His Holiness,

I prostrate to your holy feet while asking this question.
I am a Lady Entreprenuer, running my own consultancy.
I believe in Lakshmi narasimha and was looking for guidance on  Sudarshana
Japam. Please bless with guidance

Jyothirmayee Kidambi

Jai Sriman Narayana,
Dear Swamiji, My pranams to you. I have a question about charity, please forgive
me if it is in appropriate.

I heard according to vedic law of karma we have to bear the results of our
actions including the charity we give and hence charity must be given in the
name of God to brahmanas. So when we try to help tsunami hit fishermen by
providing boats to them, don't we incur the results of their action which is
killing of the fish in the sea? How should I understand this contradiction?
Srinivas

QUESTION)
Jai Sriman Narayana,
Dear Swamiji, My pranams to you. I have a question about charity, please
forgive me if it is in appropriate.  I heard according to vedic law of karma we
have to bear the results of our actions including the charity we give and hence
charity must be given in the name of God to brahmanas. So when we try to help
tsunami hit fishermen by providing boats to them, don't we incur the results of
their action which is killing of the fish in the sea? How should I understand
this contradiction?
Srinivas


ANS:
YOU MUST HAVE MISTAKEN MY FRIEND, IN UNDERSTANDING THE KARMA THEORY.
KARMA, IS ONE'S OWN RESPONSIBILITY, ORDAINED BY GOD, COMES BY BIRTH. WHATEVER
THE WORK ASSIGNED, SHOULD BE DONE WITHOUT ANY TRACE OF HESITATION, DEDICATING
THE RESULTS TO GOD. THAT BECOMES KAINKARYAM, IF EXECUTED WITH LOVE.
FISHING TO THE RECENT TSUNAMI VICTIMS, KILLING THE INNER BACTERIA TO A DOCTOR,
OFFERING FLOWERS TO GOD BY A PRIEST ETC.,ARE ALL CARRY THE SAME WEIGHT. MANY
DUTIES ARE LIKE THIS. IF ONE IS SUFFERING FROM ANY PROBLEM, DUTY OF A PERSON
WITH HEART, IS TO HELP. THIS IS JUST HUMANITY. IF ONE IS CHARITABLE, HELPING
WITHOUT ANY EXPECTATION, WILL BE THE PRIMARY DUTY, LET OTHER MAY BE ANYONE. THIS
IS CHARITY.

NOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE, THE DUTY OF A RELIGIOUS OR A SPIRITUAL PERSON, FOR, HIS
PLANE IS HEIGHER THAN THE ABOVE, HIS HEART MEALTS IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG.

NOW, WHEN YOU ARE ATTACHED TO THE RESULT, THEN THERE IS NO POINT IN PUTTING YOUR
EFFORTS, ALL THAT YOU TRY TO FIND OUT WHO IS SMART IN BRINGING YOU THE MEDAL,
RANK ETC., IF NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE OPEN MARKET. A SPIRITUAL MAN WON'T DO THAT.
HE NEVER EXPECTS NOR DEMANDS FOR TEMPORARY RESULTS.

FISHER MEN ARE THE KARMA YOGIS. THEY DID NOT DEMAND FOR ANYTHING. WORLD STARTED
HELPING THEM ON HUMANITARION GROUNDS, YOU AND ME DO THIS WITH THE SPIRITUAL
MIND, DEDICATING TO GOD.
=CHINNAJEEYAR=

With respect, I would like to submit this question:

I am confused about the "varunashrama" and how it came into being. From what I
have been taught, I understand that it was a segration of  society based on
responsibilities. I can see how it became ingrained in  the society due to
responsibilities passed on from one generation to another. What do our vedas,
upannishads, ithihasas and puranas say about this? Did people suffer from
discrimination in those days? What was Manu's motive in formulating 
"varunashrama"? Going by Lord Rama and Lord Krishna's lives, they did not
practice any discrimination. Their "shousheelyam" was an example to others. So
how do we explain this terrible degradation that is afflicting our society?

Ranga Nathan

Jai Sreemannarayana!!!!
Sri:mathe: Ra:ma:nuja:ya namaha:
Dear Bha:gavata:s,
We have been experiencing discontinuity in conducting our Sri:mabbhagavata
Pravachana Go:shti in recent times becaues of various reasons. Now, it is time
to restart our go:shti. Following are the details of this week's pravachanam.
Let us join the tele-bridge to share the spiritual joy.

*******************************************************************
Discourse By: Bha:gavata Amrithavarshi Sri:ma:n Sa:tulu:ri Go:pa:la
Krishnama:cha:ryulu

Topic: : Srimdbha:gavatam(Dhruvo:pa:khya:namu)

Time : Sunday, 02/06/2004 at 10AM CST/11AM EST

Bridge : 712 825 8000
Pass code : 89981#
(*6 to mute/unmute the phone line)
*******************************************************************

Please spread this word to as many deveotees as you know.

