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CHIEF MINISTER OF KARNATAKA, Sri H D KUMARASWAMY

INAUGURATES SWAMI VIVEKANANDA STATUE

On May 3rd, 2007, Thursday, at Badarikashrama, aprominent ashrama in Madihalli, a village inKarnataka State, amidst euphoric chanting of over twenty five thousand of people, SwamiOmkarananda placed a garland to welcome theHonorable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri HDKumaraswamy, Chief Guest, to the program toinaugurate the Swami Vivekananda Statue installedat the Ashrama. The other guests of honor at the program wereSrimat Swami Jagatmatanandaji Maharaj,(President, RamakrishnaSarada Ashrama,Ponampet, Karnataka), Srimat SwamiAtmavidanandaji Maharaj (Secretary, RamakrishnaMission, Kadaph, Andhra Pradesh), Srimat Swami Shantimayanandaji Maharaj (Ramakrishana Math,Bangalore), Prof. B M Hegde, (world renownedcardiologist, author and speaker from Mangalore), and Sri M T Krishnappa (MLA from Turuvekere). The Chief Minister reverently performed aarti to Sri Lakshminarayana, Sri Ramakrishna and Sri SaradaDevi, surrounded by Mahatmas, to the chanting ofsacred vedic slokas.

(Chief Minister Sri. H.D. Kumara Swamy Inaugurating the Statue of Swami Vivekananda)

July – August 2007

Om Namo Narayanaya BADARIKASHRAMA DIARY

Sayings of Swami Vivekananda

��Struggle is the sign of life. ��Strength is life, weakness is death ��Never mind failure; they are the beauty of life ��Religion is not in books. It is being and

becoming ��Religious teaching must always be constructive,

not destructive ��Out of purity and silence come the word of power��To be good and to do good that is the whole of

religion ��They alone live, who live for others; the rest are

more dead than alive ��No chance for the welfare of the world, unless

the condition of women is improved ��Arise! Awake! Stop not, till the goal is reached

Na Me Bhakta Pranashyati

My Devotee Never Perishes

The distinguished group then proceeded towards theVivekananda statue whereupon, the Chief Ministerthen unveiled the stature, to mark its inauguration anddedication. In his speech to the appreciative crowd,the Chief Minister addressed the needs of thefarmers, and spoke about the greatness of SwamiVivekananda. His sensitivity for the needs of thepeople, and his genuine concern for the people ofKarnataka were much in evidence. SwamiOmkaranandaji spoke on Vivekananda’s love for hismotherland, and his ability to understand what wasneeded for the nations development and success.

(Swami Omkaranandaji and Chief Minister Sri. H.D. Kumara Swamy)The Inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda statue issymbolic of Badarikashrams’s present focus on thedevelopment of quality educational facilities for therural population. The ashrama’s attention has beengiven to workshops, seminars and periodic medicalcamps. A pre-primary school is planned to be openedin January, 2008. Future plans include a vedic schooland a residential high school. Badarikashrama hasmade it a mission to manifest Swami Vivekananada’smessage: “We must have a hold on the spiritual andsecular education of the nation. Education is not the

(Srimat Swami Jagadatmanandaji Maharaj and Swami Omkaranandaji )amount of information that you put in your brain thatremain undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making and character-makingassimilation of ideas.” After the successful conclusion of the inaugurationprogram at Madihalli, Swamiji returned to SanLeandro, end-May, 2007.

(Chief Minister Sri H. D. Kumara Swamy and MLA Sri M.T. Krishnappa) Events at San Leandro continued in their traditionalspirit of devotion and patronage. The highlight of theevents was the 23rd Anniversary Celebrations ofBadarikashrama, celebrated on June 9th and 10th. Thetwo-day celebration was marked with several colorfuland enlightening events, with several performancesby artistes of international repute across the BayArea.

(Swami Vivekanada Inaugural Function at Madihalli Audience)

(Suman Shah and Prof. Mohini Mohan Patnaik) On Saturday, May 9th, Swamiji welcomed theaudience and reminisced about the 23 years that hadpassed since Badarikashrama was founded in SanLandro. The program began with an Odissi dancerecital by students of Sima Chakravarty. As always,the students performed wonderfully well, a testimonyto their devotion to the art form. This was followedby a Hindustani music concert by Prof. MohiniMohan Patnaik, a master of the Flute as well as thehundred stringed Santoor. He is the chairman of theMusic department at Utkal Vidyalaya,Bhubaneshwar, India, and the recipient of manymajor awards in India and abroad. Prof. Patnaikperformed several flute pieces, each more melodiousthan the previous. He was accompanied by SumanShah on the Tanpura. The group concluded to aresounding applause, deserving of a performance ofsuch a grand stature.

(Natarajan Srinivasan, Shanti Sriram and Divya Ramachandran)After lunch, the program continued with aperformance by pupils of the Balsamskara Kendra.The pupils chanted several slokas and verses, in agroup setting as well as individually, earning muchappreciation from the audience/devotees. The finalperformance the day was Carnatic Vocal recital byShanti Sriram and party. Shanthi Shriram is thegranddaughter of Sangeetha Vidwan Sri. Sathur A.

