Samarpan

Hindu Samaj Temple of Minnesota President’s Note

January 1st, 2011 spiritual needs, as well as cele- those of you interested in spreading brate all major festivals in the the word regarding non-Temple Dear Community Members, Temple. The Temple is open at related events, please send your Namaste! fixed hours as noted on the web- emails to the ‘ROCIndians Yahoo site. We request patrons to avoid, Group’. And now, you can adver- New Year Greetings to You and as best as possible, requesting tise on Samarpan as well, the Your Family for a Very Happy, priest services for personal pujas ground rules for which will soon be Prosperous and Healthy 2011! during Temple hours. decided upon! We request your Volume 1, Issue 1 understanding. I am very happy to see the re- The Temple is strongly committed launch of Samarpan, the Hindu to supporting cultural activities. And finally, I would like to update January, 2011 Samaj Temple & Cultural Cen- This includes providing space for you on our search for land for ter’s newsletter. Those of you, language, dance and cultural building a new Temple. As the next who have been in Rochester long classes; organizing Holi and step, we organized a town hall Special points of interest: enough, might remember that Deepavali cultural programs in a meeting of the community mem- • Prathistaapana Samarpan was produced a few big way and supporting visiting bers on December 18th at the Tem- years ago for a short while. Now artistes to perform in Rochester. ple. The meeting began with a talk • What is ? with the backing of an enthusias- by Prof. Rambachan, Head of Reli- Samarpan is likely to benefit not • Shishu’s column tic editorial and technical team, gious Studies at St Olaf College, on only the Temple, but also many of Samarpan is back! The purpose Lord ’s interpretation of • Quiz you who are doing a great job of launching Samarpan is to “Daanam” or “Saathwik Giving”. through individual efforts, to pro- • Priest Harikrishna facilitate the accomplishment of At the meeting a vision for reach- mote arts and culture in our com- the Temple and Cultural Center’s ing our goal of building a new • Significance of Samarpan munity. The annual Diwali night stated threefold goals: a) To en- Temple was presented. A brief organized by Dr Sandhya Pruthi, • Ragamala hance knowledge of Hindu relig- overview of land parcels available Dr Neelam Dhiman and Sunita ion and Indian culture. b) To for purchase was also provided. • Bal Vikas Nayar is an example of this. Re- make the practice of Hindu relig- The next step is to meet with cently Toshj-ji organized SaRe- ion and culture accessible to all smaller groups in the coming GaMaPa cultural program. Swara- in the community. c) To advance weeks to continue this dialog and laya, an organization devoted to the appreciation of Indian culture raise funds for the new Temple. We the arts, launched by Shri Anantha in the larger community. We hope, with your support and en- Inside this issue: Kollengode, is yet another exam- thank the team for taking up this couragement, we will be able to important initiative, and wish ple of these efforts. The Temple buy land in the next few months. Editors Note 2 them and the newsletter, the Very strongly supports and encourages Best! these efforts. All this progress cannot happen without your support: physical, Many of you have requested that What is Hinduism? 3 The coming year promises to be intellectual and financial. We truly these events be disseminated an exciting one for the Temple. appreciate your active participa- through the Temple email. Unfor- We look forward to greater and tion. expanded religious and cultural tunately we can't use the distribu- Shishu’s contribution 3 activities and most importantly, tion list for events that aren’t or- My regards and Best Wishes for the prospect of buying land for ganized or co-sponsored by the the New Year. Temple. Otherwise, we will have Prathistaapana 4 building a formal Hindu Temple! Sincerely, to honor all such requests and we With Priest Harikrishna-ji joining do not have the resources to do so. Suresh Chari us in the last quarter of 2010, our Priest’s almanac 5 For this purpose alone, members President, Hindu Samaj Temple religious activities have received of the Temple Board created the a significant boost. In the coming ‘ROCIndians Yahoo Group’. We year, we hope to enhance the Significance of “Samarpan” 6 encourage all our patrons to join religious services we provide; both these email lists, so we can with the goal to cater to every- distribute information regarding Food for Thought 7 one’s personal religious and or non-Temple related events. For Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 2 Editor’s Note

