327, Cays Rd, Stroudsburg, PA 18360, USA. (570) 629-7881, 1-800-45 HINDU, www.svbf.org Brahman is that basic principle of reality responsible for the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the universe. - New Year’s Day January 01, 2015 With Devi Sharadamba adorned as shown below , the year 2015 was welcomed with grandeur at SVBF. Approximately 600 devotees participated in this event. January 3, 2015 Letter sent out by SVBF board of trustees to devotees Sampoorna Gita Parayanam The regular monthly full Srimad Bhagavadgita chanting took place on January 3rd, 2015. On the first Saturday of every month, Srimad Bhaga- vadgita recitation occurs. All devotees are welcome to attend and participate in this event. 1 Daylight and darkness dusk and dawn, winter and springtime come and go. Time plays and life ebbs away. But the current of desire never leaves. - Makara Sankaramanam,Uttarayana Punyakalam January 14, 2015 Jan 13 2015 - Bhogi, Jan 14 2015 - Pongal, Jan 15 2015 - Mattu Pongal An auspicious Hindu festival, Makara The significance being that sweetness saurabheyaḥ sarvahitāḥ Sankaranti is celebrated throughout India should prevail in all exchanges. A similar sarvapāpapraṇāśinaḥ । in myriad cultural forms, marked with exchange is made in Andhra Pradesh; gaiety, devotion, and prayer. Signifying however, the harvest festivity is extended pratigṛhṇantu me grāsaṃ the onset of the sun’s northern journey, it over four days, namely Bhogi, Sankranti, gāvaḥ trailokya mātaraḥ ॥ also marks the start of auspicious Kanuma, and Mukkanuma. Uttarayana. The sun moves from Makara Rasi (Capricorn) to Karkataka Rasi In Tamilnadu, this time is very special as (Cancer) on this day. they celebrate the Pongal festival. The first day is celebrated as Bhogi in honor of Lord सौरभेयः सर्वहिताः As per the Vedas, Uttarayana is a holy Indra, the celestial king and ruler of the सर्वपापप्रणाशिनः । period when our departed elders return to clouds that enable us to enjoy a rich harvest earth to bless their kith and kin, and return with plenty of rain. प्रतिगृह्णन्तु मे ग्रासं to Punya Loka at the beginning of Dakshinayana (July 16th). This is an On Pongal day, devotees perform the puja गावः त्रैलोक्य मातरः ॥ auspicious period to undertake meritorious at home. They boil rice and milk in a pot deeds like Annadanam, Vastradanam as to the point of overflow, and then well as samskaras such as Upanayana etc. symbolically offer this preparation to the It is also the start of the Hindu wedding sun-god along with other oblations. All season. people wear traditional dress and nice clothes. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar (West Bengal) and The following day is known as Mattu throughout the Indo-Gangetic plain. In Pongal, a special day for the cows. They Prayag (Allahabad), the famous Magha are decorated with beads and tinkling bells, Mela commences on this day by the banks as well as worshipped and fed Pongal. of the Triveni Sangam. In Punjab, this Finally, Kanu is celebrated. The ladies festival is celebrated as Lohri, a bonfire wash a banana leaf and place it on the festival marked with singing folk songs and ground. The leftover sweet Pongal and feasting. In Maharashtra, a mixture of other rice items are served on the leaf with sesame seeds with jaggery is exchanged betel leaves and nuts for cows. with the intention of speaking pleasing words and maintaining lasting friendship. The women perform this ritual before their In Gujarat, colorful kites adorn the sky; and bath, and ask for blessings for their families in Karnataka, people exchange pieces of as well as longevity for their brothers. sugarcane as well as a mixture of roasted Arati is performed for the brothers, and the sesame, jaggery pieces, dry coconut pieces, water is sprinkled on the Rangoli adorning peanuts, and fried gram. the house entrance. Please go and see the cow (Lakshmi) and the calf (Sharada) at the SVBF temple Goshala. Enquire at temple front desk for the Goshala timings. 2 Jagadguru announces Shishya Sweekara Brahmachari Sri Kuppa Venkateshwara Prasada Sharma Vedanta philosophy. The Jagadguru has consecrated many new temples and renovated dilapidated ones. The Jagadguru has fostered Vedic learning by establishing traditional Pathashalas. With Amidst His various duties as a Peethadhipati, the Jagadguru has upheld His Sannyasa Dharma like His illustrious predecessors. On January 4, 2015, devotees assembled January 6, 2015 in large numbers in Sringeri to celebrate the silver jubilee of the Jagadguru’s Jagadguru Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha the Peetharohanam. During this historic event, the Jagadguru announced His The commemorating occasion of Mahaswamiji, the 36th Jagadguru decision, as divinely ordained by the silver jubilee celebrations of Shankaracharya of the unbroken Peetharohana of Jagadguru Shan- lineage of Dakshinamnaya Sri Goddess Sharadamba, to accept karacharya Sri Sri Bharathi Theer- Sharada Peetham Sringeri, has Brahmachari Sri Kuppa Venkateshwara tha Mahaswamiji was conducted announced His divinely ordained Prasada Sharma as His successor- at SVBF, Stroudsburg, PA