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MTS Celebrates its Main Temple Anniversary

Pearland: Sri Meenakshi Temple celebrated its Main Temple Anniversary on Sunday July 5th. This is the 38th year since the main temple was consecrated with the Maha Kumbhabhishekam in 1982. This year, due to the pandemic surge in the Houston area, the temple is closed for the public. Neverthless, the celebration went on with hundreds of devotees viewing the livestreaming via Facebook.

“It was like everyone having the best seat in town” quipped one of the devotees. It was a glorious sight to see the utsava murthies of the four main deities Sundareswara (Siva), Meenakshi (Parvathy), Venkateswara (Vishnu) and Padmavathy (Lakshmi) radiating their brilliance at the middle of the Main Temple. The main philosophy of Sri Meenakshi Temple is the principle of Unity among the worshippers of both Maha Vishnu and Siva, and it was amply displayed at this event. The six highly learned and esteemed priests joined together in performing this function with great enthusiasm and devotion.

Simutaneous yagams took place and simultaneous abhishekams were performed for all the four deities. This happens generally only once a year, and the devotees were very much delighted with the spectacle. After archanas were performed for all the four deities, the finale was the grand arathi for all the four deities. These indescribable moments are captured and archived at the temple website emeenakshi.org. Kudos to the current board, the priests, the silpis and the staff for making this one of the outstanding events of this year.

Youtube video of the event can be found at https://youtu.be/SV6zPICUihY

Also on July 5th evening, 25th anniversary of Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari Prathishtapana was celebrated with Rajitotsava puja.

Youtube video of the event can be found at https://youtu.be/YpDt12_GiBQ

July 12, 2020
Sri Vasavi Kanyakaparameswari Jayanthi Celebrations at MTS

BY DR. PABISETTY

PEARLAND: Sri Meenakshi Temple celebrated Vasavi Kanyakaparameswari Jayanthi on Sunday, May 19th, 2019. It couldn’t have been a better festive day with a picture-perfect weather and ecstatic devotional kolattam dance by Vasavi Vanithas for Sri Vasavi Kanyakaparameswari in the Raja Veedhi of Meenakshi Temple. The festivities are a part of Sri Vasavi Jayanthi Celebrations — an Annual Celebration to worship Sri Vasavi as an incarnation of Adi Parasakthi and to commemorate Her birth as well as the legacy She left behind: An oldest Apostle of

Love, Peace and Non-violence besides being an upholder of women’s freedom of choice.
Bharath Ratna Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Past President of India, has indeed very rightly described Goddess VASAVI as the first ever known embodiment of non-violence in the world. Her path of non-violence was later tread by Jesus Christ, Goutam Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. She taught the world harming oneself or others isn’t the way forward but bringing a change of heart is what matters in averting wars.

Her incarnation was to help a cursed gandharva prince (Shapa Grastha Gandharva) who takes birth as King Vishnuvardhana attain salvation. According to Vasavi Puranam written by Sri Bhattacharya She was born into the royal vysya couple, Kusuma Shreshti and Kusumamba after Her parents performed the Yagna for children.

From a young age, Vasavi was interested in fine arts, philosophical and spiritual subjects. She had no interest in the material world but did show human empathy and served the needy. She devoted Her life to be in the service of Lord Shiva and vowed to remain celibate as Gowrabalika.

In quite contrast to Her virtuous desire King Vishnuvardhana, who was served by Her father as a tributary king, was captivated by Her beauty and desired to marry Her.
Much against Her fierce resistance to his desire, he decides to marry Her even if that necessitated waging a war against Her father.

To prevent blood-shed and uphold the dignity and Honor of Women Goddess Vasavi condemned his desire and decided to sacrifice Herself into the sacred fire (Atmahuthi or Atmarpanam).

She performed agni-pravesham along with elderly couples from the 102 Gotraja families. At that time she was only 10+ years and hence regarded as Kanyaka.

From this sacrificial fire, she revealed Her Vishwa Roopam as the Mother Goddess Adi Parasakthi to the 102 families gathered and gave Her message. She advised them to lead a life of non-violence and to practice agriculture, commerce and gau (Go) Raksha and blessed the community with prosperity and abundance. From there on she was worshipped as Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari Devi.

At the MTS Temple all the Vasavi Devotees gathered as annually done, to do homam followed by Shodasa Upachara pooja ably conducted by our learned priests. After Aarathi Her Pallaki with Her Utsav Vigraham was carried in a procession around the temple as the enchanted devotees sing Bhajan and dance in ecstatic mood. Overall it had been another memorable holy event at our temple.

Please click on the link to view a short video of the kolattam dance: https://youtu.be/E16ezMJB_DU

May 26, 2019
Utsav Parking Lot Inaugurated at Sri MTS

Pearland Mayor Tom Reid (center) cut the ribbon to the new Utsav parking lot with MTS President Dr. Padmini Ranganathan.

BY VATSA KUMAR

PEARLAND: An April morning with clear skies and a gentle breeze was the perfect setting at Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, Texas for Mayor Tom Reid to inaugurate the Utsav Parking lot.

Serving the Indian community for over 42 years, Sri Meenakshi Temple, one of its kind in the US, is a beacon for any Hindu pilgrim that yearns to visit the original Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple built in Madurai, a South Indian pilgrim center.

The current board of administration at the Temple, under the leadership of Dr. Padmini Ranganathan, has launched an ambitious project to renovate the 20 years old Kalyana Mandapam so as to meet the growing needs of devotees.

The project estimated to cost over a million is scheduled for completion by the end of November, 2019. As part of phase 1 of this project, construction of a new parking lot was taken up in March and completed within 6 weeks.

This parking lot, which can accommodate 104 additional cars, was inaugurated by Pearland’s Mayor Tom Reid, after religious activities were performed by the temple priests. Reid commended the temple board for launching this project to add the additional spaces for the members of its congregation.

Meenakshi Temple honored the Mayor in a traditional Indian manner by robing him with a beautiful Indian shawl. Delicious lunch followed this festive event. The well-lighted Utsav parking lot is now open to serve the devotees of the Temple throughout the year.

April 21, 2019
Glorious Pongal Celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple

Dignitaries pose in front of Pogal celebrations. Photo: Srini Sundarrajan

BY BHARGAVI GOLLA

PEARLAND — Despite cold weather, there was an overwhelming participation of enthusiastic devotees in outdoor Pongal celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple on January 19 th , 2019. Pongal is a popular harvest festival of south India that marks the return of the sun to the northern hemisphere. It’s celebrated to reaffirm and appreciate the many significant sacrifices of our ancestors, quite like Thanksgiving in America. Pongal is the only festival of Hindus that follows a solar calendar.

More than 100 families, several out of town, came to prepare pongal in the Raja veedhi, which is in front of the main temple. Silpi Ramanathan made a look alike bullock cart, and a cut out of the cow, adding a nice touch to the ambience of the whole place.

