Śivaḥ śakthyā yukto yadi bhavataḥ V O L . 2 I S S U E 1 | M A R C H 2 0 1 8 śaktaḥ prabhavituṁ na ce devam devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditumapi | ataḥ tvām ārādhyām hara virincādibhirapi pranantum stotum va katham akrta punyah prabhavati || VĀGVĀṆĪ (Soundarya Lahari, 1)

Shiva becomes capable of creating the Universe, only when united with Thee, वा#वाणी Divine Mother, but otherwise, He is The official newsletter of Śrī Mātā . incapable of even a stir. How then could one, who has not acquired merit in this and previous births worship Thee or at Sri Lalitha Koti Nama Parayana / least praise Thee—who you are adored by , , and others? 2018 Dear Devotees,

From December 2012, we have continuously organized Sri Lalitha Koti Nama Parayana and Maha Yagnas for the benefit of devotees and for universal peace and prosperity. Devotees have been requesting us to organize Sri Lalitha Maha Yagna every year, and we consider this request as the Divine Mother’s wish and command. Therefore, Sri Lalitha Koti Nama Parayana / Mantra Japa and Maha Yagna are being planned for this year! This grand event starts with a Sankalpa at 4:00 PM on Sunday, March 18, 2018 (Vasanta begins) at the Temple. Devotees who wish to participate but are not familiar with Sri Lalitha Sahasranama have the opportunity to do Mantra Japa on one Divine Name. The Nama Parayana and Mantra Japa will take place over 3 months from March 18, 2018 to June 18, 2018. Maha Yagna will be performed during Ashada (Gupta) Navaratri from July 14-15, 2018. We invite Devotees around the world to chant Sri Lalitha Sahasranama / Mantra Japa and participate in Maha Yagna and receive the of Sri Mata. Kindly distribute the information and contact your friends and relatives to participate and get the blessings of Sri Mata, the Daily Temple Timings: Supreme Being. If you would like to participate please email [email protected] or Weekdays: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM call / text (336) 690-8899/ Weekends: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Aum Sri Matre Namah, Religious Committee SMHT Board Upcoming Events: Vasanta Navaratri Celebrations and Mar 18- Sri Vasanta Navaratri Sri Lalitha Koti Nama / Mantra Japa Sankalpa Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 4:00 PM Mar 25- Sri Mar 31- Sri Jayanti 4:00 PM – Sri Vigneshwara 4:15 PM – Sri Lalitha Koti Nama / Mantra Japa and Maha Sankalpa Apr 14- Tamil 4:30 PM – Sri Mata and Alankara Apr 18- 5:30 PM – 21 times recital of “Aum Aim Hreem Sreem Sri Matre Namaha” Apr 20- Sri Sankara Jayanti 5:45 PM – 21 times recital of “Aum Sri Matre Namaha” Apr 21- 5K Temple Run 6:00 PM –Mangala Arathi 6:15 PM – Prasad Distribution V Ā G V Ā Ṇ Ī | V O L . 2 I S S U E 1 | M A R C H 2 0 1 8 Ugadi Celebrations Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 10:30 AM Ugadi March 18, 2018: 10:30 AM – Sri Vigneshwara Puja “New Year – Vilambi” Samvatsara Sankalpa 10:45 AM – Sri Narayana Abhisheka, Ashtotthara, and Arathi 11:45 AM – Nava Dhanya Puja 12:00 PM – Mangala Arathi 12:30 PM – Prasad Distribution

Sri Lalitha Koti Nama / Mantra Japa Sankalpa on Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 4:00 PM Sri Celebrations Sunday, March 25, 2018 at 10:00 AM Sundara-Kand Parayana and reading all 4 Saturdays before Ram Navami (10:00 AM to 12:30 PM) March 3rd, March 10th, March 17th and March 24th

Sri Rama Navami March 25, 2018: 10:00 AM - Sankalpa - All sponsors and their families as well as individuals 10:15 AM - Puja 10:30 AM - Sri Vigneshwara Puja 11:00 AM - Sri Rama Puja, Prana Prathistha, Abhisheka, Rama Astotthara, Astotthara, Puja, Hanuman Puja 11:45 AM - Nama “Shuddha Brahma" – Group chanting 12:00 PM - Hanuman Chalisa – Group chanting 12.30 PM - Mangala Arathi 12.45 PM - Prasad Distribution

