The yoga students ‘Chinmaya Yoga Sangamam’ of Chinmaya Mission, Madurai Centre, organised a Two days non-residential Workshop by name “LIFE SKILLS IN YOGA’ on Feb. 11 and 12, [Saturday and Sunday]. In the first session of the two days,Swami Sivayogananda, from Chinmaya Mission, gave a talk on “Ashtanga Yoga’ of Patanjali Yoga sutras. On the first day, Dr. T. Ravichandran, Dy. Director, Gandhigram Rural University, delivered a lecture on ‘Holistic Health’ and Dr. Jeyachandran on ‘Medical Research in yoga’..On the second day, Mr. Ganesh from Tiruchendur, handled the topic “sound mind for Sound health’ and Mr. Gangatharan, Director of Gandhi Institute, explained the basic concepts of ‘Pranayama’.

           95 participants from Madurai and nearby areas participated and on the first day ‘food without fire’ [Natural food] was served, to all the participants. Earlier Sri Gopalsamy, Secretary and Yoga faculty, gave a detailed report of the yoga classes and welcomed the gathering. All the participants enjoyed the camp and asked Swami Sivayogananda to take classes on “patanjali Yoga Sutras’ regularly and Swamiji obliged their request. Accordingly every month one Sunday, Swamiji is taking classes on “Asthanga Yoga’ of Sage Patanjali. News papers like Dinamani, and The Hindu widely published the event in their columns.

Maha Shivaratri was celebrated in a grand 24 hour function at Chinmaya Sandeepany San Jose on Feb 24, 2017.

Festivities started at 9am with Pandit Ravichandran conducting the pooja that included – Ekadasa Kalasa sthapanam, Mahadevadi ekadasa Rudra aavahanam, Sodasa upachara puja,Laghunyasa poorvaka Rudra Ekadasini japam, Abhishekam

Evening poojas started with bhajans by Swaranjali. This was followed by six kaala pujas and abhishekams starting at 9pm ending at 5:30 am of Feb 25 early morning concluding with Suddhi, Alankaaram, Rudra kramaarchanai , maha deeparadhana, naivedyam karpoora Aarathi. All the poojas were interspersed with bhajans and songs of Lord to make this a memorable and devotional occasion for all the devotees.

All the photos can be found here:

MAHA SHIVARATRI 2017 PHOTOS

In January, the CHYKs of Chinmaya Mission Houston hosted the Fear: Face Everything and Rise retreat under the guidance of Vivek Ji and Aditi Ji. The three-day camp included inspiring talks and thought-provoking workshops focused on helping attendees identify and overcome their fears. Over 50 CHYKs from around Texas and the US attended the camp.

Vivek Ji’s discourses highlighted the three fundamental fears, and he provided practical tools to conquer them in the one’s daily lives. He also facilitated interactive exercises that encouraged campers to step out of their comfort zones and to become fearless. From the beginning, Vivek Ji fostered an environment in which campers could engage in honest inquiry about fear and how one can overcome fear to reach their full potential.

In addition, Aditi Ji gave discourses on using Bhakthi as a tool to overcome fear and to experience peace. She also shared her experience in the two year Vedanta Course in Sandeepany Sadhanalaya. As Aditi Ji is from Houston, her presence was a treat especially for the Houston CHYKs who have grown up with her, and it was their first opportunity to interact and learn from Aditi Ji since her time in Sandeepany.

Other camp activities included discussions and team-building workshops centered around the theme. All attendees left the camp feeling inspired to invoke changes in themselves that would allow them to live fearlessly. CHYK Houston plans to host a retreat on MLK weekend every year going forward.

By Archana Krishnan

Photo credit: Krishna Narra

A blissful Sivaratri at Saumyakasi Sivalaya

Siva means auspiciousness. On February 24 th 2017, as Houston celebrated Mahasivaratri, a day that is most auspicious to Siva, thousands of devotees of the Houston Indian American community had one venue on their minds and calendar – Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya. In that iconic linga-shaped temple located within the premises of Chinmaya Mission Houston (CMH), a perfect trifecta of festivities, devotion, and spirituality uplifted every devotee. The special day and sacred night was marked by incessant Vaidika chants led by the temple priest Sri Ganesh Sathyanarayanaji as an almost unending stream of devotees filed through the temple. As the evening progressed, the crowds grew stronger in numbers. The festivities began around 9 am when the Utsava Murti was worshiped with Ksirabhiseka. The Mahanyasa Purvaka Rudrabhiseka, performed to the Vaidika chants of Sri Rudram, highlighted the glories of Lord Siva. True to the declaration that Sri Rudram bestows happiness on both chanter and listener, everyone was moved to a state of bliss in that divine atmosphere. Even the basement of the temple got transformed into a mini Kailas, thanks to the wonderful artistic seva of CMH volunteers. Devotees of all ages – infants to the aged – waited sincerely in a long winding line to perform their personal Ksirabhiseka to the Lord’s idol placed there. This intimate experience made bhakti flow from the hearts of all, like the Ganges that flowed from the mini Kailas. Invoking more auspiciousness, the evening’s Laghunyasa purvaka Ekadasa Rudrabhiseka made all hearts reverberate to the continuous chants of Vaidika hymns. The Sivalinga-shaped temple glowed with beauty, both from the bright illumination as well as mesmerizing aura. Devotees were able to watch the Rudrabhiseka on a couple of giant screens and listen to the chants of Sri Rudram as they made their way inside the temple. The final hour before midnight saw a silent meditation elevating the bhaktas present to another realm. The silence experienced was so surreal that it can only be experienced by participation, not described. Through all the blessings of that night, one could feel the silent presence of Pujya Gurudeva, Swami Chinmayananda and witness some key teachings from his commentaries come alive. With the leadership, love, vision, and caring of Acaryas Sri Gaurang Uncle and Smt. Darshana Aunty and their relentless service to the Hindu community for decades, the Bhakti of the devotees was perhaps outmatched only by selfless service – the nishkama seva bhava of the CMH volunteers. CMH once again lived up to the teachings of Pujya Gurudeva by blending all the elements of essential Sanatana Dharma – Bhakti, Karma, Jnana and Dhyana Yogas. The celebrations continued on Sunday 26 th with two sessions of hundreds of families performing the Mahamrtyunjaya Homa. Families participated in chanting the Maha-mrtyunjaya mantra along with their children. Chanting of the “Om Tryambakam …” mantra confers not only longevity but also cleanses our vasanas and burns our sins. With that spiritually significant Homa, the space in Chinmaya Smrti was made fragrant with collective prayers for spiritual purity. As the festivities of a most memorable CMH annual worship comes to a close, there is one thing that those who did not participate can do besides waiting. Make a visit to Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya and also get to know more about CMH activities and how they are continuing the vision of Swami Chinmayananda by demystifying Sanatana Dharma and making it more practical in our daily lives.