SLOKA OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER 2010

“Thasyam Puryam Ayodhyayam vedavith sarvasangrahaha
Deergadarshi mahatheja pourajaanapadapriyaha
Ikshvaakunamadhirathaha Yajva darmaparo vashi
Maharshikalpo Raajaarshisthrishu lokeshu vishruthaha
Balavan nihathamithro mithravan vijithendriyaha
Danaischa samchayaischaanyaihi shakravaishravanopamaha
Yatha manurmahatheja lokasya parirakshitha
Thatha dasharatho raja lokasya parirakshitha”
The prosperity of a nation depends on the availability of water. The water in turn will be available perennially only if there are frequent showers of rain. That in turn depends on the satisfaction of the Devathas. Devathas are pleased only if people live virteous. If people have to be virteous their leader( the king) has to be virteous. Thus the prosperity of the entire nation completely depends on the king, its ruler.
The Ikshvaku rulers ruled Ayodhya. They earned wealth so that they could donate it in charity. They never used to talk much fearing falsity.They conqured several kingdoms to earn fame. In their old age they retired to forests and did penance. Finally they left their lives through yogagni. Out of all such rulers Dasharatha was a mahathma. The Lord Himself chose him as His father. Dasaratha was highly effulgent, knew all the Vedas.
“ Pourajaanapadapriyaha”- All people liked Dasaratha. It was vice versa too. Dasaratha too loved all his subjects. He did not himself coronate Rama. He called all of them and asked their opinion about Rama’s coronation. He respected the citizens so much. This shows the respect he had for them.
“ Darmaparo”- dasaratha was a Dharmika, a staunch follower of truth. He gave boons to kaikeyi. He very well knew that he would die if Rama left for the forest. Still he stuck to his principle of truth.
Dasaratha was also a great warrior. His chariot went in all 10 directions and hence the name Dasaratha. He conquered all his senses. He was almost equal to rishis. He even helped the Devas to conquer Sambharasura. Even Indra praised him for his valour. Like Manu he protected all the subjects.

PAST EVENTS-

SRIMAD BHAGAVATHA SAPTHAHAM- NANGANALLUR

Sri Hari Anna’s sapthaham was a grand event at nanganallur Guruvayur temple witnessing large crowds inspite of heavy rains. From Nov 15th to 21st Akhila Bharatha Sadhu sangam Trust, nanganallur conducted the sapthaham in a very organized manner at the Narayana Pravachana mandapam, inside the temple premises. The hall overflowed with people thronging to listen to his sapthaham which was emotionally packed and flowed with soul elevating substance.

EVENTS OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2010

I HARI ANNA'S PROGRAMS- DEC 2010

1)Srimad Bhagavatha sapthaham- Pune

Date: 12th Dec to 18th Dec

City: Pune

Topic: Srimad Bhagavatham

Venue: Shri Adya Sankara mandir, sarasbaug, Pune

Time: 6.00p.m to 8.00 p.m

2) Srimad Bhagavatha Sapthaham- Mumbai

Date: 25th Dec to 31stDec

City: Mumbai

Topic: Bhagavatham

Venue: vani Vidyalaya, J. N Road, Mulund

Time: 7.00 a.m to 6.00 p.m

II Smt Vishakha Hari's program

DATE VENUE TIME TOPIC
1) 15Th Dec Chettinad Vidyashram 6.30p.m Krishna Leela
2) 18th and 19th Dec Krishna Gaana sabha 9.30a.m Paduka Pattabhishekam and
Sundara kandam
3) 21st Dec Bharath kalachar 6.00p.m Thyagaraja panchartanam
4) 23rd Dec Nungambakkam 7.00P.M Surdas
Cultural Academy
5) 25Th Dec Parthasarathy Swami sabha 9.30a.m Kunthi sthuthi, Bheeshma sthuthi
6) 27th Dec Padmanabhaswamy temple 7.00 p.m Gajendra moksham
7) 29th Dec Mylapore Fine Arts 6.00p.m Shabari Moksham
8) 31st Dec Brahma Gaana sabha 7.00p.m Parvathi kalyanam
9) 1st Jan Maruthi Bhaktha Jana Samaj 6.30 p.m Sundara Kandam