Adiya:ne Subrahmanyam Ra:ma:nuja Dasan
Alwar:r Emperuma:na:r Jeeyar Divya Tiruvadigale: Saranam
Jai Sreemannarayana

Namasthe

Please visit my web page for SriharidAsa lyrics, composed with the Grace of the
Lord with some audio clips as well as annamAcAri lyrics:

http://www.sistla.org/Srihari-Lyrics/index.html

and click on "annamAcAri Lyrics in Multiple Languages".

A total of 231 Lyrics are on the web at this time.

Some more will be added soon.


Regards
Sree Sistla

Priya Bhaagawathas,
Jaisrimannarayana
A lay man's analogy on sandhyavandanm/upanayanam  vs  ticketless travel follows,
with  reference  to  the  following  email  and subsequent clarification email 
replies

Quote::
Respected Bhagavatas:
  I'd. like to find out if there's an appropriate age
  for performing Upanayanam & Brahmopadesam, for
  brahmachari's.  Kindly advise.  I have
  heard the term "ottrai padai" (meaning only during
'odd' years) mention by some friends and I wanted to
  clarify if that's applicable for devotees also.
  Thank you.
  Dasan,
  Vijayaraghavan.
::Unquote

1.  Performing  Upanayanam  is  like  making  one's  child  eligible to  travel
on  his  own,  on  this Earth

2.  Trikaala sandhyavandanam  is  similar  to  booking  three tickets  per  day 
for  travelling/living   on  this  Earth  consuming various types of   its 
resources  like  air, water, food, clothing etc

3. Just  as  during  infant  stage  there  is  exemption  from  buying ticket   
while  travelling  on  public transport (but  probably  when only  accompanied 
by his parent) so  too  infants are  exempted  from Sandhyavandanam.

4. But  once  eligibility/ability   to  travel  on  his own comes  to the child,
he  is  supposed  to  buy  the  ticket or else  pay  the fine when caught in the
act and  that  is  any  how  borne  by  his parents.  So  too  consequences  of
eligible/able children  not performing  sandhyavandanam  shall  be  borne  by 
the  parents whose liability continues  till they first  perform  the
Upanayanam.

5.  But  once  upanayanam  is  performed,  the consequences of  non performance 
of   trikala sandhyavandanam  and subsequent  dharmic acts, shall  be  borne  by
the  children  themselves.

6.  Thus  it  is  the parent's  responsibility  to  perform upanayanam of  their
children  at  the  earliest once  he  is  able  to  listen and speak well;  and 
thereby avoid  cumulatively    increasing their liabilities/consequences  of 
their  wards  misdeeds.


Jai Srimannarayana
sarvaaparaadham  kshantavya.....
Dr.Kilambi Ramakrishna Ramanuja Dasan

=============================================================
This article has been sent to you by Nivedana ( nivedana@... )
=============================================================
Source: The Hindu
(http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/02/08/stories/2005020805580300.htm)

Andhra Pradesh
  -
Hyderabad
  

Mandapam row: HC directive to State, TTD



By Our Legal Correspondent




HYDERABAD,


FEB. 7.

  The Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the Government and the Tirumala Tirupati
Devasthanam (TTD) to furnish copies of the expert committee constituted on issue
of 1,000-pillar Mandapam in Tirumala to all the advocates who were appearing in
the High Court in connection with this case.

The Division bench of the High Court comprising of Chief Justice Devinder Gupta
and Justice M. Narayana Reddy, passed these orders.

The bench was dealing with batch of writ petition filed challenging the
demolition of the 1,000-pillar mandapam, Golladani Mandapam and also the writ
petition filed in support of TTD.

The cases have been adjourned to first week of March and by that time the
committee constituted by the State Government to resolve the dispute is expected
to submit a report.








Copyright: 1995 - 2005 The Hindu

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly
prohibited without the consent of The Hindu

!!!Jai SrimanNarayana!!!

The following is for all your information. Source -  The Hindu,
Feb.09, 2005 - AP
http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/09/stories/2005020904170500.htm)

Jeeyar trust to set up Vedic varsity in Hyderabad
By Our Staff Reporter



TIRUMALA, FEB. 8. The Jeeyar Education Trust (JET) is all set to set
up a vedic university in Hyderabad, for which Sri Tridandi Sriman
Narayana Jeeyar will lay the foundation-stone on February 12.

The Vice-Chairman of the JET, C. Ramachandra Reddy, told presspersons
here on Tuesday that the university would come up in the vicinity of
the international airport. J. Rameswar Rao, a follower of the Jeeyar,
had donated the land for the purpose.

He said the JET was all set to take up relief works in the tsunami-
hit areas.


In Andhra Pradesh, the JET planned to extend material support to the
tsunami-hit people. It had identified Ongole, Nellore and
Machilipatnam towns as badly hit and had decided to take up relief
works at a cost of Rs. 50 lakhs in each town.

Namaste',
SeethaRam Balusu.

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the jetusa
group.

   File        : /Sanskrit/Lesson4.pdf
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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 102 - Urdhva-gaH, sat-pathAcAraH.

