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Issue No 2: Jan 2014, Lafayette, Louisiana 1

Vedanshi

Mantras,Shlokas & StotrasSri Ganesha ShlokaAgaja-[A]anana Padma-Arkam Gaja-[A]ananam Aharnisham |Aneka-Dam-Tam Bhaktaanaam Eka-Dantam Upaasmahe ||

Meaning:1: As the Rays from the Lotus-Face of Gauri (Devi Parvati) is Always on Her Beloved Son Gajanana ( Who is having the Face of an Elephant ),2: Similarly, the Grace of Sri Ganesha is Always on His Devotees; Granting their Many Prayers; the Devotees who with deep devotion Worship the Ekadanta ( Who is having a Single Tusk ).

Sri Vishnu ShlokaKaayena Vaacaa Manase[a-I]ndriyairvaaBuddhy[i]-Aatmanaa Vaa Prakrteh Svabhaavaat |Karomi Yad-Yat-Sakalam ParasmaiNaaraayannayeti Samarpayaami ||

- from Srimad Bhagavatam (11.2.36):

Meaning:1: Whatever I do with the Body, Speech, Mind or the Sense Organs,2: Either by discrimination of the Intellect, or by the deeper feelings of the Heart, or by the existing Tendencies of the Mind,3: I Do them All (i.e. Whatever work is to be done) without Ownership,4: And I Surrender them at the feet of Sri Narayana.

Sri Guru StotraGurur-Brahmaa Gurur-Vissnnur-Gururdevo Maheshvarah |Gurure[-I]va Param Brahma Tasmai Shrii-Gurave Namah | |

Meaning:1: The Guru is Brahma, the Guru is Vishnu, the Guru Deva is Maheswara (Shiva),2: The Guru is Verily the Para-Brahman (Supreme Brahman); Salutations to that Guru.

Maha Mrityunjaya MantraOm Try-Ambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pusstti-VardhanamUrvaarukam-Iva Bandhanaan Mrtyor-Mukssiiya Ma-Amrtaat ||(Rig Veda 7.59.12)

Meaning:1: Om, We Worship the Three-Eyed One (Lord Shiva), 2: Who is Fragrant (Spiritual Essence) and Who Nourishes all beings.3: May He severe our Bondage of Samsara (Worldly Life), like a Cucumber (severed from the bondage of its Creeper), ...4: ... and thus Liberate us from the Fear of Death, by making us realize that we are never separated from our Immortal Nature.!

-www.greenmesg.org

As an act of divine compassion, dwelling within their self, I destroy the darkness born of ignorance with the shining lamp of wisdom. !

Chapter 10, Verse 11; Bhagavad Gita

SHSK IntroductionNeed for a temple in Lafayette area. SHSK goals and objectives. IRS and state approved 501 (c) (3) organization. Yearly membership and life membership details.Page 2

Makar Sankranti

Significance of Makar SankrantiPage 3

Punya Kaal MuhurtaJanuary 14, 2014

Location: Lafayette, LAMahapunya Kaal Muhurta

07:09 to 08:52Page 3

Letter from the boardMay this year 2014 be filled with joy, happiness, peace and prosperity. May God Bless SHSK with land purchase and Boomi-Puja for Temple construction in 2014. Page 3

EmpathyA short story

“The lesson is that a true devotee of God should try to share with others whatever he possesses. Considering the difficulty of others as your own difficulty, you should help others.”Page 4

SponsorsSHSK sponsorship opportunities are listed.Page 4

A Monthly Newsletter Issue No 2: Jan 2014

The part of the sacred knowledge

S A N A T A N H I N D U S A N S K A R K E N D R A

2 Issue No 2: Jan 2014, Lafayette, Louisiana

Durga

Santan Hindu Sanskar Kendra is an IRS and Louisiana state approved non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. The organization with its 5 voluntary board members have initiated discussions to find prospective Trustees for the organization. The board members have planned discussions with many of the prospective members and groups to be a part of board of Trustees for the next two years.

SHSK is actively seeking membership dues from prospective members in coming months. A nominal annual fee of $100 per person

Sanatan Hindu Sanskar KendraPO Box 80362, Lafayette, Louisiana - 70508

Email: shskendra@gmail.com, Website: sanatanlft.orgTax Id: 46-2580905

Sita Ram

Living in Lafayette area has been a wonderful experience for many of us. With its unique culture, festivals and food it has earned its place in US. As you all know apart from enjoying cajun culture, we (Indian Community) also actively participate in sharing Indian culture to the Lafayette community. With a strong Indian association in town, we manage to host and participate in various activities around the year.