THE GLORY OF LORD AANJANEYA The birth of Lord Rama always falls in the month of ( March –April ) on the 9th day. Lord Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu the Preserver, the spouse of Sita, the master of Aanjaneya, and is Sat, Chit, and Ananda Himself. He chose at His will to be born on this Earth for the victory of good over evil. Generally, Aanjaneya is the favorite God of children, but he is loved by one and all. Aanjaneya is an of Lord Shiva (one of the ). He is a staunch devotee of Lord Rama and always engaged in service of Lord Rama. Lord Rama felt Aanjaneya was as dear to Him as His own brother and gave him a chance to serve Him in the search for Devi Sita. To help Lord Rama in finding Devi Sita, Aanjaneya crossed the ocean with Lord Rama in his heart. We see in the that wherever there is Aanjaneya, there is Lord Rama and vice versa. In , Aanjaneya had prayed to Lord Vishnu to get His darshan and consequently received the darshan of Lord while sitting on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot. Aanjaneya was blessed to see the Vishwa Rupa of Lord Krishna and also hear the . Lord Aanjaneya’s is Aditya or the Sun God, and he learnt all the Sastras, , and from him. Although Aanjaneya was so knowledgeable, he did not have an iota of ego in him. Aanjaneya embodies the qualities of victory, humility, courage, righteousness, and knowledge. Lord Aanjaneya teaches us that when we do God’s work selflessly, bravely, and with confidence, God will take care of us Devotees observe during different time of the year according to their regional beliefs and the type of calendar being followed. Hanuman Jayanti celebrated during Chaitra is most popular in North . V Ā G V Ā Ṇ Ī | V O L . 2 I S S U E 1 | M A R C H 2 0 1 8 Past Events “A Snapshot”

Above: Ayyappa Padi Puja and Sasta Preethi, Dec. 23, 2017. More than 15 Swamis from Charlotte came and participated in the Puja and and blessed our Temple.

Left: New Years Concert, Above: Vaikunta Ekadasi, Dec. 29, 2017. Jan. 1, 2018. Seen from left Palanquin procession was conducted for Sri to right: Siddharth Gadepalli Ranganatha around the Temple before entering (Mrudangam), Swami through the Uttara Dwara (North Gate). Rajendran (Temple Chairman), Pranav Krishna Kumar (Violin), and Manasi Krishna Kumar (Vocal).

Left: Poornima Puja, Jan. 1, 2018. Sri Mata and Sri Kameshwara Abhiseka and Alankara.

Left: Sri Puja- Vasanta Panchami, Jan. 21, 2018. Children in our community were initiated into Akshara Abhyasa and Above: Mahashivaratri, Feb. 13, 2018. A big students received the thank you to our Priests who performed Puja blessings of the Divine for 24 hours on Mahashivaratri Day and to Mother. Seen from left to members of the community who created the right: Manish Kumar and beautiful setup which made us feel like Ishaan Kumar. we were in Kailas! V Ā G V Ā Ṇ Ī | V O L . 2 I S S U E 1 | M A R C H 2 0 1 8 Editor’s Desk

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD OF DIRECTORS Swami Rajendran- Chairman Manjunath Shamanna- President Sudhakar Pandit- Vice Chairman Nishi Chatrath- Vice President Santosh Bide- Treasurer Manoj Kumar Nair- Treasurer Anuradha Ravi- Secretary Raghu Yammani- Joint Treasurer Bhavi Patel Manish Kumar- Secretary Bhuvana Guha Sita Somara- Joint Secretary Narendra Sagar Ramanathan Santhanagopalan Sanjay Aher Sourabh Pawar Shubha Mishra Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan Venkatesh Peruvemba Sachin Agrawal ŚRĪ MĀTĀ HINDU TEMPLE ADDRESS 8535 Lasater Road Clemmons, NC 27012 MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 879 Lewisville, NC 27023 CONTACT Website: http://matahindutemple.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WinstonSalemHinduTemple/ Email: [email protected] Phone: (336) LOK-MATA / (336) 565-6282