SAMSKARVARGA PRASHIKSHAN WORKSHOP

Three days  Samskavarga Prashikshan workshop daily from morning 9.30 am to 12.3o noon ,was conducted from 13th September to 15th September, for the children of Valsalayam, Methala and Sringapuram. 12 children and elders attended.Sushree BinduSamskarvarga pramukh along with varga shikshaks Kum Sreelakshmi ,kum Anushree and Akshay, conducted the workshop. Yoga,games,storytelling, lectures ,chanting and songs, agnyas were introduced to the children.

NEW SAMSKARVARGA

This time the yoga Varga participants especially the mothers of Valsalayam and Kindi bazar area expressed their wish to start a Sasmkarvarga for their children. Hence on 9th September nearly 25 children and some of the mothers gathered on the terrace of Smt Laya's ( yoga varga member) house to formally start Sanskar Varga there. It was decided that every Sunday evening they would gather at the same place and participate in the Samskarvarga under Smt Suja's guidance.  

ONAM CELEBRATION

7th September it was Onam celebration for the tiny tots of Sishuvihar, their parents, the( older)ex- students of Sandeepani Sishuvihar with their parents, the YCC and YIC students who come for regular weekend classes, Yogavarga members totalling 200 of them. All the mothers together created a beautiful design with flowers (poo kolam) followed by Ma. Didi's talk on the significance of Onam.After this there were  songs of Onam, Thiruvadira dance by mothers and children's' bhajans all together creating  a spiritual yet festive atmosphere . At the last there was the Onam sadya or feast.A sense of togetherness created when they took food together. All of them thoroughly enjoyed. 

RAMAYANA PRASHNOTTARI

As a part of the concluding celebratiof Ramayana month (which was delayed because of the flood in August ), a Ramayana quiz was conducted for the samskarvarga children of Edavilangu, Karumatra, Vinayakapuram and VKVVF 's Anandadham. Only selected children from all the areas who had already appeared in their own areas for the Ramayana written test and succeeded, participated  in the Quiz competition held on 1st Septmeber.
Edavilangu group topped , Karumatra group was in the second position and Anandadham group got rthe 3rd position. Smt Rema Shali was adjudged as the best mother trainer of Ramayana for her children.All the groups were presented with tokens of appreciation by Ma.Lakshmi Didi. 50 people along with the participants attended.

SRI KRISHNA JAYANTHI

The Campus of Anandadham was crowded with tiny tots of Sisuvihar and slightly bigger children, and even toddlers from around our neighbourhood.Some were dressed as radhas, some as gopikas and the rest as Sri Krishnas.The stage was full with the tablo of these children posing in different ways. Judges were there to spot the good, better and best poses and prizes were there for everyone who participated. There were Krishna bhajans by budding singers. The whole atmosphere Anandadham was filled with 'Ananda'.
51 children in all participated and parents of each of them, along with teachers inmates of Anandadham were all present to witness the grand show.

RAKSHABANDHAN

The tiny tots celebrated Raksha Bandhan on 19th August,the day their school reopened after the floods.
 Ma Didi explained to them about the significance of the celebrating Rakshabandhan. Didi explained to them that in order to understand the great concepts of our rishis eg.'Vasudhaiva kutumbakam' or the whole universe is one  family,in our Indian culture several celebrations are  are there. Raksha Bandhan is one such celebration. All the 26 children, their parents teachers and inmates of Anandadham were present. Didi and Sri Sudhakarji in turns tied rakhis round thechildren's wrists. The children were thrilled!

VISHWA BHANU (June to july 2019)

Vishwabhanu_June19- July19 by vedicvision99 on Scribd

RAMAYANA MONTH

17^th July marked the beginning of 

Ramayana month, “Karkatakam”. 

This month is totally dedicated to 

parayanam of the Adhyatma 

Ramayana of Ezhuthacchan.One of 

our project activities is to popularize this habit 

of parayanam or reading through house visits. 

