T H E B H A R A T I Y A T E M P L E Q U A R T E R L Y

WINTER 2014© COPYRIGHT 2014 THE BHARATIYA TEMPLE OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

SATHA CHANDI HOMAM

In association with Detroit Rudram Group conducts

Friday June 6, 2014 to Sunday June 8, 2014

Satha Chandi Parayana Sametha Chandi Homam or Satha Chandi Homam is a worship of Goddess Durga as the Mother of the Universe. During this event, Devi Mahatymam (also known as Durga Saptashati or Chandi) will be chanted by Ritwiks cumulatively for over 100 times. This will be followed by Chandi Homam conducted by 16 Ritwiks. Goddess Durga or Shakti is the Divine Power of Creation, Sustenance and Transformation. Shakti worship is nothing but worshipping the inherent Power of the Supreme Divine. The Satha Chandi Homam will benefit all participants to bring Universal Peace and Harmony and benefit our community.

Coordinators • Sundar Koduvayur(248)707-9979 • Ravi Khattree (248)212-0203 • Mini Garg (734)552-3200 • Jagdish Karira (248)660-0590 • Jambunathan Ramanathan (248)267-6558 • Usha Ram (248)646-6644 • Ramesh Narayanan (248)892-2181 • Ram Ramanathan (248)318-6392 • Viswanathan Subburaman (248)477-9435 • Srinivasan Muthuswamy (248)848-1018

Email: 2014sathachandi@gmail.com Bharatiya Temple, 6850 Adams Road, Troy, MI 4809S. (248) 879-2552. www.bharatiya-temple.org

EVENTS

Friday, June 6, 2014

Morning: Ganapathi Homam, Navagraha Homam, Vastu Homam, Sri Vidya Homam. Evening: Ganapathi Puja, Devi Navavarana Puja, Lalitha Sahasranama Archana, Trishati Archana,

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Morning: Sankalpam, Durga Saptashati Parayanam. Evening: Durga Saptashati Parayanam, Chaturveda Parayanam, Ashtavadana Seva, Raas Garba.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Morning: Chandi Homam, Vasordhara, Poornahuthi, Abhishekam, Brahmachari Puja, Navakanya Puja, Suvasini Puja, Dampathy Puja, Ashtothara Archana.

SPONSORSHIP

Mukhya Yajaman $5000

All 3 days functions and Prasadam $3000

Any one day function $1000

Chandi Homam $501

Durga Saptashati Parayanam $251

One Kalasam (Total 108) $108

Bhagavathy Seva / Mata Ki Chowki / Lalitha Sahasranama Archana

$51

4. A year of progressSurekha Rao,

Former Chair, Board of Trustees

5. Samarpan Kanthi Sundar

Chair, Publications Committee

7. Aiming higher Arun Pandya

Former Chair, Kitchen/Prasad Committee

11. Constant change Ravindra Khattree

16. Divine Mother’s Day Ram Ramanathan

17. Family recipes Urmila Pandya

20. Spiritual satisfactionSundar Koduvayur

Chair, Religious Committee

21. Temple leadership Contact information for members of

the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees

Chetana is printed byFLASH PRINTING

1219 East 11 Mile Rd.Royal Oak, Mich. 48067

248 544 3229

THE BHARATIYA TEMPLE QUARTERLY • WINTER 2014

CHETANA is published four times a year by The Bharatiya Temple for the enjoyment of its members. To submit original articles for consideration, please contact the editor, Kanthi Sundar,

at publications.temple@gmail.com. To find out about advertising opportunities, visit bharatiya-temple.org or email publications.temple@gmail.com.

© Copyright 2014 The Bharatiya Temple of Metropolitan Detroit. All Rights Reserved.

By DR. SUREKHA RAO

WE HAD OUR 2014 Board of Trustees meeting last month, following elections last year, and I am excited to welcome the new members to the Board of Trustees family.

The new members are Dr. Ram Garg, Mr. Mahendra Kenkre, Dr. Venkata Paruchuri, Mrs.Swati Paranjape, Mr. Ramnath Vutukuru, Mr. Srini Subramanian, Dr. Tushar Desai and Dr. Sukla Doshi.

The board officers, elected unanimously, are: Dr Ram Garg, as the Chairperson; Dr. Sunita Yedavally as the Vice Chair; and Mrs. Swati Paranjape as secretary. All three of them are dynamic personalities and will definitely make many positive contributions to our temple with the help and support of the rest of the Board. On behalf of the trustees, I wish them nothing but the best of luck.

I also congratulate Jagdish Karira, the temple’s new executive committee president. His entire team looks wonderful with many new and young faces. We promise that the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees will work together to make the temple prosperous.

With all your support, 2013 was one of the most productive years in the history of the Bharatiya Temple. Let me briefly share some of the work we were able to complete in the past 11 months:

Most of the credit goes to one committee, the Long Range Planning Committee. Thanks to all the

members of the committee for their hard work and dedication. I am extremely proud to share their achievements with you.

Mr. Paruchuri, a member of LRPC and Finance committee writes:

• Approved $566,501 towards projects partly financed by donor restricted funds.

