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Friday, September 10, 2010
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Hindu Society of Minnesota May 2010 Newsletter
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Hindu Society of Minnesota
Newsletter for the month of May 2010 |
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Dear Devotees,
It gives me immense pleasure to introduce one of our most devoted volunteers through this newsletter, Mrs. Kanak Dutt. Her personality traits are adorned with immense zest, zeal and excitement. Besides being a member at large in the TEC Committee, she is also a part of a vibrant and most eventful wing of our temple - Religious Committee and also a Special Event Coordinator for fundraising.
"The smallest good deed is worth a thousand grand intentions" - These are the most apt words for Mrs. Kanak Dutt. Mrs. Dutt has been a very active volunteer at our temple from the very beginning and it dates back to when the original Polk Street temple was started in the 1970's. Ever since then, she has been serving our temple selflessly and with immense pride and devotion. She is one of the sponsors for our current Radha Krishna Temple and has been very actively involved in almost every major event we have hosted.
Mrs. Dutt is one of those very few people who have learned that the power of sincere and selfless contribution, experience life's deepest joy - TRUE FULFILLMENT. She gets her inspiration from her parents (Mr. and Mrs. P.C. Mangalick) and her mother, Shanti Mangalick is her role model. Serving the temple is one of the greatest passions of her life and in the years to come, she will strive to continue giving her best. She eventually would like to move closer to the temple proximity, so she can serve better. She is constantly networking with the aim of bringing more and more devotees to our temple and organizing religious events, which in turn generate revenue for the Mandir. She currently lives in North Oaks and has two sons (Vishal and Mohan Dutt), a daughter-in-law (Anshu Dutt) and two beautiful grand daughters (Sajel and Sanjana Dutt)- all very active and ever present during temple events. She is a very devoted Mother and a proud Grandmother. "Sow good services; sweet remembrances will grow them"- This is how she would like to impact the lives of her children and grandchildren and see them blossom in the most humble way.
Mrs. Kanak Dutt strongly believes that through selfless service to God and humanity, eternal peace is obtained and this is what drives her to move ahead, uninterrupted, towards her goal.
Through this newsletter, it is my greatest honor to introduce this great person to all devotees of the temple- Mrs. Kanak Dutt. Chetna Atreya
Chair, Cultural Committee
Hindu Temple of Minnesota |
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Volunteer of the month - Mrs. Kanak Dutt |
 Dear Devotees, I am Mrs. Kanak Dutt and I am the Religious and Special Events Committee Member. I may hold other titles but my most precious one is being a devotee and volunteer at our Mandir. I am both honored and humbled by the fact that I am able to share my thoughts in regards to my time spent at our Hindu Mandir. It is a forum which many may read and they may also feel inspired to share some of their time and energy to make our temple grow many times more. I feel so passionate about our Temple. I have seen it grow to the magnificence that it is now because of the dedicated efforts of many people, volunteers playing a big role in it. I feel so empowered and full of energy when I come to the temple and when I am involved in any activity related to the temple. Currently we are working in one of our fund-raising project which is a play in English to be showcased on two evenings. The play is titled "Chandu Ki Chachi" and is scheduled to be staged in our Nath auditorium on 5/14/10 and 5/15/10. Again my dear readers all of the artists and the entire production is a voluntary effort but mind you all it is being put together in a professional manner. Please come and watch the show and give your support.
Whenever I spend time doing projects for the temple, I am brimming with energy and I wonder where I have so much energy in me, after all I am in my 60's. Believe me, when I say that the Lord Varadarajan standing there tall and strong passes his strength to me. When I participate in bhajans and keertans it clears sickness and provides positive vibration to me. It is a similar feeling shared by many devotees who volunteer here at the temple.
In my life, like most of you, I have gone through ups and downs and I find permanent pleasure in my life by the volunteer work that I do for the temple. I enjoy connecting with people, I love to help and I believe in Humanity. I find joy in living my life by spending time with my family, taking time for myself, (I am learning Kathak along with my grand-daughters, age is not a barrier), and I enjoy rising to the occasion and doing the very best, whole heartedly.
