H i n d u T e m p l e a n d C o m m u n i t y C e n t e r O f M i d - M i s s o u r i 2 0 0 6 H o l l y A v e n u e , C o l u m b i a , M O 6 5 2 0 2 - 2 0 4 3

h t t p : / / s h a n t h i m a n d i r . m i s s o u r i . o r g ( 5 7 3 ) 8 1 4 - 1 2 8 6

Shanthi Sandesh

V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4 N O V 2 0 0 8

W e count down 2008 with a lot to be thankful for.

During the first three formative years of HTCC, we have come a long way in providing dependable service to our community. Our devotional, educational, service, outreach and youth programs have served Columbia community very well. The larger Columbia community too has come to rely on us as a dependable partner to enrich the quality of life in Columbia (including the City of Columbia, various faith and other social service organizations). We could not have done this without your timely support, encouragement

and volunteering. Thanks to our many benefactors and volunteers, HTCC is debt-free and on a sound financial footing. For sometime now it has also become clear that the scope and size of our activities has exceeded what Shanthi Mandir can currently accommodate. As we continue to grow the activities to better serve our community we need to proactively plan for a safer, more spacious Mandir. HTCC officers view support from families such as yours as integral to our success. We

appeal to you to open your hearts to fulfill this shared vision.

Continued on Page 3

Message from the Executive Board

Bhagawatha - H. R. Chandrasekhar

O ne day, sage Vyasa sat in his hermitage at Badari,

on the shores of the blessed river Saraswati, and pondered over the misery of men caught in the cycle of birth and death. The sacred texts could not save them from the snare of Maya; hence he composed the Mahabharata, the essence of the Vedas and the Puranas.

Yet he was restless and unhappy. As he looked up, he saw the sage Narada in the sky, bright as a thousand suns, wearing a garland of Tulasi and with the Lord on his mind. Vyasa offered Narada a seat and bowed to his feet. Narada spoke: “What comes from the great stories of men! What good is an epic that does not glorify the deeds of God? Listen and ponder. In the name of Dharma, you told a story of lust and earthly desires. The world adored it because of your words. Now you must heal them by the nectar of God.” Inspired by these words, Vyasa composed Bhagawatha and attained peace. Thus begins the great

Bhagawatha. the most famous

among Puranas. It contains the story of Krishna in fullness and glory. The 22 incarnations of Vishnu, lineage of ancient rulers of India, discussions on the creation and dissolution of the world are among the many breathtaking narratives of this epic. Profound philosophical discussions on par with the Bhagavad-Gita are found in the pages of this book. Ultimately this is the story of spiritual love, submission and supreme devotion. Composed originally in

Sanskrit, the Bhagawatha

remained out of reach of the common man until the fifteenth century, which saw a renaissance in many provincial languages. Poets Eknath and Potana brought it to life in the languages Marathi and Telugu languages, respectively. The language Kannada spoken in the state of Karnataka saw a resurgence under the patronage of the great empire of Vijayanagar. Using the then popular Bhamini style of poetry, scholars translated the great epics of Sanskrit. The Mahabharatha under the name of Karnata Bharatha Kathamanjari by Naranappa became immensely popular. The translation of the first ten Skandhas (chapters) of Bhagawatha Purana was undertaken by a poet with the pen name Nityatma Shukayogi in the sixteenth century. Several authors completed the work over the next century. Prior to the eighteenth

century, palm leaves were the prevalent medium for scribing religious texts in India. Several such manuscripts with

Continued on Page 2 Bhagawatha 1, 2

Interfaith Thanksgiving 4

HTCC Event Pictures 4

Bal Sandesh 5-6

My Name 5

Math Problem 5

Deepavali at the Mandir 6

Artwork 6

Shreemad Bhagavad Gita 7

Gujarati Samaj Navaratri 8

Congrats and Good Luck 8

Nava Durga 9

Siemens Competition 9

Inside This Issue

Please note that all donations to HTCC are tax-deductible. We welcome donations of any amount to our Capital Campaign. Donations of $5,000 or more allow us to recognize your family as a “trustee family” and allows one family representative to serve on the HTCC Board of Trustees.

P A G E 2 S H A N T H I S A N D E S H

elaborate writings and paintings have been found and are preserved in museums and libraries. There must have been a flourishing industry that engaged people in preparing the palm leaves. The unripe leaves were carefully chosen, and the right ones were cut to size and seasoned to make them insect-proof. An iron stylus was used to scribe the text and drawings when the leaf was still green. Some sort of indigenous ink, which is a precursor to the India ink, was prepared by a mixture of various herbs in the form of a paste. This paste was smeared on the leaf and wiped off which left the inscribed sections dark. As the leaf dried the writing was etched in as a semi permanent stain. The rugged medium was very robust. Under proper care, it could last for many centuries. Such a hand written palm leaf manuscript by Ramannaiah, one of my forefathers in 1755 CE, is still preserved in a remarkably good shape. It is legible to the naked eye. Thanks to the

immaculate handwriting of the scribe(s), it is easy to read once the script is decoded and translated into the modern version. But for an unedited compilation of poems

from different palm leaf manuscripts published in 1911 CE, a complete printed version of the Bhagawatha was unavailable to the Kannada public. Nearly half a century ago, Professor Venkataramappa from the Mysore University began a scholarly endeavor using three manuscripts that came to his possession. He published the first four and the tenth chapters. After his death, the work remained incomplete and lost to the public until I brought forth a complete edited version in two volumes in 2007. My book was completed after fifteen years of work and help from great many scholars and

friends. The reader may be curious to know how a Physics professor in the United States happened to embark on such a project. Often I wonder and marvel at the curious circumstances that made it possible for me. During my childhood years I

