Time is flying, and even though one month has passed since we celebrated Nrsimha Caturdasi, I nevertheless want to share some impressions and pictures of this wonderful highlight during the month of May....
In Simhachalam, Nrsimha Caturdasi is always a 3- to 4-day event; Lord Nrsimhadeva receives all kinds of amazing offerings and arrangements for His satisfaction and pleasure: several stunning outfits very unique to Simhachalam which are not offered anywhere else in the world. Since Lord Nrsimhadeva likes to be in the forest, He always receives the so-called "forest outfit." And the last special darshan to be seen is when He appears - shortly before 9pm on His appearance day. On this auspicious day He also receives a most elaborate abhishek with all kinds of special arrangements: a banana pack (His body being covered with bananas), a garland made from donuts, tomatoes and lemons to mention a few...
To prepare my heart for the joyous event, I like to meditate on making festive decorations in the temple room and beautiful flower arrangements for the altar and Srila Prabhupada's Vyasasana. The deeper the mind is absorbed in such meditation and planning, the more we can feel bhakti growing in our heart. And after all, this is the goal of Vaishnava festivals: to draw devotion from our stone-like hearts....
Since the temple room in Simhachalam is rather dark, we purchased a lot of orange and yellow cloth to decorate the ceiling, along with golden and dark blue paper fans to accentuate the arrangement. It looked very festive and stunning - I heard devotees exclaiming "Wow...!" when entering the temple room for the first time. This is exactly how the temple room decoration should be - producing sounds of amazement in festive anticipation, as if entering the spiritual world....
Since the temple room in Simhachalam is rather dark, we purchased a lot of orange and yellow cloth to decorate the ceiling, along with golden and dark blue paper fans to accentuate the arrangement. It looked very festive and stunning - I heard devotees exclaiming "Wow...!" when entering the temple room for the first time. This is exactly how the temple room decoration should be - producing sounds of amazement in festive anticipation, as if entering the spiritual world....
This is described in the SB. 4.21.1:
"When the King entered his city, it was very beautifully decorated to receive him with pearls, flower garlands, beautiful cloth and golden gates, and the entire city was perfumed with highly fragrant incense.
PURPORT
Real opulence is supplied by natural gifts such as gold, silver, pearls, valuable stones, fresh flowers, trees and silken cloth. Thus the Vedic civilization recommends opulence and decoration with these natural gifts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such opulence immediately changes the condition of the mind, and the entire atmosphere becomes spiritualized. King Prithu's capital was decorated with such highly opulent decorations."
I had the opportunity to go to the flower market and choose many nice flowers and greenery for the vases. And I spent two and half full days making vases - my favorite meditation. I had purchased a series of white porcelain vases in the shape of a conch and a family of swans which beautified the altar and added a special feel.
Flowers are very prominent in the spiritual world - the Lord's associates express their love and devotion by making all kinds of amazing arrangements made from flowers - garments, jewelry and decorations, and even slippers! And resting places, cushions, canopies and blankets are crafted from flowers....
"When the King entered his city, it was very beautifully decorated to receive him with pearls, flower garlands, beautiful cloth and golden gates, and the entire city was perfumed with highly fragrant incense.
PURPORT
Real opulence is supplied by natural gifts such as gold, silver, pearls, valuable stones, fresh flowers, trees and silken cloth. Thus the Vedic civilization recommends opulence and decoration with these natural gifts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such opulence immediately changes the condition of the mind, and the entire atmosphere becomes spiritualized. King Prithu's capital was decorated with such highly opulent decorations."
I had the opportunity to go to the flower market and choose many nice flowers and greenery for the vases. And I spent two and half full days making vases - my favorite meditation. I had purchased a series of white porcelain vases in the shape of a conch and a family of swans which beautified the altar and added a special feel.
Flowers are very prominent in the spiritual world - the Lord's associates express their love and devotion by making all kinds of amazing arrangements made from flowers - garments, jewelry and decorations, and even slippers! And resting places, cushions, canopies and blankets are crafted from flowers....
One of the highlights was the traditional sandesh outfit - a very unique offering which I have only ever experienced in Simhachalam! Here, Lord Nrsimhadeva loves sandesh so much that on His birthday He likes to have His body covered by colored sandesh. I was fortunate to participate in making the artistic arrangement - amongst other details His purple dhoti with the yellow paisley patterns was my humble contribution.
Over 4 days we were swimming in an ocean of bliss, serving the Lord in a very personal way, all the while hearing lectures over zoom given by Their Holiness Sacinandana Swami, Krishna Ksetra Swami and Kadamba Kanana Swami. And we were united in melodiously and joyfully chanting Hare Krishna...
We concluded the festive days by swinging Their Lordships Laxmi Nrsimhadeva - something we may consider extraordinary, yet it is rather common in South India...
Your servant, Devaki dd
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