HTCI Newsletter
January 2017
Niveda
3350 N. German Church Road, Indianapolis, IN 46235 • 317-891-9199 • www.htci.org • webmaster@htci.org
CHAIRMAN’S Message for the year end 2016 Dear Friends, I would like to thank the Community, Board Members and Executive Committee members to allow me to serve as Chairman of the Hindu Temple for the year 2016. It has been a very satisfying experience. I would like to recap some of our accomplishments below. • Completed the Kumbabhishekam for Bhagavan Adinath & Goddess Saraswathi within the budge • Temple Anniversary Function was a grand success • Received most of the Abharanas for all deities
SANSKRIT Classes Update Sanskrit is the vessel through which the milk of Hindu Sanskriti is offered. 2016 was a great year for Sanskrit at HTCI. Teaching of simple, spoken and written Sanskrit has been started in Balagokulam classes. In addition to that, free Sanskrit classes are also conducted by dedicated Samskrita Bharati Teachers every 1st and 3rd Sundays from 9:30AM to 10:30AM at HTCI. Beginner's Sanskrit classes for adults are conducted online via the internet every week. For more information, please contact Sanjay Kalluparambil <sanjay.kalluparambil@gmail.com> / 646 722 0785.
• Completed compound around the Temple, setup a sprinkler system for upcoming lawn & landscaping
INTERFAITH News
• Paid off $250,000 towards loan. Now current loan balance is 2,380,000 approximately
The Hindu Temple was honored to have participated in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Birthday celebration service on Monday Jan 16, 2017. The celebration was held at the St John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis and was sponsored by the Indiana Christian Leadership Conference. The founder of the ICLC was none other than Dr. Andrew J. Brown. For those who wonder why that name is so familiar to them the Hindu Temple shares its property line with the Andrew J Brown Academy on German Church road. They are our neighbors and we are now honored to call them our friends. HTCI was represented in conjunction with the Nur-Allah Islamic Center, the Etz Chaim Synagogue, the Soka Gakkai Buddhist Temple, the Sikh community and the Christian ministries at Indiana Wesleyan University. Anita Joshi the Community Relations Liaison from the temple recited a prayer for peace in remembrance of Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolence. Dr. King’s message of unity and love was influenced by not only his faith but by the teachings and work of our own Mahatma Gandhi. HTCI was proud to present the Sanskrit verses that reflect our love for all mankind and to stand with our brothers and sisters of the inter faith community in Indianapolis. We as Hindus have much ancient wisdom to share with our fellow citizens and are confident in our critical presence in the greater Indianapolis community. We invite all members of our community who are interested in becoming further involved with interfaith events to contact Anita Joshi. A calendar of interfaith events will be posted soon on the HTCI website.
• Board passed the resolution to acquire additional land across the Temple. The land can be used for additional parking & many more uses. Finally we are trying to improve kitchen services and build a function hall to conduct any kind of religious ceremonies. This will help community to perform wedding ceremonies etc. Economically also it will help in increasing temple revenue. The Board has appointed an independent CPA to audit our books to make sure that our accounting system is sound and in compliance with Federal & State regulations. The elections are over. I would like to handover my duties to the New Board & Executive committee. Again, thank you for your support and God bless us all. Ravi Pattar Chairman HTCI Board, 2016 Frequently Asked Questions Who gets tax statements? All devotees who have contributed $100 or more cumulatively during the calendar year 2016 will get a tax statement by electronic mail. All the statements were mailed by January 30th, 2017 for the year 2016. Who to contact if you have questions on the tax statement? Please send an email to treasurer@htci.org with your phone # and detailed explanation of your question.
