Days Inn & Suites Bentonville
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Letter from the Board of Directors
Hari Om. Welcome to the Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple in Bentonville, Arkansas. Bearing witness to the opening of a new temple is a rare opportunity, and we’re delighted that you could join us on this auspicious and wonderful day. As you know, building this temple has been the dream of Hindus in this region for over twelve years, and we’re thrilled to finally realize this goal. This accomplishment is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work by many people in the HANWA community, and the BOD is both honored to represent these dedicated volunteers and hum- bled by the magnitude of their devotion to the cause. The beauty of HANWA is that each member can serve the Lord and the temple in his or her own unique way. Some devotees serve the religious needs of the community by regularly opening the temple, helping the Priest perform poojas, leading bhajans, and providing Prasad. Others invest their time and expertise in maintaining and improving the facility and grounds. We also have community members who drive the fundraising efforts that are essential to building a permanent temple like the one we are inaugurating today. Others cook and serve food to the many visitors we have during the various festivals we celebrate each year. There are many, many other ways in which people support the temple and these individual contributions add up to a strong, united temple com- munity. To all of the people who have made the temple construction possible, we thank you for your selfless devotion and leadership. This is a proud day for Hindus in Northwest Arkansas and around the world, and we will forever remember July 29, 2012 as a truly blessed occasion.
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~~~ Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple on 07/27/2012 To 07/29/2012 ~~~
07/27/2012 – Friday 6.00 PM to 8.30 PM
Swastivachanam Vishwaksena Aradhana Punyahavacanam Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra Parayanam Mrutsangrahanam Ankuraropana Soma Homam Vastu Homam Mangalasasanam
07/28/2012 – Saturday 9.00 AM to 12:30 PM 07/28/2012 – Saturday 5.00 PM To 8:00 PM
Suprabhatam Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Strotra Parayanam Aradhana, Sevakalam Sri Rudra Homam Lakshmi-Gubera Homam Yantra Adhivasam Yantra Adhivasam Ashtottara Sata Kalasa Adhivasam Mangalasasanam Cultural Programs Teerthaprasada Goshthi Manglasasanam Teerthaprasada Goshthi
07/29/2012 – Sunday 9.00 AM To 2.00 PM
Pradhana Dwara Torana Pooja Kamadhenu Pooja Alaya Pradakshina and Yantra Pratishtha Alaya Pradakshina and Vigraha Sthapana Astothara Kalasa Abhishekam Gopura Kumbhabhishekam Santi Kalyanam Chakrasnanam Aseervacanam Mangalasasanam Teertha Prasada Goshthi
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~~~ Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple on 07/27/2012 To 07/29/2012 ~~~
Our Temple History
The origins of HANWA date back to 1990’s, when a handful of Hindu families in Fayetteville, Arkansas, met in each other’s homes to sing bhajans, perform poojas, and keep their Indian heritage alive. In August 1999, the group decided to formalize its structure and establish by-laws, and HANWA was born. Over the next few years, HANWA steadily increased its membership, especially with devotees from Bentonville, which was becoming a center for the Indian population due the growth of its IT sector. In 2002, HANWA purchased a plot of land in Gentry, AR, with the intention of building a permanent temple there. In the short-term, the group sanctified a barn that existed on the property for use in conducting poojas and other events. After discussion amongthe community, the members decided that the main deity of the temple would be Krishna and the other deities of the temple would be Ganesha, Durga, Shiva, Lakshmi, and Venkateshwara. The community then put its focus on raising funds for a permanent structure, establishing the Deity and other Temple Sponsorships. HANWA commissioned an engineering firm to start drawing up site plans for the development of a temple building and started working with the city government to develop a paved road to serve the site. However, due to various external factors, the later effort did not show the hope for progress. By 2009, it was evident that the Gentry site no longer met the needs of a permanent temple, and a team of BOD members and other community leaders was formed to look for a new site. After an in-depth search and much discussion, HANWA moved in November 2009 to the current site in Bentonville, Arkansas. A Gita Yagna on November 28, 2009 consecrated the new temple, located in a house on the site. This new location put the temple in a more accessible position for the community, and enabled HANWA to increase the number of events from five per year to twenty or more per year. Fall 2010 saw the addition of the venerable Priest, Swami Venugopala Gattu, to the HANWA team for weekend temple hours and special events. His presence and knowledge added depth to the religious celebrations. Additionally, for the first time, devotees were able to engage priest services for their personal poojas, either at home or at the temple, through HANWA. In 2011, after the selection of an architect, work began on the site plans and temple design for the permanent temple. In preparation for temple construction, murthis were brought from India and Prana Prathishtas (Eye-Opening for the murthis) were held in separate events from December 2010 through June 2012. On October 9 2011, HANWA celebrated the Bhoomi pooja (Groundbreaking Ceremony) for the new temple. Throughout construction, the temple continued to function, supporting the religious needs of the community. In preparation for a new, permanent temple, HANWA launched “Bring Mathura to Arkansas” a major fundraising effort prior. Additionally, the community celebrated Holi on the Bentonville Square as a means of introducing the broader community to Hindu culture. Now, from July 27-29, 2012, HANWA is very pleased to be celebrating the Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple, the culmination of many years of effort and the realization of a long-held dream.
