Issue No. 18. Nov 2012 - Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA
Issue No. 18. Nov 2012 - Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA Issue No. 18. Nov 2012 - Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA
PRERANA A n I n s p i r a t i o n T o H i n d u W o m e n Issue : 18 Vijaya Dashami 2012 / Vikram Samvat 2068 || Ya devi sarva bhuteshu shakti rupeNa sansthita ||
- Page 2 and 3: 8 10 3 6 13 4 7 12 10 13 15 16 Prer
- Page 4 and 5: substances like cardamom, clove, et
- Page 6 and 7: Lifestyle Yoga for Anxiety & Depres
- Page 8 and 9: Our Prerana Matrutwa By Alka tai In
- Page 10 and 11: Swami Vivekananda Personality Devel
- Page 12 and 13: 12 Vijaya Dashami 2012 Prerana I Wa
- Page 14 and 15: It is in this field that we need to
- Page 16: Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puur
PRERANA<br />
A n I n s p i r a t i o n T o H i n d u W o m e n<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> : 18 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> / Vikram Samvat 2068<br />
|| Ya devi sarva bhuteshu<br />
shakti rupeNa sansthita ||
8<br />
10<br />
3<br />
6<br />
13<br />
4<br />
7<br />
12<br />
10<br />
13<br />
15<br />
16<br />
Prerana e-zine<br />
Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Vikram Samvat 2068<br />
Featured<br />
Our Prerana : Matrutwa<br />
Swami Vivekananda: Personality Development<br />
Lifestyle<br />
Ayurveda: Dinacharya<br />
Yoga : Anxiety & Depression<br />
Food: Indian Food Science<br />
I want to share<br />
Music classes by Mrunalini ji<br />
Art and craft project: Diya Holders<br />
Art and craft project: Lippan Kala<br />
Digests<br />
Crossword<br />
Story: Smell and Sound<br />
In This <strong>Issue</strong><br />
Story: The Fisherman and the Minister<br />
In Memory of : Pujaneeya K Sudarshan ji<br />
Visit www.hssus.org for more details.<br />
On the Cover<br />
Dusserah, also known as Vijayadashmi, is<br />
celebrated on the tenth day of the lunar<br />
month of Aashwayuja, which follows<br />
nine days of Durga Pooja. This is among<br />
the most auspicious days in the <strong>Hindu</strong><br />
calendar and comes as the finale of the<br />
nine-day festival, Navaraatri. This festival<br />
of victory is preceded by worship of<br />
Saraswati the Goddess of Learning and of<br />
Durgaa the Goddess of Strength. Grand<br />
processions of all Gods and goddesses<br />
are taken out in every town and village<br />
on this day, signifying the victory of the<br />
forces of righteousness over those of<br />
wickedness.<br />
Write to Prerana<br />
Share your experiences with Prerana.<br />
Send in articles about your experiences<br />
in HSS, art and craft projects, book re-<br />
views and stories. <strong>No</strong>t sure if your arti-<br />
cle’s topic fits prerana? Have questions or<br />
comments regarding this issue’s articles?<br />
Send in your articles, questions and com-<br />
ments to:<br />
writetoprerana@gmail.com<br />
Prerana Team<br />
National Coordinators: Anjali Patel<br />
Manisha Kand<br />
Editor: Kadambini Dharap<br />
Design : Anila Mula<br />
Attribution<br />
Thanks to Vikram Verma (Divik) [flickr.<br />
com] for his image and Ananda k Ma-<br />
harjan [anandakm.com.np] for his fonts.
