news letter jan 2012

Head Office: 111 Provident Way, Mount Hope ON L0R 1W0

Phone: (905) 679 6945 Web: www.gpwo.org www.awgp.org www.dsvv.org

VASANT PANCHAMI EVENT—CAMBRIDGE

GPWO celebrated Vasant Panchami event on January 28 2012 at Radha Krishna temple in Cambridge, by doing Deep Yagya along with Kundiya Yagya. The event was a very special event in GPWO history since: For the first time GPWO youth conducted the Yagya and explained in English. 90% of the youths took charge of all activities for conducting the Yagya including Youth group counter, book counter and serving food. On this event GPWO DVD for Satya Narayan Vrat Katha was inaugurated and released for sale to parijans. In spite of the bad snowy and icy weather, about 100 parijans including for-eign participants took the benefit of the Yagya. All participants were guided into the procedure to do Surya sadhana for the rest of the year including Gayatri mantras.

UPCOMING GPWO ACTIVITIES (February 2012)

PRAGYA MANDALS

Every Saturday Burlington contact: Bharat Pandya - 905 336 2032

Every Sunday Hamilton contact: Shilpa Sanjeev - 905 387 7752

Sun Feb 12 Guelph Atul Gupta - 519 546 1465

Sat Feb 11 Kitchener contact: Ishani Patel - 519 208 2311

Sun Jan 28 Brampton contact: Alpesh Modi - 905 230 7521

TBD Cambridge contact: Mukesh Patel - 519 621 6678

TBD Milton contact: Manish Patel - 905 630 8503

TBD Scarborough contact: Sanjay Vora - 905 230 7521

TBD Etobicoke contact: Sanjay Vora - 905 230 7521

BAL-SANSKAR KENDRA

Every Wednesday Hamilton contact: Vandana Sharma - 905 679 6945

Sat Feb 11 Kitchener contact: Ishani Patel - 519 208 2311

SAMUHIK GAYATRI JAP

Sun Feb 26 Guelph 18 Warren St., Guelph On N1E 0A1

GPWO YOUTH GROUP MEETING

Sat Feb 4 Hamilton contact: Shilpa Sanjeev - 905 387 7752

GPWO MEMBERSHIP Regular membership $5 per annum

Silver membership $365 or more per annum. Silver members are provided:

1. Free one year subscription to “Akhand Jyoti” (Hindi or English) or “Yug-Shakti Gayatri” (in Gujarati).

2. Yajmanship to one GPWO event.

3. Missionary CD/DVD from time to time. For more information or renewal, please contact your local GPWO co-ordinator

or call (519) 766 9255 or email at [email protected]

GPWO EVENT PLAN FOR 2012

GPWO has tentatively decided to conduct following events this year:

Sat Feb 28 Vasant Panchami Cambridge, Ontario Sun Apr 1 Chaitri Navratri St. Catherine, Ontario Sat Jun 9 Gayatri Jayanti London or Oakville, Ontario Sat Jul 7 Guru Purnima Milton, Ontario July 22-26 Youth Camp Brock University, Niagara, Ontario Sun Oct 14 Shradh Tarpan Guelph, Ontario Sat Oct 27 Ashwin Navratri Brampton, Ontario Sat Nov 17 Diwali Cultural Burlington or Kitchener, Ontario

Besides this there will be Tree Plantation event, Lectures and Youth Group activities in various cities which will be declared at appropriate time.

GPWO Bal Sanskar Shala, Hamilton

KEY ACTIVITIES IN SURYA SADHANA

Do the jap of at least one of the Surya Gayatri mantra as shown in the above picture along with daily Gayatri mantra jap

Meditate on the rising sun when doing the Japas It will be highly beneficial to look at rising sun for a small time, however

focussing on lamp through the center of forehead (Agnya chakra)and visualizing the rising sun for some time will also benefit.

After above worship offer water to Surya (Sun) Apply a little water to forehead with your hand reciting Gayatri mantra Try to fast on Sunday (alternatives—one time food, tasteless food, just

fruit juices or water etc)

ॐ घणृि सूर्यार् नम: om ghrini suryay namah



“And in the end it's not the years in your life that count; it's the life in your years. ”

-Abraham Lincoln

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Real Honesty

Chhatrapati Shivaji was very concerned about the

subjects of his kingdom; He was always ready to help

the people who were suffering. He had declared

throughout his Kingdom that anyone who has prob-

lem, could approach him anytime and tell him of their

troubles. He would do his best to solve their problems.

