SHLOK OF THE MONTH AUG 2009

Deivam Purushakarena yaha samarthaha prabhadithum

Na Deivena Vipannarthaha purushaha sovaseedathi

Whatever happens in this world is entirely as per His will. Thus we say “His will”. However the Lord is not responsible for the jeevan’s deeds and misdeeds ( punya and papakarma). The jeevan is solely responsible for this. For example the radiance of the tube light is same for one and all. One man does Bhagavatha parayanam with the help of such light. The other took to intoxication under the same light. The tubelight helps both of them in their actions but is not responsible for the actions per say. Likewise the phrase “ His will or His actions” . The Lord blesses all with a human body. This is His will but it is upto the individual to make a wise use of it consciously. Hence we cannot commit a sin and say it is His action or will. There have been several persons who have even changed His will. The maharishis changed His will by their Tapas. The devotees did so by sheer devotion. God created sage Vishwamithra as a kshatriya. He became a brahmana by his tapas. The Lord in His archavathara never speaks a word to anybody nor does He eat anything. Namadeva by the power of his devotion made Lord Panduranga eat. Thirumazhisaiazhwar made Lord Sarngaparni of Kumbakonam speak to Him.

Sri Rama Pattabhishekam came to haly all of a sudden. Sri Rama said “ This is purely due to God’s will”. Lakshmana replied “ It is wrong to declare so and abstain from any efforts or actions to retardate to such an atrocity.” A well educated student refrained from going to work. On being questioned he said that it was the Lord’s will. Even in Mahabharatha Duryodhana was being questioned for his unruly activities. He said “ It is the Lord who has made me so. It is His will.” All such statements pertain to misusing His will. It is wrong to be lazy and attribute such laziness to His will. If we work hard to achieve our target then the Lord will bless us with positive results. Human effort along with His blessings will enable us to achieve anything on earth. This is Lakshmana’s point of view.

EVENTS OF THE MONTH JULY 2009

SRI RAMESWARAM MAHA SAMRAJYA PATTABISHEKA MAHOTHSAVAM

Skanda Puranam of Sage Vyasa extols the sanctity of the kshetra Rameswaram. RamaCharita manas of Tulsidas also refers to this kshetra. Thirupullani is also a Divyadesham ( those places sung by azhwars are called Divyadeshams). Sri Rama stayed here for 3 days in darbhashayan. Dasartha being childless prayed to this Jagannatha swamy. The Lord ordained him to do the puthrakameshti. Rama was then born by this Lord’s blessings” thus goes the sthalapuranam. The Skandapuranam says Rama worshipped Shiva here. Whereas Lord Shiva always chants the taraka mantra ( Sree Rama Ramethi). This way they both showed the world each other’s greatness. Here we can also have a view of Rama Sethu. This should be a wonder of all wonders in this world. A bath in the seas of Danushkoti will negate all our sins.

On behalf of Kanchi Acharyal Jayanthi sabha and Panduranga Bhajan mandali A mahasamrajyapattabhishekam was conducted at Rameswaram by Sri Hari Anna from July 7^th to 16^th. Parayanam done 125 times will be called as mahasamrajyapattabhishekam. Hence in this navaham 125 bhakthas did the parayanam of Srimad Ramayanam. Accomodation and food for 125 bhakthas were arranged by the sabha members. Besides this there were more than 500 devotees attending the navaham. The pravachanam and parayanam were arranged at Goswamy madam. The whole town resounded with the words “ Pattabhishekam”. July 7^th was also a very auspicious day in that it coincided with Gurupoornima. That evening more than 500 bhakthas eagerly awaited Sri Hari Anna’s arrival. At about 6.00 p.m when he arrive ed the skies were filled with the echoes of “ Raja Ramachandra maharaj ki jai”, “ Hanuman ki Jai”. The poorna kumbam with veda mantras were offered to Hari Anna. A cow stood in front to mark auspiciousness.. Hari anna occupied the stage and welcomed the 125 bhakthas. Then a majestic and emotive discourse on KusaLava ganam followed.

