W E L C O M E T O A N E W Y E A R

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1 Volume 39, issue 1, Page 1 W E L C O M E T O A N E W Y E A R E V E N T S O F T H E M O N T H G A N E S H A P O O J A J A N 1 K I T E F E S T I V A L J A N 8 K A L Y A N O S T A V J A N S H I V R A T R I F E B 2 4 H O L I P O O J A M A R 1 0 H O L I C O L O R S M A R 1 2 We are going C A R N A T I C M U S I C C O N C E R T Paperless Please update your contact information including id. CULTURAL PROGRAMS J A N 2 1 The HTS executive committee welcomes the Augusta Hindu Community into the Gregorian calendar year We wish everyone a peaceful, healthy and prosperous new year. The EC and the BoT would like to thank each and every one for being active participants and volunteers at our temple. On Jan1st we will perform Shree Ganesh puja, Arya samaj havan followed by mahaprasad sponsored by the Gulatis. Lord Venkateshwara Kalyanotsav will be celebrated on January Newly started the Kite festival will take place at the temple garden on the 8 th of January. From this year onward the members of HTS will receive a colorful calendar by mail that will display monthly pooja schedules. After this newsletter the EC committee plans to go paperless. For those who prefer paper copies, few printed copies of the newsletter will be available at the temple. The EC urges all the HTS members to fill out the membership form that includes gotra and nakshatra information of all family members. This information is very essential and useful for the sponsored poojas and havans. The Puja committee has designed a new temple calendar that will be available for pickup to all members from January 1 st onwards. The calendar will provide all the monthly puja information. All other community, spiritual and cultural events will be posted in the newsletter. As usual stay engaged and participate in HTS events. We look forward to hear from you especially your creative comments and suggestions that help us focus in serving our community.

2 Volume 39, issue 1, Page 2 K I T E F E S T I V A L J A N 8 Makar Sankranti is the festival of the new year and is observed on Jan,14th according to the international calendar. The name Makar Sankranti is derived from the from the celestial event of northward migration of sun from the tropic of Capricorn (Makar). Sankranti is celebrated in its own way through out India in a very culturally diverse way. The states of Gujrat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar it is called as Uttara Yana and Sankranti, the usual celebration is by taking dip in a holy river and kite flying. In Punjab it is celebrated as Lohri, with food and dances all through the day. In Tamilnadu it is a 4 day celebration of Pongal with each day devoted to worship of a deity Kite Festival is organized every year by the Gujrati community of CSRA Kite Festival hosted by Hiren Patel on Jan 8th 2017 area, for details contact Youth committee and Hiren Patel at Bring your own kite and kites will also available on the spot for sale. C A R N A T I C M U S I C C O N C E R T B Y S R I. S A L E M S R I R A M J A N 2 1 S T 4 P M The Hindu Temple is sponsoring the Karnatic Vocalist Salem Sriram on January 21st Sri Salem s entourage incudes Lakshminarayanan (violinist) and Dr. Sriram (mridangam). Sri. Salem is a prime disciples of Sri K. S. Krishnamurti from Calcutta. H. Ramakrishnan describes Sri Salem s musical prowess to possess a resonating voice voice with deep command on modulation. The Hindu has described Sri. Salem as prince of aesthetics who is committed to good music with an emphasis on enlightenment rather than on entertainment. The Venue is Cultural Center in HTS Campus, admission is free to members. Sri. Salem Sriram. Photo: Hindu.com F E A T H E R I N T H E C A P D R. T H I Y A G A R A J A N S E L E C T E D F O R T E A C H E R S A D V I S O R Y C O U N C I L Dr. Srinivasan Thiyagarajan from Augusta has been selected as one of the two teachers from Georgia to the Teachers Advisory Council of Bill and Gates Malinda Foundation. The goal of the TAC is to prepare high school students to succeed in college. According to the Foundation press release, the TAC consist of 50 talented individuals selected from across United States. Selected teachers commit to two years term, during which they meet to develop and implement strategies for effective learning in their schools and districts. Dr. T as he is affectionately called by his students, is also hopnored in 2017 as Teacher of the Year for Glenn Hills High. Apart from his teaching Dr. Thiyagarajan is a very active member of the HTS and is involved with education programs of HTS and Pooja committee. Previously he has been nominated for Presidential award by the Twigs county school. We the Augusta Indian Community is honored to have him among us and wishes him success in his endeavors.