QUIZ ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM- DECEMBER 2010

QUESTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2010
1) Who was the person who was completely devoid of ego though having a kingdom, wife, children, house, wealth, relatives etc?
2) Which is the leela which the kavis ( saints) think as unimaginable.?
3) “ Gunamsthu prakruthehe- what are the gunas of prakruthi?
4) What is it that removes the kalmasham( sin) of the people?
5) How do the kirarthas, hunas etc get sanctified?

ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2010
1) Those who listen to Bhagavathgunas are purified and obtain bhakthi, gnana, vairagyam. Thus they get liberated and attain vaikuntaloka and are seated close to the Lord’s feet. The others enjoy the Lord only from a distance.
2) Parikshith
3) Through Sadhusangham
4) Please tell the shrishtivaibhavam- the miracle of creation of the Lord admist all His miracles.
5) Hrusheekesha- is the one who rules over the senses.

WINNERS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2010
1) Girija Seetharaman- I-- 68+10points
2) Gopika Sampath----I---62+10 points
3) Srinivasan Sujatha-I----64+10 points
4) Padma narayanan--II---48+8 points
5) Radhakrishnan Ramamurthy--III- 38+6 points

KSHETRA FOR THE MONTH- DEC 2010

THIRUVANVANDUR
Once sage Narada and Lord Vishnu walked through a forest. As they conversed with each other at the banks of river pampa. The Lord said “ narada, it is indeed difficult even for Brahma and Shiva to conquer my maya. Narada smiled and said “ But I have. I Have indeed succeeded in conquering your maya.” The Lord just smiled and said. “ Yes. By my grace my devotees alone can victor over my maya. Just look at that pond over there. May you take bath in it and sanctify it through your tapas.” Narada did as said and immediately was turned into a woman by name Naradi. This Naradi wandered in the forest lonely devoid of any relatives. At that time the king of kerala seeing her beauty was struck by it. He married her and begot two children. The children in turn were married off to deserving grooms. Suddenly the ruler of Karnataka declared war on Kerala and killed both the king and his son. Fearing death naradi too ran away to a forest to safeguard her life. There at the banks ofPampa river again she wept for a long time thinking of her misfortune. A sage appeared there and consoled her saying the samsara, this entire worldly life is very transient and all happiness has to end in sorrow. The man with a balanced mind neither frets sorrow nor rejoices in happiness. Go and take a bath at the holy river of pampa and get sanctified of your sins, he said. Naradi as she took her bath in the pond became Narada again and saw the Lord sitting on the banks.He was ashamed of his act and acknowledged to the Lord that indeed his maya was inconquerable. The Lord smiled , gave his veena back and asked him to sing again. Narada resumed his songs on the Lord and both left happily.
This is life. This is life. This is life. This is the Lord’s lesson for one and all.
This lesson was taught at thiruvanvandur- the divyadesha. This divyadesha has the mangalashasanam by Nammazhwar.

SLOKA FOR THE MONTH- NOVEMBER 2010

Kosalo nama Mudithaha speeto janapado mahan
Nivishtaha sarayutheere Prabhoothadhanadhaanyavan
Ayodhya Nama Nagari Thatraseetlokavisruta
Manuna Maanavendrena Ya Puri Nirmita svayam
Out of all countries India has been proclaimed to be the best of all. Atpresent may be the other countries are more developed in the financial and economic sense. They may be more advanced in business or commerce or in the scientific field. India had been enslaved for several years by several people. Hence it was not allowed to develop. After its independence it has been developing at a rapid rate too. Other nations are envious of this fact which is obviously seen now. However India is known throughout the world nations as being the foremost in culture. Almost all Indian citizens are righteousness and God fearing. Hence there are hundreds of kshetras in India. Hundreds of saints have incarnated here and relived righteousness. The incarnations of the Lord have been only in Bharatha desha. It is a reservoir of hundreds of granthas like Ramayana and Mahabharatha. Out of all states and kingdoms Kosaladesha and Bhojadesha are of special significance. Sri Rama incarnated in Kosaladesha and Krishna avatharam was in Bhoja desha.
Kosaladesha is a big state. Here the people were living peacefully and with great prosperity.This place was in the banks of river sarayu. Sarayu is a perennial river. Hence it is a place with abundant greenery. The capital city , Ayodhya shone beautifully. It was established by Vaivasvatha manu. Ayodhya means “ One which cannot be conquered by enemies. The rulers of the Ikshwaku race ruled the kingdom beautifully with Ayodhya as the capital city.

