Sagar Poojan ...

On the 29th of August 2004, Sagar Putras (the name given by Dadaji to Swadhyayee fishermen, meaning "sons of the sea") celebrated the auspicious festival of Sagar Poojan (Sea Worship) in the presence of Didiji.

As per the lunar calendar, the full moon day of Shravan is celebrated as the Raksha-Bandhan day. Fishermen also celebrate this day as Nariyeli Poornima, which marks the resuming of fishing after the monsoon season. Traditionally, Sagar Poojan has been celebrated with dogmatic and superstitious rituals. However, Dadaji has infused life in this festival by explaining in a rational manner the fundamental need to cultivate gratitude for the Ocean/Sea.

In 2004, Sagar Poojan was held at Nishkalank Mahadev, near Ghoga Bandar, in the Bhavnagar district Gujarat in the presence of Didiji. The celebration of Sagar Poojan began in 1992. More than 1500 fishermen and Koli Patels from Surat, Bharuch, and nearby places performed devotional visits (Bhakti-Pheri) for six days prior to this festival. The 2004 Sagar Poojan was graced not only by Didiji, but also by Revered Tai and Respected Raosaheb.  Didiji was welcomed with sacred Vedic chants by the Sagar Putras. This being the 25th year of the Matsyagandha experiment, krutisheel devotees of Matsyagandha vowed to reach out to all the coastal villages (more than 2,000) from Gujarat to Goa. They further vowed that in these villages, at least 90% of the villagers would recite Trikal Sandhya. Furthermore, all the coastal villages, right from Kutch to Calcutta (the complete coastline of India) would be introduced to the Swadhyaya way of life. Many dignitaries from the social and political fields witnessed this magnificent celebration by the Swadhyayee Sagar Putras.

Excerpts from Didiji's Pravachan:

  • Sagar Putras have always been special to Dadaji, probably because of their courage and readiness to accept radical vision
  • One can only be said to be human if he strives to be close to God
  • Our relationship with God has always been self-centered, whereas He speaks the language of unconditional love
  • By doing Swadhyaya, we learn to worship by offering without expecting anything in return
  • Today nobody needs to pity our Swadhyayee Sagar Putras
  • We have always been thinking in the terms of I, Me, and myself. Today we want to tell Him that all our possessions are for Him and become chaste in the process.

Sagar Poojan is not only limited to Sagar Putras, but it is for all. We have been meeting on the pious day of Raksha-Bandhan. My bond with you as Didi is much stronger than your worldly relation with your sisters, since our relation is divine and is established by Dadaji.