July 2013 Newsletter
5 years ago by SVBF
EVENTS IN JUNE
Gita Day 2013
The Gita Day is one of the annual events in the SVBF calendar. It is held every year on the first Saturday after the summer solstice. In keeping with the message of our Jagadguru Sri Sri Bharati Teertha Mahaswamiji, the focus of the event is to encourage everyone to chant the Bhagavad Gita at the abode of Sharadamba in the SVBF temple in Stroudsburg, PA. On this day, a Gita Chanting competition is held for all ages, culminating in a Sampoorna (full) Gita Parayanam (Chanting) at the sannidhi of Lord Krishna. The celebration concludes with an honoring ceremony for all the participants and the prize winners.
The theme for the 2013 Gita Day was the culminating chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18. This year’s competition had the following eight categories:
- Memorized recitation of verses 1-8 of chapter 18 (for ages 5)
- Memorized recitation of verses 1-16 of chapter 18 (for ages 5 to 6)
- Memorized recitation of verses 1-25 of chapter 18 (for ages 7 to 9)
- Memorized recitation of verses 1- 35 of chapter 18 (ages 10 to 12)
- Memorized recitation of entire chapter 18 (for age 13 and over)
- Fluent reading of chapter 18 (for contestants over age 18)
- Memorized recitation of the entire Gita and one or more Shatkas
- Gita Talk on verse 21 of chapter 7 – Youth and Adult
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Some interesting points/highlights from this year’s Gita Day event: - There were 110 registrants across the eight categories, of which 85 actually participated. The highest number of participants this year was for the “Memorized recitation of chapter 18” category with 20 contestants.
- Our youngest participant this year was 3-year old named Vyahriti Vootla, while the barely 6-year old Adhya Kesanasetti was the youngest among the full Chapter 18 contestants.
- The event had participants, volunteers, and judges that came from across the country including places such as Houston, Pittsburgh, Hartford, and of course from New Jersey and New York
- The number of participants competing for the entire Bhagavad Gita was up to five this year.
- Twenty-two highly qualified judges evaluated the participants.
Click on image to see pictures of the event)
The list of winners in various categories is available here. The video recordings of the Gita Talk event can be viewed here.
EVENTS IN JULY
Temple Anniversary Day
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(Click on image to see pictures of the event)
On July 14th (Temple Anniversary Day), Shri Sharadamba Abhishekam was performed. Sharadamba Abhishekam, the ceremonious ablution to the Vedic chanting of Purushasuktam and Sri Suktam in all veneration is performed only 3 times in a year! The three occasions are the Vaarshikotsava (Kumbhabhishekam Day), the autumnal new moon heralding the start of Sharan Navaratri and the full moon day following the Navaratri celebrations.
Any abhishekam generates a feeling of spiritual oneness as we behold the sight of sacred waters being offered in reverential worship. As the Goddess of transcendental knowledge, Devi Sharadamba is venerated as the unified form of Devi Durga, Devi Lakshmi and Devi Sarasvati. Viewing the offering of sindoora water used to worship Devi Sharadamba stirs our soul as we behold Her as Sindoora Aruna Vigrahaam in her radiant splendor. This makes the visual sight a magical moment wherein awareness of our divinity pervades our minds and hearts wanting us to view this incessantly.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Listener’s Choice — Cultural Event
SVBF is happy to feature three artists on the afternoon of July 20th as a part of Listener’s Choice. In the first concert, teenagers Master Arjun Sambasivam and Master Narayan Sambasivam, who are disciples of Padmashri U. Srinivas and Sangeeta Samrat N. Ravikiran, will be playing the keyboard. The next person featured will be Ms. Nandita Neroor, an inspiring dancer for the younger generation. The final presentation will be a mini vocal concert by Mr. Prithvi Mohan.
Guru Poornima or Vyasa Poornima is a very important day for all followers of the Vaidika Dharma. It is the day when we show our gratitude to Sage Vyasa and the entire guru parampara. The verse “vyāsāya viṣṇurūpāya vyāsarūpāya viṣṇave” declares that Sage Vyasa is none other than an incarnation of Lord Vishnu Himself. He compiled the Vedas, authored the great epic Mahabharata, which has the Bhagavad Gita as a crown jewel, and also gave us the 18 maha purāṇas. Vyasa Poornima is a special day of expressing our gratitude to this great sage.
The annual Guru Poornima celebrations will be held on June 22nd and June 27th at the temple. SVBF welcomes all devotees to participate in the event and seek the blessings of the Acharyas.