HARI Times... SITA-RAMA * RADHE-SHYAM Vol. 12 No. 02 MAR-APR 2012 PRIESTS: 774-7750 Pu. Naranji Pandya (Shastri ji) Pu. Seetharamaswamy (Swamy ji) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: President: Mr. Basava Sankar Sanke 460-4635 (Home) 541-8885 Senior Vice President: Mr. Harish Patel 697-0567 Vice President/Secretary: Mr. Tirupala Jakka 599-2346 Vice President/Treasurer: Mr. Srinivas Gamini 421-8718 Vice Presidents: Mr. Ravi Anand 579-9586 Mr. Sadanandam Bharatha 649-6265 Mrs. Anita Desai 792-4661 Mrs. Gowri Desikachar 579-1765 Mr.Sathya Krishnamoorthy 395-8521 Dr. Madhu Menon 329-7125 Mrs. Hemal Naik 314-5556 Mr. Devesh Shah 315-8512 Mr. Raj Wale 649-3139 School Director: Mrs. Meena Ravi 651-0620 Youth Forum Director: Mrs. Minoo Amin 732-0513 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chairman: Dr. Renu Joshi 756-6687 Members: Mr. Hiten Amin 732-0513 Dr. Gautam Mishra 914-1777 Dr. Mukul Parikh 728-9801 Mrs. Deepa Patil 731-9398 Mr. Pravin Patel 329-7457 Mr. Ratilal Patel 503-4061 Mr. SVR Reddy 732-6392 Mr. Krishna Repaka 829-3551 Mr. Virendra Trivedi 796-5993 HARI MEMBERSHIP We would like to thank all those who have already paid their membership dues for year 2012 and request other devotees to support HARI by becoming member. Annual Membership: $51.00 (Sr. Citizens: $25.00) Lifetime Membership: $600.00 (Sr. Citizens: $300.00) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLI CELEBRATION Sunday, March 18, 2012 10:30am - 11:45am: Variety Program by HARI School students 12:00pm: Aarti followed by Lunch Prasad, sponsored by the North Indian families. Note: Holi Puja / Dahan will be observed on the actual day of Holi, Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at 6:00pm GUDI PADVA CELEBRAITON Saturday, March 24, 2012 5:00pm to 6:45pm: Puja and a Musical/Dance program by Mrs. Ashwini Sathe & Group 7:00pm: Aarti followed by Dinner Prasad, sponsored by Maharashtrian Families, RAM NAVAMI CELEBRATION: 24-HOUR RAMCHARITMANAS RECITAL: Saturday, Mar 31 2012, 12.00 Noon Sunday, Apr 01 2012, 12:00 Noon Apr 01, 12.00 Noon: Aarti followed by Lunch Prasad, sponsored by IOHU members. SHRI HANUMAN JAYANTI CELEBRATION Friday, April 06, 2012 (the actual day of Hanuman Jayanti) 12:00pm - 7:00pm: 108 repetitions of Shri Hanuman Chalisa 7:00pm: Aarti followed by Dinner Prasad, sponsored by Mr. Manibhai Patel's family & Dr. Madhu Menon's family SHRI SITA-RAMA KALYANA MAHOTSAVAM Saturday, April 14, 2012 5:00pm to 6:45pm: Puja and Shri Sita-Rama Kalyana Mahotsavam 7:00pm: Aarti followed by Dinner Prasad Please see Page 6 for further details SHRI MAHAVIR JAYANTI CELEBRATION Saturday, April 21, 2012 2.00pm to 5.00pm: Puja 5:30pm to 6:45pm: Dinner Prasad, sponsored by the Jain Society of South-Central PA 7:30pm to 9:45pm: Spiritual Lecture MATA KI CHOWKI Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 3:00pm Please see Page 6 for further details 301 Steigerwalt Hollow Road * New Cumberland * PA 17070 (717) 774-7750 * haritemple@gmail.com * www.haritemple.org
Requests for Priest Services (outside of HARI) and Hall Rentals: Mr. Basava Sankar Sanke. Phone: 717-460-4635 (cell), 541-8885 (Home) Email: sankarsb@gmail.com Dinner Coordinator for HARI Programs Mr. Harish Patel 697-0567 CONTACT INFORMATION HARI Times Editors: Executive Committee Members Mr. Hiten Amin 732-0513 Mr. Ashok Shukla 737-1919 Mr. Jagannath Yedatore 932-4161 Lunch Coordinator for HARI School Mr. Dharmesh Makwana at (417) 894-4959 ANNOUNCEMENTS HARI TIMES: HARI Times is mailed to paid HARI members only except the New Year and Diwali editions which will be mailed to all HARI Community. You can view or download HARI Times at our website at