954. Urdhva-gaH - a) He Who rises high.
b) He Who leads His devotees to SrI vaikunTham, the
highest goal of the jIva-s.
c0 He Who is above everyone else in all respects.

om Urdhva-gAya namaH.

a) The term Urdhva means `above'. Urdhva-gaH means "One Who rises
high". SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma as a continuation of his
explanation of the previous nAma - He Who sleeplessly protects His
creation. He devotes Himself to this task of rakshNam even without
sleep, because He aims high in whatever He does, and so He is "Urdhva-
gaH". SrI BhaTTar's words are: svabhAva-tu'ngaH - He Who, by
nature, rises high in everything.

His aiming high in everything is sung by nammAzhvAr through the
phrase "karuttin kaN periyan" (tiruvAi. 10.8.8) - "He Who is great
when it comes to paying attention to His goal". nammAzhvAr also
identifies His paramount goal "kAkkum iyalvinan" (tiruvAi. 2.2.9) -
He Whose Nature it is to protect. It is this paramount goal of His
that is being sung in this nAma.

SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan explains the nAma as "uyarvaRa uyar nalam
uDaiyavan yavan avan" (tiruvAi. 1.1.1) - He Who possesses auspicious
qualities that cannot at all be excelled".

SrI Sa'nkara explains the nAma as - sarveshAm upari tishThan Urdhva-
gaH - He Who stands above all.

b) SrI ananta kRshNa SAtry gives an alternate interpretation that the
nAma signifies that Lord vishNu is the One Who takes us to SrI
viakunTham.

c) SrI vAsishTha interprets the nAma as - sarveshAm Urdhva sthiti
SAlitvAt, sarvataH SreshThatvAt vA Urdhva-gaH - "He who is above
everyone in all aspects". He notes that even in real life, the place
of knowledge, namely the brain, is above all other organs in the
body, reflecting an aspect of this guNa of bhagavAn.

955. sat-pathAcAraH - a) One Who leads His devotees in the right
path.
b) He Who follows the path of dharma in His
incarnations.

om sat-paThAcArAya namaH.

patha means path. sat refers to `righteous'. The word AcAra is
derived from the root car - gatau - to walk. `AcAra'
means `conduct, behavior'.

a) Sri BhaTTar interprets the nAma as "One Who leads His devotees in
the right path" - sat-pathe = svAbhAvika dAsya mArge, AcaraNam =
teshAm pravartanam asya iti sat-pathAcAraH - He Who induces (leads)
the devotee in the right path of kainkaryam (servitude) to Him, which
is the true nature of the devotee. Recall that in this segment, Sri
BhaTTar is interpreting the nAma-s in terms of the benefits to the
devotees from His guNa-s (avtAra prayojanam). Since it is in the
interest of the jIva-s to recognize and follow the relationship of
Sesha-SeshI bhAva (the Master-servant relationship between the
Supreme Being and the jIva), bhagavAn facilitates this, and leads the
devotee in this path. SrI BhaTTar refers us to the words of advice
given by Lord kRshNa to arjuna:

a-nityam a-sukham lokam imam prApya bhajasva mAm | (gItA
9.33)

"You are now in the transitory and unhappy world. To get over it,
worship Me".

SrI satya sandha tIrtha also gives an interpretation similar to that
of SrI BhaTTar - sat-pathe = san-mArge Acarayati yogyAn iti sat-
pathAcAraH.

b) Sri Sa'nkara interprets the nAma as - satAm panthAnaH karmANi sat-
pathAH | tAn Acarati esha iti sat-pathAcAraH - He Who follows the
path which good men have chalked out in His incarnations, is sat-
pathAcAraH.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers us to Slokam 3.22 in the gItA, where
bhagavAn tells us that He follows the path followed by the great ones
in His incarnations, just to set an example for others to follow:

na me partha asti kartavyam trishu lokeshu ki'ncana |
nAnavAptam avAptavyam varta eva ca karmaNi || (gIytA 3.22)

"For Me, arjuna, there is nothing in all the three worlds that ought
to be done, nor is there anything un-acquired that ought to be
acquired. Yet I go on working (to set an example to others)".

SrI vAsishTha interprets the nAma as: sat-pathe AcAro yasya sa sat-
pathAcAraH - He Whose conduct or behavior is along the righteous
path, is sat-pathAcAraH.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

I MISSED SANSKRIT LESSONS-1 TO 3 IN PDF FORMAT. CAN YOU PLEASE E-
MAIL THEM.

RAMANUJA DASAN

KRISHNA IYENGAR

srimathe ramaanujaya nama:
jeyar swamikal thiruvadikaLukku adiyenathu saashtaanga namaskaarangaL

in one mail sriman seetharam balusu had informed that J E T had undertaken the
relief work in tsunami affected areas in andhra pradhesh.

in chennai sri vaishnavap pEravai under the leadership of sriman satagopa
ramanuja daasan had extended their help by providing required material to
nagapattinam area which is one of the worst affected area by tsunami.

dhaasaanu dhaasan
adiyen
parakaalan

His Holiness,
I prostrate to your holy feet while asking this question. I am a Lady
Entreprenuer, running my own consultancy. I believe in Lakshmi narasimha and was
looking for guidance on  Sudarshana Japam. Please bless with guidance
Jyothirmayee Kidambi

ANS:  HAPPY FOR YOUR INTEREST IN DOING SOMETHING WITH REGARD TO LAKSHMI
NARASIMHA SWAMY.  YOU FIRST START WITH SRI VISHNU SAHASRA NAMAM. AFTER GETTING
THAT, LEARN NARASIMHA KAVACHAM, THEN KARA:VALAMHA STHOTHRAM. AFTER THAT IF YOU
HAVE SOME TIME, THEN, YOU CAN BETTER LEARN A COUPLE OF SLOKAS A DAY AND CHANT
THEM, WHILE YOU HAVE DONE WITH THE ARADHANA. THUS YOU CAN READ THEM IN TOTAL
REGULARLY.

