An unforgettable Nectarine event

25th December 2012: Kadtal is located close to the International airport in Hyderabad. This year it became  home for  global  meditators. Close to 95,000 gathered from across the world, beyond barriers of religion and race, to listen to eminent artistes.  The Celestial Nectar team was invited to perform before them. These pictures have captured the mood of this gathering. They wouldn't let Arunji leave the stage until they extracted a bonus of his popular bhajan  numbers.

Ulsoor Turns into a Brindavan

9th December 2012: The evening session began with a sampler of caring beyond imagination. It was a narrative of a crab running on the seashore and admiring it's own beautiful footprints. Suddenly a huge wave splashed and washed away the footprints. The disappointed crab asked the wave:'I considered you as one of my Best friends, and then what made you do this?' The wave replied: "A fisherman was following your footprints, that’s why I cleared it off." Knowledge soon blended into devotional melodies  which  transformed the packed auditorium into a Brindavan; as if on cue, when the lines of Murali Manohara began, the audience were elevated into raas mood.

Trichy women get tips on Ancient Wisdom

5th Dec 2012: The Nivedan Hall, Trichy saw an eager turnout of a prominent Women Empowerment Group to gather tips from ancient wisdom. A serene ambiance and soothing music contributed to an absorbing  morning session. 

The preciousness of  human birth figured in the presentation that included techniques to tune and tame the Mind.  We are then freed to have  the time to see, when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass; time to see, in broad daylight, streams full of stars, like skies at night; time to stand and stare!

Business Ethics and Spirituality

1st December 2012: Young Managers of tomorrow at a  Bangalore Business School called IAME-B SCHOOL. The audience were  in rapt attention listening to an address on Business Ethics and Spirituality. The presentation  traced examples of  how both Corporates and NGOs in the previous century operated ethically, still could  sustain competition and reward  their stakeholders  by practicing  values  and ethics in their managerial decision making. An enjoyable Q&A followed. 

Sripuram Chitrakoot Car Festival- 2012

Valliyur  gets its name from Valli, consort of Lord Muruga.  The town is located midway between  Tirunelveli and Nagercoil in National Highway 7.  Once a shanty village with farmers and shepherds, it is  home for  the beautiful Murugan Temple and the oceanic Valliyoor Kulam, the wide and appeasing Kuravan Malai of Western Ghats, all of which add up to to its beautiful look and feel.  Thirukurungudi one of the celebrated 108 Divyakshetras is only three kms from here.Sripuram  which is part of the town has risen in prominence in recent years  for its vibrant hill called Samiyar Pothai  where a large team of volunteers are engaged in various commendable community initiatives  that include  cultivation of  herbal plants and protection of environment.

The annual Sripuram  Chitrakoot Car-Cultural festival attracts thousands from different regions of the State and beyond. Eminent  artistes, dancers and singers participate in the festival.

26th November 2012, the Thean Amudham team was invited to perform at the festival. Dr.Arunji rendered a musical lecture on the topic Arthamulla Sampradyangal.  It turned out to be an unforgettable evening.The audience was drenched in knowledge and soulful bhajans.

BiBi Nachiyar: A tribute to the catholicity of Shri Ramanuja:

From the exuberant opening scene till the closing sequence in poignant devotion, the premier show of BiBi Nachiyar dance ballet had all the ingredients to hold the audience spell bound.  The event held on 15^th November 2012  marked the run up to the Millennium  celebrations  (1017- 2017) of Acharya Sri Ramanuja. The ballet draws inspiration from the much cherished story of Melkote Cheluvanarayanaswamy in true historic perspective with finesse and integrity.

The ballet revolves around the backdrop of  the temple town  which fell prey to the attack of Sultan  who ransacked its treasures. The ‘Utsav-murthy’ of the temple was carried away by him as war booty. Enraptured by the beauty of the idol, the Princess (Bibi) kept it with her.  Years later, Ramanuja had a dream in which Thirunarayana asked him to retrieve his idol from  the Sultan’s  hands. Acharya called on him and did convince him to return the idol. The Sultan however said that his collections were far too many to help any search!  It was then the Acharya endearingly called out “Ramapriya”  upon which, much to the astonishment of the entire Court the idol in child form ( see pic) came dancing towards Ramanuja and sat on his thigh. When the idol was brought back to Melkote, Bibi could not bear the separation and followed it to Melkote. She lived in Melkote for the rest of her life. Today an idol of hers adorns at the feet of the Utsavamurthy to commemorate her memory.

Students of Vaishnavi Natyashala, Bengaluru deserve all praise for their well crafted, choreographed movements under the commendable direction of Guru Mithun Shyam. He himself essayed the role of Ramanuja with great aplomb and devotion. Apart from the choice of ragas to which the lyrics were set, the dance movements carried the befitting nuances of Bharat Natyam, Mohini Aattam and Kathak.