www.haritemple.org HARI Emails: Please update or provide your email or contact information at the right-hand corner of www.haritemple.org. You can also provide your contact information and drop it of in the Hundi box or send email at haritemple@gmail.com. We will notify HARI as well as our local community events through emails. HARI ON-LINE CALENDAR: Please visit www.haritemple.org for on-line temple calendar for the scheduled events, actual dates of the events, priests availability for services at home and for the lower level hall rentals for the year 2012. Please check the calendar before scheduling any priest service request at home or hall rentals. CLOSING/CANCELLATION ALERTS ON TV: Please visit Haritemple.org for the closing and cancellation. HARI Temple has also signed up with Local TV Stations to include HARI School closing and HARI sponsored program cancellations due to severe weather conditions. The TV Channels are ABC27, CBS21, FOX43 and WGAL8 and look under York County Closings. REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS: Shri Vishnu Sahastra Namam and Govinda Naamaalu Recital: Please join us with your family and friends on every Saturday at 6:00pm. Hanuman Chalisa Recital: Please join us with your family and friends for Hanuman Chalisa Recital, Satsang, Bhajan and Kirtan on every Saturday between 7:15pm and 8:15pm. Weekly Bhajans & Bhagavad Gita Study: Each Friday from 6:30pm to 9:00pm, followed by prasad. Institute of Higher Understanding (IoHU) conducts the Bhajans & Bhagavad Gita study. Contact 717-791-9138 or HbgVedic@yahoo.com for more information. Satyanarayana Puja: HARI observes the Sathyanarayan Puja on each full moon day (Purnima) from 7:15pm to 9:00pm, seeking Lord s blessings for good health, peace, and prosperity. Devotees can participate in the Puja (a token donation of $21 is recommended) Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) Abhisekam: Perform the Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) Abhisekam on the first Saturday of every month from 10.00 AM till 12.00 noon. (a token donation of $21 is recommended) Monthly Havan: HARI Devotees conduct Monthly Havan on the second Sunday of each month from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Any changes to this schedule will be communicated through email. Devotees are encouraged to participate and sponsor the Monthly Havan. Devotees who wish to sponsor the Monthly Havan and/or dinner prasad are requested to contact any of the HARI committee members Jain Swadhayay/Puja: Observed on the first Sunday of every month from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, organized by the Jain Samaj of South Central PA. Devotees are encouraged to participate with friends and family. HARI Times is a bi-monthly publication of Hindu American Religious Institute (HARI), located at 301 Steigerwalt Hollow Road, New Cumberland, PA 17070. You may send your comments, suggestions, and important announcements to HARI Times Editors using the address provided on the HARI website www.haritemple.org. Page 2
PRESENT NEEDS AT THE TEMPLE We thank all devotees for a great response to our past appeals for specific donations ($). Below are few items for which we are actively looking for donations. Please contact HARI Chairman and/or President for more information: PROJECT APPROX. COST REMARKS HARI School Lunch Sponsorship $300.00/Lunch HARI Times Sponsorship $350 to $500 Emergency Generator $10,000.00 Landscaping including plants, flowers at Temple. Washer & Dryer $1500.00 Cost of providing lunch to the students during HARI Sunday School. One time printing and mailing cost of HARI Times newsletter. For installing the emergency