WINTER 2012 Bhakti patra First Hindu Temple in White Plains coming soon! A group of dedicated and determined Hindu citizens of our community have come together with a vision and a dream of building a unifying monument to our traditions – right here in the heart of Westchester! This dream Hindu Temple of Tristates has grown to reality and has culminated in the purchase of a Bhoomi Pooja pristine parcel of land to construct Westchester dignitaries applaud and welcome the Hindu Temple of Tristates. The property, located at our temple in Westchester! rd 390 North Street in White Plains is Saturday, October 23 was a very momentous day for all Hindus 1.75 acres of flat landscaped land in Westchester! The Trustees of the Hindu Temple of Tristates that is already zoned for religious along with more than 70 dedicated volunteers organized the buildings. Bhoomi Pooja for land, which will be the home of our Temple. The occasion was graced by more than 500 people! Dignitaries that included Hon. Mayor Amicone of Yonkers, County Executive Robert Astorino, Hon. Mayor Tom M. Roach of White Plains, Mayor Joseph Delfino, and many others attended the Pooja and applauded and welcomed the addition of this monument in the heart of Westchester. Mayor Amicone and County Exec. Robert Astorino also presented the Trustees with Proclamations commemorating the occasion! Visit our Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hindu-Temple-of- Tristates/207947092572092 to view the proclamations and photographs from this day. WINTER 2012 BHAKTIBhakti PATRApatra WINTER 2012 LEAVE A LEGACY FOR YOUR LOVED ONES! Please complete the above form along with a check made out to “Hindu Temple of Tristates” and mail to 77 Knollwood Rd., White Plains, NY 10607. 2 BHAKTI PATRA WINTER 2012 MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 2012 HINDU FESTIVALS send us your email or “LIKE” us on facebook to receive timely notification of many of these celebrations! January 14 Saturday Makar Sakranti January 28 Monday Vasant Panchami February - 20 Monday Maha Shivratri March - 08 Thursday Holi March 23 Friday To April 1 Sunday Ramayana Week April 1 Sunday Rama Navami - Swaminarayan Jayanti April - 05 Thursday Mahavir Jayanthi April 6 Friday Hanuman Jayanti May - 06 Sunday Buddha Purnima August 2 Thursday Raksha Bandhan August - 10 Friday Krishna Janmastami September 3 Sunday To October 15 Monday Pitr- paksha September 16 Sunday Adhik Maas Gujarat Last day September - 19 Wednesday Ganesh Chaturthi October - 02 Tuesday Mahatma Gandhi Jayanthi October 16 Tuesday To October 23 Tuesday Navaratri October 21 Sunday Saraswati Puja (Forms part of Navaratri) October 24 Wednesday Dussera October - 24 Wednesday Vijaya Dashami November - 13 Tuesday Diwali November - 28 Wednesday Guru Nanak Jayanthi BHAKTI PATRA is a newsletter of the Hindu Temple of Tristates, with current business office located at 35 Crane Rd., Scarsdale, NY 10583. Phone : 914-289-1988. Hindu Temple of Tristates is registered 501 (c)3 non- profit organization governed by a Board of Trustees and Managing Committee. IRS Tax exempt # 26-4265251. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. For donation tax related questions, please contact Temple Tax Consultant Bharti Gupta at [email protected]. Send comments or suggestions to [email protected] Thank you for your support 3 BHAKTI PATRA WINTER 2012 Mata Ki Chowki Pooja Janmashtami Celebration Volunteer Appreciation Dinner A MESSAGE FROM THE TRUSTEES A suitable venue for Hindu worship and propagation of our religious and traditional way of life has been a long standing desire for Hindus of Westchester County, Southern Connecticut and eastern New Jersey. Even with the growing prosperity of this Tristate Hindu community, we had been unsuccessful in establishing a temple where we could find sublime, tranquil and peaceful place of commune with our deities. Moreover, as our community of first generation ages, the need for a place where services and resources that meet our traditional needs is imperative to a harmonious old age. We also must think of the next generations and need a central venue that facilitates the transfer of our heritage and values for safekeeping. In an attempt to fill this area of emptiness, the trustees of HTTS had undertaken a mission to realize the dream of Hindus to establish a Hindu Temple in Westchester County, New York. We had been in search of a location that would be centrally located with easy access to highways and major roadways and with surroundings that afford quiet and respectful commune with our deities. A culturally sensitive day care center, senior citizen program, library, conference facility, cultural center are all plans that surround the Temple. This dream has finally come close to becoming a reality with the purchase of a 1.75 acre beautiful parcel of land at 390 North Street in White Plains! This was possible only with the enthusiastic support of many devotees. We need to keep this momentum going and finish the work that has started. Construction of this temple requires raising at least $1.5 - $2 Million. We ask for your help. If every Hindu family in Westchester donates just $500 (that’s less than $1.50 a day!!!), we can raise enough money to provide our community with a way to preserve our traditions for generations. PLEASE DONATE TODAY! Sincerely Trustees Hindu Temple of Tristates VRAJ Temple Tour sponsored by Anju Joshi – more than 100 people enjoyed the day! 4 BhaktiBHAKTI patra PATRA WINTERWINTER 2012 2012 GAYATRI MANTRA & Its Scientific Meaning Article reprinted from: P V Satyanarayana's Blog http://pvsatyanarayana.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/gayatri-mantra-its-scientific-meaning/ Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas. Om bhur bhuvah swah Tat savitur varenyam Bhargo devasya dheemahi Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat The literal meaning of the mantra is: O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty, You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction. And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step: (A). OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH: Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast- moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said , "Omiti ekaksharam brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om , which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada- brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (prana). (B). TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM: Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person. Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under: 5 BhaktiBHAKTI patra PATRA WINTERWINTER 2012 2012 Contd. from Pg.5 (C). BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI: Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under: (D). DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT: Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om , (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect (varenyam).