NewsLetter-55

June 2013 Newsletter

5 years ago by SVBF

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Welcome the new priests

SVBF management welcomes the new priests Sri M. S. Sharavana Bhat, Sri S. J. Jayashankara, Sri Padmanabha Nadig to the temple and Sri K. R. Vidyashankara as the priest who will take care of the neivedyam (offering to God) preparations. We are glad to announce that Sri. Shivashankar Bhat has been appointed as the manager of the temple.

Sri M. S. Sharavana Bhat, Sri S. J. Jayashankara and Sri. K. R. Vidyashankara join us from India, and had their Vedic training in Sringeri Patashala. Sri. Padmanabha Nadig joins us from the New England Temple in Boston.

SVBF thanks the great service rendered by priests Sri. Shyama Bhat and Sri. Shringeshwara Bhat who returned back to India. They will be missed by all devotees visiting the temple.

Events in May

Vakgeyakara Vaibhavam

SVBF cultural committee sincerely thanks the Carnatic music Gurus from the tri-state area who happily joined us in paying our homage to Saint Thyagaraja the foremost amongst the Trinity Vakgeyakaras on May 4th 2013, His Jayanthi Day, as Thyagaraja Vaibhavam.

Vakgeyakaras are composers who spontaneously poured their hearts out in communion with the Lord, their ishta devata (favorite Gods and Goddesses). The composers of past centuries and especially the Carnatic music Trinity, have leveraged Carnatic music as a divine form of worship and spiritual enlightenment and composed thousands of songs in spontaneity. Such compositions exemplified the myriad leelas (sacred acts), and virtues in praise of their chosen Gods through elaborate descriptions in their mother tongue in most instances and in Sanskrit which to this day is considered the deva bhasha. Saint Thyagaraja is considered as one of the greatest Vakgeyakaras ever to set foot and lived amongst us less than 200 years ago. His compositions have stood the test of time, and today, literally serve as the framework and template for Carnatic music learning.

It bears a special significance and fulfillment when we celebrate Vakgeyakara Vaibhavam at our Sringeri Sadhana Center where Goddess Sharada the presiding Deity is vak devi and vagheeswari, Herself! SVBF considers it a privilege and blessing to have come up with the concept of inviting the Gurus to present thematic presentations on this occasion. They made it a truly memorable event with their enthusiastic, educative and enlightening hour long presentation each, on themes and compositions chosen with reverence and devotion to the saint. All of us owe it to the saint for giving us the Carnatic music format, and making every rendition a divine worship and a spiritual sadhana.

Interestingly, the day started with the first main ‘Nadopasana’ and ended with the befitting message conveyed by the bard in the vagadeeswari kriti, ‘paramathmudu velige mucchata telusukore‘! We were very fortunate to experience the blissful grace of Sharadamba, yet again!

We look forward to a similar tribute on November 9th Saturday by well-trained students of Carnatic music of these Gurus and others interested in participating with a few 20 minute and 40 minute slots as an all-day event!

Sri Sankara Jayanti Sri Sankara Jayanti was celebrated in the Temple on May 15 and May 18.
śrutismṛtipurāṇānām ālayaṃ karuṇālayaṃ | namāmi bhagavadpādaśaṅkaraṃ lokaśankaram ||
Adi Sankara is worshipped as the abode of all vedas, the smṛtis and purāṇās (śrutismṛtipurāṇānām ālayaṃ). He is also the blessing for the humanity (lokaśankaram) because He wrote extensive commentaries and also established Peethams to foster the the Vedic tradition.

Annual Maharudram

The ritwiks chanted Sri Rudram 11 times after reciting Mahanyasam, while elaborate abhishekam was performed to Lord Chandramouleeswara. At the same time, Sri Rudra homa was being performed. After the poornahuti was over, abhishekam was performed to Lord Chandramouleeswara using 108 kalashas.
The Chairman of SVBF Dr. S. Yegnasubramanian stressed the importance of discipline undertaken by the ritwiks who participated in the event and honored all ritwiks with a shawl blessed by H. H. Jagadguru of Sringeri. The event concluded after all ritwiks were served lunch in traditional manner.

Shiva Bhavani Kalyanam

The event was conducted for the first time in the temple and was a rare sight to behold. It was conducted in a tradition vaidika manner and the spectators enjoyed every aspect of the divine celestial wedding.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Annual Gita Day

Bhagavad Gita holds a special place among the scriptures of India. In addition to rich spiritual insights and a universal message of wisdom, it also gives us profound yet simple guidance on how to make the right choices in the complex problems of life, enliven our lives based on those choices and eventually realize the vision of oneness and truth. To celebrate the significance of Gita and promote its recitation and understanding, with blessings from H. H. Jagadguru Sri Sri Bharati Teertha Mahaswamiji, SVBF been celebrating the annual Gita Day on first Saturday following the summer solstice.

This year, the Gita Day will fall on Saturday, June 22. This day will be marked by Gita chanting competition for all ages. The designated chapter for memorization/fluent reading is the 18th chapter for 2013, as announced in last year’s competition. To encourage just about everyone to participate, we are continuing the fluent Gita reading competition for adults. Since Gita Talks have been a huge success in previous years, we are continuing the Gita Talk competition to encourage a competitive and exploratory spirit. Prizes and participation certificates will be distributed at the end of the program.

Please register your participation by uploading your details in our registration page. The last day for registration is June 15th, 2013. There is no registration fee of any kind to participate in the competition.