sree venkateswara temple of cleveland - · pdf filedr. r. bandi mr. l. venkataraman ... devi)...

Sree Venkateswara Temple of Cleveland 4406 Brecksville Rd Richfield OH 44286

SREE VENKATESWARA TEMPLE OF CLEVELAND

Sree Padmavathi Sametha Sree Venkateswara Parabrahmane Namaha

4406 Brecksville Road Richfield OH 44286 Tel: (330) 576-5626 Temple timings: Open 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends & holidays

Issue 18 May 2014

Board of Trustees

Dr. R. Bandi

Mr. L. Venkataraman

Dr. P. Achanti

Mr. J. Medarametla Dr. S. Ramanavarapu

Dr. R. Donthi

Dr. R. Taliwal

Mr. R. Srinivasan

Mr. S. Agarwal

Mr. K. Devulapalli

Treasurer Mrs. S. Venna Jt. Treasurer Mrs. N. Kulasekaran Secretary Mr. R. Rambhatla

Jt. Secretary Mr. R. Atluri

Pledge or donate here Visit: www.balajiusa.org

For Information 330 576 5626 /

[email protected]

Religious Calendar:

May 14, 6:30 PM

Purnima Satyanarayana Puja 7 PM

Sat, May 17 Sankatahara Chaturthi

Fri, May 23 Hanuman Jayanti

May 30-Jun 1 9:30 a.m.

Dwajasthamba and Vimana Samprokshanam

Thanks to all for your consideration in following our Temple Etiquette

Sanctum doors, Dwarapalakas and Prabavalis have arrived from India and preparations are in progress to install these items along with the Vimanam and the Dwajasthambam before Kumbhabishekam. To com-plete the work, the sanctums will need to be closed. To close the sanctums, Kalakarshanam is scheduled for May 12th. Sree Venkateswara Temple’s main sanctum sanctorum of the Lord, Devis and Ganesha will be closed from May 12th until May 30th. During Maha samprokshanam, in every temple, kalakarshanam (Transferring the Cosmic energy of the main deity into a Sacred pot) is done to transfer the powers of the moolavar to the Pradhana Ghatam (Main Kumbam). After performing the Kalakarshanam ritual and transferring the Kala into a Kumbham, it is construed that the Kumbham will replace the Mulavirat, till the Samprokshanam is over. And hence all the rituals are performed to the Kumbham and the construction workers can enter the Sanctum and can under-take any work needed inside the Sanctum. While undertaking the works, usual-ly the Mulavirat is covered with silk cloths and tied firmly to avoid damages. All the nithya pujas like Suprabhatam, thiru-vardhanam and archanas are done to the Pradhana Ghatam. Devotees can get darshan of the ghatam and utsava dei-ties and perform archanas to the same.

Preparing for Kumbhabhishekam - Kalakarshanam scheduled for May 12, 2014

Mark your calendars -KUMBHABHISHEKAM May 30—Jun 1, 2014 !

KUMBHABHISHEKAM May 30—Jun 1, 2014 !

Dwajasthamba Sthapanam-May 19, 2014; 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

http://balajiusa.org/donations.html

http://www.balajiusa.org

http://balajiusa.org/TempleEtiquette.html

http://balajiusa.org/downloads/dwajasthambhamsthapanam.pdf





Issue 18 May 2014

“Yo nithyam achyutha padamboja yugma rukma vyamoha thaditara-

ni thrunayamene, asmath gurubyo Ramanujasya charanam shara-

nam prapadye” (I take shelter at the feet of my guru Ramanuja who

always considers anything that does not lead to the attachment to the

lotus feet of Achyutha, as a blade of grass.)

