Inauguration of Sister Nivedita -150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations

Inauguration of the year long 150th  Birth Anniversary celebration of Sister Nivedita  began with the inaugural programme at Paramekkavu  auditorium, Thrissur on Friday, October 28th.
 

The Programme started sharp at 4p.m with a Bhajan session conducted by the Bhaktamahila Trust of Thrissur. A good number of devotees were already in the auditorium to listen to the melody of bhajans invoking the Holy Trinity.  

At 5p.m the main programme started with Mangalacharan by Sushree Sutapa followed by the  welcome speech by Dr Lakshmi Sankar,General Convenor of (the organising committee) Samarpanam. She gave a brief introduction to the yearlong  programmes in connections with Sister Nivedita's 150th Birth Anniversary and introduced the guests on the dais. 

Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi,Chairperson of Samarpan, spoke on Sister Nivedita's shraddha for her Guru and how she absorbed the spirit of Bharat through her association with her Guru. The opening group song and a short speech on Sister Nivedita were the contributions of  the senior students of Harishree School,Thrissur. Deepa prajwalan was by the Chief Guest, Retd. Justice. Smt. K.K. Usha (Former Chief Justice, High Court of Kerala). In her inaugural address, Justice Usha spoke on the dedication and total surrender of Sister to her Guru's instruction. The keynote address was given by Prof.Dr. Prameela Devi, Member-Women’s Commission.on the need of  'Nivedita ' in this era of utter confusion and anarchy. Apart from the main speakers, Revered Swami Mokshavratanandaji - President of Sri Ramakrishna Math Thiruvananthapuram blessed the audience and Rev. Swami Sadbhavanandaji President Ramakrishna Math, Thrissur released a book on Sister Nivedita in Malayalam, translated by Smt. Vinila Vijay from the English version of Smt. Sarala Bala Sarkar  entitled "Nivedita As I Saw Her".  Sri Terambil Ramakrishnan (Ex-MLA) and Smt. Padma Devy received the copies of the books.

The most interesting part of the  programme was Rev. Swami Nadatmajanandaji's  (Editor of Prabuddha Keralam) 'Vanichitrapuja' or sketching of Sister Nivedita on the tune of a poem on Sister composed by Sri Dilip - a member of Vivekananda Darshanika Samajam and sung by a Master. Ananta Narayan from Ramakrishna Mission High School. The vote of thanks was given by Smt Beena Govind, a member of Samarpanam. The programme ended at 7p.m.with the chanting of 'Asatoma Satgamaya'.



More than three hundred people attended the programme. Each received a copy of  a booklet on Sister Nivedita and prasad. 

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Viswhabhanu

August_September  2016

Viswhabhanu

August_September  2016

UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD DAY CELEBRATION

Each year, September 11th is celebrated as Universal Brotherhood Day by Vivekananda Kendra because it was on this day in the year 1893,  the King of the Yatis (saints), Swami Vivekananda uttered the five words 'Sisters and Brothers of America' in the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago which won him the hearts of the entire world. His speech was so powerful that He became known as the 'Cyclonic Monk'. Since Swamiji's words came out from the depths of his heart, Swamiji was able to convey the universal Vedantic ideas of brotherhood to the West,  Hence the importance of this day as 'Universal Brotherhood Day' which is being celebrated by Vivekananda Kendra all over India with a variety of programmes.

A number of competitions were held on this occasion by Vivekananda Kendra so that the messages of Swamiji could reach every nook and corner. Various inter -school competitions were held for the UP, H.S and H.S.S. sections starting from 26th August.

On 26th August, Painting competitions were conducted for classes VI-VII and VIII to X. The topic for the junior section was ' Great Indian Heroes  and for the seniors, it was  Indian Monuments. 64 students from 12 different schools participated.

On 27th August, Elocution competitions based on the speech of Swamiji was conducted  both in English and Malayalam for  the upper primary and high School levels. 82 students participated from 8 different schools. It was a full day programme.

On 29th August a quiz competition for classes X, XI and XIIth classes. The topic given was 'Simhavalokan' or recollection and recap of all the subjects studied in the lower classes. Five schools participated. Amrita Vidyalayam secured the first position, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, secured the second position, third and consolation prizes went to Guru Sree Public School and HDPY School.