on decision to nominate designate. January 10th, 2015. The program started with Athavaseersha prokta as His successor- The Shishya Sweekara ceremony will take Mahaganapati Homam (with 108 designate. place on the 22nd and 23rd of January modakas) followed by paduka puja 2015 at Sringeri. The Jagadguru will and abhishekam to His Holiness’s In a public function organised in initiate the Brahmachari into Sannyasa on padukas, and concluded with a Sringeri on January 4, 2015, the 23rd January 2015. ceremonial procession. Jagadguru expressed that with the divine will of Goddess Sharada, He Shanthi mantras were chanted and would initiate Brahmachari the 15th chapter of Bhagavadgita Venkateshwara Prasad Sharma into was recited by children and youth. Sannyasa on Jan 23, 2015, to SVBF Chairman Dharmatma Sri. S.Yegnasubramanian shared his continue the Guru Parampara of the experience of his Sringeri visit to 1200 year old unbroken lineage that participate in the silver jubilee stretches directly back to Sri Adi celebrations that took place in Shankaracharya. Sringeri on January 3rd & 4th of 2015. He specifically elaborated Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri on how His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji, the Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswa- presiding Acharya of the Peetham miji made the Shishya Sweekara and the thirty-sixth in the Guru announcement on January 4th, Parampara, is a scholar nonpareil. 2015. As always, the program Since becoming the Peethadhipati concluded with mahamangala arti in 1989, the Jagadguru has and mahaprasadam. propagated and spread the tenets of Sanatana Dharma and the 3 Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sringeri Anoints His Successor Preserving the Oldest Unbroken Heritage of Sanatana Dharma Just as in this body, the embodied one passes through boyhood, youth old age, so does one pass into another body. With reference to this (birth, aging and death), the wise man is not disturbed. - Today, on January 23, 2015, continuing .living. Hamsaladeevi is a holy place in Andhra of the nation’s foremost Shastric Pandits, the this unbroken Guru-Shisya lineage that Pradesh where the Krishna river meets the ocean. attendees were taken by surprise at the young stretches directly back to Sri Adi Shan- There, on the banks of the river, is a beautiful man’s scholarship.Under the guidance of the karacharya, the 36th Jagadguru Shanka- temple dedicated to Venugopala Swamy. For the Jagadguru, Sri Prasada Sharma also studied racharya of Sringeri Sharada Peetham, last 95 years, without a break, his family has Mimamsa Shastra. He regularly attended the Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji conducted an annual Bhagavata Saptaha at this nightly Chandramoulishwara Puja performed by anointed His successor. In a traditional temple. Sri Prasada Sharma attended this sacred the Jagadguru. During this Puja, he also chanted ceremony, the Jagadguru initiated Brah- event from an early age. He also accompanied his the entire Krishna Yajur Veda Moola and the entire machari Sri Kuppa Venkateshwara father on pilgrimages to holy places such as Yajur Veda Krama. Sri Prasada Sharma always had Prasada Sharma into Sannyasa and Ayodhya,Haridwar,Hrishikesh, Kashi, Kalady, a pleasing and helpful demeanor. Stories about his bestowed upon him the Yoga Patta Madurai, Mathura, Pashupathinath (in Nepal), intelligence and learning capabilities spread (monastic name) of Sri Sri Vidhushek- Rameswaram and Ujjain. quickly. Soon, other students started seeking his hara Bharati. help. While pursuing his own learning, he also Education in Sringeri began teaching the Vedas,Sanskrit literature and Tarka Shastra to other students. He subsequently Pre-monastic life of the Successor Starting in 2006, when he was 13 years old, Sri began his studies in Vedanta under the Jagadguru. -Designate Sri Sri Vidhushekhara Prasada Sharma began to accompany his father and Bharati grandfather who were participating in the Dharmic Sri Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Swamiji events at Sringeri Sharada Peetham. During his Through these five and half years of intense study was born as Sri Kuppa Venkateshwara first visit, the Darshan of the present Jagadguru, (2009-15) under the direct tutelage of the Prasada Sharma on the auspicious Naga Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji had a profound Jagadguru, Sri Prasada Sharma became steeped in Panchami day - July 24, 1993 in Tirupati, impact on him. He visited Sringeri again in 2008, the Vedic tradition and blossomed in many ways Andhra Pradesh. Born as the second son and during his subsequent visit in early 2009, he as a student, scholar, teacher and devotee. The of Sri Kuppa Shivasubrahmanya expressed to the Jagadguru his desire to study Jagadguru was pleased by his Guru Bhakti, Avadhani and Smt.Seetha Nagalakshmi, Shastras under Him. Touched by the young boy’s devotion to God, deep immersion in his studies, He belonged to the Kaundinya Gotra and sincerity and impressed with his intelligence, the scholarship and respect towards elders.