Board of Trustees Sri. Anil Bajpai, Chairman, Board of Trustees anil.bajpai@htci.org, 317-250-1431 Dr. Ramarao Yeleti, Vice Chairman & Joint Treasurer ramu.yeleti@htci.org, 317-815-5811 Sri. Vijaypal Reddy, Treasurer vijaypal.reddy@htci.org, 317-270-3825 Sri. Om Narla, Secretary om.narla@htci.org, 312- 953-5804 Sri. Sathya Thulasiraman, HR Committee sathya.thulasiraman@htci.org, 317-753-9521 Sri. M.R. Ivaturi, Social & Charitable Activity Comm. rao.ivaturi@htci.org, 317-696-2346 Smt. Kshitija Dube, Functions Coordinator kshitija.dube@htci.org, 317-508-8957 Sri. Mohan Sarda, Communications & Long Range Planning, mohan.sarda@htci.org, 317-600-5476 Sri. Arun Jain, Facilities Committee arun.jain@htci.org, 765-376-3976 Smt. Anita Gupta, Fundraising Committee anita.gupta@htci.org, 317-414-4192 Sri. Sathyaraj Chawan, Kitchen Committee satyaraj.chawan@htci.org, 317 440-0133 Executive Committee Sri. Jagannath Pandey, President jay.pandey@htci.org, 317-340-0918
TEMPLE HOURS:
Monday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM & 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Saturday - Sunday: 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Extended hours on major holidays and long weekends: 9:00 AM -1:00 PM and 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM.
Last Archana - 7:45 PM / Last Vahan Puja - 7:30 PM Timings are subject to change without prior notice on Special Puja days or extreme weather conditions. Please note: Vaahan Puja requires 4 lemons, coconut, camphor and flowers
Temple address: 3350 North German Church Road, Indianapolis, IN 46235
PUJA / SERVICE REQUEST
For Pooja Services at your Home or Temple, please fill out the form on the website {htci.org} and submit it. Someone from Pooja Committee will contact you within 48 hours. Please send in your request at least 10 days prior to the scheduled pooja date. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, please call Ananth Duvvuri seva@htci.org 512-466-7399 or Krishna Padmanabhan at Krishna.padmanabhan@htci.org 317-258-5356. Maximum time allotted for pooja is 4 hours, which includes to and fro travel time from the Temple. If additional time is necessary, please inform the temple in advance. There will be a charge for $25/ hour. Transportation for the priest is at the discretion of the devotee. You can pick and drop the priest at the temple before and after the services. Alternatively, if you want priest to drive, then there will be travel charge of 55 cents /mile (IRS Policy) that shall be paid directly to the priest. Travel time expenses and dakshina amount need to be paid to the priest after the services. All services shall preferably be paid by check (payable to HTCI). Checks can be either mailed to the temple address prior to the pooja or handed over to the priest after the service is done. Cancellations need to be made at least 48 hours before the scheduled pooja date.
MEMBERSHIP
Please become a member and here is the info for you. HTCI has two categories of members: (1) Patron/ Life members and (2) Regular members. You can become a Life Member by paying a one time fee of Sri. Krishnakumar Padmanabhan, P.-Elect / Vice P. Krishna.padmanabhan@htci.org, 317-258-5356 $1,500 or you can donate $10,000 or more (cumulatively) to become a patron. Annual membership is for the calendar year: $100 per family, $50 per individual and $15 per student. Sri. Sandeep Gupta, Secretary Membership entitles to certain benefits such as voting rights in the election of temple office bearers, sandeep.gupta@htci.org, 317-532-7284 participating in temple programs like balagokulam, cultural activities, free calendar. You are also Sri. Ravi Dinakaran, Treasurer helping your temple to be stronger since the strength is measured by its members. treasurer@htci.org, 317-213-6920 Email: membership@htci.org. Please download the form from the website, fill it up and mail the Smt. Kusum Patel, Joint Treasurer/Secretary form along with your check payable to HTCI to HTCI Treasurer, 3350 North German Church Road, kusum.patel@htci.org Indianapolis, IN 46235. You can also pay online at www.htci.org. Sri. Ananth Duvvuri, Pooja Coordination Committee All the donations and the pooja services receipts are emailed, if you are not receiving your seva@htci.org, 512-466-7399 receipts or your email address or residence address is changed please report to the temple to Sri. Raveendran Dudhlur, Maintenance Committee serve you better. Tax ID for Donations : 35-2092107 maintenance@htci.org, 317-997-1851
