More than 35 devotees participated and prasadam was distributed to all of them..

On 1^st September 2010, the day of Gokulashtami, special poojas were done at the Namadwaar. Hare Rama Akhandanama was done between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm at the Namadwaar. More than 50 people participated in the akhandanama.

In between, a fancy dress competition was organized at Sri Sringeri Mandapam, near the Namadwaar. More than 150 children participated in this competition wearing costumes of Lord Krishna, Radhe, Anjaneyar etc., More than 500 devotees attended this event.

Annadanam was organized for all the devotees at the Mandapam by Sri Govinda Thondaman family and Kumkum prasadam was given to all the devotees.

On 31^st August 2010 evening, many contests was arranged for children who visit the Namadwaar, which included Lord Krishna photo colouring, Mahamantra chanting competition for LKG and UKG students, recital of Sri Sri Swamiji’s kirtans, storytelling, question and answer sessions etc., More than 50 children participated in these events. The children were given prizes by Sri Jayaraman, who is the owner of the Namadwaar premises as well as the sponsor.

On 1^st September 2010, the celebrations were between 5.00 pm and 9.00 pm. Between 5.00 pm and 6.00 pm, Padhuka thirumanjanam was done by Sri Bhagavathadas, who is in charge of the Tiruchi Namadwaar. After this, the devotees went on a procession taking the decorated photo of Lord Premika Varadan around the streets surrounding the Namadwaar. After the procession, the Lord was put on a cradle and 70 types of prasadams were offered to Him. Small children danced with kollattam sticks around the cradle. After 8.00 pm, prasadam was distributed to all the devotees. More than 200 devotees took part in the festivities.

In the evening, around 5.00 pm, Lord Krishna was put in a cradle and devotees chanted Hare Rama and danced around the cradle having Kolattam sticks in hand. 54 types of dishes were offered to the Lord. Children had come dressed as Lord Krishna and Radha as part of celebrations. Lots of small children participated with great involvement. All the children were given prizes.

From morning till 9.00 pm in the night, lots of Prasadams came in for the Lord. More than 800 devotees participated in the celebrations and were struck in awe, the way the celebrations went.

The program started with a prayer song at 5:30 pm. After the welcome address by Sri Bhagavatha Das, care taker of Trichy Namadwaar, few local devotees, with resolute voice, shared their experiences and benefits they gained in their life through Mahamantra Kirtan which lead them into purification of mind and better understanding of the subtle and profound power of Sri Sri Swamiji’s grace.

Then Sri Sri Swamiji gave a wonderful discourse on the serenity of Srirangam and the power of Mahamantra.

Subsequently, Sri Sri Swamiji blessed all the Nama Prachar volunteers and coordinators by presenting a gift as a token of recognizing their noble service in chanting the Mahamantra and spreading the power of Namakirtan to the surrounding villages. Also Sri Sri Swamiji blessed all the attendees with Kumkum Prasad. The program concluded with prasadam distribution to all devotees.

The programme started at 6.30 PM with namakeerthan by children of Kovoor Kendra and went up to 8.45 PM. Prasadams were distributed to all the devotees. The celebrations were held at Sri Karunakara Perumal temple at Kovoor, where regular nama chanting is going on for the last 8 years. Sri Kovoor Shanmugham and Sri Sivakumar of Avadi Kendra coordinated for these celebrations.

Out of the 65 schools connected for PURANAVA 2010, this year featured 48 schools participating in Zonal rounds spread over 6 zones of Bangalore. Quiz topics revolved around Ramayana/ Mahabharata/ Temples and saints of India and Hanuman Chalisa. An exciting mix of direct rounds, rapid fire questions, Easy & tough options to multiply point were introduced. All the participating team(s) and the children / teachers and parents in the audience enjoyed every episode of the program.

All the participating children were provided with appropriate certificates of “Zonal Winners” “Zonal runners up” and “Certificate of Participation” from GOD– Puranava 2010, along with gift hampers. To motivate non-participating children in the audience, special gifts were given to those who provided the right answers to the questions passed to them.

The Semi-finals and Finals of Puranava 2010 is to be held on the 21^st August 2010 between 10:00 A.M to 1:00 P.M

]]> http://www.godindia.org/?feed=rss2&p=1836 0 http://www.godindia.org/?p=1786 http://www.godindia.org/?p=1786#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:28:03 +0000 admin http://www.godindia.org/?p=1786 What better day can there be to salute the Nation – the holy land of Bhaarat which has nourished numerous Mahatmas? What better day can there be to remember the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who broke down the fetters of slavery and brought us freedom through the chanting of the Divine Name ‘Rama’?

And what better day can there be to recognize and appreciate all those selfless volunteers who take the Divine Name to the masses at the behest of our Guru Maharaj?

Aptly enough, GOD India Trust, organized an Independence Day satsang in the divine presence of Sri Sri Swamiji at Mahodaya Hall in Ashok Nagar, Chennai on August 15th, 2010 between 10 am and 12:30 pm.

All the Namadwaar coordinators from in and around Chennai and those who regularly chant and take the Divine Names to the masses were part of the function. After the welcome address, Sri Sri Swamiji gave an ‘Anugraha Bhaashanam’. Following this, Sri Sri Swamiji gave gifts to all the Nama Prachar volunteers and coordinators recognizing their service in chanting the Mahamantra themselves and taking it down to the masses.

A short Q&A session was organized, which saw enthusiastic participation from the audience.

Then Sri Sri Swamiji blessed all the attendees with Kumkum Prasad. The function came to a close with the entire gathering paying respects to the Nation singing the National Anthem.

Rajeswaryji started the session by explaining how GOD  Namadwaar came into existence and how the movement has spread throughout India and now, in Malaysia.

This was followed by Sunithaji, who gave a talk on examination preparation and tips. The session ended with the principal presenting a memento and a certificate of appreciation.

The principal then requested for another session to be held on the 13^th of August 2010 for about 300 students.

On that appointed day both Rajeswaryji and Sunithaji visited the school again. This time the teachers and students shared their experiences of chanting the Maha Mantra.The principal said that playing the CD on Nama Sankirtan by Sri Sri Swamiji was first in order before beginning the lessons for the day. They also sang the Maha Mantra at every school assembly.

Both Rajeswaryji and Sunithaji were overjoyed by the response of the teachers and students and they attribute this whole experience to the grace of Sri Sri Swamiji. They then distributed Maha Mantra stickers to the students  and Sri Sri Swamji CDs to the teachers.

They also shared the experiences of other students as in how chanting the Maha Mantra combined with studying hard helped them excel in their studies.

The session ended with the principal extending an invitation to make this a regular event.