news letter may 2008 - Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta

Chinmaya Mission Alpharetta
Newsletter
May 2008
In this Issue
OM
CMA …Baby steps
forward
Meet our Sevaks
Yagna by Prabodh
Chaitanya Ji
Yagna by Swami
Chidatmananda Ji
Feedback from
parents
Ashram : A
Spiritual Home
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnuh
Gurur Devo Maheswarah
Gurureva param Brahma
Tasmai Shree Gurave namah
www.ChinmayaMissionAlpharetta.org
OM
T
he Sanskrit symbol OM, also written as AUM, is the word representing God. All other
T
words for God are limited in their significance since adjectives must be added to differentiate
the personal, impersonal, or absolute God. The word OM, however, encompasses all the
aspects of God and therefore may be accepted by everyone. Of all the mantras, the most
powerful and significant one is this single-syllable incantation called the pran.ava (OM).
Literature on the significance of Vedic mantras is voluminous. Nowhere in this world can we
meet with a more sacred symbol that has such a vast significance.
From Vedic times to present day, the word OM has been taken as an aid to meditation by
spiritual aspirants. It is accepted both as one with Brahman and as the medium connecting
man and God. The entire history of OM is in the revelation of the Vedas and the
declarations of the Upanishads, and this history, in the hands of the later philosophers,
developed into sphot.a-va¯da, or “philosophy of the word.”
The perceptible universe is the form, behind which stands the Eternal, the Inexpressible, the
sphot.a, manifested as the word. This eternal sphot.a, the essential material basis for all ideas
or names, is the power through which God creates the universe. Ishvara—Brahman as if
conditioned by ma¯ya¯—first manifests as the sphot.a, the inexpressible word, out of which
He evolves as the concrete, sensible world.
There is a verse in the Vedas: Praja¯pati vai idam agre a¯si¯t, or “In the beginning was
Prajapati (Brahman).” Tasya va¯g dviti¯ya a¯si¯t, or “With Whom was the word.” Va¯g vai
paramam Brahma, or “And the word was verily the supreme Brahman.” The idea belongs to
Hinduism; in the Bible, we read it repeated: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word
was with God and the Word was God.”
Maitrayani Upanishad tells of 1) Brahman without words and 2) word-Brahman: the syllable
OM, also called pran.ava, or that which pervades life or runs through pra¯n.a. Taitteriya
Upanishad indicates OM as “the sheath of Brahman,” or the container for the Supreme.
Therefore, invoking OM is invoking the Supreme.
In every song piece, there are three aspects: the meaning of the song, the laws of music, and
the sound of the song. Similarly, in OM there are three aspects: the mere sound (the mantras
pronounced by the mouth), the meaning of the syllable that is to be realized through feeling,
and the application of OM to your character (singing it in your actions and so, through your
life).
by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda
CHINMAYA MISSION ALPHARETTA … baby steps… forward…
It is Gurudev’s divine blessings that gives us the privilege to act as mediums for His work.
Sharada Kumarji (from CM - Ann Arbor, MI) is the inspiring force behind this center and
continues to guide and motivate us. With the blessings of our Guru, our center took form on
the auspicious day of MahaShivratri in Sudha’s basement with a Bala Vihar of 25 kids and a
study group.
A major milestone was reached when Bal Vihar enrollment crossed a Hundred children, very
swiftly, by September 2001 ! With that momentum Chinmaya Mission has blossomed into an
active organization with an accent on service to the community and spiritual development.
Now we have over 400 children in 22 different classes and several study groups and Gita
Classes for the parents.
The Center is bustling with activity aided by a committed team of Volunteers ably guided by
dedicated Sevaks. And it was a sterling recognition when we were acknowledged as an
Official Center of Chinmaya Mission West.
We are springing forward with regular Gnana Yagnas by renowned Acharyas visiting us from
various centers and it is quite heartening to note the overwhelming participation by the
members of our community when they gather in large numbers to attend these Yagnas even
during weekdays! It is hence a natural progression for us to have our own Center and our
own resident Acharya which will soon become a reality by the divine blessings of our Pujya
Guru Dev.
With Best Compliments from:
MEET OUR CMA BOARD :
Chairman:
His.Holiness. Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji
Swamiji is the head of the Chinmaya Mission worldwide, and serves
as a Chairperson for all Chinmaya Mission (CM) centers. Our center
like all others, is blessed with his divine inspiration, guidance and vision.
Board Member:
Smt. Sharada Kumarji
Sharada Kumarji is the resident Acharya of CM, Ann Arbor,
Michigan and a board member of the CMW (the main CM center
for all North America). She is the inspirational force behind this center. From its
inception, she has worked closely with Sudha Malhotra and continues to do so, providing
the necessary guidance and support.
