HINDU SAMAJ, Inc. Vol. XIII NO. 6 November/December, 2008 Suresh Seth. Special Prana Pratishtha Edition

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HINDU SAMAJ, Inc [A Non-profit Organization Under Section 501 of Internal Revenue Code I.D. # 223386668] 247 West Ramapo Ave., Mahwah, NJ 07430 Telephone No. (201) 529-0110 www.hindusamajmandir.

1 HINDU SAMAJ, Inc [A Non-profit Organization Under Section 501 of Internal Revenue Code I.D. # ] 247 West Ramapo Ave., Mahwah, NJ Telephone No. (201) Vol. XIII NO. 6 November/December, 2008 Suresh Seth Special Prana Pratishtha Edition Please do not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity Dear Friends, The moment of great joy and pride for our community has finally arrived. After 14 years of hard work and struggles, the building of 32,600 sq. ft. of our Temple of Unity and Community Center is complete. The celebratory dedication of the Temple to our Gods and the Community Center to serve our community is scheduled for November 7, 8 and 9, We cordially invite you to attend this, once in a life time event, with your family and friends. This architectural master piece sits on a six acre site in Mahwah, New Jersey. The Temple is built around a tranquil pond - our "Ganga Sagar" that was created millennia ago when a cosmic rock is believed to have collided with earth. Water from major rivers of India will be poured into this natural pond symbolizing our arrival to the United States of America. The nine Darbars - "Abodes of Gods" are complete with the most beautiful statues of Ganesh Ji, Ram Darbar, Vishnu and Laxmi Ji, Shiv Parivar, Durga Ma, Bala Ji, Hanuman Ji, Radha and Krishna Ji, and Saraswati Ma (Darbars for Bhagwan Jain and Sai Baba Ji will be completed by December, 2008). The Darbars rise 20 ft. high with gold domes surrounded by murals of snow clad mountains and the brilliant sky to create the most tranquil environment for prayers and meditation. The Community Center has been built to the best standards of world class facility. In addition, a Senior Citizen Center and a School dedicated to teaching music, dance, Indian culture and languages to our children have been built to

2 meet the ever growing needs of our community. A Museum dedicated to Indians journey to United States will be housed in the adjoining 4,200 sq. ft., 152 year old home that has just received the recognition award as the best preserved historic home in New Jersey. The members of our community have contributed over 5 million dollars through their generous donations. In addition, we have borrowed 4.6 million dollars to complete this master piece work of art - a home for our community. The details of the dedication program on November 7, 8 and 9, 2008 are enclosed. Please join us in continuing the tradition of generous contribution to help this facility grow; come and become a Yajman in the Prana Prathistha ceremony; write a mannat (your special prayer) to Gods to be permanently placed under their feet; come and volunteer to help plant the garden; come and help us with the program for children and seniors; come help us cook prasad; come help us in extending a helping hand to others in the community; come with the dedication to do anything else that your heart desires. Please share this information with your family and friends and join us to celebrate this great moment in the life of our community. Please visit our website at for directions and more information. Sincerely, Sevaks, Trustees and Members of Hindu Samaj Mandir What is Pranaprathista The Hindu Temple is not a building. It is a conception of Divinity. The Glory of the lord is seen everywhere, and the temples play the role of lenses where the prayers by the devotees strengthens the community and enhances the presence of the lord. So the temple building and worship in the temple bring communities together and bring peace and prosperity. The role of Pranaprathista is to give divine power to the idols through various rituals as prescribed in Vedas and by sages and vedic scholars. Prana means breath or life. During the pranaprathista, the Pandits and devotees give Prana to the idols through prayers and rituals.these rituals are generally accomplished in a span of three to five days with several rites prescribed in Agama Sastra. The rites begin with Puja to MAHAGANAPATHI and include several preparatory rituals such as PUNYAHAVACHANAM(purification), RITVIK ACHARYA VARANAM(offering of special garments to pandits), KALASA STAPANA(where divine power is invoked in water kept in pots), AGNI PRATHISTA(establishing fire for havans),ankuraarpanam(seeding the soil symbolize the growth and prosperity of the temple and community), VASTU PUJA,and NAYANONMEELANAM(opening the eyes of the murthis). In addition there is YANTRA STAPANA(specially designed silver plates are placed under the murthis with gem stones and gold coins). The above is a partial list of the rites that will be performed. During the whole ceremony the pundits will chant the moola mantra for each deity and perform Havans. Based on the design of the Temple, some temples will have KUMBHABHISHEKAM as the last step. Here in this article, only a brief description of the prathista has been given. The information for this article was taken from a very detailed write up by Dr.S.Yeganasubramanian in the journal PARAMAARTHA TATTVAM.