Gho Pooja for the first time offered at Pongal event was very well received by devotees. Gho Puja is done to honor the Mother of the Universe. The cow represents a symbol of all Gods unified in one form.
Though the day started out cold, Surya Bhagavan (Sun God) graced us with his bright presence during pongal preparation. The temperature soon warmed up to the cozy heat from all the wood burning stoves and so did the tempo with traditional pongal music. Pongal was cooked in beautifully decorated brass pots on stove made with clay and wood used as fuel. Rice and milk are boiled in a pot till the pot starts overflowing. The overflowing pot symbolizes fulfillment.

When milk started to boil over, everyone shouted out, “Pongalo pongal!” The ambience was very similar to what you would see in the villages of South India. The festive atmosphere was enhanced with a group of energetic ladies performed Kummi, a popular South Indian dance where the rhythm and beat were maintained with clapping since instruments were not present in these folk dominant regions of India.

Priests offered the delicious Pongal prasadam to all four deities inside the main Temple: Siva, Meenakshi, Venkateswara and Padmavathi with a special aarthi.

Chairman Dr. Padmini thanked silpis for the hard work in setting up the stoves and beautiful decorations, which was a visual treat. She also thanked priests, staff, board members, advisory council and volunteers for making this event successful.

February 1, 2019
MAHA RUDRAM: A Sea of Orange, A Sea of Bhakti!

By M.K.Sriram

PEARLAND: The great Maha Rudram conducted at Sri Meenakshi Temple from June 22 to 24, was a phenomenal experience for all who participated, whether as ritwiks or as devotees. It is two years in a row that it attained the status of Maha Rudram, when the count of Rudram chants exceeds the magic number 1331. About 60 ritwiks, all clad in orange vastrams blessed by the Shankaracharya of Kanchi, under the leadership of the temple priests, took part in the event spread over 3 days. It was literally a vedic marathon that took a lot of unparalleled dedication and effort by the participants. This is the 10th consecutive year that MTS has conducted the Sri Rudra Japam. The whole temple was flooded with the well synchronized chantings, even days later one can feel the reverberations.

Sri Rudram occurs in Krishna Yajur Veda. There are seven chapters in this Veda and Sri Rudram occurs in the fourth or middle chapter. So, if Krishna Yajur Veda is like a garland, Sri Rudram is like a pendant in the middle. And the most sacred Panchakshara mantra is enshrined like a diamond in the center. Rudram means Dukham-eliminator, paapam-eliminator. The word ‘Rudram’ is derived from two words – ‘Rud’ and ‘Ra’. ‘Rud’ means dukham (sorrow) or paapam (sin, demerit). ‘Rud’ also means the cause of dukham or paapam. What is the cause of sorrow or sin? It is agnyanam (ignorance). ‘Ra’ means eliminator. Lord Siva gets the name Rudra because he removes sorrow and sin and also the cause of them, which is ignorance.

The event started on Friday, June 22 at 6 PM. The Rudram chanters known as ritwiks as well as ardent devotees from far and wide assembled in the Main temple for the initial Sankalpam. The preliminary pujas started with Vigneshwara puja, Punyahavachanam and Kalasa stapanam. Then the all powerful Mahanyasam chanting was led by the priests to invoke Lord Rudra in every part of their body and mind. This is how Lord Shiva displays Himself through everyone who prays Him.

The 60+ ritwiks assembled at 9 AM on Saturday and for the next 3 hours went on the intense chanting of Sri Rudram, eleven times, each time followed by an anuvakam of Chamakam. Hundreds of devotees were held in a trance while the vedic mantra was chanted in unison. The whole atmosphere was filled with the strength and power of Sri Rudram. The morning session concluded with Rudra Trishati archana and upacharam.

The afternoon session started at 5 PM, with the continuation of the Sri Rudram chanting. The priests and ritwiks performed this divine prayer with utter concentration and devotion, and the temple resonated with this vedic mantra. The evening session concluded with a spectacular arathi and upacharam.

The devotees and ritwiks gathered again on Sunday, June 24 morning to continue with the chanting of Sri Rudram, the greatest Vedic offering to Lord Shiva. Goddess Meenakshi being the Veda Matha was surely smiling with happiness when she heard all the Veda ghosham in the temple from ritwiks, some of whom came from as far away as Dallas. The great Rudra Homam was then performed with such meticulous detail with the priests making the offerings to the Fire with the chanting of Sri Rudram. The final part of the Homam was the Vasordhara which was performed to the chant of the Chamakam. This was followed by Purnahuthi. An elaborate Abhishekam was performed for Lord Sundarewara that was witnessed by over 400 devotees. The curtains were drawn briefly for Alankaram, and when they opened up again, Lord Sundareswara in His most majestic form gave darshan to the devotees. The devotees were engulfed by the power of the Lord, and this was the greatest reward that the devotees could ever imagine they would receive. The final Arathi and Upacharam were very remarkable and Lord Sundareswara’s divine presence and blessings were felt.

It was amazing to see the wide variety of prasadams that were so lovingly prepared by the devotees in their homes and brought for the neivedyam by the grace of the Lord. More than 400 people had a sumptuous lunch. All in all, this was a most divine and blissful event that was well organized and conducted by the Temple under the leadership of the Chairman of the Board Mrs Padmini Nathan, the Religious Activity Committee led by Mrs Sheila Sriram, Priests led by Sri Manicka Bhattar, ably supported by the silpis and staff of the temple. The event co-coordinators Sri Sriram, Sri Muthukumar and other volunteers put in countless hours of work and co-ordination. Last but not the least were the ritwiks themselves who performed this historical feat with the blessings of Lord Sundareswara, to make this a very divine and fulfilling event. Many devotees and ritwiks could not help thinking if they were actually in the US, or was this all happening in India. The Rudra mantram “Om Namo Bhagavathe Rudraya ……” still reverberates in their hearts.

July 5, 2018
“Heaven on Earth” – Meenakshi-Sundareswara Wedding at MTS

Photos: Srini Sundarrajan

By M.K.Sriram

PEARLAND: April 29, is a day to remember forever in the Houston Hindu religious platform. The Thirukalyanam (Holy Wedding) of Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswara (Siva) was celebrated with extraordinary festivities, joy and grandeur at the Sri Meenakshi Temple. This wedding was the finale for the ten-day Mahotsavam (Great Festival). This festival follows the tradition set by the world famous Meenakshi temple at Madurai. Year by year, this signature event of the Meenakshi temple has been getting grander and grander. This year’s festival has been the Ultimate!

The weather was just perfect for the occasion; with devotees attired in predominantly green (Meenakhsi’s favorite color) assembling at the Ganesh Temple in the morning. Many families had brought specially made Seer (savories and sweets), flower and fruits. The traditional live Nadaswaram and Thavil (South Indian musical pipe & drums) music filled the air created the perfect festive ambience throughout the ceremonies.