• Supported projects included the finishing of the three Shikars; installation and coating of the Kalashas atop the shilkhars; audio/video/PA upgrades to the prayer hall, banquet hall and dining room; security upgrades; construction of a walkway along South Blvd. to comply with city code; a disabled access ramp

at the front entrance; expansion of the temple library; refurnishing of the gift shop and office; installation of donor recognition plaques; new baby changing stations in the restrooms; electric hand dryers; video projectors in the classrooms; the purchase of a modular stage in the banquet hall; installation of new parking lot lighting; and resurfacing of the roof over the original temple building.

A year ofprogress

4

Given all the new projects, it no longer seems right to refer to the “new” temple and “old” temple.

5

We did all of the above and still paid off $500,000 towards the principal of our Temple mortgage.

We also released the space in the original temple prayer hall for a long-awaited meditation room and a large area which we expect to develop for potentially revenue-generating purposes.

Given all the new projects, it no longer seems right to refer to the “new” temple and “old” temple. Therefore, we will now begin addressing the original temple facility — including the library, multipurpose hall, dining room, meditation center — as the Bharatiya Community Center.

The committee is also working on plans to upgrade the kitchen. These are major projects and we will most definitely need your help to move forward with them.

I am so excited to, yet again, work with an excellent team in the year ahead. We are ready to forge ahead.

Please approach us with any suggestions for new ideas to generate revenue and new services to attract more devotees. Together we want to make our temple not only the most beautiful place for worship, but also a place to meet all our spiritual and social needs.

Once again, thanks for your support. I would like to conclude with a quote by Rabindranath Tagore

I slept and dreamt that life was joy,I awoke and saw that life was service,I acted and behold, service was joy.\

6

By KANTHI SUNDAR

THIS ISSUE MARKS OUR fourth quarter issue for year 2013. 2013—a year that has been a milestone for us and our Temple. The spiritual and cultural events that have been hosted at our temple like our

Maharudram, our Kumbhabhishekam, our Navaratri, our Diwali, our Annakoot, our Holi, our Garba, and our Vedic and Vedantic lectures- all these and more have been a source of instant energy and constant joy. All these have been possible by the Grace of our

Lakshmi Narayana, our learned priests, our team of visionary leaders and the multitude of volunteers. In this issue, some of our Executive Committees have taken the effort to look back at the year in perspective.

It is now my turn to do the same. The baton was passed on to me from a very capable torch-bearer, Krishnan Anantharaman. My

sincere thanks to Krishnanji for consenting to work with me in designing the issue. The mailing of Chetana is very detailed and time-consuming. For

every issue, Krishnanji was present to lend a hand in every step of the mailing process. The reckoner that he has detailed about the mailing process is worth publishing as an article by itself as it is so useful.

My humble thanks to all my friends and volunteers who helped me in the mailing of each issue of Chetana. One of the first people to volunteer was our President Ravi Khattreeji. It was a common sight to see Raviji at the library during Chetana time studiously applying the labels or giving me a count. It also gave me great pleasure to pull the Religious Committee chair Sundar Koduvayur into lending a helping hand with the issue, requesting him to go shopping at the last minute to buy rubber bands, tape, etc (what are husbands for, right?)

Kudos and many thanks to our Associate editor Pranav Rajji. Pranavji, a high school junior, agreed with great gusto to work for Chetana when approached. I was greatly impressed with his email sign-off where he had created a signature with suave and style mentioning his title. Equally impressive was his perseverance in talking to new clients and garnering advertisements.

Last but not the least; I would like to thank all our advertisers who have been graciously supporting us with their advertisements. Please continue to do so. My Pranams to all the readers who have surprised me with their comments about Chetana. The very fact that someone takes the time to read Chetana gives me a kick and makes all the work worthwhile. I consider it an honor and a Blessing. \

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

Samarpan

Pranav Raj

7

PRASAD COMMITTEE

AIMINGHIGHER

By ARUN PANDYA

8

DURING THE YEAR 2013 Prasad and Kitchen family (not committee) had actively supported and participated in all our temple’s events by offering cooked Prasad during the religious

activities e.g. Maharudram, Kumbhabhishekam, Mata Ki Chowki, Akhand Ramayan, Navaratri,Mata Ka Jagran and many others.

Additionally, mostly every other weekend our temple had some kind of social or community activity such as Immigration Workshop, SEVA Schoolbag Drive, Health Care Camp, Bharatiya Seniors Meeting, Interfaith Group Workshop etc, and I am proud to say that our team had strongly supported these events too.

I am sure you have noticed that for regular Sundays’ after- Arti Prasad calendar is booked for the entire year. For Sundays’ after-Arti Prasad, we have experienced a significant increase in the number of devotees visiting the temple and enjoying

freshly cooked Prasad. In a nut shell, for 2013 we, with the help of

our beloved devotees, have cooked and served full Prasad to more than 75,000 to 80,000 devotees. We enjoyed serving our Lord Lakshmi-Narayan and Lord’s dearest devotees i.e. our community members. I am very delighted to inform you that even after supporting Prasad for all these activities; we are successful in raising more than $30,000 which has been added to the bottom line of the temple income. Our Prasad & Kitchen volunteers keep these activities running smoothly and efficiently with continuous improvement approach.

Our temple is blessed with very generous devotees; let me share a few of my experiences with you.