was unaware that a palm leaf manuscript by one of my forefathers ever existed. I spent my early childhood at a small village called Holalkere in the province of Karnataka. We lived in our ancestral house. Little did I know that this house was a home to many generations of my ancestors. Many births, deaths and weddings took place under its roof. Above all, a mammoth manuscript of the Bhagawatha Purana was scribed on more than two hundred palm leaves by one of my forefathers. After completion, a stack of leaves with intricate writing on both sides, was passed on from one generation to the next. The oldest male in the family preserved it with the family heirloom, worshipped it on holy days and read from it to his family and close friends on special occasions. With time, the leaves dried and became fragile. The book was harder to read, and even harder to comprehend. It became an object of reverence and served as an oracle. As more and more members of the family moved out of the village, as I did, the existence of the book was forgotten with successive generations. I became aware of the

manuscript in 1990 but no one knew who among my relatives had it, if it was still in existence. After two years of searching, my brother Ramakrishna Rao finally located it and it came into my possession sometime in 1992. I was impressed by how fragile it was and marveled at how it had managed to survive more than two centuries and many different homes. I took it upon myself as a sacred duty to transcribe, translate and edit the book. Reading from the original was a sure recipe to destroy it. I decided to microfilm it and store it away in a controlled environment. Transcriptions contained in Karnataka Bhagawatha (volumes I and II) were done from the microfilm over a period of a decade. It was no mean task to

decipher the mammoth epic, composed in 11,682 poems on 232 palm leaves. Each leaf had the odd dimension of twenty-six inches of length and a width of two and a quarter inches. It took me several thousand hours to transcribe the material into nine hundred pages of the two volumes. I am grateful to my family for their patience and support during this long endeavor. I wonder how long it took for Shri Ramannaiah to etch this epic on palm leaves. I longed to know more about the man who took on this task, his motives and beliefs, his likes and dislikes, his family and village. But for a short recitation of his family line at the beginning and end of the book, Ramannaiah wasted no time answering my questions. All that mattered to him was to pass on this epic for future generations for their enlightenment. He sought neither fame, nor money. I hope the reader will

appreciate the significance of this work beyond its contents, namely how ancient works were preserved and propagated in India, and their historic and cultural value. Some of the popular tales narrated in the Bhagawatha, which also appear in other Puranas and the Mahabharata, have been included in my book “Tales from Indian Epics” (ISBN 0-9711223-0-X) published in 2001. This book contains adaptations from stories such as Shakuntala, Urvashi, Devayani, Madalasa, Jadabharata, Sukanya, Markandeya, Harischandra and some of the incarnations of Vishnu. Being a Vaishnava treatise with deep religious significance, Bhagawatha has a different take on these stories compared to other sources such as the works of Kalidasa. The reader is encouraged to observe the subtle differences in the renderings in various sources. I hope that this effort to transfer

an epic composed five centuries ago, and passed on via palm leaf manuscripts, into printed media will be appreciated by future generations. I expect this work to be preserved in the future in electronic media as exotic as the palm leaves were in their time☯

Bhagawatha Continued from Page 1

Ego lives by getting and forgetting; Love lives by giving and forgiving; Satya Sai Baba

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4

On a related front, we are grateful to three new families that have joined us as trustee families in 2008 with generous donations to HTCC’s Capital Campaign. We warmly welcome Sanjiv and Punam Sethi, Ravi and Mona Puri and Om and Toshi Sehgal. One member from each of these families will serve on the HTCC Board of Trustees. There is yet more than a month to the year’s end and the prospects look bright that several additional families will join us before then. As we stand at the crossroads of the next

phase in our growth, the Mandir needs your continued and unstinted support. Given that we are a 100% volunteer-run operation, and that we generate our operational expense from other regular revenues, all donations to our Capital Campaign will be exclusively available for capital expenditures. With this issue, Shanthi Sandesh

completes three wonderful years of service to the community. Credits go to many individuals involved with its publication, in particular, the valuable leadership provided by Gagneesh Rawat and B.S. Balaji. Hema Srinivasan and her team of youth editors are also thanked for engaging our youth in writing for and assembling the Bal Sandesh section of the newsletter during this time. With the increased awareness of HTCC drummed up during the first three years for our services and programs, Shanthi Sandesh now eases into a somewhat different role. This change in role allows us to pare down the newsletter to a more modest 12-page format. We will revisit this format issue as our future needs dictate. The lead article in this issue provides a glimpse into Bhagawatha and the yeoman effort by Prof. H. R. Chandrasekhar to transcribe from palm leaf text, translate and edit an ancestral version of this famous Purana (Puranas are part of a collection of texts classified as 'Smriti', or the “recorded” Hindu scriptures. The other class of Hindu scripture is called “Shruti” or works “revealed” to the sages). This issue of Shanthi Sandesh also includes the third in the series of articles on the Bhagavad Gita by Saroj Mohanji and the timely Navaratri article about Nava Durga by Ritcha Mehra Chaudhary. On the devotional front, following very

successful celebrations for Janmashtami, HTCC Youth Day and Ganesh Chaturthi in August and early September, this quarter too has seen it’s share of festivals. As has become the tradition, Shri Satish Bhagawat of Chicago, officiated at the Devi Puja this year. The Mandir was open all nine evenings during the Navaratri season to celebrate Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and