Lifestyle<br />
Dinacharya according to Ayurveda<br />
By Akshata Prabhu<br />
In Sanskrit, daily regimen is<br />
called Dinacharaya. ‘Dina’<br />
means day and ‘charya’ denotes<br />
routine. This daily regimen list<br />
was written thousands of years ago<br />
and obviously nowadays it would be<br />
very challenging to live such an ancient<br />
routine.<br />
Daily routine is essential to bring<br />
radical change in body, mind and consciousness.<br />
Regimen helps to bring<br />
equilibrium in one’s constitution and<br />
also regularizes the biological clock<br />
of a person.<br />
The Ayurvedic rishis cited daily<br />
routine to be stronger healing force<br />
than any other curative medicine, and<br />
so they devoted initial chapters in<br />
ayurvedic texts to daily routine.<br />
Doshas in the daily cycle:<br />
Vata : 2am- 6am, 2pm-6pm<br />
Pitta : 10am-2pm, 10pm-2am<br />
Kapha: 6am-10am, 6pm-10pm<br />
Several important morning<br />
routine steps are listed below.<br />
Time to wake<br />
up:<br />
Person<br />
should wake<br />
up in brahmi<br />
muhurtha i.e<br />
between 4am<br />
-6am. Remember<br />
the adage,<br />
‘early to bed<br />
early to rise<br />
keeps the man<br />
healthy, wealthy<br />
and wise.’ Some exceptions to this<br />
rule of rising are the very young,<br />
the old, parents with small children,<br />
and people with fever and diarrhea.<br />
Cleansing teeth:<br />
Brushing your teeth with the<br />
twigs of arka (Calotropis Gigantea),<br />
nyagrodha (ficus benghalensis),<br />
kakubha (Terminalia Arjuna),<br />
karanja (Pongamia pinnata) etc,. The<br />
width of the twig being the thickness<br />
of the tip of little finger and length<br />
should be 9 inch. Tip of the twig<br />
made soft like a brush by chewing,<br />
the teeth should be cleaned without<br />
hurting the gums. <strong>No</strong>wadays it<br />
would be challenging to follow this,<br />
but brush your teeth with astringent,<br />
pungent, bitter toothpaste or powder.<br />
This helps to remove particles<br />
of food collected in cervices of teeth.<br />
Scrape tongue with a tongue<br />
cleaner it helps to improve taste sensation<br />
and removes tongue coating.<br />
Collyrium:<br />
A kind of<br />
eye – salve<br />
was being prepared<br />
from the<br />
ore of antimony<br />
sulphide<br />
along with<br />
some other<br />
plant products<br />
and used in ancient times both as a<br />
medicine and a cosmetic. It is good for<br />
the eyes, hence it should be used daily.<br />
Gargling and care of nostrils:<br />
• Gargle with sesame oil which<br />
strengthens the jaws and gums.<br />
• Instill oil to both the nostrils, it<br />
helps to improve sense of smell.<br />
• Inhale the smoke of medicinal<br />
herbs every morning to purify<br />
the mind, face, head, neck, lungs.<br />
Massage:<br />
Oil massage should be included<br />
in the daily routine. Generally warm<br />
sesame<br />
oil is<br />
used for<br />
m a s -<br />
sage, but<br />
benefits<br />
are more<br />
p r o -<br />
nounced<br />
if herbal<br />
oil is<br />
used. Massage gives nourishment to<br />
the body, skin and imparts good sleep.<br />
Exercise:<br />
This is usually yoga posture<br />
& breathing exercise, but it can be<br />
anything including a walk, a swim<br />
etc. The early morning exercise<br />
strengthens digestive fire, reduces<br />
fat, gives you overall feeling of lightness<br />
in the body. Ayurveda recommends<br />
exercising at one half of<br />
your capacity or until you see sweat<br />
on underarms, forehead and nose.<br />
Shower:<br />
Step into the shower, it is to remove<br />
excess oil or dirt from the<br />
body. If you have resorted to oil<br />
massage, use herbal bath powders<br />
to remove dirt and excess oil<br />
from the body. Pouring warm water<br />
over the body bestows strength,<br />
but same over the head, makes for<br />
loss of strength of the hair and eyes.<br />
Breakfast:<br />
Follow the Ayurvedic dietary<br />
restriction for your constitution.<br />
Only those with kapha dosha<br />
may choose to skip breakfast.<br />
Betel- chewing / Pan –chewing:<br />
Two Betel leaves, a small areca<br />
nut, slaked lime along with fragrant<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 3
substances like<br />
cardamom,<br />
clove, etc.<br />
This combination<br />