For our Diwali Annakoot sign-in sheet for the last three years, we have added double the items and it gets completely filled out which shows very strong support from our community. Also for Annakoot

9

Prasad for the last three years we are receiving a sum as donation from a group called “Glenwood Park” led by Rita Mehta & Priya Veluru.

Our senior devotee Dalip Thukral’s son requested me to cook Prasad for Dalip ji’s 50th wedding anniversary, he donated fund for the Prasad, and additionally, at the end of Prasad Dalipji’s family was so pleased with our service that the very following week they made an additional donation. Similarly Dr Tushar (Hansa) Desai requested me to cook Prasad in his father’s memory and he donated a very handsome amount for the Prasad.

Our devotees are also helping us to keep our kitchen & dining area facility updated! During Kumbhabhishekam our Kitchen was in bad need of a rice cooker,and a very strong supporter of our Temple Mrs. Ranjani Rajaraman gave us “kind of a blank check” to purchase not just a rice cooker but any other item to make the cooking job easier, safer and faster. Our Bharatiya Senior Committee raised a great sum of donation to purchase Roti making machine and to improve the audio system in our dining hall.

Rama Devi ji and Krishnan Anantharaman gave a very generous donation for painting the dining hall area and to purchase and frame those nice pictures hanging on the wall. Krishnan not only gave a donation, he personally led the effort to remove the existing paint and to re-paint the entire dining hall. Gauri Dhoop and Swati Paranjpe helped us to keep our facility environmentally friendly and clean. With their support we added recycling bins which keeps plastic, steel and other recyclable material separate. One of our devotees donated the supply of all the milk required during our 3-day Maharudram event. Many of our devotees love to supply items regularly such as butter, cooking oil, sugar, laundry detergent and many such. I can go on and on…. but let me tell you that I get really excited to see such loving and enthusiastic devotees; it make me feel proud of our community. All these contributions are just a symbol that shows our devotees love Prasad Seva. This is their way of saying, “keep doing what you are doing; we are here to help you”. Thank you all for your support, our respected priests will say “Annadata Sukhi Bhava!”

As you all know, with great support from my wife Urmi, we enjoy offering our service. Our seva is Prasad. As you all know preparing Prasad is not just regular meal. Our Vedic divine philosophy teaches us that transforming raw ingredients in

PEDIATRICCAREn All kinds of physicals

n All immunizations

n Acute and chronic care

n Limited adult care

n Half copay for Bharatiya Temple members (new patients only)

n Now accepting patients, with no waiting

Inder Jit Saini, M.D.

STERLING PEDIATRIC CENTER PC3850 Metropolitan ParkwaySterling Heights, MI 48310

586-939-2229

TRAVEL &IMMIGRATIONSHOTSWe provide these servicesfor travelers:

n Immunization for Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Polio, MMR, Varicella, Tdap, Meningitis and others

n Malaria prevention and diarrhea prevention

n Travel safety tips for children

Inder Jit Saini, M.D.3850 Metropolitan ParkwaySterling Heights, MI 48310

586-939-2229continued on the next page

10

to Prasad has a high influence on the environment in which it is cooked. A Major part of that environment is the person who is preparing & cooking and their spiritual vibrations while preparing & cooking. Many of you may have witnessed that we, while preparing Prasad, are chanting the Gayatri, Shiv mantras or Hanuman Chalisa. The idea is to respect the Prasad preparing process, during which, like performing regular Puja of the Lord, your body, mind as well as inner spirit must be clean and detached from the outer materialistic world. The devotees who receive Prasad that is prepared with such a mindset are blessed with the divine power of Adhi Shakti Gayatri /Annapurna.

To extend our Prasad service to our community for other than regular Sunday’s Prasad and to establish additional financial resources for our temple, Prasad & Kitchen team also made a sincere attempt to establish freshly cooked food seva call “Annapurna”. For more than 4-5 weeks, we served a variety of freshly cooked food items at very reasonable donation. This project was 100% volunteer based seva. Annapurna project was a very successful and financially rewarding pilot program for our temple. Due to other issues the Board could not support the Annapurna project and it was terminated.

We also reached outside of our temple and offered the Prasad Seva to other temples and organizations at their sites. During the inauguration (Pranpratishtha) Utsav of SV Temple of Novi, we supported their event by loaning our large pots, pans & stoves.

Additionally, we supported SV Temple physically by cooking Prasad, four meals in two consecutive days. During VHP USA Governing Council Conference our volunteers cooked and served snacks as well as all meals for the entire four days.

I am very proud to say that our Prasad Family is growing very fast, and it grew from just 4-5 to more than 30-40 very enthusiastic, hardworking and extremely humble devotees. The great part of these volunteers is that, they all are offering seva from the bottom of their heart. They are really a role model for many others. Few of these members are raising very young children and also leading them with an example. These volunteers are always eager to come to the Kitchen and take over their regular tasks and many more. I am really blessed to be associated with such Karma Yogi individuals.

This team is very diverse and ranges from age 2 to 80 years (Amir Tanden ji). These volunteers make big tasks small, that task can be anything-cooking 7 item Prasad for 2,000 devotees on occasion of Kumbhabhishek or making wood shelves and rack for kitchen pantry or painting the dining hall. For us no job is too big and no job is too small.

