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BAPS Shree Swaminarayan Mandir organized an elegant, spiritually infused 3rd Patotsav, which was attended by hundreds of haribhaktas and members of the public on Sunday, August 22, 2010. The festivities were graced by the presence of the President of Gujarati Samaj,Atlanta Vipul Patel, who is spearheading the ‘Swarnim Jayanti of Gujarat Organizing committee consisting of former President of Gujarati Samaj, Vinodbhai Patel, Ramesh Pandya, Girish (Mukhi) ,Vasudev Patel ,Vinod Kaswala, Current BOG chairman Dr. Mukesh Patel, Current Treasurer Ketan Shah; and also the keynote speaker, Georgia Supreme Court Justice David Nahmias.
Following a warm enthusiastic welcome by Jayantibhai Patel, the Kishores and Yuvaks presented an uplifting dhoon, prarthana and a bhajan. Pujya Shantmurti Swami gave a spiritual discourse on Nishkama Dharma, peppering it with interesting episode from Mahabharat and other anecdotes and exhorting the devotees to develop atma vishwas. Yuvak Mandal sang a hindola related bhajan composed by Premanand Swami, “jhulo jhulo”
Jayantibhai introduced and recognized Nitin Shah; Vipul Patel and the members of the Gujarati Samaj delegation and then invited Vipul Patel and Ramesh Pandya on the stage for ‘The Swarn Kalash’ pooja ceremony. Jayantibhai informed the devotees that the commemorative Swarn Kalash has been sent by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. It has been brought over from India by Vasudev Patel and was formally received at the Gujarati Samaj on 15h August. The Kalash is filled with the soil and waters of the holy rivers of Gujarat. Vipul Patel and Ramesh Pandya participated in the pooja ceremony of the Kalash conducted by Shantmurti Swami.
BAPS volunteer, Mitesh Patel introduced Justice David Nahmias, who was named to the Supreme Court of Georgia by Governor Sonny Perdue in August 2009, to fill a vacancy. In his address, Justice Nahmias said,” I feel much honored to participate in the festivities. This is my first visit to the Temple, which is the most beautiful place in whole of Georgia.”
Munitilak Swami said he could not believe three years have flown by since the historic inauguration of the largest BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Lilburn. He said that there were many obstacles but with the blessings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj the dream became a reality. He said that almost a thousand devoted and dedicated volunteers worked ceaselessly for over three years in getting the Temple ready on schedule. The congregation was shown the riveting video of the construction, completion and inauguration ceremony of the architectural masterpiece of a Temple. Muniji cited some statistics about the impact of the Temple. Over 700,000 visitors, including eminent dignitaries, from 60 countries have come to the Temple and marveled at its beauty. Hiteshbhai, Keyurbhai, and Mayurbhai informed the audience about the over 700 tours by educational institutions, and the power of prayers-how prayers have brought about positive benefits to many.
Video was also shown of Pramukh Swami Maharaj conferring his blessings and advising the devotees to live a life of love and compassion and to respect other faiths and religions.