Sri Bhagavth Ramanuja Acharya’s 997th Jayanthi (appearance day)

falls on May 4, 2014. Ramanuja has rejuvenated and propagated the

prapatthi margam (the way of sharanagathi). Prapatthi as a means

of moksha has been laid out in the Vedas, Agamas, Puranas, and

Ithihasas. Lord Krishna has taught the Bhagavath Gita, which repre-

sents a distillation of various Upanishads. After defining various

means of salvation like Karma yoga, Sankya yoga, Bhakthi yoga

etc., Lord Krishna has revealed the Prapatthi yoga in the 18th chapter

of the Bhagavad Gita: “Sarva dharmaan parithyajya, maam ekam

sharanam vraja, Aham thwa sarva papebyo moksha icchyami

maasucha.” This means “Leaving all duties, take shelter in me alone,

I will grant you moksham, don’t worry.” However, after the kali

yugam started, people forgot about this easiest and surest means of

salvation. Taking a pity at us (the fallen souls), Lord Sriman Naraya-

na took the swayambhu (self-manifest) archa-avatharam as Lord Sri

Venkateswara in Tirumala. He points His right hand (Vaikunta

hastham) towards His divine feet and He points His left hand (kati

hastham) towards His waist. He instructs us that when we take shel-

ter (sharanagathi) at His lotus feet, the dreaded “ocean” of samsara

will become only waist deep such that we can easily transcend this

never ending cycle of birth and death. However, because our minds

are tainted by heaps of sin (paapam), we never take shelter at his

feet; Instead, we ask for temporary material pleasures. Seeing our

deplorable state, He sent twelve Alwars and had them compose/sing

four thousand pasurams (collectively called as Nalayar Divya Prab-

handam) which teach and demonstrate the path of prapatthi. These

pasurams (poems in Tamil) represent the essence of the four Vedas.

To further propagate the way of Prapatthi, Lord Sriman Narayana

sent Bhagavath Ramanuja (an incarnation of Adishesha, the divine

serpent on which the Lord reclines) to dispel the darkness. Ramanu-

ja appeared in the solar month of Chaitra under the star Arudra in

1017 (April 13, 1017 AD) and lived for 120 years. Ramanuja

reestablished the Visistadvaitha philosophy on a firm ground, propa-

gated the path of Prapatthi, and brought back the temple worship

using the agamas.

From time immemorial, there are three realities according to Vishis-

tadvaitha: (1) Iswara (God or Paramathma (super soul)); (2) Chith

(Jeevathma or the individual soul); and (3) Achith (prakruthi or

matter). Iswara (Paramathma) is the indweller and the controller of

the other two. Just like we wear the clothing, the jeevathma wears

the body. However, Iswara or Paramathma (Supreme Being) wears

the jeevathma (soul). Thus, there is a shareera-shareeri sambandam

(body-indweller relationship) between the God (Paramathma) and

Sri Bhagavath Ramanuja Acharya Jayanthi Dr. Narender P. Reddy

the individual soul (Jeevathma). The purpose of the individual soul is to

serve the Supreme Being. Vaishnavas adhere to the Vishistadvaitha and

the Vaishnava sanyasees always hold the thridandam (three sticks tied

together) signifying that there are three realities of Iswara, chith and

achith and that the latter two can’t exist without the former. On the

other hand, Shankaracharya developed the Advaitha (Non-dualistic)

philosophy to defeat the Buddhists.

In contrast to Vishistadvaitha, the Advaithees believe that there is no

supreme being, the whole universe (everything seen) is an illusion

(Maya), the athma (soul) is in a dream state and when it wakes out of the

dream, it realizes its true identity. Depending on the context, some por-

tions of the Vedas take the stand of bheda (dual) and certain section take

the abheda (non-dual). The advaithees accept only those portions of the

Vedas which talk about nonduality and deny any qualities of the soul.