Su Bindu, one of the inmates of Anandadham 

has been meticulously carrying on the 

programme for about 10 years.

GURUPURNIMA UTSAVA AT DIFFERENT PLACES

On the auspicious day of Guru Purnima, a few programmes were held at Anandadham and outside also.
     Early morning there was Ganapathi Homam and Sri Chakra puja by Sri Shivan Thanthrikal and his assistant.

    At 6 a.m to 6.30 a.m  there was the regular Yoga varga class.60 participants attended. After  the chanting of Guru Stotram,Ma. Didi while speaking  to the participants,stressed on the importance of this day. That on this auspicious day one should remember their first Guru -one's  biological Mother who is the greatest Karmayogi, then all those who have shown them the path to knowledge must be revered. She mentioned about Vyasa Maharshi the 'Vishaala buddhe' who enlightened the whole universe with his vast knowledge and who was born on this day.She also mentioned about Maharshi Patanjali who stressed on 'pranava' or 'Omkara' as the symbol of Ishwara.Pushparchana in front of the Omkara was performed by all the participants one by one while the 'Guru Paduka Stotram was being chanted. Programme concluded with Shanti Mantra and then prasada sponsored by one of the yogavarga members Sri Radhakrishnanji.

    At 10.30 a.m Sandeepani Sishuvihar students, Nivedita Tailoring class students, YCC and YIC students and new participants willing to enroll themselves for the Yoga course, celebrated Gurupurnima Utsavam. Chanting of Guru Strotram in the lead and follow way, Didi's speech on significance of this day and pushparchana were the main items of the programme.It was mesmerising to listen to Ma.Lakshmi Didi who had to pass on he message of Gurupurnima toa mixed crowd consisting of tiny tots from 3 years onwards to the young , middle aged students and old people -the grand mothers and fathers of the tiny tots. She could amazingly engage the tiny tots to the elders with her enlightening message, enjoyed and grasped by all age groups.
7 tailoring students who got through their practical exams, received the pass certificates from Didi's hands.Also 4 of them out of the 7 received sewing machines.A total of 55 people including the tiny tots were present. 
 
     Evening at 3 p.m the Bhagavad Gita class group of 12 ladies of Methala area, celebrated Gurupurnima in their own way. Apart from chanting of Guru Stotram, Sri Sudhakarji spoke to them on the significance of the day. Pushparchana followed by Shanti mantra, concluded the one hour programme.
 
     Smt Suja's (Saha Yoga varga Pramukh)  students from Kara, Edavilangu and Valsalyam around 42 of them , celebrated Gurupurnima at Kara Hall.Here too the  chanting of Guru Stotram,followed by a talk by Sri Sudhakarji.Importance of a Guru and significance of Gurupurnima was explained. The participants had brought from their homes , homemade delicacies which was served as prasadam after the Shanti mantra.
     

BALAGOKULA HONOURS MA.. LAKSHMI DIDI

     On the occasion of 44th Annual convention of Balagokulam Kerala, they decided to felicitate 9 jewels of Thrissur who have contributed to Sanatana Dharma. The function was organised at Paramekkavu Vidyamandir, Thrissur on 13th July, 2019. 

    Dr P.R Krishna Kumar,the Chancellor of the Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore, inaugurated the programme.

  Sri Harindran Master, introduced the Acharyas in his unique style highlighting the contribution they made in spreading the traditional knowledge.

    The  nine jewels are Sarvasree P.Chitran Namboodiripad, Kalamandalam Gopi Ashan, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, Dr.M Lakshmi Kumari, Kanipayyur Krishnan Namboodiripad, Madambu Kunjukuttan and Advocate K.K Nair. Sri Ramachandran and Sri Kalyanaraman could not attend the programme.

   Responding to the felicitation Sri Peruvanam Kuttan Marar thanked the organisers on behalf of all the facilitators.     

