Interfaith Program Through Music for Sri Ramakrishna’s Birthday & New Resident Swami at VSGH

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By Sanchali Basu

HOUSTON: Five years ago, with great hope and sky – high dreams, Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, VSGH, sent a petition to the Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math, to affiliate VSGH as a Belur Math Center.  The prayers of the VSGH devotees have finally been heard and their dreams are about to be realized.  VSGH is going to be affiliated with Ramakrishna Math and Swami Vedaswarupanandaji is being sent from Belur Math who will soon be taking over the helm of affairs at VSGH.  He joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1986 and was first posted at the Editorial Office of the”Udbodhan” the Bengali journal started by Swami Vivekananda. He received his final vow of Sannyasa from Revered Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj in 1996. He served at the Ramakrishna Mission in Vrindavan & Hyderabad and was at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata where he used to look after the Institute of Foreign Languages. He was posted as the Assistant Minister at the Vedanta Society of Seattle in 2014.  VSGH devotees are really looking forward to his arrival at the center.

To celebrate Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday, VSGH has arranged an all-day event on Sunday, March 20, 2016. The day will begin with Sri Ramakrishna’s worship (puja) starting at 10 AM to be performed by Swami Sarvadevanandaji, Minister, Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood. This will be followed by Arati, Pushpanjali and Homa at 12 noon. Bhog prasad will be served for lunch after the puja.

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This year VSGH resumes its Annual Interfaith program which will start at 4 p.m. and will be somewhat different and unique. In general, song is more easily recalled than any sermon, lecture, or class – no matter how powerful or profound the monologue may have been. Therefore, it should be no surprise that music is a vital part of worshipping God. Instead of a series of lectures and talks, the theme this year is, “Music as a Form of Worship.” Members of several faiths will be participating in this program and they include Christianity, Sikhism, Judaism, Sufism and Hinduism. They will be presenting brief talks and devotional songs from their individual faiths. A light dinner will follow.

VSGH will also be holding its General Body meeting, open to all members on Saturday, March 19 at 6 p.m. Swami Sarvadevanandaji, during his 3 day stay in Houston will be conducting a two- day retreat on the Rama Gita as well, the first session of which will be on Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. after the vesper services (Sandhyarati) at 7 p.m.  Potluck dinner arrangements have been made for Saturday night. The second session will be held on Monday, March 21 at 7:30 PM. Classes on “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” will be held on Monday and Tuesday morning.

For further details please visit www.houstonvedanta.org or contact Swapna Chaudhuri at 281-584-0488.