Living Spirit of Indian Spiritual Heritage celebrated on Somvati Amavasya

On the occasion of Somvati Amavasya, Braj Gopika Seva Mission (BGSM) recently organized a seven-day meditation camp in Haridwar for devotees of 14 states. Among the notable participants was actor Vineet Kumar Chaudhary, known for portraying Shani Dev in the mythological series “Karmadhikari Shanidev”.This year’s Somavati Amavasya, which fell on June 15, was especially significant as it coincided with Adhik Masa, also known as Purushottam Masa, a sacred period for Vaishnavas. Such a rare alignment is believed to occur only once in about 30 years.

A special highlight of the occasion was the installation of approximately 1,500 Shiv Lingas at Har Ki Pauri, where devotees performed Mahabhishek with deep reverence and devotion under the spiritual guidance of Pujaniya Raseshwari Devi and Dr.

Swami Yugal Sharan.Pujaniya Raseshwari Devi, the founder-president of BGSM, has been striving to make the teachings of the Upanishads accessible to all sections of the society. She has been consistently emphasizing that real social reform begins within the individual. When the mind becomes pure, values become natural; when individuals transform, families transform; and when families transform, society rises.

According to Devi, the Upanishads, philosophical crown of the Vedas, explore the deepest questions of human existence: Who am I? What is the purpose of life? What is the nature of truth? What binds the individual with the universe?The teachings of Upanishads are the source-head of Indian civilization. The ideals of dharma, seva, tyaga, ahimsa, satya, and lokasangraha are deeply nourished by the Upanishadic worldview.

Family life, education, social responsibility, spiritual discipline, and cultural continuity all draw strength from this ancient wisdom. The Upanishads do not separate knowledge from character; they insist that true knowledge must transform conduct, preaches BGSM founder.

The influence of the Upanishads did not remain confined to India. Many prominent Western philosophers and thinkers including German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, leading figures of American Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and thinkers such as Aldous Huxley and Carl Jung, have found in the Upanishads a universal philosophy beyond sectarian boundaries. Swami Vivekananda repeatedly reminded India of her spiritual responsibility before the world. In one of his powerful messages on India’s destiny, he warned that if India loses her spiritual life-blood, the world will lose a great source of moral and spiritual guidance. His broader message may be understood thus: if the world has to survive in harmony, India must preserve her spiritual heritage; and if India is to be preserved, the values of Sanatana Dharma must be preserved.Today, when the world faces stress, conflict, and moral confusion, the Upanishads offer a timeless path: understand the truth, practise values, reform the self, realize the divine within, and serve the world with love, she emphasizes.