SHLOKA OF THE MONTH JUNE 2009

Bhavamsthu saha vaidehya girisanushu ramsyathe

Aham sarvam karishyami jagrathaha svapathascha the

A true devotee should be service minded. Service is his greatest ornamentation. However they do such service selflessly without any kind of expectation, not even liberation. Even at Vaikunta they yearn for service. Thus service becomes the 5^th purushartha. Lakshmana considered Rama kainkaryam as his goal. Rama sacrificed Ayodhya samrajya and left for the forest. Lakshmana followed suit.He did not look back at his kingdaom, nor at his wife Urmila not even at his parents or relatives. He considered Rama kainkarya as his birth right. Rama refused to take him along. Lakshman pestered him thus: “ As you wander through the hill tops with Sita Devi I shall serve upon you at all times and in all possible ways. You should hence definitely take me along. “Girisanushu”- A true devotee should serve the Lord at all places. Lakshmana serves the Lord not only at Ayodhya but through his vanavasam too. “ Jagrathaha svapathaschathe”- He should serve the Lord at all times. In the forest throughout the nights Lakshmana stayed awake. Hence he says “ Whether you are awake or asleep I shall serve you”. “Sarvam Karishyami”- There is no difference in kainkaryam be it small or great. Hence he says I shall do every kind of kainkaryam for you.

“Saha Vaidehya”- May you accept all my service along with Sita Devi.

EVENTS OF THE MONTH MAY 2009

I RADHA KALYANA UTSAVAM ,BRINDAVANAM

“ Brundavanam sakhi bhuvo vithanothi keerthim”- thus the Gopis extol the glory of Brundavanam.Just as the other forests Brundavanam too has rivers, mountains, bushes, flowers, birds and animals.But Brundavanam is a vanam with a difference. It is the place where the Lord has placed his feet. It is abound with the dust of the feet of the Lord. Brundavam is a premabhoomi. Even today Brundavanam is filled with the sanctity of Lord Krushna. It is filled with temples of Bankevihari, Radhavallabha, Radharamanan worshipped by great saints. It is full of ashramas and sadhus, the air filled with the sankeerthana of vrajavasis. The Yamuna river surrounds Brundavanam with her beauty and charm. All along there are Krushna leela sthalas like Cheer ghat, Vamshivat, Keshi ghta, srungaravat. All these are a sight indeed to cherish.

Sri Sri Anna holds Brundavanam the most to His heart. He hence built a beautiful temple for vamshidhar at Goranagar colony, Radhanivas. Here he conducts Holi uthsavam, Radhakalyana uthsavam, Radhashtami uthsavam and Rasothsavam. This year he sent Sri Hari Anna to conduct the Radhakalyana uthsavam. From May 2^nd to 8^th the uthsavam went on in full swing. Sri Hari Anna delivered lectures on Ekadasa Skandam. He did the nithyothsava on all days right from Prabodanam to Dolothsavam. He also sang the radhika shathakam beautifully. On the day of Bharathi a grand procession was conducted for Lord Jaganmohan. The vrajavasis were filled with joy and danced merrily to many namavalis. The sankeerthana reached the skies. On that day hundreds of Vrajavasis were fed with grand dinner.. That night there was Divyanamasankeeerthanam.. On May 6 and 7^th there was ashtapadhi bhajan. On 8^th morning there was a grand Radhakalyanam. Sri hari anna gave a discourse on radhakalyanam from Brundavanamahathmyam. The devotees were unable to depart from Brundavanam but consoled themselves that Radhastami will soon approach.

II DELHI PROGRAM

April 10^th, 11^th and 12^th witnessed a huge gathering at Tamil Sangam Hall, R.K Puram, Delhi. It was the series of Smt Vishakha Hari arranged by the Akhila Bharatha Sadhu Samajam, Delhi. On April 10^th she gave a scintillating concert with Ragam Tanam Pallavi in Mohanam and Ranjani. It was a Dwi Ragam Tanam Pallavi with words on Sri Rnaganatha. The concert began with Karunimpa sahana varnam. There were several pieces of Sri Thyagaraja swami and Purandaradas. She concluded the concert with Meera bhajans and tukkadas. She also sang Sri Anna’s abhang, Chandrabhage snanakarave. The whole audience sang Vittala along with her and one person began dancing and jumping with hands on his hips like Vittal. The audience went in ectasy and wanted for more which was given in the next two days. On April 11^th the topic of harikatha was “ Thyagaraja Pancharatna Vaibhavam”. She emphasized on Panduranga Bhakthas, gave several examples and illustrated the 5 ratnas. On April 12^th she concluded with Padmavathy kalyanam with Annamaiya’s songs, Dikshitar and Sri Anna interspersed in the middle. All the devotees were given laddu prasadam at the end. It was as if the devotees saw the Divyadampathi’s wedding in person. Glory to Srinivasa and to Goddess Padmavathy.