generator at the temple to run the temple during power outages. $1200.00 For improving the landscaping of the temple. For washing the sheets we are used during puja ceremonies. DONATION RECOGNITION (from 12/15/2011 to 02/14/2012) Name General Donation Name Trust Fund Anand & Shaila Bhat $101 Babul & Usha Pathak $501 Anand & Suzanne Mahajan $1,000 Bhupen & Champa Athia $501 Andrew & Payal Loser $101 Brijmohan & Savita Sood $500 Anoop & Kusum Sharma Karippot $101 Dharmesh & Saritha Makwana $100 Jayantilal & Saroj Patel $101 Divyang Pathak $500 Krishnan & Chellammal Ramaswamy $100 Fairfax Professional Village The Unica Group Inc. $1,001 Mahendra & Hemlata Parikh $101 General Account Econo Lodge $500 Mani R. & Anupama Sharma $151 Jagannath & Saraswathi Yedatore $1,000 Mukul & Neelima Parikh $101 Janak & Alka Amin $692 Naren & Poonam Srivastava $102 Jitu & Vasanti Parekh $1,000 Nivedita Boinapally $250 Madhu Menon & Kiran Sharma $1,500 Pramod & Anju Srivastava $101 Mahendra & Jaya (Late) Brahmbhatt $1,000 Rakesh & Dharshini Saraiya $101 Mukul & Neelima Parikh $2,501 Ramesh Jyotsna Antani $501 Mukund & Prabha Kulkarni $501 Ravi & Alka Anand $101 Narasimhan & Padmini Saiganesh $500 Sanjay & Danielle Dhar $151 Nirmal & Renu Joshi $1,000 Srinivasan & Meena Subramanian $100 Pallav & Megha Bhonde $500 Sri Venkateswara Temple $500 Parikh Foundation Neelima & Mukul $5,000 Subodh & Deepa Patil $152 Rajesh & Brenda Singal $1,000 Sudhir & Sita Upadhaya $101 Rajkumar & Kakali Das $500 Virendra & Roshni Trivedi $125 Ravi & Meena Ravi Venkatasubramanian $501 Vrajlal & Anjana Popat $100 Samir & Bina Parikh $100 Yash & Rita Amin $251 Shashikant & Vimala Patel $25,000 Yogindra & Sonia Balhara $501 Srinivasan & Vimala Sarma $1,000 Sunil & Anita Desai $500 Tapasdip & Ahutiben Desai Gajjar $1,001 Ujjwal & Renu Mittal $500 Virendra & Roshni Trivedi $100 Page 3
Namaste, HARI SCHOOL HARI Sunday school is going well this year. So far we have 85 registrations. We welcome Mrs. Rujuta Kurve on board. She teaches the newly started Marathi class. Both children and teachers are attending Sunday school with great enthusiasm. We had a great Vasant Panchami celebration at the Temple and students participated in the Goddess Saraswati Puja and received Her blessings. Currently teachers and students are preparing for Holi program. Please mark your calendars for Sunday, March 18, 2012, and plan to attend the Holi event and encourage the students. With Lord Rama s grace and all of your support, so far we have been providing lunch during all of the Sundays when the school is in session. We encourage you to consider sponsoring lunch for Sunday school to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, etc., in the family. We will come back to you in due course with more HARI Sunday school news. Mrs. Meena Ravi HARI School Director Mrs. Minoo Amin Youth Forum Director ANNOUNCEMENTS BOARD OF TRUSTEE (BOT) COMMITTEES At the meeting on Sunday, January 29, 2012, the BOT finalized HARI sub-committees as below. Please contact respective sub-committee coordinator to enlist yourself to serve on the committee: Finance: Dr. Gautam Mishra & Mr. Krishna Prasad Fundraising: Mr. Hiten Amin & Mrs. Deepa Patil Security and Legal: Mr. Praveen Patel Technology: Mr. SVR Reddy Religious Affairs: Dr. Mukul Parikh HARI Facility & Land Development: Mr. Ratilal Patel Scholarships and P.R.: Mrs. Deepa Patil Youth and Senior Citizens: Mr. Virendra Trivedi OUR HEARTFELT SYMPATHY to the family of Dr. Yogesh Parikh & Mrs. Renuka Parikh on passing away of Dr. Yogesh Parikh s beloved mother Savitaben Parikh on January 16, 2012. to the family of Mr. Deep Gupta & Mrs. Rani Gupta on passing away