WE ARE SURE THAT YOU HAVE NARASIMHA SWAMY VIGRAHAS WITH YOU IN PUJA. OTHERWISE,
PROCURE THEM AND YOU CAN START DOING THE PUJA EVERYDAY. ON EVERY SATURDAY, YOU
MAY OFFER ABHISHEKAM, I.E., SHOWER AND THEN DRESS HIM. THIS WILL GIVE GOOD POWER
AND HELTH TOO.

GOD BLESS YOU ALONG WITH ALL ACHARYAS.
=Chinnajeeyar=

SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 102 - praNavaH.

957. praNavaH - He Who guides the devotee to surrender to Him with love.

om praNavAya namaH.

nAma 410 - praNamaH, is related.  `praNavaH' is an alternate pATham for nAma
410.  The interpretation for the pATham `praNamaH' is covered under nAma 410
(Slokam 44).  The interpretations for the nAma `praNavaH' are covered here.

SrI vAsishTha indicates the derivation of the nAma from the root Nu - stutau -
to praise, to commend.  pra- is a prefix, meaning `in a special way'.  praNauti
iti praNavaH, praNamayati iti vA  - He Who is praised or worshipped is
`praNavaH'.   Just as the root bhU becomes bhav, the root Nu becomes Nav (pANini
sUtra 3.3.57 - Rdorap).  Pra + Nav = praNav.   In interpretations below that
contain `na' in the root, the na become `Na' by the application of the pANini
sUtra
8.4.14 - upasargAt a-samAse'pi NopadeSasya, leading to the change of the `na' to
`Na'.

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam for the nAma is:  praNavena IdRSa sambandham
udbhodhya, "mAm namaskuru" iti sva-caraNaravindayoH tAn praNamayati  -
"By means of the sacred `praNava' mantra, bhagavAn reveals to His
devotees the true relationship between Him and them, and makes them
understand the need for surrendering to Him".

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri quotes the yoga sUtra - tasya vAcakaH praNavaH
(1.27) - "The praNava mantra is a manifestation in words of
paramAtmA".   This mantra reveals Him to us, when we understand the
meaning of the mantra.  Again, when we understand the deeper meaning
of the mantra, it will lead us to worship Him.

praNava refers to the mantra represented by the three letters - a, u,
and m - "aum" or "OM".  This syllable, which is considered a mantra
that is the essence of all veda-s, is considered as a manifestation
of bhagavAn Himself in sound form.  Detailed vyAkhyAna for this
mantra has been expounded by the great AcArya-s, and this should be
learnt from the AcArya-s.  The mantra reminds us, the jIva-s, of the
eternal and inseparable relationship of the jIvAtmA to the paramAtmA
in a Sesha-SeshI relationship.  SrI V. N. Vedanta deSikan has
translated SrI M. V. Ramanujacharya's interpretation for the nAma
thus:  "BhagavAn informs the souls - if they can understand - of the
perennial bond of relationship existing between Himself and the
individual soul, as imbedded in the secret import of the praNava
mantra.   The key is that "we should try and understand" this eternal
relationship between us and Him, and the true nature of our selves,
and surrender to Him.

In the last chapter of the gItA, almost near the end, bhagavAn
summarizes His instructions to arjuna:

       man-manA bhava mad-bhakto mad-yAjI mAm namas-kuru    |
       mAmeva eshyasi satyam te pratijAne priyo'si me
||             (18.65)

"Focus your mind on Me;  Be My devotee; Be My worshipper;  Prostrate
before Me.  You shall come to Me alone.  I promise you, truly, for
you are dear to Me".

It is enlightening to read bhagavad rAmAnuja's explanation of the
meaning of the Slokam, so that we truly understand the nature of this
obeisance that bhagavAn instructs us to offer to Him.

-      mad-bhaktaH bhava - "atyartham mama priyaH
atyarthamatpriyatvena ca niratiSaya priyAm smRti santatim kurushva
ityarthaH".  This is translated by SrI AdidevAnanda as:

"Focus your mind on Me; Be My devotee.  Be one to whom I am
incomparably dear.  Since I am the object of superabundant love,
medidate on Me, i.e., practice the succession of memory of
unsurapassed love of Me.  Such is the meaning".  Note the use of
word `priyam' thrice in this one sentence of vyAkhyAnam by SrI
rAmAnuja.  This priyam is the basis of the relationship between Him
and us.  It is because of His intense love and compassion to us that
we should bow to Him, and surrender to Him, and He assures us that He
will redeem us as a result.