Samarpan relaunched! monthly calendar of temple and temple- wealth of knowledge, wisdom and talent in sponsored events will be published in the our community that we want to tap into to Happy New Year and Welcome to the first issue newsletter. benefit the future Indian society here in North of Samarpan! America - namely, our children. This There are many different groups and classes We are pleased to announce the re-launch of monthly newsletter can be sustained only that meet at the temple on a weekly or monthly Samarpan, the monthly on-line newsletter of the through your continued support. basis – some of them are: the Balagokulam Hindu Samaj Temple. The newsletter hopes to group, the Sai group, the Yoga class, the serve as a forum; to bring you closer to the In- Meaning of Samarpan Telegu school and the Bharatanatyam class. dian community with the exchange of ideas, “Samarpan” is a Sanskrit word, which means Contributions highlighting activities of each of energy and information related to Hinduism and “to surrender”. Let us make a commitment to these groups are welcome and we will make Indian culture. Currently the Temple uses an e- surrender ourselves to spread religious, spiri- every effort to include them in our newsletters. mail distribution list and their website for dis- tual and cultural enrichment! seminating information to the community. How- We plan to have multiple sections in the news- With Best Wishes from the Samarpan Edito- ever, Samarpan hopes to be a platform to display letter. There will be a Children’s section con- rial Board. talents and share accomplishments from mem- taining stories, quizzes or other significant bers of our community, including Children’s write ups, along with a Priest’s corner that will activities with stories and photos. describe the significance of upcoming reli- gious events. We hope to add new sections to Samarpan Content the newsletter as the year progresses. With In each issue of Samarpan, we plan to share up- the rich heritage and diverse traditions of In- coming events at the temple, as well as provide a dia, we invite you, both adults and children, to recap of the events that have taken place. A contribute articles to the newsletter. There is a From Our Cultural Desk : Ragamala Shyamala Bhat

WeCultural News were thrilled and privileged to have Raga- The audience was held spell-bound to their mala Dance Theater come to town on Nov 21st seats for 90 minutes as the story unfolded in 2010. After a full year of planning, their dance- front of them. The dance form, costumes, mu- drama, “Sthree” (Woman) was staged at the sic and English narration made the evening a Rochester Technical Community College’s Hill perfect blend of art, aesthetics and entertain- Theatre. ment. Annu Luthra who attended the event says “The performance of Ragamala was “Sthree” is inspired by the ancient Tamil classic beautifully choreographed and narrated. The “Silappathikaram” (The Anklet) written in poetry fact that it was in English made it understood by a Jain monk IIlango Adigal. Set in the temple by people from myriad backgrounds, making it town of in the Sangam Era (300 B.C.E very entertaining”. Indeed! Thank you Annu to 300 C.E), the dance-drama is the story of Kan- and all of you who braved the rain and early nagi and her beau . When Kovalan is winter to attend the show! Samarpan Editorial Board charged with stealing and is wrongfully exe- cuted, Kannagi stands before the might of the We, the Hindu Samaj Temple, would like to Anantha Santhanam Pandya kingdom to demand justice. Her fierce thank Ragamala, RCTC and all volunteers love and loyalty for her slain husband and her who contributed their time and effort to mak- Rajani Sohni difficult path to justice tells an enduring tale of ing this a reality. It is sincere wish that such human failings and strengths. It is also an illus- works of cultural beauty become a regular Shyamala Bhat tration of the Hindu principles of “Karma” and feature in Rochester. We hope to have Raga- “Dharma” that have formed the backbone of our mala back every year! We would also very Ghatty civilization. The dance has an original score by grateful to Ragamala for donating proceeds of famous violinist Dr. L. Subramanian and is the show to the temple. Post-bulletin was also Neeta Pai scripted for stage by a local Minnesotan play- kind enough to meet Ranee Ramaswamy for Nisha Unni wright Zarawaar Mistry. The activity was funded an interview and publicise the event in their th in part by a grant from the National Endowment newspaper of November 18 . Unnikrishnan for the Arts and by the Minnesota Arts and Cul- For those who could not attend and would like tural Heritage fund. More details are available to learn more about this art form, please note Vaishali Joshi online at http://www.ragamala.net. that Ragamala teaches Bharatanatyam at our Performed by Ranee Ramaswamy and her team temple every Tuesday evening. You can con- This is your space. Please contribute and of six artistes, the evening’s performance pre- tact them at [email protected] for details. make this newsletter a delight for the commu- nity. sented a blend of mythology, spirituality and They also plan to have a free introductory th story-telling of a timeless tale. class/demonstration at the temple on April 5 2011 at 6:00 PM. Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3