Here are a few members of our large family, Bankim Desai, Anand, Krishnan, Mukundbhai, Dineshbhai, BG Gupta ji & Dr.Vinaben, Dr Bindu & Suresh, Vasu & Raji, Prasanna & Manishben, Rajeshbhai Sharma, Sudhakarbhai, Manoj, Bhavesh, Dipti, Dev and Divya, Vasantiben, Hasuben Patel, Shan Shah, Dr Bela & Sanjaybhai, Lalit & Isha, Vivek Sarad, Varsha, Kalai, Kanaka, Subha, Lata, Sarojaben, Mangai, Radhaben (from Mumbai). Everyone is welcome to join our family. \

continued from the previous pagePRASAD

11

A BIG TEMPLE NEEDS big ideas but the big ideas usually do not come from those who resist change or who hesitate to change.

An ancient well established culture will have a long heritage but process of preserving heritage cannot be achieved by a refusal to entertain new ways of doing things or to exploring new approaches and sticking to certain old redundant ideas whose relevance has long past expired. A culture which refuses to change and does not adjust to ground realities is bound to soon become obsolete

if not extinct. A deviation from the norms is but a reality.

Hinduism is also called the Sanatana Dharma, a perpetual system of belief which is ever evolving. That, by definition, makes it all encompassing and all inclusive. The Bharatiya Temple was so named with the understanding that Bharatiya is an all-inclusive Sanskrit word representing all ways of worships and accommodative of all doctrines which help various people guide themselves towards the God. Since the system of belief is ever evolving, the ways of worship

Reaffirming our faith by reimagining our religion

CONSTANTCHANGE

By RAVINDRA KHATTREE

continued on the next page

13

must too. Yet, on many occasions, we tend to forget that in practice and we insist that “I know the best for all” or “this is how it has been done in the past” or “this is how it is done in India” or “what you suggest is wrong because there are no examples of what you suggest anywhere in the word”. This is contrary to what Gita preaches. Specifically, God has prescribed no particular approach to reach him when He says in Gita:

ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy ahammama vartmanuvartantemanushyah partha sarvasah. (4.11)

In whatever way, people identify with Me, in the same way do I fulfill their desires (because) these people pursue, in whichever way, only a path towards Me.

The above is clearly further amplified in two stanzas of Bhagavata-Gita, namely,

patram puspam phalam toyamyo me bhaktya prayacchatitad aham bhakty-upahrtamasnami prayatatmanah (9.26)

yo mam pasyati sarvatrasarvam ca mayi pasyatitasyaham na pranasyamisa ca me na pranasyati. (6.30)

Lord clearly says in the first one (9.26) “Those who lovingly offer me even a leaf, flower or a fruit, I readily accept it.”

If He does not even care what you offer, then the same God could not be particular about how you offer it, when you offer it and where you offer it.

12

continued on the next page

continued from the previous pageCHANGE That being the case, a Temple, especially a Bharatiya

Temple could never be just a place for only pooja in the usual ritualistic sense. Our offerings to Him must go beyond it and that is the essence of what is described in (6.30) (“Those who see Me everywhere and sees all in Me, he never becomes lost to Me nor do I become lost to him.)

How far, as the Bharatiya Temple, have we succeeded in doing this? Are we in the right direction in expanding the choices of our modes of offerings to God? Answer to both of these is affirmative, but only partially.

From the very inception of the Temple, we realized that while the ritualistic worship is important in itself, for many that may not be enough as an avenue towards service to God. A quest to know God, a quest to understand His creation and to see Him in the creation and created themselves requires the promotion of spiritual education, community service, intellectual

exchanges of ideas and accommodation of others to help them pursue their similar goals. Committees such as Education, Seniors, BalBharati, SEVA and Outreach were formed for these very reasons and they have served us well. These were the extensive activities which resulted in two great expansions of Temple during last thirty years. Many of the volunteers serving in these committees saw the God beyond the deities in the prayer hall and saw them also present in the hearts of the underprivileged, who needed help and happiness, either materially, educationally, socially or spiritually.

But why have we succeeded only partially? One may very well justify that by saying that even success is perpetual or that the success is relative and so it can never be absolute. However, the point is that we have perhaps spent way too much of our precious effort to create an India within the Temple rather than trying to

PEDIATRICCAREn All kinds of physicals

n All immunizations

n Acute and chronic care

n Limited adult care

n Half copay for Bharatiya Temple members (new patients only)

n Now accepting patients, with no waiting

Inder Jit Saini, M.D.

STERLING PEDIATRIC CENTER PC3850 Metropolitan ParkwaySterling Heights, MI 48310

586-939-2229

TRAVEL &IMMIGRATIONSHOTSWe provide these servicesfor travelers:

n Immunization for Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Polio, MMR, Varicella, Tdap, Meningitis and others

n Malaria prevention and diarrhea prevention

n Travel safety tips for children

Inder Jit Saini, M.D.3850 Metropolitan ParkwaySterling Heights, MI 48310

586-939-2229

14

help us evolve an American version of Hinduism. In fact, it is not even a stretch to say that we have taken Indianization to even more extreme (as an instance, pouring over the infinite amount of milk during Shivaratri, comes to mind; Waste of the excessive amount of food offered is another ). We have only partially changed when it comes to worship practices. Yes, Sunday services are in English but why couldn’t the Aarti and other religious poetic readings themselves be translated and done in English? Would it not help those for whom Sanskrit is a foreign language far removed from their day to day lives? Many other religions have adapted to such ground realities. We do not always have to be different for the sake of being different.

