7HPSOH+RXUV :HHNGD\V WRQRRQ HCS FOCUS 6DWXUGD\ WRQRRQ QG6DWXUGD\ 9ROXPH,VVXH 1)UHQFK5RDG*HW]YLOOH1< WRSP $XJXVW6HSWHPEHU Mailing Address: P.O. Box 837 • Getzville, NY 14068 6XQGD\ WRSP Phone: (716) 688-2460 :HEVLWHZZZKFVZQ\QHW $OO(YHQLQJV WRSP “HAPPINESS IS NOT BASED ON POSSESSIONS, POWER OR PRESTIGE, BUT ON RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE YOU LOVE AND RESPECT.” Committee([HFXWLYH&RPPLWWHH Members : 2018 Krishan Janamashami Ganesh Chaturthi PRESIDENT:3RVLWLRQ DR. KISHORE1DPH 3KRQH1R DIVAN 3UHVLGHQW 716-689-2362.DLODVK/DOO VICE-PRESIDENT: DR. BINDUKUMAR NAIR 9LFH3UHVLGHQW716 400-4599.LVKRUH'LYDQ TREASURER: MR. RAJEN MEHTA 5HOLJLRXV6HF\1HHODP&KDWUDWK 716-823-7625 GEN,7UHDVXUHU SECRETARY: DR. VIJAYARAGHAVAN9LQRG&KDKDO CHAKRAVARTY 716-208-4420 RELIGIOUS*HQHUDO AFFAIRS: MRS.5DM%DQVDO NEELAM CHATRATH 6HFUHWDU\ 6HFUHWDU\RI 716 689-73816LEX1DLU YOUTH<RXWK6SRUWV & SPORTS: MRS. SHAILAJA KOKIL 716-298-4203 EDUCATION&HQWHUIDFLOLW\ & CULTURAL: 3UDYLQ3DWHO MRS. MEENA VIVEK Sunday September 02, 2018 Wednesday September 12, 2018 Mool Murty Abhishek 7:30 PM 716-308-8418 Ganesh Chaturthi )DFLOLW\UHQWDO %LQGX.XPDU1DLU Kirtan followed by Aarti 8:15 PM Ganesh Abhishek 10:00 to 11:00 AM CENTER FACILITIES: MR. PRAVIN PATEL Abhishek for Laddu Gopal 11:30 PM Sidhi Vinayak pooja 6:45 to 8:30 PM %OGJ 585 356$QDQG3DWHO 4353 Aarti/Jhoola(Laddu Gopal) 12:00 midnight BUILDING3ODQQLQJ & PLANNING: '5. KAILASH LALL Sunday September 23, 2018 Balaji & Vedanta Desika Ganpati Havan 8:00 to 9:30 AM 716 440 0707 Ganesh Visarjan after Sunday Kirtan FACILITIES RENTAL: MR. SHYAM KUMAR Jayanti 716-636-5567 Samvatsari Parva and Daslakshan 0HPEHUVKLSDVRI-XQH +&60HPEHUVKLS8SGDWH DVRI-XO\ 7\SHRI &RXQW 0HPEHUVKLS 3DWURQ3DWURQIRU/LIH /LIH3DWURQ3DWURQ 3DWURQ/LIH%RRVWHU /LIH%RRVWHU%RRVWHU %RRVWHU4 /LIH /LIH )DPLO\ )DPLO\ 6LQJOH 6HQLRU Friday September 21, 2018 6LQJOH6WXGHQW (celebration on Saturday, October 6) Samvatsari, Friday Sep 14, 2018 6WXGHQW2UJDQL]DWLRQ Sudarshana Homam: 8:00 am Paryushan, Sep 07 to Sep 14, 2018 2UJDQL]DWLRQ6HQLRU4 Balaji Abhishek with Poolangi Seva 9:00 to 11:30 AM Daslakshan, Sep 14 to 23, 2018 727$/7RWDO Program timings TBA ,QFRUSRUDWHGXQGHU6HFWLRQRIWKH1RWIRUSURILW&RUSRUDWLRQ/DZRIWKH6WDWHRI1HZ<RUN Hindu Cultural Society Financial Statement First Half 2018 Expenditures NORMAL OPERATIONS Bank Charges $387 Dues and Subscription $875 Revenue Cleaning Services Expenses $6,203 Membership Dues $51,358 Building Insurance Expense $3,536 Other Income Health Insurance Expense $3,029 Devalayam Day Collection $4,971 Mata Chowki Expense $1,902 Donation for Flowers $2,362 Devalyam Day Expenses $4,378 Facility Rental Charges $5,269 Payroll Expenses (Priest Salaries) $21,286 General Donations $2,318 Priest apartment rent $5,096 Gift Sales $181 Building Repair & Maintenance $20,090 Hundi Cash Collections $13,653 Stationery & Printing $578 Mata Chowki Collection $4,129 Flowers Expense $3,623 Donations for Preetibhooj $2,352 Preetibhoj (food + preparation) $2,512 Priest Service Charges $13,731 Paper Product Supplies Expense $872 Religious Activity Fees $2,440 Misc. Expenses $1,246 Donation for Calendar $1,700 Printing of Calendar and Focus $965 Interest earned $1,022 