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Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland 4406 Brecksville Rd Richfield OH 44286
SREE VENKATESWARA TEMPLE OF CLEVELAND
Sree Padmavathi Sametha Sree Venkateswara Parabrahmane Namaha
4406 Brecksville Road Richfield OH 44286 Tel: (330) 576-5626 Temple timings: Open 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends & holidays
Issue 18 May 2014
Board of Trustees
Dr. R. Bandi
Mr. L. Venkataraman
Dr. P. Achanti
Mr. J. Medarametla Dr. S. Ramanavarapu
Dr. R. Donthi
Dr. R. Taliwal
Mr. R. Srinivasan
Mr. S. Agarwal
Mr. K. Devulapalli
Treasurer Mrs. S. Venna Jt. Treasurer Mrs. N. Kulasekaran Secretary Mr. R. Rambhatla
Jt. Secretary Mr. R. Atluri
Pledge or donate here Visit: www.balajiusa.org
For Information 330 576 5626 /
Religious Calendar:
May 14, 6:30 PM
Purnima Satyanarayana Puja 7 PM
Sat, May 17 Sankatahara Chaturthi
Fri, May 23 Hanuman Jayanti
May 30-Jun 1 9:30 a.m.
Dwajasthamba and Vimana Samprokshanam
Thanks to all for your consideration in following our Temple Etiquette
Sanctum doors, Dwarapalakas and Prabavalis have arrived from India and preparations are in progress to install these items along with the Vimanam and the Dwajasthambam before Kumbhabishekam. To com-plete the work, the sanctums will need to be closed. To close the sanctums, Kalakarshanam is scheduled for May 12th. Sree Venkateswara Temple’s main sanctum sanctorum of the Lord, Devis and Ganesha will be closed from May 12th until May 30th. During Maha samprokshanam, in every temple, kalakarshanam (Transferring the Cosmic energy of the main deity into a Sacred pot) is done to transfer the powers of the moolavar to the Pradhana Ghatam (Main Kumbam). After performing the Kalakarshanam ritual and transferring the Kala into a Kumbham, it is construed that the Kumbham will replace the Mulavirat, till the Samprokshanam is over. And hence all the rituals are performed to the Kumbham and the construction workers can enter the Sanctum and can under-take any work needed inside the Sanctum. While undertaking the works, usual-ly the Mulavirat is covered with silk cloths and tied firmly to avoid damages. All the nithya pujas like Suprabhatam, thiru-vardhanam and archanas are done to the Pradhana Ghatam. Devotees can get darshan of the ghatam and utsava dei-ties and perform archanas to the same.
Preparing for Kumbhabhishekam - Kalakarshanam scheduled for May 12, 2014
Mark your calendars -KUMBHABHISHEKAM May 30—Jun 1, 2014 !
KUMBHABHISHEKAM May 30—Jun 1, 2014 !
Dwajasthamba Sthapanam-May 19, 2014; 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland 4406 Brecksville Rd Richfield OH 44286
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SREE VENKATESWARA TEMPLE OF CLEVELAND
Sree Padmavathi Sametha Sree Venkateswara Parabrahmane Namaha
4406 Brecksville Road Richfield OH 44286 Tel: (330) 576-5626 Temple timings: Open 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends & holidays
Issue 18 May 2014
“Yo nithyam achyutha padamboja yugma rukma vyamoha thaditara-
ni thrunayamene, asmath gurubyo Ramanujasya charanam shara-
nam prapadye” (I take shelter at the feet of my guru Ramanuja who
always considers anything that does not lead to the attachment to the
lotus feet of Achyutha, as a blade of grass.)
