SHLOKA OF THE MONTH OCTOBER 2008

Kathanchithupakarena kruthenaikena thushyathi

Na smarathyapakaranam shathamapi aathmavaththaya 

Sri Ram’s virtues are infinite. They kindle our love towards him. To Forget is Human and to Forgive is Divine. Sri Ram possessed this divine quality Himself being divine. He always remembered even a trifle good deed done to him. But what good can an ordinary mortal do towards the immortal? Of what use can a desperate, helpless layman be to the Omnipotent Lord? What help can an illiterate fellow do to the All-Knowing Supreme personality?  What help can a despondent sufferer do to the Supreme Godhead of bliss? What service can a Jeevathma render to the Paramathma, SriRama. Hence Sri Rama does not expect even a trifle help from us. He showers his bountiful grace on us.When he does so accepting his grace with gratitude instead of rejecting it  is by itself  considered a help by Sri Ram. To cite an example, Hanuman discovered Sita and came back with the happy news declaring “ Sita is seen by me.” Sri Ram felt happy and embraced him. “ I stand indebted to you for the helping hand you have lent to me” said Rama.

 “Na smarathyapakaranam shathamapi aathmavaththaya

 Sri Ram forgave hundreds of mistakes. Why he even pardoned the same mistake being done a100 times. Kakasura with his beak harmed Sita to the extent that she bled. At once Rama used a blade of grass to sanctify it as the brahma astra. He ran around all the worlds, came back falling at Ram’s feet. Though tainted with a severe fault, Sri Ram did not kill him, he gave refuge to Kakasura too.

 

EVENTS OF THIS MONTH(OCTOBER 2008)

I UTSAVAM OF THIS MONTH

Date: Sep 30 to oct 8

Village:paranur

Utsavam:Navaratri Utsavam

II HARI ANNA'S PROGRAMS(OCTOBER 2008)

1.Srimad Ramayana pravachanam,paranoor

Date: Sep 30 to oct 10

Village:Paranoor

Topic:Srimad Ramayana

Time: 4pm to 6 pm

2.Srimad Bhagavata Sapthaham,Mumbai

Date: oct 14 to oct 21

City:Mumbai

Venue:Subramanaya swamy temple,CHEMBUR ,CHEDDA NAGAR

Topic: Srimad Bhagavatm

Time: 6 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm

III VISHAKA HARI'S PROGRAM (OCTOBER2008)

1.Krishna Leela Pravachanam, Chennai

Date: oct 17,18

City:Chennai

Venue:Uttara Guruvayoorappan temple,Nanganalloor

Time:6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

2.Meera charitram Pravachanam,chennai

Date:oct 20

City:Chennai

Venue: Krishna Gana Sabha,T.nagar

Time:6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

QUIZ ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM(OCTOBER 2008)

Rules and Regulations:
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: 

1)      Which part of the Lord’s Divine Body did Naradha mediatate upon the very first time?

2)      How did the ashariravak ( anonymous call) of the Lord sound?

3)      What did the Lord anonymously say?

4)      “Mathkamaha………Hruthchayan”—What removes the anger and desire from one’s mind?

5)      Nobody in this world has knowledge of the previous births. How did Naradha become an exception?

ANSWER FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2008

1) Svaayambuva kaya vruthya… Who is Swaayambuva in this context?

A: Narada

2) How did Narada’s mother die?

A: Snake bite.

3) How did Narada perceive his mother’s death?

A:He considered his mother's death as Bhagavath krupa

.4) Which direction did Narada proceed after his mother’s death?

A: North

5) Narada meditated on the Lord’s feet ,the very first time under a particular tree. Which tree is it?

A: Banyan tree/ pipal tree

SEPTEMBER WINNERS

1)Sethuraman I -10+50 points

2)Aparna I -10+40 points

3)Karthik Venkataraman I -10+8 points

4)Radhai, Madurai I -10+8 points

5)Padma Narayanan I -10+18 points

6)Vittal, Banglore I -10+12 points

7)Vijay, Banglore I- 10 points

8)Ramaswamy, Sri Rangam I - 10 poinys

9)Nandini ,Delhi I- 10 points

10)Hari Gurumoorty I -10 points

11) Gurumoorty Gopal Swamy  II- 8 +16 points

12)Sriraman III-6 points

KSHETRA FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2008

                                         THIRUMOGUR

A serene village 7 miles to the east of Madurai lies Thirumohur. Kalameghaperumal and Mohanavalli thayar grace all the devotees with their nectairine glance. The kethakivimanam shines in the morning sunlight. Beside it is the sheerabdipushkarani- the theertha of this kshetra. Nammazhwar does the mangalashasana- “ Thondeer vammin”. He must have enjoyed the sugarcane groves and huge rice fields which he portrays as “ Karumbodu perunchennelvilaya” in this pasuram. It is indeed our greatest fortune that we are able to see this very same Lord who was extolled by the azhwars. 