Payroll Taxes $2,490 Total Revenue $105,486 Property Taxes $3,390 Utilities $12,968 Total Expenditures $95,426 SPECIALPROJECTS Priest Quarter Project Expenses $12,872 Dishwasher Donations $7,383 Settlement of Insurance Claim $2,503 * Incorporated under Section 405 of the Not-for-profit Corporation Law of the State of New York HCS Education and Cultural Corner: Lord Krishna’s DWARKA: where Mythology meets Reality: DWARKA means ‘gateway to Heaven’. Mahabharata says that Dwarka had royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and decorated with emeralds. The city was connected by an elaborate system of boulevards, roads, market places, assembly houses and temples. These legends have been etched into the Indian minds for so long that their authenticity is not questioned. Luckily, due to the grace of the marine archaeological department of India, the childhood stories have come to be a reality to a great extent. Marine archaeological explorations have thrown light on a number of structures of different shapes, stone anchors and other artefacts. The exploration has found sandstone walls, a grid of streets and remains of a sea port, some 70 feet beneath the sea. The evidence points to the fact of the existence of a city some 9,000 years ago. According to them this was one of the most important and busy ports during Puranic and historical periods. The detailed exploration and excavation of this sunken city was started in 1988 with certain goals and results in mind: The explorations were extended up to the Temple of Samudra Narayan (Sea God), which is at the confluence of the Gomti River with the sea, in order to trace the extent of the port city and the purpose behind the massive stone walls built on the banks of the ancient Gomati River. Whether the architectural features were in conformity to the ones described in Mahabharat. 1. Pillars of the ancient city of Dwarka 2. Digitized image of the sunken city of Dwarka Ganesh Chaturthi and the Significance of Ganesh Visarjan: Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the fourth day after the new moon in the month of Bhadrapada. It is celebrated for 11 days, with the biggest spectacle taking place on the last day. People bring home clay Ganapatis (beautifully crafted by artisans) and set up on their altar. It is believed during these 10 days of puja, the deity is invoked as the harbinger of good luck, success and prosperity. Devotees bring Lord Ganesh home so that he can bless them and celebrate his homecoming with much grandeur. On the 11th day, called Anant Chaturdashi day, or Ganesh Visarjan day, Ganapati is taken in a procession (with pomp and splendor) for immersion in a body of water (river, lake or ocean). Lord Ganapati is believed to leave for Mount Kailasha along with all the misfortunes of his devotees and shower blessings on them. The devotees then are able to channel their devotion and prayer before the deity returns back. This practice also serves as a subtle reminder to the devotee about the transitory nature of life and how our physical form is returned to the elements after death. Ganapati bapa Moriya, Mangal murthi Moriya ………… * Incorporated under Section 405 of the Not-for-profit