*Temple will also greatly appreciate donations of used vehicles in running condition as well as used sarees and salva kameez.
Many Thanks to Kishore and Ratna Bellamkonda for donating a 1993 Ford Taurus in great condition.
Prabhupada on the Freeway
Ram Kishan called a week ago from Los Angeles to tell us the full sized
Prabhupada Murthy had arrived from Vrndavan. Ram Kishan had ordered it
from Bhaktisiddhanta in October 2006, as a donation to Utah temple. He
didn't want to ship it further for fear of damage, and so asked if I
could pick it up. I thought of the puja scheduled by Sarmistha and
Prakash Patel for Hurricane Utah, near St. George for March 31, and
told Ram Kishan I would be three hours in his direction on that date,
might as well come the rest of the way. Read More
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
Bhagavad Gita 2/48
Narasimha Installation, Diksha Initiation, & Installation of Prabhupada Murthy
Sunday April 29, 4:30 pm. Yajamana Opportunities $ 108.00
(get the Blessings of Narasimha Dev)
Installation of the 24 " Brass Lakshmi Narasimha Deity
Caru brought from Bangalore. Ganesh temple priest, Satish Kumar
Seshadri, will officiate. Caru Das will perform diksha initiation
ceremony. In addition, we'll install the life sized form of Srila
Prabhupada. Roshan Khandpur, seen below with his wife Kulwant, donated
the murthy of Srila Prabhupada, which Blake and Caru fetched from
Roshan's home in Cerritos.
All starts at 4:30 pm. Below is an Utsave (smaller festival) deity of the
half man half lion incarnation which has been on the altar for years.
April 29 we'll install a full sized Deity. This will be an ideal
occasion to hear sonorous Vedic Chanting and participate in ancient
ritualistic ceremonies. Followed by a sumptuous vegetarian feast. More
information below.
Schedule of Events
4:30 pm Vishwaksena puja
4:45 pm Punyaha vaachanam - Temple warming
5:00 pm Arrival of Prabhupada, offering of flowers (pushpanjali) and guru puja
5:25 pm Garlanding of Priests
5:30 pm Raksha bandhnam - Tying sacred band for dieties and Yajamaanas
5:45 pm Adhi vaasam - Immersing the dieties in milk, water and grains.
6:15 pm Kalanyasam - Invoke the power of the diety in the murti
6:30 pm Diksha initiation, Bestowal of neck beads, tulasi japa,
Sampradaya names, renewal of vows, short talk, dakshina, fire
sacrifice, intiates as well as donors of $ 108 will offer samgri into
the fire. Pradhana homa - Narashima moola mantra homam
7:00 pm Prana pratistha - Main event. Invoking Deity in the murthi
7:15 pm Abhishekam, Arachana, arathi, manthra pushpam chanting.
The Half Man Half Lion Incarnation
This special form was adopted by Lord Vishnu to kill a demoniac ruler
Hiranyakashyap, who had pleased the Lord Brahma with his austerities.
Lord Brahma had given him the blessings that no known man or animal
born in the natural process could kill him, that he could not die in
the day or in the night, on earth or in heavens, either by fire, water
or by any weapon.
It was to kill such a tyrant and to remove him from the earth that Lord
Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha which was neither man nor animal,
came out of a broken pillar, laid hold of the demon king by its teeth,
put him up on his thighs and tore him up in the middle by his claws. It
was evening time (twilight) - neither day nor night.
Click below for a mystical 5 minute video on Narasimha Dev
Into the sea of black, the dark universe came to light. Brought by the
death of Hiranyakashipu, the great demon slain by the Lord Narasimha
Himself. Such was his form; fiery are his eyes, so terrific that the
demon succumbed to Him in the twilight. There He immerses Himself into
the Ocean of Knowledge, the ocean of destruction, the end of all evil.
Protector of the people, killer of the demons of the mind, Brahma
reveals the power of Lord Narasimha in his Bija, in His mantra Kavacha.
A kavacha that protects the body and the mind from evil. The pearls of
wisdom locked in every word that falls in a garland of letters on every
part of the body worshipped by the Bhakta.
"O Lord Nrisimha, the consort of Goddess Sri, the goddess of fortune.
You are the death of the greatest demon. I am sinking into the ocean of
birth and death, O Kripalaya, the treasurer of all mercy, please
protect me.
You ripped apart the great demon with your nails. The blood that poured
forth wet your heart turning it red like it was smeared with fresh
Kumkum. O Lord Nrisimha, You are the shelter for all including Kamala,
the goddess of fortune."
Within this wilderness of sound and sacred letters we hear yet another kind of mantra
"I have taken shelter of Lord Nrsimha unto whose lotus feet celestials,
yogis, gandharvas, vidyadharas and kinnaras, are constantly offering
their obeisances."
A part of 5 verses called the Panchamrita, it reflects the adoration of
Lord Narasimha by attributing various names to him and by describing
the various celestial beings who shower flowers and sing His praise.
This particular verse reflects the celestial beings like Gandharvas,
vidhyadharas and kinnaras. The richness of our mythologies is reflected
in dance, music, sculpture and literature. The depths of mythology are
revealed in various forms of expression, those which will fit anybody's
sense of aesthetics.
On the one end it clearly reflects the beauty of human emotion, the
reflection of the soul, of Bhakti in the heart of the aspirant who
sings in praise of the Lord Narasimha.
On the other hand, it makes me really wonder whether we are missing an
entire section of reality purely based on our inadequacy to understand
the "real world" around us. With such rich knowledge and explanation,
such various forms of expression there was definitely a lot more to
this sacred science.
Waves of Second Graders
Temple tours have picked up a lot since we opened this building six
years ago. Now between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors a year take tours
here. Yet even when we were in the previous building from 1987-2001,
there were many tour groups of young kids who came on the property to
see the llamas and the temple. The history of tours goes back about 20
years. Many of those grade school age kids who toured 20 years ago are
now close to thirty, have kids of their own, and fond memories of their
visits here. Read More
Variety, the Spice of Life
...There will be a lot of beautification of the temple and grounds on that
day. We can only try to show our appreciation to all these great
people, who are all LDS, and their selfless service, by punctuating
their hard work periods with tours and a buffet lunch. Anyone else in
the area who would like to see religion at its best, is welcome to drop
in on Saturday April 28 from 9 am until 2 pm, and join the fun. Wear
your work clothes. Read More
Upcoming Events: ·Sunday April 29th, 4:30 pm Lakshmi Narsingha Pratisthan and Diksha Initiations ·Saturday June 2nd, 6 pm Himalayan Performing Arts Fest
Vaibhavi Devi: Volunteer Service (801) 798-3559 Caru Das: Membership, Donations and Pujas (801) 787-1510 Mikela: Temple Secretary, (801) 916-8361
