Souvenir - Eternal Melodies Concert 2011

Page 1

NEWS LETTER

1Issue 6 April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011 6.00 pm Eisemann Center for Performing Arts,

Bank of America Theater,2351 Performance Drive, Richardson, TX 75082

All proceeds from this fund raiser will go towards the annual expenditure of Chikmangaloor Chatralaya in Karnataka.

Vidya Daanam in Sanskrit means the “Gift of Education”.

It was a 2009 initiative of Sanatana Dharma Foundation. It makes an attempt to create

new futures for children in rural, tribal and backward communities in India, who do not

have access to a modern education. It tries to break a vicious cycle of poverty, that keeps

deepening with every passing generation, by making education accessible.

www.vidyadaanam.org

Eternal Melodies !An Evening of Bhajans, Ghazals

and Old Hindi Melodies

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I am very happy to know that Sanatana Dharma Foundation

is committed to encourage people to participate in the educational programs in India designed to educate children in tribal and rural areas as well as the

children in the slums of cities.

Among the gifts, Vidya Daanam, once given is not expendable.

Swamy Dayananda Saraswati,Convener, Hindu Dharma Acharya

Sabha

s

Swami Dayananda Saraswati on ‘Daanam’• The culture of Hindus is one of caring. Elders, animals, air, water, earth,

people all these we care for. As an individual ,as a corporate entity, as a collective body, we care and we express that care. We grow by car-ing, from being only a consumer to be a contributor. Daanam, giving and sharing, is a mark of growth. Remaining a consumer all the time, and not becoming a contributor, is not the Vedic view of life.

• One’s self-worth is not mere money. It is one’s culture. We have started a movement, a seva movement , that includes validation of cultures. Validation of one’s culture brings respect and appreciation and one gains self-worth.

• If you do not have love , act lovingly; you will discover love. Similarly, in the act of giving, you grow, people grow and your country grows.

• Keep giving until it hurts. “Giving” is like weight-lifting. You cannot take a small mug and practise weight-lifting! The capacity of weight-lifting is in the attempt of shaking something that you cannot shake. You can give your time, you can lend a sympathetic ear to someone; lots of people want ears. You can express worlds of appreciation, encouragement, em-pathy and so on. Sharing your knowledge with somebody is also caring. You can also pray for somebody; there are may ways of giving.

Sanatana Dharma Foundation’s “Vidya Daanam” empowers under-privileged children born in rural and remote tribal areas in India by providing them the opportunity to gain a de-cent education. “Vidya Daanam” works with its Partner organization in India called “Aim for Seva” whose Vision is to create a National movement of caring to transform society, by bridging the urban – rural divide in India, through a network of Seva services. Aim for Seva is an NGO with special Consultative status with the Economic and Social council of the United Nations.

The primary vehicle through which Aim for Seva makes its services available is through a Student Home – also called a “Chatralaya’. The Chatralayas offer the children a nurturing, stable residential environment, and become the hub of other activi-ties such as health care, counseling, mobile medi-cal facilities for the children as well for the people in the rural and tribal areas. Women receive special counseling on post natal care, hygiene, child nutri-tion and so on. Thus the Chatralaya enables the integration of backward segments of society into the mainstream society.

The children in a Chatralaya are inculcated a disci-plined daily routine that includes prayers, exercises, study, and recreation. Special emphasis is given to imparting value based education to build character of children, enabling them to grow in a safe, healthy and conducive environment till they complete their secondary education. During the weekends art & craft classes are also conducted. Special classes (Sandhya Gurukulam) are held for those children, who require additional help in their academics. The older children help in keeping the Chatralaya clean. Periodic medical checkups ensure healthy progress of the children.

Chatralayas are located close to a School, so that the teachers and the School Principal can take personal interest in the welfare and progress of the children. Thus the Chatralaya is a source of stability in the life of a child whose future may otherwise be uncertain. Aim for Seva currently manages over 70 Chatralayas in 13 States, and 10 Schools in 4 states. In addition, Aim for Seva also runs 100+ Balwadis (Pre-school centers) and 130 Sandhya Gurukulams in India.

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Vidya Daanam Contributions (till date)

Date Contribution Benefeciary Organization

Purpose

May 2011 (Planned)

$25,000 (Target)

Chikmangalur chantralaya, Aim For Seva School in

Chikmangaloor Karnataka

Continued service to the education of children in under-privileged communities in

Chikmangalur, Karnataka

March 2011 USD $ 2062 Veda Patashala in Andhra Pradesh

Contributions towards preserving Vedic teach-ing and cultural heritage

September 2010 USD $ 7,000 Bharath Heritage Foundation

Continued service to the education of children in under-privileged communities in South In-

dia (especially Tamil Nadu)

August 2010 USD $ 2,000 World Association of Vedic Sudies (WAVES)