Smt. Usha Yemme, Kitchen Committee kitchen@htci.org, 317-590-4875
KITCHEN SERVICES
Maha Prasad Seva - You can sposnor lunch prasad at the temple on any day of your choice, Sri. Raghava Ayyagari, Communications Committee typically on a weekend, a holiday or a festival day. To reserve your choice of amount, day and for more details, please contact Usha Yemme, Kitchen Committee Chair by email (kitchen@htci.org) communications@htci.org, (317) 979-5097 or by phone 317-590-4875. Lunch is served EVERY Saturday & Sunday from Noon- 2 PM. Sri. Prakash Mahesh, Membership Committee membership@htci.org Smt. Shanti Pathak, Library Committee library@htci.org, 317-507-0462 Sri. Priyesh Kheradia, Youth Activity Coordinator Priyesh.kheradia@htci.org, 317-966-9033 Smt. Nalini Belagaje, Function Coordination Comm. cultural@htci.org, 317-815-5524
BALAGOKULAM & CHETANA (YOUTH) CLASSES
- Priyesh Kheradia <priyesh.kheradia@htci.org> 317-966-9033 For more info visit htci.org
SANSKRIT CLASSES AT THE TEMPLE
- Sanjay Kalluparambil <sanjay.kalluparambil@gmail.com> 646-722-0785
YOGA CLASSES AT THE TEMPLE - EVERY SATURDAY AT 10 AM-11AM - Uma Vashistha <umavas@hotmail.com>, (317) 414-1220
SAHAJA MEDITATION SESSION - EVERY SUNDAY 11 AM-12 PM
Coordinators nominated by EC - Manisha Kokitkar, <ekmanisha@msn.com>, (317) 625-6385 Smt. Suneela Ramaswamy, Geeta Session Coordinator suneelaramaswamy@gmail.com, 317-457-1557 FLOWER SPONSORSHIP Nikhil Jain, Youth Committee Coordinator nikhil.jain@htci.org, (317) 478-0433 Kum. Bhavi Sarda, Youth Committee Coordinator bhavi.sarda@htci.org , (317) 941-5842 Newsletter Editorial Committee Sharmila Sanka, Editor, Articles Coordinator sharmilasanka@yahoo.com, 479-899-1307 Madhu Bhargava, Editor, Advertising Coordinator madhu@bharprinting.com, 317-507-1843
Sponsor WEEKLY flower garlands for deities - $100 for Balaji & Shiva and $50 for Ganesha, Durga, Lakshmi, Parvathy, Radha, Krishna and $25 each for all other deities. Devotees can also sponsor special flower garlands for IMPORTANT festivals from $200-$500. For more information about flower sponsorship please contact seva@htci.org. Specifications for the Temple Quarterly Newsletter Nivedina (PRINT) PRIESTS: Half page 7 ½” wide x 4 7/8” length for $400 Pt. Ramaswamy Bhattar (ramaswamy.bhattar@htci.org) Quarter page 3 5/8” wide x 4 7/8” length for $250 Business card size 3 5/8” wide x 2 ¼ length for $150 Pt. Badrinath Sapkote (badrinath.sapkote@htci.org) Pt. Keerthivasan Srinivasan (keerthi.srinivasan@htci.org) Full page 7.5” wide x10” length for $900 Receive 10% discount for signing up for 4 quarters. Pt. Prasanth Sarma (prashanth.sarma@htci.org)
HINDU MANDIR EXECUTIVES’ CONFERENCE (HMEC)
An Annual Conference for Temples by Temples
Friday, September 15th -Sunday 17th, 2017 Indianapolis, Indiana Hosts: Hindu Temple of Central Indiana and Other Temples of MW Area 2017 HMEC PLANNING: • 12th Annual HMEC conference • 15+ Host/Co-Host Temples • 100+ temples attendance • 250+ temple executives • 80+ Speakers • 45+ topics on temples involving every part of temple life cycle
LEARN
SHARE
SUSTAIN
Venue: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center 2930 Waterfront Pkwy West Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46214 (317) 299-8400 • Fax: (317) 299-9257 www.ClarionWaterfront.net
HAVAN (Hindu American VAnprasthi Network): HAVAN provides a platform and forum to groom, build, and maintain this legacy and the needs of Hindu society. HAVAN ( Indianapolis Seniors Network ) , open to all ages. The HAVAN sessions are aligned with the vision and mission of the temple. This group meets every third Thursday at 6:00 PM once a month at HTCI, thus helping generate social bonding. Dinner is the part of the social activity of this group during the monthly meetings. The goal is to engage them locally in meaningful community service activities, develop network, and opportunities to use their skills, specialties, and wisdom for the benefit of the society. Those who are interested to attend these meetings should RSVP a few days in advance. To RSVP enter information in the Spreadsheet => http://goo.gl/CUqYzx. Feel free to contact Dr. Vipin Kalia, 317-414-4439; kalia_vipin@hotmail.com; Kumar Dave 317-889-7328; kdave@sbcglobal.net.
