The Brahma Vidya Peetham International held its Sri Ramlala Pran Pratishtha Utsav on February 23-25th, 2024 at its headquarters located at Caratal Road, Bonne Aventure, Gasparillo, Trinidad. The first two nights were filled with readings from the Ramayana by Swami Brahmasaroopananda, spiritual head of the Peethham.
The final night was more celebratory with dancing, singing and music by trained artistes. Among them were young Anjana Dan, Rana Mohip and Group and tutors of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation.
While Sadvi Ananda and Swamiji had invitation to attend the Pran Pratishtha on January 22, a few devotees were in Ayodhya and had the darshan of Ramlala on the day after. Dr Dayanand who was part of this delegation shared with the congregation his experience during the visit to India.
Dr Dayanand was impressed with the effort of the people of India to light up their mandirs. He also revealed that the airline crew was also welcoming distributing colored scarfs and prasad to travelers and chanting Jai Sri Ram at the top of their voices. Dr Dayanand also noted strong police presence in Ayodhya to ensure safety and easy movement of people.
Chaired by Vashti Dharamdass, a teacher and devotee of the Peetham, prominent leaders of the community were presented with plaques of Ramlala. Among the recipients were MP Ravi Ratiram, President of the Dattatreya Yoga Center, Ramesh Maharaj, former minister of government Chandresh Sharma, Justice Devendra Rampersad among others.
The Peetham also presented plaques of Ramlala to the many hardworking devotees who worked in the kitchen and other areas to make the event a success.
After the final arti devotees were invited to take the blessings of Ramlala and accept prasad from Swamiji. The long line of devotees waited enthusiastically for this opportunity to be part of this historic event.
Swami Brahmasaroopananda of Kashi, India has been working as coordinator of the Caribbean wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) since the 1990s. Headed by Ashook Singhal, the restoration of the Ramjanmabhooi was on the front burner of the VHP. In a yatra led by Lal Krishna Advani, a founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party, enthusiastic sadhus, filled with devotion for Sri Ram, mounted the mosque in the thousands and razed it to the ground with their bare hands and cleared the rubbles away within minutes. The original Ram Mandir, the birthplace of Sri Ram was destroyed in the 1528-29 by Babar, an invader and iconoclast.
Ashook Singhal led this battle engaging the services of lawyers to present the case for Ramlala to return HIM to his rightful home. Singhalji died before the Pran Pratishta but felt his mission was accomplished when the BJP led by Modiji took power in 2014.
For 500 years common Hindus have kept alive this struggle to restore their deity to his rightful home. Thousand died in numerous battles but devotees never wavered. One devotee took a vow in 1992 not to speak until the temple was rebuilt. It was only after the Pran Pratishtha that she began speaking.
Professor Dilip Dan, President of the Peethan, Pandit Vigyan are among a host of other devotees who work with Swamiji and Sadvi Ananda in their mission to promote Sanathan Dharma. The Bramha Vidya Peetham International, located on a hill in the scenic Central Range is accessible from Forres Park in the north and through Lightbourne Road in Bonne Aventure, Gasparillo and offers much hope for the future of Hindu society in Trinidad and Tobago.