Sri Bhagavth Ramanuja Acharya’s 997th Jayanthi (appearance day)
falls on May 4, 2014. Ramanuja has rejuvenated and propagated the
prapatthi margam (the way of sharanagathi). Prapatthi as a means
of moksha has been laid out in the Vedas, Agamas, Puranas, and
Ithihasas. Lord Krishna has taught the Bhagavath Gita, which repre-
sents a distillation of various Upanishads. After defining various
means of salvation like Karma yoga, Sankya yoga, Bhakthi yoga
etc., Lord Krishna has revealed the Prapatthi yoga in the 18th chapter
of the Bhagavad Gita: “Sarva dharmaan parithyajya, maam ekam
sharanam vraja, Aham thwa sarva papebyo moksha icchyami
maasucha.” This means “Leaving all duties, take shelter in me alone,
I will grant you moksham, don’t worry.” However, after the kali
yugam started, people forgot about this easiest and surest means of
salvation. Taking a pity at us (the fallen souls), Lord Sriman Naraya-
na took the swayambhu (self-manifest) archa-avatharam as Lord Sri
Venkateswara in Tirumala. He points His right hand (Vaikunta
hastham) towards His divine feet and He points His left hand (kati
hastham) towards His waist. He instructs us that when we take shel-
ter (sharanagathi) at His lotus feet, the dreaded “ocean” of samsara
will become only waist deep such that we can easily transcend this
never ending cycle of birth and death. However, because our minds
are tainted by heaps of sin (paapam), we never take shelter at his
feet; Instead, we ask for temporary material pleasures. Seeing our
deplorable state, He sent twelve Alwars and had them compose/sing
four thousand pasurams (collectively called as Nalayar Divya Prab-
handam) which teach and demonstrate the path of prapatthi. These
pasurams (poems in Tamil) represent the essence of the four Vedas.
To further propagate the way of Prapatthi, Lord Sriman Narayana
sent Bhagavath Ramanuja (an incarnation of Adishesha, the divine
serpent on which the Lord reclines) to dispel the darkness. Ramanu-
ja appeared in the solar month of Chaitra under the star Arudra in
1017 (April 13, 1017 AD) and lived for 120 years. Ramanuja
reestablished the Visistadvaitha philosophy on a firm ground, propa-
gated the path of Prapatthi, and brought back the temple worship
using the agamas.
From time immemorial, there are three realities according to Vishis-
tadvaitha: (1) Iswara (God or Paramathma (super soul)); (2) Chith
(Jeevathma or the individual soul); and (3) Achith (prakruthi or
matter). Iswara (Paramathma) is the indweller and the controller of
the other two. Just like we wear the clothing, the jeevathma wears
the body. However, Iswara or Paramathma (Supreme Being) wears
the jeevathma (soul). Thus, there is a shareera-shareeri sambandam
(body-indweller relationship) between the God (Paramathma) and
Sri Bhagavath Ramanuja Acharya Jayanthi Dr. Narender P. Reddy
the individual soul (Jeevathma). The purpose of the individual soul is to
serve the Supreme Being. Vaishnavas adhere to the Vishistadvaitha and
the Vaishnava sanyasees always hold the thridandam (three sticks tied
together) signifying that there are three realities of Iswara, chith and
achith and that the latter two can’t exist without the former. On the
other hand, Shankaracharya developed the Advaitha (Non-dualistic)
philosophy to defeat the Buddhists.
In contrast to Vishistadvaitha, the Advaithees believe that there is no
supreme being, the whole universe (everything seen) is an illusion
(Maya), the athma (soul) is in a dream state and when it wakes out of the
dream, it realizes its true identity. Depending on the context, some por-
tions of the Vedas take the stand of bheda (dual) and certain section take
the abheda (non-dual). The advaithees accept only those portions of the
Vedas which talk about nonduality and deny any qualities of the soul.
Ramanuja revitalized the Vishistadvaitha philosophy and said that all
parts of the Vedas have to be accepted. Using the statements of the prin-
cipal Upanishads, Ramanuja defeated numerous advaithic scholars and
converted them into the Vaishnava fold. Ramanuja, drawing from Vedas
and Puranas, has established that Sriman Narayana is the Supreme Being
and that He has innumerable kalyana gunas (divine attributes) like infi-
nite daya (mercy), forgiveness, potency, etc. His consort Lakshmi (Sri
Devi) is an embodiment of compassion. Ramanuja re-established the
easiest path of prapatthi (taking sharanagathi or shelter) at the divine feet
of Sriman Narayana. However, Ramanuja and all the poorva acharyas
and Alwars have taught that this sharanagathi should be done by invok-
ing the purushakaram (recommendation) of mother Sri (Lakshmi) Devi
as she is an embodiment of compassion. Therefore, this sect of Vaishna-
vas is called Sri Vaishnavas.