What is Hinduism—Youth’s Perspective Unni krishnan Upcoming Events

Balagokulam, as the name indicates is a group Amba in . Please watch out for details com- for children of various ages. They meet at the ing to your mail-box and join in Ghanashyam presented on a very popular topic temple every Sunday from 3 – 5 p.m. to learn of “Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?” the festivities !! about Indian heritage, Hindu culture and val- During which, he mentioned that all January 13th: Bhogi ues in a fun filled atmosphere. In the 2 hour believe in one supreme god – Parabrahman. session, parents and children do physical exer- January 14th: Makaraa Sankranthi/Pongal/ Hindus worship one Supreme Being, although cises, yoga, games followed by a study ses- Bihu/Makara Vilakku/Uttarayan. by different names. This is because people of sion. Children do Suryanamaskar, and yoga India with different languages and cultures Did you know Thailand, Laos, Cambodia asanas. There are fun games that challenge have understood that one particular god in and Myanmar all celebrated Sankranthi ? them physically as well as mentally and, are their own distinct way, personalizing the con- exposed to team building and leadership roles. January 15-30: Surya Namaskar Yagna cept. Hinduism is both ‘monotheistic’ mean- For the past one year, the youth has been ing there is only one god and ‘henotheistic’ January 18: Shri Satya Narayana Vratham studying from a book “What is Hinduism”, which means that worship of one god without compilation of articles from ‘Hinduism To- January 22: Sankata Hara Chaturthi denying the existence of other gods. day’ Magazine. January 30: Annual General Body Meeting Sanjivini spoke about Karma, the "Universal ‘Hinduism Today’ has covered a wide range principle of cause and effect". The process of of subjects to encompass the complexity of the actions and reactions on all levels- physical, vast religion, helping children growing in February 10—13: Shivalinga Pratishtapana mental and, spiritual is Karma .She mentioned America learn about the Indian heritage in a that the result of our actions, both good and February 17: Shri Satya Narayana Vratham more structured and simplified form. The bad, come back to us in the future, helping us study session is conducted by parent volun- to learn from life’s lessons and become better teers. The group gets time to hear, think and people. We create our destiny through our own Please check our website discuss all the topics. Recently the students thoughts and actions. www.histemplemn.org for latest details and were asked to give a presentation that ap- timings or any changes pealed to each of them, from the book. Below Sarvani’s presentation was about triputas, also is a brief excerpt from some of their presenta- known as the . The triputas are the tions: three major gods and they are , and . Brahma is known as the creator, Ashrita presented on the subject of reincarna- Vishnu as the preserver (maintains good and tion. Do Hindus believe in reincarnation? evil) and Shiva is known as the transcendental Ashrita emphasized that Hindus believe the destroyer. soul is immortal and takes birth time and time again. She pointed out that it is not just Hindu- Students of Balagokulam have good learning ism that believes in reincarnation but Jains, experience during the 2 hour session every Sikhs, native Indians and Buddhists believe in Sunday from 3-5 p.m. This study session is it. Many stories in the talk about tak- open to anyone who is interested in learning ing life after death for example: Amba in Ma- about the Indian heritage. habharata. For more information, check out http:// www.balagokulam .

