Linda Johnsen

"Hinduism is the one world religion that reaches out to embrace other faiths with respect, a welcome change from groups who expend enormous amounts of energy condemning the sincere beliefs of others. There is no eternal damnation in Hinduism because Hindus believe absolutely no one is excluded from divine grace.

Global Hindu Heritage Foundation is very to inform that our Chief Pracharak and a well-known Priest performed Prana Prathishta in Hanimareddy Palli Village. He installed three deities – Hanuman, Kasireddy and Ganesh.

                As some of you are aware that in the same villge, about five years ago, GHHF donted Rama Parivaram and performed Prana Prathista for another Temple.

Praṇa Pratiṣṭhā refers to the ritual or ceremony by which a murtis are consecrated in a Hindu temple. With chanting of hymns and mantras, the specially trained priests invite the deity to be a permanent guest. After installing the murthy, Prana (life) is infused into them. The murti's eye is opened for the first time. The ritual is considered to infuse life into the Hindu temple, and bring to it the numinous presence of divinity and spirituality.

The ceremony marks the recognition of the image of god to represent "a particle of the divine whole, the divine perceived not in man's image as a separate entity but as a formless, indescribable omnipresent whole", with the divine presence a reminder of its transcendence and to be beheld in one's inner thoughts during darśana in the temple.

What is Prana Pratishtha?

‘Prana’ refers to the life energy whereas ‘Pratishtha’ means position or resting. In this context, the word when combined means installation or consecration.

Ritual of Prana Pratishtha

Vaishayasi Samhita says, one in whose every organ Paramatma resides wholly, that pure Mahapirusha is eligible to perform Prana Prathishta because one who can invoke Paramatma within his heart to the murti can offer it.

In the process the murti is cleansed for touching them by artisans while chiseling the murtih, , ksheeradivasa, jaladivasa, danyadivasa, and snaps were performed.

The ritual involves typically a puja, chanting mantra in Sanskrit, bathing, and cleaning the idols of Gods and Goddesses. The pandits (priests) in the temple washes the feet of the deity (like a revered guest) arriving after a long journey.

After prana Prathishta, they dress up the idol and keep it seated in a comfortable place. They keep the idol facing the east direction.

Thereafter, the priests touch different parts of the idol which signifies the presence of various Gods as different sense organs like Indra as hand, Surya as eyes, and so on.

The main part of the ritual is the opening of the eyes of the divine with scented water and flowers. After this the consecration of the idol is complete.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

We appreciate it if you can help in hiring more people who can go to these villages to do Ghar Waapasi. We have employed 24  (twenty) people so far. More people we hire more villages can be covered to welcome them back and also create Chaitanya (Awareness) among the students and villagers.

1) Donate any amount to help the Dharma Pracharaks to work at the ground level.

2) Sponsor one Pracharak: In order to expand our base and hire one Pracharak, it would cost approximately $3000.00 per year. We have five anonymous donors who sponsored Assistants.

DONATIONS

PayPal Method: To donate visit our website: savetemples.org. Click on the Donate button, then press the Purpose category, and select the General Donation category.

By Check: Or you can send a check payable to: GHHF, . It is tax-deductible.

By Zelle: ghhfusaorg@gmail.com

RUPEES, if you would like to contribute to rupees, please either call or send an email. We will call you back to give you the required information

For more information, call Prakasarao V Velagapudi 601-918-711; 1Email: ghhfusaorg@gmail.com.