PAST EVENTS ( EVENTS OF THE MONTH -OCTOBER 2010)

Vizhupuram Vaikunta Vasa Perumal temple premises was filled with overflowing crowd from Sep 29 th to Oct 5th 2010. It was the Bhagavatha sapthaham of Sri Hariji. The devotees were very sincere and eager to listen to his scintillating lectures. On Oct 3rd morning 9.00 a.m to 1.00 p.m unchavruthy, Divyanamam and Radhakalyanam was celebrated in a very grand manner. On Oct 3rd evening 6.30 p.m Sri Anna visited and graced the occasion.

EVENTS OF THE MONTH NOVEMBER 2010

I UTHSAVAM OF THIS MONTH

UTHSAVAM: RASOTHSAVAM

DATE: NOV 14-21

PLACE: BRINDAVAN,

II HARI ANNA'S PROGRAM- NOV 2010
SRIMAD BHAGAVATHA SAPTHAHM, CHENNAI

DATE; 15TH TO 21ST NOV

CITY: CHENNAI

TOPIC: SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM

VENUE: GURUVAYURAPPAN TEMPLE, NANAGANALLUR

TIME: 7.00 TO 9.00 P.M

III VISHAKHA HARI'S PROGRAM

1) PROGRAM AT KUMBAKONAM

DATE: NOV 14TH

TOWN: KUMBAKONAM

VENUE; SARASWATHI GANA SABHA

TOPIC; SUNDARA KANDAM

TIME: 6.30 TO 9.00 P.M

2) PROGRAM AT TRICHY

DATE: 18TH NOV

TOWN: TRICHY

VENUE: IYYAPAN TEMPLE, CANTONMENT

TOPIC: KRISHNA LEELA

TIME: 7.00 TO 9.00 P.M

QUIZ ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATAHM- NOVEMBER 2010

QUESTIONS
1) “ Thathcharanasaroruhaanthikam” What is the interesting comment in this phrase.
2) “ Krishnakreedam ya aadade” Who played the sports of Lord Krishna
3) How is it that achanchala ( unflinthing) devotion is developed towards the Lord?
4) “ Ithyupamanthritho ragna”- What was the question asked by Parikshith?
5) Hrusheekesham- What is the meaning?

ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2010
1) ASWINIKUMARAS
2) Gandharvas
3) Parama Purushan Sri ManNarayanan
4) Hole
5) Peacock feather

OCTOBER WINNERS
1) Radhika venkatraman-----I-------42+10
2) Karthik Venkatraman----I--------38+10
3) Srinivasan Sujatha-------I--------54+10
4) Padma narayanan-------I--------38+10
5) Girija seetharaman------I--------58+10
6) Gopika Sampath--------I-------52+10
7) Lakshmi K.P-------------I------24+10
8) Sudarshana Narayanaswamy--II-34+8
9) Radhakrishnan ramamurthy--II--30+8
10) Srinivasan-----------------III---6