Shishu’s contribution Vaishali Joshi

What is the Shishu program at our temple? Along with adults and older Balgokulam stu- Gokulam is where Lord Krishna's magical dents, the ‘Shishu’ group consisting of chil- childhood days were spent. It was here that his dren 7 and under, meets at the temple every divine powers came to light. Every child has Sunday from 3:00 to 5:00 pm to participate in that spark of divinity within. activities for their age group. Balagokulam is a forum for children to dis- cover and manifest that divinity. It will enable Hindu children in the US to appreciate their cultural roots and learn Hindu values. This is done through weekly planned activities; which include games, yoga, stories, bhajans Art work by Shishu group—Rakhee (devotional singing), shlokas (Sanskrit verse), arts and crafts. Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 4

Shishu’s contribution ….cont’d

Question : How did you celebrate Diwali? Question : What do you like most about Question : What are you most thankful for? I went to a party, participated in cultural pro- Diwali ? “I am thankful for books because you can gram and did lots of fireworks.” – Kirti “I like all the lights (diyas) and big fireworks.” learn a lot by reading books.” - Sohum – Chaitanya “I had party with friends, did pooja at the “I am thankful for my little sister because she temple and fireworks. I performed on stage.” – “It was fun participating in the dance at the is very playful.” - Parmita Himaja cultural program.” - Rishikesh “I am thankful for the sunlight, earth, water “I celebrated with friends, performed a dance “We love the colorful fireworks.” - Anjali and and house to live in.” - Chaitanya on stage and lit fireworks.” – Rishikesh Shreya “I am thankful for songs because they make “We decorated the Pooja room and did pooja “I like going to the temple and the fireworks.” me happy.” - Shaila at home, went to temple and did lots of fire- - Shivam works.” – Sohum

Prathistaapana Anantha Santhanam

Installation of God’s idols in temples, Pra- By chanting the sacred hymns, the priest traces Join us at the temple February 11th thista, is an austere and auspicious ceremony, the idol’s eyes with honey and ghee using a to 13th to participate in the start of the rules of which are laid in the Aagama gold or brass string. With a mirror, the newly a 40-day puja. Shaastra. Subsequent to Murthi Sthaapana, infused deity first sees an image of Him or Her. i.e., laying the stone deity of the God in a tem- Alternately, a cow may be brought in front of Please contact religious- ple, the process of establishing the breath or the deity, as it is believed that all Gods dwell in [email protected] if you ‘imparting life’ into the deity is called Praana a cow. would like to volunteer or help with Prathista or Prathistaapana. food arrangements. The Prathistaapana of the Shiva Linga at our

This ceremony cleanses all the impurities temple is scheduled to be performed, as per caused on the deity, since sculpting to laying Shaiva Aagma, on the 13th February 2011. the stone at the temple. The purpose of this Please contact our priest, Sri Harikrishna Ji at installation is to bring the sacred image into its [email protected] for more information on altar and awaken the deity within this idol. In the time, as well as opportunities to volunteer. addition, the purpose of this ceremony is to awaken the minds of participants to the pres- ence of divinity within this deity. During Pra- thistaapana, the sacred idol is immersed in water (Jaladhivaasam), grains (Dhaanyadhivaasam), Ksheeraadhivaasam (milk), pushpaadhivaasam (flowers). The priest bathes the deity in yogurt, ghee, sacred herbs, milk while performing havans and ritu- als.

The culmination of this ceremony is when the “eyes” of the deity are opened and this is called ‘Nethonmeelanam’.

Did you know ? Parvathi, Shiva’s consort, has a 1000 names? Is it easy to pick names for baby girls in Hindu culture due to the variety or is the choice too mind-boggling ? Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

