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DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
From Sir, With Love
Dr. Rao has been the main force behind the establishment and advancement of the Hindu Society of Brazos Valley (HSBV). This is an
excerpt from a newsletter printed by the HSBV in 1996, on the occasion of Ramanavami. Pearls of wisdom from Dr. Rao.
RAMA ‐THE PURUSHOTTAMA
Was Rama a real person or only a creation of
mythology? Is he an avatar? Whatever theanswermaybe, one thing is certain, Rama andRamayana have profoundly influenced the
thinking of people in India and around theworldformanycenturies.WhatmakesRamasounique. Why is he called the Purushottama
(highest among beings)?TheanswerisfoundintheverybeginningofValmikiRamayana, intheformofaquestionbyValmikiandananswerby
Narada.
“Is thereanyone in thepresentdayworldwhoisfullofvirtuesandatthesametimepossessedofgreatprowessandrightconduct,whoiswell
versed indharma,who isgrateful, truthfulandoffirmresolve?Andwhoisfriendlytoall living
beings; who is a man of knowledge and alsopowerful; who has a singularly lovableappearance, who has subdued his self and
conqueredanger,whoispossessedofsplendorand who is above fault finding and whom thevery gods dread when his wrath has been
provokedinbattle”askedValmiki.
Narada replied, ”The virtues and qualitiesmentioned by you are many and rare to find.However, there is one born in the line of
IkshavakuandknownbythenameofRama.Hehas his mind under control, is very powerful,
radiant and resolute and has also his sensesunder control. He is intelligent and sagacious,
eloquent, glorious and an exterminator of hisenemies. With a broad chin and possessing amighty bow and shapely shoulders, Rama is
capableofsubduinghis foes.Hehas longarmsand shapely head and forehead. He is of
medium stature with well proportioned limbsand of charming complexion. With a wellshaped chest and large eyes he has a body of
attractive proportions. Well conversant withdharma, devoted to truth and always engagedinpromotingthewelfareofthepeople.Ramais
ofgood reputeand fullofwisdomandpure indealings. He has a well controlled and sharpmind. He is like the creator Brahma in
supportingall,possessedofauspiciousqualitiesand riches, slayer of enemies, protector of allliving beings anddharma.He iswell principled
and protects his people. He knows the truthexpoundedinVedasandvedangasandisadeptinarchery.Heiswellversedinthesciencesand
possessed of a bright intellect and goodmemory. He is gentle, noble and shrewd andlovedbyall”.
“The righteous people always seek him just as
the rivers seek the ocean. He is courteous toone and all and always well composed andpleasing. Endowedwithall virtueshegladdens
the heart of his mother. He is dignified andprofound like the ocean and steadfast like theHimalayas. He is like Vishnu in prowess,
soothing like theMoon, butwhen his anger isroused, he like wild fire. He is, howevertolerant likeMotherEarth.He is likeKubera in
his liberality and steadfast like Lord Dharma(Yama)”‐ValmikiRamayan.
Whereelsecanwefindabetterrolemodel?
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
What’s Cooking?
Our temple celebrates every major pooja andwe are always treated to some wonderfulmaha‐prasadam. The food committee of HSBV
does such a great job of arranging the feastsevery time, but they are always looking forvolunteers.
How do they do it? Themembers of the food
committee call the volunteers and requestthem to cook the maha‐prasadam. For eachdish, typically 4 volunteers are requested to
cook enough food for about 50 people. Allmembers of our community come together tocreatethisgreatexperience.
Ifyou liketocookandwould liketobepartof
theteam,ordon’twanttocookbutwouldliketohelp,therearemanywaysyoucanofferyourservicestothetemple.Itcouldbesomethingas
simple as providing home‐made or store‐boughtyogurt,orbuyingtortillasorchips.Ifyouwould like to be a volunteer, please contact
Mrs. Jyothi Raju. Her email address [email protected]
The FoodCommitteemembers areMrs. Jyothi
Raju, Mrs. Malathi Reddy, Mrs. SharadaRamsamy,Mrs.Vidya LalwaniandMrs.PrabhaAcharya.
Have you visited?
The Hindu Temple of Central Texas isinterestinglyenough,inTemple,TXandisabouta 1 hour 50 minute drive from the Brazos
Valley.
Ganesha is themain deity in this temple,withan OM behind Him, projecting the unifyingthemeofHinduism (hence the nameOMKARA
MAHAGANAPATHY). Lord Ganesha’s statue,3300 pounds in weight, was chiseled from a
single stone cut from a mountain by religiousartisans inMahabalipuram.Otherblackgranitestone deities include: Sri Venkateswara &
Padmavathi from Tirupati, Lord Shiva &Parvathi, Subramanya, Navagraha, fromMahabalipuram, Swami Ayyappa brass idol
from Tamilnadu & the Ram Parivar, AmbaMatha & Radha Krishna marble deities fromRajasthan.