After initial pujas to Lord Ganesha, the Seer Bakshanams were carried in a procession around the main temple and awaited the arrival of the Deities from the temple. A most beautifully decorated Goddess Meenakshi with Lord Siva, accompanied by Lord Vishnu were brought in palanquins on the shoulders of ardent devotees and joined the procession to the Kalyana Mandapam. Priests performed the garland exchanges to the tune of the famous “Maalai Mattrinal” song played by the musicians. The Deities were then gently rocked on a swing decorated with flowers, while the ladies performed a ritual.

The Deities were then carried to the main Mandapam. Oh, what a glorious sight it was to see the Deities seated in the most gorgeously decorated Mandapam! It instantly uplifted the hearts and minds of the devotees. Many dedicated volunteers worked on stringing beautiful flower garlands. The priests performed important rituals such as Rakshabandanam and Kanyadaanam, with participation by all the sponsor families. Many families availed of the opportunity to offer Vasthrams (saris & dhothis) and Mangalyam for the wedding. The most auspicious climactic moment was the Mangalya Dharanam (tying of Mangalyam), and it was a truly indescribably divine moment that will always remain in the memory of the attendees.

The grandest of processions followed with Meenakshi in the brilliant silver Ratham (chariot) and all Deities in their respective Vahanas. Several ladies performed Kummi Dance in front of the Ratham. The devotees thoroughly enjoyed and merrily celebrated this joyous wedding procession. The final rituals were completed and the temple flag that was hoisted ten days ago, was brought down to mark the completion of the grand Mahotsavam.

A sumptuously delicious sit-down lunch with traditional wedding items was served on banana leaves to about 2000 devotees. Scores of volunteers worked on cutting vegetables, helping with the cooking in the temple kitchen and serving.

This whole Mahotsavam, especially the Thirukalyanam was meticulously planned and so well organized by the Temple Board members led by the Chairman Mrs. Padmini Nathan. There was great teamwork and coordination among the various committees such as Religious Activities, Cultural, Food, Infrastructure (sound & video) etc. as well as the Temple administrators. The priests led by Sri Manicka Bhattar conceptualized and performed the pujas and homams so beautifully. The talented group of artisans led my Sri Ramanathan worked tirelessly day and night to put on the magnificent event. Special thanks to volunteer photographers Srini Sudarrajan, Lakshminarayana Setty and Milind Patil.

Many of the devotees expressed their great fortune to attend this function and felt they were really in the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Indeed we are very fortunate to celebrate this Mahotsavam right here in Houston. This is the only temple in the entire western hemisphere where one can witness this. For those who somehow missed this year’s festival and Meenakshi-Sundareswara kalyanam, it is a must attend next year. The Cultural Program by High School graduating students was a treat to watch after the lunch. A brief video of the event can be found at: https://youtu.be/BcQmOSyxzXo

May 17, 2018
Grand New Year Day Celebration and Leadership Transfer at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Starting from evening of December 31, 2017, devotees gathered at Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) to bid farewell to 2017 and to welcome 2018. The special midnight pooja has been a regular feature at MTS with many devotees braving the winter cold. The Thiruppavai and Thiruvempavai recitals in the auspicious Dhanur Masa (Marghazhi) from mid-December to mid-January reverberate at the dawn hours to awaken the Gods, and set the scene for the New Year on January 1st. It was a Grand New Year’s Day celebration at Sri Meenakshi Temple. From the early morning to the late night the main temple was filled with devotees, in spite of the biting cold weather. More than 4,000 devotees visited the Meenakshi temple on that day to witness the pujas and the customary transfer of leadership once every 2 years. Ganapathi Homam, Venkateswara Laksharchana, Pallakku processions for Goddess Meenakshi in the morning and for Lord Venkatesawara along with special Archanas all went smoothly with large number of devotees participating. The Priests did an excellent job with the throngs of devotees coming to pray and seek blessings. The décor and the ambience of the inside main temple beautifully complemented the expanded corner temple praharams and walkways with Acharyas, Nayanmargal and Alwargal.

The Cultural Segment ‘BHAKTHI” started with a skit by local talent on Nayanmargal, Alwargal & Acharyas. It was both educational & entertaining & well received by the audience

Classical dance performances by students of 4 local dance schools added to the festive ambience on New Year day. The hall filled up with guests to enjoy a magical afternoon of singing and dancing. As the program progressed, we experienced delightful classical dances from students of Sreepadam Schoolof Arts, Sunanda’s school of Arts,, Anjali Center for Performing Arts, and Abhinaya school of Performing Arts.. The talented performers left the audience totally enthralled. Devotees toured the Corner Temple praharams and expressed their delight in the progress made by the Corner Temple Renovation Project (CTRP) in bringing the atmosphere of authentic Indian temple to US. Food booths were always crowded, and the vendors did an awesome job serving all the devotees. MTS thanks the event coordinator Secretary Ramachandra Reddy, all the volunteers, board members, council members, and staff for their hard work and dedication in putting on such a wonderful New Year’s Day experience at our Temple.

January 11, 2018
Bajagovindam and Sri Venkateswara Kalyanam Celebrated on October 8

Photos: Srini Sundarrajan

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: The celebration of Sri Venkateswara Kalyanam appropriately titled “Bajagovindam” is one of the traditions at most South Indian temples during the month of “Purattasi”, and here in Sri Meenakshi Temple Society in Pearland we follow the same tradition The purpose of such festivals is believed to shower all of God’s creations with health, wealth, happiness and prosperity.

The sequence of rituals that comprise this festival are interesting and meaningful. A decorated podium is created inside the Kalyana Mandapam where the beautiful utsavamurthys of Lord Venkateswara and Padmavathi are set up to indicate the happy gruhasta ashrama (married life) of the deities. The celebration started with a seervarisai procession from Ganesh temple accompanied by Nadaswaram. Malai Matruthal (garland exchange), pidi sutruthal and oonjal seva was done perfectly by the priests with over 300 devotees enjoying the divine wedding celebration replete with music and chants. MTS priests Sri Narayana Charyalu, Sri Sridharan Raghavan Sri Pawan Kumar Sri Bashyam along with our retired priest Sri Doraiswamy Bhattar followed all the steps for a beautiful celestial wedding of Sri Venkateswara and Padmavathi. Devotees were involved in performing “rakshabandanam” and “kanyadhanam”, witnessed the festival, and got the blessings. After the wedding, utsava murthis procession with Ratham and all the vahanas was a beautiful sight to watch. The wedding music brought the South Indian Temple festive mood to all the devotees.

It was indeed an amazing and blessed day with lots of bright sunshine. After the completion of the procession and other rituals of dhwaja-avarohanam, the utsava murthis were taken by the “Ratham” or chariot to the main temple for “oonjal seva” and final Aarthi. Everyone enjoyed the sumptuous lunch with the traditional wedding menu served by many volunteers. Chairman Narayanan thanked all the staff and volunteers for their hard work which made the occasion a memorable one.

