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7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940 July 2012 Issue 7
1
July 2012
Balabhavan Coordinators
Latha Sundar Venkat Maddipatla
Electronic Communication
Cooordinator Rama Srinivas
Class Coordinators
Super-Senior Class: Padmini Mylavarapu
Latha Rajkumar [email protected]
Senior Class:
Vasantha Madhavi Sudhakar Nalini Venugopal
Junior Class: Hema Rangaswamy
Anupama Rajagopalan [email protected]
Toddler Class: Aparna Vemuri
Vandana Santhanam [email protected]
Registration Coordinators:
Krishnaswamy Panneer Selvam [email protected]
Newsletter Coordinator:
Krishna Meduri: [email protected]
Festivals of the Month:
Please visit:
www.shiva-vishnu.org for
more details
Vaamana Purana
Vaamana Puraan is one of the eighteen Puraans written by sage Vyasa. It contains tales pertaining to Lord Vishnu in his Vaamana (dwarf) incarnation. Vaamana Puraan not only contains the divine tales of Nara-Narayana and Goddess Durga but it also contains tales of famous devotees like Prahlad, the salvation of Gajendra (elephant) etc.
Once there was a demon king named Bali, great grandson of Hiranyakashipu. Bali defeated the deities and drove them out from their abodes. Very soon, all the three worlds were under his control. He was a virtuous king and so were his subjects. Goddess Lakshmi blessed Bali to acquire all the splendours of the world. After being defeated by Bali, Indra went to Meru Mountain where his mother Aditi lived and narrated the woeful tale. Aditi’s husband Kashyap thought that only Lord Brahma could solve their problem. Sage Kashyap and all the deities took Brahma's advise and proceeded towards Shwetdweep to perform severe penance. Lord Narayana was very pleased with Kashyap's penance and agreed to be born as Aditi's son. In due course, Vishnu took birth as Vaaman to liberate Aditi and all the deities from their sorrow.
Once when King Bali was performing a yagnya, Shukracharya warned Bali about Vaaman's arrival and asked him to refrain from making any promise to Vaaman. Bali was willing to face any hardship to safeguard his benevolent image. Vaaman then arrived at the yagnya site and Bali promised that his wishes would be fulfilled. Vaaman requested a small piece of land measured by three steps for the performance of Yagya. Bali agreed and Lord Vaaman expanded his size. His first step covered the whole earth. By his two successive steps, he covered the two worlds. This way, Bali was forced to donate all the three worlds according to his vow. Due to his selfless devotion and unwavering dharma, however, he was granted permission to visit his subjects once every year.
- Akshaya Venugopal
BBC Announcements: Summer Camps: - Yoga Camp (Saturdays, 9-10AM) starts on 7/7, and Pooja Vidhanam, Dance, (both at 5-6PM, Saturdays) and Ancient Mathematics of India (Saturdays, 6-7PM) Camps start on 7/14. Please check e-mails for updates, class materials, etc., and arrive on time. All classes are at SVT. Balabhavan Picnic- Pictures! - Check pages 3 & 4 of this BB Newsletter for fun Picnic Pictures! Balabhavan Field Trip: - Deer Valley Monastery, July 22nd, SUNDAY, 8:45AM sharp. Details, directions, etc will be e-mailed. Clay Modeling - Ganesha: - Mark your calendars for our fun-filled clay Ganesha modeling, 8/19 and 8/25, 4-6:30PM Regular Balabhavan Classes start in September. ENJOY YOUR SUMMER BREAK! - Your BBC Team -----------------------------------
July Birthdays
Toddler:
Eesha Dumbre
Kirthi Iyer
Praseedha Sai Maddipatla
Juniors:
Vidya Adi Ramanath
Seniors:
Vinod Krishnamurthy
Super Seniors:
Akhilesh Sai Vemuri
Sankaran Ramanarayanan
Satish Chandran
BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO
7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940 July 2012 Issue 7
2
July 2012
Varaha Purana
Varaha Purana is one of the 18
MahaPuranas of Hindu religious texts. It
describes in detail about the the Varaha
incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and narrates about
the rescue of the Prithvi (Earth).
Lord Vishnu salvaged Earth from being
sunk into the under world of ‘Rasatala’by the
demon Hiranyakashipu. The great boar lifted
the Earth by his jaws even as the evil was
anihiliated. Bhu Devi was awestruck at this sight
and posed a series of queries to Varaha Deva as
to how the entire universe got dissolved, how it
was created after each kalpa and how Dharma
and Adharma were balanced and in what
extreme conditions does Lord Vishnu incarnate
in various forms. To this Lord vishnu outlined
Bhu devi’s difficult queries in a brief manner in
this Purana.
This purana composed in the 12th
century contains 24,000 couplets. The text
mostly consists of prayers, rules, rituals,
mantras and Theerthas (holy places) including
Mathura. It also deals with the different vratas
to be performed in order to glorify Lord Vishnu
and attain Vishnu Loka eventually.
Rewards of Reciting Varaha Purana :
Hearing, reading, reciting this Purana
destroys one’s sins, liberates and reduces
the mind’s sufferings.
Reading one chapter is equivalent to
donating a healthy cow to a Brahmin.
Reading ten chapters is equivalent to
performing a yagya (sacrifice).
- Priyanka Samavedam
STORY TIME!
(July 23, 2012)
A Tale of Naga Panchami
Once there lived a poisonous
snake, called Kaliya, in the
Yamuna River. When Krishna
and his friends were playing
with a ball, it fell into the
Yamuna. Immediately, Krishna
jumped into the river to
retrieve the ball when
suddenly, he felt Kaliya’s grip
tightening on him.
Unperturbed, Krishna grabbed
Kaliya by the neck and having
jumped onto the snake’s
head, began dancing! This
became known as Kaliya
Nartana. Then, Krishna
released Kaliya and told him
to stop harassing people.
The day Krishna humbled
Kaliya came to be celebrated
as Naga Panchami.
-------------------------------------
Topics of the Month
Akshaya Venugopal
Priyanka Samavedam
Questions of the Month
1. Who were Ayyapa’s father
and mother?
2. What is the name of Indra’s
weapon?
3. Who are the seven
“chiranjeevis” (immortal
beings)?
----------------------------------
Answers:
1. Father: Shiva; Mother:
Vishnu
2. Vajraayudha
3. Hanuman, Ashwatthama,
Vibheeshana, Mahabali, Vyasa,
Parashurama, and Kripacharya
-----------------------------------
Newsletter Editors
Keerti & Kamakshi
BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO
7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940 July 2012 Issue 7
3
July 2012
BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO
Balabhavan Picnic 2012
The day was beautiful, sunny, balmy, and perfect for our Balabhavan 2012 Picnic at Lake Poway Park! Kids,
toddlers, moms, dads, grand-parents dressed in their summery best... everyone was relaxed, ready to feast, and be
merry. The kids had a blast playing Tug-of-War, Bingo, three-legged races, games, while some of the younger ones
swatted at balloon animals and flowers, or chased parents, siblings and friends with water-balloons.
7930 Arjons Drive, San Diego, CA 92126 Phone: (858) 549-3940 July 2012 Issue 7
4
July 2012
BALABHAVAN NEWSLETTER VEDIC CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CENTER OF SAN DIEGO
Balabhavan Picnic 2012
Our Balabhavan family enjoying sunny blue skies, verdant greenery, bright balloon animals, Tug-O-Wars, fun games, and each other's company.
HAVE A FANTASTIC AND FUN SUMMER!!!!