President: Sudha Malhotra
Sudha Malhotra provides the mission vision to CMA and is responsible for overseeing
& directing all the CMA activities as well as handling the communication with CM
Acharyas . She is the key coordinator for the Bala Vihar, BV teachers and curriculum,
parent study groups and yagnas/camps.
Board member: Bhavana Subramanian
Bhavana handles the administrative responsibilities of the center. She is one of the key
coordinators for the Bala Vihar activities, registrations and admissions and language
classes .She works closely with Sudha in planning and coordinating special events and
yagnas/camps .
Secretary: Sameer Pateria
Sameer is responsible for coordinating CMA meetings and associated CM
communications. He is one of the key coordinators for the parent Gita study group.
He is also actively involved in the location planning, coordinating yagnas and camps.
Treasurer: Sanjay Hazari
Sanjay is a CPA by profession .He has been with the center from the start, being the
key coordinator for the center’s accounting and billing.
With Best Compliments
MEET OUR CMA SEVAKS :
Kavil Subramanian (KS):
KS work with the board in the planning & execution of center related activities.
Key coordinator: Tech support for BV registration ,Gita Chanting competition,
Facility issues, Class Mailing lists
Team Member: Yagnas/Camps, Location planning, CMA Website,
Community service projects
M.V. Prabhakar:
Key Coordinator: Front desk registrations and fees, Special Events publicity
Team Member: Celebrations/events, Class mailing lists, Front Desk
Radhika Valmiki:
Key Coordinator: CMA Publications (Books /CDs Management and Sales)
Team Member: Celebrations/events, Front Desk
Seema Jani:
Key Coordinator: CMA Website
Team Member: Celebrations/events, Yagna/Camps
Arsu Velaswamy :
Key Coordinator: Center setup/cleanup, Assembly & Hallway Monitoring
Team Member: Location, Celebrations/events
Arvind Malhotra:
Arvind work with the board in the planning & execution of center related activities.
Key coordinator: Location planning, Celebrations/events, Center setup/cleanup
Team Member: Facility issues, Yagnas/Camps
Dharnidahr Komarlu (Dharani) :
Key coordinator: Community Service projects, Volunteer activities
Team Member: Yagnas/Camps, Celebrations/events
Vaithiswaran Subramanian (Vaithy):
Key Coordinator: Location/Food planning for Celebrations/events
Team Member: Yagna/Camps
Raji Ramchandra :
Key Coordinator: Arts and Crafts projects, Prizes for competitions
Team Member: Celebrations/events
Sundararaghavan (Sundar):
Key Coordinator: Sewa projects, Photography
Team Member: Celebrations/events
Kumar Koppiah (MudduKumar) :
Key Coordinator: Assembly/ Hallway Monitoring
Team Member: Setup/Cleanup/Traffic volunteering, Location, Celebrations/events
Sundaram:
Key coordinator: Gita Study Group, CMA Newsletter
Team Member: Yagnas/Camps
Murali Raghavan :
Key Coordinator: CMA Newsletter
Shalaka Pateria:
Key Coordinator: Bhajan and Chanting parent group
Team Member: Yagnas/Camps
Sridevi Coneti:
Key Coordinator: Bhajan and Chanting parent group
Shekhar Kanetkar:
Key Coordinator: Sewa-under-10 project for Kashi Atlanta Ashram
Vani Kanchibhatla :
Key Coordinator: Sewa-under-10 project for Kashi Atlanta Ashram
Rangaswamy Rajamanickam (Ranga):
Key Coordinator: Tech support for CMA website, mail server, etc.
