Arise ! Awake ! Stop not, till the goal is reached.

January. - February. - March, 2016

Om Namo Narayanaya

Badarikashrama Diary

October began with Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami

Tulsidas which is usually held on the first Saturday of each month. The

episode of Rama, Hanumanji and Sita’s journey is narrated by Goswami

Tulsidas in a thrilling manner. The following day, Mahatma Gandhi

Peace Prayer Day was held with a joyful concert by Hema Sista and

students. Hema Sista is a well know artist in the Bay Area and brought

along with her many talented students. Prof. Michael Nagler, founder

and president of the METTA Center for Gandhian Nonviolence spoke

on “Rising above Disharmony, Gandhi’s guide to world peace.” He

directed his talk to the many children in attendance, stressing the im-

portance of living and practicing nonviolence in every moment of their

lives. Swami Tattwamayanandaji Maharaj, President of the Vedanta

Society of SF followed with a wonderfully apt talk on “The way to God,

Gandhi’s Universal Approach.” Swamiji reminded his audience no

matter what our profession in life we can be in the world yet remain a

spiritual being by practicing nonviolence through proper action (karma

yoga) and meditation. The following weekend devotees gathered to

listen and reflect on the teachings of the Sri Bhagavad Gita, exploring

the idea of Shreya and Preya, choosing what is Right and what is Easy.

One leading to perfection and the other to bondage. Suman Shah led

the talk and Sargam Shah led the kirtan.

Navaratri was celebrated with daily recitation of Sri Durga Saptasati patha, Sri Durga Homa, Sri Lalita Sahasranama and chanting of various Divine Mother mantras. Navami was led by Sejal Mehta, family and friends for Mataki Jagran followed by a joyful program of Ras Garba. On Vijayadashami after the Sri Durga homa Ilora Jha and friends ac-companied by Pradosh Sarkar on tabla offered a melodious raga of Sri

Sri Ramakrishna in Prarthana Mandir, Madihalli

You see many stars in the sky night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? Oh Man, because you cannot find God in the day of your ignorance, say not that there is no God. He is born in vain, who having attained the hu-man birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realize God in this very life. Man is born in this world with two tendencies—Vidya , the tendency to pursue the path of libera-tion, and Avidya, the leaning towards worldliness and bondage. At his birth, both these tendencies are, as it were, in equilibrium like the two scales of a balance. The world soon places its enjoy-ments and pleasure in one scale, and the Spirit and its attractions in the other. If the mind choos-es the world, the scale of Avidya becomes heavy, and man gravitates towards the earth; but if it chooses the Spirit, the scale of Vidya becomes heavier and pulls him towards God.

~Saying of Sri Ramakrishna

Na Me Bhakta Pranashyati My Devotee Never Perishes

Sandesha

Michael Nagler & Swami Tattwamayanandaji Maharaj

of bhakti and shraddha in day to day life. Anyone who practices sincerely and earnestly (any sadhana) will receive the blessings of the Lord. Meenal , Vinay, Praveen and Hansa Solanki family served the Prasad. The following Sunday Sri Bhagavad Gita Jayanti was held in the Mandir. Two hours of Gita recitation began at 9am. Subita Sudar-shana with Suman and Sargam Shah led the panel discussion with insightful thoughts and perspectives on the overall vision and aim of the Gita. There was a Q&A session as well. After lunch Smt Padmaja Kishore and students from Gana Mandir Fine Arts sang devotional songs. After the music Swami Prasannathmanandaji Maharaj (Vedanta Society of Berkeley) spoke on Bhakti and Karma. He elaborated how the spiritual science of the Gita can affect eve-ryone’s life in a positive way and gave special attention to the young children in the audience.

Sri Sarada Devi Jayanti was held. It began with a performance by Sima Chakraborty’s students from Nataraj school of dance. Sumita Chakraborty, a well known Bay Area artist beautifully sang many Sri Sarada songs. Pravrajika Virajaprana ( Nun of Vedanta Society SF) followed with a talk on the simplicity and contribution of Sri Sarada Devi. She beautifully articulated the practical life teachings of Holy Mother. Christmas day Smt Rita Sahai with accompanying artists gave a wonderful concert. Rita is a well know artist in the Bay Area and produced many CD’s and has given many creative programs. It was a multicultural audience who participated in singing Christmas carols and enjoyed the concert & concluding peace prayer. After the concert everyone partook the sumptuous dinner. We wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.

