NEWSLETTER

December 2019

Temple Timings: Sunday 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Arati 10:30 AM Tues, Fri & Sat Happy 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Arati 6 PM Table of Contents Balvihar 2 President’s Message 3 Auspicious days 4 Reminders 5 2020 Past/upcoming events 6-9 Subashita 10

New

Swami from Chinmaya Mission Trinidad shared Year during a talk “God gave you two ears and one mouth, so listen more and speak less.”

Temple website http://htsnm.org/

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Balvihar

Balvihar is up and running. Please come join us every Sunday from 10:00 to 11:00 am. In Balvihar the story of the squirrel in Ramayana was narrated. We should never make fun of the weak and the small. What matters is the love , with which we accomplish any task, and it doesn't depend upon the strength or what work we do ! When the larger Vanaras made fun of the little squirrel, LORD Rama says “ that, the huge stones laid are bonded together only because of the small gaps between them, being filled by the tiny grains of sand, got by the squirrel? “And due to this, the structure, is strong “. Rama thanked the Squirrel for the help, and saying this he gently stroked the back of the Squirrel with his fingers , and thus three lines were formed, where Lord Rama’s fingers had touched the Squirrel Moral of the story :

Every task should be given importance , however small it may be.

Have confidence in yourself.

Never give up in life.

Don't care for what people say, do your work with dedication.

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President’s message

Seasons Greetings,

Wishing you all a very happy New Year.

We had a very successful, year behind us. The many act ivies that have come to pass in community events at a glance—fundraising event in April, a new priest application submitted, heart walk in May, yoga day in June, Bhandara in September and December, Non-violence walkathon, visit to Congregation Albert, support for Kashmiri Pandit talk held at peace and justice center. We wrap up the year in a very good note of participat- ing in our local community.

I would like to also provide an update on the temple relocation project, the com- mittee visited a few sites and is now short listing which ones are of interest. The income assurance committee is proactive in managing the cost and how we intend to attain the amounts.

The membership drive will be our next task to start generating some funds to purchase/build our temple. Please support this endeavor—the committee is or- ganizing some benefits to the membership that will be of interest to everyone.

Year end function is approaching soon—alternate venues are being considered, if you would like to be part of the planning committee please identify yourself to us and we will put you to work!

January has a lot instore for our temple, please come and participate in the Makara /, Namskar day, Nikhilanand Bhaiya visit and many more auspicious days that the temple is open on.

Wishing you all a very safe and happy break.

Krishna Jaiswal President 3

Upcoming Auspicious days

• Nov 23 Friday Pradosham • 24 Sunday Shivarathri • 29 Friday Vinayaka Chathurti •

• Dec •

1 Sunday Shasti vratam, Vivah , Champa •

7 Saturday Guruvayur Ekadasi, Gita Jayanti

9 Monday Pradosham

10 Tuesday Karthigai Deepam 12 Thursday Ishti 15 Sunday Sangada Hara Chathurti

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Upcoming events Reminders

• Balvihar 10:00—11:00 Sundays 1. No footwear allowed in the mandir and on the (closed for break—restarts Jan 5th) second floor, unless worn due to medical • Pongal/Makara Shankranti Jan 18 reasons. Our Temple requirements are that all (Saturday)

• Vasanth Panchami Feb 2th footwear be stowed in the cubbies provided to

• Maha sivarathri Feb 21st prevent young children from tripping over

• Bhandara March them.

• Year end function April 2. During temple sponsored events Board

• Ekadasi members and/or Advisory committee members will be available to answer your questions. 3. For renting the HTSNM Community Hall, which is available for private functions such as birthdays, graduation, get togethers etc. the cost is $250 which includes water and trash bags. It is up to the organizing committee to provide all others. There is a 20% discount for members of Our Temple.

4. Please obey all parking signs to avoid fines. 5. If you would like to access the temple at any time, keys are available to checkout from Bombay Spice grocery store (505 232 6661).

6. Thank you for all you do to help ensure Our Temple’s cleanliness.

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Makara shankranti/pongal

Place holder

Pongal, also referred to as Tai Pongal or Thai Pongal, is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival of , particularly in the Tamil community. It is observed at the start of the month Tai according to Tamil solar calendar, and this is typically about January 14. Thanking the Sun God for agricultural abundance, it is a four-day-long festival. Of significance are newly harvested rice, sugarcane and turmeric. It is celebrated as a thanks giving ceremony for the year’s harvest. First day is bhogi festival in thanks to Lord for the good rains—on this day useless items of the household are tossed into a bonfire. The second day isThai Pongal where traditional rice (Rangoli) are hand drawn at the entrance of the homes and where the Sweet Pongal (boiled rice with lentils and milk) will be prepared in an earthen pot tied with a turmeric plant, out in the open as an offering to the sun god. The third day is mattu Pongal is the day that is celebrated in the name of the cows, the cattle are adorned with bells, garlands and worshiped. Fourth and final day iskaanum Pongal where women of the household perform rituals in the name of their brothers asking for their prosperity. The Albuquerque and surrounding area communities are invited to celebrate this festival on Janu- ary 18th Saturday at 10:30 am at our temple. Please bring family and friends and take part in this festival. 6

Visit to Congregation Albert

In an effort to join hands with the local Jewish community, 10 members from HTSNM visited the Congregation Albert located at 3800 Louisiana Blvd NE on Friday December 13th to attend their Sabbath prayers.