http://havanindianapolischapter.blogspot.com www.indiaseniorcommunity.blogspot.com
God manifests in myriad ways
By: Melkote Ramaswamy E-mail:melramaswamy@gmail.com
The Hindu tradition permits its devotees to worship in many ways. This is a result of vision and wisdom of our ancient rishis (sages) who sought to accommodate a diverse spectrum of maturity levels. Hindus can choose to worship from an array of ishtadevatas, (favorites) each representing some aspect of one and only God. We also have the choice of praying to God with form (sakaara) or without form (niraakara) or to one with attributes (saguna) or without attributes (nirguna). Further, one may worship God in the form of Earth, Fire, Space, Air or Water (In South India there are temples dedicated to each of these). There are several other subtle manifestations of God. It doesn’t take much to realize and recognize that the world around us in all its ramifications is simply given to us—the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the rivers, the oceans, the vegetation, the forests, animals, and birds. We had absolutely no hand in creating any of these. In a sense, these are all God-given gifts to us. If we accept this premise, we can recognize the hand of the Lord in myriad other ways. One such is Order. The Sun always rises in the East and sets in the West, the moon goes around the earth, and all the planets merrily revolve around the Sun without ever colliding with each other following what physicists and astronomers call Kepler’s laws and exerting gravitational forces. There is a certain rhythm/regularity in the occurrence of seasons. No wonder, one can create a hundred year calendar and almanac with so much certainty. Solar and lunar eclipses are equally predictable. There is regularity in the occurrence of tides. In the human body, we can discern three types of Order: physical, physiological and psychological. If one were to look at the number of drugs and over the counter medicines in a typical drug store, we get an idea of the number of ailments that can possibly exist in the human body. Many things can go wrong, but don’t because of an inherent order; there is harmony in the way the organs work. A disease is simply a breakdown of order in the body-mind complex. Atheists may deny the existence of God but have to accept and recognize the power of various natural forces and conservation laws of momentum and energy—which are all subtle manifestation of God. Order also manifests as harmony in nature. Humans and animals co-exist living in their own worlds but enriching and supplementing the creation, which in itself is part of a big Order. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters—these are also part of the Order No matter, how tragic their consequences may be on a macroscopic scale, they are still a part of the larger Cosmic Order. So is the beauty of a rainbow and of the waterfalls. It is humbling to realize and recognize that everything in the Universe is just Order and we are just blessed to be part _ _ _ _and _ _ parcel _ _ _ _ _of_ this _ _ _divinity _ _ _ _ _called _ _ _ _ _God. ____________________________________________________________ *Melkote Ramaswamy is a physicist, speaker, writer, and author of ‘An Immigrant celebrates America’ and Vedanta through Drushtaanta (Adhyatma Vidya Mandir, Ahmedabad, 2013) and is an active member of the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana.