Saraswati. The nine-day festivities culminated with Dussehra/Vijaya Dashmi Puja which was held in conjunction with the regular Bal Puja gathering. The Devi Puja at the Mandir was complemented by Navaratri celebrations organized by the Mid-Missouri Gujarati Samaj which included folk dances of Gujarat — the Garba and the Dandia-Raas. A short article by Dr. Naresh Khengar on the Gujarati Samaj celebration appears on Page 8 of this issue. The Karva Chauth celebration observed by married women for ensuring wedded bliss and long and happy lives for their husbands and families is fast gaining interest at the Shanthi Mandir. This year the traditional Thali Puja had to be organized in three back-to-back groups to accommodate the numbers of participants and to flexibly suit everyone’s work schedule. Last month we were fortunate to have Mrs. Vinod Chopra (Inder’s sister) visit us from India and give a well-attended discourse on the Bhagavad Gita. She shared her views on “Arjun Vishaad Yoga.” The focus of the discourse was on the disillusionment of Arjun on the battlefield and the message of harmony and love delivered to him by Lord Krishna, his charioteer. Deepavali Puja in early November was a treat for kids who got to play with sparklers following a short devotional program. On our schedule for the current quarter

are several devotional events including the Guru Nanak Jayanthi, the Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja and the New Year’s Puja. Other community events of interest are also noted in the Community Calendar on Page 11. The Gurpurab (typically a festival celebrating anniversary of the Sikh Gurus) event to celebrate the anniversary of the founding leader of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev will be officiated by Giani Bachetor Singh from Kansas City. This year the Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja will be officiated by Shri Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe. Puja sponsorship dues have been made very nominal this year to allow broader participation. Those who have not performed Satyanarayana Puja at the Mandir during the previous years will be given preference. Details about registering to perform the puja and associated contact information are included on Page 8. A special bhajan is planned for the New Year’s day on Thursday, January 1, 2009. It will be preceded by half an hour of meditation. Details will be posted on our web site when it becomes available (around mid December). Thanksgiving is around the corner! Like

the last couple of years, HTCC is taking an active role in helping organize the interfaith thanksgiving celebration. Gagneesh Rawat represents HTCC in the Interfaith Council planning meetings this year and has been

busy putting together our contribution to the evening’s festivities with help from kids and other members of the community. The event scheduled for 6:00 - 8:00 pm on Tuesday, November 25 is to be held this year at the Mark Twain Ballroom of MU’s Memorial Union. Our contribution includes a brief introduction by Prof. Chandrasekhar, a thanksgiving dance by Nila Palaniappan and Suryanshi Rawat, and devotional song(s) by Shuba Ratneshwar along with her students Nila Palaniappan, Aarti Nagarkar, and Urmila and Sidharth Kutikkad. Please join us in celebrating thanksgiving together with the other faith communities in Columbia. Our Cultural Programs committee is

organizing a Hindustani classical music concert aptly called Dhwani on November 30th to round-off the Thanksgiving break. Shri. Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe’s vocal talent will be complemented by the tabla accompaniment of Shri. Nilotpal Sanyal for the free concert open to the public. We hope you and your friends and family will be able to take-in this wonderful evening of entertainment. On the service front, HTCC Helping

Hands has been actively engaged in regularly helping out the Central Missouri Food Bank (CFMB) in repackaging food and in being a “regular” at the annual Clean Up Columbia event. Our Anna Daan project also has been an ongoing project to collect non-perishable food for the CFMB. The Sai Bhajan Group has experienced growth in regular participation for the Narayan Seva project where the group prepares and serves a complete meal on the second Sunday of each month. Bal Sabha as a member of the City’s Adopt-a-Spot program has also been active in keeping the Ridgeway Elementary School and its surroundings spotless. Earlier this quarter, HTCC participated in the CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk for the first time. 25% of the funds raised from the Columbia walk are used to support Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen and the Russell Chapel Food Pantry locally. The rest of the funds support global hunger education, refugee support, disaster relief and self-help projects in more than 80 countries. The highlight of HTCC participation was our strong youth delegation comprising 8 members led by Prerna Srinivasan. Since the walk coincided with her birthday, Prerna very generously contributed all her gifts (she preferred monetary donations) to CROP Walk. She raised $355 for the CROP Walk. The Columbia event raised over $17,000 to aid in anti-poverty projects.

The HTCC Executive Committee, responsible for the day-to-day operations

From the Executive Board Continued from Page 1

Continued on Page 4

P A G E 4 S H A N T H I S A N D E S H

T he 2008 Columbia Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration

will be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 6:00 PM in the Mark Twain Ballroom of the MU Memorial Union, North 201/202. Elevators and parking are available. The event is sponsored by the Columbia Interfaith Council to promote understanding and fellowship among faith communities. This year’s theme is embracing our commonalities and dignifying

our diversity in a welcoming Columbia community. Members representing six of the world’s religions will make ten-minute presentations in dance, song, poetry, and story-telling

reflecting their religious traditions of thankfulness. Refreshments will be served. There will be a musical prelude beginning 15 minutes before the start of the celebration. The event is free and all are welcome. A monetary donation will be appreciated to support the Interfaith Day Center and local food pantries. For further information, please call 445-6188☯

Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration 2008 HTCC program for the Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration:

• Satkaar - A Hindu Perspective on Thanksgiving -

H. R. Chandrasekhar • Deepanjali Dance -

Suryanshi Rawat and Nila Palaniappan

• Daya Mai Song - Shuba Ratneshwar, Nila Palaniappan, Urmila Kutikkad, Sidharth Kutikkad and Aarti Nagarkar

Pictures clockwise: Ganesh idol made by Nila Palaniappan, HTCC Youth celebrating Ganesh immersion, Human pyramid during Janmashtami, Adopt-a-spot fall cleanup at Ridgeway Elementary, Math tutor Ashok Cutkosky being honored during HTCC Youth Day picnic.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Anonymous

From the Executive Board Continued from Page 3

of HTCC (comprising the 4-member elected Executive Board and the appointed Chairs of the 15 Standing Committees) met in October to review ongoing and future programs and services. The ExCom formed an ad-hoc committee chaired by Arun Jain to make recommendations to the Executive Board (EB) about the upcoming HTCC Anniversary celebrations. These recommendations will be forwarded by the EB to the HTCC Board of Trustees (BoT) for follow-up action. The ExCom also has requested Dr. Ranadhir Mitra, President of the BoT to

call a meeting of the BoT before the end of the year to follow-up on progress with the two BoT Committees (One chaired by Dr. Sudarshan Loyalka on evaluating various long-term options and one chaired by Dr. Mitra to make suggestions for changes to the HTCC Constitution and By Laws). The Constitutional revisions need to be in place well before the next HTCC elections, which are mandated by March 31, 2009.

