The 18th anniversary of Mahant Devendra Dass receiving Deeksha (initiation) from his guru was celebrated on the weekend with enthusiasm. Thousands of devotees from Uttarakhand, neighbouring States, other parts of India and abroad reached Darbar Sahib and greeted the Mahant on the occasion. Special prayers were also organised at Darbar Sahib to mark this occasion. It should be mentioned here that on February 10, 2000, the previous Mahant, Indiresh Charan Dass had accepted Devendra Dass as his disciple and he took “religious learning” (Deeksha) under Shri Guru ji. Since then, February 10 has been celebrated every year as the ‘birthday’ (Appearance Day) of Mahant Devendra Dass. The event on the weekend saw visitors arriving since early morning at Darbar Sahib. In the morning, after routine prayers, the Mahant bowed down at Darbar Sahib and and the holy flag pole Jhande ji. After that, the chief priest conducted the special prayers of the appearance day of the Mahant. Addressing the gathering of the devotees and general public, he recalled his objective of providing a new and correct direction to society by Shri Guru Ram Rai University, SGRR Education Mission. Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital under this mission is devoted to provide quality health services even to the remote and far flung rural areas of the country. On the other hand, SGRR Public Schools being run under the SGRR Education Mission are involved with the task of providing quality education to all the classes of the society.
He recalled that the Mission will always be striving to bring the backward and poor classes of the society to its mainstream.
later, the students and staff members of the SGRR public schools from all over the state, staff of Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital and other visitors wished the Mahant on the occasion. A special ‘langar’ was also organised as part of the event.