-      mad-yAjI bhava - "tatrApi mad-bhakta iti anushajyate  |
yajanam pUjanam atyartha priya mad-ArAdhano bhava   | ArAdhanam hi
paripUrNa Sesha vRttiH".

Translation:  "Be My worshipper (yAjI).  Here also, the
expression `Be My devotee' is applicable.  Yaj~na is worship.
Worship Me as One exceedingly dear to you.  Worship (ArAdhana) is
complete subservience to the Lord".

Note again the emphasis on `atyartha priyam'.  This is the basis of
the ArAdhana that bhagavAn is advising us to practice.  The complete
subservience is based on our utmost love to Him, and not based on any
other factor such as fear etc.

-      mAm namas-kuru - namo namanam mayi atimAtra-prahvI bhAvam
atyartha-priyam kuru ityarthaH |

Translation:  "Prostrate before Me".   Prostration means `bowing
down'.  The meaning is `Bow down humbly before Me with great love'.
Once again, note the emphasis by bhagavad rAmAnuja on `atyartha
priyam kuru' - perform this act with great love.

For those who thus surrender to Him, bhagavAn says:  mAm eva eshyasi,
satyam te pratijAne" - "I make this solemn promise to you.  You shall
attain Me as a result".  These are not mere empty words, because
bhagavAn continues:  "priyo'si me" - "You are dear to Me".   Thus,
bhagavAn is not just advising us to worship Him with love as the
basis, but He is bound to us by the same love, even more intensely
than we can ever command.  Elsewhere bhagavAn has already
declared:  "He in whom there is great love to Me, I hold him also as
exceedingly dear to Me.  I Myself will enable him to attain Me".
(gItA 7.17).

SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan points out that the spirit of the gItA
Slokam above is best understood if we look at the phrases as "man-
manA eva bhava", "mad-bhata eva bhava", "mad-yAjI eva bhava", " mAm
eva namas-kuru", "mAm eva eshyasi" -  Meditate on Me alone, Worship
Me alone, Prostrate only to Me; You will definitely attain Me without
any doubt.

SrI BhaTTar also gives support from the atharva Siras:  pRaNAn sarvAn
paramAtmani praNamayati, etasmAt praNavaH  | - "The mantra is called
praNava mantra, because it makes all souls to obey, and pay respects
to, the paramAtmA" (as indicated in the earlier translation, this is
considered the greatest privilege by those who understand the
significance of the mantra).

SrI Sa'nkara interprets the current instance of the nAma as a
reference to bhagavAn through the sound of the syllable "OM".  Since
bhagavAn is represented by this syllable in word form, this syllable
is none other than bhagavAn - praNavo nAma paramAtmano vAcaka om-
kAraH tad-abhedhopacAreNa ayam praNavaH.

For the instance of the nAma in Slokam 44, Sri Sa'nkara gives the
interpretation - praNauiti iti praNavaH - He Who is praised.  He
gives the sanatkumAra vacanam "praNamantIha yam vedAH tasmAt praNava
ucyate" - "The veda-s pay obeisance to Him, He is named praNava".

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj explains the nAma as "prakarsheNa nUyate -
stUyate sadbhiH iti praNavaH" - He Who is praised uniquely by the
devoted.

SrI satya sandha tIrtha gives the interpretation for the nAma as -
prakarshena nayati iti praNavaH - Lord vishNu is called praNavaH
because He regulates or puts the world in orderly form in a splendid
way.

SrI baladeva vidyAbhUshaN gives the interpretation - nitya nUtanatvAt
praNavaH (prakesheNa nUtanatvAt praNavaH (pra + nava= praNava).

SrI Raghavendran has included some additional interpretation and
support:

-      praNamanti iha yam vedAH tasmAt praNavaH ucyate -
sanatkumAra - vishNu is called praNavaH because all veda-s bow down
to Him.
-      raso'ham apsu kaunteya pabhAsmi SaSi SurayayoH    |
praNavaH sarva bhUteshu SabdaH khe paurusham nRshu    ||    (gItA 7.8)

(Lord kRshNa declares to arjuna):  "O arjuna! I am the taste in the
waters, the light in the Sun and the Moon, and  the praNava (OmkAra)
in all the veda-s, sound in the ether, and manhood in all men".

SrI vAsishTha gives support from kaThopanishad:

       sarve vedA yat-padam Amananti tapAmsi sarvANi ca yad
vadanti     |
       yad-icchanto brahmacaryam caranti tat-te padam sa'ngraheNa
bravImi yom iti etat ||

                                       (kaTho. 2.15)

"I shall briefly teach you that abode of which all the veda-s speak,
of which the AraNyaka-s and the Upanishad-s mention, desiring which
brahmacarya is observed.  That is OM".

The Upanishad continues on:

       etad-dhyevAksharam brahma stad-dhyevAksharam param    |
       etad-dhyevAksharam j~nAtvA yo yadi-icchati tasya tat    ||
(2.16)

       etad-Alambanam SreshTham etad-Alambanam param   |
       etad-Alambanam j~nAtvA bloke mahIyate   ||     (2.17)

"This letter is indeed Brahman.  This very letter is the Supreme.
Meditating upon this letter one gets whatever one wants.  This is the
best support.  This is the highewst support.  He who knows this is
glorified in the world of Brahman".