My message to all the devotees of the temple is come to our Mandir, spend time, spare some of your time to volunteer and give a little back, so our future generations can benefit from its glory.
Sincerely,
Kanak Dutt
Member-at-Large TEC Committee
Religious Committee and Special Events Coordinator for Fundraising |
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 For the last 3 years, the Hindu Temple of Minnesota has been celebrating the Rath Yatra event for Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Ma Subhadra and Lord Sudershan. This is a unique event where the main deities come out from their abode to mingle with the devotees. The chariot gets pulled by thousands of enthusiastic devotees around our temple. This year, we would also like to have a more successful celebration through your participation. Planning process has started. A number of events lead to Rath Yatra. Please mark your calendar for the following dates. A short description for each of these events is given below. Your participation in each of these events is requested. More details of each event will be announced close to each event.
Akshay Tritiya - May 16, 2010: Rath construction begins on this day. As per Hindu Mythology, "Tretaya Yuga" started this day. Rath puja will be done on the parking lot where the Rath has been stored. The event flyer will be posted on our temple website. We request your participation and generous sponsorship. Rath construction begins after the above event and continues until the day of the Rath Yatra.
Deba Snana Purnima - June 26, 2010: Deba Snana Purnima, also popularly known as 'Snana Purnima' is a bathing festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. This is the first occasion in the year when the deities leave their abode and come to the Snana Mandap where they will be bathed with 108 vessels of water. At our temple, the deities will have a symbolic bathing ceremony. After the bathing ceremony, the deities get sick and are isolated from public view for 15 days.
Netrotsav - July 11, 2010: 'Netra' means eyes. 'Netrotsav' is the celebration of eye of the lords. During their isolation after the Snana Purnima, the deities recover , get repainted and come back to the main temple. At our temple, the mini temple door opens to the public after 15 days of isolation after the Devasnan Purnima.
Ratha Yatra - July 18, 2010: Ratha Yatra is the world famous 'Chariot Festival' of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshana. Hindu society of Minnesota is celebrating this auspicious festival on July 18, 2010, Sunday within the Hindu temple premises. All the deities will be taken out from the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to the richly decorated chariot. The journey of the deities to the outside world, starts with an elaborate royal ritual called Pahandi - literally, going forward in a step by step movement, by the devotees. The second phase of the festival is known as 'Chhera Pahanra' - cleaning the platform with a golden broom, sprinkling flowers and fragrant water on the surface of the chariot. The last ritual in the celebration is the pulling of the chariots by the devotees around the Hindu temple, Maple Grove.
Bahuda - July 25, 2010: On the ninth day of the Ratha Yatra, Bahuda Jatra, the grand return journey takes place. On the way back the lords stop for a short while and partake of poda pitha, a type of cake made of rice, lentils, jaggery and coconut, offered by their aunt, mausima. On reaching back the main temple, the deities, on their chariots, are decorated with the golden attire or the suna besa, with hands, arms and crown made of solid gold. They are also offered sweet drinks, adhara pana, on huge cylindrical earthen pots reaching up to their lips. They are taken down from the chariots in a ritual descent to enter the temple.
Hindu Temple of Minnesota celebrates 'Bahuda' on July 25, 2010.Need your help and support in making this event a grand success. Various committees are listed below with the contact persons for each. Food preparation & Food Donation - Rita Mohapatra (651-739-0426), Venkat Kothur (952) 913-0864), Leela Venky (763) 519-1330), Fund Raising - Devi Patnaik (651-646-0685), Kanak Dutt (651-226-5962), Cultural Program- Arabinda Misra (763-390-6697), Rath construction- Manoranjan Misra (763 416 0471)
We need a lot of volunteers for all these events and additional activities. Interested volunteers can contact Jayashree Ramanujan (763-478-8013) or Rudra Panda (612-385-0193).
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Sages & Seers - About Sri Ramanujacharya | |
Sri Ramanujacharya is known as the greatest exponent of Visistadvaita Vedanta. He appeared around 1017 A.D in a pious brahmana family. He became the formost Acarya in the Sri Sampradaya and was reputed to be the incarnation of Sri Laksmana, the younger brother of Lord Sri Rama.
