HSS Bay Area celebrated Vijaya Dashami with great fervor and zeal

Vijaya Dashami holds great importance as a Sangha Utsav. This was the day when Dr. Shri Keshav Baliram Hedgewar started Sangha in 1925 with a handful of kids with an objective of uniting Hindu society and promoting Hindu way of life. Apart from having thousands of Shakhas in India, the organization now has presence in 32 other countries including USA in the form of 700 shakhas.  

 HSS bay Area celebrated Vijaya Dashami with great fervor and zeal at the Sunnyvale Hindu Temple on September 27th from 10 am to 12 pm. All ten chapters of HSS throughout Bay Area participated in the event with great vigor. The celebrations were attended by over 500 people from all over Bay Area.

The Sunnyvale Temple Hall was exquisitely decorated with a colorful Rangoli at the entrance and beautiful fresh flowers glorified the image of Goddess Durga and Bhagwa Dhwaj on the stage. The program commenced with Dhwaja aarohan (flag hoisting) and then rejuvenating warm-up conducted by Nishank ji Trivedi. This was followed by the traditional Ayudha Pooja performed by Sunnyvale temple Pandit ji . The collective recitation of Mahalakshmi Ashtkam accompanied with the melodious music of violin and harmonium played by Rucha Joshi and Maulik Shukla reverberated the hall. This was followed by a series of presentations by participants from all the 10 chapters in bay area.

Children, with great confidence presented Surya Namaskar and Niyudha – a form of Indian Martial Arts. Their participation exemplified the positive influence of Balagokulams, conducted by HSS, on these young minds. While the pre-teens displayed their talents, teenagers were not far behind with their captivating demonstration of Dandas  – use of bamboo sticks for combat. The spell binding Yogchap presentation by ladies which included synchronized dance movements done to a beat or song was one of a kind. The ghosh (band) group, with their exuberance enthralled the audience by playing musical instruments like anak (drum), vamshi (flute), panav (base drum), and shankha (bugle). Synchronized formations done during march past by the men, well coordinated yogasana and vyayam yog performed by both ladies and men together also formed a part of the program.

The program was graced by Sri Raj ji Bhanot, Treasurer of the Sunnyvale Temple Committee who was the chief guest and Saumitra ji Gokhale, who is a full time pracharak of HSS for the America zone. Professor Baltej Singh ji Mann from San Jose State University and Mrinalini ji Khandilkar were amongst the other dignitaries present at the function. The program concluded with a small talk by Saumitra ji who spoke about the significance of Vijaya Dashami and importance of  Dharma  in our life. He aptly passed the message of how the combined strength of a society with virtues of Dharma can lead to progress and victory. The program ended with Sangha prarthana followed by ambrosial lunch prepared by HSS volunteers.

For More Images
http://www.hssus.org/gallery/v/WCOAST/Vijaya+Dasami+Utsav-+Sunnyvale+Temple/

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