Vaikunta Ekadasi—the pathway to heaven Anantha Santhanam

It is a common tradition among Hindus to ob- In our temple, priest Sri Harikrishna Ji serve fasting every Ekadashi day to seek the had made elaborate arrangements to cre- blessings of Lord Vishnu. Of the 24 Ekadasis in ate, for the first time, the ‘Vaikunta a year, the one Ekadashi falling on the Shukla Dhwaar’ and moved Sri Balaji with his Paksha of Dhanur Maasa (waxing phase of the consorts Shri and Bhu Devi into the Hindu Calendar month Dec-Jan) is called Vai- altar specially created for this auspicious kunta Ekadashi or Putrada Ekadashi or Mukkoti day. On the Vaikunta Ekadashi day Ekadashi or Swargavathil Ekadashi. On this aus- (12/16/2010), scores of devotees observ- picious day, Lord Vishnu enters into the gateway ing the Vaikunta Ekadashi Vratha passed of ‘Heaven’ (Vaikunta Dhwaar or Paramapada through this Vaikunta Dhwaar, circum- Dhwaar) at Vaishnava Temples. It is believed ambulated the Gods, and exited by the that people who pass through this Gate will reach west door. at our temple offered much- Vaikunta. needed warmth to the congregated devo- tees. The Padma Puraana says, In the evening, Vishnu Sahasranaamam "Ekadashi vrata samam vrata nasti jagattraye was chanted followed by Aarthi by our anicchaya'pi yat krtva gatir evam vidha'vayoh Priest, and offering of special Prasaad ekadasi vratam ye tu bhakti bhavena kurvate na made by volunteers. Amidst a frigid week jane kim bhavet tesam vasudeva anukampaya”, in December, the Vaikunta Ekadashi cele- which translates as, “In these three worlds, no brations at our temple offered much Vrata is comparable to that performed on Vai- needed warmth to the congregated devotees. Om Namo naraayanaaya! kunta Ekadashi, and one can reach His Abode by Om Namo naraayanaaya! Om Namo naraayanaaya! doing so. If one observes this Ekadashi Vratam Om Namo naraayanaaya! with (any extent of) devotion, he/she is under the compassionate mercy of Lord Vishnu”.

Priest’s almanac

Sri Harikrishna—Priest, By Choice Anantha Santhanam

In this mundane materialistic world, it is rare to Hampshire, IL. He is proficient in performing all either at their home or at the temple. Sri find people who are passionate about devotion religious rituals including Vigneswara Puja, Nak- Harikrishna Ji is eagerly looking forward to and would like to spend their lives performing shathra Shanthi and Homam, Navagraha Puja, the Prathistaapana of Shiva Linga in our service through devotion. In this regard, we are Jathakarma, Naamakarnam, Annaprasannam, temple. lucky and honored to have our temple services performed by one such noble soul, Sri Chinninti Aksharabhyaasam, Upanayanam, Vivaaham, Harikrishna Alvakonda, known as Sri Harik- Grihapravesham, Vasthu puja, Sahasra Lingar- Sri and Smt. Harikrishna Ji are blessed with rishna Ji, since September 2010. chana, Satyanarayana Vratham etc., as laid by a 6 year old daughter, Himaja, and a 1 year old son, Hemanth. Sri Harikrishna Ji can be Despite not belonging to a family of priests, Sri the Vedic Scriptures. contacted by email at priest- Harikrishna Ji wanted to dedicate his life to- Sri Harikrishna Ji is ably assisted by his life part- [email protected], or by cell phone at 507- ward devotional service, and in his childhood ner, Smt. Sudha, another soul dedicated to devo- 261-7811. days, completed the prescribed 8 years course (1989 – 1997) in Krishna Smartha tional service. Recent events at our temple were a

Purohitha Bhattaraka from Sri Venkateswara huge success, mainly due to their excellent plan- Veda Patashala at Tirumala Tirupathi Devastha- ning, commitment and execution. nam. Following his mastery of vedic practices, he was initiated by his guru, Swamy Poornanda, His ability to communicate in Hindi, Tamil, Kan- and since then, has served as a Priest at many nada and English brings ease into the minds of temples, including the Shirdi Sai baba temple at devotees needing a certain Puja to be conducted Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 6

