NEWSLETTER Hindu Temple 8418 Zuni SE Albuquerque NM87108 Temple hours: Sun, 10am-12pm, Arati 10:30 Tues, Fri, Sat 4:30 - 6:30 pm Arati 6PM Table of Contents Balvihar 2 President’s Corner 3 Annual funtion 4 On going activities 5 Auspicious days 6 Reminders 7 Upcoming events 7 Recognition/Past events 8 ACH form sample 9 All the powers in the uni- verse are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark. -- Swami Vivekananda, (1863-1902) Temple website http://htsnm.org/ 1 Balvihar super stars Our temple inspires a consistent culture of involvement for youth from kindergarten to high school , that develops a strong, confident and positive sense of Hindu identity and pride. The Balvihar program aims to adjust our youth to changing realities of the social structure and obligations of youth. It promotes positive parental support. Learning is a life long endeavor, we encourage our parents to reaffirm your Hindu identity and immerse yourself in the study of slokas and values that we aim to promote. We thank our volunteers without whom it would not be possible to deliver this program. It is impossible to put a dollar amount on the value of these contributions. The gift of time, it has been said is the greatest gift of all. We encourage you to join the ranks of those volunteers who’ve given so much of their time. Spotlight on our wonderful teachers Ashwin—common prayers Robotics, chess, soccer, vol- leyball, archery, also, UNM Dolphins swim team Madhu—group 1 cool kid got my own wheels Kinnari (group 2) and Sachi (group 3) Abirami—common Nandu— prayers group 1 need many roles, Jasmine, a job to pay Wicked witch of the for bent tire west, Lumiere 2 President’s Corner Greetings, Like all non-profit organizations, HTSNM uses multiple ways to do fundraising. For example, we have festival pooja sponsors, Aarti collection, chadawa at the Temple, a few large one-time donors, and the annual program. One method that I want to talk about is the ACH. ACH payments are electronic payments that are created when the devotee gives an originating institution, au- thorization to debit directly from checking or saving account for the purpose of payment to the temple (form on page 9). We are encouraging giving to Our temple through ACH donations that enables contributions received seamlessly, monthly donations will help sustain and grow Our temple. Over the last eight years, there have been numerous donors who contributed via ACH. In the last five years we have raised $80k through the generosity of ACH donors. In the future, our Newsletter will publish names of ACH contributors on a monthly basis. Today, I wish to give a special recognition to those who have made continuous ACH contribution for the last several years. These are: Sameer and Chitra Roy, Krishna and Archana Reddy, Amit and Hemal Patel, Jayesh Patel, Tushar Patel, and Prabhat Singh. Krishna Jaiswal President 3 Annual function/Fundraiser FUNDRAISING ANNUAL EVENT Bringing the community together for a cultural evening and an authentic Indian dinner DATE: SATURDAY, 13 APRIL 2019 (4-9PM) Charitable giving is an important part of Hindu life—daan (giving) is one’s dharma (religious duty) for the benefit of many. Every gift ensures the continuity of Our temple for current and future families to come. We owe our very existence to those first families who came together and pooled their resources to ensure a place of worship was available to our commu- nity. It is our duty to continue in that spirit to sustain and improve the facilities. EVENT DETAILS RSVP Temple website 4:00PM: Meet & Greet http://htsnm.org/annualevent/ 5:00-7:00PM: Cultural Program 7:00-8:30PM: Complimentary Dinner ! To advertise Location: Performing Arts Center, La Cueva Full page $900 High School, 7801 Wilshire NE , Albuquerque Half a page $500 Quarter $300 Due April 1, 2019 Contacts Shanti Denduluri (505)504 6300, Swapna Sule (505) 306 7820 Deepa D. Santhanam (505) 269 0997, Ranjana Damle 505 459 6912 4 Ongoing activities Robotics: Balvihar conducts Robotics classes for kids every Sunday. Robotics classes are to en- courage kids to explore technology by building concepts of science, math and engineering. Th is program helps the st ud ents to d evelop team- building skills as they work to com- plete fun challenges. Robotics group helps the st ud ents in d eveloping creative th inking, so- cial, problem-solving