In the past, our charitable activities have largely confined to India-centric catastrophic events and were taken upon only when a disaster strikes back in India. Our activities lacked the universal view and only recently through SEVA committee, have we begun to involve ourselves in locally based charities. This is certainly a welcome sign but our universal views must go beyond it. If we truly see God in everything that is present around us, it is expected of us to be proactively available and involve ourselves in charitable causes of local and other deserving communities on a regular basis. That requires Temple to establish such a fund and solicit funding from those who see the service to mankind as their path to salvation.

These are only a few changes suggested. Sooner or later, we will be passing the torch to the next generation who are not the first generation immigrants. Changes are inevitable and Hinduism will continue to evolve even in America as it has been for thousands of centuries in Indian subcontinent. Perhaps in the past as well, there was resistance to such evolutions. Perhaps in future, there still will be as it is today. However, as a Bharatiya Temple it is expected of this institution that we help ourselves with this evolution rather than resist it. Only that will save out true heritage.

Ravi Khattree is a professor of statistics at Oakland University and a member of Bharatiya Temple.

continued from the previous pageCHANGE

15

16

By RAM RAMANATHAN

WE WORSHIP GODDESS DURGA as the Mother of the Universe. The Divine Mother is synonymous with Shakti, the unifying force of existence. Shakti is the Divine

Power of Creation, Sustenance and Transformation. In other words Shakti worship is nothing but worshipping the inherent Power of the Supreme Divine.

In the Bhagavata Purana, Lord Vishnu invokes Yogamaya and proclaims that

Archisyanthi Manusya Tvam Sarva Kama Vareswareem

Dhupopahara Balibih: Sarva Kama Vara PradaamNamadeyani Kurvanthi Sthani Cha Naraah: BhuviDurgethi Bhadrakaalithi Vijaya Vaishnavithi ChaKumuda Chandika Krishna Madhavi Kanyakethi

ChaMaya Narayaneesani Saradaethyambikethi Cha

(Srimad Bhagavatham 10:2:10-12)

Meaning: People will worship you with various upacharas like Dhupa, Deepa, Naivaidya as you are the one who fulfills all desires and needs of the people. They will build temples and worship you in different names such as Durga, Bhadrakali, Vijaya, Vaishnavi, Kumuda, Chandika, Krishna, Madhavi, Kanyaka, Maya, Narayani, Eesani, Sharada, Ambika etc.

Sri Sankaracharya in his famous “Soundarya Lahari” describes the Divine Mother as the “Power” behind Lord Siva saying, “United with Shakti, Siva becomes powerful to create, protect and transform the Universe.”

The Satha Chandi Homam will be performed by 16 Ritwiks chanting the Devi Mahatmyam for a total of 112 times, followed by Chandi Homam performed by 10 Ritwiks. Devi Mahatmyam is a portion of the Markandeya Mahapurana, which is one of the 18 Puranaas composed by Sri Veda Vyasa Maharshi. It is referred to as Durga Saptashati as it comprises of

seven hundred Mantras. It is also known as Chandi because it describes the glory of the Goddess as Chandika. In Devi Mahatmyam, there are 535 sloka mantras (full slokas), 42 ardha-sloka mantras (half slokas), 66 khanda mantras (part of a sloka) and 57 uvacha/uuchu mantras, thus totaling 700 mantras altogether.

At one level the Devi Mahatmyam chronicles the battle between the Devi and the asuras. At another level it deals with the battle of life. At yet another level it deals with the inner battle between the divine and the demoniac forces within the human psyche, between the positive and negative. The battlegrounds represent our own human consciousness, and its events symbolize our own experiences. The demons are symbolic of the psychic forces within the shadow. They represent all the evils in the external world that have been internalized. Whatever has been internalized in turn again manifests externally in our life.

The Divine Mother is our own true being, our inherent divinity and wholeness. Her clashes with the demons symbolize the outward and inward struggles we face daily. The Devi, personified simultaneously as the one supreme Goddess and also the many goddesses, confronts the demons of ahamkara or ego (our mistaken notion of who we are or what we identify ourselves with), of excessive tamas and rajas, that in turn give birth to other demons of excessive craving, greed, anger and pride, and of incessant citta vrttis (compulsive inner thought processes springing from past karmic residue). In the ultimate sense the dichotomy between the bad and the good is also a false one. There is no duality. Both are part of one single Absolute Reality. Devi Mahatmyam drives home this truth so beautifully.

It is indeed a great privilege to worship the Divine Mother through Satha Chandi Homam at The Bharatiya Temple. The Satha Chandi Homam is performed to bring Universal Peace and Harmony and benefit all of our community.

Divine Mother’s Day

17

CHILLI PANEERPreparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins To makes servings for four person.

Preparation Step: One Lb. (350 Grams) Paneer,

cut into ½”X½” cubeFor Batter – ¼ cup corn flour,

¼ cup maida (all-purpose flour), 1 Tea spoon Soy sauce, ¼ tea spoon baking soda, and salt. Mix all these ingredients in the bowl and add ½ cup water & one tea spoon vegetable/ peanut oil. Make smooth batter. Keep on side.