definitely<br />
has medicinal<br />
properties<br />
& beneficial<br />
for health. <strong>No</strong>ne of the Ayurveda<br />
texts mention about tobacco usage<br />
along with betel leaves. This<br />
will be harmful to one’s health.<br />
Akshata Prabhu is an ayurvedic doctor<br />
and a yoga instuctor. She is from<br />
Sunnyvale yuva shaka and she likes<br />
to read, blog, hike, swim and play<br />
volleyball. She is also interested in<br />
photography and listening to music.<br />
Image Attribution: lkmal, Irargerich and cottonseed<br />
oil (www.flick.com)<br />
“<strong>Hindu</strong> religion<br />
does not consist in<br />
struggles and attempts<br />
to believe a<br />
certain doctrine or<br />
dogma, but in realizing<br />
not in believing,<br />
but in being and<br />
becoming.”<br />
“We are what our<br />
thoughts have made<br />
us, so take care<br />
about what you<br />
think. Words are<br />
secondary.”<br />
--<br />
Swami Vivekananda<br />
4 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
I want to share<br />
Music classes by Mrunalini ji<br />
By Kavita Bakshi<br />
Some things we enjoy and we share. Some, we share and we<br />
enjoy. For me, they both hold true…<br />
It had been years since I sang a song or geet with friends. After<br />
marriage, everything was kind of paused…a ‘long’ pause taken in the<br />
name of family, kitchen, utensils, grocery, shopping, school, homework,<br />
and daily household jobs, etc. When I came to California, I didn’t have<br />
even a bit of idea that I would be seeing shakha again and that too on<br />
a large scale. I, along with my family, joined the Cupertino shakha and<br />
started going every Sunday. I was totally taken by surprise when I saw<br />
the Vijayadashami utsav gathering for the first time. I was happy and told<br />
my father, who is in Bharat, everything about that. Being a karyakarta<br />
himself in the past, he was immensely happy and said, “Your childhood<br />
days are back!” He was a regular geet-gayak in Nagpur Mahal shakha<br />
when he was young, and was influenced by it so much that even I spent<br />
a big part of my childhood listening to his collection of sangha geets.<br />
He used to recite the songs sung originally by Shri. Sudhir ji Phadke<br />
and I used to observe him with no other thought than copying the style.<br />
But interest of learning music was subsided by Calculus, Chemicals and<br />
Coupling circuits! All my ‘what can and how can I do?’ doubts lasted<br />
only until I got an exceptionally wonderful chance to learn inspirational<br />
shakha and bhakti geets from Adarniya Dr. Mrunalini ji Khandekar.<br />
It so happened that, during Ganesh Uttsav time our seniors at<br />
shakha, Anjali ji and Manisha ji visited and gave us information about<br />
the upcoming sangha-geet learning session. Their words encouraged me<br />
to come out of my shell and I decided to join the session at any cost. Our<br />
very first meeting with Dr. Mrunalini ji was at one of our friend Savita’s<br />
place. We were waiting for her while discussing how excited we were<br />
and she came in. “Namaskar.” She said and promptly turning towards<br />
Manisha ji she asked, “Manisha, do we have a Harmonium here that I<br />
had asked for? It will be an easy and accurate tool for teaching.” Later,<br />
the harmonium was brought; she introduced herself and told her age too.<br />
An elderly woman, nearing 70, showing such an enthusiasm and determination,<br />
I was stunned! ‘<strong>No</strong>w I don’t have any regrets about dryness in<br />
my vocal cords’, I thought. It was time to get moulded…<br />
Mrunalini ji has a Ph.D. in music from Bharat and has worked<br />
for All India Radio for several years. She now resides in Pune and often<br />
visits her daughter in California. With her background of shakha and a<br />
vision in mind, Mrunalini ji started a program called ‘Swaranjali’ couple<br />
of years ago, through which she teaches inspirational songs to disciples<br />
in Bharat and <strong>USA</strong>. Songs, which make every <strong>Hindu</strong>, anywhere in the<br />
world, feel love for their motherland. Geets like ‘Jab tak Suraj Chand<br />
chamakate, Ganga Jamuna neer bahe| Sada saputi Bharat Maa ho, amar
praja ka raj rahe|’ or ‘Aao<br />
hum sab milakar gaayein<br />
jag jaani ke gaan|’,<br />