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How to balance Spirituality & Materialism in the age of Kali By: Sharmila Sanka E-mail: sharmilasanka@yahoo.com HTCI Newsletter Committee When there are millions of species like plants, animals and birds, why only we, are merited with a human birth? Acquiring human life is a precious boon by itself which needs to be treasured in order to fulfil our spiritual goal. But we are living in the age of Kali, where the thin line between mortality and immortality, real and unreal, truth and untruth, wisdom and ignorance, selfishness and selflessness appears to be faded away. But remember, we are fortunate that the thin line still exists and we humans are capable of discriminating between spiritual and materialistic aspects of life. Spiritual Goal of any human being should be to realize the true self and ultimately merge in God. Our human mind often wonders as to what is spirituality. Spirituality is our relationship to a higher power, be it nature, God, or Universe. True spirituality doesn’t merely mean performing religious rituals. It is only a means and not an end. It is, how well we lead our lives to fruition by following the basic human values. The way we behave towards others with love and compassion are the outcomes of spirituality besides having noble thoughts. Thoughts are powerful. Thoughts make our actions; actions make our lives. It is not always easy to control thoughts and the best way is by chanting a mantra or the Lord’s name and by meditating on His form. Thoughts can be controlled by staying busy by participating in service activities like Soup kitchen, Soles for Souls, visiting old age homes etc. All these provide excellent ways for us to practice compassion. Hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray. We need to always ponder as to where we are utilizing our precious time. Our lives become worthy only when we live for others. We are all living in the society and it is our responsibility to give back to the community in the form of love, selflessness and compassion. Though Kali Yuga has its own pros and cons, one advantage of being born in this Yuga is immeasurable. In the previous yugas, Rishis had to do penance for decades to please the Lord or to attain moksha or liberation. But humanity is blessed with one boon in the Kali Yuga. Nama smarana or chanting the name of the Lord will liberate us from the bondage of birth and death. Let alone right action, if we have a noble thought, even before we put that good thought into action, that thought will have the power to liberate humanity in Kali yuga. For example, with utmost faith, if we truly imagine ourselves going to a pilgrimage, we will indeed be blessed with the merit of visiting that place. Sadhana is difficult in Kali Yuga but results are easy if we have firm conviction in the Lord. Like how there are two sides of a coin, there are 2 sides of a human life - materialistic & Spiritual. In the present day world, we normally spend our day in a very materialistic
manner. Most of us wake up from the bed with a sob to start the day. We drag ourselves from the bed to do the morning chores with a dispassionate attitude. We break the nightly fast with some cereal and rush out as if the world is ending. We somehow drag the dag and wait for the day to end, spend the day with no purpose other than to have an end goal of accomplishing the materialistic tasks. We come home tired with a sad face with the fear of taking care of rest of the activities at home leaving us with absolutely no time to cherish the moments of life, no time to smile in a day, no time to think of the Lord who is waiting to be thought upon, no time to spend some quality time with family and then after dinner, we get so exhausted that we forcefully sleep off with no prayers or good thoughts which finally end up in not so good dreams. Life was precious in the previous eras whereas, money has taken over the precious life in this mechanical world. This is a normal routine for most of us. The answer is, ‘this is Kali Yuga and we can’t help it.’ Let us see how we can turn the same materialistic day into a spiritual or more meaningful day. Our body has rested for 6-8 hours and we should not wake up with a sudden jerk. No matter how sleepy, we are, we still need to wake up. So, why not wake up with a smile? Wake up in a calm manner, with a prayer or utter the Lord’s name. Chant the world peace prayer-“Samasta lokaa sukhino bhavantu’ which means to say, “May all worlds rest in peace.” When the worlds are in peace, we, who are living in this world, will also be in peace. As we land our first foot on the ground, pray to mother Earth, asking her to forgive us for stamping on her, without whom we cannot exist. Include the name of the Lord in every activity. Chant any mantra while taking a shower and it becomes equivalent to submerging oneself in the holy River Ganges. Take 2 minutes time and go to the altar and light a lamp. Grab the opportunity to have one on one conversation with the Lord with love, without asking for anything. Be selfless when you pray. Prayer is not an instrument to grant us boons. It is a bridge between the Lord and us. When we pray selflessly, God will be so pleased. In the process of heading out, as we go out, chant God’s name. When you see the Sun, do not treat Sun as a mere planet. He is the direct form of the Lord and an embodiment of true wisdom and light. Chant the Surya mantra thus‘Sapthaashva Rathamaarudham, Prachandam Kashyapaathmajam Shvetha Padma Dharam Devam, Tam Suryam Pranamamyaham’ ‘I salute to Lord Surya, who is the son of Sage Kashyapa, who is intense and who is holding the white lotus.’
