On Feb. 5 about 400 people gathered at the Satsang Center in Woburn, Mass., to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the birth of Yug-Rishi Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya (1911-2011), as well as to celebrate a vibrant spiritual celebration of Vasant Panchami.

Acharya devoted his whole life to the experiment of "Thought Revolution." He created the "Yug-Nirmaan Yojanaa" and rolled out a massive campaign through a "Movement of Though Revolution." He also created a laboratory which he aptly named "All World Gayatri Pariwar."

His life touched and transformed millions of lives. Acharya wrote over 3,000 books on every aspect of individual, family, social and world life. He also established a university named "Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya" to train a new generation of expert ambassadors of the "Hindu Thought."

This spiritually charged evening at the Satsang Center started rolling with the chanting of "Sri Hanuman Chalisa." Then flowed "Pragya Geets" (intuitive-inspirational songs), melodiously rendered by Neeta Rathi and Sangeeta Saxena. Both enchanted the devotees with their sweet voices. Master Param Vyom supported the vocal artists, with his accompaniment on percussion.

The main feature of the evening was "Deep Yagya," done as a "Nav-Yug-Deepotsav." Deep Yagya is a contemporary version of traditional Yagya that Acharya had developed for popularizing the philosophy of Yagya in the busy lifestyle of modern times.

Prior to the lighting of lamps for Deep Yagya, puja-yajmans performed shodshopchaar Puja of Devi Sarasvati, which followed the puja of Vadya-Yantra (musical instruments), Mayur (peacock) and Vasant (spring flowers).

After the parva-pujan, all the devotees offered the "Gayatri Mantra Aahutis." They also offered "Mahamrityunjaya Mantra Aahutis" for those whose birthdays and marriage anniversaries fell in the same calendar month.

During the celebration, Sanjay Saxena rendered event commentary based on the philisophy of Acharya. Sangeeta Saxena officiated and conducted the Yagya/Pujan ceremony.

Yagya concluded with all participants taking vows to give up one bad habit and develop one good habit for the continued progress and refinement of their lives. That was the offering of "Dev-Dakshina Purnahuti."

With the active support of lots of volunteers the program turned out to be a huge success. With heartfelt love, Sumedha Shrikant Joshi and Sri Asaram Bapu Parivar led by Lalita and Ashok Prajapati sponsored and prepared the mahaprasad.

Gayatri Parivar celebrates the Vasant Panchami as a "spiritual birthday" of its founder Acharya every year.