SWADHAYA VARGA ON YOGA SUTRAS

Today we were pleased to have Sri Kaithapram Vasudevan Namboothiri Master as unexpected guest. Master was in Kodungallur attending a programme and paid a visit to Kendra to meet Ma. Lakshmi Didi. When we requested, he was very happy to be with us and take a class. Master was so unique, handling a difficult subject like Yoga sutra, he won the hearts of everyone present with his simple and lucid explanation..

In his talks he beautifully explained the meaning of Prayers and Patanjali and a tip to keep the mind at ease

A serene and peaceful mind (citta-prasadanam) is cultivated (bhavanatah) by being friendly (maitri) towards happy people (sukha), compassionate (karuna) towards those who are suffering (duhkha), delighted (mudita) with those who are virtuous (punya) and disengaged or undisturbed (upeksa) by those who are doing harm (apunya).

Since relationships are such a huge part of our daily living and also have the potential to bring so much joy, Patanjali suggests that we practice our Yoga throughout our day while we relate to others. He summarizes people’s actions into 4 different categories and tells us that we have 4 great ways to (re)act to those to cultivate more calmness, more peace, more clarity.

He also explained the Meaning of prayer of Patanjali:

Yogena cittasya

– ”who by the yoga of mind”
Yogena ”by yoga”, Chittasya ”of mind/consciousness”

Padena vacam
– ”by the grammer of sanskrit purifies speech”
Padena ”grammer”, Vacam ”speech” – also understanding ”vak-tapasya” the power of speech

Malam sarirasya’ca vaidyakena

– ”and by ayurveda (removes) impurities of the body”
Malam ”impurity”, Sharirasya ”body” (Shariyam=body), ca ”and”, vaidyakena ”by ayurveda”

Yopa karottam pravaram muninam

– ”the best sages of all he who removed that”
Yo(ha)apakarot ”he who removed”, Tam ”that”, Pravaram ”the best”, Muninam ”Sages of all”

Patanjalim pranjaliranato’smi

– ”to that Patanjali I bow with my hands in prayerPatanjalim ”to that Patanjali”, Pranjaha ”with folded hands”, Ranatos mi ”I bow” (asmi: I).

and explained the biographical account of Patanjali Rishi

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA SAMADHI DIVASAM AND YOGA TEACHERS TRAINING

This year too we decided to conduct the yoga teachers training based on YIC and YCC syllabus enabling the students to prepare themselves for the both the courses.

Accordingly the news was shared with the aspiring students. As planned all the students assembled on the auspicious day of Swamijis samadhi day. They were brief about the course content and the methodology of learning etc. After the  introduction of students and the faculty, Ma Lakshmi didi gave a brief introduction of Swamijis life and the importance why this day was chosen for the session. In all 12 students took part in the deliberations. The programme concluded with a prayer. The regular classes will be held on every Saturday and Sunday from July 20th onwards after a formal inauguration on Guru Poornima which falls on 16th July. 

INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY CELEBRATION

Commemorating the International Yoga Day, weeklong celebrations were organized this year from 17th June to 23rd June. In all nearly 2000 people took part.

From 17th to 19th in the forenoons, there were Yogasana competitions for the LP, UP and High school students. 50 students from 6 different schools participated.

In the evenings Samatva Yoga Sangamam were organized at 4 places namely Methala, Elthuruthu, Karumatra and Edavilangu. A close well-wisher and longtime associate of Kendra, Sri Premnathji Coordinated all these programmes guiding all the organsers.  900 people participated in these sangamams.

Each Samatva Yoga programme started with prayer, followed by welcome speech by the Yoga Varga Coordinator and address by Chief Guest, demonstration of yoga asana based on the National protocol by the local yoga varga members of that area and a few YCC and QCI students. Each Sangamam was arranged by the local Karyakartas and yogavarga members. The publicity for the Sangamams were done through house to house samparka and notice distribution. 

 

17th June: Yogasana competition for LP school students was conducted from 7.30 am. 18 students from 3 schools participated. Three judges assessed the students.

