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Home , Ganesh Chaturthi, Rishi Panchami, Shraavana

Volume 24, Issue 1 September 2015

Inside this Issue 13010 ArborStreet, Omaha, NE, 68144

President’s Message 3

Chairman’s Message 4 Temple Hindu Committee Members 5 Importance of and 6-7 Photo Gallery 8 Financial Report 9 AMD Form 10 Photo Gallery 11 A Note From Balvihar 12 Balvihar Registration Form 13 Upcoming Events 14

Shri Ganesh Utsava Flyers 15-17 Editors Corner 18 -2015 Advertisements 19-20

Page –1 Volume 24 Issue 1 Page -2 Message from the President

Om Sri Ganeshaya Namaha.

Dear Devotees,

I am honored to be writing on behalf of Executive Commit- tee. festival has started in with the advent of the of “”. There are several major Hindu festivals such as Srikrishna Janmashtami, Chathurthi, Navarathri/Dasara and Deepavali being celebrated in the next 2-3 in India and the rest of the world. As in previous years, all these festivals are being celebrated at Hindu Temple in Omaha, NE as well. On behalf of the Hindu Temple Executive Committee, I would like to kindly request all devotees to take part in these auspicious cele- brations in the upcoming months through the 3 D’s - Devotion (Mana or Bhak- ti), Dedication (Thanu or ) and Donation (Dhana). Please visit the Hin- du Temple website at http://www.hindutemplenebraska.org/ or subscribe to the Email list to receive communications regarding temple activities.

May the Lord Prasanna Ganapathi shower his upon all our devotees and the community.

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Namaskara,

Murali Deshpande President, Executive Committee (2015-16)

Be an Active Participant of the Temple Activities

Volume 24 Issue 1 Page –3 Message from the chairperson Dear Devotees, It is a great honor and a privilege for me to be elected to serve as a Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Hindu Temple. I would like to thank our outgoing Chair of the Board Dr. Shailendra Saxena as well as outgoing President of Executive Committee Suresh Seshadri for their exemplary service to the Temple. Both these leaders, their committee chairs and its members have served the Temple with distinction. They engineered celebra- tion of Mahakumbhabhishekam as well as Navakaebara, an ancient ritual associated with total replacement of idols of Lord Jagannatha, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan with new ones. Since inception of the Hindu Temple, its volunteer leaders have developed and maintained the mission, vision and values of our faith. The progressively growing Hindu community has posed challenges and opportunities for the temple leadership which they have met extremely well. Among others, some examples of their achievements are: ex- panded needs for religious ceremonies both at the temple and patrons homes, excellent liaison with interfaith community and temple visitors, superb activities for our children and youth through Balvihar, Youth group, for children. One of the crown jewel of our temple is the Center. Its leader have successfully supported discourses and re- gional meeting for spiritual enrichment for diverse cultural groups. Finally, the spirit of vol- unteerism, a foundation for our success at all levels is alive and well and is growing. The devotion and hard work of our volunteer workforce is admirable. I communicate my heart- felt thanks to all volunteers. I also want to thank our priests for their services to the temple. As an ambassador and trustee, I would like to share with you some of my goals for our temple for the upcoming year. These are: alignment with Vision 2022 plan; promote financial stability and security of the temple; support need based long range plan driven expansion of foot print of the temple; encourage greater engagement and collaboration of our community; secure greater liaison with local interfaith community and outreach to the needy and to serve as a positive model for the Omaha community and to create a positive image of our temple; maintain transparency and receptivity to innovative ideas from our temple patrons and finally enhancement of religious services to meet the need of our di- verse Hindu community. I would like to draw from the wisdom of our past and present leaders and more im- portantly all of you. Please feel free to share through personal visits or through notes in the suggestion box. In addition, I will request your generous financial support for our Beautful Temple. Thank you! With the blessing of the Lord Prasanna Ganapati and your support, I am sure we are going to have great year. Regards, Shashi K Bhatia

Chairwoman, Board of Trustees

Volume 24 Issue 1 Page –4 COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Volume 24 Issue 1 Page -5 Your Brain on Om: The Science of Mantra Mantra is a word for "sound tool," and Om is one of the myriad of such . Sanskrit and some other ancient languages such as Tibetan, prototypical Egyptian and ancient Hebrew evolved as complex systems of onomatopoeia, where the sounds evoke movements of energy. This evocation is qualitative and subjective and is linked with interoception (inner body sensations) and emotional sense of self, both predominantly represented in the right hemisphere of the brain. Conversely, the narrative strand of sounds in which we give them meaning is done predominantly through the left hemisphere. What is fascinating about mantras is that from a physics standpoint, the sounds themselves, before they are assigned meaning, will resonate in different parts of the body and mind, creating actual interactions or events. Mantras are infor- mation, in the literal sense of informing: the creation of form, or interactions. The Sanskrit language is an infor- mation sequencing system that mimics the process of nature's repeating patterns. As the Sanksrit scholar Dr. Douglas Brooks has said, "Sanskrit tells us what Nature shows us. A limited number of rules gives an arbitrarily large number of outcomes. The way Nature goes about its business, Sanskrit goes about its language." Much like the emotive quality of immersing oneself in music, mantra uses sound to evoke movement of physical and emotional energy through stimulation of the nervous system, from which emerges meaning and narrative.

