By Arunita Praharaj
Bahrain: The Bahrain Odia Samaj organised an interactive webinar with Gajapati Maharaja Shree Dibyasingha Deb on ‘Tradition of Lord Jagannath’ in collaboration with Odia diaspora from over 27 countries and 11 Hindu temples across the world.
The event which was a follow up of a first round conducted in October was held with the objective to preserve the pristine glory of Odisha and to promote Jagannatha culture with the blessings of Gajapati Maharaja Shree Dibyasingha Deb.
The event also provided insights about the Sri Mandira Parikrama Project & Nidhi Samarpan Abiyan undertaken under the guidance of Gajapati Maharaja Saheb
“The sole aim of arranging this webinar in collaboration with temples and Odia diaspora was to unite the devotees of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha to spread our beautiful Jagannatha culture along with promoting our state. It was a divine experience which can’t be summarised in words”, said Dr. Arun Kumar Praharaj, the lead organiser and Founder of Bahrain Odia Samaj.
Gajapati Maharaj, in his discourse, emphasised on the importance of such events and spiritual awareness. He said: “Spiritual learning is the need of the hour and must be inculcated in our younger generations by practicing it around them and by working towards introducing it through their educational institutions.”
The event which was joined by 1400 devotees through Facebook and over 300 devotees through Zoom from across the globe commenced with a video message from union petroleum and steel minister, Dharmendra Pradhan highlighting the Mandir Parikrama Project, Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan. He also thanked Gajapati Maharaja and Bahrain Odia Samaj for this initiative.
Odia Diaspora from countries like Australia, Abu Dhabi, Nigeria, Bahrain, Bahamas, Canada, Dubai, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, Russia,Singapore,Sharjah, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, USA participated in the webinar. In addition the heads of 11 religious institutions Shree Neelachala Seva Sangha Hauz Khas Delhi , Shree Jagannatha Temple Trust Bangalore, Maharashtra Oriya welfare Association Mumbai, Shree Jagannath Chetna Ireland, Living Bliss Australia, Ekta Mandir Irving USA, Hindu Society of Minnesota USA, Shree Jagannatha Temple UK , Shree Jagannath Society UK, ISKCON Temple Bahrain , Shree Jagannath Seva Trust Punvel participated in this spiritual session.
“We are extremely happy to have received overwhelming support from devotees across the world for this divine session for both Episode 1 and 2. With the kind blessings of Pujya Gajapati Maharaja Shree Dibyasingha Deb and Shree Dharmendra Pradhan, we will continue such activities at a larger scale in the future with the active participation of our valued spiritual partners from across the world ” said Dr Praharaj .
The session was moderated by the MC, Arunita Praharaj with technical assistance from Subas Sahoo, Snehaljali Panigrahi and Sunita Praharaj from Bahrain. Manoj Patra gave the vote of thanks.