As we ring in 2009, please remember to renew your membership. Please also consider upgrading your annual membership to lifetime membership. The lifetime dues provide the HTCC with a strong

ownership base and steady stream of revenue for delivering quality devotional, education, service and youth programs. We are proud that more than 2/3rd of our members are lifetime members. We also look forward to grow our annual membership by bringing in students, post-docs, residents, fellows and others new families in town. Please help our Membership Committee, chaired by Prof. Dabir Viswanath in this on-going effort to expand our membership base. See you at the Mandir!☯

Vellore S. Gopalaratnam Inder Khurana Visala Palaniappan Anuradha Rajagopalan

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4

In this issue we have articles on “My Name” and “Deepavali at Shanthi Mandir”. We also have an art work submission and the solution to last issue’s math problem. Congratulations to all the Bal Sabha kids who participated in India Nite. They really did a great job. Please continue to send articles, poems and drawings to Bal Sandesh☯

Newsletter of Bal Sabha of Columbia, MO November 2008

EDITOR’S NOTE President

Ravi Thawani

Vice President Currently vacant

Secretary/Treasurer Manjula Narasimhan

Cultural Secretary Anjna Sethi

Bal Sandesh Coordinator Hema Srinivasan

Bal Sabha Officers

I have always liked my name, and would-n’t want to change it. Suryanshi is a

unique name that stands out. My name feels bright yellow like the sun. It’s like the number twelve (12), one of my luckiest numbers.

Suryanshi is a hard name. Many people pronounce and spell my name incorrectly, but I don’t mind. My name means “part of

the sun”, a bright and happy meaning. My name is like a yellow flower in a meadow of blue just like the sun is in the blue sky. The number 12 is one of my luckiest numbers because I was born on the 12th day of the 12th month. There is another reason why 12 is my lucky number and it has to do with my name. There’s a cool way to find it – look at my name in the mirror and only pick

the first and last letter from it and you get number 12 as shown:

I’m glad my name is Suryanshi, a unique

name that fits me. I’m happy my parents chose this name. Suryanshi suits me well and I just love it☯

My Name Suryanshi Rawat, Gentry Middle School

Colorful Bal Sabha youth sing the national anthems of India and the US to start-off India Nite 2008

A nswer to the Pirate Problem in the last issue: The captain will receive 97 gold

coins! Solution: The way to work this problem is to start from the end and work towards the beginning. Let us number the pirates 1-5, with 1 being the captain and 5 being the lowest ranked pirate Suppose that only two pirates remain (pirates 4 and 5). Then pirate 4 must propose a deal. However, since a deal needs at least a majority to pass, pirate 5 knows that no matter what deal is proposed, by voting against it, the deal will fail and pirate 4 will walk the plank, leaving all the gold to pirate 5. Thus, pirate 5 will vote against any deal

(since he would rather see pirate 4 dead anyway). Now suppose there are three pirates left (3, 4 and 5). Then pirate 3 must propose a deal. Pirate 4 knows that if this deal doesn’t pass, we will be in the previous situation and he will die. Thus, in order to save his life, pirate 4 will vote for any deal proposed by pirate 3. Therefore, pirate 3 can give himself all the gold and still get a majority vote (himself and pirate 4). Consider the case of 4 pirates. Pirate 2 must propose the deal. Pirate 2 needs two other votes to get a majority. Since pirate 3 gets all the gold if pirate 2’s deal doesn’t pass, pirate 3 will vote against any deal (since he’d just as well see pirate 2 die). Thus, pirate 2 must procure the votes of pirates 4 and 5. Since

each of these get nothing if pirate 2’s deal fails, pirate 2 only needs to give each of them 1 gold coin in order to get their vote. Thus, pirate 2 gets 98 coins, pirate 3 gets 0 coins, and pirates 4 and 5 each get 1 coin. Now we can consider the case of 5 pirates. Pirate 1 also needs 2 other votes to get a majority. Since pirate 2 will get 98 gold coins if this deal fails, it would be too expensive to buy his vote (99 coins needed). However, pirate 3 gets nothing if this deal fails, so his vote can be bought for 1 coin. Since each of pirates 4 and 5 will get 1 coin if this deal fails, giving one of them 2 coins will buy his vote. Thus, pirate’s deal is: 97 coins to pirate 1, 0 coins to pirate 2, 1 coin to pirate 3, either 2 coins to pirate 4 and 0 to pirate 5, or 0 to pirate 4 and 2 to pirate 5☯

Math Problem

P A G E 6 S H A N T H I S A N D E S H

Editorial Staff Phone E-Mail Ashok Cutkosky 445-2854 asho44124k@yahoo.com Maya Cutkosky 445-2854 Chaitasi Naik chaitasinaik@hotmail.com Anchal Sethi 514-0486 danzingdivas@yahoo.com Adithi Vellore 446-0063 vsadithi@aol.com Parent Advisor Hema Srinivasan 445-2854 srinivasanh@missouri.edu

Bal Sandesh needs you! We welcome submissions of all types (reports, poetry, short stories, artwork, puzzles, jokes etc.). Work can be submitted to the Editors or the Parent Advisor. We prefer electronic version of the submission (e-mail or diskette). Artwork can be submitted on paper. Older kids interested in volunteering to serve on the editorial team should contact the Editorial Staff or the Parent Advisor.

