Our Mission: Promoting health and wellness by Vedic teaching

(Monthly e-newsletter of Greater Dallas Arya Samaj)

Newsletter Date February 2006 Volume 1, Number 2

Sumangal

In This Issue
About Yoga

About the Vedas Sandhya: the art of meditation Poetry Swami Dayanand Saraswati Significance of Shivratri Community News

The e-newsletter is designed primarily to provide information about Greater Dallas Arya Samaj (GDAS), its programs, community news, and awareness of Vedic way of life. The objective is to share knowledge of Vedic studies, yoga, meditation, poetry, and gardening with the community of GDAS.

About the Vedas

(Contd. from Vol.1, No.1) In the last e-newsletter we introduced the origin of the Vedas and the meaning of Ved. The Vedas contain hymns, rituals, and mantras. The original text of the Vedas is known as the Samhita. However, the Samhitas are supplemented by many commentators and historians, forming the 'Shruti' as a whole. The most developed of these commentaries, the Upanishads, engage in philosophical speculation about the implications of the ancient invocations and rituals recorded in the Samhitas. Thus the Vedas are structured rather like a venerated work of classic literature supported by elaborate footnotes and introductory essays explaining the hidden complexities. This means that the truths embodied in the Vedas are eternal and that they are not the creation of average human mind. The four Vedas Rig-Veda, YajurVeda, Sama-Veda and Atharva-Veda are divided into four sections. Contents are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Samhitas: The mantras and hymns Brahmanas: The ritualistic teachings Aranyakas: The meditation section Upanishads: Mystic and philosophical section, known as Vedanta, or the end (conclusion) of the Vedas, implying the culmination of Vedic thought. Since the time of Adi Shankaracharya Upanishads have exerted the most active influence on Hindu thought.

Category of Links
ARYA PRATINIDHI SABHA AMERICA American Institute of Vedic Studies D/FW Hindu Society Greater Houston Arya Samaj Vedic Cultural Centre

Events

Havan: 2nd Sunday at 1:30PM D/FW temple Yagnashala Committee meeting 3rd Sunday 2:004:00PM every month Yoga classes TBD

This is a collection from internet. (To be continued in the next issue)

Services Provided
Havan for special occasions.

Yoga
(Contd. from Vol.1, No.1) In the last e-newsletter we introduced the different types of Yoga. Karma Yoga basically consists of entirely selfless service in which Ego is given to the desire to serve God in everything.

Contact Us
Arya_samaj@swbell.net

Donations
Thanks to the following for their generous donation: Mr. Parvesh & Mrs. Seema Singla Dr. Suresh & Mrs. Kusum Kukreja The donor who doesnt want to publish his/her name.

Karma Yoga is also the path of doing the right thing, of following ones personal dharma and accepting destiny as it comes. If the Karma Yogi is a householder, he will accept that role as much as he would accept the role of a servant to any in need, without seeking any remuneration in the shape of wealth, satisfaction, name, or fame. Karma means action, including all acts done by the individual from birth to death. One, who is not attached to his actions and performs actions because they are unavoidable, performs karma adopting proper means without attachment to the outcome. Karma performed by right means does not harm anybody and is in accordance with the law of dharma. That is Karma Yoga. This is a collection from internet. (To be continued in the next issue)

Volunteers Needed
To celebrate Shivratri we need volunteers on Feb. 26th to help cook and serve maha prasad at D/FW Hindu temple. Entries requested from young participants to perform on March 12th, 2006

Sandhya: The art of meditation

SANDHYA is the art of meditation advocated by Maharishi Dayanand and it is very scientific. It is the practice of contemplation (through meditation) on God. There is a beneficial effect at all levels: the body, the mind, and the soul. Thus, Sandhya is the art of lifting the soul (ATMA) to become one with the DIVINE SOUL (PARAMATMA), God. There are 19 mantras in Sandhya that deal with the three levels: body, mind, and soul. In the last newsletter we explained BODY. In this issue we will continue with MIND. 2. Mind: Mantras from AGHAMARSHAN to URDHVADIK deal with the mind. Aghamarshan mantras are for avoidance of sins; and briefly describe the evolution of our creation inspiring the seeker to become part and parcel of all nature. These mantras cleanse the inside of the physical body and heart and make it pure and receptive to all Divine forces. After feeling His cosmic creation we let our mind go in all six directions of thought (east, south, west, north, and zenith). The next six mantras are known as MANASA PARIKRAMA. God is our sovereign, while reciting these mantras we pay homage and through our mind we circumspect Godly powers in the universe around ourselves. God is all around, above, below, and beyond. He is here, He is there and He pervades everywhere. The last sentence of these mantras expresses the fate of those of us who are victims of anger or jealousy to be left to the justice of God. Thus, this thought releases us from the desire to harm those who annoy us and keeps us from being inimical of anyone. In Manasaprikrama we also pray to achieve the following six objectives: 1. Continuous progress and advancement. 2. Ability and efficiency to master our senses and be able to control

To subscribe
Send email to

arya_samaj@swbell.net
with a subject line Subscribe to Greater Dallas Arya Samaj enewsletter Name, Address, & email address.