SrI vAsishTha gives several other references to the Sruti, where the
significance of the praNava mantra is revealed to us:

-      viSve devAsa iha mAdayanta OM pratishTha |  (yajur. 3.13)
-      OM krato smara  | klive smara   | kRtam smara   | (yajur.
40.15)
-      OM kham brahma   | (yajur. 40.17)
-      Rco akshare parame vyoman asmin devA adhi viSve nisheduH   |
(Rg. 1.164.9)

The significance of the praNava mantra is the meditation on the
mantra with its meaning in mind, which, at a high level, reveals to
us the permanent and eternal relationship between us and the
paramAtmA, Lord vishNu.

-dAsan kEshNamAcAryan

Jai Srimannarayana Dear Friends,
Om namo venkatesaya.

Executive Officer of Tirumala shifted. New Executive Officer Sri Sarmagaru
appointed. This is a great lesson for every living creature from Lord Narayana
and our beloved Acharylu. This infers the following for the happenings at
Tirumala after the brutal demolition of Lord Venkateshwara Temple.
For doing any good, we do not need to plan but for "Dusta Siskshna", it has to
be planned very well.
The following is what shown to us by the Ultimate Supreme
1. Bhakthulaki (Devotees) punishment (incidents occured during Bramostavams)
2. Bhagavantudi (Gods) self punishment (fire accident)<br>
3. Punishment to the rulers (both AP- TDP and India - BJP)<br>
4. Bhagavathacharyuluki (Spiritual Leaders) punishment <br>
5. People of Bharat (Natural calamities)<br>
6. Now, the real perpetrators (EO and ...)<br>
and next GOD ONLY KNOWS.<br><br>
Let us all pray Lord Venkateshwara and our acharyulu to give strength, courage
and humanity to Sri Sarma garu to participate in this noble cause

On this occasion let us all chant and write 116 more Om namo venkatesaya
bhagavnthudi namasmaranam.

Om namo venkatesaya
Jai Srimannarayana
Narsaraj ramanuja dASI


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Om namo venkatesaya
Jai Srimannarayana

EO TTD shifted/replaced
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/10/stories/2005021002501902.htm

Om namo venkatesaya
Jai Srimannarayana


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear Bagavadbandhus,
                     A few days ago we had a wonderful meetig with HH at
Hyderabad. We also had the life long desire of visiting Sreerangam fulfilled
with the blessings of HH. It was an experience that can only be felt and not
described. We stayed at our JET Ashram and had great time and wonderful prasad
and it was  heart-warming to see the little kids learning and reciting the
Scriptures etc.

The kids wanted a computer. Hence Jet-Houstonchapter/ Sree Ashtalakshmi Temple
of Houston considers it a blessing and has given a computer with available
accessories for the kids at the Sreerangam Ashram to further their education.

Jai Sreemannarayana,
Chary & Renu (RD)

Namasthe
Some more annamAcAri lyrics on bAlAji are uploaded with Index..
Please visit my web page for SriharidAsa lyrics :
http://www.sistla.org/Srihari-Lyrics/index.html
and click on "annamAcAri Lyrics in Multiple Languages".

A total of 270 Lyrics are on the web at this time.
Some more will be added soon.

Regards
Sree Sistla

please click on the FILES Link on the left side of your browser.
Those blue lines/links will take u to sub directories and download
from there.

Jai Srimannaraayana!!
Ananth

Jaisrimannarayan,
Pranamams to greatest acharya 'Chinna Jeeyar swamivaru'.

Please let us know what can be done to preserve the orginal history at tirumala.

JaiSrimannarayana,
k ram mohan rao,
PHOENIX,
AZ 85004

jaisrimannarayana!  Just i want to share something special with you.
THE BLESSINGS FROM  GOD on the eve of BHISHMA EKADASI , we have to say
thanks in return by chanting SRIVISHNU SAHASRANAMA, writing the devine
  VENKATESA Manthra throughout the year and performing our duties
sincerely. I wish you will experience the
blessings.........jaisrimannarayana!
saradard.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Asmad Gurubyo Namaha

  Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Priya Bhagawad Bandus

Most of  us are aware that HH JEEYAR SWAMIJI's 25th Sanyashramam is going to be
celebrated in India starting from Feb 20th with Srimath Valmiki Ramayana
Parayanam daily by our beloved Acharya, and one year of Homam from the same fire
that starts the first day of Homam.

To show our support for our Guru, we have arranged for Srimath Valmiki Ramayana
Parayanam daily starting from Feb 20th at 8:00pm CST by one of our teachers from
JET Asram, followed by a brief discourse and meaning of the slokas that was
read. This way we will also be participating in Jeeyar Swamiji's kainkaryam. Due
to time difference ,Prajna CA division are making other arrangements. Please
watch out for their announcements also.

This will be happening on JET USA bridge and all are welcome to participate.

Adiyen Chitra Ramanuja Dasi









[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://newstodaynet.com/11feb/rf18.htm

         Senior IAS officer A P V Narayana Sharma has assumed charge as the new
Executive Officer of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which administers
the famous temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala. Sharma, who was on
deputation to the Centre before his present appointment, took oath as EO at a
simple ceremony inside the temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala yesterday.

