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Ayyappa Sewa Samiti, Greater Noida
Present
Governing Body
Brief History of the
Organization
The history of Ayyappa Sewa Samiti, Greater Noida unfold with a humble beginning when
a few Ayyappa Devotees of this city came together
to offer Pooja during the Mandala
Season in 2003. The malayalees of this city have thereafter
organized themselves into a forum known as Ayyappa Sewa Samiti for conducting this
annual puja on a regular scale . The following years witnessed celebration
of the annual festival in a large scale due to enthusiastic support of large
number of devotees.
Since inception the Annual Pooja, Bhajana & other
activities are being conducted in some devotee’s residence or at some public
place including schools. But with large hearted
participation of the Devotees increasing manifold with each passing year, the
Samithi finding it increasingly difficult to
conduct Pooja. Therefore, an exclusive place of worship
for the devotees of this developing city has become a necessity.
Importance of place of worship
A place of worship is equal to
nearness to God. As we love God, we love our kith and kin and fellow
countrymen at large. Through the presence of a temple in our midst, we come
to the memory of God in our hearts of hearts. The realisation
of the presence of God in our own hearts tempts us to love others. The
concept of mutual love removes hatred amongst the masses. A temple is the
epicenter to attract people from all walks of life and exchange love of each
other. This phenomenon brings happiness and removes sorrow in human life.
Thus, a temple is a great laboratory where human minds can be tested and
progress of human lives can be established.'
Keeping
this in mind and also the enthusiasm and support of the devotees, the Samiti is seriously considering for augmenting its
financial resources through donations from like minded devotees for this
noble cause of arranging a piece of land for construction of an Ayyappa Temple at Greater Noida City. All
devotees are requested to liberally donate for accomplishing this noble task.
The donations may be made either in cash or by cheque
in favour of “AYYAPPA SEWA SAMITY”. HISTORY The union of Lord Shiva and Lord
Vishnu, incarnated as Mohini the enchantress,
resulted in the birth of Lord Ayyappa or Hariharputhra. Shiva and Vishnu left the baby on the
banks of the river The divine boy was brought up in
a manner befitting a prince. In a short period of time the boy mastered all
lessons. His teacher was extremely happy at the achievements of his disciple
and at the same time realized the boy’s divine power. At the time of
accepting his fees the teacher refused to accept any material benefits. He
requested Manikantan to bless his son who was both
blind and deaf. The dutiful disciple with his miraculous touch restored the
boy’s sight and speech. Subsequent to the arrival of Manikantan, the queen was blessed with a child of her
own. Both boys grew up as loving brothers. The time came to decide who would
be the heir to the throne. While the King decided to pass the throne to Manikantan, the queen was slightly inclined to her own
biological son. The general of army was also on her side. They decided to
discreetly thwart King’s decision by tricking him. They approached the royal
physician and enticed him with rewards so that he became an accomplice to the
subterfuge. The queen pretended to have severe stomach ache. The physician
approached the King and falsely convinced him of the seriousness of the
queen’s condition and held that drinking of leopard's milk was the only remedy.
The King stood aghast at this
incomprehensible remedy prescribed. "How could a leopard be approached for milk?" he asked, "And who
would undertake such a dangerous mission?" Upon hearing this Manikantan agreed to undertake this mission to save his
mother. The King did not, at first, relent to this request from his beloved
son. However, after a series of talks Manikantan
could convince his father and departed for the forest. However before he could get the leopard's milk he had to
perform the task for which his birth was ordained. Mahisasura
was a terrible demon killed by the goddess Durga. Mahishasura’s cousin, the daughter of Karamba,
decided to take revenge. Mahishi as she was known,
first undertook severe penance and propitiated Lord Brahma and received a
boon to the effect that she would not be killed by anyone born from a
man-woman relation. If at all a child was born out of any other relation, he
must live in a royal family for a minimum period of twelve years in an
earthly kingdom before he could kill her. Then she attempted to seduce Indra, the King of the Demi-Gods.
Lords Vishnu and Brahma created Datta, a male demon
to divert the attention of Mahishi from Indra. The trick worked temporarily. On his way to get
leopard's milk, Manikantan (born from Vishnu and
Shiva) encountered Mahishi. After a long tough
fight, Manikantan killed Mahishi
near the river called Azhutha. Actually Mahishi
was Leela in a previous birth, who had been cursed
to become a demoness. Leela
came out of the dead body of Mahishi and bowed
before Ayyappa with a request that he marry her.
The Lord, who had embraced bachelorhood, rejected this. However Leela did not give up and remained at Malikappuram
in the hope that Ayyappa would change his mind. A
temple is dedicated to her there and worshippers of Ayyappa
make it a point to pay their respects at Malikappuram
as well. Then Ayyappan
managed to collect the milk of a leopard. Riding on a leopard, who is said to be Indra himself
and surrounded by other leopards, he returned to the Symbolism behind SASTA
Glossary
Swamiye Sharanam
Ayyappa
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