Under the guidance of Swami Sivayogananda, Chinmaya Mission Madurai celebrated Navaratri in a grand manner from 26 September to 5 October 2022 (10 days).
Chinmaya Devi Group, Madurai, arranged a divine and a colourful Golu that displayed all the deities which added to the festive spirit. Members of the Devi Group invoked the Divine Mother by performing Lalitha Sahasranama Puja in the early hours every day, during the festival. The evening hours were filled with concerts by renowned artists and spiritual discourses by famous speakers from Madurai and Chennai.
The festive evenings began with Mridangam and vocal concerts followed by Bharatanatyam recitals, which was enjoyed by the audience. The spiritual discourse on “Dum Durgaya Namaha”, by Isaikkavi Shri.Ramanan from Chennai, took the devotees to a higher plane of Bhakti for Goddess Durga. The talk on Meenakshi Amman Kalivenba (Tamil text), by Dr. S. Girija, added value to the festival.
Many children participated gracefully in the Bharatanatyam recitals by three dance schools and parents thronged the venue to enjoy the expressive dance concerts. The musical evenings ended with a fitting vocal finale offered to Devi Maa by members of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra. Devi group members participated in the Narayaneeyam Parayana and Thirupugazh recital during Navaratri festival at Chinmaya Meenakshi. The dedicated Chinmaya Yuva Kendra were instrumental in the live YouTube streaming of all the programmes.
On Saraswati Puja day, Swami Sivayogananda performed special Puja followed by Arati and Bhajans. Aksharabhyasam (Vidyarambam) on Vijayadashami Day was initiated by Swami Sivayogananda to the tiny tots who gathered with their parents.
The Navaratri festival was covered by the famous news daily, Dinamalar. The artists were honoured by Chinmaya Mission Madurai, and certificates and gifts were also distributed to the children who participated in the Navaratri festival. Prasad was distributed on all the ten days during the festival.
Under the guidance of Swami Sivayogananda, Chinmaya Devi Group organized and coordinated the festival with great devotion and dedication.
