A virtual sea of devotees witnessed the hoisting ceremony of the holy Jhanda (flag) at historic Darbar sahib the sanctum sanctorum of Udaseen sect on Monday. The ceremony is organised to celebrate birthday and arrival of Guru Ram Rai in Dehradun in the year 1676.
Mahant Devendra Das, the tenth Mahant of the sect which has a worldwide following, blessed the devotees on the occasion. The huge mast of the flag was hoisted amid chanting of Bhajans and thunderous applause of the followers at 4.13 PM on the day.
Earlier in the day, the holy flag mast was lowered and old cloth coverings were removed. The pole was then washed ceremonially with water of river Ganga, honey, Ghee, milk and curd. It was then enveloped with 40 Sada Gilafs (white cloth coverings) and twenty Sanil Gilafs. The family of Bhadur Singh of Thagradi village in Ropar district of Punjab was given the rare honor of offering the outermost Darshani Gilaf on the day.
After this ceremony, Mahant Devendra Dass signaled the teams of the volunteers to lift the flag. The group engaged in lifting the huge pole was divided into eight teams of fifty each. The old wrappings of the mast were then shredded and distributed among the devotees as Prasad.
Speaking on the occasion Mahant Devendra Dass said that the day is very special and Dronagiri (city of Acharya Dronacharya) Dehradun and Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand are the places blessed by the Guru Maharaj. “With the blessings of Shri Guru Maharaj Ji, every year lakhs of people from India and abroad witness the raising of the holy flag pole ‘Shri Jhande Ji’ and during this festival, of love, brotherhood and faith, Shri Guru Maharaj ji showers his divine blessings over the people of Uttarakhand and India,’’ he said.
The groups of devotees are termed as Sangats. The Sangats from states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi are biggest in numbers. Besides them Sangats’ from froiegn countries like United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (U.S.A.), Canada and Dubai are also in the city to witness the holy spectacle of the hoisting of Jhandeji.
The devotees oblivious of the huge rush appeared immersed in the devotion of Guru Ram Rai. Satvinder Kaur of Patiala in Punjab said that her family has firm believe in Guru Maharaj and she comes every year to Dehradun during the Jhanda fair.
Amanpreet Singh of Yamunanagar of Haryana said that the witnessing the hoisting of holy Jhanadeji is a divine experience and words are not enough to explain the feeling he is having.
The coordinator of the Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib committee Vishnu Kumar Nautiyal said that more than five lakh devotees are expected to visit the Jhanda fair this year.