In the evening from 5pm to 7pm Samatva Yoga Sangamam was organised at Methala in the Sree Narayana Samajam Hall. Local popular poet Sri Muralidharan Anapuzha was the Chief Guest and keynote speaker. Karyakartas who organized this programme were Sri Girishji, Sri Nandakumarji and Sri Devdasji of Methala area. 45 practitioners demonstrated yoga while 50 people were present as the audience. Sri Nandakumar conducted the yoga demonstration.

18th June: Yogasana competition for UP school students was conducted from 7.30 am.  23 students from 5 schools participated.

In the evening from 5pm to 7pm Samatva Yoga Sangamam was conducted at Elthuruthu in the Sree Vidyaprakashini Sabha Hall. Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi was the Chief Guest and keynote speaker. Prof. Kollikkathara Ravi, the President of the Samajam was also present on the dais. Karyakartas who organized this programme were Sri Joshiji and Smt Mani Sunil of Elthuruthu area. 200 people took part in the programme while 45 practitioners performed yoga together. Smt Mani conducted the yoga demonstration.

19th June: Yogasana competition for Secondary category school students was conducted from 7.30 am. 9 students from 2 schools participated.

In the evening from 5pm to 7pm Samatva Yoga Sangamam was conducted at Karumatra in the Ring Plaza Auditorium. Sri Sivan Thanthrikal was invited as the Chief Guest and keynote speaker, Sri Natarajan, the Vice-President of SNDP was also present in the dais. Karyakartas who organized this programme were Smt Seeba, Smt Reshma and Smt Preetha of Karumatra area. 100 people witnessed the programme while 31 practitioners performed together. Smt Seeba conducted the yoga demonstration.

20th June: A swadhaya varga was started for the yoga practitioners from 3pm to 4.30 pm. Every Friday from 4pm to 5.30 pm would be the timing.  Topic is Patanjali Yoga sutras. Sanskrit scholar, Sri Narayan Acharya from Thrissur inaugurated the programme. The classes will be held four times a month. The Acharya would be conducting the class twice in a month and on the other days of the month, discussion among the yoga varga members on the sutras that were taken in previous session.    

21st June: On the

International Yoga Day, Samatva Yoga Sangamam was conducted at Anandadham. 150 practioners were present for the programme at 6.30 am sharp. After Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi’s talk, they all performed Yogasana together in the Dakshina, Nivedita and Sarada Halls following the National Protocol. All of them at the end gathered at the Dakshina Hall for taking the Sankalpa. A light breakfast was served after the programme.

Apart from the above programme many of the Sthanik and poornakalin karyakartas got the opportunity to conduct a class or to address to students of various age groups. 

YOGA Awareness Programs on International Yoga Day

1) School: Anapuzha H.S.School

       No. of Students: 100

Sthanik Karyakarta: Sri Sudhakaranji spoke and conducted class too.

2) School: Amrita Vidyalayam, Kodungallur

       No of Students: 150

Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi invited to speak on the occasion as Chief Guest

3) School: Seethi Sahib SS School Azhikode

       No. of students who performed: 50

       No of students, teachers, parents as audience: 200

 In order to acquaint the students to the umpteen benefits of Yoga, The Excise department, Kodungallur branch organized a yoga awareness program on the occasion of International Yoga Day 2019 for the students of Seethi Sahib Memorial HSS, Azhikode on 21st June 2019. Smt Padmaja Suresh Babu and Smt Prajeela were invited on the occasion. 

The program started at 9:30 am with prayer. The Excise inspector inaugurated the program followed by the welcome speech by Head Mistress of the school. The students were educated 'the importance and effectiveness of yoga in daily life' by Padmaja Sureshbabu, the Yoga instructor from Vivekananda Kendra, Kodungallur. The students were later also explained on how yoga helps in maintaining not only physical and mental health but also a healthy social life. This was followed by the demonstration done by Prajila Sreekumar, Sthanik karyakarta from Vivekananda Kendra on simple Yoga Asanas which are the most beneficial for starters. The session started with Surya Namaskar followed by a series of Asanas. The selected 50 students participated in the practical session of the program. The program went on till 12.00pm and then the vote of thanks was given by the principal and she appealed to the students to include yoga in their daily routine for its wholesome and salubrious effects on the mind, body and soul.