Significance of “Samarpan” Surya Ghatty

Bhagavad Gita reiterates that GOD is the creator If we recollect the story of Sri Krishna Tulab- he should apply tilak to himself - the of the entire universe. If we accept this, we will haram ( weighing of Sri Krishna in a scale), Sat- source of the reflection. The tilak cannot begin to realize that all the things we offer to yabhama gave away Sri Krishna to Narada and be applied directly to the reflection on the God - the coconuts we break, the fruits we offer, tried to buy Him back with His weight’s worth of mirror as it will not be permanent. the flowers that we use to decorate God’s idol, gold, but could not succeed. In the end, Krishna the money we donate, and the time we spend was out-weighed only by a Tulasi leaf that Ruk- Similarly, if one aspires for abundance in volunteering at the temple – belong to God in the mini offered with devotion and love. This story life, he should start by making an first place. We are only temporary custodians of shows how love and devotion trump any material ‘Offering’ to the source of all creation, these resources. wealth when it comes to satisfying God. God. And that abundance will be reflected in God’s creation, including the original buddhir jnanam asammohah However, this does not mean that one should person who made the offering. After all, ksama satyam damah samah offer only leaves to God. The above examples of the Prasad we make for God, gets distrib- sukham duhkham bhavo ’bhavo leaf, flower, fruit and water are used to describe uted among the devotees at the end of a bhayam cabhayameva ca the resources readily available to us. One can puja. ahimsa samata tustih offer whatever resources that are at their dis- tapo danam yaso ’yasah posal. However, the key is devotion and love. From the above sloka, it is very clear that bhavanti bhava bhutanam God will accept whatever we offer with devo- it is we who benefit from our offerings to matta eva prithag-vidhah tion. For those of us in Rochester, the Temple God and not the other way around. How- provides numerous ways in which we can offer ever, to make those benefits permanent, we ( 9.26) services to God. need to offer with a sense of true devotion According to the above sloka in Bhagavad Gita, and surrender. God is the source of all qualities like knowledge Who benefits from these offerings? (buddhi and jnanam), the act and thought (bhava) of charity (daanam) or even the fame (yasha) that Let’s take a look at another sloka from Bhaga- emanates from possessing those qualities. vatham: A few questions arise. Does God accept all that naivātmanaḥ prabhurayaṁ nija-lābha- we offer Him? If God is the true creator of every- pūrṇomānaṁ janād aviduṣaḥ karuṇo vṛṇīteyad thing that we possibly can offer, should we deny the efficacy of the worship (puja) we perform, yaj jano bhagavate vidadhīta mānaṁtac cātmane the time we volunteer, and the money we donate prati-mukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ to Him? Is it even appropriate for us to think that (Bhagavatham: 7.9.11) it is “WE” who are on the offering end and it is HE who is at the receiving end? The sloka reiterates that no material opulence or Let’s take a look at another Sloka from Bhaga- knowledge can satisfy our dear God. Anyone vad Gita: who thinks otherwise is an avidusha – ignorant. God is ever satisfied –Nija Labha Poorna. Noth- patram puspam phalam toyam ing we do or do not do will change His yo me bhaktya prayacchati “Sachchidanandatva” – the unchanging state of tad aham bhakty-upahrtam true blissfulness. asnami prayatatmanah Why, then, the mankind has been building so (Bhagavad Gita 9.26) Be the change you want to many temples, performing pujas, and engaging in see in the world. God’s service since times immemorial? “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a Mahatma Gandhi flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Prahlada attempts to answer this question in the above sloka. He mentions that God is the origin In this sloka the God, who created the entire and each and everything in this creation is His universe, says with compassion that He will ac- mirror reflection. The ultimate goal of each re- cept whatever a devotee offers Him with true flection is to be one with God. If a person wants devotion, be it a flower or fruit or leaf or water. to apply tilak to his reflection in a mirror, Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 7