On the occasion of the WAVES conference in Trinidad and Tobago

June 2010 USD $ 2,000 Sanskrit ScholarSmt. Sampada Savardekar

Special award for Sampada’s travel and pre-sentation at the WAVES conference

March 2010 USD $ 25,000 All India Movement for Seva Donated on the occasion of the Shanti Fund Raiser Program, in Houston

January 2010 USD $ 8,000 Bharath Heritage Foundation

Continued support for Children’s education through Sandhya Gurukulams

July 2009 USD $ 2,000 Veda Patashala in Andhra Pradesh

Contributions towards preserving Vedic teach-ing and cultural heritage

July 2009 USD $ 30,000 Aim for Seva Contributions towards children’s education - Chattralaya at Chikmagalur, Karnataka

June 2009 USD $ 7,000 Bharath Heritage Foundation Contribution for Sandhya Gurukulam programs in Tamil Nadu

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Sharad Gupta’s life has been a musical journey with an uncommon rhythm. Over the years he has blossomed into a seasoned musician with remarkable mastery over his distinct vocal ability.

Be it Ghazals, Bhajans or even Film songs, his pliability to numerous musical genres is a testimony to his illimitable talent.

More info @ www.sharadgupta.com

Denis Das , a prolific Table artist from Arlington, Texas was born in Trinidad and Tobago. Dennis is passionate about ihs mu-sic and hist heritage. He cuducts tabla les-sons at DFW Hindu temple for free.

Sudhir Dave - Flutist & Key-Board player. Inspired by Flutist uncle, Radio artist, Ma-hendra Dave (SAREGMA fame US champion Mauli Dave’s Grandfather). Sudhir started with light and folk music in his childhood while musical talent came naturally through his family background. Sudhir learned clas-sical Flute Music from legendary Gurus like Pt. Hariprasad Chaurcia and Pt. Ronu Maju-mudar.

Vijay Abraham , a professional guitarist from Cochin Arts Academy, started playing guitar at the age of 7. He recorded albums at the age of 12 and has accompanied fa-mous singers like KJ Yesudas, Chitra and many more.

Please bring this ad to get a FREE small gola ganda . This coupon expires on 5/31/2011

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4701 Frankford Rd, Suite 237, Dallas TX 75287 972-931-5999

www.vindudallas.com

A Chatralaya experience of a memberNamaste,

Want to share the happenings at the other end of Vidyadaanam. We visited the Chatralaya in Indore and were just mesmerized by the experience! Kids were pretty energetic in the evening even after having spent a whole day from 4 am on their trip to Ujjain. Never before have I seen children doing prayers and singing nationalistic songs with such a deep emotion.I remember, as a child how I just took all the facilities available to me as granted and waited for prayers in school to just come to an end.

Moreover, never before even for 5 minutes I have seen a gathering of 50 children as disciplined as these children were for more than a couple of hours of our stay. The ashram looked a comfortable place for children,not in terms of materials of comfort though. However the ashram is very clean and well organized, equipped with the basic amenities. The bonding of love between Swamiji, karyakartas and the children seemed to have made children adjust so well , so happy and being able to con-centrate on studies in the ashram miles away from their parents. Apart from studies children help in maintaining the ashram with all chores from pre-paring food to gardening. They grow their own vegetables in the ashram !! I felt like asking for some fresh ones :-)

After prayers we got to interact with the children.Some of them are really doing well and leading in the studies in the school. The school is about 3 kilometres from the ashram and there is a arranged vehicle to take them to the school. There are extra tuitions for weak areas of kids(English and Maths) in the evenings. Apart from all the things that I mentioned above it is important to mention that the kids have a deep aware-ness of how Swamiji and other people in India and in the US are working hard to make their lives. When asked what they would do in return they said they would work hard and would make the swamiji’s and ashram’s name shine. It may sound like a cliche but when the children said that, voice seemed to come not from the throat but from somewhere else. When Swamiji asked them to pose their questions to us, they promptly showed their inquisitiveness about life in US and what is attracting so many people to the US and asked various questions about how we think they can succeed in their lives. However hard I may try, I cannot put in words, even a small bit of the experience and the thankfulness ex-pressed there for all the efforts made in this direction. May the spirit of Vidyadaanam live for years to come!!

Best Regards,Swati

With Best Compliments to Vidya Daanam

from

Kakarlapudi FamilyRaju, Teja, Samhita & Saanvi

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” ~ Sydney J. Harris

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With Best Complements to Vidya Daanam

From

Ashok GopaldasJewelers

100 S Central Expy # 15 Richardson, TX 75080-6319(972) 761-0119

Vidya Daanam works with another partner organizations in India, which is doing excellent work in the field, called Bharat Heritage Foundation (BHF). Bharat Heritage Foundation’s vision is to focus on extremely weak and under-privileged segments, with a special focus on women.