of Mrs. Rani Gupta s beloved sister Laxmi Goel on January 22, 2012 in India. to the family of Mr. Sudhakar Venkatraman and Mrs. Priya Sankaran on passing away of Mr. Sudhakar Venkatraman s beloved son Akshay Sudhakar on January 23, 2012. to the family of Mr. Harish Doshi, York on passing away of Mr. Harish Doshi s beloved mother Kalavati Nanubhai Doshi on January 30, 2012 in India. to the family of Mr. Gereddy Vibheeshan Reddy on passing away of Mr. Gereddy Vibheeshan Reddy s beloved brother Gereddy Prabakarareddy on February 05 2012 in India. *** MAY THE DEPARTED SOULS ATTAIN PARAM SADGATI *** Page 4
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMITTEES It has been great to have started the Y2012 auspiciously with nearly 490 devotees participating in the New Year Havan. Month of January continued with Makara Sankranti / Pongal celebration with classical Carnatic music presented by local artists and their children numbering almost 90 and attended by well over 400 devotees. We celebrated Bheesma Ekadhashi and Vasant Panchami programs. HARI school students and several community children performed Goddess Saraswati Puja. Shiva Puja, Rudrabhishek and Shiva Aarti were celebrated on the actual day of Maha Shivratri. Almost 100 families participated in the Shiva Puja and around 320 devotees attended for the event. We thank you for your continued participation and support to this great institution. A few of our goals for 2012 are to increase memberships, with emphasis on lifetime membership; invest in efforts to recruit the next generation-youth in the service of the community at large; and provide more resources to meet the religious and cultural needs of our community. With the help of our members, our goals are becoming reality. We would like to thank all those who have already paid their dues for 2012 and request other devotees to support HARI by becoming members and participate in HARI activities. Your membership and generous donations are directly tied to the temple s maintenance, day- to- day expenses, and quality programs. We will continue to fulfill HARI s mission as the place for all religious, educational and cultural needs and bring happiness to our community. If you have any suggestion for improvements, please contact any of the EC or BOT members or email us at haritemple@gmail.com. Yours in Service, Dr. Renu Joshi Chairman, Board of Trustees Mr. Basava Sankar Sanke President, Executive Committee OUR HEARTFELT THANKS Our Heartfelt Thanks to the parents of Sunday school and devotees for sponsoring lunch at the HARI Sunday School from January to February 2012. Our Heartfelt Thanks to Mrs. Minoo Amin, Dr. Neelima Parikh, Mrs. Renuka Parikh, Mrs. Dharmista Patel, Mrs. Priti Patel, and many other devotees for changing deities costumes (wagha) regularly and to all the devotees who helped during the events. HARI TEMPLE SCHOLARSHIP It is with pleasure to announce that the HARI Board has decided to offer scholarships to high school graduates for their first year in college. Thanks to the generosity of some HARI Devotees to enable us to do so. The HARI Temple Scholarship has been established to provide scholarships to deserving high school seniors throughout central Pennsylvania for the purpose of advancing their education. HARI Education Committee consisting of a Chair of Committee, Trust Fund Coordinator, President, Chairman and three members at large will choose the scholarship recipient or recipients based on the information supplied by the applicants. Scholarship opportunity available to High School Seniors graduated in 2012 (i.e. class of 2012) for the purpose of advancing his/her education. Only those applications received on or before May 15, 2012 will be considered. Please go to http://www.haritemple.org/pdf/harischolorshipdocument.pdf to download the further details and application package. Page 5