Food for Thought Nisha Kurup

Persons to answer all 10 questions accurately Choose the correct answer from the following will be named in the next issue along with multiple choices. correct answers. E-mail your answers back. In 1. Which river flows from Lord Shiva's case of more than one winner, there will be a matted hair? drawing held at a public function in our tem- ple. a. Yamuna b. Ganga c. Kaveri 1. Name the period from January 15th 2. Name Lord Shiva’s consort through July 15th, when the sun appears a. Sridevi b. c. Parvathi to journey from the South to the North. 2. Name of the important prayer that is dedi- 3. Name the stone that gained importance cated to Sun God. from its association to Lord Shiva 3. Who wrote the “Ashtanga” yoga ? a. Baanalinga b. Swarnamukhi c. Saaligraama 4. What is the significance of the date, Janu- 4. There are five temples devoted to the five ary 26th in India? elements: Fire, Earth, Ether, Water and, Air. Four of them are Thiruvannamalai 5. “Makara Sankranthi” is celebrated in (Fire), Kaancheepuram (Earth), various states of India under the follow- Chidambaram (Ether) and Thiruchirapally ing different names (Water). Name the fifth (Air). Match the name to the state it is cele- a. Rameswaram b. Somnaath c. Kaalahasthi. If you would like to contribute to this col- brated in. 1. Pongal Karnataka 5.Among the 12 Jyothirlingas, which umn please email samar- 2. Lohri Assam Jyothirlinga shrine is located at the north- [email protected] with the title 3. Bhogi Tamil Nadu ernmost tip of India, in the snow-clad Hi- “Food for Thought”. Contributes should 4. Bihu Punjab malayas? reach 45 days in advance of the issue 5.Sankranthi Andhra Pradesh a. Grishneswar b. Kedarnath c. Varanasi. being published.

Sri Sathya Sai Bal Vikas -movement blossoms children to ideal citizens Neeta Pai

Bal Vikas as the name indicates is a Move- This gave shape to the Sri Sathya Sai Bal Vi- 7:15 p.m. under the guidance of Bhagawan; ment launched by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai kas Movement - Child Development program through Bal Vikas Gurus, Dr. Kavita Prasad Baba to blossom today’s children to citizens in the country. There are thousands of such and Shantal Valluri, learning the human val- and leaders of tomorrow. This movement was centers where the program is going on system- ues, Shlokas, and Bhajans in a fun founded in the year 1969 and has grown into atically, including in certain schools; both in filled environment. an international movement under the auspices the United States of America and Africa, be- From: Sri Sathya Sai Books & Publications of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations. It trains sides India. Trust. children from the age of 5 to the age of 15. In Natural corollary of this program was fact, complements the school education em- "Education in Human Values" at the school phasizing on the five cardinal human values: stage. Instead of listing a large of values - Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Right Action), Shanti which may be more of sub-values, attitudes (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non- and habits an attempt was made to find out the violence). summation of some important human values. Bhagawan had introduced 'Education in Hu- Lakhs and lakhs of children have been blos- man Values' program as early as the seventies. somed into youth of character through this He felt that it has to begin right from the early Movement over the years and there are thou- childhood days when boys and girls are of sands of teachers, known as Bal Vikas gurus impressionable age. They could be introduced guiding these young aspiring minds to a better in slow and gradual manner to Indian ethical tomorrow following the divine teachings and and spiritual thought through the study of sto- guidelines of Bhagawan. ries of our great seers and sages and through Every Friday, Bal Vikas groups one and two some of the facets of world scriptures. classified by age, meet from 6:00 p.m. to

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Generous benefactors, you are our principal source of income! We value your financial contribution to the Temple without which we could not meet our monthly expenses. As a token of our gratitude we offer benefits to our benefactors in the form of religious services conducted on their behalf*. Do take advan‐ tage of these benefits. Privileges will be reset 5 years from start of donation or from 1st Jan 2011 whichever is later. Please indicate in the puja form that you are availing this benefit.. Cumulative Donation Private Home Puja Private Temple Puja Sponsorship of 1 Archana to Ishta *The dakshina to the Temple Puja ($) Value $150 Value $108 priest is not included in Value $25 Value $11 each these benefits and should be paid directly 100 1 to the priest. 300 1 3 600 2 6 1200 1 4 12

2400 or more 1 1 12 12 Visit www.histemplemn.org Page 9

Monthly contributions greatly enhance our ability to manage our expenses by providing a steady source of predictable revenue. To express our thanks for becoming a monthly donor or continuing your monthly contributions (for our current monthly donors) you can avail additional one‐time priestly services, see the table below. This is available only for limited time.

Donation ($)/month Private Home Pooja Private Temple Sponsorship of 1 Pooja ($150) Pooja ($108) ($25) <25 1

25‐49 1

50‐99 1 >=100 1 1

* The dakshina to the priest is not included in these benefits and should be paid directly to the priest. Any type of Pooja will be con‐ ducted as per availability of the priest. For any question contact: ach‐[email protected].

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