Concluding function of the UB Day was on 4th September (Sunday). Srimad Swami Chaitanyanandaji from Vivekananda Ashram, Vellimalai-Kanyakumari, was the Chief Guest. Swamiji delivered a vibrant speech on how the sanskaras or values  should be inculcated in children so that they become physically and mentally strong and will be able to face any odds in life. Four regular daily practices were suggested to be adopted from childhood. 1. 12 Ganapathi namaskar, 2. 12 Surya namaskar, 3. Gayathri Japa minimum 12 times 4. Nadisuddhi 12 rounds 

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At the end, prizes were distributed by Revered Swamiji to the winning participants. The rolling shield for English Elocution was won jointly by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Amrita VIdyalayam and  the Rolling trophy for Malayalam elocution went to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

SRI KRISHNA JAYANTHI

On the auspicious day of Sri Krishna Jayanthi, Anandadham was converted into Gokula. Tiny tots of Sandeepani Sishuvihar and the other children from Samskarvarga, crowded here by 9 am in the morning, to take part in the Krishna Jayanthi celebration. Mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings of the children were busy decorating their tiny tots into Krishnas. Each Krishna was dressed in yellow coloured veshthi and red or green coloured uttariya, crown on the head and a small flute in the hand, tilakam on the forehead and kundalam hanging from the ears! It was a beautiful sight. There were 20 such Krishnas and three Unni Krishnas. There were Gopikas too around 10 of them. All the little Krishnas were made to sit on stage with the Gopikas behind them. Other children and some elders sang bhajans on Sri Krishna. Smt Mathy Pavitran and Susri Sutapa Das were the judges to select the best child of the lot. All the participating children given token of appreciation for their participation. 

The programme started at 10.30 a.m with a prayer by the Sandeepani Sishuvihar children followed by Deepa prajwalanam by Smt Amani Amma, a well-wisher of Vivekananda Kendra.

After the show the children went to the park to do pradakshina of Sri Krishna's idol at Vrindavan Park of the campus. 'Uriadi ' or breaking of the pot with a stick was the last item of the celebration. All the children enjoyed this thoroughly. There was distribution of prasada after the programme. Programme concluded by noon.

Ramayana Month programmes

The Karkatakam or Ramayana  month Samapanam programme was held at Anandadham on 6th August.

Ramayana Masam is an important observance in the state of Kerala. It is observed in the month of ‘Karkidakam’ of the Malayalam calendar while in the Gregorian calendar it corresponds to the months of July to August. This festival is also popularly known as ‘Karkadaka Masam’. During this time, there is a ritual to read ‘Ramayana’ on all the days of the month in almost all Hindu households. Ramayana was translated in the Malayalam language by Thunchath Ezhuthachan and is known as ‘Adhyatma Ramayana Kilippattu’. It is this Malayalam version that is read during the Ramayana Masam. 

As in previous years Kum Bindu with her companion Smt. Baby visited a good number of houses in the neighborhood and did Ramayana pranayama and puja. Where there were no  Ramayana books Kendra presented them with copies of Ramayana.

From 4pm to 5 p.m Ramayana quiz was conducted in three categories. One was for the tiny tots of Sandeepani Sishuvihar, the other was for the Samskarvarga children and the third was for the mothers among the audience.

This year Sri. S Ramesan Nair who has made lifelong contributions to Indian culture through his poems, plays, lyrics, translations and commentaries was the speaker of the occasion. The subject of the talk was Rama as a Maryada Purushotama and the benefits of parayanam of Adhyatma Ramayanam. Sri S.Rameshan Nair is also the author of Chilapadikaram and Kamba Ramayanam in Malayalam.  He left the audience speelbound with his speech.

"An ideal son to the parents. 

An ideal husband to His wife. 

A Good brother to his young brothers. 

A Good and Ideal king to the people of His kingdom. 

A good and ideal protector of Dharma. 

A Good and Ideal ruler. 

A good and ideal friend to vanaras. 

An Ideal son in obeying the parents. 

An example for morality. 

So, Shri Rama is called Maryada purushottam Ram."

Vishwabhanu_June-July_2016