4) College: MES Asmabi College, P Vemballur: 

       No of Students: 100

       This programme too was organised by the Central Excise Department, Kodungallur. Sri Padma Kumar, S.I of the unit. The NSS coordinator Smt Seeba welcomed the audience and introduced guest. The Principal Sri A. Mohammed inaugurated the program. Sri Padma Kumar initiated the proceedings of the day followed by a talk by Sri Sudhakarji (Prakalpa Sanghatak). Sudhakarji highlighted the role of yoga can play in the lives the college students and encouraged them to take yoga part of their lives. All children expressed desire to undergo ten day training, which Kendra promised to conduct the same.

5) School: St Peters School, Thuruthipuram 

       No of students: 150 

Sthanik Karyakarta: Smt Suja C Nair (Yoga Varga Saha Pramukh) conducted  

6) Edavilangu H.S.School, Edavilangu

       No of students: 85

       Sthanik Karyakarta: Smt Suja C Nair

7) School: Little Flower School 

       No of students: 110

       Sthanik Karyakarta: Smt Suja C Nair

8) School: JTSHSSchool. Kodungallur

       No of students: 120

       Sthanik Karyakarta: Sri Joshiji (Yoga Varga Pramukh)

 

9)    A Seminar on Shad Darshana was conducted by Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi, Perinjanam, where Mananeeya Didi was the main speaker.20 eminent people attended the seminar

22nd June: In the evening from 5pm to 7pm Yoga Sangamam was conducted at Edavilangu in Sree Muruga Bhajana Mandapam in Sree Narayana Nagar, Edavilangu. Sri M.S Muralidharan, Director of the Hindi Prachar Kendra was the Chief Guest. Mananeeya Lakshmi Didi and the president of SNDP Edavilangu branch, Sri CK Pratapan   also spoke on the occasion.

 Karyakartas who organized this programme were Smt Suja C Nair, Smt Jayalakshmi and Sri Anilji of Edavilangu area. 230 people witnessed the programme while 40 practitioners performed yoga together. 

23rd June: After their usual yoga practice in the morning 30 yogavarga participants (ladies and gents) went on a bike rally to Elthuruthu village for Samparka. The villagers were invited for concluding program on the same day in the evening.

Concluding function was held at Panicker’s Hall. Acharya Sri Ambadi Ramachandran from Thrissur, was the Chief Guest. Mananeeya Didi, Major General (retd.) Dr Vivekanandan and Dr Panicker graced the occasion and delivered benedictory addresses.

Sri Sudhakarji welcomed all who were present on the occasion. The Chief Guest spoke on the spiritual benefits of yogic way of life. Ma. Lakshmi Didi too spoke on the same lines quoting from the Bhagavad Gita and Kathopanishad. As she always adds, yoga is a technique adopted by one to uplift oneself. Maj.Gen Vivekanandan and Dr Panicker expressed their opinions about the benefits of yogic way of life through their own experiences.

The prize winners of the asana competitions which were held for different categories of students, demonstrated on the stage gracefully many difficult advanced Asanas and left the audience spellbound. Prizes were awarded to the winners by the Chief Guest and Ma. Didi. The rolling Shield initiated in the name of Man. Eknathji went to HDPY Senior Secondary School. Vote of thanks was delivered by Smt Mridula Manoharan. The programme concluded with Shanti Mantra. 150 people attended.

Follow up:

1. Two Samskara Vargas at P Vemballur and Methala from the month of July.

2. Yoga satra of 15 days duration to be started at the Sabha Hall of Methala from 1^st July. Total 15 people have registered.

 3. Planning of yoga Satra at Sabha Hall of Elthuruthu involving Residents association, SNDP members and local villagers for a target total of 108 people who will be interested in learning.

4. Yoga Satra is being planned at MES Asmabi College. P.Vemballur.