Thetemple'sinteriorstructureisconstructedin
seriesofGarbhaGrihasreflectingdiverseHinduarchitecture foreachdeity.RamParivar,AmbaMatha and Radha‐Krishna mandirs depict
beautiful north Indian architecture, Ayyappa’ssannidhi reflects Sabarimalai features whileother areas project traditional South Indian
architecture in great detail. The monumentaltaskwasaccomplishedbybringinginagroupofhighly skilled sculptors from India. To find out
more about the temple please visit theirwebsiteathttp://hindutemple.org
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
The Waiting Room
We have such wonderful doctors in our community. The waiting room is a question and answer column that provides health information
from our community’s medical experts.
Withthefluseasonfastapproaching,Dr.RohiniRagupathianswersyourquestions.
How can we protect ourselves this flu season?
Always wash your hands with soap and warmwater.Itisalsoveryimportanttoeatfruitsand
vegetables.Eathealthyandgetenoughrest.
Is it important for everyone to get a flu shot?
Previousyearsweaskedthatchildren,pregnantwomenandtheelderlyget their flushots.Thisyearweareaskingeveryone toget immunized
fortheseasonalflu.
Are there shots available for the swine flu?
Yes,thereareshotsavailable.Fornowthereisapriorityorder for the swine flu shots.Children,pregnant women, and healthcare workers, in
thatorder.
Dr. Rohini Ragupathi is a primary care physician who has been practicing in the Brazos Valley for
the last 21 years. She can be contacted at [email protected]
Forournextnewsletterwewill be talking toapediatrician. If you have any questions or
concerns you would like to have answered,please contact Deepika Gundanna [email protected]
Yoga, Music, and Harmony
BySrividyaRamasubramanian
Just like rhythm is essential to music, life toohasanatural rhythm. Whenall instruments inan orchestra play in synchrony, it is music.
When they are off‐beat and off‐tune, itbecomes noise. When our body, mind, andspirit are not aligned, there is disharmony and
stress. Yoga is the path throughwhichwe canexperienceharmony in lifeby theunionof thebody,mind,andsoul.
What exactly is yoga? It is not about bending
our bodies in convoluted ways. Rather, SagePatanjali defines yoga as “Yogas Chitta VrittiNirodah” in his famous Yoga Sutras. That is,
yoga is the control of the wandering mind. IntheBhagavadGita,LordKrishnadefinesyogaasbeingsteadfast inactionandbeingbalancedin
success and failure. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar callsyoga “the blossoming of human potential tofullness.”
For musical instruments to be in their best
shape,weneed to tune themregularly. In life,we can achieve harmony through the regular
and sincerepracticeof yogaasanas (postures),pranayama (breathing exercises) andmeditation.
Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian is an assistant
professor of Communication at Texas A&M University. She is also the faculty advisor for Art of Living–TAMU. She can be contacted at
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
From the Kitchen
Thiseasyrecipeisagreathitwithkidsofallages.Itisverynutritiousandcanbemadewithwhatevervegetablesarereadilyavailableat
home.
PASTA SALADCookedpasta‐1lbFrozenpeas‐2cupbellpepper‐3(red,yellow,green)cooked/cannedbeans‐28oz(kidney/black)olive/veg.oil‐1cupvinegar‐1/2c(red/white/balsamic)Mustard‐‐2tbs(Anyvariety)poppyseeds‐3tspmixedfreshherbs‐2tspeachGratedcheddarcheese‐2cupssaltandpeppertotaste1.Cookpasta,drainandletitcooltoroomtemperature.2.Stirinallthevegetablesandbeans.3.Inabowl,mixtheoil,vinegar,mustard,poppyseeds,freshherbs,saltandpepper.Whiskthedressingingredientstogethervigorously,untilthedressingcomesthick.4.Pourthedressingoverthepastaandvegetablesandtosstogetherthoroughlytocoatalltheingredients.5.Coverandchillthesaladintherefrigeratorbeforeserving.6.Stirthecheeseintothepastasaladandserveimmediatelyonabedofmixedsaladgreens.Mrs. Prabha Kannan is a homemaker and has lived in the Brazos Valley since 2001. Although she dabbles in all kinds of cuisine she is an expert in Italian and Mexican cooking.