Although Bhakti and Prapatthi may appear to be overlapping, the dis-
tinction of Prapatthi from Bhakti can be derived from the following ex-
amples: (1) Markata kishora Nyayam (Monkey and her infant) and (2)
Marjala kishora nyayam (cat and its kitten). The infant monkey clings to
the mother, firmly holding her, while the mother jumps from one tree to
the next. The infant has full independence as to however much it can
cling to the mother and it is the responsibility of the infant monkey and
not of the mother. If the infant fails to hold the mother firmly, it falls. On
the other hand, the cat holds its kitten by mouth and hides it in a safe
place. The kitten has no independence. The responsibility is not of the
kitten, but of the mother. Bhakti margam follows the markata-kishora
nyayam (monkey and its infant), and the Prapatthi margam follows the
marjala kishora nyayam (cat and its kitten). Prapatthi involves total
surrender to God, giving up our independence, and living up to the will
of God.
Ramanuja’s compassion and eagerness to save the mankind: The
formal procedure for sharanagathi is to have the pancha samskaram (five
sacraments/refinements) given by a Sri Vaishnava guru during which the
Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland 4406 Brecksville Rd Richfield OH 44286
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SREE VENKATESWARA TEMPLE OF CLEVELAND
Sree Padmavathi Sametha Sree Venkateswara Parabrahmane Namaha
4406 Brecksville Road Richfield OH 44286 Tel: (330) 576-5626 Temple timings: Open 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends & holidays
Issue 18 May 2014
guru whispers the astakshara manthram into the ear of the disciple.
The teacher (guru) used to examine the character and aptitude of the
student before giving the mantra. It is said that if the teacher gives
out the mantra to an unqualified individual, then the teacher would
go to hell. Ramanuja had to go to his guru 18 times, in a city more
than 120 miles away, before he was given the mantra. After receiv-
ing the mantra, Ramanuja was at a temple in Gostipuram where
thousands of devotees were waiting for a festival. Ramanuja climbed
the front gopuram (tower) of the temple and shouted out the
Astakshari mantra asking the devotees to repeat it. His guru was
furious at Ramanuja, but the unperturbed Ramanuja replied, “Sir, I
know that I will go the hell. I don’t mind going to the hell for the
spiritual upliftment of thousands of devotees”. The guru immediately
hugged Ramanuja. He received numerous titles including Udayavar.
Ramanuja Authored Nine Books establishing the Visitadvaitha
Philosophy: On a panguni uthiram day (appearance day of Lakshmi
from the ocean of milk) when Sri Ranganayaka and his consort were
seated together in Sri Rangam, Ramanuja instantly composed and
sang the Sharanagathi gadyam in which he seeks sharanagathi at the
feet of Sriman Narayana invoking the purushakaram of Sri Devi on
our behalf. In this gadyam, he seeks forgiveness and eradication of
all our sins (resulting from various kinds of misdeeds (nana vidha
apacharan). In addition to the Sharanagathi gadyam, he composed
the Vaikunta gadyam and Sri Ranga gadyam. Ramanuja authored
nine important books including Vedantha Sangraham, Sri Bhashyam,
Vedantha Deepam, Vedantha Saram, Sri Bagavad Githa Bhashyam,
and Nithya Grandham.
Ramanuja wrote his first book, the Vedantha Sangraham, in Tiruma-
la and dedicated it to Lord Sri Venkateswara Swami. In Vedan-
tha Sangraham, he wrote commentaries and detailed discussion of
the meaning of the Upanishads. He described his opponent’s
(advaithic) arguments and provided counter arguments with proof,
establishing the fact that there is only one Supreme God (Narayana)
and that the anya devathas (demi-gods) are His anga-bhuthas (act as
His organs).
He composed the Sri Bhashyam, a commentary on Brahma Suthras.
