Blessings from Swami Ji

The almighty, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient Lord, beyond space and time, is Lord Shri Krishna, the Lord of the entire universe. The immeasurable creation is pervaded by Him in every atom. There is no place or thing that is separate from the energy of the Lord, as everything created and unmanifest is a different form of the same energy. So by offering our minds at His lotus feet, remembering Him and meditating on Him without distraction, all humans will feel the benefit.

In the Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta, Bhagavan Shri Krishna gave Arjuna this instruction: "Place your mind in Me, worship Me, become My devotee, bow to Me alone." He said this to the brave and victorious Arjuna on the battlefield, when Arjuna, seeing his own family on the enemy's side, was confused about what he should and should not do. In this materially obsessed modern world, ignorance has spread to every second of our existence, and the difficulties of household and social life trouble us at every step. Speaking to us through Arjuna over five thousand one hundred years ago, the Lord Himself tells us the solution: "Place your mind in Me, become My devotee."

All of these teachings and experiences can only happen in satsang, in the company of saints and learned souls. Today the one place where all devoted people come together is a Mandir. That Mandir should be clean, beautiful, pure and peaceful. By worshipping there, singing bhajans, performing rituals and listening to discourses by saints and learned souls, the devotee will feel peace fill his consciousness. The Mandir is the centre of faith, devotion and religious feeling, which is why devoted people all over the world have their own centres of worship.

Through the Mandir, devotees purify their consciousness in the stream of devotion, meet the Lord directly, and renew their humanity and humility. For this reason the Hindu scriptures give the Mandir an unequalled place. Mandirs are the priceless jewel of every town, city and country they adorn. By having one built, caring for it with mind and body, and arranging festivals where devotees, saints and learned souls can gather, the devotee is blessed with a calm mind and a pure soul. Having darshan of the Lord in His divinely carved murti, installed through the Vedic mantras of the Praan Pratishtha ritual, brings endless spiritual merit. Through the daily aarti, shringar, raj bhog, chandan and malas, and the seva offered from the heart through the pujari, the devotee receives prosperity, wealth, health and happiness. The Vedas say "Krinvanto Vishvamaaryam": fill one devotee with goodness, purity, truth and noble ideals, and he will pass them to a second and a third, until the whole world is filled with goodness. That is why we hope every devotee community in the world builds its own place for worship together; the benefits for mankind are countless.

With this resolve, around twenty-five years ago a programme of discourses was held in Glasgow, Scotland. Through the pure wish of the devotees there, a small Mandir was bought and Shri Rama Parivar was installed under the guidance of myself and Acharya Pt. Dharam Datta Vashishtha. The people of Glasgow then built up this Mandir through their own faithful service and by celebrating many festivals over the years. As the number of devotees grew, they wished to install larger murtis in a traditional altar. Murtis were shipped from India, but because of many small problems the plan was put on hold. For the past two years, the Hindu families of Glasgow have come together with greater unity, and work on a traditional wooden altar and the Praan Pratishtha festival began. The learned Vedic scholar Acharya Pt. Medinipati Mishra Ji, who has served the Lord in Glasgow for many years, has advised the devotees and coordinated the work from a religious standpoint. To help him, the hardworking and knowledgeable Pt. Sarveshwar Sharan (Surya) was called from Golok Dham Ashram, Delhi. Shri Ranjan Mehta and his craftsmen from Udaipur, India, then began work on the ornately carved wooden altar.

The Lord is endlessly compassionate. He alone decides when an endeavour will happen, what form it will take and through whose efforts it will be completed. The devotion and faith of the Glasgow devotees have drawn His blessings upon them. They have all given their time and money faithfully and selflessly. I pray that this devoted Hindu community stands as an example of dedication to all. May this Mandir become the centre of their devotional lives. May the new generation of young Hindus have darshan here and be blessed with pride in our Eternal Hindu Religion and our unparalleled Hindu culture. May everyone who comes to this Mandir, devotees and the simply curious alike, be blessed with prosperity, devotion, tranquillity, peace and wisdom.