Bhubaneswar : After two years of Covid restrictions, the Ratha Yatra of 2022 in Puri welcomed all devotees to participate in the much-awaited Festival.
Like previous years, thousands and thousands of devotees were expected to fill up every inch of Bada Danda (Grand Road of Puri), awaiting to have a glimpse of their aradhya Maha Prabhu Shree Jagannatha with his brother and sister and to touch the Rathas, to pull the Rathas. Mohanji, the Founder of Mohanji Bharat and Ammucare Charitable Trust, inspired the teams to distribute food and water to the pilgrims during the 9 days of the festival in Puri. “When you serve the devotees with food and water and in anyway possible, it’s serving Bhagawan himself. This Seva is purifying and fulfills with ultimate contentment.”- says Mohanji.
Pattajoshi, the head of Chhatis Nijog, Puri temple supported this drive and suggested making this a special “Maha Prasad Daan” drive.
“A morsel of Mahaprasad that has even one leaf of Tulsi from Maha Prabhu, will take each bhakta to the bliss of heaven”- said Pattajoshi Janardana Mahapatra. Thus, for the first time ever, formed the stall of “Maha Prasad Daan” , next to the Gundicha Mandir. Not just ordinary cooked rice and Dahl but Maha Prasad that gets offered to Maha Prabhu in the temple, comes to this stall, possible only with help of Sevaks of Chhatis Nijog and is distributed to everyone for free. This a seva beyond ordinary.
Volunteers of Mohanji Bharat and Ammucare who have come from different parts of India and even from outside India – Jammu, Vrindavan, Baroda, Mumbai, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Canada found extreme contentment while serving thousands of people every day from early morning to late evenings. Not just the pilgrims, but even other volunteers, the police force, all the people who are standing under the hot sun for hours and hours, a bottle of water or Glucon D, a bowl full of Maha Prasad is truly soul-satisfying.
“People are standing in long queues that go on for 2 kilometers or more, for hours and hours, in the hot and humid condition, no water, and no food for hours. When we take the water bottles near them or the pot of Mahaprasad to them, they are so overwhelmingly grateful. This brings tears to our eyes, tears of ultimate gratitude to Shree Jagannatha and to Mohanji for giving us this Seva opportunity. From this stall, so far we have served atleast 20,000 people.” – says Aditya, a volunteer from Mohanji Bahrat team, who has come all the way from Jammu.
Shree Jagannatha Society of UK, which are on the mission of building Shree Jagannatha Temple in London is wholeheartedly supporting this drive to spread the Jagannatha consciousness globally.
While the Rath Yatra festival still continues, the Maha Prasad Daana Seva, giving water, and first aid also continues, adding divine joy to the ultimate experience of the pilgrims.
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