REVIVAL OF RATHOTSAVA 1973

While going through some old Math correspondence, Swamiji had come across a letter written by His Guru H.H.Anandashram Swamiji that He had to stop celebrating the annual Rathotsav festival at Shirali because the meagre finances of the Math would not permit its continuance. Parijnanashram Swamiji took it upon Himself to revive Rathotsav , which he achieved in 1973. The idea was not of pomp and enjoyment. Revival of Rathotsav was to fulfil the promise He had made to His Guru and to give an opportunity to the young and old to congregate at Shirali and keep up the old tradition. Swamiji , with the help of a band of selfless workers made all out efforts to collect the corpus of Rathotsav Fund the annual interest of which would suffice to meet the expenses of the festival every year. He announced that as long as there is the Sun and the Moon , this festival should go on !. People will long remember His noble contribution to not only the Saraswat community but also to people of other communities in and around Shirali.
HH Swamiji in his Purvashram and at a tender age of 6 promised his grandmother (who had shown him bad condition of ratha which was standing on the ground due to discontinuation of rathotsava due to lack of funds) that HE will start rathotsava one day ,Thus completing wish of grandmother.This incident confirms He was a true balyogi.
THE ASHIRVACHAN GIVEN BY POOJYA SWAMIJI ON THIS DAY OF RATHOTSAVA WAS VERY EMOTIONAL.TEARS DIDNT SPARE THE DEVOTEES AS WELL AS POOJYA SWAMIJI..IT WAS INDEED DREAM COME TRUE ..