After dividing the Veda into four parts, Veda Vyasa baghavan has
written the Brahma sutras as the key to the study of Vedas. Ramanu-
ja went to Kashmir to get the earlier works (commentaries) of Boda-
yana. When Ramanuja finished his composition of his Bhasyam
supporting the Visistadvaitha philosophy, Goddess Saraswathi ap-
peared and kept it on her head and declared that this Bhashyam rep-
resents the true explanation of the meaning and it will be called as
Sri Bhashyam.
Ramanuja argued with and converted thousands of Jain scholars
into Hinduism. He converted a Jain king by the name of Betti Deva
Sri Bhagavath Ramanuja Acharya Jayanthi (Contd..) Dr. Narender P. Reddy
and gave him a new name of Vishnu Vardhana who later helped him to
spread the Sri Vaishnava Sampradayam.
Ramanuja was a social reformer, the fir st religious leader to intro-
duce the entry of the so-called untouchables into the temple. He did this
almost a thousand years ago in Tiru Narayana puram (Melkote in the
present Karnataka). Annamacharya who was in his disciplic succession,
more than five hundred years ago, promoted equality as evidenced by his
song “Brahmamokkate parabrhmamokkate…” Ramanuja gave the pan-
cha samskaram to people of all casts and both sexes. In Sri Vaishnava
sampradayam, the official pancha samskaram is given to any person of
any cast or creed, if he is qualified.
Ramanuja made significant contributions to the development of the
Tirumala Temple. He gave the shankam and chakram to Lord Sr i
Venkateswara as predicted in Sri Varaha puranam. He re-established the
procedure of performing pujas in Tirumala Temple using the Vaikanasa
Agamam. Ramanuja instructed that the devotees climbing the hill
should continuously chant the “Govinda” nama. While in Sri Rangam,
Ramanuja asked his disciples if one of them could stay in Tirumala to
build a permanent flower garden in Tirumala to facilitate offering of
fresh flowers to Venkatachalapathi every day. His disciple Ananthalwar
took the task of building beautiful gardens in Tirumala. The present
Alwar tank has been named after him. One day when he and his wife
were digging the tank, Lord Venkateswara disguised as a small boy
came and help his wife carry the dirt away. Ananthalwar got angry at
his wife for taking help from a small boy and threw some dirt at his wife.
A tiny piece of rock went and hit the boy in the chin. With blood flow-
ing, the boy ran away. That evening when Anathalwar went to perform
puja, Venkateswara was bleeding from the chin. Ananthalwar felt very
sorry for his mistake and immediately put some camphor to stop bleed-
ing. To this day, Lord Venkateswara wears a white mark (camphor) on
his chin to immortalize Anathalwar’s services.
There were no streets in the hilly Tirumala at that time. Brahmotsavam
used to be conducted iiruchanoor with only the dwajarohanam in
Tirumala. Ramanuja built the four mada streets around the temple in
Tirumala and moved the Brahmotsavam back to Tirumala. Ramanuja,
thus brought revitalization to the Temple. Devotees to Tirumala can
have a darshan of Ramanuja’s vigraham in the second prakaram of the
Temple. Even today, the pedda Jeeyar and china jeeyar of Tirumala
along with their disciples assist the Vaikanasa priests during the Tomala
Seva, archana, abhisekam etc. Ramanuja made numerous other improve-
ments. He established the Govinda Raja Swamy temple in Tirupati.
Ramanuja travelled to spread the Sri Vaishnavism (Prapatti mar-
gam) from the southern tip of India (Alwar Tirunagar i) through
Mathura, Vrindavan, to Kasmir and Badrinath in Indian Himalayas and
Muktinath in Nepal bringing various temples under the Pancharathra
Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland 4406 Brecksville Rd Richfield OH 44286
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SREE VENKATESWARA TEMPLE OF CLEVELAND
Sree Padmavathi Sametha Sree Venkateswara Parabrahmane Namaha
4406 Brecksville Road Richfield OH 44286 Tel: (330) 576-5626 Temple timings: Open 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends & holidays
Issue 18 May 2014
Knowing the Lord - The story of Srinivasa Kalyanam (Final Episode –17)
Re-publishing the story of Srinivasa Kalyanam from the TTD website in 17 installments.