MTS Youth Raise $6000+ for Harvey Relief

By An MTS Devotee

PEARLAND: Barely 3 weeks after the devastating flooding in Houston, three musically talented high schoolers rallied together to raise funds on behalf of Sri Meenakshi temple. Their efforts paid off handsomely with the community spontaneously coming together in support of this initiative and donated over $6000. It is indeed heartening to note that some of the most significant contributions came from our youngest devotees such as Sandra (8 years) donating the last of her piggy bank.

Adhi Gopal (vocal), Kishore Iyer (violin) and Naga Srinidhi (mridangam) presented a 2 hour traditional Carnatic Music concert. The honorable Chairman S. Narayanan, kicked off the event offering generous appreciation for the youth effort. Temple board member Arun Sundar received the collected funds on behalf of MTS. Senior residents in the Indo American community such as Dr. Appan and Anantha Aiyer attended the event along with dozens of other well-wishers. The event started off with Adhi Gopal enthralling the audience with a series of specially chosen songs for the occasion, culminating in the lilting Brindavani Thillana composed by the legendary Dr. Balamuralikrishna.

Following this was a violin recital by Kishore Iyer where he highlighted Sooryakantham Ragam, seeking blessings of the sun god. Naga Srinidhi kept the audience spell bound with masterly thani-avarthanam in Khanda Triputa thalam. The proud parents of all three artists were overjoyed by the camaraderie and thanked everyone for attending and contributing. Such events definitely point out the importance of inculcating the next generation with the true spirit of giving.

October 13, 2017
Sri Meenakshi Temple Society Celebrated Guru Peyarchi Homam & Abhishekam

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Guru Peyarchi Homam and Abhishekam were conducted at MTS on Friday September 1st, with Navagraha Abhishekam at 7:00pm, followed by a more elaborate event on Saturday September 2nd in a grand manner. This year’s event had a special significance due to the torrential rain and havoc caused by Hurricane Harvey throughout the Houston area. Saturday’s event included a special shanti puja to Sri Varuna Bhagavan (the ruling deity for water and rain). Guru Peyarchi symbolizes the transit of Jupiter or Guru from Simha Rasi to Kani Rasi where he will rule for the next 14 months. The event on Saturday saw more than 150 devotees braving the high waters on the streets, and participating in the Sankalpam and Homam with 108 kalasas for Lord Dakshinamurthy. The puja started inside Ganesa temple, moved to Navagraha Sannidhi, and culminated at the main temple. The Homam was performed by priests Sri Manicka Sundaram Bhattar, Sri Kalyana Sundaram, Sri Balaji Sethuraman, Sri Pawankumar Sri Bhashyam, Sri Parameswaran, and Sri Narayana Charyalu. After performing the Purnahuthi (below), the devotees got the opportunity to carry the beautifully decorated 108 kalasas with the sacred water to Lord Dakshinamurthy’s sannadhi in the praharam of the main temple in a procession, which was truly a sight to behold.

Dakshinamurthy is a form of Lord Shiva who is the Adi Guru (teacher) of all types of awareness, understanding and knowledge. He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation. He is regarded as the ultimate Guru – the embodiment of knowledge and the destroyer of ignorance. He shows the Jnana Mudra with the thumb denoting God, the index finger denoting man, and the other three fingers showing the three impurities of man: arrogance, illusion and bad deeds of the past births. When man detaches himself from these impurities, he reaches God. The Abhaya Mudra with the hand lifted above thigh with palm facing out and fingers pointing is interpreted as His grace upon His students. The snake signifies tantric knowledge and the fire represents illumination, removing the darkness of ignorance. The fifth day of the week, Thursday, also referred to as Guruvar or Guru vaaram, is associated with the planet Jupiter, and are considered auspicious to start any educational efforts. Special worship services are offered to Dakshinamurthy on that day of the week. Once the devotees gave the kalasas with sacred water to the priests, the event continued with Abhishekam, Alankaram, and Archana to Lord Dakshinamurthy in the outside praharam. The attendees sat in the main temple in front of the Utsava Murthy, and recited the mantras as guided by the priests which made the event very meaningful to the devotees, and the MTS staff provided able support to the volunteers. The event ended with an extensive Deeparadhana to Lord Dakshinamurthy.

Recognizing the continuing hardships experienced by the Houston communities, MTS arranged a special prayer for peace on Sunday September 3, 2017 at 10:00 am. All the priests joined to recite the slokas in the main temple asking the almighty to bless all beings. The MTS Board has established a relief fund to help displaced citizens in all surrounding communities, and sent out an appeal for the community members to reach out to the board members for any help needed.

September 8, 2017
Panguni Uthiram Festival Celebrated on Grand Scale at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Panguni Uthiram is celebrated at many temples throughout South India and the world. The festival was celebrated at Sri Meenakshi Temple on Sunday, April 9. It is believed that the wedding of Rama and Sita was celebrated on Panguni Uthiram. The “Kalyanams” of Siva-Parvati, Lord Subramanya, Vishnu-Lakshmi and Rama-Sita are celebrated in a grand manner at many temples. The festival dates back to the 7th Century according to historians. The grand celebration of Panguni Uthiram at Sri Meenakshi Temple was attended by a huge crowd of devotees all through the morning. The function started with beautiful Seervarisai procession from Ganesh Temple. The Main Temple was full with devotees for Kalyana Utsavam. Malai Matral (Garland exchange) ritual was done beautifully by all the priests. The procession with Mayil Vahanam was a great sight to watch. The decorations by the priests were beautiful, and the chanting of the slokas and devotional music by the devotees were feasts for the eyes and ears. The event Coordinators Saro Alagappan and Muthuraman executed it flawlessly with the help of the RAC team members and the incomparable MTS priests and staff.

Sita Rama Kalyanam at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Sita Rama Kalyanam was celebrated at Sri Meenakshi temple with pomp on Saturday, April 8. Sri Rama Navami is celebrated as Lord Rama’s birthday, as well as his celestial wedding day with Goddess Sita. The wedding is performed to bring the happiness and peace around the world. The style of the wedding as described in ancient Hindu writings is used as the baseline for Hindu marriages today. Lord Sri Rama and Seetha Devi represent the ideal husband and wife, who achieved Divinity by adhering to Truth and Dharma at all times. Devotees gathered at the Ganesh temple with colorful trays of bakshanams, fruits and flowers and started the traditional “seer varisai” procession. Pidi Sutral (offering of colored rice) was performed in front of the kalyana madapam by several ladies, and the event began with a Vishwaksena Pooja and was followed by authentic wedding rituals, culminating in “mangalya dharanam”. The priests followed it up with the homam, akstharaponam, and mangalaharathi. After the celestial wedding ceremony, the deities were taken on a procession around the temple premises in a silver chariot while the devotees chanted bhajans. The divine wedding concluded with a sumptuous wedding feast. The MTS board, pooja committee, kitchen staff under the supervision of Rani Chilukuri, temple staff, and volunteers deserve credit for planning and organizing a grand event with the able guidance of the event coordinators, Ramachandra Reddy and Ranjana Narasiman.

