View
5
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Volume 39, issue 1, Page 1
The HTS executive com-mittee welcomes the Au-gusta Hindu Community into the Gregorian calen-dar year 2017. We wish everyone a peaceful, healthy and prosperous new year. The EC and the BoT would like to thank each and every one for being active participants and volunteers at our tem-ple. On Jan1st we will perform Shree Ganesh puja, Arya samaj havan followed by mahaprasad sponsored by the Gulatis. Lord Ven-kateshwara Kalyanotsav will be celebrated on Jan-uary 14-15. Newly started the Kite festival will take place at the temple gar-
den on the 8th of January.
From this year onward the members of HTS will re-ceive a colorful calendar by mail that will display month-ly pooja schedules. After this newsletter the EC committee plans to go pa-perless. For those who pre-fer paper copies, few print-ed copies of the newsletter will be available at the tem-ple. The EC urges all the HTS members to fill out the membership form that in-cludes ‘gotra’ and ‘nakshatra’ information of all family members. This infor-mation is very essential and useful for the sponsored poojas and havans.
W E L C O M E T O A N E W Y E A R
E V E N T S O F T H E M O N T H
G A N E S H A P O O J A J A N 1
K I T E F E S T I V A L J A N 8
K A L Y A N O S T A V J A N 1 4 - 1 5
S H I V R A T R I F E B 2 4
H O L I P O O J A M A R 1 0
H O L I C O L O R S M A R 1 2
C A R N A T I C
M U S I C
C O N C E R T
J A N 2 1
CULTURAL PROGRAMS
We are going
Paperless
The Puja committee has
designed a new temple cal-
endar that will be available
for pickup to all members
from January 1st onwards.
The calendar will provide all
the monthly puja infor-
mation. All other communi-
ty, spiritual and cultural
events will be posted in the
newsletter. As usual stay
engaged and participate in
HTS events. We look for-
ward to hear from you es-
pecially your creative com-
ments and suggestions that
help us focus in serving our
community.
Please update your
contact information
including email id.
Volume 39, issue 1, Page 2
Makar Sankranti is the festival of
the new year and is observed on
Jan,14th according to the interna-
tional calendar. The name “Makar
Sankranti” is derived from the
from the celestial event of north-
ward migration of sun from the
tropic of Capricorn (Makar).
Sankranti is celebrated in its own
way through out India in a very
culturally diverse way. The states
of Gujrat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pra-
desh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar it is
called as Uttara Yana and Sankranti ,
the usual celebration is by taking dip
in a holy river and kite flying.
In Punjab it is celebrated as Lohri,
with food and dances all through the
day. In Tamilnadu it is a 4 day cele-
bration of Pongal with each day devot-
ed to worship of a deity
Kite Festival is organized every year
by the Gujrati community of CSRA
Kite Festival hosted by Hiren Patel on Jan 8th 2017
K I T E F E S T I V A L J A N 8
C A R N A T I C M U S I C C O N C E R T B Y S R I .
S A L E M S R I R A M J A N 2 1 S T 4 P M
The Hindu Temple is sponsoring the
Karnatic Vocalist Salem Sriram on Jan-
uary 21st 2017. Sri Salem’s entourage
incudes Lakshminarayanan (violinist)
and Dr. Sriram (mridangam). Sri. Sa-
lem is a prime disciples of Sri K. S.
Krishnamurti from Calcutta. H. Rama-
krishnan describes Sri Salem’s musi-
cal prowess to possess a resonating
voice voice with deep command on
modulation. The Hindu has described
Sri. Salem as prince of aesthetics who
is committed to good music with an
emphasis on enlightenment rather
than on entertainment. The Venue is
Cultural Center in HTS Campus, admis-
sion is free to members. Sri. Salem Sriram. Photo: Hindu.com
area, for details contact Youth committee
and Hiren Patel at 803-292-6356. Bring
your own kite and kites will also available
on the spot for sale.
F E A T H E R I N T H E C A P
D R . T H I Y A G A R A J A N S E L E C T E D
F O R T E A C H E R S A D V I S O R Y C O U N C I L
teachers commit to two years term,
during which they meet to develop
and implement strategies for effec-
tive learning in their schools and
districts.
Dr. T as he is affectionately called by
his students, is also hopnored in
2017 as ‘Teacher of the Year’ for
Glenn Hills High. Apart from his
teaching Dr. Thiyagarajan is a very
active member of the HTS and is
involved with education programs of HTS
and Pooja committee. Previously he has
been nominated for Presidential award by
the Twigs county school. We the Augusta
Indian Community is honored to have him
among us and wishes him success in his
endeavors.