Interestingly in SriRangam, there is a shrine next to the main sanctum lovingly dedicated to Thulukka Naachiyar (Islamic Princess). Once a year, the Kalyana utsava of Thulukka Naachiyar with Ranganatha is celebrated with great enthusiasm. In testimony to her unflinching love, to this day, Ranganatha’s breakfast consists of Butter Roti cooked in Mughlai style. They are first offered to the Naachiyar and then only offered to Ranga.

 The broad vision of Saint Ramanuja and the catholicity of Sri Vaishnavism have been best demonstrated in these historic narratives.

The Domlur Inspiration

The Domlur - Indira Nagar Art of Silence Course ended on an inspiring  note with a brief address by one of our senior local patrons. He narrated how his family fought their way with the State to protect the public land in Domlur which now  proudly houses a Government School, a PU College and play grounds. Often people think that they need financial resources to render seva to the community and the examples shared by him showed that our concern for the Society can also be demonstrated though social activism with genuine intent on common public good.

Participants were drawn  mainly from IT and ITES industry. Evidently, with the feedback already received and still flowing in, the Volunteer team feels fulfilled that their efforts were well directed.

As a parting memento, each participant got a copy of Arunji's latest essay on Joy of Parenthood.

Decade of service to Vedic tradition

The Agama Patashala  was established in October 2002 at the Kanakpura Road Bangalore campus. The  Gurukul is providing intensive training in study of  Veda, Agama, Sanskrit,, Astrology, Yoga, music, Sculpture, Epics and  scriptures. Besides they are also given training in practical modern subjects, including how to work with computers. 

4th October 2012 saw the third and fourth batch of Vidyanidhis- Pundits  present at a special Convocation. As they are getting ready to conduct pujas, abhishekas and other ritual- based  services  in temples and homes all across the country, they were imparted with special advices and  blessings from well known  Pontiffs and scholars.

The hidden power of our Art of Silence program:

22-26 September 2012: The Divine satsangs at Tiruppur and during the Art of Silence Course organised by the Temple of Knowledge, Rangasamuthram had memorable moments. The Isai sorpozhivu on Life, A Movie was well received at both the places. There was useful knowledge that captivated the attention of all age groups.

Self effort and Grace at work.

 Dr.Arun Madhavan recently returned after conducting our Art of Silence program in a rural location. The course witnessed deep silence kept by the participants. Many of them had to retire to their homes to cook food and take care of their school- going children. Yet they were back to the venue for the morning yoga at the time announced, maintaining strict silence all through. On the final day, when the silence was broken, he saw one participant who looked very content and cheerful to continue with his silence. After the closing ceremonies, Arunji was heading for the airport when the phone rang and the caller introduced himself as the one who didn't break his silence at the course venue. He had a wish to come across to the airport to bid farewell but Arunji dissuaded him. Instead he asked him if there is a location en route the airport where he could wait and meet him. Traffic was smooth all the way until Arunji's car reached a point where the traffic on the right side of the road was packed and stagnant, the left side was free. The host on the wheel saw an ambulance coming in front of him offering little maneuverability of space for the ambulance to pass through. He took the car over the pavement, only to to see the left wheel hanging into a 6 feet canal trench. Upon this sudden development they saw a familiar face rushing to the spot. He put his hand under the chassis to effortlessly lift the stuck vehicle weighing over one tonne and ease it on the road. He was none other than the participant who was waiting there to meet Arunji and his gesture was very timely and swift. After the pleasantries he asked a simple question- How did I do it? Arunji's reply was "your deep silence and spontaneous stretching of your hand gave you this extraordinary energy. There is an aphorism in Sanskrit which affirms this " ‘मौनं सर्वार्थ साधिके’ maunam Sarvartha Satakam". In Bangalore they say in Kannada: ‘summaniru manave, nee brahmanaguve’ ‘Remain quiet, O mind, you will become Brahman.’

Divine Devi moments at Dindugal

10th August 2012 was the auspicious Aadi Shukravara when thousands thronged the biggest Devi temple in Dindugal. Dressed in their finery, men and women rejoiced the festive moments of Pulling the Golden chariot with the presiding Devi atop. The Thean amudha satsang began sharply at the announced time.The assembly had invitees of all age groups, distinguished guests from business, industry, academy and the District Collector  as the  Chief Guest.  Special  bhajan compositions added to the unforgettable evening that was live telecast to a larger audience.   

Thaen Amudham Satsang Dindigul 10th August 2012

Life A Movie - Musical Lecture at Coimbatore

Sunday, 29th July 2012.

The who's who of the Textile city of Coimbatore - top  names from the field of Education, Medicare, Industry, Accounting, legal brains and Architects turned up with their families to listen to the  musical discourse on a rather unusual topic: "Life, a Movie".  It was the inaugural event of a Centenary celebrations at the renowned KothandaRam Mandir.. It was enriched with mellifluous bhajans and meditation making the  three hour session vibrant and meaningful.