 The traditional biographies of Ramanuja place his life in the period of 1017-1137, yielding a lifespan of 120 Ramanuja was born Ilaya Perumal in a Brahmin family in the village of Perumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India in 1017 CE. His father was Asuri Keshava Somayaji Deekshitar and mother was Kanthimathi in sect of Vadama. To quote from Shyam Ranganathan's article on Ramanuja at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "From a young age he is reputed to have displayed a prodigious intellect and liberal attitudes towards caste. At this time he became friendly with a local, saintly Sudra (member of the servile caste) by the name of Kancipurna, whose occupation was to perform services for the local temple idol of the Hindu deity Vishnu. Ramanuja admired Kancipurna's piety and devotion to Vishnu and sought Kancipurna as his guru-much to the horror of Kancipurna who regarded Ramanuja's humility before him as an affront to caste propriety."
Shortly after being married in his teenage years, and after his father died, Ramanuja and his family moved to the neighboring city of Kancipuram. There Ramanuja found his first formal teacher, Yadavaprakasha, who was an accomplished professor of the form of the Vedanta philosophy. But there were some incidents when Ramanuja corrected his guru, Yadavacarya thought him to be a threat to the Sankarite line and plotted to kill him. Later it came to pass that Yadavacarya was to become the disciple of Sri Ramanuja. After these disagreements Yadavaprakasa asked him to leave. Ramanuja's childhood mentor, Kancipurna, suggested he meet with Kancipurna's own guru, Yamunacharya. After renouncing the life of a house-holder, Ramanuja travelled to Srirangam to meet an aging Yamunacharya, a philosopher of the remergent Vishishtadvaita school of thought. Yamunacharya had died prior to Ramanuja's arrival. Followers of Ramanuja relate the legend that three fingers of Yamunacharya's corpse were curled. Ramanuja saw this and understood that Yamunacharya was concerned about three tasks.
Ramanuja then made three vows:
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He would make the people surrender to God and initiate them by the pancasamskara. -
He would write a commentary on the Vedantasutra which was later called Sri Bhashya. -
He would also write what is like an encyclopedia on the Puranas and would name one greatly learned Vaisnava after Parasara Muni who wrote the gem among the Puranas, the Visnu Purana.
Later Sri Ramanuja took sannyasa and travelled throughout India vigorously defeating atheists and impersonalists by preaching the Vasistadvaita doctrine.
Sri Ramanuja's Teachings:
His philosophy is Visistadvaita. Brahman is Narayana - (cit-acit-isvara), Narayana with Laksmi - (transcendental form), Four Vyuha forms, Vaibhava forms. The qualities of Brahman are both nirguna and saguna. The soul is real, eternal, individual, not omnipresent, not independent of Isvara but part. Isvara is the efficient cause of creation. It is from His will out of delight. The cause of bondage is beginningless karma. The process of release is Bhakti based on Pancaratra and Visnu purana followed by det ached karma that brings jnana - Prapatti. The goal is to attain the same nature of Isvara and companionship with Him. He does not return and has no power of creation, etc.
The essence of his teachings are best summarized by his own prayer at the beginning of his Sri Bhasya:
"May knowledge transformed into intense love directed to Sri Narayana (VISHNU), the highest Brahman, become mine, the Being to whom the creation, preservation and dissolution of the Universe is mere play, whose main resolve is to offer protection to all those who approach Him in all humility and sincerity, and Who shines out like the beacon light out of the pages of the Scripture (Vedas)".
Material Sources from:
" Biography of Ramanujacharya"
The Life of Sri Ramanujacharya by Sri Swami Sivananda
Wikipedia
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Mission Of Hindu Temple And Hindu Socity Of Minnesota
To provide a Hindu Mandir (place of worship) in the Twin Cities area.
To bring into closer relation the members of the Hindu community in the State of Minnesota
To provide a forum for scholarly discussions of the Hindu philosophy.
To conduct and sponsor religious, spiritual, charitable, educational, social and cultural activities for the benefit of the Hindu community.
To establish a library in the Mandir (Temple) that will depict Hindu philosophy and religion.