                    The lore goes as follows: The Devas tormented by the asuras took refuge at the feet of Brahma, at satyaloka. “Oh Lord Brahma, we are unable to fulfill our responsibilities of protecting the world and its dharma. We had previously killed the asuras who prevented us from carrying out our dharmic duties. However Shukracharya has enlivened them through his mruthasanjeevani. Now we stay weakened and hapless. Lord Brahma at once replied “ Worry not. Water poured at the roots automatically reaches the leaves, flowers, branches and fruits of the tree. So does our ablutions to Lord Vishnu. He will indeed bestow on us and the world prosperity and peace.” Thus pacificied and led by Brahma the devas  then sought refuge under the feet of the omnipotent and omniscient Lord Vishnu- oru thani mudalvan- Nammazhwar calls Him.. The Lord is a lover and maker of infinite leelas. He suggested that the Devas better churn the milky ocean( ksheerabdi) with the Manthara mountain as the churner and the snake- Vasuki as the rope. 

The Kurmavatar:

Both the Devas and the asuras began the mammoth task of churning the ocean. Nev ertheless the mountain stuck at its base. The Lord took the form of a huge tortoise ( kurma) and gave His back to level the base. Through this incarnation He shows the world that this very body of ours exists to help all others around us in thought, word and deed. 

Halasya Sundarar:

As they all churned and churned and churned out came the halahala poison filled all the quarters with its smoke. Everybody took to their heels, this time falling at the feet of Lord Siva. The latter consumed the poison unassumingly only reiterating the fact that if one has to help others one should do so even if he were to take poison. The Devas could turn powerful only if they were to partake of the amrutha (nectar), but Lord Siva was empowered even if he consumed poison. There lies His greatness and generosity. Lord Siva’s neck was coloured blue because of the poison which did not budge further than the neck portion. He came to be called Halasya sundaran, Neelakantan and so on. 

Lakshmi Kalyanam

              The churning continues and this time out come the kalpakatree, Kamadenu, Airavatha, Uchaisravas, Kousthubham, Apsaras etc. The Lord distributed them equally to the Devas and the asuras. The greatest of all the treasures is yet to come. And now it comes…no not the nectar but even better. On a thousand petalled lotus the mother of all the worlds incarnates to the awe of all the Devas. Straight she went to the Lord and garlanded Him. The Divine marriage was an extraordinary sight to see. The Lord gave her the best residence possible…His own heart.

 Danvanthri Avathar

The churning goes on. Finally there is a mahapurusha standing with the amrutha pot in His Hand. He is none other than another avathar of the Lord- Danvanthri. The Devas began extolling Him while the asuras snatched away the pot from His hands and fled to Thirumohur, near Madurai. There they were caught in a huge fight as to who should give away the amrutha to all.

 Mohini Avathar

Help the innocent and deceive the wicked is the ruling of the Lord. The cheated are to be blamed for their ignorance rather than the cheats for their malice. The Lord decided to hoodwink the cheats. Let this be a lesson to the world. He took the most gorgeous form of a lady ever possible and came to Thirumohur. The Asuras stunned at this striking beauty handed over to “Her”  the pot almost instantaneously. As if dancing this astonishing lady imparted the amrutha to the devas and misled the asuras who were all the time watching her breathtaking beauty. An asura by name Swarbhanu  gauged  this trick and immediately sat along with the Devas. The Lord gave him amrutha, knowingly. However the two illuminary devas, Surya and Chandra confronted that he was an asura. The Lord smilingly hit him and he was now torn into two. As he had partaken the amrutha he did not lose his life. Both his parts were live.  He came to be called Rahu and Kethu. From then on the planets became 9. Till then there were only 7 as the days are only seven in number. However Rahu and Kethu take the form of shadows and catch the sun and moon as eclipses.

This kshetra is the place where the Lord took the form of mohini and imparted the Devas with the nectar. Whoever sees this Lord Kalameghaperumal will be bestowed with robust health, free from the miseries of old age and will remain young forever.