KSHETRA FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2010

VANAMAMALAI
Vanamamalai is a serene kshetra at the banks of river Tambraparni. There once lived a sage by name Kushasanar who was a great Vishnubhaktha. He used to cook food and perform neivedhyam to the Lord everyday. One day he placed the food for nivedanam and left to perform his madhyanhika anushtana at the banks of the river Sindhu. It was at the same time that the king of Sindhu passed by that place. He was very hungry. Entering the ashram precincts he was surprised to see the food placed at the alter of the Lord. Being deadly hungry he ate the food without it being offered to the Lord. The sage just then entered and was shocked to see the king eat the food before it being offered to the Lord. He atonce cursed the king for entering the ashram like a dog and partaking the food before the nivedanam. May you become a dog for such a grossly misbehaved act, he said. The king was sorry for his behaviour and asked pardon. The sage immediately said the waters of the river Tambraparni will cure you of your misdeed.
The king now a dog wandered through the streets and was being brought up by a streethawker. He once chanced to passby the river Tambraparni where he bathed and quenched his thirst. His dog too did the same and atonce was transformed into the Sindhu ruler. People around were shocked to see this wonder. The ruler then narrated his entire tale and left for his kingdom. The sage Romasha who heard this story was surprised to hear this tale. He decided to perform penanceat the banks of the river. His penance was very sincere and severe. The Devas however sought to hinder his penance. They sent Urvashi and Thiloththama to somehow make him stop his penance. Looking at the apsaras the sage said “ Neither will I live with you through kama nor will I curse you through kopa. Nor do I have the mada (pride) of having conqured both lust and anger. Iam devoid of anger, lust and pride because I have the Lord in my heart. As sooon as he said these words the Lord atonce came in the form of a svayambumoorthy. That Lord of Vanamamalai also called Totadri shone in splendour with His four hands, his conch and discuss. Looking at His beautiful form the sage extolled Him. Vishwakarma constructed a city called SriVaramangalam following the Lords svambhu archavatharam as a salagramamurthy. All devotees flocked to see the Lord. Glory to the Lord of Vaanamamalai.

SLOKA FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2010

Thouthu gaandharvathathvazhnou Moorchanasthanakovidou
Bratharou swarasampanou Gandharvaaviva rupinou
Rupalakshanasampanou Madhuraswarabhashinou
Bimbadivoththithou Bimbou Ramadehath thathaparou
Those texts written by sages are called aarshagranthas. SrimadRamayanam, Srimadbhagavatham,Mahabharatham are all aarshagranthas. Sages accumulate a lot of punyas( merits) during their lifetime.But they choose to gain wisdom and prefer the route towards moksha.Thus they do not enjoy the fruit of their merits.Hence they give all the phala ( fruit) of their punyas to those who read their texts. This is the reason why it is auspicious to read or hear the content of the arshagranthas. Sri Valmiki’s phalasruthi is “ Vishnoho balam pravardhatham”- Let this text give increased strength to the Almighty Vishnu”.Sri Rama too listened to the music of Kusa Lava ( Ramayana was set to music by Valmiki Himself). Thus He accepted Valmiki’s phalasruthi.
When sage Valmiki was composing the Ramayana Lava and Kusa stayed at Valmiki’s ashram, why they were even born at the ashram and being brought by Valmiki Himself. Lava and Kusa were bestowed with great sangeetha gnana. Some are blessed with sangeetha gnanam but their voices are crude. For some it is viceversa. They have beautiful voices but no gnanam. But Lava and Kusa were bestowed with both great sangeetha gnanam and wonderful voices. Their form resembled that of Gandharvas- beautiful and handsome. Jatabharam on their head, broad chest, rounded hands, the bark of a tree on their waists, veena in their hands- their appearance would be ecstatic. They resembled exactly Sri Rama. They were mirror like reflections of Lord Rama. Thus Valmiki chose Lava and Kusa as the apt reservoirs of Srimad Ramayanam.

Bhaktha Vijayam- Delhi

II Bhaktha vijayam- Delhi
FRom Aug 26th to 31st Sri Venkatraman and Pollach Sri Ganesan organized Sri Hari Anna’s Bhaktha Vijaya pravachanam at Kamakshi mandir, Delhi. The pravachanams were emotionally charged and scintillating. Many devotees were benefited by it. Radha kalyanam was conducted on 29th Aug at the temple premises.