Priests Performing the Grand Opening Poojas Name: Venugopalacharya Gattu (NWA Hindu Temple Priest) Parents: Venkatacharya and Rama devi Acharya (Guru): Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamiji. Education and Training: Sri Pancharatra Agama and Sri Ubhayavedanta Experience: Established and served as a Chief Priest (Sthanacharya) in Sri Vijayalakshmi Temple--Hyderabad,India; Worked as a Chief Priest in Mahalakshmi Temple
Name: Venkatacharyulu Samudrala Parents: Late Sri Ramanujacharyulu, Neela Devi Acharya: Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyarswamiji. Guru: Narasimhacharyulu. Samudrala Education: Pancharatra Agama Experience: Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, VA---5 Years
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~~~ Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple on 07/27/2012 To 07/29/2012 ~~~
Deities of our Temple
Ganesha also known as Ganapati or Vinayaka, is one of the Deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu religion. Before celebrating any occasion, the first God that will be worshipped is Lord Vinayaka, to remove all obstacles. He is the supreme commander of Shiva Ganas. Because of His grace, we can earn education as well as wealth.
Shiva is also called Bholenadh and Sankar. Shiva means "auspicious one" and He is a major Hindu Deity, and is the Destroyer or Transformer among the Trimurtis, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. He is regarded as the most powerful God in Hinduism. To protect the world, Lord Shiva consumed poison and preserved it in his neck due to which His neck looks blue. That is why he is called Neela Kanta.
Goddess Durga represents the power of the Supreme Being that preserves moral order and righteousness in the Creation. The Sanskrit word Durga means a fort or a place that is protected and thus difficult to reach. Durga, also called Divine Mother, protects mankind from evil and misery by destroying evil forces such as selfishness, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, and ego.
Lord Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, born in the Era of Dwapara. He is the embodiment of love and divine joy. He is born to destroy evil and establish Dharma. He preached Geetha to the world, the divine book Hindus read. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described by the Vedas, the most sacred scripture of Hinduism.
Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty. She is the consort of Lord Vishnu. Also called Lakshmi , she is said to bring good luck and is believed to protect her devotees from all kinds of misery and money-related sorrows. Laksmi personifies wealth, riches, beauty, love, grace, charm and splendor.
Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala. Lord Venkateshwara is the Deity of this temple, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Era of Kali. Vishnu himself came to help to protect people and save them in distress. Venkateshwara is also called Balaji, Srinivas etc. Tirumala is the richest temple in the world.
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~~~ Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple on 07/27/2012 To 07/29/2012 ~~~
Why do we need Temples? ~ Ramakantha Rao Chakalakonda This is a normal question in every mind. We have sensory organs - mouth, eyes, nose, ear and skin. The very nature of human perception is confined to the inputs given by these sensory organs and it seems to be the only truth , something experienced by these, and nothing else. Unfortunately sense organs can only perceive that which is physical and because your perception is limited to the five sense organs. Everything that you know in life is only the physicality. Your body, your mind, your emotion and your life energies are all physical. These sensory organs are like a shield, which cover your body, and you feel, what is experienced by these five. Now think that you put a hole to this shield and look at the outside world through that hole. What you call a temple - is like that small hole on the shield, creating a space where the physical becomes thin and something beyond becomes visible to you. The science of making “the physical less visualization is the science of consecration”. The temple is the place which gives a broader picture of the world, than what you can conceive through the senses. You need a microscope to see minute things; you need a telescope to see distant things. A temple is the device that provides minutest details of life as well as the distant details, of truth, which we cannot sense through our normal senses. It develops our mind to see these facts. When you enter a temple, you control your mind and thoughts. You concentrate your mind on God, away from the worldly things; control your behavior and actions. You feel guilty, if a bad thought enters your mind, when you are in temple. You put your mind on GOD, concentrate and worship GOD, even may be for a minute, but that is what matters. This answers the question why you need a temple. A temple is a place of congregation, where we can do worship in a group. Also certain prayers like “Yagna, Homa, Abhisheka, Tirunalla” can be performed in the right format, with all sanity in a temple, which may not be possible at individual homes. Also a large group can visualize all these activities. This brings a kind of belonging and unity. Apart from that, children can see events, may or may not understand, but feel what our culture is, what our religion is, what we are and what we should do and what we should not do, as they age. If you see in other religions, people concentrate on a Friday or a Sunday and perform group prayers, listen to sermons and take the benefits of temple. In Hindu religion, we do not have a fixed day or time for such gathering. We celebrate such thingson certain occasions or festivals. But we can plan to visit the temple along with family at least once in a week, for our own benefit and for our own children’s benefit. Every moment is auspicious when we contemplate on God and so is every Day to visit the Temple. – Jai Sriman Narayana