         He also took oath as the ex-officio member secretary of Tirumala
Tirupati Trust Board.

         Ajeya Kallam, the former Executive Officer, greeted Sharma and handed
over charge to him.

Jai Sreemannarayana!!!!
Sri:mathe: Ra:ma:nuja:ya namaha:
Jai Sreemannarayana!!

Dear Bha:gavata:s,

*******************************************************************
Discourse By: Bha:gavata Amrithavarshi Sri:ma:n Sa:tulu:ri Go:pa:la
Krishnama:cha:ryulu

Topic: : Srimdbha:gavatam(Prithu & Dhruvo:pa:khya:namulu)

Time : Sunday, 02/20/2004 at 10AM CST/11AM EST

Bridge : 712 825 8000
Pass code : 89981#
(*6 to mute/unmute the phone line)
*******************************************************************

Please spread this word to as many deveotees as you know.

NOTE: Pravachanam will be conducted based on the availability of Srima:n
Satulu:ri Swamijee on Sunday.

Adiya:ne Subrahmanyam Ra:ma:nuja Dasan
Alwar:r Emperuma:na:r Jeeyar Divya Tiruvadigale: Saranam
Jai Sreemannarayana

-----Original Message-----
From: Damana Krishna


"Brutal Destruction of heritage hills in Braj - the
Land of Lord Krishna" Petition
by Raghav Mittal


Kindly take a look at the following petition:

The petition is to draw the attention of the Supreme
Court of India towards the brutal destruction of
heritage hills in the Braj region which spans across
the districts of Mathura (UP), Bharatpur (Rajasthan)
and Faridabad (Haryana). These hills have a
historicity of more than 5000 years. Rampant mining is
going on in Braj region violating the guidelines of
the Rajasthan High Court. All this is causing havoc to
the ecological balance of the region. A substantial
part of the regional wildlife along with the flora and
fauna has already been destroyed. This calls for an
urgent intervention.

These hills have been associated with the numerous
pastimes of Lord Krishna, the propounder of Bhagvad
Gita, the world renowned treatise on philosophy. They
bear many historic sites which are being blown off by
using dynamite.

We understand that in a report the Archaeological
Survey of India has recommended a complete ban on
mining in Braj area. It is significant that the
emotional and religious sentiments of millions of
Vaishnavite Hindus have been attached to these hills
for ages. Millions come to circumambulate these holy
hills every year and are deeply hurt to see the
devastation of their centres of devotion.

These hills offer a tremendous potential for revenue
generation through eco-tourism and religious tourism
if they are protected and developed on these lines.
They fall under the Taj Trapezium Zone and Golden
Triangle of Delhi, Jaipur & Agra.

The petition requests the Supreme Court intervene in
the matter, and take all possible measures to restore
the natural grandeur of Braj.

You can sign the petition at
www.PetitionOnline.com/Barsana/petition.html

with best regards
raghav

QUESTION)
Dear Swamiji,
How far it is true that worshipping Rama/Krishna bring difficulties and
worshipping Siva would bring happiness and properity? (If that is the case for a
country like India having 1 billion population with so much unemployment is not
it better to go with Siva?)
pranams to your feet. with humble regards
Jaya Kishore Pattaswamy


ANS:

Priya Sriman Kishoreji!
Ji Srimannarayana!
God appears in different forms. Each form helps in some way or the other. Rama
is the replica of humane qualities and if one worships His, that person develops
humane qualities. Lord Krishna is the replica of divine qualities and to His
worshippers He blesses divine qualities. Lord Siva also several occasions sought
the help of these incarnations. You can see that in Sri Ramayana, after the
killing of Ravana. All the devathas appeared before Rama and one among was Lord
Siva, who praised Srirama as the saviour of the wise and punisher of wicked. We
can see this in all most all the incarnations. People with no knowledge and
having love towards Lord Siva, spread such wrong stories. One can definitely
worship Lord Siva, at the same time, they should not create wrong stories
against incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Somany big big people are trying to do this
in recent decades. Remember, Lord Rama & Krishna teach us as and how to face the
problematic situations, yet how to maintain equilibrium.
You may remember our githa jyothi, suthras 'worship your own..respect all'. If
this is understood, then there won't be any wicked thoughts like this.
=Chinnajeeyar=

My humble saluttations to the holy lotus feet of HH sri sri sri jeeyar
swamivaru. My name is srikant, from visakhapatnam. I am an insignificant devotee
of the holy lotus feet of your holiness.

