Guru Purnima Day.

*Guru Purnima Day was celebrated at Chinmaya Mission, Madurai, with religious fervor and Guru bakthi, on July 25, 2010 (Sunday)..

*After the regular evening Aarthi at Sri Dakshinamoorthy Sannadhi, Swami Sivayogananda, Acharya, performed the "Guru Padhuka Pooja", followed by Bhajans by Devi Group members.

*A slide show of ' Kailas Yatra', under taken by Swami Sivayogananda and a group of mission members, was also shown, as a power point programme, that thrilled the audience..

*" O! Himalaya, Mountain Divine, yours is luck unparalled!..... On other mountains, in the dark caves, one finds only jacklals and tigers; in you alone dwell enlightend hermits in peace and bliss! O Mother land, you are blessed, for this noble mountain is your head! O Indian, you are thrice blessd, because you are the child of this great Bharat !- " Sri Swami Tapovanam..(Page 38, Wanderings in the Himalayas)

*After a special Aarthi to Guru Dakshinamoorthy, Prasadms were distributed to the devotees.

Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan - Seva at Balar Illam

Members of Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan conducting ' Balvihar ' classes in Balar Illam, Tirunagar - a home of 60 girls, have decided to distribute FREE UNIFORMS for all , through CHINMAYA SEVA TRUST,. on July 19, 2010.

Sri . Thilagar. secy., of the Mission welcomed the gathering. Sri. M.S.Meenakshisundaram, the President of the Mission, highlighted the various activities of the Seva Trust & received a loud applaud in appreciation, when he promised to conduct ' Medical camps' once in six months regularly.

Sri. Krishnaswami, who is arranging 'yajnas' for the past ten years, in Tirunagar, came forward to lend his hand in promoting spoken English among them,. The inmates were very happy.

Sri. R.Chokalingam, (Vijaya Printers) was the 'Guest Speaker' of the evening. Delighted to distribute the school uniforms, he guided the care-takers of 'Balar Illam' to be more associated with the Mission to inculcate the values & to be aware of our ancient sacred land.

Swami Sri Sivayogananda, stressed the need to have a 'role model' in one's life whom you look upon to lead a peaceful & joyful life. Glimpses of 'Gurudev', 'Bharati', and Vivekananda were quoted by Acharya. The inmates listened to him with rapt attention.

Sri. Balasubramaniam, a member, wanted to share his last drawn salary before retirement with 'Balar Illam' & 'Chinmaya Kudumbakam'. His dinner service to everyone gathered, was touching.

Smt. Mallika Sekar, expressed vote of thanks. Large number of Chinmaya Mission members and devotees attended the meeting... With National Anthem, the programme came to an end, leaving behind the memories of Gurudev, who was the cause for such humaneness, compassion & empathy.

Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan - Seva at Balar Illam

Gnana Yajna at K.Pudur, Madurai.

Gita Gnana Yajna was organized in Sri Karpaga Vinayagar Matric. Hr. Secy. School, K.Pudur.. Br. Pavithra Chaithanya, Acharya, Chennai handled the text "Akshara Brahma Yogam" eighth chapter of Bhagavat Gita.

Sri Krishnamoorthy, the Chief Guest in his address stressed the need of such yajnas in the present time and requested the audience to bring more young people.

While Sri Thilagar, Secy. honoured the Acharya., Mr. Gopalsamy, Jt. Secy welcomed the audience.

The message of the Yajna in a nutshell:

• 'Brahman' cannot me measured
• 'is' alone exists, imperishable
• that supreme is there in every being
• always remain as 'manager' of the farm and not the owner
• let Thy will be done
• repeated births is because we forget this 'Supreme truth'
• two pre-requisite for constant remembrance - 1. unshakable faith & 2. unconditional surrender
• in fact all the 18 chapters of Bhagavath Gita is only the explanation of the Mahavakya - "Tatvamasi" !
• many quotes from Kural, Tiruppavai, Thiruvasagam and Thirumandiram, sung by Acharya made the Satsang more interesting !

Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan Meeting - July 2010

Chinmaya Vanaprastha Sansthan, a wing of Chinmaya Mission, organised a meeting for Senior Citizens, at 'Chinmaya Meenakshi' Doak Nagar, Madurai., on July 4, 2010., as guided by Swami Sivayogananda, Acharya.

The Camp started with Prayer and Mrs. Mangayarkarasi Ramaiah, welcomed the gathering.. Prof. Hema, shared her experience of coaching English to the inmates of Ballar Illam.

A well known educationist, Retd. Prof. Dr. Padma Srinivasan, guest speaker shared her fond memories of association with Gurudev Swami Chinmayannda, who motivated her to pursue her carrier. Further she suggested that the 'grandmas' gathered, should develop their inherent talent of 'story telling' and take it to such inmates, in the Illam.

Br. Pavithra Chaithanya, Chennai, made a brief address, quoting a song from 'Thirumoolar'...."to speak kind words" was his message, in spite of age, generation gap and other ailments !

It was resolved to distribute uniforms to the students in Balar Illam at Tirunagar, with the contributions given by the Forum members.

Mrs. Mallika Sekar proposed voted thanks........

Gita Chanting Competition 2010 - An Appeal !

Hari Om! Namaste !!

Greetings from Chinmaya Mission, Madurai.

Madurai Chinmaya Mission, is conducting Gita Chanting Competition for the school children for more than 12 years. More than 60,000 children were trained to chant Gita Verses of various chapters and prizes were distributed to the winners. Not only the children, but also their parents learn Gita Slogams, to train their children! That means in addition to 60,000 children, 1,20,000 parents are also participating and join with us to know our Indian Culture and tradition...

Voluntary free service members from Chinmaya Yuva kendra members, Devi group, various Sanskrit Professors and many spiritual people, are joining, in this great event.

The organizers need money to provide necessary coaching materials, Sweets to the children, Certificates, Invitation, prizes at various levels, lunch to the students & Parents, tea, Biscuits,etc., during the long drawn activities, starting from June & ending with the finals by October , every year.

May I take this opportunity, to request the good hearted philanthropists, pious and religious minded persons to extend their help, to conduct the competition successfully, to spread the spirituals of the Greatness of Gita!

Donations may be sent to Chinmaya Mission, Madurai, by way of a Cheque or Demand Draft, in favor of Chinmaya Seva Trust, payable at Madurai..

With best wishes and regards,,

M.S. Meenakshisundarm

President, Chinmaya Mission, Madurai