Bal Sabha meets every fourth Sunday of the month from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. at Shanthi Mandir

O n November 2,2008, we celebrated Deepavali , the

Festival of Lights, at Shanthi Mandir. We started off by singing prayers in praise of Goddess Lakshmi . After the prayers, the adults cleared the parking lot for setting off fireworks. When the sparklers were lit, the air was filled with smoke. Children were distributed sparklers,

caps and snake tablets. The kids had a lot of fun with the sparklers and caps under the watchful eyes of parents and other adults. After the fireworks , we had Prasad . When the people started to

leave, me and my dad handed out sparklers for the kids to take home. Every one enjoyed Deepavali at Shanthi Mandir☯

Deepavali at Shanthi Mandir Naimish Balaji, Paxton Keeley Elementary

Artwork Nila Palaniappan

Fairview Elementary

2008 HTCC Youth Day, Bal Sabha/Bal Puja Picnic

“The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as you're learning you're not old.”

The power of God is with you at all times; through the activities of mind, senses, breathing, and emotions; and is constantly doing all the work using you as a mere instrument. Bhagavad Gita

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4

Shreemad Bhagavad Gita - Part 3 - Saroj Mohan

T he Immortality of Atma or soul. The 20th verse (of Chapter 2 of the

Bhagavad Gita) onwards deals with the immortality and eternity of the Atma. Shri Krishna says, “At any point in time the Atma is neither born nor does it die. It is beyond time, as we know time. Atma transcends life and death, thus It cannot be killed. Destruction of the body does not cause the death of the Atma. It is never born nor does It die. The next famous verse is exemplified

beautifully. Shri Krishna declares, "Just as a man removes and discards his old clothes and wears new clothes, similarly the Jeevaatma leaves his old and sick body and takes a new body. Arms cannot pierce or hurt and fire cannot burn the Atma. Water cannot wet or dissolve It. Air cannot dry It; such is the Atma. It is said to be all pervasive, immutable, endless and eternal. It is beyond thought and thinking, beyond words, without change and intransient so knowing the Atma as such O! Arjuna, how can you grieve over the death of bodies? It is foolish to be upset over the perishable." The immortality of the Atma is

repeatedly expressed by Guru to student. The difference of the transient and the eternal is emphasized eloquently. Once this fact is clearly understood, it becomes easier to move towards Reality. So it is imperative to know the attributes of Atma. In fact these are only pointers to the great grand Reality. The Self is a subjective experience. In the 26th verse, Shri Krishna continues,"

O! Mahaabaho, (the one with very strong arms) if you think and know that this Atma is born and dies, then it is not suitable for you to suffer and grieve over it. If you know it to be transient then it is utterly foolish to mourn over it. Because whoever is born, he will die and dead ones are born again. The cycle of life and death applies to this transient world, so knowing this, how can you grieve? It is not appropriate for you to mourn for this loss.” Shri Krishna says," O! Arjuna, All the

living things, Jeevas are invisible before being born, and after death they become invisible again. Only in the transition are they are visible; so knowing this, where is the need to feel sorrow? Some wise ones look at Atma or soul with wonder, some observe It in wonder. Some others try to express It in wonder, some of them listen and understand It in total wonder and

others even after listening to It do not understand It. Rarely will a wise one understand It. This Atma in all bodies is indestructible. It is not suitable and correct for you to grieve over all the living beings and creation. Besides that, you being a Khashtriya or warrior, it is your duty or Swadharma to fight a war. A royal warrior like you must do your duty and fight a righteous war or Dharma Yudha. There is no other right thing for you to do. This open door to Swarga or heaven is available only to lucky warriors like you. So looking at it as your duty or Swadharma, it is not correct for you to be afraid. There is no other proper and beneficial duty for a Khashtriya warrior like you. It is an imperative duty for you to fight this war. Warriors like you do not run away from the open door of Swarga when they have done

their duties rightly. And if you do not perform your proper Dharma it will be a sin on your part. You will lose fame, and accumulate sin. People will talk about this disgrace and there is nothing worse than disgrace for a famous and respectable warrior like you. The mighty fellow warriors, who look up to you and revere you, will think that you were afraid and ran away from the battle field. Your enemies will endlessly say unspeakable words about you and what can be more painful than that for you? For a warrior like you, disgrace is worse than death. And those who respected you will laugh at you, thinking that you ran away from the battle field." So far Shri Krishna describes all the

wrong things that can happen when one is not doing one’s Swadharma according to the inherent nature and as assigned duties in society. Now Shri Krishna again counsels

Arjuna," By fighting this war and winning it,

you will get the kingdom of the earth and enjoy it or if you lose it, you will go to heaven, so be determined, O! son of Kunti, Get up and fight the war." In next verse, Shri Krishna talks about the

importance Equanimity in Duality. In all conditions of life, situations and upheavals whether emotional or mental, developing equanimity is very important. Shri Krishna says," In victory and defeat,

gain and loss, happiness and sorrow keeping your equanimity, you should fight this war and thereby you will be free from the sin of not fighting this war. Fighting this war is your Swadharma right now; not doing it will be Adharma or sin for you. So far I have explained Saankhya yoga to you. This is Gyan yoga or intellectual understanding. This is Saankhya budhi. Now I will describe about performing your