Volunteerism Every act done with the name of Lord becomes sanctified. You are volunteering for the Lord and what a great oppor- tunity to be one? ~ Jagga Muddasani Volunteers play an essential role in the maintenance of the temples, helping the community raising their spiritual bars, nurturing their minds, reaching the families in critical need etc. Temples need lot of help from the people who can volunteer to provide the services as a group or individual contributions that they can provide to uplift the community and humanity. There are many ways that you can serve inside the Temple or manage free services offered by the Hindu community outside the temple. Below are some of the Volunteer Opportunities
Food Preparation– Groups, families or individuals can volunteer to prepare food or Prashad as a one time event or on a scheduled basis. There is famous phrase called “Anna Dato Sukee Bhava” Gardening – Our Temple Garden and House Plants need special attention too! Volunteer to plant, weed, rake or water to make the Temple an attractive place for visitors as well as our community members. Cleaning – Cleaning the temple is part of our spiritual work at Hindu Temples. When we go to a temple, we find that it is our turn to clean and react adversely thinking, we do not want to be burdened by this task, considering it beneath our professional work or education or whatever. At other times we may clean the temple, but we fail to see any virtue in doing so. We convince ourselves that it is a necessary social service and simply condescend to clean it. However, even though we acknowledge that cleaning the temple may be necessary, we harbor resentment about it and proceed to do so only for the sake of social nicety. Please do not think this way and put yourself in the tight corner. In our culture we see often that there are many great people who approach temples cleaning with ‘inspiration, joy, dedication, and pure perception.’
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~~~ Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple on 07/27/2012 To 07/29/2012 ~~~
Mother-Child's First Teacher ~ Sharmila Sanka
The journey of a child kicks off in the womb of the Mother with her thoughts. Hence, Mother is the first Teacher of a child. Every thought of the mother gets imprinted in the child’s heart. Imagine what great responsibility it is to play the role of a mother? Child enters this world with the invisible garland of Karmas around its neck. It is the mother’s responsibility to teach the child the basic values of Humanity; to emphasize the significance of human birth; to teach them to respect elders and love youngsters; to love God selflessly; to pray for the World Peace; never to speak untruth which affects the lives of others; to tread on the right path; never to fight in the name of Religion, Caste, Movies or God. Mother is the first and foremost being a child imitates knowingly or unknowingly. It is Mother’s inbound responsibility to lead an exemplary life at least for the sake of her children. Living a human life, we are all brought up in a way so as to believe in the existence of the Lord. As a first teacher of the child, a Mother has to first live this principle of loving God. Love God with all your heart; depend on Him and no one else; trust Him, speak to God, sing His glory with Love, sob only for Him. Be one with Him and realize and teach the children that the ultimate purpose of human life is to realize one’s own self, to fulfill life’s purpose and thus merge with the Lord. Sometimes we mistake children to be very young, thus underestimating their power and capability but they are more understanding than we can comprehend. Bhakti or love for God has to come at a tender age and no child is too small to be taught. Let them see you feel God and lo you have paved way for their future and for all their lives to come. This is the greatest gift any Mother can ever give her child. Teach children to nurture the nature; respect it and feel the earth under their feet; be thankful to the Earth for bearing our weight of sins and merits; thank the Water for quenching our thirst; chit chat with the nature while strolling peacefully; pray to the Lord before eating so that they are grateful for the daily bread; think of the children in need of parents, food, money and shelter. Let our children not be drowned in the pool of money; teach them money is not everything and it is just a form of Energy. Tell them how grateful they ought to be to God for granting them all they need which they acquired due to their merits; teach them the value of Parents and how much the children mean to parents. Teach them to do service to the community with a selfless motto. Education is important for every child to become an asset to the World. Education is not for mere living but for Life; teach them the real art of living a meaningful life. Children need not be Leaders of a bunch of minds but leader of their own lives. Once they control their thoughts, words and deeds, only then can they lead others. Check every moment if we are helping them tread on the right path or not? Share your experiences and converse with them not missing even a single opportunity. Teach them their thoughts are powerful and they can create their own future for the good of all by meditating on their thought process. It takes endless nights, innumerable hours, immense care, incessant Love and a strong mental ability and valor for a Mother to teach the invaluable things in the world. Every time, a mother moulds a child into a thoughtful soul, it multiplies into thousands of children of value and culture who could rule the world of Wisdom, Love, Truthfulness and Righteousness.