3 Friday, November 7, : Puja Schedule :- Presiding Priest: Pt. Chandrashekar Sharmaji Participating Priests Pt. Raj Gopal Pt. Rajinder Joshi Pt. Bhairva Moorthy Pt. Ram Lal Sharma Pt. Praveen Shastri 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Ganesh Puja Acharya Varanana (Invocation of presiding Priest and other priests) Sankalpa by all Yajmans and Kalash Puja Vasthu Puja Aarti 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM Sarvadevtha Raksha Bandhan Ankurarpana (seeding of soil symbolize the growth and prosperity of the temple and community) Havan Sarvadevatha Moorti Puja Aarti Saturday, November 8, :30 AM to 12:00 Noon Agni Pranayan Sarvadevtha Havan Kalash Puja (divine power is invoked in water kept in pots) Moorti Puja Aarti 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM Mata Ki Chowki (See flyer attached) Yantra Sthapna (sacred ancient mantras inscribed on gold, silver and copper plates with gem stones and gold coins are placed under the feet of Moorties) Moorthi Sthapna of Ganesh Ji and Durga Ma 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM Moorthi Sthapna of Bala Ji 7:45 PM Shayan of Gods (sleeping of Gods) Aarti Prasad Sunday, November 9, :00 AM to 12:30 PM (Moorthi Prana Prathisthapana Muhurat at 9:40 AM) Ganesh Puja Kalash Puja Havan Kumbaradhan, Kumbha Pradhikshna Moorthi Prana Prathisthapana Muhurat at 9:40 AM The sacred ceremony of Pranaprathistha is to give divine power to the idols through various rituals as prescribed in Vedas and by sages. Sringar Aarti Maha Prasad 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM Cultural Program Dinner Mata Ki Chowki Please note that we will have Mata Ki Chowki during the Pran Pratistha Ceremony on November 8 th Saturday, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Please see the flyer attached.

4 Weekly Puja Schedule Of The Mandir As we embark on our New Phase with expanded facilities, we have also expanded our Puja schedule as well as services to the community. Following is our Puja Schedule. TEMPLE OPEN: 7:30 AM TO 10:00 AM 5:30 PM TO 8:30 PM Aarti 9:30 AM 7:30 PM Sunday to Saturday: Everyday: Puja & Aarti 1 st Sunday Mata Ki Chowki 2 nd Sunday Monthly Havan 3 rd Sunday Ganesh Puja 4 th Sunday Shiva Abhishek Monday Rudra Abhishek 9:00 AM 6:30 PM Tuesday Hanuman Chalisa 7:30 PM Wednesday Vishnu Sahasra Namam 6:30 PM Thursday Sundar Kand Path 6:30 PM Friday Lakshmi Puja 9:00 AM Durga Puja 6:00 PM Lalitha Sahsranama Saturday Balaji Suprabhatham 9:30 10:30 AM We celebrate all holidays with special Puja. Sunday afternoon Puja is sponsored by members to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Our Priest is available to perform special Puja at your residence, place of business, or at our Temple. Please call (201) to make appointment. Community Activites Cultural Hindu Samaj DANCE: The Bollywood/Kathak Dance runs in 12 sessions (each semester.) New session starting in January. Classes are $ per semester, with a $30.00 registration charge (for a year,) conducted by: Ms. Radhika Sahu, Ms. Pratibha Goyal and Ms. Kamini Shukla. Classes are every