duties without attachment or without the desire for the fruits of your actions, which is called Karma yoga. When the above-mentioned Gyan (knowledge) is well understood, then you will execute your duties perfectly. Blessed with this Saankhya budhi and when you do your duties rightly, you will be free from the Karma Bandhan or ties of Karma." Any work done with ego, selfish desire and doer-ship keeps a person tied to this world. To be free from egoistic doer-ship, and attachment, fulfilling one’s duties is the art of living. This is the aim of the Gita. Shri Krishna continues with the importance of Karma Yoga and says," O! Kurunandan, in Karma

yoga, there is no fear of performing self gratifying act or having a selfish motive; the fruits of the actions are also not lost because it is done without ego. This Karma yoga is the great Dharma which leads to the freedom from the cycle of birth and death. The intellect of a Karma yogi is unattached with selfish desires. He is with the divine or established in the Self. This one pointed intellect is called Vyavasayitkatmika budhi, in which the actor or doer is only an instrument of the action, without ego. On the other hand, the actions of an egoistic man, full of desires for self gratification are not Karma yoga — his intellect is restless, multi-directional and scattered. This is called Avyayasmitkabudhi. It cannot be called Karma yoga. It is full of duality and its endless fatalities.'' The following verses 42 to 44 describe

such Sakaam or the actions of an egoistic person with full of selfish desires☯

P A G E 8 S H A N T H I S A N D E S H

T he Mid-Missouri region has experienced very significant

growth of the Indian Community over the past few years. There is a strong, ever-growing desire to get together and socialize, to strengthen our social and cultural heritage, celebrating cultural events and festivals, dancing to the tunes of traditional and folk music with a lot of vim and vigor.

The Navaratri Celebration in Columbia, Missouri, is part of such a social gathering and a

festival that epitomizes the religious, cultural and social aspirations of the Indian Community all over the world. The Navaratri Celebration is

organized and sponsored by the Mid Missouri Gujarati Samaj for the last few years, and is free and open to all. The festivity has a fascinating and colorful dimension, highlighted by extremely vibrant rhythmic folk music to accompany the traditional folk dance of Garba. This is followed by the very popular Dandia-Raas (stick dance) performed by men and women adorning traditional

attire (dhoti-kurta for men and chania-choli (mirror-work, skirts and blouses) for women). Dandia-Raas is a dance performed with graceful and synchronized steps using sticks called “dandias”. The Navaratri festival is

dedicated to the Mother Goddess “Durga” or “Amba” or “Shakti”. She occupies a special place in the Hindu pantheon. She represents cosmic energy that animates all being and responsible for the creation of the world according to the Puranas and Vedas (ancient Hindu Scriptures)☯

Gujarati Samaj Navaratri Celebration Narendra Khengar

Pencil-in your calendars for the Fourth Annual Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja 5:00 - 9:00 p.m., Saturday, December 13, 2008 at Shanthi Mandir Puja to be led by Shri Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe Puja sponsorship dues made nominal this year to allow broader participation. Those who have not performed Satyanarayana Puja at the Mandir during the previous years will be given priority. Additional donations to HTCC welcome.

We can accommodate 25 sponsoring families for the puja on a first-come-first-served basis. Please make reservations by sending a check for $5 favoring HTCC to Kusum Malhotra. She can be reached at <kusum65203@yahoo.com> and 445-1867. Puja will be followed by Prasad/Pot-luck dinner. Please contact Anantha Gopalaratnam <ananthag@aol.com> or 446-0663 for helping out with the pot-luck dinner

More details will be posted on our web site a week before the puja

C ongratulations to seniors Adithi Vellore, Ashok

Cutkosky and Sangita Sharma on making the cut as National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists. National Merit Scholars awardees are selected through a multi-stage process. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) during their junior year – a test which serves as an initial screening of approximately 1.5 million entrants

each year. In early September of their senior year, about 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers in PSAT, are notified that they have qualified as Semifinalists. Semifinalists are required to fill out a National Merit Scholarship Application comprising questions about academic and other qualifications and short essays. In addition they are to submit their SAT scores. The following February, some 15,000 Semifinalists are notified that they have advanced to Finalist standing. Beginning in March and

continuing to mid-June, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation notifies approximately 8,200 Finalists that they have been selected to receive a Merit Scholarship award. Merit Scholarship awards are of three types: National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. Our very best of luck to Adithi, Ashok and Sangita as they move forward in the competition☯

National Merit

Scholarship Corporation

Maakhan Chor performed during Janmashtami at Shanthi Mandir

Congrats and Good Luck!Congrats and Good Luck!

P A G E 9 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4

Nava Durga “The Nine Manifestations of the Mother Goddess”

Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary

A ccording to “Devi Mahatmya” from

“Markandeya Purana” there are nine manifestations of Goddess “Durga” known as “Nava Durga”. Each of the Nava Durgas has a different form, a special significance and is worshipped on a different day of the autumn Navaratri. Worshipped on the first day of

Navaratri is “Shailaputri (daughter of the mountains). She rides on Nandi, the bull, has two-arms carrying a trident and a lotus. Also known as Sati, Bhavani, Parvati or Hemavati, she is the embodiment of the powers of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. “Brahmacharini” or

“Tapacharini” (one who practices devout austerity) is worshipped on the second day of Navaratri . She has two arms holding rosary and kamandal (a container for water). She endows happiness, peace, prosperity and grace upon all. ‘Chandraghanta’, worshipped

on the third day of Navaratri, has a ‘chandra’ or half moon on her forehead in the shape of a bell. She is 10-armed, each carrying a different weapon and rides a tiger. She is the embodiment of bravery and possesses great strength. She protects her devotees from all kinds of dangers. “Kushmanda” is worshipped

on the fourth day of Navaratri. The meaning of the name ‘Ku-shm-anda’ is: ‘Ku’ = a little; ‘ushma’ = ‘warmth’; ‘anda’ = ‘the cosmic egg’. She is eight-armed and rides on a tiger. She is believed to reside in the innermost core of Sun. She is the creator of the universe and she is the aadi shakti. “Skanda Mata” - the mother of