-“A great Future of the World rests in the Hands of a noble Mother.” ~ Sharmila Sanka
6 Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple Donors
Raja Singhasana Vittadana $15,001 Donors Shree Ganesha Deity $2,501 Donors Cont... Shree Lakshmi Deity $2,501 Donors Cont.. 9 Kal Raman & Family Bala Sivalingam, Sharmeelee, Sarvesh and Nageswara Rao Nakka, Hymavathi, Teja and Akilesh Bala Nikhita Shree Krishna Deity $10,001 Donors Tripati Reddy,Sucharitha,Sahithi,Sannihith Chandrasekhar Asthigiri,Bhagyalakshmi, Induja,Lakshana Soumya Das, Swapnila (Lisa), Saswat, Swagat Kotaiah Naidu, Suneela, Rohan Mortha Deepak K Parashar Arun, Srividya, Matangi,Anirudh Narender Rao Gorukanti and family Ramakrishna Gorti,Madhavi,Aditya,Arvind Madhu Enuganti, Radhika and Ridhi Swaroop Mukka, Sri Padma Shree Venkateshwara Deity $5,001 Donors Satish Ramani, Akilandeswari Venkataraman, Shreya, Aditya Kumaresh, Karthiga, Vedish & Ruthvika Sridhar Vuppala,Indira,Priyanka,Rohan Umashankar Balaraman, Sudha Umas, Hrudhai Thimma Santhakumari Jayave- Umas Satya Chelluboina, Durgabhavani,Jyothsna, lu,Arumugam,Geetha,Aurthi and Abhishek Dr. Subra Bhat,Vandana,Prarthana,Siddhi Charishma V.S., Kusum and Nirupama Raghavan Shilpa Sadashiviah, Veerendra Basappa Sivaramakrishnan Shan, Geetha Sundararajan & Hrithik Radhika, Sneha, Srikar and Ramesh Chikkala Shivendra Bajpayee,Arunima,Swati,Neeraj Dr Raj Kilambi and Jaya Kilambi Sampath Kumar,Dr. Geetha Ramaswamy Venkata Ramana Murthy and Jyothi Bagadi Navin Chander,Harini Jayachandran Rithvik, Rachna, Madhavi and Srinivas Talluri Shree Shiva Deity $5,001 Donors Venkata SeshaSai Shree Durga Deity $2,501 Donors Dr. Subra Bhat,Vandana,Prarthana and Siddhi Anaparti,Suneetha,Santosh,Sanjana Dr Shivram Rao, Jyothi, Pallavi & Prajval Sai Prasad Sanka, Sharmila, Roopali, Roohi Ajaydev Nallur & Subha Dr Madhu Kalyan and family Avani, Akshith, Madhavi,Naresh Sunkireddy Jeetendra Bhandari,Bharti,Urvi, Sonal Navagnana Hettiarachchy Anoop, Vidya V Prasanna Sudhir Katke and Family Dhruv, Manisha and Ram Jha Shivanand,Poornima Majagi Pramod Sudhakar,Shani Nambiar Karthik, sowmya, Geetha ,Sivakumar Risheel, Praneel, Suchitra,Bapuji Vakkalagadda Rahul, Shefali, Eshaan, Henna Jalali Radhika, Sneha, Srikar and Ramesh Chikkala Sandesh, Shilpa, Aryan,Sohan Prabhudesai Paleri and Family Krishnakumari Ravipati Shilpa Sadashiviah, Veerendra Basappa Temple Doors $5,001 Donors Madhu Mallu , Roopa Mallu & Medha Mallu Venu Puthalath,Priya Nair,Sanjana Nirupama Raghavan Sohan, Sindhuja, Manga & Murali Kudapa Venugopal,Nikita Venugopal Dhruv, Manisha and Ram Jha Sreenivas & Srilakshmi Sunkara,Varun & Vibhav Sunkara Temple Hall $5,001 Donors Jineshwar Devasenan & Jayanthi Devakumar Raghunath K Seeram,Sunitha,Manoj,Mounica Dhanasekar & Muthukala, Shiva and Surya Venkata SubbaReddy Bagepalli,Vaidehi, Kirti,Anish Ramesh K Tangellamudi & Purnima Sridhar Narayan & Meera Narayan Shravan & Lakshmi Rani Mr & Mrs Ajay &Shalu Gogia,Sri GopalKrishan Rathnaa Dipika, Maanoj Deepakk, Pankajam Kotha,Sheetal,Kavitha,Craig,Tejas & Smt Indu Gogia Ramachandran B Trehan,Late Urmila Thilak Sriram & Parimala Thilak Trehan,Manjula,Kuldeep,Arun,Vasu Chawla Gautham Paruchuri, Praveena, Rachana, Neil Grand Opening Event Sponsor $5,001 Donors Prema, Arvinthan Nadar & Family Umashankar Balaraman, Sudha Umas, Sivalingam and Madanagopal Family Ajay & Sushama Bhargava Hrudhai Umas Nirupama Raghavan Rahul Jalali Shree Lakshmi Deity $2,501 Donors Temple Doors $2,501 Donors