We also have an active Hindu community in town such as Sanatan Hindu Sunday School, Gujarti Samaj and Purna Vidya for kids. We

Ganesh

organize spiritual events around the year such as Janmastami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Shivaratri, Ramanavami, Holi, Ugadi and Navaratri. We have seen active participation and devotion of our friends and family in such activities.

Inspite of all these, we miss a Sanatan Hindu temple in Lafayette area. We have to travel more than an hour to the nearest temple. We miss opportunities to show devotion and serve the almighty in various occasions due to far of distances. Many such opportunities include pooja, archana,

Krishna

abhishekam, pradakshanam, satsang, bhajans, yagna and many more. Whether its a new year, birthdays, anniversaries or festivals lack of having a spiritual place is felt by many of us for many years.

Many discussions were initiated in the past to address this issue and with evolution of ideas from past and a vision for the future, a spiritual organization called “Sanatan Hindu Sanskar Kendra” (SHSK) was formed last year (2013). This organization’s mission is to build a Sanatan Hindu Temple in Lafayette area.

Shiva

is required to be a member. A registered member will be eligible to elect the board of trustees to build the organization. There is also an option to become a lifetime member by contributing $5000.

With all your support and help, we believe that the mission of bringing up a Sanatan Hindu temple in Lafayette area will soon come true. Don’t miss this history making golden opportunity of being part of building Temple in Lafayette. Please contact current acting board members on how you can be a part of this wonderful opportunity.

The current acting volunteering board members: Jay Patel - 337.739.2400, Senthil Thavamani - 337.296.1340, Dinesh Deoras - 337.296.6576, Ravi Vallalar - 337.356.6288, Srinivasan Ambatipati - 518.867.6645

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Makar SankrantiMakar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer

thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline (this has become an International Kite Festival in Gujarat). They may be trying to reach upto their glorious God or bring about greater

proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting to leave his mortal coil.

Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all know it to be indeed a worthy one too. No Sundays for the Sun, may be because one who revels in its very 'being', the very essence of his own Self, is always in the Sunday mood.

The co-relation of cosmic events with individual life and values is one of the most astounding traits of Hindu Masters. Once this co-relation is brought about thereafter these cosmic events become instrumental to remind us the best which we cherish & value. Of all the cosmic bodies Sun is the most glorious & important, thus every sun-centric cosmic event became very important spiritual, religious & cultural events. On Makar Sankranti day the Sun begins its ascendancy and journey into the Northern Hemisphere, and thus it signifies an event wherein the Gods seem to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'. May you go higher & higher - to more & more Light and never to darkness.

Religious Significance1. The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi. These father & son do not ordinarily get along nicely, but inspite of any difference between each other Lord Sun makes it a point to meet each other on this

day. Father in fact himself comes to his son’s house,

for a month. This day symbolized the importance of special relationship of father & son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry forward his fathers dream and the continuity of the family.

2.  From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time. Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the next half is called Pitrayana.3.  It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandar Parvat. So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.

4. The great savior of his ancestors, Maharaj Bhagirath, did great Tapasya to bring Gangaji down on the earth for the redemption of 60,000 sons of Maharaj Sagar, who were burnt to ashes at the Kapil Muni Ashram, near the present day Ganga Sagar. It was on this day that Bhagirath finally did tarpan with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse. After visiting the Patala for the redemption of the curse of Bhagirath’s ancestors Gangaji finally merged in the Sagar. Even today a very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Lakhs take dip in the water and do tarpan for their ancestors.We salute such a great devotee & benefactor of his ancestors. One who can express such gratitude to his ancestors, work with tireless resolve to redeem the pride, pledges & resolves of his forefathers, alone possess a personality, which the history reveals to be a true benefactor of the world too. A person who has severed his own roots gets soon rooted out in the flow of time. Moral of the story is to see to it that the roots of the tree of ‘our’ life are not only intact but nourished well, thereafter alone the tree blooms & flourishes.