PAST EVENTS

I SRIMAD BHAGAVATHA SAPTHAHAM-GURUVAYUR
This year the sapthaham at Guruvayur was conducted from July 25th to Aug 1st. Srimad Bhagavatha sapthaha samithi headed by Sri Chandran organized the sapthaham ver well at the Rugmini Regency hall. There was a huge crowd f devotees and it was heartening to note that all of them assembled at 7.00 in the morning and stayed with pindrop silence till 7.oo in the night enjoying every bit of the parayanam and pravachanam. The pravachanam was delivered by Sri Hariji and Rangaji very beautifully. The lectures were both educative, spiritually elevating and enjoyable. Smt Vishakha Hari rendered the sangeetha upanyasam on Kunthis sthuthi and Bheeshma sthuthi.

VISHAKHA HARI'S PROGRAMS-OCT 2010

I PROGRAM AT BANGALORE
DATE: 23RD OCT
TOPIC: THE POWER OF THE DIVINE NAME- ENGLISH HARIKATHA
VENUE: GAYANA SAMAJ, CHAMARAJPET
TIME: 6.30 TO 9.00 P.M
CITY: BANGALORE

II PROGRAM AT BANGALORE
DATE: 24TH OCT
TOPIC: THYAGARAJA PANCHARATHNA VAIBHAVAM- TAMIL
VENUE: GAYANA SAMAJ
TIME: 6.30 TO 9.00P.M

III PROGRAM AT BANGALORE
DATE: 26TH, 27TH OCT
CITY: BANGALORE
VENUE: UDAKATHUR MUTT
TOPIC: THAYGARAJA CHARITRAM
TIME: 6.30 TO 8.30P.M

SRI HARI ANNA'S PROGRAMS-OCT 2010

SRIMAD BHAGAVATHA SAPTHAHAM- MUMBAI
DATE: 22ND OCT TO 28TH OCT
TOPIC: SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM
CITY: MUMBAI
VENUE: MURUGAN TEMPLE, CHEDDANAGAR, CHEMBUR
TIME: 7.00A.M TO 6.30 P.M

EVENTS OF THIS MONTH - OCTOBER 2010

UTHSAVAM OF THIS MONTH
UTHSAVAM: NAVARATHRI UTHSAVAM
DATE: 8TH OCT- 16TH OCT
VILLAGE: PARANOOR

QUIZ ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM- OCT 2010

QUESTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2010
1) Which God should one yearning for longevity (long life) worship?
2) Which God should one wanting beauty worship?
3) Which God should one yearning for moksha worship?
4) Those ears which do not hear Bhagavathgunas are equivalent to something which Suka refers to. What is that something.
5) Those eyes which do not see the Divine forms of the Lord are equivalent to----------------------. Fill up.

ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2010
1) The earth
2) Hands
3) Mooladaram, Swadhistanam, manipoorakam, Anahatham, Vishudhi, Aagzha
4) Eyes-2, ears-2, Nostrils-2, Mouth1
5) Sadyo mukthi, Krama Mukthi.