From July 8^th to 15^th everyday the 125 devotees did the parayanam from 6.30 to 12 in one voice. It was serene and blissful to hear it. Govindapuram Chandrasekara sharma, Nagaraja Sharma, Parli Srikanth Sharma led the Parayanam. The Ramayana parayanam was also accompanied by Veda Parayanam. Ramashadakshari homam, Sankshepa Ramayana homam etc were also conducted. From 2.00 to 3.00 in the afternoon there was astapadhi bhajan and divyanamasankeerthanam in the nights. From July 8^th to 12^th Sri Rangaji did the pravachanam in the afternoons from 3.00 to 5.00. From 13^th to 15^th Smt Vishakha Hariji did the Sangeetha Upanyasam in the afternoons from 3.00 to 5.00 p.m. As the navaham rose in grandeur the crowds swelled and on the concluding day of Pattabhishekam there were more than 700 bhakthas. It was the Dakshinayana kalam too. Hence on July 16^th all the bhakthas did samudrasnanam and assembled for Parayanam at 7.30 p.m. After the parayanam HariAnna did the paatabhisheka pravachanam. He said “ For a punya karma ( virtuous act) it is important that desha, kala, vyakthi should coincide. In this navaha all the three have coincided. The desham is Rameswaram, Kala- dakshinayana kala , Vyakthi- the parayankaras here are uththamadhikaris.” This was followed by pattabhishekam of Sri Rama by Hari Anna along with the parayanam of that juncture.

Sri Hari Anna also concluded in his pravachanam that this event was such a grand success because of hard work, unity, understanding, co-operation, Devathaanukulyam of the members of Acahryal Jayanthi sabha which included Sri Moorthi , Sri Venkatramani, Sri Balakrishnan, Sri Shanmugam.

EVENTS OF THIS MONTH (AUG 2009)

I UTSAVAM OF THIS MONTH

DATE : AUG 13 TO 22

UTSAVAM : GOKULASHTAMY UTSAVAM
VILLAGE: PARANOOR
DATE: AUG 28 TO SEP 1
UTSAVAM :RADHASHTAMY
TOWN: BRINDAVAN

II VISHAKA HARI'S PROGRAM

DATE: AUG 7 TO 9
TOPIC: THYAGARAJA CHARITRAM
TIME: 7 PM TO 9 PM
TOWN: THIRUVAIYARU
VENUE: THYAGARAJA SWAMIGAL ADISHTANAM

QUIZ ON SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM( AUG 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 AUGUST 2009:

1) Which time did Bheeshma expect while lying on the sharathalpa?

2) What was the vow of Bheeshma in the battle?

3) Which vow did Krishna sacrifice in the battle?

4) What was the reaction of everyone when Bheeshma attained moksha?

5) How did the sages go back to their ashram after Bheeshma’s mukthi?

ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2009

1) It was the desire of Sri Krishna that Bheeshma should preach all the Dharmas to Dharmaputhra. This wish was not understood by sages like Vyasa.

2) The guru of Bheeshma came to see him. He was none other than Parashurama.

3) It is righteous to kill the relatives who fight for injustice. In the battle there is no question of affection. It is the duty to fight for establishment of dharma. Since Arjuna gave importance to love and affection Bheeshma considered it wrong.

4) Atmaswaroopam is one as per Advaitha sidhdhnatham.

5) Just as the sun is seen in plural ( many ) by different people so does the athmaswaroopam look as if many because of the different upadhis.

JULY WINNERS:
1. Radhika Venkataraman I 26+10 points
2. Karthik Venkataraman II 26+8 points
3. Hari Gurumoorthy II 20+8 points
4. Girija Sitaraman II 18+8 points
5. Arvind Hariharan II 30+8 points
6.Gopika sampath II 10+8 points
7.Padma Narayanan II 16+8 points
8.Sethuraman Swaminathan III 20+6 points

KSHETRA FOR THE MONTH AUGUST 2009

SRI RANGAM PART VII

Lord Rama did the upasana of Lord Ranganatha. This is the reason why saints like Thyagaraja in his songs refer to Lord Ranganatha as Rama’s ishta deiva. On one fine day Dasaratha decided to coronate Rama as king. “Rama I would like to conduct your Pattabhishekam tomorrow itself. You may do our kuladeiva aradhana. As instructed by SageVasishta Rama and Sita performed the pooja to the Lord. “Upacharamulanuchekonna”, Saint Tyagaraja says. “All these upacharas, paraphernalia of chatra and chamara belong to you Oh Lord. It is you who deserve such paraphernalia, not me.” Rama feels the same way. Thus he decides on a kapata nataka. The coronation stops all of asudden because of Kaikeyi’s two boons. Rama is sent to exile along with Sita and Lakshmana. There he stays for fourteen full years. Sita is captured by Ravana. Sugriva sakya, destruction of Vali, search for Sita follow suit. Hanuman finally finds Sita, comes back with the happy news. What follows is the famous Rama Ravana yudha wherein Rama destroys the haughty demon. A grand coronation of Sri Rama is celebrated with pomp and show. Lakhs of people attended the ceremony. Sages like Vasishta, devotees like Hanuman, Jambavan, Guha, Vibheeshana etc attended the function. Sri Rama then rules for 11000 years. Now the time arrives for His departure to Vaikunta. A grand satsangh in the form of Ashwamedha yaga is organized before this event. Sri Rama then declares “ Whoever wants to come to Vaikunta can come along with me”. The entire creation right from ants and grass prepare to depart. Two of them stay behind. They are none other than Hanuman and Vibheeshana. Both of them being Chiranjeevis cannot depart from this universe. Hanuman feels satiated with Ramayana. However Vibheeshana cries bitterly. “ Oh Lord What is my jeevanaadhara? What will I ever do on earth without you? “ Sri Rama then consoles him and says” My moola Roopa is this Lord Ranganatha. He is my Kuladhana. I will thenceforth hand Him over to you. You may worship Him as you worship me”. Vibheeshan takes the Lord along with the Vimana. He being a Rakshasa he carries the Lord along with him. He flies from Ayodhya to Lanka. On route he looks down only to view a beautiful place covered entirely by trees.

