There was Om on every lip, Om in very mind, Om in every soul. There was OM vibrating everywhere in the atmosphere, when Pandit Gyan Prakash Upadhayay began the Maha Rudrabhishek Pooja organized by Shiv Mandir of Atlanta. The huge hall was filled with sacred chanting of Om. It was Monday the 20th, February, 2012, the auspicious occasion of Maha Shiv Ratri, the Grand Night of Lord Shiva and Lingodbhava(Origin of Shiva Linga) . Mahashivratri is a festival of significant importance for Hindus. It is believed that fasting and performing this pooja on Mahashiv Ratri with proper rituals, relieves one from the cycle of birth and death and he/she attains moksha.
 

Devotees getting ready for Aarti. Over 1000 devotees attended the Group Pooja

Like every year, devotees at Shiv Mandir of Atlanta celebrated Mahashiv Ratri with intense devotion, religious fervor and traditional solemnity. The Group Pooja in which more than 225 families (around 1000 people) took part, was organized in the Ashiana Banquet Hall at Global Mall, Norcross. Shiv Mandir has been organizing Maha Shiv Ratri for last eleven years, where devotees in similar numbers perform this pooja under one roof. For sitting of the devotees, 250 asanas were placed in rows. Devotees were provided all pooja samagree, coconut, ghee, shivling, charanamrit etc. In the middle of the hall, a decorated stage was set up where the two priests Pt Upadhyay and Pt Madhav Kafley ji, were sitting with the Mukhya yajmaans and guiding the devotees to perform the pooja. There were two projector screens on each side of the stage, to facilitate proper view of the main stage to all devotees sitting across the hall. Special seating arrangements were made for senior citizens and for those who are unable to sit for long. Outside the hall this year there was a new display arranged with Slide show and pictures about the Mandir’s activities and its future plans on a flat screen. The Maha Prasad stall had food arrangement for both fasting and non fasting devotees. Before the pooja, President of the Executive committee of Shiv Mandir, Dr Devashish Ray briefly welcomed all the devotees and thanked them for their support to the Mandir.
The pooja began at 7.00 pm with the pranayama and sacred chanting of “Om”. It was so mesmerizing to watch little kids-“the young Hindu Americans”, sitting beside their parents and chanting OM with their beautiful eyes closed. Pranayaam was followed by a devotional bhajan. The pooja which was performed strictly as per vedic rituals with Swasti vachan, Ganesh Vandana, sankalp, dhyaan, avaahan, solah upchaar poojan, Vedic rudrabhishek,and 108 naam archana and Aarti followed by Maha Prasad. The pooja lasted for about two hours, teenage children worked as volunteers replenishing samagree etc. The devotees enjoyed the interactive and interesting way it was being conducted by the priests. At the end of the pooja Chairman of the Mandir’s board Alok Gupta gave a power point presentation with over view of financial status and proclaimed year’s goal i.e. “To begin the construction of the new Mandir by doing Silanyasa pooja in the fall of 2012.” Alok Gupta stressed on the need of funds to begin the construction and urged the devotees to become a part of the mandir, now and forever by sponsoring various parts like pillars, Murtis etc of the Mandir and donate generously to support the mandir’s construction. He said “such opportunities are rare in life time. Be a part of this history by supporting it with Tan- Man and Dhan”. While the presentation was still going on, many motivated devotees came forward to donate generously.
While the group Maharudrabhishek pooja was being held on the ground floor, on the first floor, scores of devotees stood in queue, waiting to offer milk abhisekh to Shiv Limgum. The scene outside the mandir was no different than that at the temples in India on Shiv Ratri. Over 4000 devotees offered milk abhisekh. Later, Prahar Pooja was conducted from 10pm till mid night in the Mandir.







This mega event, in which more than 1200 devotees participated, was made possible by the hard working and dedicated volunteers of the Shiv Mandir. Many children actively volunteered and helped inside the hall during the pooja, and in packing and distribution of mahaprasad, all this while having lots of fun. Children were granted volunteer hours for their excellent services.
Shiv Mandir caters to the religious and spiritual needs of Hindus and followers of Sanatan Dharma of Greater Atlanta area and its family of devotees has increased exponentially since its inception in 2000. Shiv Mandir’s objective of providing a place of worship for all Hindus where people from East, West, North or South feel comfortable and welcomed, makes it different. Shiv Mandir has successfully eradicated the thin line of North –South by conducting Ayyappa pooja for last couple of years and having Swamis from South presiding for Satsangs. To continue with this effort, a South Indian priest has been hired and will be joining soon.

The new Mandir, for which Bhumi Poojan was conducted in 2010, is conveniently located on Peachtree Industrial Blvd, in City of Sugar Hill. The total land area is about 12 acres. The projected cost of land development and building the Mandir complex is $3.5 Millions. The plan is to build a 22 thousand square foot Mandir complex where the sanctum area will be about 7,500 square feet. The main deity will be the Shiv parivar, with other deities like Shri Radha-Krishna; Shri Ram Parivar, Shri Bala ji and Shri Durga mata. Each deity will be about 5’ to 6’ in height. Each deity will have their own ‘garbh grah’ with a camera inside each ‘garbh grah’ so that the pooja vidhi can be seen on a TV placed outside each deity’s garbh grah. At the entrance there will be a big fountain called “Gangotri” and the on-site stream will be called as Shiv Ganga with walking trails on its sides. There will be a play area for children and open space to conduct outdoor events. Currently parking for 200 vehicles has been planned. The open area around the complex will have beautiful landscape and a flower garden. The lower part of the Mandir complex will house an auditorium with a stage, with state -of-art audio visual system, a kitchen and community dining hall, offices and rooms to hold classes for children and adults. The mandir will also have a library and an outdoor Yagna Shala pavilion.
Let us join hands to build this Mandir for ourselves and for generations to come and preserve and embellish our rich culture and traditions and be proud of it. To view more pictures of the event & to know more about Shiv Mandir of Atlanta or to make an online donation please visit mandir’s website - www.shivmandiratlanta.org or call any of the office bearers.