Skanda is worshipped on the fifth day of Navaratri. In this form Durga is four-armed and rides a lion. She carries a lotus,

kamandal and bell and the fourth hand is in the blessing posture. The sixth form of Durga,

known as ‘Kaatyayani’ is worshipped on the sixth day of Navaratri. According to the legend she was born as a daughter to Sage Katya. In this form Durga is four-armed and carries a sword, shield and lotus. The fourth hand is depicted as giving blessings. She rides a lion. The form of Durga worshipped

on the seventh day of Navaratri is “Kaalaraatri” or the “Bhayankari” (of fearful aspect) Durga. She is dark like night, has three shining eyes, unbound hair and a necklace of flashing lightning. She rides a donkey and flames emanate from her breath. She is four-armed and carries a sword, a trident and a noose. With the fourth hand she blesses. Her worship assures her devotees freedom from fear and troubles. So she is also known as ‘Shubhamkari’ – one who does good. On the eighth day "Maha

Gauri” (meaning extremely white) is worshipped. She wears white clothes and rides on a white Rishabha bull. She symbolizes Purity and worshipping her washes away all the sins of past, present and future. “Siddhidatri” is worshipped on

the ninth day of Navaratri. In this form, Durga is seated on a lotus and has four arms. She holds a lotus, a mace, a discus and a book. She is the giver of eight Siddhis or supernatural powers. She is the remover of ignorance and provides knowledge. The worship of Nava Durgas,

lifts the divine spirit and bestows happiness, wealth, prosperity and knowledge☯

1. Shailaputri

4. Kushamanda

7. Kaalratri

2. Brahamacharini

5. Skandamaata

8. MahaaGauri

3. Chandraghanta

6. Kaatyayani

9. Siddhidaatri

A shok Cutkosy heads to New York next month to compete in the final round of

the prestigious Siemens Math, Science and Technology competition. He qualified for the national contest by winning the regional competition earlier this month at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Ashok’s project in math is titled "Associated Primes of the Square of the Alexander Dual of Hypergraphs”. Professor Christopher Francisco of the Oklahoma State University served as his academic mentor for the project.

Ashok will present his project in hopes of winning as much as $100,000 in scholarship prizes at the finals Dec. 5-8 in New York City.

Ashok, many of you will recall, has been conducting the very popular HTCC Math Workshop for several summers now. His workshop predates the Mandir. He also serves as the Bal Sandesh Editor. We are all rooting for you Ashok! Good Luck at the Siemens Nationals!☯

Siemens Math, Science and Technology Competition

Askok Cutkosky goes to the Nationals!

P A G E 1 0 S H A N T H I S A N D E S H

HTCC Statement of Accounts and Quarterly Fiscal Report For the period July 1, 2008 - September 30, 2008

Prepared by Visala Palaniappan, Treasurer, October 31, 2008

Balance Forward (July 1, 2008)

$169,834.46

Quarterly Revenues

Interest Income Interest income

$1,628.17

$1,628.17

Membership: Annual Individual Member (AIM) 1 @ $30

$30.00

$30.00

Donations: Capital Campaign Check Donations Hundi Donations/Prayer Services

$5,000.00 $1,511.00 $1,179.92

$7,690.92

Facilities Use Donations: Mandir and Educational Center use donations

$702.50

$702.50

Other Revenues Special Events (Summer Workshops)

$427.00

$427.00

Total Quarterly Revenues

$10,478.59

Quarterly Expenses

Insurance $560.00 Lawn/Garden $94.55 Maintenance and Supplies $677.12 Printing and Mailing $274.40 Special Events $84.95 Upgrade and Repairs $8.394.66 Utilities $1,007.39 Total Quarterly Expenses

$11,093.07 Net Income for the Quarter

-$614.48 Ending Balance* (Sept. 30, 2008)

$169,219.98

*$47,760.17 in FNB Money Market, $60,000 in FNB CD, $60,000 in Premier Bank CD, and $1,459.81 in BCNB Checking Accounts

$24- Agrawal, Ganesh and Nitu

$25 - $99 Mangunta, Lakshmi Ramesh, Krishna

$100 - $249 Anand, Satish and Sushma Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha

Loyalka, Sudarshan and Nirja

$1,000 - $1,999 Palaniappan, Kannappan and Visala

$5,000+ Sehgal, Om and Toshi

Welcome New Trustee

Family! Please welcome our new trustee family. Thank you for supporting our shared vision! Om and Toshi Sehgal

Thank You! Donor Acknowledgement, July 1- September 30, 2008

We gratefully acknowledge the following donations made during the third quarter of 2008. If we have inadvertently made an error in not including your name, please let us know. We will correct the error at the earliest available opportunity with our apologies.

Photos from recent festivals at the Shanthi Mandir: Devotional singing during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at the Mandir (left) and Aarti during Devi Puja (right)

P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4

Nov. 22 Gurpurab/Guru Nanak Jayanthi Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Gurpurab celebrates the birthday of the founder of the Sikh

religion, Guru Nanak Dev. Celebration will include special Kirtan. It will be followed by Prasad and Langar (community pot-luck lunch). Further information: Kuljeet Singh 442-4471, Chandra Rawlani 446-5960, or Kusum Malhotra 445-1867

Nov. 25 Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration 2008 Tuesday, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Mark Twain Ballroom, MU Memorial Union This annual interfaith thanksgiving celebration organized

by the Columbia Interfaith Council will be celebrated this year at the Mark Twain Ballroom in the MU Memorial Union. HTCC’s contribution is being coordinated by Gagneesh Rawat. Further information: Gagneesh Rawat 449-9601

Nov 30 Dhwani - HTCC Fall Concert Sunday, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. The Hindustani classical music concert presents vocal

performance by Shri Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe. The concert is free and open to the public. Shri. Ratnaparkhe will be accompanied by Shri. Nilotpal Sanyal on the Tabla. Tea and light refreshments will be served after the concert. Further information: Hema Srinivasan 445-2854.