One tea spoon Ginger-crushed,

2-3 Hot green pepper, 1 capsicum (sliced ¾”X¾”).

Cooking Step No 1:Dip and coat the paneer pieces

with the batter and let it soak for 3-5 minutes.

Take Peanut/Canola oil in frying pan and heat with high

Mrs. Urmila Arun Pandya is no stranger to our temple kitchen. She spends her time almost equally between her home kitchen and the temple kitchen, where she can be found constantly helping the kitchen volunteers in cooking and in other tasks involved. She took a break between preparing and serving to detail a few of her recipes for Chetana.

FOOD OF THE GODS

Family recipes

continued on the next page

18

flame stove. Deep fry coated paneer cubes in hot oil till the paneer’s color gets to golden brown.

Drain on paper towel and keep aside.

Cooking Step No 2:

Heat 3 tea spoons oil in kadai, after it gets real hot add ginger, green pepper, capsicum and stir for few seconds and cover the pot with lid for 2-4 minute.

Add soya sauce, sugar (optional, must for Gujarati folks), salt, corn flour paste and let it cook for additional 3-4 minutes.

Add fried paneer (ref Cooking Step No 1) cubes and mix well.

Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot and warm.

CHURMA LADOO This is a traditional Gujarati

sweet, made during festivals or weddings. Unsalted wheat flour dough deep fried in ghee,

coarsely ground and mixed together with ghee, sugar/jaggery, cardamom and Jaifal powder then formed into balls and rolled in poppy seeds.

Preparation Step: In a bowl mix whole wheat

flour, Sooji and Besan, in ration of 4:2:2.

Add 2 table spoons hot Ghee and ¼ cup warm whole milk.

Add water and mix very well and make stiff dough.

Divide the dough into 8-10 equal portions.

Shape each portions into shape of your fist and press with your fingers in the center of each portion to make an indentation.

Cooking Step No 1:Heat frying pan on low/

medium heat, add 1 ½ Lb. Ghee/Vegetable oil.

Deep fry dough portions on low heat for approximately 8 to 10 minutes until they are golden brown in color.

Drain on paper napkin and allow them to cool to room temperature.

Break it in to smaller pieces and grind in a food processor until fine powder.

Filter the flour powder thru fine filter (Charani), make sure the powder is consistent in size.

Add sugar equally proportionate to the flour powder. (e.g 1 pot flour mixture, 1 pot sugar).

Add two tea spoon cardamom and one tea spoon Jaifal powder, raisin.

Mix all the itemswelll -ground fried dough, Sugar, cardamom & Jaifal Powder.

Cooking Step No 2:Heat frying pan on high heat,

add another 4 tablespoons Ghee.In a big bowl add ground fried

dough (ref Cooking Step No1),

continued from the previous pageRECIPES

Board Certified in Otolaryngology

Ear, Nose, Throat and Head & Neck Surgery 28 Years of Experience

SPECIALIZING IN TREATMENT OF:

• Hearing and balance disorders

• Diseases of the nose and sinuses

• Cancer of the head and neck

• Snoring and sleep disorders

• Adults and children welcome

TAYLOR 25426 Goddard Road

(313) 295-4710

CANTON Oakwood Canton Health Center

7300 Canton Center Road (734) 454-8001

HEARING AID SALES & SERVICE

Hearing Test Balance Test

BCBS, BCN, Medicare Cofinity • HAP • PPOM

Most Other Insurance Accepted Affiliated with Heritage, Oakwood, Wyandotte & Annapolis Hospitals

R. Rajaraman, M.D . R. Rajaraman, M.D .

SgtProd/Heritage/NHSun/20090306/Ads/Rajaraman Dr. R 334660 0306pc mary 3.4 HANK

19

cardamom powder, raisin, ghee and 1 tablespoon milk, mix well.

Divide the mixture into 10-14 equal portions and shape into ball.

Roll each ball in poppy seeds.Store them in an air-tight container

RASGULLAIngredients:Milk 1 gallonLemon Juice 1/3ounceSugar 2 cups

Heat the milk in a large vessel till the milk starts to boil, stirring frequently.

When it starts to boil, add the juice of lemon ( 1/3 ounce ). The milk will curdle and start to form paneer/cheese strings.

Drain the cheese / paneer from the milk and collect the cheese in a cheese cloth or a piece of clean dhoti material.

Tie the edges of the cheese cloth firmly and allow the cheese to settle tight for about 40-45 minutes.

Then untie the cloth edges and make 40-45 small round balls with the cheese / paneer.

In a big vessel, add four cups water and 2 cups sugar and boil to form sugar syrup.

When the syrup reaches string consistency, add the paneer balls, 15-20 pieces at a time. Let the balls boil in the sugar syrup on high flame for about 8-10 minutes. The balls will absorb the sugar water and double in size.

Repeat the process until all the paneer balls are added to the sugar syrup and have doubled in size.

Turn off the flame . Add cardamom powder and a

drop of rose essence to the sugar syrup containing the paneer balls.

Allow to cool and serve.