To unsubscribe
Send email to

arya_samaj@swbell.net
with a subject line Unsubscribe from Greater Dallas Arya Samaj e-newsletter

crookedness. 3. Turning away from worldly desires and pleasures, and being free from all sins. 4. Sublimation of ideas and thoughts that would make us calm, quiet, and undisturbed. 5. Mental stability to be pious and to see ourselves in every creature. 6. Attain spiritual supremacy. SANDHYA will be continued in the next issue.

Poetry
O God you are the Creator of the universe; You are the preserver and the destroyer of the universe; You destroy only for the sake of recreation; You bless us with noble traits and transformation. O God you are the giver of strength to us; You are the giver of noble qualities to us ; We pray you for strength and sweetness at our heart, Noble doings and good qualities of life in our heart. A melon when fully ripe, leaves its plant of life, It leaves only after having imbibed the aroma, and sweetness, Beautiful color and the shape of pleasantness. Likewise when we leave this connection of our life, We wish that we have acquired full age, Decked with meaningful noble qualities of life, After having completed the noble mission of life. We pray also when we give up the body of this birth, Bless us with liberation from the cycle of deaths and births. Poem By Tilak Grover (Based on Veda Mantra Rig. 7.59.12)

Swami Dayanand Saraswati

Questions - Answers
When was the Arya Samaj founded? - April 7th, 1875 at Bombay(Mumbai), India Who founded Arya Samaj?

The Arya Samaj was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824 1883) at Bombay on April 7th, 1875. Its aim is to ameliorate the condition of man all over the world, spiritually, physically, and socially, by reviving the ancient Vedic culture of ancient India and applying old and well tried remedies to the modern ills of human society. Swami Dayanands finding was that while the world has progressed much in material matters, people have lost sight of those fundamental laws, which the peace and prosperity of mankind is based on. Therefore he framed the

- Swami Dayanand Saraswati. State two major reforms that Swami Dayanand pursued? 1. Women education 2. Widow marriage Which one is the most important book of Swami Dayanand? - Satyarth Prakash Name all the Vedas? 1. Rig-Veda 2. Yajur-Veda 3. Sama-Veda 4. Atharva-Veda

ten principles of the Arya Samaj. Swami Dayanand was born in 1824 in Gujrat, India. He was the greatest reformer, socially, religiously, and politically, in India. He was a yogi of high quality and a very learned man. He had studied the Vedas thoroughly and believed that only the Vedas are the books of all true knowledge given by God. All of his teachings were based on the Vedas. Swami Dayanand lived in a time when women were not treated well at all. He was a radical in his advocacy of womens education and widow marriage, as he quoted from Manusmriti: The household that respects its women is blessed with happiness; and where women are not treated well, none will be happy. Swami Dayanand also opposed the caste system. He believed that all men were born equal and that no Vedic scripture allows the disparities among men on the basis of their birth. Swami Dayanand wrote about 26 books in his lifetime, but the most important is Satyarth Prakash The Light of Truth. Satyarth Prakash explains and clarifies Vedic principles on all values of life. It also contains chapters on all of the worlds religions Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism and showing their similarities and differences with the Vedic Dharam in areas of logic, natural science, and universal laws. Swami Dayanand also wrote an Introduction to the Translation of Vedas and a direct translation of the Vedas. Swami Dayanand died in 1883 on the day of Diwali. He was poisoned for his radical and morally conscious beliefs several times in his life, but this time it proved fatal. Read By Arnav Gupta 01/08/2006

Significance of Shivratri
Shivratri is observed on the thirteenth day of the dark half of Phalguna. For Arya Samaj it is a memorable occasion as it happened to be the turning point in the life of Swami Dayanand, the founder of Arya Samaj and the great reformer of 19th century.

Community News
Greater Dallas Arya Samaj to sponsor maha prasad at D/FW Hindu Temple Society on February 26th, 2006 on the occasion of Shivratri. Greater Dallas Arya Samaj to host a youth cultural activity following the Havan on 2nd Sunday of March to continue the celebration of Shivratri.