November began with glorifying Sri Hanuman ji with Ram Saxena leading a group in chanting Hanuman Chalisa for 4 hours continuously. The following Sunday Suman and Sargam Shah led a very insightful and inspiring talk on the Bhagavad Gita along with Kirtan. On the 11th a Sri Mahalakshmi puja was con-ducted on Deepavali. On the 14th a Deepavali Celebration was held with a Mahalakshmi homa and an outstanding concert by Shubhangi Sakhalkar’s senior students, Revathi Nararayanan and Arabhi Sundararajan. On Nov. 18th Swami Omkaranandaji Maharaj returned back from India to join the winter programs. His presence has brought inspiration to us all On the 26th we celebrated Thanksgiving with a passionate vocal performance from Pt. Laxmi Ganesh Tewari who was accompa-nied by Ravi Gutala on Tabla and Vivek Datar on harmonium, two very gifted musicians. A bountiful vegetarian dinner was served to all the guests who represented the diverse community of the Bay Area. The month concluded with a Sunday service of Sri Ramanama Sankirtana and meditation. The bi-annual Samuhika 108 Sri Satyanarayana Puja and Ka-tha was conducted to begin December. The altar was decorated in flowers with Kalashas. The mandir was filled with devotees and families each receiving their Kalasha to participate in the puja. Chanting the Lord’s name and the mantras, Swamiji in-voked the presence of Narayana and led the puja. Vishnumaya-nandaji assisted. Everyone enjoyed the puja. Before the puja Vivek and Rajnish (senior students of Rita Sahai) offered kirtans. To conclude Swamiji narrated the Katha, stressing the practice

Navaratri Sri Durga Puja

Thanksgiving Dinner

Samuhika 108 Sri Satyanarayana Puja

Pravrajika Virajaprana

On October 2, 2015, Gandhi Jayanti was observed. Mrs. Latamani, a Vidyashala teacher talked to students, fellow teachers and guests about Gandhi’s stress on the principles of truth, non-violence, equali-ty, untouchability and honesty. She pointed out the great contribu-tions of Mahatma Gandhi (The father of the nation). Srimat Swami Omkaranandaji Maharaj and Mata Mangalanandaji both spoke about Gandhiji’s sacrifice for the freedom of the country and the influence of Gandhiji in the world, reinforcing the concepts of peace and non-violence. A number of students talked about Gandhiji while teachers and students sang several compositions popular with Gandhiji. We celebrated Navaratari with daily puja and recitation of Sri Durga Saptasati. We were joined daily by Sri Laxmana Das Velankar and his wife, Meera. Sri Lalitha Sahasranama was also recited daily. On the last day of Navaratari, Vijaya Dasami, a homa was performed by Swamiji and Sri Laxmana Das, assisted by Krishna Chaitanya. Many attended this holy ritual. After the homa many bhajans were sung assisted by a well know singer Sri Dattatreya Velankar (son of Lax-mana Das.) Mahaprasad was served to all in attendance. On October 10th the annual Founder’s Day was held which honors the founder of the ashrama Srimat Swami Omkaranandaji Maharaj, whose birthday falls on October 9th. The full day program began with

a blood donation camp, with doctors, staff and nurses from Maha-veera Jain Hospital in Bangaluru. 37 people were able to donate blood which was a noble act to help others. After lunch the Founder’s Day Celebration continued. Important guests for the afternoon in-cluded The Hon. Muddahanume Gowda (MP) Sri Arkesh (retired I.G.P.) Sheshadhar (Ex. M.L.C.) retired Prof. Chandrashekara Gowda from Mysore, our Principle Vasundara, Prof. G.P. Sivaraj

(general secretary of Gandhi Bhavan Bangalore), sub-inspector Suresh, and Circle Inspector Ramachandrappa, Turuvekere. Trustees and guests from Bangaluru included Dayananda Sagar, Contractor Rangaswami, Advocate Prasanna Kumar and Sri Dane Gowda (President of PLD Bank,Turuvekere). Badarikash-rama’s accomplishments and the importance of the ashrama and school to the community were stressed by all the speakers. Local people, teachers and others were all fed Mahaprasad fol-lowing the function.

Kannada Rajyotsava was organized on Sunday, November 1st. After flag hoisting by Omkaranandaji the teachers led the Na-tional Anthem and Karnataka State Anthem. Swami Omkaranandaji left for a short trip to our California Ash-rama on November 18th and will return to India January 9th, 2016. The rest of the month students began to prepare for their exams in early December. There was a lot of rain which helped bring more beauty to the gardens. Nov. ended with Kanakadasa Jayanti.

Prizes were distributed with the blessings of Mata Mangalanan-daji to winners of events on Children's Day. Prizes were also given to students who participated in a recent Lion's Club Com-petition. Our school got three 1st Prizes, 4 Second Prizes, and 3 consolation prizes. The Vivekananda essay contest attracted 242 students from 22 high schools who participated in the essay writing contest on Vivekananda. We celebrated Sri Sarada Devi Jayanti. The main guest speaker was Mataji Tyagamayi from Chelakere. Students also participated in Gita recitation and en-joyed a talk on Sri Sarada Devi.