Dr. Srinivasan Thiyagarajan from
Augusta has been selected as one
of the two teachers from Georgia to
the Teachers Advisory Council of Bill
and Gates Malinda Foundation. The
goal of the TAC is to prepare high
school students to succeed in col-
lege. According to the Foundation
press release, the TAC consist of 50
talented individuals selected from
across United States. Selected
Volume 39, issue 1, Page 3
When Idols Became Alive For a Bhakta or a sage, there is no such thing as Jada or insentient matter. Everything is Vaasudeva or Chaitanya —Vaasudevah Sarvam Iti. The devotee beholds the Lord in the idol. Saint Narsi Mehta of Guja-rat was put to the test by a king. The king said: “O Nar-si, if you are a sincere devo-tee of Lord Krishna, if as you say the idol is Lord Krishna Himself, let this idol move”. According to the prayer of Narsi Mehta, the idol moved. The sacred bull Nandi before Shiva’s idol took the food offered by Tulsidas. The Murti of Krish-na played with Meera Bai. It was full of life and Chaitanya for her.
Kanaka dasa was a great devotee of Lord Krishna in Udupi, in the district of South Kanara, in South In-dia. He was not allowed to enter the temple on account of his low birth. Kanaka Da-sa went around the temple and saw a small window at the back of the temple. He seated himself in front of the window. He was soon lost in singing songs in praise of Lord Krishna. Many people gathered around him. They were very much attracted by the sweet melody of his mu-sic and the depth of his de-votion. Lord Krishna turned around to enable Kanaka dasa to get His darshan. The priests were struck with wonder. Even today, pilgrims are shown the window and the place
where Kanakadasa sat and sang.
The Murti is the same as the Lord, for it is the ve-hicle of the expression of the Mantra-Chaitanya which is the Devata. The same attitude should the devotee have in regard to the Murti in the temple, which he would evince if the Lord would appear be-fore him in person and speak to him in articulate sound. Vedanta And Idol-
Worship
Only a pseudo-vedantin (philosopher) feels ashamed to bow or prostrate before an idol in the temple. He feels that his advaita will evaporate if he prostrates. Study the lives of the reputed Tamil saints, Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, etc. They had the highest advaitic reali-zation. They saw Lord Shi-va everywhere and yet they visited all temples of Shiva, prostrated before the idol and sang hymns which are on record now. Many of the sixty-three naayanaar saints of Tamil Shaivism practiced only charya (bhakti yoga) and kriya (karma yoga) and attained God-realization thereby. They swept the floor of the tem-ple, collected flowers, made garlands for the Lord and put on lights in the temple. Many of them were illiterate, but attained the highest realization. They
W H E N I D O L S B E C A M E A L I V E
G u e s t C o n t r i b u t o r D h a r m a T h i r u v a i y a r u The following is an excerpt from Swami Sivananda’s “All About Hinduism” (pg. 116-119,
Ch. 7) were practical Yogis and their hearts were saturated with pure devotion. They were embodiments of Kar-ma Yoga. All practiced the Yoga of Synthesis. The idol in the temple was all Chaitanya or Conscious-ness for them. It was not a mere block of stone. Madhu Sudana Swami, who had advaitic realization and beheld oneness of the Self was intensely attached to the form of Lord Krishna with flute in His hands.
Saint Tulsidas had realized the all-pervading essence. He had cosmic conscious-ness. He communed with the all-pervading, formless Lord. And yet, his passion for Lord Rama with bow in His hand did not vanish. When he had been to Vrindavana and saw the Murti of Lord Krishna with flute in His hands, he said: “I will not bow my head to this form.” At once Lord Krish-na’s form assumed the form of Lord Rama. Then only he bowed his head. Tukaram also had the same cosmic experience as that of Tulsidas. He sings in his Abhanga: “I see my Lord all-pervading, just as sweetness pervades the sugar-cane;” and yet, he always speaks of his Lord Vitthala of Pandarpur with His hands on the hips. Saint Meera Bai also realized her identity with the all-pervading Krishna, and yet she was not tired of repeat-ing Contd on pg 4..
C A R N A T I C
M U S I C
C O N C E R T
B Y S A L E M
S R I R A M
Image bu BAPS.org
Image by http://virtual-babaji-
vishwananda.blogspot.com/
Volume 39, issue 1, Page 4
1421 Lukes road, Augusta GA30909
Phone: 707-880-3864
Email: hindutempleaugusta@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/hindutemplesociety
We are going paperless
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ID SO YOU DO NOT
MISS THE ISSUE OF NEWSLETTER.
A two bedroom,two bath,full kitchen-sleeps 8.
Dates available: Dec 18 to 20 for 3 nights
Location : MARRIOTT Barney Resort at Hilton Head
reservation for 3 nights.
Cost: donate money to temple.
Contact by email only : anjudinesh2000@yahoo.com
Include full information, name, how many people,
name and age of each person going and your contact
information
adult.