Paramapujya swamiji, It has been my long cherished dream to worship the lord in
the form of salagrama. I pray to my only refuge, the holy lotus feet of your
holiness, to allow me ( if i am eligible) to worship the lord . though i have
collected some information from puranas, i am not able to get a clear idea about
which form to worship. i pray to be kindly blessed by leeting me know, which
form of salagrama is to be worshipped.

once again, i offer my humble salutations to the holy lotus feet of your
holiness, Forever in the humble service of your holiness,
Adiyen Srikant Ramanuja Dasa:

O:m Asmath Gurubhyo Namaha
A:pada:m apahartha:ram da:tha:ram sarva sampada:m
lo:kabhira:mam sri:ra:mam bhu:yo bhu:yo nama:myaham

mano:javam ma:rutha thulyave:gam
jithendriyam budhimatha:m varishtam
va:tha:thmajam va:narayu:dha mukhyam
sri:ra:ma du:tham sirasa nama:mi.

ve:dave:dye: pare: pumsi  ja:the: dasara:thmaje:
ve:dah pra:che:thasa:da:si:th sa:ksha:d ra:ma:yana:thmana:

Sri:rama:yana is called as Itiha:sa. Itiha:sa is one of the vedo:pabrumhana:s.
upabrumhana means one which elaborates the meaning of Veda.  So Sri:rama:yana
elaborates the meaning of the Veda .It reveals the secrets of Veda and
equivalent to the Veda.  Veda establishes the form and attributes of the Supreme
one. Our Lord is called as Ve:dave:dya.  When that  Ve:dave:dya incarnated
Himself  as Srirama being the son of Dasaratha Veda took the form of Sriramayana
and came into this world  through the sage valmiki .

       Veda contains two parts. The first part is called as pu:rvabha:ga which
deals with the Dharma:s to be practiced by the mankind. The second part of the
Veda is called as uththara bha:ga or upanishathbha:ga and reveals about the Para
Brahman. One has to practice one's dharma and has to do upa:sana by gaining
knowledge about Para Brahman.  These two things are literally shown by Sri Rama.
Being the nara he showed how to practice one's dharma and got the credit to be
called as Ra:mo: vigrahava:n dharmaha. Being Para Brahman He was worshipped by
everyone .Even today we are worshipping him.  One has to possess the inner
knowledge in order to practice one's dharma.  How?  Let us come to Sriramayana.

	 Before entering into the grandha it is customary to do pranama to the author so
that we can get his blessings and understand the grandha well. Let us pray to
sage valmiki before entering into Sriramayana.

Ku:jantham ra:ma ra:me:thi madhuram madhura:ksharam
A:ruhya kavitha:sa:kha:m vande: va:lmi:ki ko:kilam.

In this poem sage valmiki is compared with a nightingale. It sings sweetly by
sitting on the branch of a mango tree. Sage valmiki is singing the lettersRa and
ma which are sweet in nature by sitting on the branch of poetry.  I think all of
you know about the sweet voice of a nightingale. Madhura means sweetness. He is
taking the support of poetry to reveal the greatness of Rama. To such valmiki
maharshi I am doing pranama.

       If we take Sriramayana as a kavya it is a beautiful poetry with so many
beautiful words and chandas. And if we go deep into the meaning it can reveal
about the inner self and Para Brahman. If we take the outer meaning only it will
be like a simple cinema story. There will be Hero (Rama), leading lady (Sitamma)
and villain (Ravana). As usual villain kidnapped Sitamma and hero saved her at
last. If we see the story like this we need not study Sriramayana. But our
Ramayana is not a simple cinema story. It is a great kavya. It is a great
dharmasasthra. It is a great Neethi sasthra (morals). It is the incarnation of
Veda for spiritual seekers.   It reveals so many things which are necessary for
all levels of mankind or in other words we can say it is the story of the
mankind.

     Valmiki reveals so many dharmas through His characters of Sriramayana.
Through Rama Valmiki wants to convey the message how to enjoy the purusharthas.
We are having four purusharthas. Dharma, artha, kama and moksha.  Among the four
everybody knows artha and kama only.  Few more people will think about dharma
and rarely some one will think about moksha.  So let us leave about the moksha
at present and know about the other three purusharthas.  Among these three "
Dharma" is the important one to be practiced by everyone. But most of us like
artha and kama (desire to get anything). While getting these two we don't care
about the dharma. So we have to face so many   obstacles. Rama   practiced and
showed us how we have to earn artha(wealth) and kama  according to dharma only. 
Then only we can enjoy them.  According to puthra dharma he left kingdom to keep
Dasaratha's words true and later he ruled His kingdom along with Sita without
any obstacle. So we need not crave for artha without dharma.

Like this we can learn many things from Ramayana. Before going into the Ramayana
let us know how Ramayana came into the world?

(Cont)

Jaisrimannarayana!

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Humble Pranam to all Devotees:

We welcome all to particiapte.

On the occasion of HH Sri Sri Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana
Chinna Ramanuja JEEYAR SWAMIJI's 25th anniversary of Sanyasashramam,
we are celebrating with "Srimath Valmiki Ramayana Parayanam" daily at
8PM CST for One Year.  (Starting Feb 20th)

Srimath Valmiki Ramayana Parayanam daily at 8PM
===============================================
Starting Feb 20 at 8:00pm CST. (45 Minutes daily)

Chanting by teachers from JET Asram,
followed by a brief discourse and meaning of the slokas.

Live on JET USA TeleBridge:
===========================
712 825 8000   Code:89981#

(Note: *6 to mute your phone and *6 to un-mute your phone.)

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan,

in HIS Service,
http://www.chinnajeeyar.org