MATA KI CHOWKI Saturday, April 28, 2012 3:00 PM- 6:30 PM: Mata Bhajans by Dr. Usha Bhargave & Group Note: This is a privately sponsored event, open to all HARI devotees. 7:00 PM: Aarti followed by Dinner Prasad Event & Dinner Prasad sponsored by: Shabnam & Rohit Sachdeva; Ujjwal & Renu Mittal; Vipin & Suman Goel; Anjan & Preeti Mittal; Anshul & Mamta Gupta; Arun & Sharad Gupta; Manpal & Archana Singh; Ranjit & Sangeeta Malik; Ninu & Rajdeep Bhangu; Hitesh & Param Suri and Ajay & Namita Gupta During the Mata ki Chowki program, we will be listening and singing devotional songs (bhents) in praises of Durga Maa. It is believed that the Maa visits in form of a jyote (flame) which is lit before the ceremony. It is also believed, that devotees will be blessed with the accumulation of wealth, health, peace of mind and will be granted with all their desires, wishes and objectives in life fulfilled. Please plan to participate in Mata Jagran/Chowki. Telugu, Marathi, Kannada New Year Friday, March 23, 2012 Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam New Year Friday, April 13, 2012 An important aspect of the New Year is Panchangam Shravanam or listening. As the name Panchangam suggests, it has five parts ("Pancha" means five, "Angam" means parts). These parts are: 1) Tithi 2) Varam 3) Nakshatram 4) Yoga, and 5) Karani. It is believed that the fortune for the coming year for all the people is documented in Panchangam. Hence, listening to the Panchangam at the beginning of a New Year brings great strength to perform daily karma in addition to bringing good luck. Listening to Panchangam keeps mind clear and gives good vibes, eliminates enemies and effects of bad dreams, gives the result of taking a bath in holy Ganges, gives the result of donating a cow, increases life span, and brings good fortune. Telugu Panchangam Shravanam will be performed on Friday, March 23, 2012 at 7:15PM, followed by Ugadi Pachadi and Prasad Tamil Panchangam Shravanam will be performed on Friday, April 13, 2012 at 7:15PM, followed by Varshapurapu Prasad SHRI SITA-RAMA KALYANA MAHOTSAVAM Saturday, April 14, 2012 @ 5.00 PM The sacred marriage of Devi Sita with Lord Rama was held on Margashirsha Shukla Panchami as per Valmiki Ramayana (This occasion is known as Sree Seeta Rama Kalyanam). The Sri Ramnavami festival falls in the Shukla Paksha on the Navami, the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the Hindu calendar. Sitaram Kalyanam, the ceremonial wedding ceremony of the celestial couple is held at temples throughout the India, with great fanfare and accompanied by group chanting of name of Rama (Rama nama smaranam). The important celebrations on this auspicious day in India takes place at Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Bhadrachalam (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), thronged by thousands of devotees. Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places, including Ayodhya where thousands of people take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu. HARI Temple will be performing this on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 5.00 PM. Please join us on this great occasion at HARI Temple. Latest HARI Directory Available We have published updated HARI Directory. You may pick a copy from a priest from the temple with a token donation of $3. Thank you for your continued support and the dedication to HARI. If there is any change in your address/phone information, please do send the email to haritemple@gmail.com or provide it to priests. Page 6