The primary vehicle through which Bharat Heritage Foundation makes its services available is through a net-work of teachers who offer evening tuitions and classes in a nmber of surrounding villages. These evening classes are called ‘Sandhya Gurukulams’. The teachers are trained to deal with exceptionally weak children - who have gone through the trauma of catastrophic events such as the Tsunami of 2004. Much of BHF’s activities are concentrated in Tsunami affected areas in Tamilnadu.

The picture shown on the left, is a weekend retreat camp - in which the students get an opportunity to spend the entire weekend with a trained teacher. The teacher leads the students through a variety of learn-ing excercises - designed to augment what they learn in school through audio visual and other means.

These weekend retreats are very useful in building self-esteem and brings back a measure of human dig-nity and allows these children to integrate back with mainstream society in the course of time. BHF places a lot of emphasis on the training and development of these teachers who are the primary vehicles through which the programs of BHF called ‘Vidya Vikasini’ are sustained.

The picture shown on the right is a tuition class in progress for girls who are on the threshold of taking a board exam. BHF’s tuition classes are designed with a commitment to take these girls to the door-step of college. When these girls pass their board exams, it is a matter of great pride for their entire village - since in many cases, no one has ever at-tempted and passed a State board exam from these families.

BHF’s Vidya Vikasini program has impacted 1000’s of girls and made a positive difference in their per-formance in schools upto 30 to 35%. Once these girls arrive at college, they themselves develop a belief that they can go farher in life.

The picture on the left shows a Computer training class that has been set up under the aegis of BHF, in a re-mote village in Tamil Nadu. These computer classes are extremely popular amongst the students, and are in great demand. Through well structured 12 to 14 week courses, teachers of BHF are able to provide hands on training to these children from very backward areas in India. By se-lecting only the best students who have performed well in their regular school curriculum, the Vidya Vikasini pro-gram, creates an incentive for the children to study well and demonstrate an improvement in performance. Older girls are encouraged to tutor the younger children, and a self sustaining structure is being created.

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from

Kalvala Family Karunakar Rao, Geetha

Sonali & Suraj “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” ~ Andy McIntyre


from

Kakarlapudi FamilyRaju, Teja, Samhita & Saanvi

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” ~ Sydney J. Harris

With Best Wishes to Vidya Daanam

for spreading the light of knowledge to all

Rajesh Verma & Family

8150 N MacArthur Blvd #150Irving TX 75063

(214) 574-7117www.outplaceusa.net


from

Sunil Maini CPA

6220 Chase Oaks Blvd # 101 Plano, TX 75023-4641 -

(972) 516-1172

Education is the movement from darkness to light. ~Allan Bloom

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from

Bansal Family Amit, Vaishali, Ranak & Mahika

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school” Albert Einstein

With Best Compliments FromShweta G. Daftary, DDS

6009 Beltline Rd., Ste 100, Dallas, TX 75254 - Tel (972) 239-1998


from

Koshy Samuel, Sara GeorgeKiki & Poki

“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one”

~Malcolm S. Forbes

With Best Compliments From

300 E Royal Lane Ste 106 Irving Texas 75039

1 888 eknazardallas.eknazar.com

Vidyadaanam’s Online Supporter

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5427 N MacArthur Blvd Irving TX 75038 972-853-8803

FLOWER MOUND HINDU TEMPLE3325 Long Prairie Road, Flower Mound, Texas 75022

(A Religious Non-Profit Organization) Tel: 214-513-2564email: [email protected]

Flower Mound Hindu Temple whole-heartedly welcomes one and all.

Upcoming events in May 2011Flower Mound Hindu Temple is celebrating its first Thyagaraja Aradhana Carnatic Classical Music

Festival on Saturday May 7, 2011.This all day event starts at 10 A.M. with traditional Pancha Ratna Kirtanas followed by individual and group performances through out the day.

If you would like to sing any composition of Thyagaraja, play veena or flute, or accompany on mru-dangam, please send an email to

[email protected] or Call 214 682 1853.

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With Best Compliments to Vidya Daanam from Yuva Telugu Radio

Every Saturday and SundayBetween 10 AM and 12 noon

in 104.9 FMEmail: [email protected]


from

Chichula FamilyMukesh, Renuka,

Ishika and EshaanEducation is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

- Will Durant

With Best Compliments!

WILLIAM DAVIS REALTY 8856 Coleman Blvd., Frisco, TX 75034

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With Best Compliments toVidyaDaanam

from

Venkat KodaliJayashree Kodali

Varsha Kodali&

Varun Kodali

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from

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Vasan R Srinivasan & Jayaprabha Srinivasan

“If the poor children cannot come to education, education must go to them”

Swami Vivekananda


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from

Col Devabattini Venkateshwarlu &

Bhavani“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

William Butler Yeats


from

Dr. Arvind Neelakantan & Dr. Sandhya Iyer

“If the poor children cannot come to education, education must go to them”

Swami Vivekananda


from

Sreeramachary Chellappa & Jayalakshmi Chellappa

“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.”