The Brain in Four Dimensions

In order to have insight into and validate a mantra for ourselves, it must be experienced and felt through introspection. Let's take the mantra Om, or Aum, one of the most common in Sanskrit and Tibetan. If Aum is indeed onomatopoeic, then performing it can create an event inside the nervous system, which can then become an object of concentration and meditation, and thereby a focal point for expanding physical and emotional awareness. In terms of phonemes, we notice that it does not have any plosives or fricatives, only sonorants. From the types of solid-object physical events that the brain evolved to perceive, this respectively corresponds to an absence of hits and slides, and the presence of only rings. A, U and M are sonorants or rings, so this particular mantra qualifies an object that inherently has no interactions (hits or slides). In terms of physics, this means our object is formless. Try resonating the mantra aloud, allowing air to flow through the nasal passage, smoothly transitioning between the three sounds. If you do not wish to disturb anyone that may be around you, you can whisper the sounds subvocally. The A (pronounced ä, as in "car") can feel like a wide opening and has a broader vibratory effect on the physical body, approximating the gross consciousness of the waking state. The U (pronounced oo, as in "soup"), has a funneling effect, narrowing the consciousness into subtler sensations such as thoughts and impressions, approximating the dream state. The more nasal M sound is like the drone of a bee; it makes the cranium vibrate in a kind of undifferentiated and ubiquitous earthquake over the convolutions or valleys in the cerebral cortex, approximating the deep dreamless sleep state of con- sciousness. Traditionally, Aum represents and has the capacity to progressively open up the practitioner to the ever-present formless and timeless reality, the background radiation of the cosmos that echoes the Big Bang. Aum is found in the form of Amen in Christianity, Judaism and ancient Egyptian, where it also codes for the im- mutable eternal aspect of consciousness.

Benefits of Yoga: How Different Types Affect Health

The feelings and symbolic representations of the sounds will differ from person to person because, like any tool, the effects of the sounds depend on the user operating them and the object of use, namely the condition of the body and mind. The practitioner should first develop a state of relaxation through proper breathing. It is also important to take interest in or to have a healthy curiosity for the practice so that the effect of actually enjoying the learning process may help the mantra get a foothold in the system. Mantras can be done vocally, sub-vocally (whispering) or silently in the mind. It is recommended to start aloud, and then pro- ceed with the more silent variations. Silent repetition does have an effect; when the frequency of any sound is high enough, it extends beyond the human range of hearing and eventually achieves stillness, which is be- yond sound itself. It has been demonstrated in a double-blind study that ultrasound probes applied to the skull can improve. Gabriel Axel, From U.S. News World Report

Volume 24 Issue 1 Page -6 Volume 24 Issue 1 Page –7 Volume 24 Issue 1 Page –8 Hindu Temple, Omaha NE (April 2015 thru July 2015)

INFLOW OUTFLOW Hundi collections cash $24,162 Operating expenses $37,549 Direct deposits $9,016 Staff expenses $9,428 Puja services $22,940 Priest expenses $28,292

Donations* $171,319 Priest/Staff Housing $10,740

Sponsored/event donations $22,978 Other events* $166,720 Raffle (after prizes, expenses) $0 Mortgage interest $5,031 Priest/staff housing mortgage $0 Towards Mortgage/payoff $12,254 Towards Housing/payoff $3,390

Total inflow $250,415 Total outflow $273,404 * - Includes Mahakumbabhishekam May 2015 Event

------Balances As of July 31,2015 ------Balance owed on Mortgage/Short-term line of credit : $372,525 Balance owed on priest/staff housing mortgage: $300,897 Operating Account Balance : $107,043 Savings (Endowment) balance : $11,320

INTERESTED ??? Are you on the Hindu Temple e-mail mailing list? If you would like to be included, please send an e-mail with your e-mail information to [email protected] Also please give us your current address if you have moved so that we can send financial communications to your latest address.