2012 HARI PROGRAM CALENDAR EVENT NAME HARI CELEBRATION DATE EVENT SPONSOR Holi Puja from 5.45 PM Wednesday, March 07, 2012 N/A Holi Celebration from 10:30am Sunday, March 18, 2012 North Indian Families Telugu, Marathi, Kannada New Year (Panchanga Shravanam) Friday, March 23, 2012 N/A Gudi Padva Celebration Saturday, March 24, 2012 Maharashtrian Families 24 hour Ramcharitmanas Recital, Ramnavami, Puja Aarti @ noon Saturday, March 31, 2012 & Sunday, April 01, 2012 IOHU members Shri Hanuman Jayanti, 108 repetitions of Shri Mr. Manibhai Patel's family Hanuman Chalisa,12pm to 7pm Friday, April 06, 2012 & Dr. Madhu Menon's family Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali New Year Friday, April 13, 2012 N/A Shri Sita-Ram Kalyanam Saturday, April 14, 2012 *** Open **** Annamacharya Aradhana Saturday, May 19, 2012 *** Open **** Mahavir Jayanti Saturday, April 21, 2012 Jain Samaj of South-Central PA HARI School Graduation from 10:30am Sunday, June 10, 2012 Hari School Students HARI India Fair from 2pm to 8pm Saturday, July 07, 2012 Please contact EC members Shiva Puja, Rudrabhishek & Shiva Aarti Saturday, July 28, 2012 Upakarma / Yagnopavit / Raksha Bandhan Thursday, August 02, 2012 N/A Shri Krishna Janamotsav, Puja and Bhajans from 10pm to 12 midnight. Friday, August 10, 2012 N/A Shri Krishna Janamashtami Celebration Saturday, August 11, 2012 IOHU members Adhikamasa Special Program Saturday, September 08, 2012 *** Open **** HARI Sunday School Open Sunday, September 09, 2012 *** Open **** Thursday, September 13, 2012 to Paryushan Parva Thursday, September 20, 2012 N/A Shri Ganesh Chaturthi Puja (special Puja at 7pm) Wednesday, September 19, 2012 N/A Shri Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration Saturday, September 22, 2012 *** Open **** Srisukta( Maha Lakshmi ) Homam, Yagna Saturday, September 29, 2012 N/A Tuesday, October 16, 2012 to Navaratri Mahotsav from 8pm to 10pm Tuesday, October 23, 2012 N/A Kolu Puja Friday, October 19, 2012 N/A Astami - Devimaa Yagna 6pm to 8pm Monday, October 22, 2012 N/A Dashera (Vijaya Dasami) Celebration, Durga Puja (Havan) from 10:30am Saturday, October 27, 2012 Bengali Families Karwa Chauth Friday, November 02, 2012 N/A Diwali Puja Tuesday, November 13, 2012 N/A Vikram Samvat Panchangam Shravanam Wednesday, November 14, 2012 N/A Diwali/Annakut Celebration Saturday, November 17, 2012 Please contact EC members Tulsi Vivah Wednesday, November 28, 2012 *** Open **** Gita Jayanti Sunday, December 23, 2012 N/A N/A Page 7
Hindu American Religious Institute Nonprofit Org. 301 Steigerwalt Hollow Road US Postage Paid New Cumberland PA 17070 Harrisburg, PA www.haritemple.org Permit No. 304 Directions: Take Exit 39A, Lewisberry Road, off I-83 Make left at the STOP for Route 114 West Go 1/3 mile; make Left on Steigerwalt Hollow Rd Go 1/2 mile to HARI Temple on right Phone: (717) 774-7750 Temple Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:00am-1:00pm & 3:00pm-9:00pm Saturday - Sunday: 8:00am-9:00pm Phone: 717-774-7750 Email: haritemple@gmail.com May God bless us all. Sri Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) Abhishekam: (First Saturday of every month) Saturday, March 03 at 10:00 AM Saturday, April 07 at 10.00 AM Satyanarayana Puja: (Full Moon Day) Wednesday, March 07 at 7:05 PM Friday, April 06 at 7:05 PM Jain Swadhayay / Puja (First Sunday of every month) Sunday, March 04 at 2:00 PM Sunday, April 01 at 2:00 PM * - * - * - * If you wish to sponsor HARI Times, please contact Executive Committee. Monthly Havan (Second Sunday of every month) Sunday, March 11 at 06:00 PM Sunday, April 08 at 06:00 PM Page 8