G. Subramaniam. She has won many awards inmusic including The Music Academy and theIndian Fine Arts Society. For the performance atBadrikashrama, Shanti was accompanied byNatarajan Sriniasan on the Mridangam, and byDivya Ramachandran on the Violin. Shantiperformed several compositions, each rendered toits classical purity, to the delight and appreciationof the audience. At the end of the performance,the group received a standing ovation, a fittingfinish to a wonderful day commemorating theAnniversary Celebrations.

(Rita Sahai and Students)On June 10th, the 23rd Anniversary celebrationscontinued into the second day. Samuhika 108 SriSatyanarayana Puja and Katha was conducted onthis day, The proceedings for the day began with awonderful Kirtan recital by Smt Rita Sahai andstudents. As always, Rita’s recital wassuperlatively melodious, keeping the audience inrapture. After the Kirtan, Swamiji officiated theSamuhika Satyanarayan Puja, followed by Katha.Several devotees and their families participated inthe Puja and received the Lord’s blessings. Afterthe Aarti, the devotees partook of the Mahaprasad.

(Artists in concert during the Mirabai Music Festival)

BALASAMSKARA KENDRAClasses for children are held every Sunday at10.30AM. Bay area parents who want toactively participate in the cultural and spiritualeducation of their children conceived theschool. The curriculum includes Hindi classes,Sanskrit Mantras, and explanations of puja,rituals, symbolism of Gods and Goddesses andIndian festivals. Story telling familiarizes ourchildren to our ancient culture and epics.Children find it a lot of fun and look forward toevery session. We encourage all of you to bringyour children from the ages of 5 to 15, to ourschool. Please call ashrama staff for moreinformation or Anita Bajaj at 510-530-9314. Asalways, the school is free and everyone iswelcome. --------------------------------------------------------

INDIA CENTER Our Indian center is located in Madihalli, whichis about 75 miles west of Bangalore. It islocated in rolling hills, surrounded by fruitgroves and many other trees. Over the last 23years the ashrama has flourished and covers alush 60 acres with abundant facilities for thecomfort of our residents and guests. SinceJanuary 1997, Swami Mangalananda has beenworking in Madihalli for the growth of theashrama. The ashrama serves the surroundingcommunity with education, health andhumanitarian needs. We sincerely hope thatyou will take the opportunity to visit ourashrama during your next visit to India.

Badarikashrama Madihalli P.O.

Turuvekere Tq., Tumkur Dt. Karnataka 572 227

Madihalli Office 08139-287571 Mobile 9480206298 Bangalore Office 080-23227292

Email India badarik@sify.comEmail USA badarik@pacbell.net

www.badarikashrama.org

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Daily Schedule at San Leandro

Temple is open between the hours of 7-1PM and 4-8PM Puja is conducted thrice daily at 7AM, 12PM 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

July 2007Sun 1st 11:00 PM Sri Satyanarayana Puja & Kirtan Wed 4th 10:00 AM Sri Durga Homa

Kirtan: Sargam & Suman Shah Bhajan: Rita Sahai & Students

Sat 7th 2:00 PM Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Sri Goswami Tulasidas

Sun 8th 11:00 AM Kirtan & Satsanga Guest: Paramatmanandaji – Founding Acharya of Arsha Vidya Mandir, Rajkot

Sun 15th 11:00 AM Guest Speaker: Dr. S N Subba Rao, Director, National Youth Project in India, and recipient of the prestigious “Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award

Sun 22nd 11:00 AM Talk on Bhagavadgita by Swami Atmayogiananda, Ghazipur

Sun 29th 2:00PM Sri Gurupurnima Celebrations Music: Alka Bhatnagar and Friends Sri Satyanarayana Puja & Kirtan

Aug 2007Sat 4th 2:00 PM Sri Sundarakanda Ramayana of Sri

Goswami Tulasidas Sun 5th 11:00 AM Sri Ramanama Meditation & Kirtan Sun 12th 11:00 AM Sri Lalitha Sahasaranamama Puja & Kirtan

Sun 19th 11:00 AM Guest Speaker & Kirtan

Fri 24th 7:00 PM Sri Vara Mahalakshmi Puja & Kirtan

Sun 26th 11:00 AM Sri Satyanarayana Puja & Kirtan

Sept 2007

Balsamskara Pupils performance Music: (Please refer our web site)

CALENDAR

Hearing about Vishnu, singing about Him, remembering Him, serving Him, worshipping Him, saluting Him, being His servant,

being His comrade, and surrendering oneself and everything that is in one’s own to Him – these are the nine aspects of Bhakti or God-

love.– Srimad Bhagavata (VII. 5.23–24)

Sun 2nd 2:00 PM Sri Krishna Jayanthi Celebrations

Mon 3rd 8:00 PM Sri Krishna Janmashtami Puja & Kirtan

DATED MATERIAL

BADARIKASHRAMA15602 Maubert Avenue San Leandro, CA 94578

Tel (510) 278 2444

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PaidSan Leandro, CAPermit # 61