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BalVihar: Place to Introduce Kids to India

As parents we make every effort to introduce our kids to our be- liefs, faith, and heritage. This may include activities like: every day prayer in front of Mandir (temple) at home, traditions, celebrating major festivals, watching with them TV episodes of Hindu epics, and other Indian mytholo- gy TV series. However, sometimes as parents we may find it challenging to keep it going and keeping it in front of them especially as our kids grow from a toddler to a teenager and an adult. Sometimes as parents we may feel that an integral part of our roots may be slipping from the growing up process of our child. This might make us wanting for a place where our kids could meet and interact with kids of their age and heritage background. A place where kids are encouraged to learn, explore and discuss Indian her- itage and . As Omahans we are privileged to have such as place called “BalVihar”. Early immigrants from India to Omaha had envisioned having a place in Omaha where all people from India or Indian background for all ages can come together, grow each other, and provide place for our kids to share and explore their heritage and roots. This resulted in Omaha Hindu Temple and BalVihar. BalVihar has been operating with support from Oma- ha Hindu Temple since 1996. BalVihar has grown and become mature place for our kids under the vision and leadership of Indian Omahans. BalVihar is managed and run by parent volunteers from within Greater Omaha metro area. Over the years, the number of students attend- ing BalVihar has steadily grown and we look forward to a great year. Our Mission is to Introduce and build upon, the spirit of our Indian cultural herit- age and values. Give our children the opportunity to understand east- ern and western values, to help them make informed decisions in their lives, instill traditional Indian values and teachings to help build character, self-esteem, leadership qualities and above all make them better citizens. Kids are introduced to develop reading, writing, and communication skills in Hindi since inception. Discussions are in initial phase to include other Indian languages besides Hindi. Provide a forum for families to share expe- riences and knowledge and build a strong community. Over the years kids who have attended BalVihar and grown up to become adult have shared that their time at BalVihar was one among the best ones they had growing up. Things they learned, friends they met and memories they created at BalVihar is helping them further explore their heritage roots and has given them foundations which help them explain and respond to questions from their peers. For details on BalVihar browse to the website- http://www.balviharomaha.org/

Rajesh Sharma Tritya Teacher

Volume 24 Issue 1 Page -12 BALVIHAR REGISTRATION FOR 2015-2016

ONLINE REGISTRATION STARTS AUGUST 15th 2015 http://www.balviharomaha.org

IN PERSON REGISTRATION WILL BE AT THE TEMPLE ON AUGUST 23rd FROM 10:00am TO 11:00am.

FIRST DAY OF BALVIHAR IS ON AUGUST 30th @ 10:45am.

WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE PARENTS TO JOIN US FOR THE MEETING ON THE FIRST DAY.

Volume 24 Issue 1 Page –13 Upcoming Pooja Events (September – October 2015)

Date Day of the Week Puja/Festival/Celebration

1-Sep-2015 Tuesday Sankatahara Chaturthi Prasanna Ganapa- thi Abhisekam

4-Sep-2015 Friday Sitala Satam Shri Jayanthi Jan- masthami 16-Sep-2015 Wednesday Haritalika Teez Ganesha Chaturthi

18-Sep-2015 Friday

27-Sep-2015 Sunday Satyanarayana Vratam

28-Sep-2015 Monday Shraddha Begins

30-Sep-2015 Wednesday Sankatahara Chaturthi Prasanna Ganapa- thi Abhisekam

12-Oct-2015 Monday Mahalaya Sarvapitru Shrad- dham

13-Oct-2015 Tuesday Sharad Begins

16-Oct-2015 Friday

18-Oct-2015 Sunday Sri Lalitha Saharanama Archana

20-Oct-2015 Tuesday Asthami

21-Oct-2015 Wednesday Maha Navami

22-Oct-2015 Thursday Vijaya Dashami

24-Oct-2015 Saturday Sarvajanik

25-Oct-2015 Sunday Sarvajanik Durga Puja

26-Oct-2015 Monday Satyanarayana Vratam Sharad

30-Oct-2015 Friday Sankatahara Chaturthi, Karwa Chauth, Prasanna Ganapathi Abhisekam

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It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I am presenting the first issue of Deepam for the 2015-2016. We have included the details of the major event Ganesh Chaturthi and a list of upcoming major events for September -October 2015. The next issue will be the Deepavali Special issue which we will publish as hard copy as well as digi- tal copy. I request all of you to consider contributing relevant articles for this special issue. Also we will publish per- sonal/family greetings containing Deepavali wishes, (page charges will apply to greetings). Please send your articles and/or Deepavali greetings to us at the following email address: [email protected]. We welcome advertise- ments for a donation of $201 or $101 for a full and a half page, respectively. Also we seek sponsorships ($501) to cover the cost of the Deepam publication. If any of you are interested in sponsoring an issue, please contact us. We wish to thank our advertisers for their support. I also take this opportunity to thank the members of Publication Advisory Committee Guda, Shantaram Joshi and Manju Mehta for their help in bringing this issue. A major way of improving the quality of Deepam is to get a constructive feedback from its readers. I look forward to your suggestions to improve the Deepam. Namaskar

Nagendra Chaturvedi Editor

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Hindu Temple Non-Profit Organization 13010 Arbor Street US Postage Paid Omaha, Nebraska 68144 Omaha, NE 402-697-8546 Permit Number 1182

We are on web Htom.org

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