Corporation Law of the State of New York FivePillarsforSuccessfortheHinduCulturalSocietyͲHCSTrustCommittee2018 1. APillarthatincludesallcommunitymembersincluding2ndgenerationmembers,Youngerfamilies,SeniorCitizens andstudentsthatCreatesacultureof“Us”,PromotingUnityinDiversitybyCelebratingallmajoreventsatHCSwith HCSactivelypromotingitinallgroups. CommunityopportunitiesͲHinduSummerCamp,SummerFestival/Bazaar,MeditationHall,Academicrectory, Walkathon,FarmersMarket,TempleRestaurant,HinduYagnashala/Wedding/BanquetHall,Picnic Shelter,Yoga,MeditationRetreats,AkhandKirtanRetreats,InvitingdignitariesoftheHindufaithfromallgroups ,TempleServices/GiftShop,,VedicHomes,Gurukul/AshramProgram/GuestHouses/Dorms EngagingchildrenandYoungadultswithanenergeticEnglishspeakingPriestwellversedinaspectsofBhakti,Jnana andKarmapaths,Gardenofgratitude,Art,Music,Languageclasses,Children’shealthsafetyday,Hiking, Volleyball/BocceBallonlocation.InvolvingchildrenandYoungadultsincommunityorientedserviceactivities providingmealstothehomelessandthedestitute,computerandEnglishliteracyskillstoimmigrantfamilies,clothing andfooddrivesetc FurtherBeautifyingthetemplewithakeeneyeonIndianaestheticsincludingouterbrickwall/stonewallwith authenticIndianartscarvingsandamainfocusondailycleanliness WelcomeWagontogreetnewcomersintheCommunityandarevampedWebsite. 2. AsecondPillarwhereManagementisdrivenonthebasisofaccountability,clarityincommunicationand transparency PersonalAccountabilityamongstExecutiveandTrustCommitteemembersintheirrolesandresponsibilities asstipulatedintheconstitution TransparencyviaasecuredatabasewithfullaccesstoEC/TCmembersforfactͲbaseddecisionmaking. Clearcommunicationchannels(inthetemple,website,Focus,emailsandfacebook/Socialmedia)and assignedmembersthatleadeverytouchpointanddeliverapreparedmessage. CalendarizationofallEC&TCmeetings(andjointmeetings)forreadoutsandprogressupdates AccountabilityMetricsforExecutiveteamandtheTrustTeam 3.AthirdPillarCreatingengagementwiththeWNYcommunity&Drivinganorganizationalmindsetsynergisticwith HinduIdeals HCSshallbeviewedasaLeaderwithallmajororganizations.Mindfulnessinresourceusage(power,ͲSolar Panels,sustainabilityefforts)withGuidedTours/AudioTours Supportthemembersthathaveadireneedforwhichpredeterminedcriterionsarealreadyagreedupon WithaCommunityKitchen 4.ThefourthpillarBudgetingforlongtermassetgrowthversuscurrentyearcost/expensemanagementideologyalone Efforts/Revenuedrivenbythebroaderbaseofsustainablesupportersratherthanfewgenerousdonorsonly IdentifyingkeyprojectsthatenergizesthecommunityaboutthelongtermprospectsofHCSanditsgrowth Targetingagrowthof10%insavingsaccounteveryyeartobeusedonlyfor“unexpected”causes. AnnualreservesforCapitalexpenditures,Treasurerpresentingannualbudgetnolaterthanweek6ofthe calendaryear,AnnualInventorycount,AssetsinPossessionͲfromallassetclassespublishedintheFocus Newsletter,Operatingthecurrentcamerasystemsefficiently,Websiteactivationforallfinancial transactionspossible,Fundraisingandmembershipdrive 5.Thefifthpillar–theTrustCommitteeandtheExecutiveCommitteeliketheleftandrighteyesbeingdistinctbut seeingaUnifiedVisionthattheHinduCulturalSocietyservesthecommunityascaretakersofcultureandfostering devotionandfaithamongstAll.