10 - 11 September 2023 – Vishwaguru Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Sri Swami Maheshwaranandaji blessed his bhaktas with satsang in the Yoga in Daily Life centre in Ljubljana, followed by opening two mandirs, in both Ljubljana and Maribor, Slovenia. 

Satsang was held in the Ljubljana Yoga in Daily Life Ashram on 10 September, the eve of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vishwaguruji's Gurudev, Hindu Dharmsamrat Paramhans Sri Swami Madhavanandaji, and hundreds of disciples and practitioners gathered together from all over Slovenia and neighbouring countries. 

The music program, with various contributing artists, was a great introduction to the traditional satsang, and all present enjoyed classical music and violin, as well as a modern interpretation of a classic bhajan.

On 11 September 2023, in commemoration of the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of Holy Guruji, Vishwaguruji symbolically opened a Sri Madhavananda Mandir in Ljubljana and another in Maribor, Slovenia.

“Today is a great day, changes will come, good things will happen,” Vishwaguruji said at the opening ceremony. “This Mandir will be a sacred place, a place of worship and devotion where all are equally welcome.”

A mandir (temple) reflects a synthesis of arts and the ideals of dharma – the beliefs, values and way of life of Sanatan Dharma. It is a link between the people, the deities and the purusha (universal consciousness) in a sacred space. In ancient Indian texts, a mandir is a place of pilgrimage, or tirtha. The mandir's purpose extends beyond spiritual life to social rituals and the daily life of a household. Every mandir is also used to celebrate festivals, celebrate art through dance and music, commemorate the birth of a child, perform marriages and other significant life events.

As Vishwaguruji said, these two mandirs are a great blessing to all of Slovenia. From the largest temples such as Pashupatinath in Nepal, to the small mandirs in huts and gufas (caves) of yogis in the Himalayas, a mandir is a place where we turn to God, we talk to ourselves and express gratitude and positive intentions.

A mandir is a temple where the Divine Principle is respected in the most diverse aspects (sarva devata), or it is dedicated to one special aspect of the divine (pitham).  The mandir is attractive to people because it radiates pure and living divine energy, free from all the negativity and impurities of the outside world. People come to the mandir to leave behind the storms of the world, to remember their true nature, the light of the atma, the divine Self, and to renew that light and bring it back into the world with a clear intention (sankalpa) for the future.

With Vishwaguruji's great blessing, Slovenia now has two more such holy places, to help lead humanity into a bright future.