3 Volume 39, issue 1, Page 3 WHEN IDOLS BECAME ALIVE G u e s t C o n t r i b u t o r D h a r m a T h i r u v a i y a r u The following is an excerpt from Swami Sivananda s All About Hinduism (pg , Ch. 7) When Idols Became Alive For a Bhakta or a sage, there is no such thing as Jada or insentient matter. Everything is Vaasudeva or Chaitanya Vaasudevah Sarvam Iti. The devotee beholds the Lord in the idol. Saint Narsi Mehta of Gujarat was put to the test by a king. The king said: O Narsi, if you are a sincere devotee of Lord Krishna, if as you say the idol is Lord Krishna Himself, let this idol move. According to the prayer of Narsi Mehta, the idol moved. The sacred bull Nandi before Shiva s idol took the food offered by Tulsidas. The Murti of Krishna played with Meera Bai. It was full of life and Chaitanya for her. Kanaka dasa was a great devotee of Lord Krishna in Udupi, in the district of South Kanara, in South India. He was not allowed to enter the temple on account of his low birth. Kanaka Dasa went around the temple and saw a small window at the back of the temple. He seated himself in front of the window. He was soon lost in singing songs in praise of Lord Krishna. Many people gathered around him. They were very much attracted by the sweet melody of his music and the depth of his devotion. Lord Krishna turned around to enable Kanaka dasa to get His darshan. The priests were struck with wonder. Even today, pilgrims are shown the window and the place where Kanakadasa sat and sang. The Murti is the same as the Lord, for it is the vehicle of the expression of the Mantra-Chaitanya which is the Devata. The same attitude should the devotee have in regard to the Murti in the temple, which he would evince if the Lord would appear before him in person and speak to him in articulate sound. Vedanta And Idol- Worship Only a pseudovedantin (philosopher) feels ashamed to bow or prostrate before an idol in the temple. He feels that his advaita will evaporate if he prostrates. Study the lives of the reputed Tamil saints, Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, etc. They had the highest advaitic realization. They saw Lord Shiva everywhere and yet they visited all temples of Shiva, prostrated before the idol and sang hymns which are on record now. Many of the sixty-three naayanaar saints of Tamil Shaivism practiced only charya (bhakti yoga) and kriya (karma yoga) and attained Godrealization thereby. They swept the floor of the temple, collected flowers, made garlands for the Lord and put on lights in the temple. Many of them were illiterate, but attained the highest realization. They were practical Yogis and their hearts were saturated with pure devotion. They were embodiments of Karma Yoga. All practiced the Yoga of Synthesis. The idol in the temple was all Chaitanya or Consciousness for them. It was not a mere block of stone. Madhu Sudana Swami, who had advaitic realization and beheld oneness of the Self was intensely attached to the form of Lord Krishna with flute in His hands. Saint Tulsidas had realized the all-pervading essence. He had cosmic consciousness. He communed with the all-pervading, formless Lord. And yet, his passion for Lord Rama with bow in His hand did not vanish. When he had been to Vrindavana and saw the Murti of Lord Krishna with flute in His hands, he said: I will not bow my head to this form. At once Lord Krishna s form assumed the form of Lord Rama. Then only he bowed his head. Tukaram also had the same cosmic experience as that of Tulsidas. He sings in his Abhanga: I see my Lord all-pervading, just as sweetness pervades the sugar-cane; and yet, he always speaks of his Lord Vitthala of Pandarpur with His hands on the hips. Saint Meera Bai also realized her identity with the allpervading Krishna, and yet she was not tired of repeating Contd on pg 4.. Image bu BAPS.org C A R N A T I C M U S I C C O N C E R T B Y S A L E M S R I R A M Image by

