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Sai Rainbow Festival 2015

Dwarkamai organized its annual Sai Rainbow cultural program and annual Spiritual Walk Festival called “Shri Shirdi Sai Palkhi Utsav”, on Saturday, March 28, 2015 at Eisenhower Junior High School, Hoffman Estates, IL.

The event was attended by about 500 people including families and kids, who participated and celebrated the grand event, laced with cultural programs and Palki (palanquin) procession of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. 

The event got kicked off with the chanting of Sri Hanuman Chalisa and Guru Datta in the divine presence of Shri Sai Baba (idol and a picture); placed in flower bedecked silver Sai Palkhi (palanquin).

The bearers of the Palki holding their silver Raj Dhand (royal and pompous sticks) were dressed in cute and traditional Indian palkhi bearer’s dress (Bhaledhar attire), embroidered with colorful stones.

The chanting was led by Sekhar Devarapalli of Chicago Baladatta center, which was followed by singing of national anthem of USA and India by a group of young kids. 

The cultural performances were introduced by Ms. Anita Ravindra Kumar and Mr. Venu Mattey, who were masters of ceremony for the occasion.

Performances included a mix of song and dance sequences from various parts of India, with a blend of spiritual, folk and Bollywood style items. Each performance was received by the audience with thunderous applause.

The cultural event was followed by a grand temple-like procession. The procession reminded many participants of the traditional temple processions held in India; where all the participants in the procession such as men, women, kids and children alike dance in front of the men-drawn chariot with temple deities, to the tunes of songs, glorifying the temple god.

In this celebration the Palkhi adorned by Sai Baba deity was shoulder-lifted by the men and rest of the revelers danced with traditional temple brass bells (aka manjira) and decorated bamboo sticks (aka dandiya) in groups enjoying the occasion.

The procession concluded with a grand Harathi (oil lit temple lights) performed by all the participants to seek the blessings of the lord.

Local businesses owners from Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg area displayed colorful Indian dresses and ornaments for sale at the “Sai Mela” in the school corridors, which added color to the festivities.

The event was preceded and followed by a sumptuous Indian breakfast and lunch. The annadanam was sponsored by the volunteers of Dwarkamai. All the interested devotees who attended this event and interested to attend future events can visit www.Dwarkamai.org, to get to know more details about the upcoming temple at Schaumburg, IL.

Dwarkamai is a non-profit organization, dedicated to organizing events and activities for the development of personal and spiritual growth of the community.

Dwarkamai was started by the devotees of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba, a saint well-known for his wisdom, secular and spiritual inclusivity. Dwarkamai is based in Naperville, Illinois and in Massachusetts has three branches in and around Boston metro.  

Dwarkamai also conducts Shri Sai Palkhi (Spiritual Walk) in various cities such as Boston, Chicago, Denver, Virginia, Allentown, PA and Edison, NJ. The idea behind organizing these events is to recognize divinity in each individual soul, to sing and chant the name of the Lord and dance to the glories of Shri Sai Baba.

The spiritual concept evangelized by Dwarkamai is quite different from the conventional concept followed by Hindu temples in North America. Followers of Dwarkamai believe in the concept of “no tolerance for politics and no resistance for devotion”.

This organization does not promote raising huge funds for larger real estate development and breeding politics, undermining the very concept of temple, which is supposed to foster spiritual growth and peace. 

To minimize the costs and politics and to maximize devotion, Dwarkamai organization has been running temple facilities in rental places, which involves bare minimum costs to the devotees. The organization is run entirely by volunteers. Their concept is to boost devotion at a minimum startup cost and latter convert the facilities into a permanent place of worship in each of the location.

Dwarkamai has been catering to the communities, which do not have a temple or place of worship in the vicinity. Dwarkamai has created major impact in the community to build strong devotional environment and preserve Indian heritage.

Dwarkamai plays major roles in community drives include running sport tournaments to facilitate support to local Boston children hospital and Perkins School of Blind, back-to-school program for needy children.

Volunteers of Dwarkamai also take Sai Palkhi to the homes of the devotees on request, where chanting sessions and dances are held to popularize their concept. These sessions are generally organized during the spring season to enable larger participation of devotees. The growing number of devotees attending this event every year is a testimony to the fact that, this concept is gaining ground. 

Dwarkamai is planning to either rent or own a place, near in the Schaumburg  area, to house the deities of Sai Baba and Dattatreya. They also plan to use the facility to provide other voluntary services such as health care to the needy devotees and community members, Ayurveda (traditional Indian herbal healing form) and pranic healing and yoga camps. The facility and the services are planned to be manned and run by volunteers.

The event held on Saturday was very successful and all the devotees had a lot of “spiritual fun and frolic”.

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