, along St Clair Avenue to finally arrive at the Queen’s Park Savannah — Grand Stand. Thousands of national flags will be given to persons participating in the religious procession from the Port-of-Spain Mandir along with jhandis of Lord Hanuman.This exercise is part of a larger Inter Religious Organisation project for National Day of Prayer for Repentance and Healing: to begin a journey to build a just society with a new culture of leadership.

At that Interfaith function (1 to 3.30 pm) there are expected to be short addresses and prayers by IRO members, Prayers of Repentance and Intercession: Deborah de Rosia, Bhajan on healing — Pundit Lakshmidath Persad Maharaj, address by Rev Clive Dottin, Principles of Fairness: Mr Ken Gordon, and the feature address will be given by: Acting President of the Republic of TT, Senator, the Honourable Dr Linda Baboolal. Coordinator of the Day of Prayer at the Queen’s Park Savannah and Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice, Leela Ramdeen stated, “The National Day of Prayer is a rallying call to our nation to come together to defend our freedom; to show national strength, moral courage and patience in addressing difficult tasks. The aim of the National Day of Prayer is to encourage everyone to take stock of their sins of commission and omission — particularly our Members of Parliament, councillors etc. The origin of this day was part of a concern expressed that our Government is doing little to address the social ills of society.” The various religious communities will demonstrate solidarity in the face of all the adversities that currently face the nation.