April 21, 2017
Masi Magam Celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Kamala Raghavan

PEARLAND: Masi Magam, a special event for Lord Murugan was celebrated by Sri Meenakshi Temple on Saturday March 11. This auspicious day usually falls on the Magam nakshathra of the Tamil month Masa (Generally Feb 15 – March 15). Sri Meenakshi Temple closely follows the traditions and customs of Madurai and this festival replicated the grand celebration at the ancient Thirupparankundram Murugan temple. The scriptures say that Goddess Parvathy, in the form of Shakti (Supreme Power) blessed and gave the divine “vel” weapon to Lord Muruga to ensure victory in his battle with the demon Surapadman.

The abhishekam is performed on the Vel or spear of Lord Muruga. More than 100 ardent devotees participated in the beautiful puja. The priest performed Abhishekam to the accompaniment of chanting of the sacred Rudra veda mantram. This was followed by the singing of the melodious and popular Tamil hymn Kanda Shashti Kavacham that was composed by the 19th century poet Devaraya Swamigal.

The devotees sang several songs on Muruga while waiting patiently for the thirai (curtain) to open after alankaram. When the curtain opened, there was a spontaneous cry of “Muruganukku Haro Hara, Vel Muruganukku Haro Hara” from all the devotees upon seeing the spectacularly adorned deities of Lord Karthikeya and his consorts Valli and Devayanai.

The final archana was performed, followed by Deeparadhana. This was truly a very divine and fulfilling experience for the devotees, aptly described by a devotee’s parents visiting from India as “We never miss Madurai or Mylapore when we are in Meenakshi Temple, Houston, where all the pujas and festivals are done just like in India”. Several of the volunteers had prepared prasadams that were distributed by the coordinators.

The event was very well conducted by the priests and temple staff, and coordinated by Dr. T.A. Dorairajan and Srikanth Venugopalan along with the Temple board members.

March 17, 2017
Heavenly Gates open at the Vaikunta Ekadasi Celebrations at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By M. K. Sriram

PEARLAND: It was a great and divine start to 2017 for several hundred devotees who worshipped at Sri Meenakshi Temple on the very auspicious Vaikunta Ekadasi day that fell on Sunday, January 8. The darshan of Lord Maha Vishnu on this day is most important to many devotees. “The Temple” is the place to visit on this day. The forecasters predicted a very cold morning, and cold it was with temperature at 24 deg. F early morning. But braving this cold, at least 50 devotees assembled at the sannidhi of Sri Venkateswara at the main temple at around 6 AM, to partake in the chanting of Thiruppavai. It was a truly divine experience. The early morning arthi was accompanied by the beats of the chenda drums, which is a very unique Kerala tradition. By 9 AM, the crowd had grown much larger filling the temple hall. The priests started the most sacred abhishekam of the Lord to the chanting of vedic hymns. The belief is that one’s ego and sins are all washed away when witnessing the abhishekam. The curtains were then drawn for the elaborate decoration (alankaram). This was the time when the temple hall was filled with Vishnu Nama, with the recital of Sahasranamam (1000 names of Lord Vishnu). When the curtains were opened, Lord Venkateswara appeared in his most magnificent and glorious form giving darshan to his beloved devotees.

While the priests made final preparations, hundreds and hundreds of devotees lined up for the Vaikunta Swarga Dwara darshan outside the north temple door. This is the one time every year when the “Gates to Heaven” open and devotees have the blissful experience of having darshan of Maha Vishnu in his abode in heaven. As the doors opened at about 10:45 AM, there was rapturous chanting of Govinda Govinda and devotees entered the Lord’s abode. It was an indescribable sight to see the Lord with His consorts Bhoo Devi and Sri Devi adorned with dazzling alankarams seated on His Garuda vahana. Hundreds of devotees thronged through the heavenly gates to have darshan. Archana was performed simultaneously to the moola vigraha and the Utsava Murthies as the bhaktas basked in blissful delight with the Lord in their hearts. At around noon, the deities on the Garuda Vahanam were taken in a procession around the temple to the chanting of Purusha Sooktham and various other Vedic verses. It was truly amazing that there was a non-stop stream of ardent devotees walking through Swarga Dwaaram from 10:30 AM till late in the evening.

MTS Chairman S. Narayanan thanked Priests Sreedharan Raghavan, Pawan Kumar, Sriman Narayana and all the other priests, temple staff, Religious Activity Committee led by Sheila Sriram, Temple Board members and their families and volunteers for their phenomenal effort to make this a very fulfilling event. He particularly praised the efforts of the silpis, Ramanathan in particular for setting up and decorating the temple for this special event. This event was coordinated by Bhargavi Golla, Harini Sampath and Malathi Sundar.

January 13, 2017
Sri Meenakshi Temple Celebrates the Arrival of New Year 2017

By Akilan Gopal & S. Narayanan

PEARLAND: Long before the dawn of the New Year, devotees were gathered at Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) to bid farewell to 2016 and to welcome 2017. The special midnight pooja has become a regular feature at MTS with many devotees braving the winter cold for the occasion. The auspicious Dhanur Masa (Marghazhi) which falls from mid-December to mid-January is significant for the early morning Thiruppavai and Thiruvempavai recitations that reverberate at the dawn hours to awaken the Gods, and set the scene for the New Year on January 1st.

It was a Grand New Year’s Day celebration at Sri Meenakshi Temple. From the early morning to the late night the main temple was filled with devotees. The weather was great and more than 8,000 devotees visited Meenakshi temple, Pearland, Texas.

The Ganapathi Homam, Venkateswara Laksharchana, Pallakku procession for Venkateswara in the morning Pallakku procession for Meenakshi in the evening, Special Archana for Mahalakshmi all went remarkably seamlessly, with the large number of devotees participating. The Priests did an excellent job with the throngs of devotees coming to pray and seek blessings from the God. The décor and the ambience of the inside main temple greatly complemented the expanded precincts of the Main Temple.

Meenakshi Temple started the New Year off with a cultural extravaganza, hosting the talent of local and international artists alike. The occasion was organized by Mala Gopal, who enlisted the help of high school teens Harish Ganesh, Aakash Srikanth, and Gopinath Senthilkumar to run the show. Adhi Gopal and Kishore Ayer began the event with a prayer followed by a classical performance honoring the recently deceased legend M. Balamuralikrishna, who was also the guru for Adhi’s mentor P. Sekar.