‘Darshaniya,pujaniya’ or<br />
even a beautiful Ganesh<br />
bhajan like ‘Gayeeye Ganapati<br />
jag Vandan’ form<br />
a part of Swaranjali collection.<br />
All the songs are<br />
based on different raagas.<br />
She was particular about<br />
taking a complete ‘Vande<br />
Mataram’ song in the<br />
end, most words of which<br />
were forgotten by me and<br />
many!<br />
In each class, Mrunalini ji, took great interest in teaching<br />
us the songs in a classical way with emphasis on words and<br />
the emotion or ‘Bhava’ they express. I, along with some of my<br />
friends, went for the beginner’s batch with many of us being in<br />
our thirties. Her clear voice and line-by-line direction demanding<br />
perfect sur, tal and laya is unforgettable. What I forgot was<br />
the fact that, I had given music a long pause for the past 15<br />
years. At the end of each disciplinary session, we used to chat<br />
with her freely in a family atmosphere.<br />
When it was time for her to leave for Bharat, she arranged<br />
our last session at her daughter’s place that she had<br />
come to visit. <strong>No</strong>t only her musical guidance but also her affection<br />
towards us, made me feel -<br />
Aneka Janma Sampraapta<br />
Karma Bandha Vidaahine<br />
Atma Gnyaana Pradaaneyna<br />
Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha.<br />
Meaning: The one who can help us free from the chain of<br />
karma accumulated over several lives, by teaching us the<br />
knowledge of the self (Atma Gnyaana), I salute such a Guru.<br />
A motherly touch was always felt by all of us and additionally<br />
for me; she gave me back my lost confidence. A whole<br />
new chapter has started for me, so I take it as a true inspiration…<br />
my ‘Prerana’! Recently, each of us received an email<br />
from her which was clearly showing her love and care. I wish<br />
to see her soon again as I don’t want to stop here….my journey<br />
has just begun! And for many like me out there, do not lose the<br />
hope…there is light at the end of the tunnel!<br />
Kavita Bakshi is a sevika from Cupertino, California. She is an<br />
avid music lover, She is also interested in writing and poetry.<br />
Steadiness of Mind<br />
A person who has achieved stability<br />
of mind possesses a positive<br />
perspective by virtue of mental<br />
strength and says “I will put in<br />
my best and all my efforts. I will<br />
go forward from where I reach.<br />
I accept both the possibilities,<br />
that of success and failure. Life<br />
is a stream. It pauses by a turn,<br />
only to surge ahead. I will do<br />
what needs to be done with all<br />
my strength and attention of mind.<br />
I will lead my life happily, freely<br />
and enthusiastically.” A lot of<br />
time has already been spent in doing<br />
unwanted things. Why should<br />
one waste this moment cursing<br />
oneself for it, and further fearing<br />
about the future.<br />
Even though the clouds occupy<br />
the sky and then go away, the sky<br />
remains unperturbed. Similar is<br />
the mind of a stable person. Neither<br />
does it meander uncontrolled<br />
with circumstances nor does it<br />
vacillate (Dnyaneshwar Maharaj).<br />
On the day of examination, when<br />
Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) was<br />
found singing divine songs, his<br />
friends asked, “Narendra, aren’t<br />
you worried about the exams?”<br />
To which he replied, “Success<br />
at the examination does not depend<br />
on studies done in these two<br />
hours. One might forget what<br />
he has studied by exerting undue<br />
stress!”<br />
This is the art of keeping the mind<br />
free and stable.<br />
--Swami Madhavanand<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 5
Lifestyle<br />
Yoga for Anxiety & Depression<br />
By Gulshan Shekhawat<br />
We all experience anxiety and depression<br />
sometime or the other in our lives. It is a<br />
normal helpful reaction to stressfully demanding<br />
situations, and is one of the several emotions<br />
that we experience in our lives in response to situations.<br />
It adversely affects the work and mental health when it<br />
occurs too often and lasts too long.<br />
Anxiety can have two effects :<br />
• Anticipatory Anxiety : This is a helpful response. It<br />
is an ability to anticipate danger like situation and<br />
