By V.N. Balakrishna, IANS,
Ahmedabad : One hears the name of the Lord when one steps into any place of religious worship. It is however not everyday that one hears of a temple where the name of Lord Ram is being chanted, continuously, for the last 44 years.
Jamnagar’s Shri Bala Hanuman temple located near Lakhota Lake in the city has set a new record in chanting Lord Ram’s name.
The chanting began on Aug 1, 1964, when the temple was constructed by the late Sant Prembhikshuji Maharaj. It was the Maharaj and his handful of devotees who first uttered the Ram chant “Shri Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram”. In an unbelievable record the chant entered its 45th year Friday.
The details of the Ram chant are amazing. It has until the end of Thursday completed 16,070 days non-stop. That translates into 385,680 hours and 23,140,800 minutes in the long journey of 44 years.
This continuous Ram chant has already been recorded twice in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1982 and 1988.
The Ram chant never ceases even during natural calamities like war, cyclones, famine or earthquake.
The Bala Hanuman temple’s trustee Jaysukhbhai Gusani speaking to IANS Friday said a ‘Maha aarti’ (prominent prayer) was held Friday evening as the chant entered its 45th year.
He said with Maharajshri`s blessings the Ram chant has also spread to other cities like Porbandar, Dwarka, Muzzaffarpur, Rajkot, Junagadh, and Mahuva.