BK Vasan,Priya,Vishal and Pranav Chandra Movva and Family Temple Hall $3,850 Donors Kuntal and Deval Thaker NWA Tamils Mana Govind, Vani Dharma, Padma and Meena Temple Hall $2,501 Donors Narayan Rath, Sipra Dick Weaver and Ginger Turley Shree Ganesha Deity $2,501 Donors Sanjiva Srivastava, Sanjeeta, Sanket, Shivali Kitchen $2,501 Donors Maitri, Bela, Ketan Pandya Vijay Anand,Jayalakshmi Vijay,Swetha Vijay & Ravikanth Krovvidi,Padma, Apoorva, Abhinav Suraj Vijay Arthi,Arjun Ravikumar Kandasamy, Lalitha & Pratheepa Ajay, Pooja, Simran and Ria Joshi Maitri, Bela, Ketan Pandya Shivaprasad Kulkarni, Nirmala Kulkarni, Anish, Mahesh Pradhan and Family Anagha Bala Sivalingam, Sharmeelee, Sarvesh and Office $2,501 Donors Subbaraidu Moppuru and family Akilesh Bala Nagarajan & Rajlakshmi Lutishoor and Dwight Salisbury and family Arul Kumaran R, Maruthachelvi K & Arima Sanjiva Srivastava, Sanjeeta, Sanket, Shivali Narender Rao Gorukanti and family Manivendan A KhadarReddy Boyapalli,Dakshayani Venkat R Kodakandla, Madhavi, Prerana,Pranavi Biyapalli,Prudhvi & Sanjana Sampath Kumar,Dr. Geetha Ramaswamy Streets and Parking $2,501 Donors Mahesh Pradhan and Family Sandesh Ramnathkar and Family Murthy N Kolluru, Padmaja, Varsha,Soumya Kruti, Varun, Sheela, Manish Shah Venkata P Boggavarapu Sampath Kumar,Dr. Geetha Ramaswamy Sumathi Sridhar,Sridhar Iyer and family Om Narla,Sai Shilpa,Lakshmi Samhita Ramakrishna Suryadevara, Rama, Anand Sankaran & Nandhini Varadaraj Bashyam Ramasami Tejaswitha,Apoorva
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~~~ Grand Opening of the Northwest Arkansas Hindu Temple on 07/27/2012 To 07/29/2012
Thank You
This event book would not be complete with the two powerful words ‘Thank you.’ Several Boards changed; several people worked diligently; several brains came up with brainstorming ideas; several volunteers came forward with helping hands; several people donated their hard earned money for a noble cause; several devotees yearned for the Lord’s abode; several festivals have been celebrated with unity and a sense of belongingness; several devotees’ devotion, sentiment, emotions, perseverance and vibration of uttering God’s name took the form of auspiciousness which has now formed as Temple and above all, a great incident happened behind the scenes and it is nothing but Lord’s grace and love for humanity. Thanks to in-kind business sponsors like Indian Restaurants like Chutnys, Taj Indian Cuisine and India Orchard who have been a great support to HANWA Community by selflessly providing food at no charge for the Grand Opening of our Temple.
Days Inn & Suites Bentonville
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OF INNAUGRATION OF FIRST EVER TEMPLE OF NWA
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CONGRATULATIONS ON A NEW MANDIR !
Please contribute generously and help us have a strong financial foundation for our temple. Easy Payment Options are available to make a contribution to Project Mathura: Cash Check (To- HANWA) Credit/Debit cards Pay Pal on our web site (http://nwahindutemple.org/) Signup for Dollar A Day program HANWA is a NON PROFIT (501C-3) organization and donations to HANWA have Tax Benefits. If you have any questions please send an email to [email protected].