Vijay Dasami 2022

You are invited to join us for a special Vedic fire ceremony to offer prayers for purification and blessings for all, on Tuesday, October 4th, 5:00-8:00 pm. The yajna (ritual of fire) will honor Vijay Dasami, a traditional annual Hindu holiday also known as Dushera, celebrating the victory of Lord Ram over the ten-headed demon king Ravana or the triumph of light over darkness. The ceremony symbolically represents the surrender of the ego through offering all aspects of our mind, body, and senses to the sacred fire.

You may choose to come for the day or stay the night after the holiday celebration. Options for for making your reservation are provided below.

Vijay Dasami is the culmination of Navaratri, a nine day ritual in which the classic Indian epic, the Ramayana, is honored and brought to life by performance of daily puja (offerings) to Ram and the reading of Ram’s story. The Ramayana recounts the story of one of the incarnations of the Hindu 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 incarnated as a human to help alleviate suffering, as well as our own inner journey of awakening and confrontation with darkness representing our own ego. It culminates with Vijaya Dasami, which means "victory on the tenth day."

Daily morning pujas for Sri Ram will be held at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple at 7:30-8:45 am, immediately following the morning Arati. Evening readings of Ram’s story will be held for nine nights at 5:00pm just before the evening Arati, also at the Temple.

Navaratri will be celebrated from Sunday, September 25th to Tuesday, October 4th. All events of the Navaratri program will be livestreamed on the Temple YouTube channel.