Team Member: CMA Website, Location
TEACHERS:
Laxmi Prabhakar, Suma Muddukumar, Swati Patil, Kalyani Rana,
Saraswati Sangaraju, Latha Ganeshan, Suri Anantharaman,
Mangalam Manishankar, Sandhya Swaminathan, Anjali Malhotra,
Shekhar Kanetkar, Amita Sood, Gita Prabhakar , Mala Ganapathy ,
Vani Kanchibhatla , Seema Jani, Ashok Ganapathy, Sai Kumar, Murali
Raghavan, Bhavana Subramanian, KS, Himanshu Jani, Sudha Malhotra
With Best Compliments:
Buying or Selling Residential or Commercial Real Estate•
Contact: Kalpana Raman : (404) 889-7006
[email protected]
“We compliment the Chinmaya Mission of Alpharetta for fostering Hindu
culture and values in our community”:
Raj, Kavitha, Minutha, and Saneeha Mahadevaiah
ENVIRONMENTAL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
11690 Teasley Place, Alpharetta, GA 30004, USA
Phone: 770.772.7100 Fax: 770.772.0555 Web site: www.eicusa.com
Other CMA sevaks that have provided their dedicated service are:
Backup teachers - Anupa Doraiswamy, Nithya Vishwanathan , Radhika Gupta , Anand
Jani , Sujatha Radhakrishnan , Indira Padmalayam, Pushpa Sunderasan , Shobha
Govindrajan, Pushpa Arul, Murali Raghavan
Arts & Crafts helpers - Anjali Pol , Radhika Sundar, Sapna Shyamsundar, Sundari
Chetty, Bhairavi Chandramouli
Setup helpers - Arun Pol, Darshan Shah, Vijay M, Ramji, Nate Nateshan ,Ajay Rana
Help with Photos - Valmiki Raghunathan, CDs- Shashikant Prabhakar,
Video - Rajiv Malhotra,
Hindi classes - Neeraja Varshneya, Vidya Prabhuram, Manoj Sharma, Suneeta Mishra
Tamil Classes - Sundari Kumar, Aras Kannu, Mangala Srinivasan, Nandhini Thiru
Telugu classes - Naveena Divi, Padmaja Akinneni
Yoga Classes - Phalguni Panday, Anjali Malhotra
With Best Compliments from:
Heart and Vascular Care, Inc.
(Affiliated with Northside, Saint Josephs and Emory Johns Creek Hospitals)
We offer the highest quality of personalized care:
Clinical Cardiology
Peripheral Vascular Studies
Coronary Angioplasty Stents
Carotid Ultrasound
Stress Echocardiogram
Holter/Event Monitor
Echocardiogram
Pacemaker Services
Nuclear Stress Test
Aman Kakkar, MD, FACC ; Vikram Khetpal, MD, FACC
1505 Northside Blvd, Suite 4000, Cumming, GA 30041
135 Prominence Court, Suite 150, Dawsonville, GA 30534
134 Ansley Drive, Suite D, Dahlonega, GA 30533
(678) 513-2273 (CARE) FAX: (678) 513-8869
Chinmaya Mission, Alpharetta
presents
Prabodh Chaitanya Ji, Acharya - Chinmaya Mission, San Jose
A series of talks in English based on Bhagavat Gita & Upanishads
July 8th – 13th : Bhagavat Gita – Chap 6 Evenings 7:30 - 9:00 pm
Venue : Glen Abbey Clubhouse, 3600 Grey Abbey Dr.,Alpharetta, GA
July 9th – 13th : Kaivalya Upanishad Mornings - 8:00 – 9:00 am
Meditation Mornings - 6:30 – 7:00 am
Venue : 3800 Grey Abbey Dr, Alpharetta, GA-30022
Brahmachari Prabodh Chaitanyaji is the resident Acharya of
CM San Jose.
An MIS and software consultant with training in financial planning
from the University of Central Florida, Prabodhji's spiritual call made
him decide to dedicate his life to scriptural studies and the service of
humanity. He served for six years at CM Orlando in various capacities.
Prabodhji studied under the grace and guidance of Pujya Swami
Tejomayananda and under the tutelage of Swami Ishwarananda.
Prabodhji is fluent in English, Hindi, and Gujarati, and is proficient in
Sanskrit. An ardent student of spirituality, he enjoys teaching Vedanta,
Bhagavad Gita, and devotional texts like Ramayana and Shrimad
Bhagavatam.
Contact: [email protected] 678 566 5018 / 770 410 1261 / 770 667 5258
*Free Admission
With Best Compliments:
JAI GANESH
Words are Gems … when they are from Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda …
™ The mind itself is maya at play.
™ The tragedy of human history is that there is decreasing happiness in the midst of increasing
comforts.
™ The real guru is the pure intellect within; and the purified, deeply aspiring mind is the disciple.
™ The guru is nothing but pure Consciousness, absolute Bliss, and eternal Wisdom.
™ We may often give without love, but we can never love without giving.
™ The quality of a mind would determine how the ego would react to a given challenge.
™ Live morality before you talk of it. Practice meditation before you preach it. Taste goodness
before you recommend it. Gain bliss before you offer it to others.
™ Scriptures are not mere books for intellectual studies. We must learn to assimilate these ideas and
come to live them.
™ By realizing the best in us, not only do we open up a few windows in our own personality to bring
in more light, but we become a source of joy for others to draw inspiration.
™ By improving yourself, improve the world.
