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Shanthi Sandesh Hindu Temple and Community Center Of Mid -Missouri 2006 Holly Avenue, Columbia, MO 65202 -2043 http://shanthimandir.missouri.org (573) 814 -1286 V O L U M E

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Births and Deaths of the World -Markandeya’s story H.R. Chandrasekhar

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Inside This Issue Births and Deaths of the World

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Executive Board

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HTCC Anniversary Banquet and Picture Gallery

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Herb of the Season

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Bharata Natyam at Columbia

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Shri Sudarshana Homam

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Yoga Corner

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Bhagavad Gita

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Quarterly Fiscal Report

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Donor Acknowledgment

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Community Calendar

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Current Programs

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ulapati Suta completed the narration of the Bhagavata Purana to the monks gathered in the Naimisha forest. As he was about to get up and leave, Shaunaka, the leader of the monks, asked: “We listened to Bhagavata with devotion and are pleased. We need a small clarification. How did the son of sage Mrukandu attain immortality? How did he manage not to perish in the great floods of Pralaya that marked the end of an eon? It is said that he saw lord Vishnu sleeping in the ocean. Tell us about him. We are bursting with curiosity.” Suta was pleased by the entreaties of the monks and sat down to narrate the story. At this point we digress from Bhagavata Purana to Skanda Purana to get some details of Markandeya‟s life. Sage Mrikandu, who was childless, prayed lord Shiva

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hanks to all of you for your continued support of Hindu Temple & Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC), and for keeping our community vibrant. HTCC‟s 8th anniversary celebrations started with a banquet and culminated with the devotional program, the Sudarsahanam Homam. The annual banquet, organized under the leadership of Anandhi Upendran, was a

by performing severe austerities. Impessed by his devotion, Lord Shiva granted his wish with a choice: an ordinary child with a long life or an exceptional one with only sixteen years to live. Mrikandu chose the latter and named the baby boy Markandeya. Markandeya mastered all that there was to learn as a child. As his sixteenth birth day approached, he sought refuge in lord Shiva by chanting the great mantras. The lord of death, Yama, also known as Kala, the ever-marching time, arrived at the destined time to take away Markandeya. He found the boy in tight embrace of the Shiva Lingam. Kala swung his noose around the boy which encircled the Lingam. Lord Shiva, who is beyond space and time instantly conquered Kala and blessed Markandeya with eternal life. Thus Markandeya remained

sixteen while the world around him was subject to the vagaries of evolving time. Now back to Bhagavata Purana and Kulapati Suta. Suta continued: “Markandeya was destined to die at the age of sixteen. By meditation, he impressed the Lord. The Lord, appeared in the form of Nara and Narayana and asked him what he wished. „Give me the means to observe your creation,‟ said the boy. The Lord smiled and vanished. Markandeya searched in vain for the Lord, and as he stayed in his hut at the shore of Pushpabhadra, a big storm came with high winds. Lightning flashed and the rains came like water from an elephant‟s trunk. The floods enveloped the earth. As the boy swam in the deluge, he witnessed the Lord sleeping on the leaf of a peepul tree as a baby, sucking his toe. (continued on Page 2)

Message from the Executive Board grand success. It was well attended and it generated a net income of $ 4235. The 2014 Samarpanam, detailing HTCC‟s activities during the past year, was released at the HTCC banquet. H.R. Chandrasekhar sums it well, when he writes in Samarpanam, that “HTCC proceeds into the future with a desire to pray, study and

serve.” Future brings a host of new and exciting opportunities. To look to the future, we have to look at the past. Past eight years seem to have come and gone in a blink of an eye. The state of HTCC is good. HTCC is debt-free and (Continued on Page 4)


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