5 Sunday. New session starts January 11 th, Last day for registration is December 21 st, 2008, so please sign up as soon as possible. If interested, please contact Radhika Sahu at (973) or at EHSAAS : The Performing Group of Hindu Samaj Mandir, a highly motivated dance style. This group participates in various competitions (only for High School kids.) at 12:00 noon (every Sunday). Please note that there is a separate Registration Form (fee - $45.00) for Performing Group Dance Class. If interested, please contact Radhika Sahu at (973) or at rhythmsofindia@gmail.com. ODISSI: Starting soon at the community center, the traditional temple dance from Orissa, India. The classes will run in session of 12 at $240.00/per session with a $30.00 registration charge (for one year). It will be conducted by Ms. Nilanjana Banerjee at (973) VOCAL: The new session will be starting in beginning of January, registrations are available, open to all ages, runs in 12 session, each session is $ (a $30.00 registration fee for a year) taught by Celebrity Bollywood-Singer, Sangeet Visharad, Ms. Sunita Kapur. Classes are every Saturday, from 10:00 to 11:00 am. Also if interested in Learning Light Music (just for Adults) For more information call Sandeep at or visit Please download the form and give it to the teacher. Specify the class and don t forget to write at the bottom, the purpose of your payment. Coming soon CARNATIC MUSIC: at the Community Center in December, The class will be taught by Ms. SwarnaLatha Tatapudy, call her at (845) BAL-VIHAR/HINDI : In progress, the Hindi Language/Balavihar classes, at 1:30pm to 3:30 pm., every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. Classes are based on Chinmaya teachings, to teach various aspects of Hinduism and through this, impart a strong moral foundation. Please contact Ms. Sudha Sankaran - sudha.sankaran@verizon.net, or Mr. Atul Prakash - prakash3@optonline.net Yoga Classes Yoga Classes are held every Saturday from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM by a qualified Yoga Teacher, Mr. Virendar Kumar. Volunteer Hindu Samaj The completion of the Mandir and Community Center could not have been possible without your support. Sevaks of the Mandir would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support and generosity. We are looking for willing participants to help us achieve our main purpose, which is to offer various programs to all of you and build a strong foundation for our community. We have formed six working committees. All these committees need volunteers to perform required tasks benefitting our community. The six committees are: 1. Building Management & Maintenance Committee 2. Communication Committee 3. Community Center & Operations Committee 4. Cultural Affairs & Museum Committee 5. Education/Children/Youth Committee 6. Religious Committee To join any of the above committees, please go to the web-site and send a request.

6 FOOD CASH CARDS: If you have kids in school you probably know about this fundraising program which is offered by grocery chains like: Shop-rite, Pathmark, and A & P, etc. Do you know every dollar that you spend at any of these places (you don t loose anything, Temple gains); Temple gets 5%? What you have to do us just keep buying the case cards at the Temple. Currently available A & P, Pathmark and Shop-rite cards in denominations of $50.00 and $ Though we prefer check, made out to Hindu Samaj (please write at the bottom cash cards), but we will gladly take cash too. Please call Shailja Rastogi at: (201) RENT THE SPACE@ HINDU SAMAJ Want to host a party? Celebrate a special occasion? or burst the balloons for Birthday! Enjoy some one s Wedding Function? Or remember old times? You need a space for it and we have it. Enquire with the Building Committee about renting the Community Center which seats approximately 400 people. Call Mr. Sanjeev Khanna: DONATIONS Opportunities to make generous donations are available in many areas like; General building fund, Plant a tree in memoriam, Garden benches, Library, Furniture and others. Give lump sum, provide direct withdrawal from your bank or simply use your PayPal/Credit Card for any donations. Please call Dr. Devraj Gupta at , or Mr. Dinesh Khosla at Thank you for your support! Bhagawat Gita Classes We will be starting Bhagawat Gita Classes very shortly. Please watch our website or your for details. NEW WEBSITE Please visit our new website for the latest information about our activities. If you are not a member and would like to become a member, you can download the application form and/or fill up information online. We will like to hear your suggestions and comments via our Feedback form. We are continuously updating our membership database. Please use our new website to update your contact information including your ID and phone numbers using Membership tab. You can log in using registered ID / Password. If you have forgotten your password, you can always retrieve it using your registered ID. If you still have troubles accessing your data, please contact us immediately to get your ID and password using Feedback form on the website or you can simply create a new record. Many members have already taken advantage of the new website and updated their database. If you have not updated your membership data, please do so as soon as possible or stop by during the opening ceremony and we will update it for you. This will greatly help us in keeping you informed with the activities and events at Hindu Samaj.

4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA Newsletter Feb 2014

4525 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA Newsletter Feb 2014 703.378.8401 Newsletter Feb 2014 Religious Calendar February 2014 Sun 2 nd 11:00 AM 1:00 PM Satyanarayana Puja Tue 4 th 11:00 AM 1:00 PM Vasanth Panchami Saraswathi Puja Sat 8 th 11:00 AM 1:00 PM Vasanth