Foralltheworkingmenandwomenoutthere,asimpleyettastyrecipe.Thisnorth‐indiandishcanbeservedwithketchuporchutney. Chilla(Puda) Riceflour‐½cupBesan‐11/2cupplainyogurt–½cupginger‐1tspmincedGarlic–2tspmincedgreenchilies–2tspsmincedcilantro–4tspchoppedajjwainseedswatersalttotaste1.Mixalltheingredientsalongwithwaterasneededtomakeasmoothdosa‐likebatter.2.Onahotpan,makedosasoutofthebatter.3.Cookonbothsidesthoroughly.4.Servehotwithchutney.Mrs. Jasmina Patel has been a long standing food committee advisory member. She is a dialysis technician, is very actively involved in the HSBV and has lived in the Brazos Valley for 15 years. Doyouhavearecipethatissimpleandeasytomake,yetverysatisfyingandhealthy?WouldyouliketoshareyourgourmetcreationswithothermembersofHSBV?Ifyouwouldliketosendinyourrecipesandcomments,[email protected]
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
Announcements and Achievements EverymonththeVishnuSahasranamam
is recited in thehomeofahost family.All members of the HSBV join thechanting which followed by a potluckdinner. To be a host family and/or toget involved in the event, pleasecontact Ramasamy Perumal [email protected].
TheBalViharof theHSBVmeetseverySunday except on major holidays.Please look at the calendar at thewww.hsbv.org website for moreinformation about when classes are insession. We have classes for childrenstarting from 6 months onwards untilthe12thgrade.
The HSVB Youth group has beenorganizing some fun activities for kidsand families this summer. The ideabehind theHSBV Family Nite has beento spend quality family time togetherwhile interacting with other membersof our community. The events includeboard games, musical chairs, watchingIndianmoviesanddinnerpreparedandprovidedbytheyouthgroupmembers.The events have been a huge successand the youth group is always lookingfor more participation. From moreinformation please contact [email protected]
TheGITAsatsanggroup(GitaInToday'sAction) headed by Dr. Raju,teleconferences every weekday from6.00AM‐7.00AM.Thenumbertocallis605 475 6333 and the PIN is 600730followedby#sign.Onecanjustlisteninon the discussion. The satsang wasstarted two years ago. For moreinformationonhow to join [email protected].
Rajeev Kinra has been named one ofthe National Merit Scholarshipsemifinalists. He was chosen as asemifinalist along with 15 otherstudents.90percentofthesemifinalistswill become finalists and receiveNational Merit Scholarships, accordingto the corporation that runs theprogram. This allows students to beaccepted to very prestigiousuniversities. To become a finalist, astudent must have an outstandingacademic record, a high SAT score, berecommended by a principal andsubmit a detailed application includingan essay. To read more go to:http://www.theeagle.com/schools/Consol‐has‐16‐merit‐semifinalists
Kalyan Venkatraj was selected torepresent the state of Texas at BoysNation in Washington D.C. He wasselected frommore than 700 studentsfromacrossthestate.InadditiontotheNational Honor Society, he is areturningmemberof the InteractClub,the tennis team and the StudentCouncil. He is actively involved in theHSBVandhaslivedintheBrazosValleysince1998.Toreadmoregoto:http://www.theeagle.com/local/Local‐seniors‐take‐part‐in‐Boys‐State.
Dr. Keerti Rathore’sincredibleresearchingeneticengineeringwaspublishedintheTimemagazine.HeisaprofessoratTexas A&MUniversity and is an activemember of the HSBV. Dr. Rathore'steamdemonstratedthat itcanturnoffthegenesthatstimulatetheproductionof gossypol in cottonseeds while therest of the plant keeps its naturaldefenses.Toreadmoreaboutit,goto:http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1920290,00.html.
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
Kiddies Korner Unscramble the words: 1. ELTMEP2. POSWRIH
3. ALBAIRVH
4. UDHNI
5. RTAAVA Quiz: See how many of the questions you can get right. 1. LordVishnu’svehicleisTheGaruda.What
isLordShiva’svehicle?WhatisLordGanesh’smodeoftransportation?
2. IntheMahabharath,theKauravaswere100brothers,howmanyPandavaswerethere?
3. TheKauravashadasister.Whatwashername?LordKrishnahadonesister,whatwashername?
4. HowmanyVedasarethere?Canyounamethem?
5. WhatwasthecapitalofLordRama’skingdom?Howmanychildrendidhehave?Whatweretheycalled?
Identify these Goddesses :
Lookfortheanswersinotherpagesofthenewsletter.
DearParents,
TheHSBVhas a very activeBalVihar learningsystem in place, that educates our young
mindsaboutHinduism,ourroleinthesociety,and our rich cultural heritage. If your child is
not already part of this great system, pleasetakethetimetobringyourchildtothetemplefor the Sunday classes. It is one of the most
valuable and informativehours your childwillhave.Pleasebesuretocheckoutourwebsiteat hsbv.org. For more information please
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
STUDENTS SPEAK
TheTexasA&MUniversitygraduatestudentstalkaboutwhatisnewoncampus.
Hindu Society Promotes Students' Growth & Development.
