NAMO BHAGAVATE PANDURANGAYA BALAJI VANI Volume 6, Issue 3 September 2012 Hari OM The beginning of August was marked by the significant Yajur Upakarma on the 1st. The word Upakarma means “beginning” or “sitting near teacher” in . This day is celebrated once every year in the month of to commence or restart the study of . As part of this Upakarma, devotees change their Yagnopavita, the holy thread. Since this day falls on a full moon day, Poornima Satyanarayana Pooja was also performed. This auspicious day had another celebration - Raksha Bandana. Swamiji explained the story of Raksha Bandana. When Lord Sreeman Narayana pushed Bali to booloka (earth), he asked the Lord a boon to guard him every day. Sri Mahalakshmi was worried by the absence of Sreeman Narayana. Narada saw her immense sadness and asked her to tie Raksha Bandana to Bali. This way Bali would not be able to keep the Lord anymore from his sister and join her in Vaikunta. Today, this day is Maha Kumbhabhisekham celebrated as Raksha Bandana by sisters as they tie rakhi (thread) to their brothers and offer them sweets. The week continued with Rig Upakarama on Aug2, Sri Raghavendra Aradhana and Sri

Mahalakshmi Abhishekam on the 3rd. The week was completed by poojas for Lord , Sankasta Hara Chaturthi and Ga Kara ACCHEDYO „YAM ADAHYO „YAM Ganesha Pooja. The eighth day of the month of Shravan is celebrated AKLEDYO „SOSYA EVA CA | for the birth of Lord , the incarnation of Shree . Lord NITYAH SARVAGATAH STHANUR ACALO Vishnu took this avatara to enable us understand the wordly . „YAM SANATANAH || He incarnated in this world as Sree Krishna to enable us understand how to establish overcoming the wordly maya (illusion). This festival, Janmashtami was celebrated on Aug9. Swamiji -BG 2.24 performed poojas that continued until midnight and the celebrations were glorified with and by the devotees. A new born The soul is uncleavable; it cannot be burnt or baby was brought in the middle of the night by one of our devotees, wetted or dried. The soul is immutable, all- the time when Lord Krishna was born in this earth. Bala Pooja was performed by Priest Prabhu Ram and Parthasarathi. Swamiji permeating, ever calm and immovable-eternally explained the significance of the celebration to the many devotees the same. who had joined us and glorified the event. To improve one‟s strength is equally important to improving one‟s mind. In order to signify this, our temple organized a picnic at the temple‟s retreat location at Bolado with the help of volunteers. The day involved a walk to the creek followed by volleyball games. This helped us all to enjoy the nature, its peace with the company of fellow devotees. The devotees also cooked and brought in food to be shared with the rest. Dr. Ashok had the monthly free medical checkup for our devotees on the same day. The following week was devoted to Lord with Amavasya and Pradosham Rudrabhishekam. Rest of the month, we observed abhishekam to Lord Sri followed by chanting of Sundara Khanda and 108 times of Hanuman Chalisa by the devotees. We also had abhishekam for Lord Subramanya Swami, abhishekam for Lord Balaji with Suprabatha and Sree Vasavi . Devotees sang Bhajans and enjoyed the evening with potluck prasadam. The month ended with Sri Satyanarayana Pooja on the day of poornima on Aug30.

We would have the following poojas in the month of September.

Please come and join us on the grand celebration of Ganesh Temple Picnic Chaturthi. If you perform the Pooja at home, you can bring in the worshipped idols to the temple for visarjan.

MONTHLY EVENTS REGULAR ACTIVITIES Temple Timings September 2nd, Sunday On Weekends, open all day from 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM Ga kara Ganapathi Pooja 7:00 PM Monday through Friday, open from 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 4:00 to 9:00 PM September 3rd, Monday Sankata Hara Chaturthi 7:00 PM Daily & Aarti

September 7th, Friday Morning 8:00 AM Afternoon 12:30 PM Sri Mahalakshmi Abhishekam 7:00 PM Evening 8:00 PM

September 9th, Sunday Every Monday Sri Ramanama Sankirtana 7:00 PM Rudrabhishekam (Shiva Puja) 7:00 PM September 11th, Tuesday Ekadasi Sri Hanuman Chalisa 7:00 PM Every Tuesday Hanumanji Puja 7:00 PM September 13th, Thursday Pradosham Sri Rudrabhishekam 5:30 PM Every Wednesday Vishnu Sahastrinama Stotram 7:30 PM September 15th Saturday Amavasya Shiva Pooja 6:00 PM Every Thursday Shri Sai Bhajans 7:30 PM September 16th, Sunday Free Medical Checkups by Dr. Sonti Every Friday Sri Lalitha Stotram Prayanam 7:00 PM Santoshi Mata Puja 7:00 PM Puja, Lalitha Stotram & Mahaprasadam September 18th, Tuesday Swarna Gowri Vratam 9:00 AM Every Saturday Sri Venkateshwara 8:00 AM September 19th, Wednesday Suprabhatam Seva & Vishnu Stotram Sri Ganesha Chaturthi, Sri Ganesha Abhishekam 9:00 AM Every Sunday September 23rd, Sunday & Childrens class by Pushpa Dhar 11:00 AM Sri Ga Kara Ganesh Pooja 7:00 PM Bhajans, Puja & Aarti 7:00 PM

September 25th, Tuesday Every Sankasthahara Chaturthi Ekadasi Sri Hanuman Chalisa 7:00 PM Sri Ganesha Puja 7:00 PM

September 27th, Thursday Every Pradosham Sri Rudrabhishekam 5:30 PM Sri Satyanarayana Puja 6:30 PM

September 29th, Saturday Third Thursday of every month Pradosham Sri Rudrabhishekam Poornima, 6:00 PM Vedic Anna Dana for India Special Sri Balaji Abhishekam, Satyanarayana Pooja

September 30th, Sunday Vasavi Devi Pooja 4:00 PM Bhajans & Pot Luck Prasadam

OUR PURPOSE The purpose of Balaji Temple is to form a and Vedic Cultural Center on the Peninsula in the heart of Silicon Valley where people can come together to study and worship, regardless of our different backgrounds. Our aim is to promote the feeling of universal love and unity among all people. We will share the ancient wisdom of the Vedas and the (sacred texts of India) with individuals of all ages and backgrounds. We will celebrate the One Truth behind all religions: that God is One and in all of us. Our worship services are free and open to all who wish to celebrate with us. All are welcome.

BALAJI TEMPLE, 5004 N. First Street San Jose CA 95002 Ph. #: (408) 203-1036 or (408) 733-9266 Email: [email protected] http://www.balajitemple.net Non-Profit Organization