CANADA SABHA OF CHITRAPUR SARASWATS Sweekar SPECIAL POINTS OF (CSCS NEWSLETTER) I N T E R E S T : VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 M A Y 2 0 1 0 • New Board New Board of CSCS/CHCI • Upcoming Satsangs The Annual General Meeting and Elections for the Board were held on April 11, 2010 dur- • ANZ Sabha ing which the following office bearers were elected: Sammelan • Chaturmas 2010 President: Vivek Kulkarni Treasurer: Vinayak Shanbhag Vice-President: Kishore Nadkarni Members: Maya Kulkarni, Pramod Udiaver Secretary: Ganesh Shenoy and Gautam Ullal. Upcoming Satsangs Next Satsanga: The next satsanga will be held at Maya and Vivek Kulkarni’s residence on INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Sunday May 30, 2010. Those who plan to attend are requested to contact Maya Kulkarni at (905) 566-7908) no later than May 24, 2010 to confirm attendance. The program will be as Annual Math 2 follows: Vantiga Arrival 11—11:30am Satsang 11:30am-1pm Punar- 2 Prasad Bhojan 1pm pratishtha Upcoming Satsangs (Details to follow) : The next satsangs of the summer will be held on: Sringeri Vidya 2 Saturday June 26 at Jyoti Mani’s residence in Scarborough Bharati Saturday August 28 at Mankikar’s residence in Burlington on the occasion of Foundation PP Parijnanashram Swamiji’s III’s punyatithi. Tercentenary 2 Scholarships ANZ Sabha planning Sammelan NRI Shibir 2 Australia New Zealand Sabha of Chitrapur Saraswats is planning to hold a sammelan sometime in October 2010. Details are still being worked out. All are invited to attend this Seva Saptah 3 event. The program will include religious, social and cultural events. Those who are inter- ested in additional information may contact Shireesh Gulwadi at [email protected] . In Pictures 4 Chaturmas 2010 Parama Pujya Swamiji has graciously acceded to observe the Chaturmasya Vrata at Shri Durga Parameshwari Mandir, Karla, in the Divine Sannidhi of the Sanjivani Samadhi of our Parama Guru, Parama Pujya Shrimat Parijnanashram Swamiji. Chaturmasya Vrata commences on Ashadha Shukla Poornima, (Sunday, 25 th July 2010) and concludes on Bhadrapada Shukla Poornima (Thursday, 23 rd September 2010). VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 P A G E 2 Annual Math Vantiga Paying the annual Math vantiga is not mandatory. But it is a sacred duty of every bhanap who is gainfully employed. Math depends on the vantigas and sevas performed for daily viniyogas and maintenance of all sacred samadhis. Even though the vantiga can be given at any time during the fiscal year, the members are requested to remit their annual vantiga preferably in the beginning of the year. Those who are not certain whether they have paid their vantigas can call the Sabha Treasure at any time. It is hoped that the members will pay their 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 vantigas as soon as possible. **Note: It is preferred to have the majority Vantiga collections finished before the end of October 2010 so that Vinayak Shanbhag can remit the drafts and cheques by the end of November or early December 2010 to India. If anyone prefers to give post-dated cheques in Indian Rupess for bank in India (favour of Shri Chitrapur Math) or in dollar for local bank ( favour of CSCS), CSCS would be able to facilitate such an arrangement as well. Punarpratistha – Shri Anantheshwar – Vitthal The Punar Pratishtha Mahotsava will be celebrated from 17 th May 2010 to 19 th May 2010 at the Shrimath Anantheshwar Temple in Vittal. PP Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji has agreed to grace the Mahotsava with his presence. The trustees have appealed to all devotees to send contributions and donations to the Manager of the Temple by M.O., Cheque/DD., drawn in favour of ‘Shrimath Anantheshwar Temple, Vit- tal’ with full address and telephone number, so that they may send a receipt back. For detailed information about the programme, please visit the CSCS website. 2009 Tercentenary Scholarships On March 30 th during the Dharma Sabha, on the occasion of Shri Chitrapur Math Rathotsava, 17 students were presented with Tercentenary Scholarship cheques at the Hands of PP Sadyojata Shankarashram Swa- miji. In all, five recipients attended the function. The rest were sent by mail. Total disbursement this year was Rs.6.02 lakhs. The Tercentenary Scholarship is a CSCS initiated project, hence, the members are encouraged to send donations on a regular basis so that large number of worthy and needy students can be assisted financially in pursuing their postgraduate education. Those requiring additional information may contact Sadanand Mankikar at (905) 319-1073. