Donations for Annapurna Temple

 The Siddhanath Forest Ashram is a place of nourishment. Our souls are fed by the Divine vibrations, and our bodies – by the prasad we receive at every meal. All meals at the Forest Ashram are made by Shakti in the form of goddess Annapurna, through Guruma.

Goddess Annapurna is regarded the goddess of food. In Sanskrit, ‘Anna’ means ‘food’ and ‘Purna’ means ‘abundance or filled.’ Goddess Annapurna promises all those who come to her something that only the mother can give: to nourish them and to give without thinking about herself, to be unselfish. She is the incarnation of the goddess Parvati and one of the many forms of Mother Shakti. In this incarnation, she nourishes all living beings; therefore, the Hindus consider “Anna” to be holy, which is why prayers are offered before eating.

In honor of the goddess Annapurna, our Divine Mother, Guruma, is building a temple at the Ashram. Phase one has been completed wherein the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was erected and the Prana Prathistha ceremony conducted. Prana Prathistha is the consecration, or infusion of spiritual life to animate the idol of the Goddess. The Goddess is worshipped on Tuesdays and Fridays – the days of the goddess, and every dark moon and full moon, Brahman priests conduct rituals to nurture the spirit of the Goddess. As part of this ceremony, children are fed nutritious meals prepared in the special Brahman kitchen that was also erected just adjacent to the Annapurna temple.

Guruma envisions certain enhancements to the temple – such as building a marble platform that would provide closer access to the Goddess during pujas so that sacred kum kum can be placed on her forehead, and offerings placed at her feet. Also, the Goddess murthi herself will be pulled forward a few feet so that she sits directly under the pinnacle of the temple, enhancing the flow of spiritual energy into the Goddess.Our goal is to raise $15,000 towards the completion of the temple, as well as a yearly amount of $5,000 to cover the costs of all of the pujas and prasad for the children. Donations may either be made through PayPal at donate@siddhanath.org or directly to Guruma herself.  This will be an ongoing campaign and donations are welcome anytime.  In the note section when making the donation, please indicate “For Annapurna Temple”.