™ Whatever the man of Realization does constitutes the moral code for us to follow. The qualities of
his actions are the standards by which the world determines its sense of righteousness, its concept
of dharma.
™ Facts are mere raw materials to build a relationship between the teacher and the taught. The real
job of teaching is to weave a fabric of relationship with your ideas and to attach it to so many
points of the student's life that it becomes a part of him. The talks are the canopy of words that
spread from the mouth to the ears of the student. But the actual transaction of Truth takes place
under this auspicious roof of words: between the hearts of the teacher and the taught.
With best compliments from the CMA Board:
His.Holiness. Pujya Swami Tejomayanandaji - Chairman
Smt. Sharada Kumarji
Sudha Malhotra - President
Bhavana Subramanian
Sameer Pateria – Secretary,
Sanjay Hazari - Treasurer
Swami Chidatmananda’s visit to C.M Alpharetta … from April 18th
to 23rd touched the hearts of devotees … young and old …
Swamiji’s Yagna covered …
April 18th – 20th The Greatness of the Mind
and
April 21st – 23rd Lively Awareness
And Swamiji blessed the children of Bala Vihar on Sunday :
With Best Compliments:
Anjali & Arun Pol
Feedback from some of the Bala vihar parents :
Comments :
“We thank the Bala Vihar for helping those of us living far away from our home
country to bring up our children as Hindus”. "As parents, we could not have
done it alone. Bala Vihar helps the children to get a well-rounded personality, and
at the same time, to balance between the cultures of the East and the West.
Since we attend the Gita study group while the kids are in their classes , Sunday
is like the India Day”.
Questions :
Are the Bala Vihar teachers are ‘remunerated for their services' ?
No. The teachers are only “sevaks” i.e. volunteers and are not even reimbursed
for their conveyance. They like all other BV parents pay their fees . buy books
,etc. Incidently a Bala Vihar teacher’s motto is “ Bala vihar is our temple, Children
are our God , Teaching is our worship , Vision of God is our reward “ .
Like all other sevaks , getting the opportunity to serve & making a difference to
the community is the motivating factor for their work .
Does organized religion creates division and dissensions among the
humanity ?
If a religion was based on the scriptures of the ancient sages and founded on the
principles of love and unity (like the Sanatana Dharma, loosely termed as
Hinduism is), then that religion will bind humanity instead of dividing them. A
religion without such a base can definitely cause division among the humanity.
With Best Compliments:
Suparna & Anantha Srirama
An Ashram is a
Blessing – for all of us
The word Ashram is derived from the
Sanskrit term "aashraya", which means
protection. Ashrams are located amidst
refreshing natural surroundings
conducive to spiritual instruction and
meditation. The residents of an Ashram
regularly perform spiritual and physical
exercises, such as the various forms of
Yoga and penances, such as Yajnas.
Many Ashrams also serve as Gurukuls or
residential schools for children.
Today, Ashrams serve as a beacon of
light and a firm foundation of faith.
While the Temples foster Bakthi and
religious rituals, the Ashram is
conceived as a center for spiritual
pursuits following the path of Vedanta.
It is a sapling we plant and nurture today
for our children and posterity to take
shelter and benefit from. The Ashram
and its constituent elements or
components namely the Chinmaya
Mission, Bal Vihar, Chinmaya Yuva
kendra, Study Groups, Gnana Yagnas,
Summer camps, Spiritual Retreats,
Resident Acharyas and their love &
guidance will be available for our
community. It will be the venue to
celebrate special festivals like Holi,
Janmashtami, New-Year, Graduationday etc. where our volunteers gather to
prepare for the arts & crafts and Sewa
projects etc. And most importantly, our
Ashram will be the perfect place to host
visiting Swamijis, Acharyas that will
positively charge the Ashram with their
aura, energy and positive vibes!
An Ashram is established by the benign
guidance of the Guru-parampara. It is
this divine sankalp which acts as the
driving force to get this message across
to as many like minded benevolent
individuals and families. It is for our
family, for our community.
Mobilizing Resources is a general term
that is all inclusive – as our friends and
associates will come forward to
contribute Land & Buildings, Materials,
Money, Knowledge, Contacts, Grants,
Endowments and more.
A small step … in the right direction is
this Fund-Raiser Dinner event on
Saturday, May 17th evening at Forsyth
Middle School.
We sincerely appreciate and whole
heartedly welcome every participant and
sponsor and appeal to all of them to
continue their patronage.
We welcome your ideas, suggestions,
prayers as well as your monetary
contributions towards this great cause.
Please contact: [email protected]