As a real estate professional, my goal is to make your real estate experience a positive and rewarding one. Providing the highest level of customer service is my first priority. I can assist you with:

• Selling you current house • Buying your dream home • Renting • Market analysis

PURVI PARIKH Direct: (248) 419-3145 E-Fax: (248) 419-3077 Parikh30@hotmail.com www.PurviParikh.realestateone.com

By SUNDAR KODUVAYUR

THE RELIGIOUS COMMITTEE plays a crucial role in all temples, as it directly interacts with Devotees and priests. In the Bharatiya temple it is more prominent and crucial, as our temple caters to a

wider group of devotees unlike many other temples. We were blessed with visionary people in our community and they built such a beautiful temple, not just for us, but for many future generations to come . We celebrate NEWS (North, East, West and South) festivals and also practice rituals from all

parts of India. Our Bharatiya temple also attracts a lot of non Indian visitors/devotees and this adds an additional flavor, as our priests and committee members have the onus of explaining the beliefs, rituals and traditions to our Non Indian brothers and sisters.

When my team was asked to manage and coordinate all

religious activities for the year 2013, it looked very exciting and challenging. We were privileged to be a part of two big events , namely Maharudram and Kumbabhishekam, besides many other events. The events attracted a lot of devotees from different parts of the country and many appreciated the temple, volunteers and the event planning and execution. One of the key comments from our out of state participants was that if any big religious event can be done in North America ,then our Bharatiya Temple is the ideal place for it. This statement alone speaks volumes about our temple and our committed volunteering community.

Our team in association with Executive committee planned and initiated many activities, with the sole purpose of giving a better spiritual satisfaction to our devotees when they visit our

temple. The salient points are listed below:• Extended temple timings every day• Keeping the temple open for the whole day

during major Indian festivals• Performing more pujas and Abhishekam to our

deities like Venkateswara Moolavar Abhishekam every Saturday, Pradosha Kala Abhishekam to Uma Siddheswara

• Increasing the participation of the devotees like organising Bhajans by our kids which gives them an ideal platform to practice what they learnt from their teachers

• Initiating new events like Vilakku puja with Chendai Vadhyam and Unchavruthi in Dhanur Masa, Ekadasa Rudrabhishekam in Karthika Masam

• Use of communication tools like E-mail, Web site and visual media to make the devotees aware of temple activities

• Attracting new volunteers to assist in temple activities

Lord Laxmi Narayana also tested me and my team when we had some situations in the temple during the move of our Adi Laxmi Narayana to their new abode, where again I felt he helped in minimizing the effects.

All these events would not have been implemented smoothly without:

Showering of blessings by Lord Laxmi NarayanaGuiding, supporting and improvising the

initiatives by our respected priests Janakiram Sastriji, Ramachandra Bhatji, Kaushik Joshiji and Bharadhan Venkatji.

My team set a high expectation and raised the bar on every occasion , which made me to work harder in keeping pace with the team and they are Shylaja Anand, Sunil Patel, Rajesh Srinivasan, Kamlesh Sahore, Sulochana Khetawat, Asha Mangala, Rajeshwari Balaji, Srinvasa Chittaluri, Laxmanan, Shanta Viswanathan, Vani Gutta, Srikanth Vadlmani, Chandra Vaddamani.

Also countless number of devotees who came and helped sacrificing their personal commitments to serve Laxmi Narayana

I take this opportunity to thank Executive Committee Chair Ravi Khattree, BOT , Priests and all the devotees who gave me and my team a wonderful moment in our life to serve the Lord.

20

RELIGIOUS COMMITTEE

Spiritual satisfaction

2014 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President | Jagdish Karirabtpresident1@gmail.com248-660-0590 President-Elect | Mahaveer Khetawatmkhetawat@gmail.com586-997-9730

Treasurer | Rajendra Shah rajbtemple007@gmail.com586-243-1408

Joint Treasurer | Suman Desaisumandes@yahoo.com248-879-7011

Secretary | Ravi Kapurravi@etcsinc.com248-763-9467

Joint Secretary | Swaita Singhalswaita1972@gmail.com248-854-3166

Committee CoordinatorSuneel Sekhrisuneel@comcast.net248-362-1624

Ex-Officio | Ravi Khattreeravikhattree@gmail.com248-212-0203

2014 WORKING COMMITTEES

Adults/Seniors | Tilak Sharmasharmatilak66@gmail.com248-426-8861Seema Shah shahseema2005@yahoo.com248-585-2012

Bal Bharati | Ruta Desaibabdya99@aol.com248-601-6390

Cultural | Shaila Vijayshaila.vijay@gmail.com248-250-1245

Education | Rajeev Grovergrover.raj@gmail.com248-842-5251

Gift Gallery | Swaran Batra swaranbatra@yahoo.com248-219-7487

Gurukul | Rajkumar Ramamurthyraj.ramamurthy@gmail.com

Information SystemsSriram Parthasarathysrirampartha@hotmail.com248-974-4776

Kitchen/Prasad | Arun Sekhriarunsekhri@comcast.net248-244-8555Harikrishna Sarmamalsree@yahoo.com 313-268-3345

Library | Bhuvana Umamaheswaranuvbhuvana@gmail.com248-792-9439

Maintenance | Dinesh Billore dbillore@gmail.com248-214-7740

Membership | Hemal Davedhemal49@gmail.com248-330-3765Bankim Desaibdesai24@gmail.com248-462-2389