4 Volume 39, issue 1, Page 4 Find us on Published by HINDU TEMPLE SOCIETY 1421 Lukes road, Augusta GA30909 Phone: hindutempleaugusta@gmail.com We are going paperless PLEASE UPDATE YOUR ID SO YOU DO NOT MISS THE ISSUE OF NEWSLETTER. A V A I L A B L E F O R R E N T A two bedroom,two bath,full kitchen-sleeps 8. Dates available: Dec 18 to 20 for 3 nights Location : MARRIOTT Barney Resort at Hilton Head reservation for 3 nights. Cost: donate money to temple. Contact by only : anjudinesh2000@yahoo.com Include full information, name, how many people, name and age of each person going and your contact information adult. When Idols Become Alive Contd. from 3 again and again: My Giridhar naagar. From the above facts, we can clearly infer that one can realize God through worship of Murti or idol; that the worship of the Lord in Saguna form is a great aid for the realization of the Lord in His all-pervading, formless aspect also; that the worship of the Murti is very essential for the purpose of concentration and meditation in the beginning and that such a worship is not in any way a hindrance to the attainment of Godconsciousness. Those who vehemently attack Murti Puja are groping in extreme darkness and ignorance, and they have no real knowledge of Puja and worship. They enter into unnecessary and vain debates and discussions against Murti Puja. steady and subtle, it can be fixed later on an abstract idea such as Aham Brahmaasmi. When one advances in meditation, the form melts into the formless and he becomes one with the formless essence. Image worship is not contrary to the view of Vedanta. It is rather a help. The whole world worships symbols and Murti s in some form or the other. The mind is disciplined in the beginning by fixing it on a concrete object or symbol. When it is rendered steady and subtle, it can be fixed later on an abstract idea such as Aham Brahmaami. When one advances in meditation, the form melts into the formless and he becomes one with the formless essence. Image worship is not contrary to the view of Vedanta. It is rather a help. H O L I M A R 1 0 / 1 2 The whole world worships symbols and Murti s in some form or the other. The mind is disciplined in the beginning by fixing it on a concrete object or symbol. When it is rendered

5 Volume 39, issue 1, Page 5 T E M P L E S C H E D U L E T E M P L E H O U R S : A M A N D 6-8 P M T E M P L E I S C L O S E D O N E V E R Y T H U R S D A Y A N D L A S T S U N D A Y O F T H E M O N T H Monday 7 pm Shiva Pooja Tuesday 7 pm Hanuman Wednesday 7 pm Krishna Thursday Temple Closed Priest Day off 1st Friday 7 pm Devi Pooja Friday s 6:15 pm 1st Saturday 9 am Karthikeya Pooja 2nd Saturday 9 am Venketashwara Pooja 3rd Sunday 10 am Monthly Pooja 2nd and 4th Sunday 2 pm Jain Pooja Balaji Pooja Program Jan 14, 2017 Udaya- asthmana Nitya Seva 7:00 AM Suprabhata Seva 8:00 AM Nithyaaradhana and Homam Followed by Abhishekam Mahaprasad 4.00PM Vasantotsavam - 8 PM Unjal Seva Deepa-alankaranaSeva Shayanotsavam Ekantha Seva Jan 15, A.M Suprabhatham -12 NOON Mahakalyanotsavam Mahaprasad 8 Spots available for Special $250 each General Sponsorship open to all for $25.00 Tithi/Festivals/dates of Importance Jan 8 Vaikuntha Ekadashi Jan 14 Makar Sankranti, Uttrayan Jan 15 MLK Jr Day Jan 26 Republic Day (India) Feb 1 Vasanth Panchmi Mar 5 Ramkrishna Jayanti Mar 10 Holi Dahan Mar 12 Dhulendi Mar 28 Ugadhi, Gudi Padwa

6 Volume 39, issue 1, Page 6 December January 2017 February 1 Pausa 10 a.m. Ganesh Pooja Havan Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat P.M Krishna A.M. Vaikunda Ekadhasi A.M Kite Festival 2.00 Jain Puja A.M. Srinivasa Kalyana Utsavam 7.00 P.M. Sankashtahara Chathurthi P.M, Jain Puja P.M Krishna Full Moon 7.00 PM. Sathyanarayana Pooja P.M Krishna P.M Krishna 7.00 P.M Devi Pooja A.M Subrabhatham 9.00 A.M Karthikeya Pooja A.M. Subrabhatham 8.00 A.M. Venkateswara Pooja MAKARA SANKARAN- THI 21 Magha 8.00 A.M Subrabhatham Carnatic Music Concert A.M Subrabhatham The Hindu Temple Society P.O. Box Augusta, GA Please Renew Your membership. DONATE GENEROUSLY TO YOUR TEMPLE Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit # 426 Augusta, GA. Also stop by our office and complete and update your contact information or you can do it by as well. BE A PERPETUAL DONOR WE ARE SOLICITING ARTI- CLES OF RELIGIOUS AND GENERAL INTEREST PL SUBMIT BY Jan 30 th. PLEASE SEND YOUR IN- PUT TO: newsletter@augustahts.org