BHUBANESWAR: Modern lifestyle is often characterised by high activity level, often leading to stress, burnout and the associated negative health consequences. Keeping this in mind, the Old Station Bazaar Sarbajanina Durga Puja samiti has planned to highlight the significance of tantric worship, which can help achieve a deeper spiritual connection during such stressful times, at its pandal this year.
Samiti secretary Deepak Jena stressed that work overload, social commitments and daily responsibilities, exacerbated by technology and societal pressures pose a challenge in achieving a balanced life. In such a situation, tantric worship, a form of ritual practice within Hindu and Buddhist traditions, can facilitate a deeper spiritual understanding and a transformative experience for the participants.
“A key aspect of tantric practice is internalising the form of a deity to experience a direct communion with the divine,” he said. Jena, however, said that such a practice is often considered similar to black magic. “The association of tantra with black magic often arises from fake practitioners who exploit people’s beliefs to make easy money,” he added.
This year, the theme of the outer pandal is ‘Tantropasana’. Jena said through various sculptures, they aim to highlight that tantric workship is the path of liberation rather than a taboo. “We want to create awareness of tantric spirituality as a path of higher learning,” he added. The outer pandal will also consist of sculptures depicting the Shiva Tandava.
While walking through the passage leading to the inner sanctum, visitors can have a glimpse of Navadurga, the nine manifestations or forms of Goddess Durga.
Each avatar embodies a unique form of strength, protection and grace, creating a spiritually uplifting journey before entering the heart of the pandal, said the samiti. The inner sanctum will reflect warmth, compassion and strength of Goddess Shakti through carefully crafted images and symbolic designs, it added.
The pandal will also showcase innovate concepts like a flyer’s experience while departing from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here. The aerial view of the areas surrounding the airport will be displayed on digital screens, members of the samiti said.
Prasad will also be offered to the devotees on Ashtami and Dashami. Meanwhile, to ensure visitors have a hassle-free darshan, the samiti will deploy 150 trained volunteers at the pandal besides installing CCTV cameras for maintenance of law and order. Special arrangements have also been made for senior citizens and differently-abled persons to make sure they have a smooth darshan of the Mother Goddess.