Soon the hall filled up with guests, looking forward to a magical afternoon of singing and dancing. Magesh, Kishore and Maya Iyer never missed a beat as they gave a violin mini-concert. Sinthuja and Priya, students of Manjula Palivela, sang beautifully. As the program progressed, we experienced delightful classical dances from students of Sreepadham School, Tatvam School, Sunantha Nair School, Anjali School, as well as students of Indrani Parthsarathy. The highlight of the day was a superb dance showcase by the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, a non-profit that now supports over 9,000 persons with auditory, visual, or vocal disabilities to help them engage socio-economic-cultural fronts. The specially talented performers truly left the audience in awe, as they showed us how perseverance and determination will overcome all odds – a fitting message to begin the New Year.

Devotees witnessed the construction of the Corner Temple Renovation Project (CTRP) already began and generously donated for the project. Food booths were always crowded, and the vendors did an awesome job serving all the devotees.

Thanks to Deputy Consul General Mr. Surendra Adhana for his presence. We thank the Dr. P. Vaduganathan, Dr. Suresh Reddy, Dr. Saraswathi Reddy, Dr. Venugopal Menon, Dr. Siva Bodgala, Dr. Saranathan, Dr. Hema Salvady, Dr. Visalakshi Annamalai for their valuable time to be on call at the Temple for any first aid need by the devotees. Thankfully there was no incident. MTS thanks the event coordinator Joint Secretary Ramachandra Reddy, all the volunteers, board members, council members, and staff for their hard work and dedication in putting on such a wonderful New Year’s Day experience at our Temple.

January 6, 2017
Tributes Paid to Late. Selvi J. Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu CM, by MTS, BKM, and TNF

By Vivek Natarajan

PEARLAND: The Indian state of Tamil Nadu lost its incumbent Chief minister, Selvi J. Jayalalithaa a week back. Many Houston Tamil people personally felt the loss and organized a community wide tribute to Amma as Late. Selvi J. Jayalalithaa was known. The event was organized by Bharathi Kalai Manram (BKM), Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) and the Tamil Nadu Foundation (TNF Houston Chapter) and was held on December 11, in the visitor’s center of Sri Meenakshi Temple.

The event started with a minute of silence. Vice consul, Indian Consulate of Houston, Devendar Kumar spoke and paid tributes to Amma. Then community leaders S. Narayanan (MTS), Tupil Narasiman (MTS and BKM), Govindan Somaskanthan (TNF), Dr. Thiruvengadam Arumugam (BKM), Dr. Padmini Ranganathan (MTS), Anantha Aiyer (Tamil Stage creations), Dr. Kas Saranathan (Meenakshi Theatres and BKM), Sam Kannappan (MTS and GOPIO), and Srikanth Venugopalan (MTS and TNF) spoke. All the speeches were tinged with emotion and sense of personal connect with the departed leader. The overarching theme was the achievement of Selvi JJ as a leader in a typical male dominated society, her fierce determination, her sense of compassion for the poor, her welfare legacy in the form of pro poor schemes, and her many talents.

Later, the Bharathi Kalai Manram had its Annual general meeting in the same venue. The meeting paid tributes to great Tamil artistes who had passed away recently.

The first was Sri M. Balamurali Krishna, a renowned musician, composer, creator of ragas, playback singer, viola player, music director: in short, a multifaceted genius. His trademark voice, innovative spirit, clear diction were remembered as was his trademark song Oru Naal Poduma from the block buster Tamil movie Thiruvilayadal.

The second was Sri Cho Ramaswamy, a renowned lawyer, playwright, dramatist, actor, and journalist, a man of many talents who wore many hats. His trademark wit, honesty, candidness, and clarity of thought along with his plays, and his magazine were remembered by the audience as was the fact that his contrarian but sincere views elicited respect and following in not only in Tamil Nadu but across the whole of India.

December 15, 2016
Bhoomi Puja at Sri Meenakshi Temple

Photos: Lakshminarayanan Setty, Srini Sundarrajan and Milind Patil

By S. Narayanan

PEARLAND: Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) celebrated on Sunday November 6, the Bhoomi puja (Ground breaking ceremony) for the Corner Temples renovation Project (CTRP). The CTRP project includes expanding and connecting all the four Corner Temples, as well as connecting the Rajagopuram and the Main Temple. The project includes South and North connecting Mandapams that will house Hindu saints Alwargal and Nayanmargal. The CTRP Project is expected to be completed by August of 2017 and upon completion will have both Nayanmargal and Alwargal under one roof which will be a unique feature for our Temple in the World. The divine blessing was already felt with an unbelievably perfect weather through the ceremony prior to turning into a rainy day.

On the previous day (Saturday November 5th) MTS saw the celebration of the final day of Skanda Shashti Utsavam. The Puja was done at Murugan Sannidhi with a beautiful alankaram. It was an awesome sight to watch the Murugan procession with the Mayil (Peacock) Vahanam. MTS board thanked the coordinators of the Skanda Shashti event T.A. Dorairajan and Murugan Selvan.

The evening prior to the Bhoomi Puja day, November 5th also marked the invocatory Anugnai puja which was conducted at the Ganesh temple. Early morning of Sunday November 6th the devotees gathered to participate in the Ganapathi Homam, invoking Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles.

After the Homam and Abhishekam for Prasanna Ganapathi, Devotees took procession to the auspicious Northeast corner of the Main Temple complex to start the Bhoomi Puja. The Puja commenced with Sankalpam, Vigneswara Puja followed by Punyahavachanam (sprinkling of Holy water) followed by the Bhoomi Puja. MTS’s own Vedic Heritage School children provided a beautiful addition with the rendition of songs and slokas.

The families of Sri Meenakshi Temple priests initiated the start of the Bhoomi Puja. The distinguished visitors, Honorable Indian Consul General (CG) Sri Anupam Ray, Honorable Pearland Mayor Tom Reid were at the top of the queue of the gathered devotees. Upon participating in the Puja, the CG and the Mayor thanked the gathered devotees for inviting them to be part of the historical occasion, while congratulating the growth that MTS has seen over the years and its important role in Houston. The atmosphere was very festive with the hundreds of devotees gathered, all very Happy to be part of this historic project with plenty of photo opportunities.

After all the devotees took part in the ceremony, the Utsava Murthy Ganesha was carried by devotees on a procession to all four corner Mandapams and to the Main Temple. Aarati was done at Maha Ganapathi, Ayyappa, Murugan, Ramar Parivar, Anjaneya, Radha Krishna, Durga, Jothi, Kannika Parameswari, Nataraja, Bairavar, Navagraha, Siva, Meenakshi, Venkateswara and Padmavathi.

