Historical Play and Community Service Events Commemorate Prayer House Anniversary

PEARLAND: Global Organization for Divinity USA celebrated Namadwaar Prayer House’s seventh anniversary with a number of events in the Pearland area over the weekend of March 4 and 5, that were attended by hundreds of people from around Houston and also visitors from other parts of the country.

On Mar 4, evening, popular Houston drama troupe, Meenakshi Theaters, in support of Global Organization for Divinity, presented a historical play on the life of Saint Ramanuja, a famous 11th century Indian philosopher and leader whose 1000th birth anniversary is being commemorated this year, the world over. The play was performed to a full house and was very well received by the Houston community. Special guest Shankar Hariharan of G.O.D. India, Thara Narasimhan, community leader and connoisseur, as well as numerous members of the audience had high praises for the dedication and performance of the director Dr. Kas Saranathan and his team of actors, production and music personnel. This production was supported by the City of Pearland cultural arts grant through the Pearland Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.

The drama truly brought the life of the great saint to life and presented it beautifully, doing justice to his exalted life and accomplishments. Dr. Saranathan’s portrayal of Sri Ramanuja was outstanding and a lifetime achievement for him.

The event was attended by the Honorable Mayor Tom Reid of Pearland who also had words of praise for Global Organization for Divinity and its sister organization, Love to Share Foundation America, and particularly their community service and support of cultural arts. During this program, as part of Love to Share Foundation America’s annual giving drive, donations of baby food, clothes and toys were collected and given to Variety Children Sierra Leone, a UNICEF-funded organization that works with children and women in Africa.
Namadwaar Prayer House’s anniversary celebrations continued on Sunday, March 5, morning with an inspiring special address from India by the organization’s guiding force and preceptor, His Holiness Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. This was followed by group sankirtan, and then a musical discourse on the life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by Smt. Uma Ranganathan.

That afternoon a special, inaugural “Walk with a Doc” event had been scheduled, but due to inclement weather, has now been postponed to Saturday March 25 at 8 AM. Sponsored by the Texas Medical Association and organized in Pearland/Manvel by Love to Share Foundation’s “Body, Mind & Soul” initiative, this is a free monthly 3K walk/run focused on encouraging physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle. The first 50 finishers in the inaugural walk will receive free t-shirts and pedometers. Registration is still open at www.tinyurl.com/bms-wwd.

Namadwaar prayer house is located at 3642 Bailey Ave, Manvel TX in the Pearland area. The Sri Ramanuja play proceeds supported a project to remodel the prayer house, with the aim to reinforce and increase the capacity of the current building structure.

To be a part of this project, please call 281-402-6585.

For more information about G.O.D. USA and Namadwaar visit www.godivinity.org, and for more information about Love to Share Foundation, visit www.lovetosharefoundation.org.