SEPTEMBER WINNERS

1) Radhakrishnan Ramamurthy---------I--------20+10 points

2)Padma Narayanan---------------------I--------28+10 points

3) Karthik Venkatraman-----------------I--------28+10 points

4) Radhika Venkatraman-----------------I--------32+10

5) Srinivasan Sujatha S-------------------I--------44+10 points

6)Gopika Sampath------------------------II-------44+8

7) Girija Seetharaman---------------------II-------50+8

8) Sudarshana Narayanaswamy-----------III------28+6

KSHETRA FOR THE MONTH OCTOBER 2010

KSHETRA- THIRUVALLIKENI- KAIRAVINI KSHETRAM
There once lived a king by name Sumathi who was a dharmic ruler. He was a truthful and victorious king. He ruled the Thondaimandalam. Under his reign there was prosperity and peace all over. He once went to Thirumala for a darshan of Lord Venkateswara. The Lord pleased with his devotion said “ May you ask of me anything you want. I shall grant you.” The King said “ Iam unworthy of your compassion. But I would like to see that divine sport when you were the charioteer of that Arjuna.” The Lord at once agreed. “ I will show it to you when the time comes”. The king too returned to his palace.
Yet another time certain brahamanas came to the king and requested him to kill the rakshasas wandering in the forests of Narayanavana near Seshachalam. The King immediately left to narayanavana in search of the rakshasas. Hearing his shankanada the whole place was filled suddenly by a battalion of man eating rakshasas. The rakshasas started causing great havoc and ate up even the charioteer of king Sumathi. The king now in a fix, terribly fearing the proceedings meditated on the Lord. The Lord, the saviour of one and all appeared as the King’s charioteer. A turban in His head, with the lagan in His hands, sporting a moustache and with beautiful lotus like eyes.” Oh King, Do not worry. I shall drive your chariot. May you fight the rakshasas without any panic. It is definite that victory is yours.” That chariteer very well versed in charioteering captivated the king’s heart by his wonderful glances and adept driving. The King easily won the battle by the support of his charioteer. He wanted to honour the charioteer who atonce vanished. Only then the king came to know that his sarathy was none other than the Parthasarathy. He immediately began crying “ Why have you disappeared. Please come before Me. How unfortunate that I did not realize that it was none other than You who supported me in the battle.” The Lord said “ May you go back to your place and build a temple for me there. I shall show my form there”. Thus the king built a temple and it is Lord Venkatewshwara who manifested there as Parthasarathy. This is the Brundaranya kshetram.( near Allikeni). Hence known by the name Thiruvallikeni.

SLOKA FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2010

THATHAH PASHYATHI DHARMATHMA THATH SARVAM YOGAMAASTHITHAHA
PURA YATH THATHRA NIRVRUTHTHAM PAANAVAAMALAKAM YATHA
SA YATHA KATHITHAM PURVAM NAARADENA MAHATHMANA
RAGHUVAMSASYA CHARITHAM CHAKARA BHAGAVAN MUNIHI

There are two types of poets 1) Sramakavis and 2) aashukavis. The sramakavi takes a lot of effort in composing. The ashukavi effortlessly composes slokas. Kalidasa was an ashukavi. For those great men like Kalidasa when the mind concentrates on a particular thing it takes the form of a poem. If he looks at a mountain for instance he composes on the mountain. If he appreciates the beauty of a sea instantly he composes a sloka on the sea. Or if it is the sun rise he composes on it. Such poems are full of hasya rasa, sringara rasa, and karuna rasa. This was what Wordworth meant in his phrase” poetry is the spontaneous overflow of the powerful feelings of the poet.”
When the hunter hit the krouncha bird instantaneously Valmiki composed a sloka. He is an adikavi, ashukavi and a brahmarishi Brahma requested Valmiki to write the Ramayana. As Valmiki was a Brahmarishi he could see through his gnanadhrishti the Rama charitra which had just then taken place.” Samudramiva Rathnadyam”- Ramayana is like the samudra. The ocean is beautified by the rathnas. Similarly the ocean of Ramayana is beautified by Ramagunarathnas. “Sarvasruthimanoharam”—In this world nobody likes extolling or abusing a third person in front of a huge gathering. But Ramayana steals the heart of one and all and gives eternal bliss when recited before a huge audience.
Thus Sage Valmiki instantly composed 24000slokas as heard from narada through his yogasidhdhi.

SRIMAD BHAGAVATHA SAPTHAHAM

The pravachanam at Besant nagar Ratnagiriswarar temple, Chennai was on Srimad Bhagavatham from June 28th to July 4th. Sri Hari Anna delivered the entire sapthaham enthusiastically. Hundreds of devotees attended the sapthaham and wre benefited by it. Radha Kalyanam was conducted on July 4th morning. Bhaktha mandali members, Sri Venkataramani and Ramakrishnan and otheres enthusiastically involved themselves. 26th and 27th Smt Vishakha Hari deliverd sangeetha upanyasam on Subramanya vaibhavam and Rama nama prabhavam.