Ramanuja revitalized the Vishistadvaitha philosophy and said that all

parts of the Vedas have to be accepted. Using the statements of the prin-

cipal Upanishads, Ramanuja defeated numerous advaithic scholars and

converted them into the Vaishnava fold. Ramanuja, drawing from Vedas

and Puranas, has established that Sriman Narayana is the Supreme Being

and that He has innumerable kalyana gunas (divine attributes) like infi-

nite daya (mercy), forgiveness, potency, etc. His consort Lakshmi (Sri

Devi) is an embodiment of compassion. Ramanuja re-established the

easiest path of prapatthi (taking sharanagathi or shelter) at the divine feet

of Sriman Narayana. However, Ramanuja and all the poorva acharyas

and Alwars have taught that this sharanagathi should be done by invok-

ing the purushakaram (recommendation) of mother Sri (Lakshmi) Devi

as she is an embodiment of compassion. Therefore, this sect of Vaishna-

vas is called Sri Vaishnavas.

Although Bhakti and Prapatthi may appear to be overlapping, the dis-

tinction of Prapatthi from Bhakti can be derived from the following ex-

amples: (1) Markata kishora Nyayam (Monkey and her infant) and (2)

Marjala kishora nyayam (cat and its kitten). The infant monkey clings to

the mother, firmly holding her, while the mother jumps from one tree to

the next. The infant has full independence as to however much it can

cling to the mother and it is the responsibility of the infant monkey and

not of the mother. If the infant fails to hold the mother firmly, it falls. On

the other hand, the cat holds its kitten by mouth and hides it in a safe

place. The kitten has no independence. The responsibility is not of the

kitten, but of the mother. Bhakti margam follows the markata-kishora

nyayam (monkey and its infant), and the Prapatthi margam follows the

marjala kishora nyayam (cat and its kitten). Prapatthi involves total

surrender to God, giving up our independence, and living up to the will

of God.

Ramanuja’s compassion and eagerness to save the mankind: The

formal procedure for sharanagathi is to have the pancha samskaram (five

sacraments/refinements) given by a Sri Vaishnava guru during which the





Issue 18 May 2014

guru whispers the astakshara manthram into the ear of the disciple.

The teacher (guru) used to examine the character and aptitude of the

student before giving the mantra. It is said that if the teacher gives

out the mantra to an unqualified individual, then the teacher would

go to hell. Ramanuja had to go to his guru 18 times, in a city more

than 120 miles away, before he was given the mantra. After receiv-

ing the mantra, Ramanuja was at a temple in Gostipuram where

thousands of devotees were waiting for a festival. Ramanuja climbed

the front gopuram (tower) of the temple and shouted out the

Astakshari mantra asking the devotees to repeat it. His guru was

furious at Ramanuja, but the unperturbed Ramanuja replied, “Sir, I

know that I will go the hell. I don’t mind going to the hell for the

spiritual upliftment of thousands of devotees”. The guru immediately

hugged Ramanuja. He received numerous titles including Udayavar.

Ramanuja Authored Nine Books establishing the Visitadvaitha

Philosophy: On a panguni uthiram day (appearance day of Lakshmi

from the ocean of milk) when Sri Ranganayaka and his consort were

seated together in Sri Rangam, Ramanuja instantly composed and

sang the Sharanagathi gadyam in which he seeks sharanagathi at the

feet of Sriman Narayana invoking the purushakaram of Sri Devi on

our behalf. In this gadyam, he seeks forgiveness and eradication of

all our sins (resulting from various kinds of misdeeds (nana vidha

apacharan). In addition to the Sharanagathi gadyam, he composed

the Vaikunta gadyam and Sri Ranga gadyam. Ramanuja authored

nine important books including Vedantha Sangraham, Sri Bhashyam,

Vedantha Deepam, Vedantha Saram, Sri Bagavad Githa Bhashyam,

and Nithya Grandham.

Ramanuja wrote his first book, the Vedantha Sangraham, in Tiruma-

la and dedicated it to Lord Sri Venkateswara Swami. In Vedan-

tha Sangraham, he wrote commentaries and detailed discussion of

the meaning of the Upanishads. He described his opponent’s

(advaithic) arguments and provided counter arguments with proof,

establishing the fact that there is only one Supreme God (Narayana)

and that the anya devathas (demi-gods) are His anga-bhuthas (act as

His organs).