and computer programming skills wh ich can be used to solve problems. We thank our wond erful Parent Volunteers for bringing their experiences to make th is successful. The encouragement for fut ure problem solvers to participate is evid ent in th is group of youngsters. Priest selection is in Suggestion box the final stages, no As promised a suggestion box has more new resumes are been installed inside the temple to currently accepted. enable devotees to provide their input in improving Our temple. You may also provide input at http:// htsnm.org/contactus/email-us/ Arthi at 6pm has started, we have had many guest come in for Arthi. Everyone is welcome, printed arthi in English is available and an Nitika we thank you for taking care of audio version is played for us to follow along. Temple will be open Tues, Fri, Sat all the little things that make a huge 4:30 - 6:30 pm (Aarati 6pm) and Sun, 10am- difference in keeping our premises in 12pm (Aarati 10:30 am). The lamps will be good order for all those who come to lit, in addition to Lingabhisheka (water) will receive the blessings from our be performed. moorties. 5 Auspicious days in March/April Temple is open on the days that are bolded March 17, 2019, Sunday, Amalaki Ekadashi, Phalguna, Shukla Ekadashi March 20, 2019, Wednesday, Chhoti Holi Phalguna, Shukla Purnima, Holika Dahan March 27, 2019, Wednesday, Chaitra/Krishna Ashtami March 31, 2019, Sunday, Papmochani Ekadashi Chaitra/Krishna Ekadashi April 6, 2019, Saturday, Ugadi April 7, 2019, Sunday, Ugadi temple celebration April 13, 2019, Saturday, Ram Navami April 14, 2019 Sunday, Solar New Year (Pana Sankranti/Puthandu/Vishu/Naba Barsha/ Pohela Boishakh/Bihu/Vaisakhi) Food drive Temple is organizing a Food drive ends April 7th 2019 Chapter 3: TEXT 12 from the Geeta Karma-yoga Please drop-off your donations at the istan bhogan hi vo deva designated box in Our temple—help sup- dasyante yajna-bhavitah port our community, Your non perishable tair dattan apradayaibhyo donations go to feed the hungry. yo bhunkte stena eva sah In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offer- ing them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief. 6 Upcoming events Reminders 1. No footwear allowed in the mandir and on the second floor, unless worn due to medical rea- sons. Our Temple requirements are that all foot- wear be stowed in the cubbies provided to pre- vent young children from tripping over them. • MahaShivarathri—March 10 2. During temple sponsored events Board mem- • Ekadashi—March 17th bers and/or Advisory committee members will • Ugadi– April 6th Ugadi/Yugadi/ be available to answer your questions. Gudi Padwa 3. For renting the premises, the cost is $250 which • Ugadi—April 7th Ugadi/Yugadi/ Gudi Padwa temple celebration includes water and trash bags. It is up to the or- @ 11AM ganizing committee to provide all others. There • Annual Function—April 13th is a 20% discount for 2nd floor rental for mem- bers of Our Temple. 4. We are soliciting feedback after every activity Happy Holi to improve Our Temple. 5. if you would like to access the temple at any time. keys are available to checkout from Bom- bay Spice grocery store (505 232 6661). 6. Thank you for all you do to help ensure Our Temple’s cleanliness. Temple website http://htsnm.org/ 7 Past events Maha-Shivaratri Bolo Bolo Sab Mil Bolo Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Celebrations on Monday March 4 even- ing program and Sunday March 10th daytime programs were well attended with everyone sing- ing the praises of Lord Shiva . It marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world . The ardent devotees keep awake all night HTSNM held a 4-part discourse on Bhagwad Geeta in February 2019 at the temple. Professor Nitant Kenkre, who has st udied the Geeta extensively, mad e the presentations. He introduced the Bhagwad Geeta, and conveyed the context, the profound ph ilosoph ical and spirit ual messages of the great book, and how the teach ings can guid e our present lives. Professor Kenkre skillfully id entified the key points and then led free flow of discussion among attend ees. Between 26 and 30 people attend ed the four lect ure/discussions on two consecutive weekends, i.e., Sat urdays and Sundays from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM. (February 16, 17, 23 and 24, 2019.) 8 ACH form 9 .