Published by HINDU TEMPLE SOCIETY
H O L I M A R 1 0 / 1 2
Find us on
www.augustahts.org
A V A I L A B L E F O R R E N T
When Idols Become Alive
Contd. from 3
again and again: “My Gi-ridhar naagar.” From the above facts, we can clearly infer that one can realize God through worship of Murti or idol; that the worship of the Lord in Saguna form is a great aid for the realization of the Lord in His all-pervading, formless aspect also; that the worship of the Murti is very essential for the pur-pose of concentration and meditation in the beginning and that such a worship is not in any way a hindrance to the attainment of God-consciousness. Those who vehemently attack Murti Puja are groping in ex-treme darkness and igno-rance, and they have no real knowledge of Puja and worship. They enter into unnecessary and vain de-bates and discussions against Murti Puja. The whole world worships symbols and Murti’s in some form or the other. The mind is disciplined in the beginning by fixing it on a concrete object or sym-bol. When it is rendered
steady and subtle, it can be fixed later on an abstract idea such as ‘Aham Brah-maasmi.’ When one advanc-es in meditation, the form melts into the formless and he becomes one with the formless essence. Image worship is not contrary to the view of Vedanta. It is rather a help. The whole world worships symbols and Murti’s in some form or the other. The mind is disciplined in the begin-ning by fixing it on a con-crete object or symbol. When it is rendered steady and subtle, it can be fixed later on an abstract idea such as ‘Aham Brahmaami.’ When one advances in meditation, the form melts into the formless and he becomes one with the form-less essence. Image wor-ship is not contrary to the view of Vedanta. It is rather a help.
Volume 39, issue 1, Page 5
Monday 7 pm Shiva Pooja
Tuesday 7 pm Hanuman Chalisa
Wednesday 7 pm Krishna Archana
Thursday Temple Closed Priest Day off
1st Friday 7 pm Devi Pooja
Friday’s 6:15 pm Krishna Chanting
1st Saturday 9 am Karthikeya Pooja
2nd Saturday 9 am Venketashwara Pooja
3rd Sunday 10 am Monthly Pooja
2nd and 4th Sunday 2 pm Jain Pooja
T E M P L E S C H E D U L E
T E M P L E H O U R S : 8 - 1 0 A M A N D 6 - 8 P M
T E M P L E I S C L O S E D O N E V E R Y T H U R S D A Y A N D L A S T S U N D A Y O F T H E M O N T H
Balaji Pooja Program
Jan 14, 2017
Udaya- asthmana Nitya Seva
7:00 AM Suprabhata Seva
8:00 AM Nithyaaradhana and Homam
Followed by Abhishekam
Archana
Mahaprasad
4.00PM Vasantotsavam
- 8 PM Unjal Seva
Deepa-alankaranaSeva
Shayanotsavam – Ekantha Seva
Jan 15, 2017
8.00 A.M Suprabhatham
-12 NOON Mahakalyanotsavam
Mahaprasad
8 Spots available for Special sponsors @ $250 each
General Sponsorship open to all for $25.00
Tithi/Festivals/dates of Importance
Jan 8 Vaikuntha Ekadashi
Jan 14 Makar Sankranti, Uttrayan
Jan 15 MLK Jr Day
Jan 26 Republic Day (India)
Feb 1 Vasanth Panchmi
Mar 5 Ramkrishna Jayanti
Mar 10 Holi Dahan
Mar 12 Dhulendi
Mar 28 Ugadhi, Gudi Padwa
Volume 39, issue 1, Page 6
◄ December January 2017 February ►
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 Pausa 10 a.m. Ganesh Pooja Havan
2 7 P.M Shiva Puja
3 6.45 P.M. Hanuman Chalisa
4 6.45 P.M Krishna Archana
5
6 6.15 P.M. Krishna Chanting 7.00 P.M Devi Pooja
7 8.00 A.M Subrabhatham
9.00 A.M Karthikeya Pooja
8 8.00 A.M. Vaikunda Ekadhasi 11.00 A.M Kite Festival 2.00 Jain Puja
9 7 P.M Shiva Puja
10 6.45 P.M. Hanuman Chalisa
11 6.15 P.M Krishna Archana Full Moon 7.00 PM. Sathyanarayana Pooja
12
13 6.15 P.M. Krishna Chanting
14 7.00 A.M. Subrabhat-ham 8.00 A.M. Venkateswara Pooja MAKARA SANKARAN-THI
15 8.00 A.M. Srinivasa Kalyana Utsavam 7.00 P.M. Sankashta-hara Chathurthi
16 7 P.M Shiva Puja
17 6.45 P.M. Hanuman Chalisa
18 6.45 P.M Krishna Archana
19
20 6.15 P.M. Krishna Chanting
21 Magha 8.00 A.M Subrabhatham Carnatic Music Con-cert
22 2.00 P.M, Jain Puja
23 7 P.M Shiva Puja
24 6.45 P.M. Hanuman Chalisa
25 6.45 P.M Krishna Archana
26
27
6.15 P.M. Krishna Chanting
28 8.00 A.M Subrabhatham
29
30 7 P.M Shiva Puja
31 6.45 P.M. Hanuman Chalisa
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit # 426
Augusta, GA.
The Hindu Temple Society
P.O. Box 204264
Augusta, GA. 30907
WE ARE SOLICITING ARTI-
CLES OF RELIGIOUS AND
GENERAL INTEREST
PL SUBMIT BY
Jan 30th.
PLEASE SEND YOUR IN-
PUT TO: newsletter@augustahts.org
Please Renew Your membership.
Also stop by our office and com-plete and update your contact in-
formation or you can do it by email as well.
BE A PERPETUAL DONOR
DONATE GENEROUSLY
TO YOUR TEMPLE
Recommended