EVENTS OF THIS MONTH (JUNE 2009)

I UTSAVAM OF THIS MONTHDATE: JUNE 1 TO 7

VILLAGE :PARANUR
UTSAVAM: VASANTHOTSAVAM

II HARI ANNA'S PROGRAM

PROGRAM AT SRI RANGAM

DATE:JUNE 15 TO 18
TOPIC:SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM EKADASA SKANDAM
TOWN:SRI RANGAM
VENUE:NORTH CHITRA STREET,GORATHA MOOLAI
TIME:7 PM TO 9 PM

2.PROGRAM AT KUMBAKONAM

DATE:JUNE 2O TO 25
TOPIC:SRI KRISHNA LEELAIGAL
TOWN:KUMBAKONAM
VENUE:SANKARA MUTT
TIME:7 PM TO 9 PM

III VISHAKA HARI'S PROGRAM1.PROGRAM AT SRI RANGAM

DATE:JUNE 19
TOPIC:PADMAVATI KALYANAM
TOWN:SRI RANGAM
VENUE:NORTH CHITRA ST,GORATHA MOOLAI
TIME:7 PM TO PM

2.PROGRAM AT CHENNAI

DATE:JUNE 26 TO 28
TOPIC:SRI KRISHNA LEELAIGAL
CITY:CHENNAI
VENUE:ASTHIKA SAMAJ,VEENUS COLONY MYLAPORE
TIME:7 PM TO 9 PM

QUIZ ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM JUNE 2009

RULES AND REGULATION:
1. The answers should be mailed within 25th of the month to annahariji@gmail.com
2. Points will be alloted for the First, second and Third prizes.First - 10 Second - 8 Third - 6
3. The points will be cumulated every month if you get first, second or third.
4. The participants with the maximum points will be awarded first, second and third prizes at the end of the year.
5. The prizes will be distributed by Hariji at a grand function held at the end of the year.

QUESTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2009

1) What are the following:

a) Bheeshma b) Bheeshmaka c) Bhaishmi d) Barhishmathi

2) “ Ithi mathirupakalpitha vithrushna”- There are 2 meanings for this phrase. What are they?

3)How did Dharmaputhra consider Krishna?

4)“ Sarvathmanaha samadrushaha” – In this sloka What is the meaning of Adhvayasya as per advaithis and Vishishtadvaithis.

5) NirgunaBrahmam

a) will create the Universe b) will not create the Universe c) will create The Universe along with Prakruthi

ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2009

1)“ Thvayi me”- Kunti asks. According to her how should one’s mind be dedicated to the Lord ?

ANS: “Just as Ganga flows incessantly so should the mind constantly think of the Lord without the material influence even for a moment”- thus prays Kunthi

2)“ Drounyastratha”- From which danger did the Lord save? ( Which incident does Kunti refer here?)

ANS: “ Drounyastrataha”- She refers to the Lord protecting from Ashwaththama’s weapon .

3)Why did Dharmaputra visit Bheeshma?

ANS: Dharamputhra wanted to hear all the Dharmas from Bheeshma’s very own mouth so as to attain peace.

4)Who is Devavrata?

ANS: Bheeshma

5)Who are Guhyakas?

ANS: Yakshas

.

MAY WINNERS

.Nataraj First 18 Points
2.Aparna First 16 Points
3. Nanda kumar First 18 Points
4.Karthick First 18 Points
5.Radhika First 18 Points
6.Hari Gurumurthy First 20 Points
7.Sethu Raman First 20 Points
8.Aravind Hariharan First 20 Points
9.Vittal Rangan First 10 Points
10.Gopika First 10 Points
11.Gurumurthy First 20 Points
12. Sujata Nandakumar First 20 Points
13.Girija First 18 Points
14.Padma Narayanan Second 16 Points
15.Subramaniam Third 6 Points

KSHETRA FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2009

SRIRANGA MAHATHMYAM PART V

Ranga Gita ( continues)

Those who offer me honey will be bestowed with a sweet voice.. Every abhishekam of mine has a significance. Be it milk, curd, sugarcane juice, panchamrutham or ghee those who offer me anything and everything will be bestowed with prosperity. It is much better to construct and renovate old temples than to build new ones. As the Lord ordained so did Thirumangaiazhwar offer gold for Ranganathar’s vimana. The Lord continued to list the dwathrimshad ( 32) faults to be avoided in temples. He said:

1) Those who have not cleansed their mouth, brushed their teeth or had their mouth should not enter the temple precincts.

2) They should not offer me already used paraphernalia.

3) They should not be dressed in shabby clothes nor should they leave their hair uncombed.

4) The temple should be maintained clean and neat.

5) They should not enter the temple with their footwear.

6) None should drink liquor in the temple precincts. No casinos or toiletry is allowed in the temple.

7) As the devotees enter the temple they should avoid unnecessary speech, ridicule or loud noise.

8) Business, shops and mercantile are not permitted in the temple.

9) None should spit in the temple area.

10) The temple vessels or jewels should not be misused or thieved. Those who do so will be affected by leoprosy.

11) True devotees or saints must not be made fun of.

All thoughts, words and deeds must be fixed on ME”

The lord finished His Gita thus. He then went on to explain the Karma Yoga, Gnana Yoga an Bhakthi Yoga. Finally as in the Bhagavad Gita He concluded His Gita with Sharanagathi ( surrender to the Lord) as the only means to attain the Lord is the easiest possible way.