SingaSpeaks A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER FROM THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION, SINGAPORE
ROAR 33 | SINGAPORE | SATURDAY | 5 NOVEMBER 2016
Deepavali celebrated with Sri Kali Puja
The auspicious Deepavali was celebrated at the Mission Campus with Sri Kali Puja on Saturday, 29 October 2016. More than 900 devotees participated in the function. Hundreds of families with bubbling children in their best attire playing below the Temple hall was a sight to see. The Deepavali Satsang included bhajans, evening arati of Sri Ramakrishna, worship of Mother Kali, arati to Kali and distribution of prasad in hands. The picture of Mother Kali was tastefully decorated. The floral arrangement at the sanctum was indeed charming. Lighting of lamps was done at level 1 of the temple. Volunteers put up a Book Stall where many new comers were seen browsing the displayed books.
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PERIODIC NEWSLETTER ROAR 33
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Sri Lanka Sojourn – Part 1 Ganesh Chaturthi day On the auspicious Ganesh Chaturthi day, Swami Vimokshanandaji arrived at the Colombo Ramakrishna Mission. This was his maiden visit to Sri Lanka. He was warmly welcomed by Revered Swami Sarvarupanandaji and other monks and devotees. He was requested to deliver a discourse on the "Significance of the Worship of Lord Ganesha" in Tamil at the evening satsang. The discourse was held at the Hall attached to the beautiful shrine of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vimokshananda quoted and explained the great poem, "Vakkundaam, Nalla Manamundaam, Maa
179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784
Malaraal Nokkundaam" by Avaiyar, a 10th century woman saint-poet of Tamil Nadu. The poem is also a popular daily prayer to Lord Ganesha. He expressed the essence of the poem, literally as "one who prays to Lord Ganesha, will be bestowed with knowledge, health and wealth" and subtlely as therefore one receives the grace of Goddess Saraswati, Parvati and Lakshmi. The hour long discourse which was interspered with puranic tales and their underlying philosophy was much appreciated by a very responsive audience. Swami Sarvarupanandaji thanked the speaker.
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Sarada Mission Children During the recent visit to Colombo, Swami Vimokshananda had the opportunity to meet with people from all walks of life – Buddhist monks, sincere devotees, conscientious volunteers, admirers, staff, lay disciples and especially the adorable and innocent children from the Sarada Mission Hostel. Speaking about the humble, devoted and well-behaved girls, he says he cannot forget how loving they were! And so easily they got connected to a sadhu though meeting
him for the first time! And they responded spontaneously to his interactive children's class style satsang session with them! Though Swami Vimokshananda and Swami Sarvarupananda visited the Sarada Mission Hostel on short notice, the girls on the instruction of the nuns, presented an impromtu performance of songs, dance and chanting in a joyous spirit. They then listened with rapt attention to Swami Vimokshananda’s narration of a touching incident in Lord Buddha’s life which had a similar message to the famous ‘last message’ of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.
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fed with tasty “kozhuk kattai” (modakam dear to Lord Ganesha) and other savoury snacks. He considers their hand-crafted gift as precious and has prominently displayed it in his office! It all shows how meticulously the two Matajis (Sarada Mission Nuns) are taking care of these simple-minded children and how well they are bringing them up. These children are future assets. Through these girls Sri Thakur, Ma and Swamiji will choose their servants for the welfare of the citizens of Sri Lanka. Before leaving the Sarada Mission campus, the two Matajis showed the Swamis around the newly acquired plots of land and the buildings for the further development At the end of the one-hour program, the of the Girls’ Hostel so that more two visiting Swamis were sumptuously amenities can be added in future.
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PERIODIC NEWSLETTER ROAR 33 Bhaktargalin Paramahamsar The Ramakrishna Mission, Colombo, organised a Retreat for the devotees on the holy Poya Day (Purnima Day) on 16 Sept 2016. In Sri Lanka, an avowed Buddhist country, every Poya day is a government holiday. This is a sacred
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Ramakrishna. Swami Vimokshananda was the invited Guest for the Retreat. His was the only speech on that occasion. Paying his obeisence to Lord Buddha, the Swami narrated in Tamil how Swami Abhedananda, one of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna explained the purpose of Sri Ramakrishna's descent to our world as “Vitaritum Avateernam Jnana Bhakti Prashantih” that is Sri Ramakrishna descended to distribute knowledge, devotion and Peace 'that passeth understanding’. The Swami explained how Paramahamsa was indeed for His devotees and how He rejoiced in the company of devotees. And in turn how the devotees took to Sri Ramakrishna as their own.
occasion when devotees of Lord Buddha are given ample opportunity to engage themselves in religious activities. The Retreat held at the RKM Shrine hall, began with hymns and bhajans led by Swami Rajeshwarananda, a senior monk of the Colombo Ramakrishna Mission. His mellifluous singing of Sanskrit hymns and Tamil bhajans created an ambience fit for meditation on Bhagawan Sri The omniscience of Sri Ramakrishna was also told with examples from his life. More than 150 devotees attended the Retreat. The Swami was happy to see the utmost discipline maintained by the devotees throughout the programme. All of them were served with lunch prasad at the end of the Retreat. The nearby Ramakrishna Sarada Mission children also attended the programme. The shrine was tastefully decorated for the occasion.
To be continued…
179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784
PH: +65 6288 9077 | FAX: 6288 5798
singapore@rkmm.org