SriSri ChakraChakra The Source of the Cosmos The Journal of the Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam, Rush, NY Blossom 16 Petal 2 June 2012 JuneJuneJune NewsletNewsletNewsletterterter Since the last issue... After returning from San the temple’s annual Pratyangira private wedding at the temple on Franciscoin early March, Aiya homam. April 24. He remained travel-free next journey outside the temple until the next premises was for North Carolina. festival of He went there for a couple of days Chitra and performed private pujas on Poornima on March 23 and 24th. May 5th, The next week on Friday March which also 30, Aiya and Amma travelled happened to across the border to Toronto, be an ILS where he presided over the weekend. wedding of one of his students. Aiya’s next Over the first week of April, journey out Aiya went to Germany for a of state was private puja. While he was there, to New Jersey he also performed a homam and on the May puja at the Forzheim temple, 26 and 27 which is something of a satellite The annual Pratyangira homam on April 15. weekend, temple to the Rajarajeswari where he Peetam. That weekend also happened to went to perform the wedding of Years ago, devotees there be an Independent Learning one his students’ daughters. learned the puja methodology Sessions (ILS) weekend, during The following weekend of June 2, from two of Aiya’s Canadian which devotees were in for a rare he and Amma headed back to students, who went to Germany treat. One of Aiya’s senior Toronto to deliver a full-day and taught everyone what they students, Mr. Sri Ganesh, and his workshop about the scientific knew. Now, the Forzheim temple family visited from India at that meaning of puja rituals. The runs independently. While there, time and “Sri G,” as he’s called by workshop, held at the Sri Sathya Aiya also gave two lectures, and the temple family, delivered the Sai School in Scarborough, was a his stay in Europe lasted about a ILS class to the adult age group. great success, and was attended week. Aiya stayed local for a couple of by about 300 people. Aiya returned to the States a weeks thereafter and performed a couple of days before Tamil New Year’s in mid-April, and was present for that puja, as well as 2 Past Events Maha Pratyangira homam, April 15 Tamil New Year, April 13 As in past years, scores of people attended this homam, which took place on the Sunday morning of This Tamil New Year puja very the Tamil New Year’s weekend. auspiciously fell on a Friday, and Those who wished to sponsor puja was done in the evening the homam with an offering and time. signed up ahead of time spent the The puja was attended by at night before busily cooking away least 50 people and was started in the temple kitchen. and completed within an hour, All these naivedyams to including the making of the Pratyangira Devi were later sakkarai pongal. All auspicious combined and given to devotees items for the new year were laid plate by plate as they approached out on the puja tray, and after the the homakundam, to offer into the initial puja concluded, everyone fire with their own hands. present got the chance to offer All in all, the entire homam took grains into the brass pongal pot. about 3 hours to complete, with All those present received Aiya was the first to offer grains into several kilograms of red chilli prasadam from Aiya after puja the sakkarai pongal, and everyone peppers being offered into the and partook in the prasadam of else present followed suit. flames in the process. However, sakkarai pongal. not one person felt the effect of the chilli smoke, as everything was accepted by the Devi. After the main homam, Bhairava bali was offered outside the temple and everyone was given the Devotees were given naivedyam to put remaining into the fire with their own hands, plate (unburned) by plate. prasadam to take Several kilos of chillis were offered into the fire. home. Chitra Poornima, May 5 A great number of people sponsored, however, and Aiya also went Due to beautiful weather, Aiya through an extended conducted this puja outside by the puja process of offering Kashi creek while regular milk abhishekam to the Saturday puja went on as usual Kashi shivalingam, and inside the temple. guiding every single Unlike previous years, this sponsor through the year’s Chitra Poornima, the tarpanam process. annual day of offering tarpanam This ritual is to be to the departed soul of one’s done if one does not mother, lasted many hours. It know the day that his/ began at about the same time as her mother departed, Saturday puja at 10 a.m., but only but wants to offer finished around 12:30 p.m. oblations to her spirit. Everyone performed tarpanam puja in unison. 