Daniel J. Boorstin


from

Nakta FamilyDr Raju, Jyothi, Divya

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance”

Will Durant

Page 28 Page 29


from

Oncology Center of Southwest, P.A.

Dr Naresh GuptaRajneesh GuptaAbhinav GuptaArnav Gupta

With Best Compliments to Vidya Daanam from

Thilak Jewelers


from

Reddy FamilyDr Maryada S Reddy

Sweta ReddySindhu ReddySooraj Reddy


from

Gupta FamilyDr. Gaurav Gupta,

Dr Arti GuptaIshan Gupta

Tanisha Gupta

Page 30 Page 31


from

New Gopal Restaurant

125, S. Central Expy Richardson, TX 75081(214) 716-0651

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An Anonymous DonorEducation yields humility; Humility yields character;

Character yields wealth (courage, fortitude & wisdom);

Wealth supports righteous (dharmic) life; Righteousness yields happiness.

-- Hitopadesa


from

The Shetty FamilyKrish, Eesh, Mala and

Anupkumar Shetty

www.ThirdEyeMeditation.com“There is divinity in everything and everybody”

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It is a small book with such details :

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5. God’s different forms

It contains information that will be very useful for anyone to understand the ba-sics of Hinduism. It is intended to educate young parents and children. This book is available at www.ThirdEyeMeditation.com

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The Agarwal familyChitra Agarwal Nikita AgarwalRachna Agarwal

Dr Ashwani Agarwal


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Page 36

A Tribute to Sri Sathya Sai Baba (1926 – 2011)Sanatana Dharma has given rise to many holy men and women, many exalted souls, many Rishis, Yogis, Acharyas and Mahatmas during the course of its life, during the times of its ascent and great-ness as well as its eclipse and decline. Within the fold of Sanatana Dharma, it is possible for a hu-man being through self-initiated effort, discipline, Yoga and Yagna, to ascend to the status of an au-thentic vehicle of the divine. It is possible for a human being to slowly lose the hold that our desire for security and pleasure have on our minds, and become available for the work of the divine. In as much measure that an individual gives up his human frailties and bondage, and ascends towards the divine, in equal measure the divine also descends upon that human being, further purifying him, and preparing him (or her) for the work of the divine. In fact, this is the central motif of Sanatana Dharma – the ascent of the human spirit towards the divine, and the descent of the divine into the human being. Even in the times of the greatest tribulations, India has produced such divine persons in every nook and corner of her land.

The Rishis, Yogis, Acharyas and Mahatmas each represent an extraordinary variety of possibilities for the human being, and offer a vast diversity of ways and means of self-initiated effort, Sadhana and ascent towards the divine. Our own time is blessed by many hun-dreds of these. While all of them could be said to be in various states of ascent and readiness, even as they offer the gifts of their knowl-edge and wisdom to the people around them, one type amongst them towers above them all. This is the Avatar, who has wholly descended from divine into human form, with an explicit purpose in mind.

Unlike the typical Rishi, Yogi, Guru or Mahatma, the Avatar is of a different mettle altogeth-er. He is not a human being also on a path of Sadhana, like the others. He is born into the human fold, but with an awareness of his status, purpose and mission that is not comparable to the oth-ers. The Avatar is distinguished by this awareness early in their life, and their singleminded com-mitment to the fulfillment of that purpose throughout the course of their life. In certain cases, the Avatar exhibits miraculous capacities that far exceed the normal human being. Satya Sai Baba was the great Avatar of our age, the great example of this Avataric possibility spoken of in our sacred scripture. He was a light that lit up the hearts and minds of millions around the world, a figure of incomparable wisdom, and a vehicle for Dharma Samsthapana unlike any that we may ever encounter in our lives. As he himself said, what we have been able to see of him, is only an infinitesimal fraction of the power and possibility of his Avatar. To his devotees he was God himself, a Bhagavan, a divine being, incomparable and extra-ordinary. To all others who were not given the grace of coming into his proximity and experience his grace personally, it is sufficient that they know of him as one of the great pillars of Sanatana Dharma of our time. A great light that was shining for 85 years, in Puttaparthi, in South India has gone out. Sathya Sai Baba has left his mortal body, and ascended to whence he came from. He has promised that he will come again as Prema Sai, to complete the triple Avatar – Shirdi, Sathya and Prema. Let us pray that the human beings who have now been entrusted with the continuance of his various charitable works find the discipline and courage to do so with dignity, even as we pray for the soul of Satya Dai Baba and say our farewell to him, in the best way we know how, and await for the next iteration of the Avatar. Om Tat Sat

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Souvenir - Eternal Melodies Concert 2011