He also instructed his courtiers to remain alert to the

problems of his people and help them. He ordered that

all chieftains should listen to the problems of the peo-

ple at anytime of day and night and if the people do

not get redress, then the complaint was at liberty to

come to the king directly. Provision was also made to

punish all those who refused to help the needy. How-

ever, such situations never came until then and no officer was punished.

One night a person approached the chieftain of Purunder fort at midnight with

some problem. Probably his matter was so important that he had to come late at

night, when the concerned servant reported his arrival to the chieftain, he sent

the words “If the matter is very urgent, I am ready to come out, otherwise I will

look into your problem in the morning.”

At this, the aggrieved person got angry, thinking that the chieftain's has not given

any importance to his coming there even late at night. He decided to go to Chha-

trapati and complain against the chieftain.

Next morning he went to Chhatrapati and reported the chieftain's behaviour to-

wards him. Hearing this Chhatrapati was surprised and furious at the same time.

He was shocked and surprised because he knew that the chieftain was very sin-

cere and how could he make such a mistake.

He at once sent for the chieftain and enquired about the matter. “I believe you

don't refuse to help the needy.”

“God knows, I have never refused to help anyone”. the chieftain replied. “But

last Thursday night you refused to listen to this man.” Chhatrapati asked him

pointing towards the man. “Is he telling a lie?”

“No your Highness, he is speaking he truth. But last Thursday night I was busy

with some other matter. Still I sent him word asking if it was very urgent, I

would come down to meet, but this man approached you directly.” Shivaji asked

“How were you busy, and how were you helpless?”

“Your majesty, please don't ask me this question, otherwise my secret will be

out.”

Shivaji said, “Only wrong things are kept secret. Secrecy implies fear and only

the guilty have fear. Thus, a public servant should not keep anything secret. So

tell me how you were busy that day.”

With great hesistaion, the chieftain replied. “I am busy the whole week, perform-

ing duties. Only on Thursday night, I get spare time. I wash and dry my only pair

of clothes that I have and I wear it again in the morning; I keep it secret so no-

body laughs at me and at the kingdom of ours. Besides this, I am not able to

offer prayers everyday. I observe fast on Thursday and do meditation during

evening. This is the reason of not being able to attend to him.” replied the chief-

tain feeling sorry for him.

Tears rolled down Shivaji’s eyes. He was emotional and said, “Bravo! You ig-

nore neither the people nor the almighty. Your salary is also pittance that you

cannot afford to get a spare dress.” getting up from his throne he hugged the

chieftain.

He decreed that, in the future, all employees would get weekly holiday. The

chieftain who inspired many other with his principles was Morarji Baji Prabhu.

His Life was simple and inspiring. His name is carved golden in the history of

Marathas.

- From Bhartiya Sanskriti Gyan Pariksha Book—Grade 7

PERCEPTION

THE SITUATION In Washington D.C., at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in

2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about forty-five

minutes. During that time, over 1000 people went through the station,

most on their way to work. After about three minutes, a middle-aged

man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace

and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his

schedule.

After 4 minutes: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman

threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him,

then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him

along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the

mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head

the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children,

but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move

on quickly.

For 45 minutes: The musician played continuously.

Of 1097 people who walked by, only seven stopped and listened for a

short while. Twenty more gave money but continued to walk at their

normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.17 He finished playing

and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There

was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the great-

est musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces

ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days be-

fore, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats aver-

aged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro

Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social

experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we

perceive beauty?

If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best

musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever

written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

GPWO Lecture on “Our Holy Scriptures” at Hamilton temple

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html



All sense organs should be kept under proper control

Just as all the gears in the watch and machines are intercon-nected and one gear transmits its rotating movement to the other and thus making it to move, the sense organs too are interrelated and each of the sense organs has influence on the rest. For instance, the eyes happen to see an enchanting object and they convey the message to the brain, the mind gets a de-sire to have it and the intellect thinks up a plan to get it. On its command, the legs move towards the object and the hands get hold of it.