3 The many forms of the Mother Upcoming Events Aadi Amavasya, July 18 souls of their departed fathers. Like Chitra Poornima, the tarpanam is offered en masse, and every person doing the puja Pratishta Festival, July 1-3, and This is the sister festival of Chitra will perform it themselves with Guru Poornima, July 3 Poornima, where sponsors may the help and instructions of a come to the temple and be guided main pujari. Please phone the through tarpanam puja for the temple and register early. In a fortuitous turn of events, the annual Pratishta festival (temple Aadi Puram, July 22 anniversary) will coincide with multitude of sweet and savory Guru Poornima this year. eatables. After taking her on a Furthermore, Guru Poornima Aadi Puram celebrates the day procession around the temple, all will be falling on the 3rd and final the Devi becomes a woman, and those present are given day of Pratishta, which is the day this festival gives her all the mahaprasadam. of the Guru. Lord Dattatreya is pampering that would be given to In recent years, Aiya has also the main deity of this day and any young lady on this special day. been including a Chandi homam receives full puja, homam and First, she is given milk on this day, which lasts about chariot procession. abhishekam with kusha grass, four to five hours and is done in The first day of Pratishta is then dressed, and finally given a grand form. where Ganapathi receives the same puja, and the second day is for the Devi. That second day Varalakshmi Vratam, July 27 In Three Months begins with a grand Chandi homam at 5 a.m. and concludes with the large chariot being Always taking place on a Friday Devi willing, the next issue of pulled around the temple by night, this festival is short but the Sri Chakra will be up on the anyone who wants to participate. jam-packed. Married women are temple’s website at the beginning given first priority as sponsors, as of September 2012. the puja entails worship to Sri This magazine cannot keep Varalakshmi Devi, who takes the publishing without form of a deepam to give contributions! Articles, poems, prosperity to those who worship stories and photos about any her. spiritual topic are welcomed. The ladies sit row by row in the The next deadline for article temple’s yajnashala and perform a submission is August 10. Please step-by-step guided puja to the e-mail us with your Devi with their own hands. The contributions or feedback about general purpose of this puja, which this issue at is very popular in Andhra [email protected] or Pradesh, Karnataka, and parts of talk to Kamya or Abhi at the Tamil Nadu, is for married ladies temple. to pray for the well-being and Sri Gurubhyo Namaha! prosperity of their husbands. Only those who register early The whole festival falls on will be saved a space. Our deepest thanks and Canada Day long weekend this gratitude to this issue’s year, so a very large crowd is volunteers: Aiya, Vilas expected. to 18, and they will learn a wide range of cultural and spiritual Ankolekar,,, Venkateshwararar Viboothi Saivite Immersion things, and also experience all the Babu,u,u, Navvveen Chandar,,, (camp), July 28 to Aug. 4 typical activities of a regular kids’ Gratus Devanesan, The camp. Campers learn chanting and puja, but also play sports, Nandalala Mission, Registration for this year’s camp have nature walks and a campout, RRRamesh Kutticad, Anand closed on May 31, and the demand among other things. Panikkar,,, Vimalan for spots was just as great as in This year’s main saint will be Sri previous years. Yogaswami of Sri Lanka, and the Sothinathan, and This will be the eighth year of secondary saint will be Sri Bhuvana Subramanian. the Immersion for children ages 9 Ramsuratkumar of Annamalai. The Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam ~ 6980 East River Road ~ Rush, NY 14543 ~ Phone: (585) 533 - 1970 4 The many forms of the Mother Nandana Varusham Every year during Tamil New Year’s in mid-April, Pujyasri Mathioli Saraswati (or Sri Akka, as she is lovingly called) explains the significance of the upcoming year and its historical meanings. This is an excerpt of this year’s speech, which Sri Akka gave in the Sringeri mattam of the Sri Sharadambal temple in New Delhi. The Sri Chakra thanks Bhuvana Subramanian for sending the text, and the Nandalala Mission for the original transcription. I am happy to be here with all of you during Nandana varusham. We do not remember the number or names of the Tamil New Year.