ByAmnayaAwasthi
Starting fall 2009, the Hindu Society of Brazos
Valley (HSBV) has started a new program tohelpinternationalstudentsdevelopthemselvesinto stronger individuals. The program,
supported by the society and led by a fewfacultyandstudentsatTexasA&MUniversity,isaimed at inculcating academic excellence,
spiritual growth and professional achievementthrough the time tested Vedantic way of life.The effort also strives to serve the students
with survivability, both socially as well asacademically during their stay at A&M hencefacilitating a healthy environment for their
progress.
Integral to the vision of this effort, is theacquisition and maintenance of a physical
location, a facility located right in the heart ofthe student population, enabling easy access.Named the 'Vedanta House for International
Students', this facility promotes students,regardless of age, gender, religion, race ornationalitytoutilizethespaceandparticipatein
various Vedantic activities, under the guidanceof qualified experts. The effort also comprisesofareligiouscomponentforstudents'interests
whereapartofthefacilityisdedicatedtodailyprayers.
The Vedanta House organized a new‐studentswelcomeevent'NamaskarHowdy'on
September 5th. This event, attended by about80 students incorporated discussions on ethics
in academics, successful entrepreneurship,financial management and interplay ofacademics in industry. Later this day, with the
help of students, the society organized aneveningofdinnerandfunfilledgames.Thisice
breaker gathering, attended by over 170individualsofdifferentageswashighlyeffectivein bringing the students closer to the
community. Recently, Swami Swahananda, asenior monk of the Ramakrishna Order visitedthe Vedanta House to interact with A&M
students.
The Vedanta House is also the venue forweekly meetings, some of which includechanting of Vishnu Sahasranama, learning and
practicing meditation and personalitydevelopment short courses. The students lightmusicbandcalledDhwani,utilizesthespacefor
musical gatherings and practice. The VedantaHouse organizes student rides to theOmkarnathTemple inNavasotaonoccasionof
festivals.TheVedantahousealsonetworkswithinternational students through an onlinecommunity in Facebook on topics of academic
excellence. To get more involved, pleasecontact Dr. Sharath Girimaji [email protected].
Amnaya Awasthi is a Ph.D. candidate in the
Materials Science and Engineering program in the Aerospace Engineering Department. He is actively involved in the Vedanta House and the
HSBV cultural events. He can be contacted at [email protected]. The email for the Vedanta house is [email protected]
DRISHTI
TheHinduSocietyofBrazosValleyNewsletter(HSBVN)
http://www.hsbv.org
*************************************
Round Table
The Executive Board Members of the Hindu
Society of Brazos Valleywould like towelcomeeveryonetothe4thAnnualCulturalprogramandOpenhouse.
TheywishyouallahappyandhealthyDeepavali
andaprosperousNewYearahead!
*************************************
AnswerstothequestionsintheKiddiesKorner
Unscramblethewords.
1.TEMPLE2.WORSHIP3.BALVIHAR4.HINDU5.AVATAR
Quiz
1. LORD SHIVA’S VEHICLE IS THE NANDI OR THE BULL.LORDGANESH’SVEHICLEISTHEMOUSE
2.THEPANDAVASARE5BROTHERS
3.THEKAURAVAS’SSISTER’SNAMEWASDUSSALA. LORDKRISHNA’SSISTER’SNAMEWASSUBHADRA
4. THERE ARE 4 VEDAS. THEY ARE THE RIG VEDA, THEYAJURVEDA,THESAMAVEDAANDTHEATHARVAVEDA
5. Lord RAMA’S CAPITOL WAS AYODHYA. HE HAD TWOSONS(TWINS)CALLEDLAVANDKUSH
IdentifytheseGoddesses
GoddessDurgaandGoddessSarawati
Message Board:
Please send announcements and achievements that you would like to have published in the newsletter to [email protected]
Dr. Devan Balachari is the contact for the newly
proposed entrepreneurial group hoping to connect business owners in our community.His email is [email protected]
Notes from the Editor
We have tried to make the newsletterinteresting and relevant to all age groups.We
havecolumnsonyogaandfitness,eventsatthetemple and on campus at TAMU, andannouncements and achievements of our
community members. This newsletter alsofocusedon the childrenofour communityandhasadedicatedpageoffunactivitiesforthem.
Please contact me with your feedback [email protected]
I would like to acknowledge some peoplewithoutwhosesupportthisnewslettermaynot
havebeenpossible.Mydeepestthanksgotoallthe contributors who sent in their articles onsuch short notice. I thank our President Dr.
Saravanan,whoreally renewedmyenthusiasmto start this newsletter. Without the supportand encouragement from the community, an
endeavorsuchasthiswouldnotbesuccessful.Ilook forward to continued support from ourmembers. Thanks tomy family, especiallymy
15montholdson,forbeingsopatientwithme.
‐DeepikaGundanna