There is another spiritually symbolic aspect of this story. The 60,000 cursed son of Maharaj Sagar represent our thoughts, who become dull & dead-like because of uncultured & blind ambition. Redemption of such people is only by the waters of Gangaji, brought down ‘to’ & later ‘from’ the Himalayas with great tapasya. This represents dedicated hard work to get the redeeming Brahma-Vidya, which alone enlightens, enthuses & enlivens the life of anyone.

5. Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grandsire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day. It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration.

www.vmission.org.in

Punya Kaal Muhurta

For more details please refer DrikPanchang.com

L E T T E R F R O M T H E B O A R DNamaskar!Like many, I am also excited to volunteer to help our Temple Project. As we mentioned earlier in our various communications, we do plenty of religious activities every year in Lafayette. But we miss our own place to pray and perform spiritual activities.

There is a Tamil proverb “Koil illa ooril Kudiyirukka vendaam” meaning: Don’t live in a place where there is no temple. In our towns and villages, Temple is symbol of unity. Apart from spiritual serving, it also serves people as a school, a community hall, a place for various Dhans, cyclone/flood shelter, etc. So temples become main part of infrastructure for any society.

We have good number of families living around Lafayette and our Indian community is always increasing. Even though few kids or families moved out of Lafayette for their higher education or work, in fact, many families moved into Lafayette for similar reasons. If we expect same growth in future, we will have very good size community to maintain our Temple. Thus sustainability is guaranteed. We all enjoy and utilize roads, parks and all the infrastructure constructed by our older generation and we are still building more for us and to our younger generation. Similarly let us build a spiritual infrastructure for us and to our next generations.

2013 was a historic year for SHSK; with your support we were able to Register SHSK, formally introduced it, conducted membership drive and celebrated Navaratri in 2013. We thank all donors, members, performers and volunteers. We seek the same support to be continued in this New Year and years after.

Wish you all Happy Holidays and Happy Makara Sankranti/Pongal.

May this year 2014 be filled with joy, happiness, peace and prosperity. May God Bless SHSK with land purchase and Bhoomi-Puja for Temple construction in 2014.

Senthil Thavamani

January 14th, 2014 (Tuesday)

Timings for Lafayette, LouisianaPunya Kaal Muhurta = 07:09 to 12:17

Duration = 5 Hours 7 MinsSankranti Moment = 01:47:28

Mahapunya Kaal Muhurta = 07:09 to 08:52Duration = 1 Hour 42 Mins

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4 Issue No 2: Jan 2014, Lafayette, Louisiana

Short Story

EmpathyManikkavachakar was a great philosopher and devotee lived in Tamil Nadu, India. He was constantly engaged in chanting the Name of God. One day when he was passing through a street, it started raining suddenly. As he looked for some place for shelter, he found the verandah of a house nearby. There he lay down, stretching his legs. Soon it became dark, and the inmates of the house went to sleep after shutting the door of the house.

After some time, another person fully drenched in rain stepped into the verandah. Hearing the noise, Manikkavachakar immediately sat up and said, “Come, come! So far there was place for one person to lie down in this verandah. Now it will be enough for two persons to sit”. Both of them decided to spend the night, chanting the Name of God while sitting there in this manner. Some time after that, another person came there. He was also fully

drenched in rain. On seeing him, Manikkavachakar said to him, ‘Come come! So far this place was enough for two persons to sit. It will now be sufficient for three persons to stand”. All three of them kept standing in this manner till it stopped raining.

What is the lesson that we learn from this story of Manikkavachakar? The lesson is that a true devotee of God should try to share with others whatever he

possesses. Considering the difficulty of others as your own difficulty, you should help others. - Sanathana Sarathi

SponsorsSHSK is actively looking for sponsors. Two immediate sponsorship needs are:

1. Monthly Newsletter sponsor

2. SHSK Calendar 2015 sponsor

Members who would like to sponsor the above mentioned activities are requested to contact one of the current volunteering board members.

FeedbackWe would like to get your comments, feedback or suggestions on SHSK activities. Please email us or talk to us when we meet together next time. Thank you for your support and blessings.

Srinivasan AmbatipatiEditor

Dwarakadheesh Temple - Dwaraka, Gujarat, IndiaThe deity of Lord Dwarakadheesh is made of shiny black stone and is about 2.25 ft in high. The four hands of the deity carry a conch, the Sudarshana chakra, a mace and a lotus and this image is popularly known as “Shankh Chakra Gada Padma Chaturbuj”