At the palace entrance, Lord Srinivasa is received by Akasa Raja with full honors and taken in procession on an elephant to the palace for the marriage. In the presence of all the Devas, Lord Srinivasa weds Princess Padmavati, thus blessing Akasa Raja. …..The End.
Agama and establishing Ramanuja mutts all over. He appointed 74 Jeeyars to propagate the Vaishnava sampradayam. These Jeeyars are spread
throughout India including Ayodhya.
Importance of Prapatthi: Ramayana and Mahabharata illustrate the impor tance of prapatthi and kainkarya. In spite of creating the
Mahabharata war leading to the destruction of the Kauravas, when time came for Lord Krishna to leave the planet, he felt that he did not do
enough justice to the prapatthi (sharanagathi) made by Draupadi during the attempted disrobing in the court of Kauravas. Rama declared that
even if the enemy were to surrender, he would forgive and protect them. Ravana, who did not seek sharanagathi, was slain. On the other hand,
Kakasura (Indra’s son Jayantha disguised as the demon crow) during the vana-vasa time, in spite of committing a bigger blunder than Ravana,
was forgiven at the merciful recommendation of Sita as Kakasura came back in preparation of sharanagathi. Lakshmi devi is a personification of
the Lord’s compassion (daya) and is ever ready to plead God (Sriman Narayana) for forgiveness and protection, provided that we perform
prapatthi. Thus, prapatthi (sharanagathi) and compassion form the core of Sri Vaishnava philosophy.
Ananya sheshatvam, ananya dasyathvam, ananya bhogyathvam, and ananya gathithvam form the four pillars of Sri Vaishnava philosophy.
Ananya sharanathvam means not seeking shelter at anybody other than Sriman Narayana or his devotees. Ananya dasyathvam means being sub-
servient only to Sriman Narayana or his pure devotees. Ananya bhogyathvam means, I am for the enjoyment of Sriman Narayana only. Ideally.
every action (eating, worshiping, etc.) performed by a Sri Vaishnava, is for the pleasure of Sriman Narayana only. Ananya gathithvam means
having no other way other than Sriman Narayana. Ramanuja stressed that for a Sri Vaishnava, the means (upaya) and the end (upeya) are Sriman
Narayana.
Ramanuja’s 1000th birthday will be in 2017. On May 2nd of this year, His Holiness Sri Tridandi Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swamy will be inaugu-
rating a large scale project to constructing a memorial that will depict the life history of Bhagavath Ramanuja.
Sri Bhagavath Ramanuja Acharya Jayanthi (Contd..) Dr. Narender P. Reddy
Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland 4406 Brecksville Rd Richfield OH 44286
Page 5
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
27
28 29 30 1 Hanuman Ashtotharam Puja 6:30 PM Hanuman Chalisa 7 PM
2 Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
3 Hanuman Ashtotharam Puja 6:30 PM Hanuman Chalisa 7 PM
4
5 6
7
8 Hanuman Chalisa 6:30 PM
9 Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
10 Venkateswara Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
11
12
13
14 Purnima Sree Satyanarayana puja 7 PM
15 Hanuman Chalisa 6:30 PM
16 Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
17 Sankatahara Chaturdhi ; Ganesha Sahasranama Archana ; Venkateswara Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
18
19
20
21
22 Hanuman Chalisa 6:30 PM
23 Hanuman Jayanthi Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
24 Sree Venkateswara Sahasrana-ma Archana 6:30 PM
25
26 27 28
29 Hanuman Chalisa 6:30 PM
30 Dwajasthamba and Vimana Samprokshanam 9:30 AM Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
31 Dwajasthamba and Vimana Samprokshanam 9:30 AM Sree Venkateswara Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM
SREE VENKATESWARA TEMPLE OF CLEVELAND
Sree Padmavathi Sametha Sree Venkateswara Parabrahmane Namaha
4406 Brecksville Road Richfield OH 44286 Tel: (330) 576-5626 Temple timings: Open 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends & holidays
Issue 18 May 2014
Om Sriman Narayana!
Content collated and edited for Sree Venkateswara Temple Of Cleveland By Sravanthi Vallampati
May 2014
Mark your calendars —KUMBHABHISHEKAM—May 30—Jun 1, 2014 !
Kids & Adults—Send in your contributions to [email protected] and get published!