To preserve and embellish Hindu traditions and cultural heritage
To teach its younger members the history and development of the Hindu philosophy and religion and to inculcate a pride of their heritage. Encourage their participation and involvement with daily activities of the Mandir (Temple). | | | Temple Timings
Mon-Fri 9:30am - 11:30am 5:30pm - 8:30 pm
Saturday
9:00 am - 8:30 pm Sunday
9:00 am - 8:30 pm
US Holidays 9:00 am - 8:30 pm
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Shri Murali Bhattar | |
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Dr. Sane announced that our priest Shri Murali Bhattar will now be the HEAD PRIEST of our Hindu Mandir. Please take a moment to congratulate him when you see him. His presence and leadership is a blessing to all the devotees. To read about him and his family visit our mandhir website at http://hindumandirmn.org/
AboutTemple/
TemplePriests/
SriRonurMuraliBhattar.
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Temple Kitchen | | |
Our Kitchen has a personal chef and he is Mr. Anil Kumar. Mr Kumar has experience working in several temples all over South India. He speaks Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and English. Many of you may have already met him and he has truly transformed our kitchen services . Along with the many coordinators he works to provide delicious meals on the days that have special programs. Also are available freshly prepared snacks, chutneys and pickles at a nominal price. Stop by to say a hello to him. He is welcome member of our temple staff.
Anjali
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Past Events during the month of April
compiled by Anjali Agarwal
The Month of April was filled with several auspicious events at the mandir. On April 3rd the Sannadhi reverberated with the Hanuman Chalisa as devotees gathered to spend the evening reciting and singing Keertans.
April 14th, the auspicipous day for Tamils and Kannadigas to celebrate the New Year was another evening filled with Abhishekam to Lord Varadarajan and reading of the Panchanaka Patanam. Laughter filled the evening as Punditji read what beholds each devotee according to their nakshatra rashi, most of us would be spending more than we earned or at least spending it all. Vishu was celebrated on 4/17 morning and once again about 150 devotees attended the Ayyapan pooja.
The Varadaraja and Mahalakshmi kalyanam was a grand celebration on 4/17 evening. Sri Mahalakshmi (Sri Devi) is the daughter of King Samudra Raja. Legend has it that the Saptha Rishis approached the king to ask Sri Devi's hand in marriage to Lord Vishnu. However, the king expressed his concern due to his inability to know the true form of Lord Vishnu since He has taken various forms in the various avataras. The Saptha Rishis explained and elaborated the reasons for the various avataras. King Samudra Raja was convinced and he agreed to offer Sri Devi's hand in marriage to Lord Vishnu." The program was true celebration of marriage starting witn Mehindi Celebration to grand finale of a fantastic dinner.
The Journey to see both India and Bharat by 7 Minnesotans on April 18, Sunday, 2 PM, at Hindu Mandir - Nath auditorium. A presentation by this group, consisting of a short video, a group discussion with questions from the audience, plus some refreshments. There was a good interest in the discussion and for many of our American and international friends, India is still and exotic location but the reality is in experiencing our culture and participating in its unique ethnic diversity. A memorable afternoon on 4/18.
April 24th morning saw the temple filled with singers of all ages to participate in the Annual Shri Venkateshwara SangeetaSeva. The performances by solo artistes as well group performances was treat to the music lovers. Thanks to all the participants for giving the devotees yet another wonderful morning of music.
Our Hindu Mandir team thanks all of the temple priests and the many program coordinators for the above mentioned events in the month of April and we take great pleasure in thanking each of them namely Mrs. Kanak Dutt, Mrs. Anandi Balasubramanium, Satish Divakaran, Prathiba Mahesh, Jaya Sridhar, Veena Sitaram, Sunil Kunhiraman, Leela Ramanathan, Priya Kumar, Venkat Madurai, Sriram Pidaparti, Ram Krishnan, Mrs. Shanti Sury. (The names were taken from the program flyers, if any coordinator's name has been left out, our sincere apologies, please let us know and the newsletter team will publish it next month). Thank you for your efforts and enthusiasm.
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Hindu Temple of Minnesota | 10530 Troy Ln N | Maple Grove | MN | 55311
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