Having a craving for lust followed by behaviour of breaking social dignity also work in a similar fashion. Therefore, it has been rightly said that observance of Brahmacharya (celibacy) cannot be fulfilled just by observing physical self-control only, but also requires to deal with and exercise proper control over all the elements in our conduct or behaviour that may have causal influence on it.

-Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya Translated from - Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya’s work

Jeevan Devta ki Sadhna (2)-4.40

Channelize self-control in a meaningful direction

So far self-control has been generally viewed in a very narrow sense to imply controlling or restraining the energy flow. But, if energies are only restrained but not utilised for any meaningful purpose, they would do more harm than good. For instance, a dam is built across a river to stop the water from flow-ing. But then if water is not utilised in irrigation or generating elec-tricity, the continuously rising water would ultimately lead to a large-scale destruction. As self-control had so far been widely looked at in a very limited sense (and hence wasn’t applied to its full potential), it failed to prove its usefulness since it is also equally important to channelize the saved energies in a meaningful direction, otherwise they would lead to untoward results rather than yielding benefits. The real meaning of self-control is to stop energies from getting wasted in worthless and harmful tasks and diverting them into a meaningful direction that is beneficial to all. This is indeed the very form of self-control which has been pointed out as being obligatory religious observance in life.


Jeevan Devta Ki Sadhna Aradhana - page 4.3

Importance of Speech Control

Let’s say that an individual observes a proper thought control but his/her speech remains out of control. This would backfire on the thought control making it become weaker and ineffective. A habit of being talkative compels an individual to keep searching for new topics or issues to talk about (which, in turn, will compel his/her mind to keep on thinking about new topics). Therefore, observing a proper control of speech is also essential along with thought control. To store something securely, we may put it in a container. If the con-tainer has a hole, we will patch it up first before putting the thing in. But then we will also make sure that we close the lid firmly. Or else, the thing we have stored may get spilled over anytime. Thought control would stop mental capabilities being wasted in need-less thoughts, desires and feelings. However, its practical aspect and expression is channelized through speech. If speech is not kept under proper control, the thought control would eventually become ineffec-tive and useless. Therefore, speech control must go hand in hand with thought control. The first and foremost step in mastering speech control is to learn to speak less. Whatever that needs to be said should be expressed in bare minimum and carefully chosen words.


Jeevan Devta ki Sadhna – Aradhana, page 4.12

Basic philosophy behind daily worship

The sole aim of performing rituals (of daily worship) and reading scrip-tures is to attain and enhance excellence within. The Supreme Being, i.e. God cannot be enticed into doing us a favour by material offerings or flattering words. All the conscious (i.e. living, life-force) and uncon-scious (i.e. non-living) elements of the universe as well as even God Himself is bound and governed by His Divine Law or the Cosmic Order. If God starts returning favour to anyone who praises Him or taking revenge on anyone who insults Him, the cosmic regulatory mechanism would disintegrate and the whole world would slide into a state of com-plete anarchy. In reality, such things never ever happen. It is a popular misconception that makes people to seek to entice God, to disobey the Divine Law and to think that their offerings can win them God's favour. Such childish thinking should better be got rid of at the earliest.

Worship is merely a kind of exercise, endeavour or training that helps our field of consciousness to receive and get enriched with excellences. The more one equips his/her consciousness with excellence, the more he/she would excel, progress and become eligible to attain divine status. The main purpose of Upasana (daily worship) is to connect the individual soul with the Supreme Soul. The (individual) soul represents our inner being which the hub of our feelings, beliefs and aspirations. The Supreme Soul (God) represents the pre- eminent ideals. Do re-member that the Supreme Soul (God) isn't a person, form or a named entity but the sum-total of all the excellences, virtues and everything that is good in the world as well as the aggregate of all the individual souls.


Jivan Devta ki Sadhana-Aradhana 2:3.55

दसूरों के साथ वह व्यवहार न करो, जो तुम्हें आपने लिए पसन्द नही -प.ं श्रीरयम शमया आचयर्ा

news letter jan 2012

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