Won’t the Sun God be pleased to see us praying to Him among the millions of beings in the Universe? Utilize any extra time in the day by listening to some shlokas or thought provoking discourses by divine souls. The feeling derived out of it is inexplicable. We feel energized. Even while making food or household chores, chant the name of the Lord. Do we pray or thank the Lord for the food we are blessed with? Before consuming the food, offer it to the Lord first by chanting Brahmarpanam which purifies everything. ‘Brahmarpanam brahma havir brahmaagno brahmanaahutam Brahmaiva tena gantavyam Brahma karma samaadhinaa Aham vaishwaanaro bhootwaa praaninaam dehamaasritaha praanaapaana samaayuktaha pachaamyaham chaturvidham’
Sins acquire in the entire process of acquiring and consuming food. There should be 3 purities before the food can be consumed-purity of money, vessel, and thoughts. Money should not be earned in an unrighteous way. Vessels in which the food is cooked should be clean. Mind or thoughts with which the food is cooked should be pure. In the present day world, it is not that easy to have all these 3 purities in the process of consuming food due to which we need to pray to the Lord to purify all these 3 so that they can be consumed. Anything that is offered to God is equal to the divine nectar which will give you good health inside and out. So, before we eat food, we should chant or at least say the word ‘Brahmarpanam.’ The JaTaraagni is the Lord in the form of Vaishwanara who digests every single thing we dump inside our stomach. Convey thanks before you eat, not just for the food, but also for everything that contributed to your meal--the earth, the rain, the sun, the farmer, the cook etc. Gratitude is an essential spiritual practice. Another best spiritual practice is to chant ‘Trayambaka’ mantra for any occasion. It purifies the karmas of the soul at a deep level. It is beneficial for mental, emotional and physical health. It is also a moksha mantra which bestows longevity and immortality. If we see someone needing a prayer or see an ambulance pass by, or a dead animal on the road, chant this mantra. Let our day not pass by without helping someone in need. ‘Om trayambakam yajaa mahe sugandhim pushti vardhanam urvaaruka miva bandhanaan mrityor mukshiya mamrutat.’
The mantra means- “We worship the Three-eyed Lord who is fragrant and who nourishes and nurtures all beings. As is the ripened cucumber freed from its bondage (to the creeper), may He liberate us from death for the sake of immortality.” The Universe is full of divine energy just waiting to help out any one asking for help or energy from it. When you want any of your good desires to be fulfilled, when you need divine help, sit amidst the nature, talk to it, and connect with it and then pray. Have complete faith in the Universe that it will fulfil your wish and give it some time. Your noble desire has to be fulfilled somehow. Just put in your energy into it and it will happen and this is my personal
experience. Do not ask anyone for help. God should not be your last resort but the very first one. Try to speak sweetly, softly and with respect no matter who they are. As parents, we need to be a role model for the kids. They do not have much access to our true ancient culture living outside India but thanks to the Lord, we have a great temple here for them to experience our culture, traditions and devotion. Observe if the kids are treading on the wrong path and try to correct them when young and tender. Teach them to speak the truth and to help ever and hurt never. We earn money for them but what is the use of earning money when we do not have time to spend some quality time with them when we are all living under the same roof? We have limited time to be with them before they leave us. If not parents, who else will caress our kids? Let us spend at least few minutes every day with them and create a beautiful bond of memories for them to cherish and share with their future generations. No matter how they spend their day at school, make them say a night prayer and share some bed time stories not leading them to the world of fantasy but narrate them the real miracles from