He composed the Sri Bhashyam, a commentary on Brahma Suthras.

After dividing the Veda into four parts, Veda Vyasa baghavan has

written the Brahma sutras as the key to the study of Vedas. Ramanu-

ja went to Kashmir to get the earlier works (commentaries) of Boda-

yana. When Ramanuja finished his composition of his Bhasyam

supporting the Visistadvaitha philosophy, Goddess Saraswathi ap-

peared and kept it on her head and declared that this Bhashyam rep-

resents the true explanation of the meaning and it will be called as

Sri Bhashyam.

Ramanuja argued with and converted thousands of Jain scholars

into Hinduism. He converted a Jain king by the name of Betti Deva

Sri Bhagavath Ramanuja Acharya Jayanthi (Contd..) Dr. Narender P. Reddy

and gave him a new name of Vishnu Vardhana who later helped him to

spread the Sri Vaishnava Sampradayam.

Ramanuja was a social reformer, the fir st religious leader to intro-

duce the entry of the so-called untouchables into the temple. He did this

almost a thousand years ago in Tiru Narayana puram (Melkote in the

present Karnataka). Annamacharya who was in his disciplic succession,

more than five hundred years ago, promoted equality as evidenced by his

song “Brahmamokkate parabrhmamokkate…” Ramanuja gave the pan-

cha samskaram to people of all casts and both sexes. In Sri Vaishnava

sampradayam, the official pancha samskaram is given to any person of

any cast or creed, if he is qualified.

Ramanuja made significant contributions to the development of the

Tirumala Temple. He gave the shankam and chakram to Lord Sr i

Venkateswara as predicted in Sri Varaha puranam. He re-established the

procedure of performing pujas in Tirumala Temple using the Vaikanasa

Agamam. Ramanuja instructed that the devotees climbing the hill

should continuously chant the “Govinda” nama. While in Sri Rangam,

Ramanuja asked his disciples if one of them could stay in Tirumala to

build a permanent flower garden in Tirumala to facilitate offering of

fresh flowers to Venkatachalapathi every day. His disciple Ananthalwar

took the task of building beautiful gardens in Tirumala. The present

Alwar tank has been named after him. One day when he and his wife

were digging the tank, Lord Venkateswara disguised as a small boy

came and help his wife carry the dirt away. Ananthalwar got angry at

his wife for taking help from a small boy and threw some dirt at his wife.

A tiny piece of rock went and hit the boy in the chin. With blood flow-

ing, the boy ran away. That evening when Anathalwar went to perform

puja, Venkateswara was bleeding from the chin. Ananthalwar felt very

sorry for his mistake and immediately put some camphor to stop bleed-

ing. To this day, Lord Venkateswara wears a white mark (camphor) on

his chin to immortalize Anathalwar’s services.

There were no streets in the hilly Tirumala at that time. Brahmotsavam

used to be conducted iiruchanoor with only the dwajarohanam in

Tirumala. Ramanuja built the four mada streets around the temple in

Tirumala and moved the Brahmotsavam back to Tirumala. Ramanuja,

thus brought revitalization to the Temple. Devotees to Tirumala can

have a darshan of Ramanuja’s vigraham in the second prakaram of the

Temple. Even today, the pedda Jeeyar and china jeeyar of Tirumala

along with their disciples assist the Vaikanasa priests during the Tomala

Seva, archana, abhisekam etc. Ramanuja made numerous other improve-

ments. He established the Govinda Raja Swamy temple in Tirupati.

Ramanuja travelled to spread the Sri Vaishnavism (Prapatti mar-

gam) from the southern tip of India (Alwar Tirunagar i) through

Mathura, Vrindavan, to Kasmir and Badrinath in Indian Himalayas and

Muktinath in Nepal bringing various temples under the Pancharathra





Issue 18 May 2014

Knowing the Lord - The story of Srinivasa Kalyanam (Final Episode –17)

Re-publishing the story of Srinivasa Kalyanam from the TTD website in 17 installments.

