BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO

August 2014

Balabhavan Coordinators GARGI BBC Announcements:

Lalitha Krishnamoorthy Gargi Vachaknavi was a famous Indian Sushma Natarajan during the 800 – 500 BCE time We had a wonderful time on Kumar Gowda period. She excelled many sages in her July 26th at our field trip to [email protected] knowledge and spiritual insight. In vedic Self Realization Fellowship literature, she is considered as one of the meditation gardens in Class Coordinators greatest women of her time. Encinitas. Our sincere Gargi was named after sage in whose thanks to Mr. Ram Krishnamurthy and SRF Super -Senior Class: lineage she was born. She was the daughter of volunteer Mr. Ranji Rao for Lavanya Kadiyala sage Vachaknu. She was one of the nine [email protected] extraordinary people (navarathnas) in the all their efforts in making court of King of Mithila. this a memorable trip. Senior Class: Once, king Janaka convened a court of Radhika Chari scholars to exchange views about the nature of Clay Ganesha-making will be th rd th Vandana Santhanam Ultimate Reality. Sage and on August 16 , 23 and 24 . [email protected] hundreds of other sages from different parts of Details regarding time and the county attended and so did Gargi. King venue for this event will be Junior Class: Janaka wanted to know who was the most sent via email. Rajashri Balaji learned among the sages. So he had a Ganesh Puja by children will Archana Narayan thousand cows confined in a place with a be on 8/31from 4-5:30 pm at Aruna Janakiraman pouch of gold coins attached to each of their the temple. [email protected] horns. He announced to the assembly that he Regular bala bhavan classes

wanted the most learned of the sages to drive will resume on 9/6 for Toddler Class: the cows home. Toddlers and Super Seniors Swarna Moorthy and 9/16 for Juniors and Vidhya Raghunathan Seniors. Further information [email protected] regarding the classes will be

announced via email. Registration coordinator:

Kumar Gowda BBC Team ------

Newsletter Coordinator: None of the sages wanted to make the August Birthdays: Krishna Meduri claim. But Yajnavalkya asked his disciples to Toddlers: [email protected] drive the cows to his hermitage. The other Aditya Samavedam ------sages did not approve of this and asked Lakshanya Sankaran Yajnavalkya many questions. Finally, Gargi too Ojas Moorthy Newsletter Editors challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with questions Shloka Krishna on the soul or ‘’. When Yajnavalkya answered all her questions, Gargi admitted Juniors: Keshav Tadimeti that the sage possessed the highest Sharan Sundararam knowledge. This dialogue between Gargi and Shriya Balasubramania Sankaran sage Yajnavalkya forms part of the Seniors: Ramanarayanan . The ‘ Yajnavalkya’ is a classical text which is also Anirudh Ramachandran composed of the this dialogue. Gargi has Pranav Puttaparthi ______composed many hymns about the beginning of Shraddha Kadaba Topics all existence. She also is the author of a book Shravanthi Bala

called ‘Gargi Samhita’. Super Seniors: Shekar Krishamoorthy -By Shekar Krishnamoorthy Abhinav Ramachandran Meena Annamalai Vainavi Viswanath

7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940 August 2014 Issue 8 1

BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO

August 2014

SUKANYA Editors’ Corner: Editors’ Corner: Sukanya is the daughter of Shryayati. Shryayati was the son of Vaivasvata Manu. We have all heard about Kunti Kamsa was not the only one with and how she had to abandon her A great sage named Chyavana had been a grudge on Krishna. Answer son Karna. But how much do you meditating for a very long time so he was these following questions about know about the struggles of the covered by a crow’s nest. Sukanya came and his buddy, Jarasandha. Kauravas’ mother, Gandhari? saw two shining objects in the nest. She didn’t know that they were the sage’s eyes. Answer the following questions. Answer these three questions She touched his eyes which poked his eyes. and find out! This made him blind and mad. Sukanya’s 1) Jarasandha was the son of father said that he would marry Sukanya to which king? 1) Who was the father of the sage as a peace offering. The sage a) Gandhari, (the king of accepted it. Sukanya was nice and kind to b) Chandra Gupta Gandhara)? Chyavana. c) Chandragupta Maurya a) Subala d) Chandakaushika b) Duryodhana One day the Ashwini Kumaras, demigods, c) saw Sukanya and thought a beautiful woman 2) How many times did Jarasandha try to invade d) Queen Elizabeth like her should be living in heaven not earth. So they asked for her marriage. As a good Mathura? a) Yeah, so 11 times 2) When Gandhari came to know wife she said no. They were happy with how much devotion she had to her husband, so b) Maybe 14 times that she was going to marry the c) 17 times…or so blind king Dhritharashtra, she…? they said they would give the sage’s eyesight and youth back. d) More than thirty times, but no a) Committed suicide one really knows b) Covered her eyes with silk c) Poked her father’s eyes out 3) When Krishna, Arjuna, and d) Became a Sanyasi Bhima attended Jarasandha’s court, what was their disguise? 3) After losing all of her sons in a) Cowherds the Kurukshetra war, Gandhari b) Brahmins did what to Yudishtira? c) Kshatriyas a) Adopted him d) Peacocks b) Killed him The two Ashwini Kumaras disguised the 4) When Jara was a baby, who c) Burned his toe-nail sage so that he would look like them. The Ashwini Kumaras told Sukanya to find out put the halves of his body d) Married him together? who was the real husband. If she didn’t, they would put the blindness and make him old a) Jara 4) Upon seeing the battlefield b) Mara after the Kurukshetra war, again. They told the sage to walk to the pond nearby with them and walk back. Since c) Kara Gandhari curses Krishna to…? d) Sara a) Never eat Thai food again the Kumaras were demigods they didn’t make any footprints but Chyavana did, so b) Be reborn as a stink bug Sukanya found out who was her husband. The c) Become an Indian politician Kumaras blessed them and went. In return Answers: d) Die a wretched death they asked the sage to give them a share of 1) d 2) c 3) b 4)a sacrifice when praying. That’s the story

Answers: about Sukanya.

1) a 2) b 3) c 4) d -By Meena Annamalai

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BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO August 2014

Pictures from our field trip to Self Realization Fellowship Meditation gardens, Encinitas – July 26, 2014

7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940 August 2014 Issue 8 3