Hon Consul General Anupam Ray and Mayor Tome Reid released the 2017 MTS calendar. The calendar came out very nicely thanks to the MTS team made up of Vice Chairman Padmini Nathan, Secretary GN. Prasad with C. Vijayarajan coordinating the publication; the beautiful photos were by Srini Sundararajan. Treasurer Sasidharan Pillai announced the impressive fundraising total of eight hundred thousand dollars to date. All the devotees were happy to participate in the puja for all the twenty five deities in Meenakshi temple on a single day. The Chairman thanked all the priests, Staff, Board and Advisory Council Members and Fundraising Committee Members for their hard work and enthusiasm clearly felt already for the commencement of the project. After the Puja, delicious lunch was served to all the devotees at the youth center.

November 10, 2016
Sri Meenakshi Temple Anniversary Celebrations

By Kamala Raghavan and M.K. Sriram

PEARLAND: Sri Meenakshi Temple conducted the anniversary celebrations with an auspicious “Nava Kalasa” pooja followed by Homam, Purnahuthi, and simultaneous Abhishekam, Alankaram and Aarthi to all the deities in the main temple. The event provided a feast for the eyes and ears when the images were projected at all the monitors to provide darshan to every one of the 250+ devotees who attended the event. Devotees delighted by chanting the Sri Rudra Japam, Purusha Suktham and listening to the melodious music filled with “bhakti” by visiting and local musicians. It created a tremendous enthusiasm and passion among those devotees who braved the intense heat outside to delight in getting the divine blessing. The event started at 10:00 AM on Sunday July 3, with the 9 Kalasas situated majestically on decorated platforms at the center of the main temple to invoke the deities. The priests performed Vigneswara and Vishwaksena puja, Punyahavachanam and Kalasa stapanam. The devotees were deeply moved by the vedic mantras chanted in unison by the priests Sri Balaji, Sri Paramewaran, Sri Pawan Kumar, and Sri Sriman Narayana Charlu. The whole atmosphere was filled with the strength and power of the vedic mantras. An elaborate Abhishekam and Alankaram were performed for all the deities simultaneously. When the curtains opened for darshan when the devotees were held spellbound by the majestic forms of the deities. The final Aarthi was conducted and this was followed by Prasadam and lunch distribution. Many devotees offered a wide variety of prasadams lovingly prepared in their homes. All in all, this was a very uniquely divine event where pujas and abhishekams were conducted simultaneously to Lord Sundareswara, Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Venkateswara and Goddess Padmavathy, very well organized and conducted by the Religious Activities Committee (RAC) members and devotee volunteers. The members of the Corner Temple Renovation Project (CTRP) fund raising committee explained the scope and status of the project to the assembled devotees. A brief description of the “Kalasa pooja” from the website is given below for information of the devotees.

Kalasa: A brass, mud, copper, or silver pot is filled with water. Mango leaves are placed in the mouth of the pot and a coconut is placed over it. A red or white thread is tied around its neck or sometimes all around it in an intricate diamond-shaped pattern. The pot may be decorated with designs. When the pot is filled with water or rice, it is known as purnakumbha representing the inert body which when filled with the divine life force gains the power to do all the wonderful things that makes life what it is.

Purnakumbha literally means a “full Pot” (Purna = full, Kumbha = Pot), and it is a pot full of water, with fresh leaves of the mango tree and a coconut (Sriphala) placed on the top. Purnam means completion and the significance is that the endeavor undertaken must be successfully completed. The Purnakumbha is considered a symbol of abundance and “source of life” in the Vedas. Purna-Kumbha is preeminently a Vedic motif, known from the time of Rig-Veda. The Purnakumbha is believed to be a symbol of auspiciousness embodying either Ganesha, remover of obstacles, or his mother Gauri, the goddess of household bounty or Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. During the Samudramanthan or great churning of the milky ocean by devas and asuras to get the divine nectar, Lord Vishnu appeared bearing the pot of nectar which blessed one with everlasting life. Thus the Kalasa also symbolizes immortality.

The Kalasa (or Kalash) is used for creating seat for invoked deities during the puja. It is filled with water and topped with leaves of mango tree or betel vine to denote deity’s seat. The water inside the Kalasa keeps this seat pure till the ritual of Pranapratishta (invoking deity into an image, idol, coconut or betelnut). A coconut is set up on the mouth of the kalash after putting betel nut or coins in the water as a symbol of sacrifice. Five precious stones like pearl, diamond, emerald, blue sapphire, ruby and gold may also be added to the water of kalash, because the precious stones and gold have capacity to attract and emit the principles of five superior deities.

The neck of the pot is tied with a white, yellow or red colored thread or cloth. The water is pure and clean to the highest extent. The water in the kalash symbolizes the primordial water from which the entire creation emerged, the leaves and coconut represent creation, and the thread represents the love that “binds” all in creation. The Kalasa is therefore considered auspicious and worshipped. The waters from all the holy rivers, the knowledge of all the Vedas and the blessings of all the deities are invoked in the Kalasa and its water is thereafter used for all the rituals, including the abhishekam.

Source: bharathkidilse.blogspot.com/2009/10/kalasha.html

July 8, 2016
Sri Meenakshi Temple: June 4 & 5

Photos: Srini Sundarrajan

By S. Narayanan

PEARLAND: MTS board is renovating the Corner Temples and this was an Aarambha puja for the project. By god’s grace, the weather was unbelievably perfect in the middle of rainy days. Saturday evening the Anugnai puja was done at the Ganesh temple. Sunday morning devotees gathered early to start the Ganapathi Homam.

After the Homam and Abhishekam for Prasanna Ganapathi, Puja was done for all the Utsava Murthis starting from Maha Ganapathi, Ayyappa, Murugan, Ramar Parivar, Anjaneya, Radha Krishna, Durga, Jothi, Kannika Parameswari and Nataraja with individual sankalpam for all the families. Devotees got the Brick from the priest to carry to the corner Temple of their choice. Utsava Murthis procession was a beautiful sight to watch. With Chanda Melam in the front the devotees followed the procession. All the devotees went to Main Temple and got Anugnai from Siva, Meenakshi, Venkateswara and Padmavathi.

MTS board released the beautiful model of the CTRP project which includes expanding and connecting all the four Corner Temples and connection between the Rajagopuram and the Main Temple. The South and North connecting Mandapams will house Hindu saints Alwargal and Nayanmargal. The model was so nice the devotees surrounded it very quickly to appreciate the beauty of the CTRP project.

The devotees went to each Corner Temple and puja was done sequentially stating from Maha Ganapathy. Devotees left the Sacred Brick in the respective Corner Temple.

This was also a fundraising puja for the project and the fundraising team raised an amazing total of $330,000 in about fifty days which includes more than $25,000 donated on the Aarambha Puja day.

All the devotees were happy to participate in the puja for all the twenty five deities in Meenakshi temple on a single day which is a very rare occasion. Chairman thanked all the priests, Staff, Board and Advisory Council Members and Fundraising Committee Members for their hard work and cooperation for the project and the Aarambha Puja. Everyone appreciated the model which was done by Silphi Ramanathan.