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation Canada invites all to participate and support the inauguration of Shri Sharadamba Temple and the Adi Shankara Museum in Etobicoke from June 18 to June 27, 2010. On this occasion Mahakumbhabhishekam, Shata Chandi Yagna and Sahasra Kalasa Ab- hishekam will be performed by thirty renowned Vedic scholars from India and U.S.A. Numerous cultural programs by renowned artists will be also held during these days. For additional information on various sevas and sponsorships please contact Sadanand Mankikar at (905) 319-1073 or Kishore Kulkarni at (416) 442-2553. For more details about the foundation please visit www.svbfcanada.com . ______________________________________________________________________________________ The NRI Shibir 2010 will take place at the Shri Chitrapur Math in Shirali from December 24th, 2010 to December 30th, 2010. Anyone who is interested should contact Lalita Kulkarni ([email protected]) by May 25th, 2010. P A G E 3 Seva Saptah at Karla - By Vanita Kumta, Thane The Seva Saptaha at Karla was a wonderful experience. We had that rare opportunity to be in continuous communion with Lord Shri Bhavanishankara, Swami Shri Anandashram, Swami Shri Parijnanashram, Swami Shri Sadyojat Shankarashram, our Guru Parampara, in the divine presence of Goddess Durga Parameshwari and the Sanjivani Samadhi of Swami Parijnanashram. To me it was a never before witnessed spiritual retreat. I was overwhelmed by the tranquility, peace & sanctimony of the atmosphere. At the very outset we were given our prestigious scarves, keepsakes of this memorable week. We were given a briefing on the dos & dont’s, of which a few were: - awareness of people as also of unidentified bags, leaving our work places only two at a time, taking precautions to have others from the group fill in the blanks, preventing unauthorized photography, no eating Prasad at serving counter, awareness of presence if at all of unruly elements or earlier trouble makers, sanctimony of the scarf. All im- portant unpleasant events to be notified to Ajay Shirali maam. Each new day dawned to the rendering of Shri Bhavanishankar Suprabhatam, Parabrahman Pratha Smaranam, Shree Gurupa- dukastotram, Shri Parijnanashram Trayodashi, to the peel of the golden hued temple bells, tala and drum beats. After prayers & Arati, we had a scintillating exercise session with either Priti Panemangalore pachi or Nikhil Karnad maam. The nature of the exercise sessions was all encompassing in that it was a warm-up, some vigorous. aerobics, yogasanas, stretching, energizing pranayam session and a cool down too. In addition we got an insight into Pranic Healing and Sanskrit and Transliteration & use of Diacritical marks under the able guidance of Sheela Kalawar pachi. Having thus recharged ourselves in body & mind we would disburse to our respective work places allotted to us at the temple-inside or outside (at the entrance), or at the kitchen, or at the Parijnanashram Kutir, after a quick cup of tea. The temple sevaks helped with the gathering and stringing of Durva, sorting tulsi leaves, making of garlands of flowers or tulsi. Those outside at the entrance of the temple were ever vigilant of any intrusions & aware at all times. At the kitchen the sevaks helped with the preparations for the day. They were all veritable Annapoornas for Lord Shri Bhavanishankara, Goddess Durga Parameshwari Devi, Naagdevata, Swamijis, and all of us. The clock work precision with which they served us all tea, breakfast, lunch, tea & dinner was commendable; it was a real feast. In addition to these daily duties each of us involved our- selves in cleaning, washing, wiping-the doors, windows, furniture, floors. In short the entire premises being an extension of our own homes which we were away from was given the same due love & attention. We at the temple performed the poojavidhis too, and the Devi Anushthan, reciting the stotras and Ashtotar Namavallis re- lated to the day & deity being worshipped. Japas too were performed. We also sang bhajans. The evenings were devoted to the poojas, Deepnamaskars, Shri Shankarnarayan Geetam, Mangalpada, Shri Bhavanishankara Ashtavadhan Shloka, Bhajans, Manache Shloka and Shantipaath. The melodious notes of the temple bells and the Aratis were a true seekers paradise. With the dawn of each new day the beautiful Alankar of Devi Durga Parameshwari shone bright and beautiful, bringing happiness to the devotees gathered there. The crowning glory was on 7 th April’10 with the good news of the Court case going great & we had a continuous celebra- tion after that with sweet delicacies, kulfi etc. We had tender moments with Swami Sadyojat Shankarashram in our midst, giving us all a patient hearing, talking to us, leading and enlightening us, singing bhajans with us & on the 10 th night being the last day of our seva saptah we had a lovely time playing Antakshari, Pictionary, Dumb-charades, more importantly with Swamiji in our midst. Often we had the rare visual of Swamiji fondly playing with the loving puppies. The entire week was interspersed with devotional seva, in divine presence and with a wonderful feeling of sharing & caring as all the sevaks from different nooks & corners of India got together. It was like one big happy family of Amchis-“Chitrapur Saraswats” vying with one another to help & bring happiness & peace.