It is a Reform synagogue, It was established in 1897 and is the oldest Jewish organi- zation in the state. Their Cantor Mrs. Barbara Finn who led the worship services from 6- 7:30 pm. It was a very easy to follow service where the lyrics were translated and projected on a screen ,in an upbeat atmosphere. The choir sang in addition to young children of the congregation, accompanied by musical instruments.

Afterwards we were invited to share in their evening meal where everyone was very warm and wel- coming. It is our intention to return the favor and invite them to our temple in the near future. Kashmiri Pandit talks HTSNM co-sponsored "Kashmir Pandits: An untold Story" By Dr. Rinita Mazumdar (Professor at CNM) at Albuquerque Peace and Justice Cen- ter (202 Harvard Dr. NE) on Dec 14, 2019 at 1:00 pm. Along with Dr. Ma- zumdar, Ms. Sunanda Vashistha and Ms. Shakun Malik (both being Kashmiri Pan- dits) were guest speakers over Skype. Dr. Mohan Sopori, a long-time resident of Albuquerque, who is a Kashmiri Pandit, was present to give his personal side of the tragic treatment of the Kashmiri Pandits. The event was well-attended by about 75 people from all walks of life. After a brief history and background on Kashmir by Dr. Mazumdar, the guest speakers on Skype spoke about the actual happenings. The talks were very in- formative and audience listened to the four speakers with pin-drop silence. The talks were eye-opening and the audience appreciated speakers sharing their personal experiences and suffering. Unfortunately, the informative ses- sion ended prematurely due to disruptions from the audience and side track- ing the topic. We hope and support the peaceful resolution to the Kashmiri problem that is fair to and incorporates all of the Kashmiri people including the minority Pandit community. Follow on sessions are planned—please stay turned for up- coming dates and venues. 7

Bhandara/annadaanam

The children from Balvihar leant a huge helping hand to make this event a grand success. The or- ganizing committee would like to thank all who were present in helping with cooking the many delicious items that day. Special thanks to the clean up crew in washing dish- es breaking down tables and taking out the trash. Truly a community event. Looking forward to many more. True Meaning of Dharm talk Nikhilanand Swami (lovingly he is known as Nikhilanand Bhaiya) from Radha Madhav Dham temple , Austin , TX has agreed to come to Albuquerque to give a discourse on the 10th & 11th of January 2020. Please participate in this event. It is unknown when & how the spiritual message will strike someone by his Grace. When He was very pleased on us, He gave us human body. The main purpose of this human body is to realize him and spread his name.

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Sun Salutation Marathon

HTSNM Welcomes MakarSankranti with Surya Namaskar Yagna

HTSNM is organizing in a 16-day event from Jan 18 till Feb 2. The 16-day event aims to create awareness about Yoga and its advantages in achiev- ing a healthy body, mind and spirit. Surya Namaskar integrates simple Yo- ga postures in 10-steps that, along with easy breathing technique, can provide immense health benefits to both the body and the mind.

Each year worldwide celebrate January 14th as – a day that marks the change of season as the sun enters the sign of Cap- ricorn or Makara. Makara Sankranti ushers in longer days; thus, the fes- tivity symbolizes sunshine in life. To mark this occasion, HTSNM has organized the "Yoga for Health, Health for Humanity" Yogathon from January 18th to February 2nd 2020.

Individuals perform Surya na- maskar every day, starting Jan 18 at their homes. We all meet on Feb 2 ( ) at the Hin- du temple and perform Surya Na- maskar together. More details for registration and the mantra to follow. Please visit the HSS website ( www1.hssus.org/sny) to learn the Surya Namaskar and the mantra to chant.

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Subhashita

Su in means good; bhashita means spoken; together meaning well spoken or eloquent saying. This month’s Subhashita is :

काकः कृ �णः पिकः कृ �णः को भेद पिककाकयोः

वसन्तसमये प्राप्ते काकः काकः पिकः पिकः Kakah pikah krishna, Ko bheda pika kaka yoho?

Vasanta samaye praptey, Kakah kakah pikah pikaha!

Crow and cuckoo are both black. Then what's the difference? Come spring time, you'll know which is which. Ordinary men and saints look the same, both eat, sleep etc. So why respect one alone? Because when it comes time to display one's knowledge and action, the difference be- comes clear. Reminder Technology updates In addition to a new website our temple/devotee list is under construction— please take a moment to kindly register yourself at the following link https://forms.gle/LAUwakq4GGX61srWA The committee requests that even if you are receiving all temple emails cur- rently to register for it allows for an updated and comprehensive list to be com- piled. There are additional fields that the form allows you to enter.

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