June 9, 2016
Sri Meenakshi Pattabhishekam at Sri Meenakshi Temple

By Haripriya Sundar

PEARLAND: What a grand sight it was to see many devotees gathered in the newly renovated Sri Meenakshi Temple on Saturday evening, April 16. It was windy and clouds were looming overhead, but that didn’t stop the devotees from attending the Meenakshi Pattabhishekam.

Inside the Main Temple, there were three sets of vighragas, with Sri Meenakshi in the middle. The priests started doing the pujas and the devotees chanted the slokas and mantras alongside them. The festival is a reenactment of Goddess Meenakshi’ s coronation as queen.

The royal couple, King Pandian and his wife Kanchanamalai, did not have a child for many years. After many prayers, during one pooja, a baby girl came out of the fire. She went and sat on the King’s lap. A divine voice from the sky claimed that this child is an avatar of goddess Shakthi. When the child gets to the right age, Lord Shiva will come and marry her. Until then, Sri Meenakshi was trained in all kinds of warfare and crowned as Queen Meenakshi of the Pandya Kingdom. This coronation ceremony is known as the Pattabhishekam.

Once the Pattabhishekam was done the symbolic scepter was handed over to the Chairman S. Narayanan to carry around the Main Temple with devotees. Sri Meenakshi has a beautiful flower palanquin (the Poo Pallakku). The Pallakku was decorated with red and white carnations, and this year jasmine flowers were added to the decorations. The Pallakku was then carried out, parade style, in a procession around the temple.

It had started to drizzle but devotees followed the procession around the temple chanting veda gosham and Lalithasahasranamam. A group of devotees carried and played the Chenda Melam, a type of Kerala drum, adding to the liveliness of the festival. Finally, after the ceremony was complete, devotees went into the Youth Center to enjoy a nice dinner provided by Temple.

All in all, the Pattabhishekam was full of blessings and grandeur. The weather did not dampen the spirits of the devotees and everything was run smoothly. Chairman thanked the staff and the volunteers. Several volunteers spent many hours to get the Poo Pallakku decorated. It was a great precursor to the grand final Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Thiru Kalayanam that is to take place on Sunday April 24.

April 21, 2016
Grand Mahasivarathri Celebrations at MTS

By M.K.Sriram & Anu Mahesh

PEARLAND: It was a Grand Mahasivarathri Day celebration at Sri Meenakshi Temple on Monday, March 7. Devotees started streaming in soon after the doors opened in the morning and swelled to a large gathering when the puja started at twilight. The weather was beautiful and more than 1,000 devotees thronged the temple. The Honorable Indian Consul General P. Harish and his wife Nandita Harish were present among devotees. The decorations were stunningly beautiful, especially the heavenly “Kailas” mountain that was created by the very talented temple artisans. The puja started with the traditional Ganesh puja, followed by Punyahavachanam (purification), invocation of the 108 conches, then by a Homam (offering to Agni) to the chant of the most divine Vedic mantra Sri Rudram. It was followed by the offering of Purnahuthi and Abhishekam, when Lord Sundareswara in the form of the sacred Siva Lingam was bathed in milk, honey, fruit juice, yogurt and many other ingredients, and finally with the sanctified water from the 108 conches. The Lord then was adorned with Alankaram and when the sanctum doors opened, there was a spontaneous and collective cry by the devotees – “Om Nama Shivaya”. A special Archana was performed with gold Bilva leaves with the devotees repeated the sacred mantras led by the priests, The evening puja concluded with the Maha Aarthi and Athma Lingam puja where all devotees lined up to perform their own milk abhishekam to the Siva Lingam. Devotees cherish it as a moment when they are closest to God who is invoked in their own hearts and souls.

A wonderful cultural program organized by Mala Gopal started with a welcome speech by Chairman Narayanan followed by Adhi Gopal, a Vedic Heritage Society (VHS) student singing a prayer and beautifully explaining the significance of Maha Sivarathri with a short story of Lord Shiva.

“Aangikam bhuvanam yasya, vachikam sarva vaangmayam Aahaaryam chandra thaaraadi, tam namah saathwikam Shivamâ” (To whom the whole world is the movement of His body, all sound His speech, the Moon and the Stars His ornaments, Him the Almighty being Shiva, the embodiments of divine serenity, I salute Natya Shashtra.)

The 2 hour long program constituted performances by many of Houston’s dance schools including Anjali Center for Performing Arts, Silambam, Sreepadam School of Dance, Abhinaya School of Dance and Sunanda Nair’s School of Dance. All the dances were beautifully choreographed and revolved around the theme of Lord Shiva and His Cosmic dance. What is a better place than Meenakshi Temple, on Sivarathri, for a classical dancer to converse with the Lord of Dance, for dance itself is their language of communication!

More than a 100 devotees stayed up all night chanting the Sivanama for Chatur Kala Pujas (Abhishekam & puja with Vedic chanting and bhajans) at mid night, 1:30AM, 3:00AM and 4:30AM. The temple provided light refreshments which was supplemented by prasadams from devotees. The priests performed the abhishekams and pujas with utmost sincerity and dedication, filling the entire temple with bhakti and spirituality. Overall, it was a very blissful and fulfilling Sivarathri at MTS. More than a thousand devotees came to the temple on this most auspicious day and night even though it was on a weekday, showing the very uniqueness and authenticity of the temple. The Mahasivarathri function went very well thanks to all the hard work and dedication of the priests, volunteers, board and council members, coordinators Sheila Sriram, Dr. Vadugunathan, RAC members, Chair Narayanan and Vice Chair Padmini Nathan, temple staff, and most importantly due to the bhakti of the devotees. It was coordinated by Sheila Sriram

March 17, 2016
MTS Honors the Founders

By Aakash Srikanth

PEARLAND: MTS (Meenakshi Temple Society) held a founders formal on December 19, in order to thank and honor the founders. This event has been a tradition at MTS for over 4 years to honor all those who have served the Board. What started as a small establishment in 1977 grew into a large religious organization that serves over 15,000 registered devotees in the Greater Houston Area. Many younger generation kids kicked off the night with a speech about how the temple had impacted their life.

They felt that the temple was their second home and emphasized the services that it had provided for the Indian community, specifically to children. It was also highlighted that the temple has not only affected them religiously, but it has also provided a platform to display their cultural talents. An hour of delightful performances, organized by Mala Gopal and Srikanth Venugopalan, kept the audience engaged. Chairman P. Vaduganathan expressed his gratitude by stating, “Twenty kids came one by one on to the stage and asserted that they are proud to be part of MTS and is their second home.” He went on to thank all the volunteers who helped assemble the mega-event that was the Kumbabishekam by hosting an appreciation dinner. To end the night, MTS and its devotees contributed to the Chennai Flood Relief by donating $10,000. The check was presented to the Tamil Nadu Foundation Houston Chapter President Dr. Ram Sivaraman by Padma Golla.

December 23, 2015