Devotees give a grand welcome to Swami Mukundananda in Bahalda

Swami Mukundananda recently arrived in Bahalda for a short visit during his Odisha tour.  Thousands of devotees were eagerly waiting for Swamiji to arrive in Bahalda and were extremely delighted when he finally did.

Bahalda is a small town in Mayurbhanj district in northern Odisha.  One of the most famous temples of northern Odisha – the temple of Maa Kichakeshwari, is located in the middle of the town.  Historically, Goddess Kichakeshwari is the family Goddess of ruling chiefs of Mayurbhanj.  The original temple dates back to 7th and 8thCentury, with repairs done over the centuries.

Since Swamiji was visiting Bahalda for the very first time, the devotees escorted him to the temple for darshan of Divine Mother.  Thousands of devotees escorted Swamiji with musicians playing dholaks and harmoniums.  Devotees loudly chanted the names of God and the atmosphere reverberated divinity.  Men, women and children were all part of the crowd that joyously accompanied Swamiji.

After being received so warmly by the devotees and receiving thr darshan of Divine Mother, Swamiji proceeded for the scheduled program.  During the spiritual program, Swamiji delivered a discourse on the position of Yogmaya in Vedic philosophy.  He also explained how we can attain the grace of God’s Divine Shakti through bhakti.  The same concept is explained by Swamiji in his ‘Secrets of Spiritual Practice’ lecture series.

The program was thoroughly enjoyed by the devotees and they felt inspired to grow spiritually.  Finally, Swamiji made all the devotees resolve to strive to move ahead on the path of Bhagavad Prem.