London/Bhubaneswar: Shree Jagannatha Society UK (also known as Jagannath Temple Trust UK) and Aylesbury Hindu Temple Trust UK (AHTT UK) organized a grand spiritual ceremony to celebrate Gita Jayanti.
Scores of devotees from across the UK and several countries like India, Ireland, USA, Canada, Bahrain, Nigeria and Oman joined on a virtual platform to observe the 5157th anniversary of the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered to be the most important and influential Hindu scripture containing the essence of Vedic knowledge.
The programme started with bhajans sung by devotees.
Swami Madhavanand, Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Ranchi, delivered the keynote address, stressing on the importance of balance in body, mind and intellect as propounded in the Gita.
Guest speaker Prof. Harekrishna Satapathy, renowned educationist and eminent Sanskrit scholar, Vice Chancellor Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), explained that Bhagavad Gita is the journey from Vishaada (state of bewilderment or delusion) to Prasada (confidence), and teaches mankind the technique to convert a crisis or challenge into an opportunity with confidence.
CB Patel, editor of Asian Voice, UK’s foremost English language newspaper for the British Asian community, recapped the three main themes in the Bhagavad Gita: knowledge (jnana), action (karma), and love (bhakti).
JAGANNATH TEMPLE TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN LONDON
A Jagannath Temple is being constructed in London, which is expected to become a prominent landmark and the epi-centre of Jagannath culture in Europe.
Trustee of Shree Jagannatha Society UK (SJS UK) Dr Chetan Shatapathy made a detailed power point presentation on the project, which will be a community-led affair. The SJS UK has initiated a membership drive and started fund-raising activities.
The society is in the process of acquiring a large piece of land, close to the M25 motorway in north-west of London, for the temple. Construction is expected to commence by 2022 and completed in 2024.
