Saturday, October 14th to Monday, October 23rd

Please join us as we once again immerse ourselves in the classic, timeless, devotional story of The Ramayana - Ram’s Way.

All events of the Navaratri program will be livestreamed on the Temple YouTube channel.

Navaratri is a ritual period of nine days when the great spiritual epic, the Ramayana, is honored and brought to life by performance of daily Puja to Ram and the reading of Ram’s story. It culminates with Vijaya Dasami, which means "Victory on the tenth day".

The Ramayana tells the story of one of the incarnations of the God Vishnu, who took the form of a human (Lord Ram) to rid the earth of the terrible plague of darkness being spread by a great demon king named Ravana. It can be interpreted as both the tale of a God man who incarnated to help alleviate suffering as well as our own inner journey of awakening and confrontation with darkness representing our own Ego. As is our tradition, we will hold daily morning Pujas for Sri Ram at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple 7:30-8:45am PDT, immediately following the morning Arati. Evening readings of Ram’s story will be held for 9 nights @ 5pm PDT just before the evening Arati at the Temple (and at 4pm on Oct 19-21 during the Retreat). Join us online (or in person for some events) for nine days and nights as we symbolically live through the mythic struggle of the Ramayana and follow Ram’s Journey ever closer to his confrontation with the Heart of Darkness, the Demon King Ravana who represents our own Ego.

On Saturday, October 14th, 2:30–4:00pm PDT we will be joined by our friends from Ram Leela Media (RLMZ) for a unique Satsang titled ādhyātma: The Esoteric Ramayana combining Theater, music & singing.

On Sunday, October 15th, 3:30–5:00pm PDT we will be joined by Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan and Students for a musical storytelling presentation titled The Glory of Mother Sita.

The Navaratri Program will conclude on Monday, October 23rd, 5:30-8:00pm PDT as we rejoice in victory on the tenth day with a special Vedic Fire Ceremony or Yajna to pray for purification and blessings for all. Through Yajna, we purify and surrender the ego by symbolically offering all aspects of our mind, body and senses to the sacred fire.

Ways to Attend in Person (day visit)

Saturday, Oct 14 and Oct 21:

Early morning Arati and Puja - without reservation, arrive before 7:30am

Afternoon performance and Darshan - 11am to 7pm - by reservation

Sunday, Oct 15:

Afternoon performance and Darshan - 3pm to 7pm - by reservation

Tuesday, Oct 17:

Early morning Arati and Puja - without reservation, arrive before 7:30am

Afternoon reading and Darshan - 4pm to 7pm - by reservation

Ways to Attend in Person (overnight visits)

Overnight Accommodations May be Available Oct 14-19

Re-Union Retreat - Oct 19-22

Jai Sita Ram! Jai Hanuman!

ॐॐॐ