The following is the daily program schedule at Bhaktivedanta Manor:
| 4.30-4.55am | Mangal Arati |
| 7.00-7.05am | Deity Greeting |
| 7.10am | Guru-Puja |
| 7.30am | Shrimad-Bhagavatam Class |
| 12.30-12.55pm | Raj Bhoga Arati |
| 4.20-4.30pm | Dhupa Arati |
| 6.00pm | Bhagavad-Gita Class |
| 7.00-7.25pm | Sandya Arati |
| 9.00-9.10pm | Shayan Arati |
| 9.30pm | Deities Rest and temple closes |
Mangala-arati
(listen)
Mangala-arati is
the first temple ceremony of the day. It begins at 4:30am and is considered mangala,
or 'auspicious' for all who participate. The devotees sing beautiful prayers glorifying
the spiritual master, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and then prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva.
Tulasi-arati
(listen)
This ceremony
is right after mangala-arati. Tulasi is a sacred plant which is very dear to the
Lord, and worship of Tulasi-devi is most beneficial. Tulasi-arati is performed
like this: The devotees sing prayers to Tulasi-devi while one devotee offers her
arati with incense, ghee lamp, and flowers. When the song is finished, the assembled
Vaishnavas circumambulate Tulasi-devi and offer her water by pouring some drops
at her root.
Deity Greeting (listen)
After the Deities have been worshiped in private, They give Their audience (darshana) to the devotees and the public, who then can see Their Lordships and offer worship and prayers. Darshana-arati is accompanied by a recorded singing of the Govindam prayers of the Brahma-samhita. The priest offers a short arati with ghee lamp, incense, chamara, and, in warm weather, a peacock fan. The Deity greeting is the most festive event of the day.
Guru-puja
for Srila Prabhupada (listen)
Worship of the spiritual master is essential for spiritual advancement. As
members of the Krishna consciousness movement we offer our obeisances and worship
to Shrila Prabhupada as the Founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness and as the instructing guru for all devotees in ISKCON. We are eternally
indebted to His Divine Grace for single-handedly bringing Krishna to the Western
world and thus giving everyone the opportunity to become a lover of God.
During
the guru-puja, one devotee offers arati to the Deity of Shrila Prabhupada, and
the rest of the assembled devotees sing prayers glorifying the spiritual master
and offer flower petals and obeisances at the lotus feet of Shrila Prabhupada.
Shrimad-Bhagavatam
Class () (read)
After singing and dancing for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda and
Shrila Prabhupada, the devotees sit down and listen to a lecture on Shrimad-Bhagavatam.
The speaker reads a verse and Shrila Prabhupada's explanation of it, and then
elaborates on the topics discussed there. At the end of the class, there are usually
questions or comments. Thus an interesting and enlightening discussion takes place.
Sometimes we listen to recordings of Shrila Prabhupada's lectures.
Raja-bhoga-arati
()
The raja-bhoga-arati
follows the noon offering of food to the Deities. It lasts for about 20 minutes.
The priest offers incense, ghee lamp, water, cloth, flowers, camara, and (in warm
weather) also a peacock fan.
Dhupa-arati
()
Every scheduled
offering of food to the Deities is followed by arati. Except for kirtana, offering
arati is the only regular daily function of Deity worship performed publicly.
Dhupa-arati lasts for 5-7 minutes. The priest offers incense, flowers, camara,
and (in warm weather) also a peacock fan.
Conducted in a similar manner to the morning Bhagavatam class, evening Bhagavad-gita class draws in congregation members as well as the residents.
Sandhya-arati
(listen)
The early-evening
offering of food to the Deities is followed by sandhya-arati, also known as Gaura-arati.
The devotees sing Sri Gaura-arati--a joyful song glorifying Lord Chaitanya and
His associates. This arati lasts for about 20 minutes. The priest offers incense,
ghee lamp, water, cloth, flowers, camara, and (in warm weather) also a peacock
fan.
The final arati of the day, prior to the Deities taking rest, allows all the devotees to have a last opportunity to see the Deities and offer their prayers.
| WHAT IS ARATI? The arati ceremony is part of the public worship of the Deities. It is conducted in the traditional style in the same way as it has been conducted for hundreds of years. The ceremony consists of offering a lamp with ghee wicks (cotton soaked in purified butter), which is lit and moved in circles in front of the Deity. Fragrant incense is also lit and offered, along with flowers, a peacock fan, a camara-whisk (the tail hair of a yak) and other pleasant articles. At the beginning and at end of the ceremony, a conchshell is blown. |
Copyright
© Bhaktivedanta Manor 2008
UK Headquarters of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness
Founder-Acarya His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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