Outreach | Anjali Vale anjuc_31@yahoo.com248-737-0781

Publications | Kanthi Sundar sundar.kanthi@gmail.com248-310-1404Anand Varadarajananandvj@hotmail.com248-767-2655

Publicity | Neelam Kanodianeelam_kanodia@yahoo.com 248-656-1798, 248-935-7675Swati Paranjpersparanjpe@yahoo.com248-310-9685,248-373-2654

Religious | Sundar Koduvayursundarkv@gmail.com248-707-9979Sukla Doshisukla.doshi@yahoo.com248-227-1045

SEVA | Varsha Rengeshvarsha.rengesh@gmail.combtfss@yahoogroups.com248-375-0888Rajiv Bhargavarbhargava@pristinemichigan.com

Volunteer/Devotee RelationsRachna Sharanrachnasharan@gmail.com248-515-0040Devyani Kumardkumar1@yahoo.com 248-952-5833

GENERAL CONTACTS

BHARATIYA TEMPLEtroybttemple@yahoo.com248-879-2552

Manager | Sharmistha Sarkar

Facilities Manager | Narendra ShahCell: 248-210-9810

Priest Schedulingreligious.bttemple@gmail.com248-878-7072

Gurukul Montessori Academygurukul.bt@gmail.com248-879-1921

The Bharatiya Temple Leadership

21

2014 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Chairperson | Ram Gargram_48183@yahoo.com

Vice Chair | Sunita Yedavallysunitayedavally@aol.com248-891-7552

Secretary | Swati Paranjpersparanjpe@yahoo.com swatiparanjpe5@gmail.com248-310-9685, 248-373-2654

Krishnan Anantharamananantharaman@mac.com248-538-4576, 248-821-1776

Anant Bhogaonkeranantbhog@gmail.com248-432-2838

Sandhya Desaisandesai23@gmail.com248-334-4462

Tusar Desaitusardesai@aol.com248-229-8354

Sukla Doshisukla.doshi@yahoo.com248-227-1045

Jagannadha Rao Divveladoctor0072@yahoo.com586-871-4823

Mahendra Kenkrebotmahendra@gmail.com248-267-9343

Venkata Narayana Paruchurivnp77@hotmail.com313-805-0964

Sri Ram sri.ram@mac.com248-646-6644

Surekha Raoraos2@yahoo.com248-770-8962

Srini Subramanianvasurapo@gmail.com248-701-4224

Ramanath Vutukuruvutukuru@umich.edu248-361-0660

The Bharatiya Temple Leadership

22

“Educating today’s children and tomorrow’s leaders since 1979”

Montessori Schools

BLOOMFIELD MAPLES MONTESSORI

(at Maple & Farmington) West Bloomfield

248-661-0910 ~~~~~~~~

Thu. March 13, 2014 10 AM

LAKES AREA MONTESSORI

(at Haggerty & Martin Parkway) Walled Lake 248-360-0500 ~~~~~~~~

Thu. April 3, 2014 10 AM

Montessori Summer Program

(June 16 – August 1, 2014)

SCIENCE FAIR!!

www.MImontessori.com

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

P A I DTroy, MI

Permit No. 98

Chetana A publication of The Bharatiya Temple6850 N. Adams Road, Troy MI 48098

BNA Construction Inc. 27350 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, MI - 48076 Designers – Builders

BNA Construction has been in the business of designing and building exquisite homes since 1982. ( Our work has been published in local magazines and news papers.)

We take pride in having designed and built numerous additions and renovating existing homes to accommodate customer’s needs and desires and creating a new and distinct look for the house.

We employ excellent and dependable craftsmen in every area of building trade. BNA Construction and it’s employees and sub contractors are fully insured.

For last 25 years some of the most exquisite homes for the Indian community in tri county area have been designed and built by BNA Construction.

Raj Nijhon, president of BNA Construction is a licensed builder, registered architect and a professional engineer.

Two of the basic tenets of BNA Construction’s business philosophy is taking care of customer and maximizing the value for the money spent. We work as a team with the customer to make sure that project goals are fully realized.

We consider all design – build projects - regardless of size or scope.

Phone : ( 248 ) – 569 – 7474 Email : bnaconstruction@comcast.net

BNA Construction Inc. 27350 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, MI - 48076 Designers – Builders

BNA Construction has been in the business of designing and building exquisite homes since 1982. ( Our work has been published in local magazines and news papers.)

We take pride in having designed and built numerous additions and renovating existing homes to accommodate customer’s needs and desires and creating a new and distinct look for the house.

We employ excellent and dependable craftsmen in every area of building trade. BNA Construction and it’s employees and sub contractors are fully insured.

For last 25 years some of the most exquisite homes for the Indian community in tri county area have been designed and built by BNA Construction.

Raj Nijhon, president of BNA Construction is a licensed builder, registered architect and a professional engineer.

Two of the basic tenets of BNA Construction’s business philosophy is taking care of customer and maximizing the value for the money spent. We work as a team with the customer to make sure that project goals are fully realized.

We consider all design – build projects - regardless of size or scope.

Phone : ( 248 ) – 569 – 7474 Email : bnaconstruction@comcast.net

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED