Holy Pilgrimage - Hindu temples in USA
Hindu
Samaj, Wappingers Falls NY
Hindu Temple & Indian Cultural Center & Jain Temple
Hindu Samaj
Hindu Temple & Indian Cultural Center & Jain Temple
3 Brown Road, Wappingers Falls NY 12590
e-mail: hindusamajtemple@gmail.com
Phone: (845) 297-9061
The History Of The Hindu Samaj
The Origins of our
Community
The known origins of our community started in the late 1950's.
The known origins of our community started in the late 1950's.
From what we could find among the
early settlers were Dr. Chandrakant
Amin, a psychiatrist working at the local psychiatric hospital, and Mr. Ravi, an IBMer.
In 1957, Mr. Van Bakshi joined the IBM Research Laboratory on Boardman
Road in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
In 1958, Kanu Ashar joined IBM and pursued his Ph.D. degree through IBM's
Graduate Work Study Program. Later on, he was known to many in our community as
Dr. Ashar, who managed IBM's
advanced technological work in East Fishkill. Dr. Ashar and Mr. Bakshi
met one another during IBM's lunch time movies and decided to get together
socially.
In the following few years, Dr. Hiten Ghosh and Mr. Arvind Patel joined the community.
Arvind also received his Ph.D. through the IBM Graduate Work Study program and
was named an IBM Fellow in 1986, a major accomplishment.
As the community grew, more
IBMers came on the scene, including the writer of this article, Vikram Tolat. Vikram joined IBM Kingston in June 1962, the first known Indian in
IBM Kingston.
In the early 60's, a handful of
members decided to establish a formal group of the community to share cultural
and religious interests. The question was "what should be the name of the
group?" Some thought it should be "Dutchess India Association", while others thought it should
be "Western Dutchess India
Association".The final decision was to call it "Mid-Hudson India Association" or
"MHIA'.
One of the by laws of the
association was to hold quarterly meetings which started out in a member's
home, and as the community grew, public places were rented. Other than family
picnics at Bowdoin Park, and other state parks, the first movie show was held
at the IBM Country Club as one of the cultural activities. Musical events,
Indian festive day celebrations, with cultural programs and religious
activities like Saibaba bhajans,
followed. After a heavy influx of several community members in and around 1968,
religious subgroups formed with worships held at a member's home. As the groups
grew and became very active, public places for worships were sought by the
groups locally.
Hindu
Samaj emerged in
the early seventies with a dedicated group of people determined to build a
temple. With major donors like Dr.
Krishnamurthy, the temple project took off and the well known temple at Pye Lane in Wappingers Falls came into
existence in 1972.
The rest is almost a history well
known to most of the current community members. However, for the sake of
completeness of this write-up, the writer feels obliged to summarize the recent
past.
If it was not for Dr. Sunil Khurana's leadership, this
grand ceremony of the new temple opening may not have materialized. Just like
the pioneers of MHIA and Hindu Samaj who played a major role in
uniting many members of the community with common interests, Sunil very articulately united many of
the community subgroups under one organization.
This organization of latest Hindu Samaj membership
will not only nurture worship by Hindus
in this holy place, but also by Jains.
This is a great step in the right direction to unite the people of this community.
Hindu Temple & Community
Center (HTCC)
Project A
History... & A Heritage
Project A
History... & A Heritage
Hinduism
Hinduism
is a Universal Religion
It is a synthesis of approaches. Even the name "Hinduism"came late. The original name is Sanaat’ana Dharma, Eternal Truth. We can pick up and understand "that Truth" in any way we like. In this great religion we leave real freedom of choice in worship, in approaching that One Supreme Entity, that we call God.
It is a synthesis of approaches. Even the name "Hinduism"came late. The original name is Sanaat’ana Dharma, Eternal Truth. We can pick up and understand "that Truth" in any way we like. In this great religion we leave real freedom of choice in worship, in approaching that One Supreme Entity, that we call God.
In Hindu thought, there is room
for everything, not only the nice, refined philosophies. Even the simple,
ordinary crude forms of worship are accepted, because that's where some people
begin. They believe in that, like a baby playing with a wooden horse, taking it
to the water, putting grass into its mouth and saying, "Come on, horsey,
come and eat." You don’'t laugh at the child, because that’s the way a
child begins.
Hinduism never rejects or denies
anything or anybody. It is a big ocean.It could be called Sindhuism
."Sindhu" in some of the Indian languages means "ocean." It
never says, "Only Ganga andGodavari may enter; Missouri and Mississippi
must stay out." No ,they all flow in. Even the city gutter water goes in.
It’s as if the big ocean mamma says, "Come, my child, I know you went
around and got dirty. Come in, and I will clean you up." Even atheism is
accepted. The Hindus know that the moment you say, "I don'’t believe in
God,"you seem to accept a God. If there is not God, why do you want not to
believe? You say, that there is a God, but you don’t believe in it. A true Hindu
will have no problem in accepting all other faiths. He will never say,"Oh,
I am only a Hindu. I am not a Catholic. I’'m not a Buddhist. I’'m not a
Muslim." They are all based on devotion, the Bhakti Yoga. The ocean never
denies any water; it’s all embracing. That is why sometimes I like to call
myself "Undo," because I would like to undo "all
limitations".
All of our problems today are
based on the attitude that, "My way, my approach is the right one. And if
you don’'t follow this, you’ll be condemned."There is no one way, because
each mind is different. Each person conceives of God according to his capacity,
taste and temperament. You have your way. You have the freedom and the right to
follow it; but your following "your way" should not cause problems to
others. Just as you have your freedom, others must also have the freedom to
find peace and joy,- in their own way.
It's very, painful to see people
hurting each other, even killing oneanother, in the name of God and religion.
Even in the name of Hinduism, you find religious quarrels. People who see God
as S’iva didn’t want to see God as Vishnu. S’aivites and Vaishnavites quarrel.
It is our lack of understanding [of our own religion]; we don’'t see the
underlying spirituality behind all the diversities in the creation.
Religion has a very important
role to play in the world. Unfortunately, it forgets that role, and the
different religions fight with one another. We have enough money, enough land,
enough food to feed, clothe and house everyone. Poverty and hunger are not due
to lack of resources. The reason is that we are not caring and sharing. We have
to open and change the hearts of the people. That can be done onlythrough
religious understanding;- to help them see that we are all children of that One
Absolute God, one global, divine family. There is only one God who is our Lord,
who is the life in us. Like rain in the river going back to the ocean, every
drop of water that wants to go back to its source is a religious seeker.
God above is like completely
distilled water. When it falls down on one side of the river, it is called
Heavenly Father. On the other side, they call it Allah. If it falls in the
Himalayas, they call it Siva. We may call this One God: Brahma, Father, Mother,
Adonai, Cosmic Consciousness, Divine Essence, etc. But we mean the same thing.
God is pleased with any name we give Him. He doesn’t care what we call Him, but
rather how we feel about Him.
In the Ve’d’aant’ic part of the
Hindu scriptures, it says that God has no name or form. So we find it hard to
communicate. Due to our limitations, we can never comprehend something without
a form. For example, if I say"sweetness", how would you understand
sweetness? Immediately, you have to think of sugar or money or candy. Without a
form, you cannotunderstand sweetness. That is the reason why we try to
understand God throughforms and names. Otherwise God is formless. The Saiva
Saint Manikkavasagar said, "You don't have a name; You don't have a form,
but we approachYou with thousands of names and thousands of forms. You accept
all our approaches."
The beauty and greatness of
Hinduism is that it allows real freedom of choice in worship. There is room for
the Ve’d’aant’in who approaches God within as his own Self without any form. If
you wish to approach God through a form, there is S’iva, or Vishnu, or Kumaara;
or as a Goddess Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati and others. If you don'’t believe in
a human form of God, you can worship a tree, a snake ora stone. You can see God
in any form you want, because God made everything in his own image; everything
is His expression. [-as declared by the MahaaVaakyaasin the Ve’d’aas.]
It is my heartfelt player that we
all make this resolution: "From this day onward, my life will be
all-embracing and harmonious. Let me learn to accept all the various approaches
of people, because everyone is looking for the same happiness and joy in life.
Let me not condemn anybody because he or she looks, thinks or, acts a little
different. Let me reailize the spiritual unity behind all the diversities in
the creation and remember always that we are members of one divine family.
This, in my own small, humble way, may contribute to the peace, joy, and
harmony of the world."
Welcome To The Hindu Samaj Cultural Center
The Hindu Samaj is a multi faceted organization.
Besides serving its religious needs, it also serves the cultural needs of its
community. Various classes, seminars, forums and concerts are organized by the
Samaj in support of the performing arts, health and social issues, personal
enrichment, and cultural education for people of all ages. We also have a very active youth program, and
offer several academic and performing arts classes.
Please also check the Events Calendar and Ongoing Events for other information.
Events 2005
Raja Yoga Knowledge & Meditation
An Ancient Practice For Modern Times.
Continuing Classes in
Raja Yoga Knowledge & Meditation
Raja Yoga Knowledge & Meditation
Benefits range from de-stressing on a
daily basis to discovering the divinity
within each one of us.
within each one of us.
Offered by
Brahma Kumaris of
Peace Village Learning & Retreat Center
Brahma Kumaris of
Peace Village Learning & Retreat Center
Starting on July 6th Wednesday 7:00 –
8:30PM
For 7 weeks on every Wednesdays.
at
Hindu Temple & Indian Cultural Center
3 Brown Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
For 7 weeks on every Wednesdays.
at
Hindu Temple & Indian Cultural Center
3 Brown Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
For information: Uma Satyendra 297-8132
Renuka Sheth 463-2355 Padma Reichwald 569-4911
Anchala Sobrin 226-2542 Sushumna Iruvanti 226-7140
Renuka Sheth 463-2355 Padma Reichwald 569-4911
Anchala Sobrin 226-2542 Sushumna Iruvanti 226-7140
Havan
Sunday July 10, 2005
Time: 11:00am
at
Hindu Temple & Indian Cultural Center
3 Brown Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Time: 11:00am
at
Hindu Temple & Indian Cultural Center
3 Brown Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Pranapratishta Anniversary
Pranapratishta Anniversary
at
Hindu Samaj, 3 Brown Road, Wappingers Falls
On 28th Saturday May 2005.
Hindu Samaj, 3 Brown Road, Wappingers Falls
On 28th Saturday May 2005.
Program:
|
|
Ganapathi
Puja 8:30am
SarvaDevata Homa 9:00am Poornahuthi 10:00am Ganesh / Shiva Abhishekh 10:30am Lakshmi / Venkateswara Abhishekh 11:30am Alankaram, Archana , Mangalarathi & Lunch 1:00 PM. |
|
Evening Program :
|
|
Navagraha
Abhishekh 4:00pm
Sitaram Vivah 5:00pm Kuchipudi Dance 6:30pm to 8.00pm Aarathi and Prasad. |
|
Sponsorship:
|
|
Yajaman
$501.00 for whole day
Yajaman for Evening $151.00 Homam $51.00 Sitaram Vivah Sponsor $51.00 Flower Garlands $151.00 |
Abhishekh
for all Deities $151.00
Abhishekh for one Deity $31.00 Archana $11.00 Annadaan(Lunch) $151.00 |
For more Info : Shashidar Somayaji /
Krishna Bhat 297-9061
|
|
Sushumna Iruvanti 226-7140
Kamlesh Patel 831-9224 Padma Madhu Varma 462-8419 Shama |
Uma
Satyendra 297-8132
Padma Soma 297-5291 Shama Bhargava 838-8087 |
Kuchipudi Dance Program
Pranapratishtha Anniversary
Celebrations
Saturday, May 28th, 2005, 6:30pm
Kuchipudi Dance Program
By
Natya Visharada Hema (Manju Hemamalini)
&
Natya Visharada Shobha (Shobha Venkatesan)
Kuchipudi Dance Program
By
Natya Visharada Hema (Manju Hemamalini)
&
Natya Visharada Shobha (Shobha Venkatesan)
Disciples of Padma Bhushan, Dr. Vempati
Chinna Satyam
at
Hindu Samaj Temple
3 Brown Road
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Hindu Samaj Temple
3 Brown Road
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Bio Sketch of Hemamalinl Manju
Hemamalini Maniu popularly known as
Hema, was born .in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh in 1975, Her initial Kuchipudi
lessons were from a local Guru, Chinta Adinarayana Sharma. In 1988, she moved
to the world renowned Kuchipudi Maestro, Padma Bhushan, Dr. Vempati Chinna
Satyam’s Kuchipudi Art Academy in Cbennai.
Hama learnt the intricacies and nuances
of the fine art under the watchful eyes of the great Guru for 8 years. She
perfected the art over that period and her uncompromising style like her Guru’s
led her to becoming a dance teacher at the Kuchipudi Art Academy for 5 years.
During her learning and teaching years
in Vempati’s Academy, Hema performed at every place her Guru’s students
performed including USA, Canada and Germany (Festival of India through ICCR).
She has also performed in a documentary, “Temple and the Swan”, on comparison
of Indian and Western classical dance forms telecast on BBC.
Hema’s major performances include:
Khajuraho Dance Festival at Khajuraho. Sangeet Natak Academy Festivals,
Kuchipudi Mahotsav in Mumbai. Konark Dance Festival in Konark, Soorya Dance
Festival in Kerala, Vendi Festival in Andhra Pradesh, Mamallapuram Dance Festival
in Tamil Nadu, Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam in Chicago, etc. She has also traveled
in all the major cities of Indonesia.
Hema was awarded the title “Natya
Visharadha” by the Kuchlpudi Art Academy, Chennai and the title “Nritya
Tarangini” in USA.
Currently, Hema runs her own dance
school “Upasana Arts Academy” at Hyderabad apart from performing and composing
her new dance productions. In the last four years, since the inauguration of
Upasana, Hema has trained a large number of students, fulfilling her Guru’s
objective of keeping the great fine-art alive and promoting and spreading it.
Hema has composed Kucipudi dance
ballets, “Sri Krishna Satrajit“(telecast by Doordharshan) and “Aamukta
Malyada”, a story of Goda Devi. She has also choreographed many solo items and
presented them at various occasions in Andhra Pradesh and USA.
Bio Sketch of Shobha
Shobha was born and brought up in
Chennai, the cultural capital of India. Hailing from a middle class family of
Government servants, she was initiated into dancing at the age of l0 by her
parents. She underwent training in Bharatha Natyam for nearly 10 years before
joining, in 1990, the Kuchipudi Art Academy, the ace institution for Kuchipudi
style of dance. Since then, Shobha has undergone intensive training in Kuchipudi
art under the tutelage of her Guru, Padma Bhushan Vempati Chinna Satyam. She
has participated in several programs staged by the Academy and has toured all
over India and the Globe as a member of her mentor Dr. Vempati’s troupe.
She has taken part in many dance
festivals like the Sangeet Natak Academy- New Delhi, Mamallapuram Dance
Festival-Tamil Nadu, Deccan Herald Festival of Dance –Karnataka, Surya Dance
Festival - Kerala, Konarac Dance Festival - Orissa, Chembur Fine Arts Festival
– Maharashtra, Chidambaram Natyanjali Festival etc, besides other State and
Central Government programs.
Shobha toured the Netherlands and
Belgium with her Guru’s troupe and participated in the World Music Theatre
Festival in 1996. She went to the Reunion Islands in 2002. She completed a
world tour performing in 30 cities in the United States, in New Zealand,
Australia and Singapore with her mentor from Aug-Dec of 2004.
Shobha’s dedication and urge to acquire
proficiency in dancing shaped her into an artiste of considerable promise. A
Commerce graduate, she is a multifaceted personality. She holds a diploma in
Travel and Tourism management and also in Cosmetology. She was awarded the
prestigious “Natya Visharada” title by the Kuchipudi Art Academy in 1997. She
was also the recipient of a Scholarship for Young Artists in the field of
Kuchipudi awarded by the Department of Culture, Govt. of India during I
998~2000.
Shobha currently resides in New York
and directs her Kuchipudi School “Sathyanjali” there.
Board of Trustees:
(The Board meets third Wednesday of every month in the temple.)
(The Board meets third Wednesday of every month in the temple.)
|
Resident Priest:
Sri Manojkumar Panigrahi
Email: priestmanoj@yahoo.com
Home Phone: (845) 231-2248
Resident Priest 2: Sri Pradeep Kumar
Email: priestpradeep@yahoo.com
Cell: (845) 505-1122
Email: priestmanoj@yahoo.com
Home Phone: (845) 231-2248
Resident Priest 2: Sri Pradeep Kumar
Email: priestpradeep@yahoo.com
Cell: (845) 505-1122
Contact us:
Hindu Samaj
3 Brown Road, Wappingers Falls NY 12590
e-mail: hindusamajtemple@gmail.com
Phone: (845) 297-9061
3 Brown Road, Wappingers Falls NY 12590
e-mail: hindusamajtemple@gmail.com
Phone: (845) 297-9061
The Hindu Temple and Indian Cultural Center is
located at the
intersection of All Angels and Brown Roads, Wappingers Falls NY. The entrance to the parking lot is from Brown Road.
intersection of All Angels and Brown Roads, Wappingers Falls NY. The entrance to the parking lot is from Brown Road.
From
NYS Thruway South (Route 87)
Take Exit 17 travelling north on NYS Thruway (Rte.
87)
After the toll, take route 84 East Take Exit 13 to route 9 North
Travel about 5 miles make right onto Dutchess 28 East (Old Hopewell Rd at 7-11 store). Go 3 miles
From
NYS Thruway North (Route 87)After the toll, take route 84 East Take Exit 13 to route 9 North
Travel about 5 miles make right onto Dutchess 28 East (Old Hopewell Rd at 7-11 store). Go 3 miles
Take Exit 18 travelling south on NYS Thruway(Route 87) After the toll, make right at the traffic light to Route 299 East, Travel about 4 miles, make right to 9W South, After about 2 miles, make an exit to Route 44/55 East Take the exit for Route 9 South Follow the directions below from Common Directions
From Taconic Parkway
Traveling from south or north take exit Route 82 South towards Fishkill After about 5/6 miles on route 82 make a right onto Route 28 Make a right onto Route-94 (ALL ANGELS HILL ROAD). Go about less than a mile (0.9mile) and make Right on Brown road. Make immediate left in about 60 feet on second driveway to Hindu Samaj Temple and Cultural Center.
From Route 9
Travel North towards wappingers Falls. After travelling about 5 miles make right onto Dutchess 28 East(Old Hopewell Rd - at 7-11 store). Go 3 miles. Follow the directions
Common Directions
Take left on Dutchess 94 North at traffic light (All Angels Rd).
Within a mile, Opposite Chinese Christian Church, Take right on Brown Rd. The Hindu Temple Entrance is on left within a block.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to the great devotees , wikisources
and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the collection )
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