( To be contd)

SHLOKA OF THE MONTH JULY 2009

Asankalpithameveha yadakasmath pravarthathe

Nivarthyarabhamaarambam nanu deivasya karma thath

Jeevan is always under the control of many forces. The Lord is sarvaswathanthran , i.e., always independent of all forces. The jeevan is controlled by time, karma, planets, the Divine will, sensory organs and much more. Thus his activities are influenced by these. He cannot act independently. But the omnipotent Lord is Swathantra purusha. The time or karma or demi-gods act as per His orders. Thus He executes His will.

Dasaratha had arranged for Rama Pattabhishekam. He hence invited all kings, ministers, rishis like Vasishta and relatives. The people of Ayodhya eagerly awaited the grand event. The streets were full of people. The city wore a festive look with litted lamps, garlands, Dwajasthambas, Plaintain trees, perl shamianas. Yet Sri Rama’s will was different. Sri Rama is God Himself.. The coronation ceremony suddenly halted. The will of the human mind was not fulfilled. The will of the Lord was victorious as it is always. The will of Rama was to destroy the ferocious Ravana. This is what Rama indicates to Lakshmana quite indirectly. Rama tells lakshmana “ Whichever incident takes place suddenly, without any expectation may you consider those as the Lord’s will or the Lord’s act”.

EVENTS OF THE MONTH MAY 2009

PONDICHERRY NAVAHAM

Sri Hari Anna conducted a navaham from May 22^nd to May 31^st at Pondicherry Sharadambal temple premises located at Ellaipillaichavadi.. It was organized by Sri Krishnapremika Bhajan Mandali of Pondicherry. Hundreds of devotees attended the navaham and were benefited immensely by it. The temple was filled with rasikas who listened with rapt attention and sincerity. Infact the premises was overflowing for want of space. Even those who had planned their summer vacation to other cities cancelled their plan to attend the Ramayana pravachanam at length. As usual Hari Anna was received with a grand nama sankeerthanam. . Astapadhi, unchavruththi, Divyanamam, Radha Kalyana mahothsavam were all conducted with great grandeur. On May 31^st Smt Vishakha Hari’s sangeetha upanyasam on Sri Thyagaraja Charitram was also soul stirring. Sri Balu, Sri Ganapathy Raman, Sri VedaRaman organized the navaham very sincerely on behalf of KrishnaPremika Bhajan Mandali.

II SRI RANGAM PROGRAM

Ekadasa skandam is the crown of Bhagavatham which is considered as the very embodiment of Lord Krishna. The navayogis are the nine gems of that crown. This discourse can be rendered only to deserving audience. Such is the level of the audience at Srirangam. They are special in that they are ardent devotees of Sri Ranganatha. Whatever may be the discourse be it Ramayanam or Bhagavatham they get scintillated if spoken about Lord Ranganatha. This year Sri Hari Anna’s pravachanam on Ekadasa skandam was conducted at Vadakku Chitra street, Goratha corner from June 15^th to 18^th. The stage itself was big and looked exclusively beautiful as Lord Ranganatha adorned the back stage decor. It looked as if the pravachanam was being conducted at the very feet of The Lord. Sri Anna attended the pravachanam on June 17^th and also gave an anugraha bhashanam. In his bhashanam he said “ In a divyadesham one should spend his time usefully. For us our goals are double purpose, one we should hear Bhagavath guna pravachanam and secondly have the Lord’s beautiful darshan. On June 19^th Smt Vishakha Hari’s Padmavathy kalyanam was a grand event. Sita Kalyana mahothsvam was celebrated on June 21^st. Every year Sri Harinna’s pravachanam is conducted as a part of such Sita Kalyanam by the Sita Kalyana mahothsava committee.