our ancient culture which will develop faith in them from childhood. The only boon we can give them as parents is to instill faith in their tender hearts from now on, so that when they grow up, they become matured adults who help the society and themselves. Let’s pass this great culture to our future generations and let it not stop with our generation. Time is precious, avail it to the fullest. End the Day with a night prayer and sleep with good thoughts to wake up with great dreams. ‘Kara charana krutam vaak kaayajam karmajam vaa, sravana nayanajam vaa maanasam vaa aparaadham vihitam avihitam vaa sarvam etat kshamaswaa jaya jaya karunaabdhe Sri Mahadeva Shambho.’ O Lord, kindly forgive all the wrong acts and omissions I have committed, whether I committed them knowingly or unknowingly, with my hands, feet, words, ears, eyes, or mind. Glory to you, Mahadeva, who is the ocean of kindness and compassion, and the cause of happiness. Being human, and living in the age of Kali, we have every right to enjoy the materialistic benefits of life but the essence of human life enhances when we balance the materialistic life with the tinge of spirituality. Only then, our human life is worth living. The basic duty of any human being in this era is to perform one’s own duty to the fullest as an offering to the Lord. Above all, God is residing in our hearts, watching all our thoughts, words and actions and won’t He be pleased to see His children tread on the path of spirituality despite living in the age of Kali? Won’t the Lord liberate us from this cycle of birth and death and ultimately help us merge in Him? Live your life in such a way that when you look at God, you should fearlessly smile with a humble pride to have availed this human birth granted by Him with hope.
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Hindu Temple of Central Indiana 3350 N. German Church Road Indianapolis, IN 46235
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN PERMIT # 8042
MAHA SHIVARATRI - FEBRUARY 24, 2017 HTCI Welcomes you to Maha Shivaratri one of the holiest of days for devotees across the globe. Maha Shiva Ratri is a festival observed on the
Chaturdasi (14th day) of Krishna Paksha(waning moon) in the month of Maagh (Maagha). Even though Sivaratri occurs every month and is known as a Maasa Shivaratri, the one which occurs in the Magha month is called Maha Shivaratri. This year it will celebrated on Monday February 24th 2016. Maha Shivaratri means â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Great Night of Shivaâ&#x20AC;?. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, forgiveness and the discovering Shiva inside the hearts.
Maha Shivaratri Details First Yaama 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM Ganesh Pooja, Kalasha Sthapana, Laghunyasa Poorvaka Rudra Abhishekam, Archana, Aarti and Prasad Second Yaama 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM Mahanyasa Poorvaka Rudra Abhishekam, Archana, Aarti and Prasad Third Yaama 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM Laghunyasa Poorvaka Rudra Abhishekam 6:45 P.M to 8:00 P.M. Bhajan Time (Contact Nalini Belagaje @ 317-815-5524) 6:30 P.M to 9:00 P.M. Jyothirlinga Darshan followed by Archana, Aarti and Prasad Fourth Yaama 11:00 PM - 12:30 AM Laghunyasa Poorvaka Rudra Abhishekam, Archana, Aarti and Prasad
Pooja Sponsorship for Shivaratri Any one of the four Yaama pujas - $51 All the four Yaama pujas - $151 Includes all yaama poojas on Shivaratri day (24th Feb 2017); Does not include any other Pujas performed on following Saturday or Sunday. Sponsors will be offered a Rudraksha Mala. Grand Sponsorship (all pujas) - $501 Includes all yaama poojas on Shivaratri day (24th Feb 2017), Rudra Trishati archana on Saturday (25th Feb 2017), and Parvathi Parameshwara kalyanam on Sunday (26th Feb 2017); Does not include Mata ki chowki. Sponsors will be presented a Sphatika Lingam. Contact Details People interested in singing Bhajans during the Alankaaram time, please contact Smt. Nalini Belagaje @ 317-815-5524. For all other questions regarding the event, contact Sri. Ananth Duvvuri seva@htci.org (512-466-7399) or Sri. Jay Pandey jay.pandey@htci.org (317-340-0918)