| My
Trip
Jai
Sri Krishna,
I organised this trip on 10th & 11th September, 2005 with my
friends. 32 of us went on a coach. Everything went so swiftly as
expected. The stopover at the Services were good with home-made
sandwiches provided by the coach! 'Bhajan karoke', cheered everyone
in the whole journey to Wales.
Arriving to the temple with the warm welcome by the monks (who we
thought were ordinary helpers) was very touching! Due to the rain,
the walk was not that easy up the hill, but with Maa's shakti nobody
broke/fell down.
The darshan and the place itself was absolutely vibrant.
The temples are set amongst acres of stunning farm and woodland.
There are beautiful ponds surrounded by images of gods and Buddha.
Beautiful birds & animals like peacocks, deer, cattle and ponies
were to be seen. It seemed a bit odd to be greeted by monks &
nuns dressed in overalls and work boots. They all changed when it
was time for puja. The monks appeared in their traditional christian
robes and filled the temple with their chanting. It was a fantastic
experience to be able to take part in the puja and receive blessings
(via incense and a small dot of kanku placed upon our foreheads).
Lord Ganesh first brought from the Subramanium Temple to open the
procession.
The Divine Mother Kali brought down the hill from the Maha Shakti
Temple to the Subramanium Temple and then brought in procession
to the Yaga Sala greeted by the sacred aarti, bells and conch to
ride on Her palanquin.
Then we sang to the Divine Mother and focussed all our attention
on Her presence so close amongst us. It was a very precious moment
for all of us.
All living things around blessed by Mother's Darshan and revitalised
by Her Grace and Shakti where the atmosphere charged with the heartfelt
devotion of the bhajans which had been sung by non-stop by us since
the early afternoon.
It was a magical moment when the Divine Mother arrived and met by
the profound love and reverence of Her devotees.
Her Shakti is all-pervading as She gave darshan to all assembled.
A very auspicious start indeed for the Mahabishek took place.
Skanda Vale is a wonderful place that you'll definitely want to
visit again and again. Even though everyone got wet, by the end
of the day, nobody was concerned because we all had a magical moment
in our hearts!!!!!
The Second Day was a bonus in this trip.
Firstly Ramada Encore Swansea was very comfortable with delicious
breakfast. Journey to Cardiff was not bad at all as we listened
to the jokes on the tape. The Cardiff bay and the boat ride was
ok as we were more interested in networking with each other in the
cool breeze. We ended up in this lovely restaurant,'Haveli'. Although
there was bit of sitting arrangement hassle, everybody managed to
get a seat and of course food. The Punjabi food was scrumptious!!
Then the return journey was not as long and tiring because we saw
'Hum Tum' and ended up with Hanuman Chalisa and a dhun.
Sandhya Gandecha
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