Dec. 13 Fourth Annual Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja Saturday, 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.

The Puja is being officiated by Shri Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe. We can accommodate 25 sponsoring families/individuals for the puja on a first-come-first-served basis. Those who have not performed Satyanarayana Puja at the Mandir during the previous years will be given priority. Please make reservations by sending a check for $5 favoring HTCC to Kusum Malhotra. She can be reached at <kusum65203@yahoo.com> and 445-1867. Additional donations to HTCC are always welcome. Puja will be followed by Prasad/Pot-luck dinner. Please contact Anantha Gopalaratnam <ananthag@aol.com> or 446-0663 for helping out with the pot-luck dinner

Jan. 1 New Year Puja Thursday, 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Tentative plans are to have a early evening celebration at

the Mandir starting with a short meditation session followed by Special Sai Bhajan. Time and program information will be posted on the Mandir web site a week before the event.

Jan. 18 Pongal/Sankranti Celebration Sunday, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Mark Twain Ballroom, MU Memorial Union This annual community event to celebrate the harvest

festival will as usual also include an entertainment program, pot-luck dinner and a food drive to benefit the Central Missouri Food Bank. Please donate generously! Further information: Nandhu Radhakrishnan 882-4082.

Community Calendar (Nov. 15, 2008 - January 20, 2009) Events not organized by HTCC are in italics.

Unless otherwise indicated, all events are at Shanthi Mandir, 2006 Holly Avenue, Columbia, MO 65202.

Shanthi Mandir 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Gurpurab Guru Nanak Jayanthi

Giani Bachetor Singh of Kansas City will lead the prayers. Special Kirtan Will be followed by Prasad and Langar (Community pot-luck lunch)

For participation in the Langar and help with decoration of the Mandir for the special occasion please contact: Kuljit 442-4471, Chandra 446-5960, or Kusum 445-1867

The anniversaries of Sikh Guru's are known as Gurpurabs (festivals) and are celebrated with devotion and dedication.

Overflow Parking at the Sunrise Optimist Parking Lot Let us make our special events safe. Please do not park on the street or on the grass at the Mandir lot. We would request you to park at the Sunrise Optimist Parking Lot on Parker and Holly. Volunteers will provide rides between the two parking lots. Anna Daan Service Project at Shanthi Mandir Please remember to bring non-perishable food items for donation to the Central Missouri Food Bank in support of our ongoing Anna Daan Service Project. Your contribution of cans of food or packets of pasta is greatly appreciated.

Dhwani HTCC Fall Concert Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe - Vocal, and Nilotpal Sanyal - Tabla

4:00 - 5:30 p.m., Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Hindustani classical concert is free and open to the public. Tea and light refreshments will be served following the concert

For further information: Hema Srinivasan 445-2854

Yoga at the Mandir Instructor: Kate Walker

10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Saturdays Shanthi Mandir

Instructor Fees Required New Session begins December 13, 2008

Sign up today by contacting Kate walkerja@missouri.edu * (573) 657-9277 * (573) 884-0008

P A G E 1 2 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 4

Current Programs at the Mandir (November 15, 2008)

Devotional Programs Open prayer time/Aarti Tuesday 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Sai Bhajan Thursday 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Venkateshwara Suprabhatam/Vishnu Sahasranaamam Saturday 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Open prayer time/Aarti Saturday 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Amritvani (Monthly event) 3rd Saturday 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Kirtan (Monthly event) 1st Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Educational/Youth Programs Tamil Classes 1st /3rd Sunday 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Hindi Classes 2nd Sunday 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. 4th Sunday 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Bal Puja 2nd Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Bal Sabha 4th Sunday 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Service Programs Volunteering at Central Missouri Food Bank 1st Tuesday 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Shram Daan 1 (Labor Donation) Friday 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Shram Daan 2 (Labor Donation) Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Narayan Seva (Sai Group-St. Francis Home Lunch) 2nd Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Non-Perishable Food Collection (Ongoing continuously)

Fitness and Cultural Art Programs Bharata Natyam classes (instructor fee required) Wednesday 4:00 - 8:30 p.m. Yoga classes (instructor fee required) Saturday 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Tabla classes (instructor fee required) Sundays Flexible for now Carnatic vocal music classes (instructor fee required) Sundays 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Shanthi Sandesh is a quarterly publication of the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC). It is published on behalf of HTCC by it’s Publications and Communications Committee. Editors: B.S. Balaji and Gagneesh Rawat <shanthimandir_news@mchsi.com> or <shanthimandir@yahoo.com>

HTCC is registered as a Nonprofit Corporation in MO HTCC is tax-exempt under IRS Section 501 (c) 3

Shanthi Mandir Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC) 2006 Holly Avenue, Columbia, MO 65202-2043

Directions: Take Exit 127 on Interstate 70, Head north on Rangeline Street, Right at first traffic light on Vandiver Drive, Left on Parker Street, Right on Holly Avenue, Shanthi Mandir sign will be visible on the right after 5-6 homes. (Note: Holly Avenue is immediately before the Sunrise Optimist building) Please visit our web site and send us your e-mail address if you would like to be included on the Friends of the Mandir distribution list to receive quarterly notices. http://shanthimandir.missouri.org