At the palace entrance, Lord Srinivasa is received by Akasa Raja with full honors and taken in procession on an elephant to the palace for the marriage. In the presence of all the Devas, Lord Srinivasa weds Princess Padmavati, thus blessing Akasa Raja. …..The End.

Agama and establishing Ramanuja mutts all over. He appointed 74 Jeeyars to propagate the Vaishnava sampradayam. These Jeeyars are spread

throughout India including Ayodhya.

Importance of Prapatthi: Ramayana and Mahabharata illustrate the impor tance of prapatthi and kainkarya. In spite of creating the

Mahabharata war leading to the destruction of the Kauravas, when time came for Lord Krishna to leave the planet, he felt that he did not do

enough justice to the prapatthi (sharanagathi) made by Draupadi during the attempted disrobing in the court of Kauravas. Rama declared that

even if the enemy were to surrender, he would forgive and protect them. Ravana, who did not seek sharanagathi, was slain. On the other hand,

Kakasura (Indra’s son Jayantha disguised as the demon crow) during the vana-vasa time, in spite of committing a bigger blunder than Ravana,

was forgiven at the merciful recommendation of Sita as Kakasura came back in preparation of sharanagathi. Lakshmi devi is a personification of

the Lord’s compassion (daya) and is ever ready to plead God (Sriman Narayana) for forgiveness and protection, provided that we perform

prapatthi. Thus, prapatthi (sharanagathi) and compassion form the core of Sri Vaishnava philosophy.

Ananya sheshatvam, ananya dasyathvam, ananya bhogyathvam, and ananya gathithvam form the four pillars of Sri Vaishnava philosophy.

Ananya sharanathvam means not seeking shelter at anybody other than Sriman Narayana or his devotees. Ananya dasyathvam means being sub-

servient only to Sriman Narayana or his pure devotees. Ananya bhogyathvam means, I am for the enjoyment of Sriman Narayana only. Ideally.

every action (eating, worshiping, etc.) performed by a Sri Vaishnava, is for the pleasure of Sriman Narayana only. Ananya gathithvam means

having no other way other than Sriman Narayana. Ramanuja stressed that for a Sri Vaishnava, the means (upaya) and the end (upeya) are Sriman

Narayana.

Ramanuja’s 1000th birthday will be in 2017. On May 2nd of this year, His Holiness Sri Tridandi Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swamy will be inaugu-

rating a large scale project to constructing a memorial that will depict the life history of Bhagavath Ramanuja.

Sri Bhagavath Ramanuja Acharya Jayanthi (Contd..) Dr. Narender P. Reddy


SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

27

28 29 30 1 Hanuman Ashtotharam Puja 6:30 PM Hanuman Chalisa 7 PM

2 Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM

3 Hanuman Ashtotharam Puja 6:30 PM Hanuman Chalisa 7 PM

4

5 6

7

8 Hanuman Chalisa 6:30 PM


10 Venkateswara Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM

11

12

13

14 Purnima Sree Satyanarayana puja 7 PM



17 Sankatahara Chaturdhi ; Ganesha Sahasranama Archana ; Venkateswara Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM

18

19

20

21


23 Hanuman Jayanthi Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM

24 Sree Venkateswara Sahasrana-ma Archana 6:30 PM

25

26 27 28


30 Dwajasthamba and Vimana Samprokshanam 9:30 AM Lakshmi Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM

31 Dwajasthamba and Vimana Samprokshanam 9:30 AM Sree Venkateswara Sahasranama Archana 6:30 PM




Issue 18 May 2014

Om Sriman Narayana!

Content collated and edited for Sree Venkateswara Temple Of Cleveland By Sravanthi Vallampati

May 2014

Mark your calendars —KUMBHABHISHEKAM—May 30—Jun 1, 2014 !

Kids & Adults—Send in your contributions to [email protected] and get published!

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Article%20for%20consideration

sree venkateswara temple of cleveland - · pdf filedr. r. bandi mr. l. venkataraman ... devi)...

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