Founders Day (Swamiji’s 77th Birthday)

Blood donation for Medical Camp

Karnataka Rajyotsava

Children entering the school

News from Badarikashrama Madihalli

BALASAMSKARA KENDRA

Classes for children are held every Sunday at 10:30 am. Bay Area parents who want to actively partici-pate in the cultural and spiritual education of their children conceived of the school. The curriculum includes Hindi classes, Sanskrit Mantras, and expla-nations of puja, rituals, symbolism of Gods and God-desses and Indian festivals. Story telling familiarizes our children with our ancient culture and epics. Chil-dren find it a lot of fun and look forward to every session. We encourage all of you to bring your chil-dren from the ages of 5-15 to our school. Please call the Ashram staff for more information or Anita Bajaj at 510-553-1123. The school is free and everyone is welcome.

Letter to Devotees & Readers

Our India center is located in Madihalli about 75 miles west of Bengaluru. It is set among rolling hills, surrounded by fruit orchards and a variety of tropical vegetation. It is now a Tapobhumi, providing service to humanity in the fields of education and health. The Ashrama serves the surrounding community with a school as well as health and humanitarian needs. We are focused on expanding the activities such as seminars, personality development for the teacher’s and students. The school project is growing and providing quality education. The science lab and computer lab are providing more opportunities for students to learn. Swamiji is currently living in India and invites all interested to join in short or long term work for humanitarian service. We sincerely hope you will take the opportunity to visit our Ashrama during your next visit to India.

Badarikashrama Madihalli P.O.

Turuvekere Tq., Tumakuru Dt., Karnataka 572227 Office : 08139287013/ 08139287571

Mobile : 9741246418-Swami Omkarananda Mobile: 9481204844– Swami Mangalananda

www.badarikashrama.org Email: badarik1986@gmail.com

USA Center Badarik@pacbell.net

510-278-2444

Daily Schedule at San Leandro

Temple is open between the hours of 7am to 1pm and 5pm to 8pm

Puja is conducted thrice daily at 7am, 12 noon and 6.30pm Every Monday 6:30 pm: Sri Siva Puja & Aarti

Every Tuesday 6:30 pm: Sri Durga Puja & Aarti

Every Full Moon Day Sri Satyanarayana Puja & Katha, 7:30 pm

BADARIKASHRAMA

15602 Maubert Avenue

San Leandro, CA 94578

Non Profit Org.

U.S. Postage Paid

San Leandro, CA

Permit # 61

DATED MATERIAL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Jan, 2016 Happy New Year!

Fri. 1st 10:30 am Sri Ganesha Homa, Kirtan by Janak Patak & Friends

Sat. 2nd To

Sun. 3rd

9:30 am To

1:00– pm

Sri Akhanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas

Recitation from Sat. 9:30 to Sun. 1:00 pm

Sun. 10th 11:00 am “Vidura Neethi” (From Mahabharata) Talk by Suman Shah and Kirtan Sargam Shah

Thurs. 14th 11:00 am Makara Sankranti (Sri Rudra Abisheka)

Sun. 17th 10:30 am Swami Vivekananda Jayanti Celebration Bhajans: ‘Sri Ramakrishna Sarada Bhajan Mandali’ Talk: Swami Vedanandaji Maharaj, Vedanta Society SF

Sun. 24th 11:00 am Sri Satyanarayana Puja & Kirtan (Full Moon)

Sun. 31st 10:00am Sri Hari Dasa Day Celebration ~All day music from Bay Area music schools (Kannada)

Feb. 2016

Sat. 6th 2:30 pm Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas

Sat. 7th 11:00 am Sri Ramanama Sankirtana & Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (Discussion with group study)

Sun. 14th 10:00 am Sri Saraswathi Puja and Music

Sun. 21st 11:00 am Sri Satyanarayana Puja and Kirtan

Sun. 28th 11:00 am Sri Bhagavad Gita Talk by Suman Shah and kirtan by Sargam Shah

Mar. 2016

Sat. 5th 2:30 pm Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas

Sun. 6th 9:00am Sri Mritunjaya Japa (9am-12) & 12 noon Homa

Mon. 7th 6:00 pm– Midnight

Maha Sivaratri Celebartion (Puja and music) Details on the flier

Sun. 13th 2:00 pm Sri Ramakrishna Jayanti Celebration Talk: Swami Tattwamayanandaji Maharaj, Vedanta Society SF~ Music TBA

Sun. 20th 11:00 am Sri Satyanarayana Puja and Kirtan

Sun. 27th 10:00 am Holy Celebration with Havan, Music and Colors

April 2016

Sat. 2nd 2:30 pm Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Goswami Tulsidas

Sun. 3rd 11:00 am Sri Bhagavad Gita Talk by Suman Shah and kirtan by Sargam Shah

Invitation to Madihalli

“Swami Vivekananda Jayanti” and “Yuvajana Samavesha” will be held on

Sat. Jan. 23rd and Sun. 24th., 2016 in Madihalli with 500 high school stu-

dents from local Taluk. Guest speakers include Mahatmas, professors and

resource persons. You are welcome to join us. Those interested please con-

tact us at badarik1986@gmail.com or call Mangalananda, 91+9481204844.

Swami Omkaranandaji will be present at the function. Come and join us in

this educational program.