For food and health and happy days receive our gratitude and praise

It was a spectacular start to the Gujarati New Year at the BA PS Shree Swaminarayan event mid last month at Macgregor Primar y School, Macgregor.

Immediately following Diwali, the Annakut ceremony saw in the new year with a traditional offering of food to the deities 'An.nakuc' li ter,'l.lly means 'a mo Lmtain of food', and that is pretty much what it was, with nearl y 1200 indiv id ual dishes prepared lovingl y b y the congregation.

Following custom, the food - all vegetarian, of course - was arranged in tiers or steps in front of the deities, including Lo rd Krishna and Lord Swaminarayan. The food items ranged from traditional vegetable preparations and curries from all regions of India co desserts such as cakes, ice creams and puddings. There we re soups and fresh Jtiices; sweets and savouries, bakery items such as biscuits and breads; decorativdy carved fresh fnuts and freshly prepared salads, and man y other ite m s

More than 50 vol unteers, men and women, bad worked diligently co prepare the food and decorations, w h ich were arranged artistically

It created a stunning display, \Vith lighting and decoration, and remained exhibited for 'darsh,111' After prayers, tl1e food was distributed to all members of the congregaaon.

Essentially, Annakut is a way of offering thanks to God for the comforts in our lives, and as such, is a great way of commencing the new year. If you are happy and peaceful on this day, it is believed, peace and happiness win be yours for the entire year.

Devotees sang the 'thoot, whicb incl udes kirtom (hymns) listing and g lorifying the food items, presented rhythmically, as weU as hymns requesting the deities to accept the offerings a nd partake of them This was followed by Arti, Annakut darshan and Mahaprasad.

The event was graced by two BAPS (Hi n du monks),Jnanpurush Swami and Adarshrnuni Swami, who travel extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific for spir itual and moral up lift. Th e two - h o ur long programme was nicely balanced with blissful bhrgons, orti, p1yo, discourses, a cultural drama and a video presentation of the Diwali celebration w ith His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Amdavad, In dia.

The tradi tion bas become a Swaminarayan mainstay all over tl1e world. In most displays, tl1e sweets are seen placed closest to the deities Often a mound of cooked rice is placed in the cen ere. The mountain symbolism is dsewhere in the layout of the food as well - the mithoi (sweetmeats) are u sually stacked up in circular tower-like arrangements.

Legend h as it that it .is Mt. Govardhan that is symbolized here. In one of the tales pertaining co Lord Krishna (the 'Govardhan Leela'), it is believed that Krishna had once lifted up the entire monntain and held it balanced on hi s little finger, to shel te r the people of Vraj. Indra, the God of the Heavens, prone to egoistic ta n trums, had unleashed a massive storm on the township of Vraj, incensed at its resid ents for honouring Krishna more than his own self. Krishna, wiili the help of ]\,fr Govardhan, sheltered tl1e people of Vraj for seve n days, until Indra relented. When the people thanked Krishna , he said they should pay obeisance to Govard han Nath instead Anotl1er belief is that J\nnakut symbolizes the offering to God of the first harve st, and then distributing it to all. As each family added co the offering, the pile took the form of a mountain.

Whatever the symbolisms and legend s behind the tradition, the m essage essentially is generosity and welfare work, and is a joyful start co the Gujarati new yearVikram Samvat 2069, according co the Hindu calendar.

The BAPS cormmmity in Brisbane meets every Sunday from 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm at Macgregor State High School Macgregot; 29 Black wattle St (end of Wadley St.), Macgreg01; QLD, 4109 Details Suresh Patel 07 3299-2929 or 0487 I BO 000.