“Matru devo bhava, Pitru devo bhava, Acharya devo bhava, Atithi devo Bhava”. The traditional Matru puja is based on the verse of the Taittiriya Upanishad, which says that “Let you be the one who worships mother, father, teachers and guests as god”.
On 20/10/18, Matru Puja was conducted in Amrita Vidyalayam to strengthen the bond of love and respect between mothers and their children. The traditional lamp was lit along with the chanting of Dhyayamo and Aum Amriteshwaryay Namah. Swamiji Br.Avyayayamrita Chaitanya performed the Guru Paduka Puja by offering Panchamrut (water, milk, curd, honey and ghee) and flowers at the Holy Lotus feet of Amma, while the Guru Stotram was chanted by one and all. Thereafter, Swamiji spoke about the significance of this puja in the present day context, where children, distracted by the technology in hand do not spend quality time with their mothers and thereby forget to care for their simple needs. He reminded the students of the countless sacrifices Mothers’ willingly make in order to lovingly raise them. Swamiji then guided the children to wash the feet of their mothers. Students worshipped their mothers’ by applying chandan and kum kum on their mother’s feet. They took aarti with diya and agarbatti and garlanded them. The emotional mothers’ hugged and kissed their children and blessed them wholeheartedly. The beaming faces of the children and mothers was a treat to the eyes.
Later the teachers, parents and students participated in the rendering of Amma’s bhajans. The aarti was performed by the teachers and the ceremony ended with the chanting of Shanti mantra. Prasad was distributed to all.