adapt suitably to cope up with it in a healthy way.<br />
This is called Signal Anxiety (fight response).<br />
• Panic or Intense Anxiety : This is an inability to cope<br />
or adapt to the demanding situation and is called<br />
Traumatic Anxiety (flight response).<br />
Depression is also another form of response to<br />
emotionally demanding situations.<br />
It can be of two types depending on its severity.<br />
• In its mild form it takes you into your inner being<br />
and opens up the inner wisdom and helps you to<br />
move towards a mature personality.<br />
• When the depression becomes more severe it leads<br />
to unmanageable degree of chemical imbalances requiring<br />
correction through medication.<br />
How does Yoga work in Anxiety and Depression ?<br />
The technique is to start with loosening exercises<br />
which are body movements<br />
repeated with jerks and speed.<br />
This helps initially to distract<br />
the mind from the loop of<br />
repeating anxiety producing<br />
thoughts. Then slowly go<br />
to slower body movements<br />
such as Suryanamaskars &<br />
Yogasanas. Similarly one<br />
can start with fast breathing<br />
practices (Pranayama). Af-<br />
6 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
ter alternating between a set of fast and slow body and<br />
breathing practices for about 20-30 minutes the mind is<br />
pulled out of its loop of worrying thoughts. <strong>No</strong>w it can<br />
be further slowed down by Nadanusandhana and then to<br />
actual meditation which is nothing but very slow effortless<br />
flow of a single thought in mind sinking down into<br />
total inner silence for few seconds.<br />
Yoga Module for Depression :<br />
• Sithlikarana Vyayama (Jogging, Backward and forward<br />
bending, Surya Namaskar<br />
etc)<br />
• Yogasanas(Ardhkati<br />
Chakrasana, Pada hastasana,<br />
Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana,<br />
Sarvangasana<br />
etc)<br />
• Pranayam(Surya Anulom-<br />
Vilom pranayam 4 times a<br />
day-27 rounds followed by<br />
nadi shuddi 8 rounds)<br />
• Meditation(Nadanusandhana- chanting of ‘A’ ‘U’<br />
‘M’ & OM Dhyana)<br />
Yoga Module for Anxiety:<br />
• Pranayama (chandra Anuloma-Viloma Pranayama<br />
- 4 times a day- 27 rounds followed by nadi shuddi<br />
- 8 rounds)<br />
• Sithlikarana Vyayama<br />
• Meditation-Yogasanas<br />
Disclaimer:<br />
Each individual is different and no Yoga or exercise program<br />
is free from the side effects of over doing or doing<br />
without an expert Yoga Therapist. Please consult your doctor<br />
before you start any Yoga program.<br />
Gulshan Shekhawat is a Trained Yoga Therapist & a counselor<br />
from SVYASA Yoga University, India. She conducts<br />
and counsels several yoga classes regularly.
I want to share<br />
Diya Holder<br />
By kanchan wagh<br />
You can use this beautiful flower holder on Deepavali to decorate and save diyas from blowing off of the<br />
wind. Or you can make this as a jewelry holder or take this project on mother’s day!!!<br />
Wishing you a SHUBH DEEPAWALI!!!<br />
Materials needed:<br />
Disposable cups & bowls, paints or yellow high<br />
lighter to color it yellow and glue.<br />
Procedure:<br />
• Color a bowl with red and a cup with green for the<br />
stem. You can buy colored cups and bowls to save<br />
time.<br />
• Cut the top portion of bowl, into the shape of petals<br />
(as shown in picture).<br />
• To make it into a flower shaped holder, fill the green<br />
colored cup with little rice or pebbles or sand. This<br />
makes it a little heavy and a stable base.<br />
• Put glue on the edge of the cup and place the bowl<br />
(with petals cut into it) on top of cup.<br />
Apply pressure to glue them in place. Let dry.<br />
• You can color these diya holders in a variety of colors.<br />
Additionally you can decorate them with glitter.<br />
<strong>No</strong>te:<br />
These Diya holders are not flame resistant. Using<br />
battery operated LED tea lights will be a good option, especially<br />
with kids around.<br />
Kanchan Wagh is a sevika from Milpitas, California. She<br />
is interested in painting, art and crafts and gardening.<br />
“Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even<br />
thinking the least good of others gradually instills into the heart the<br />
strength of a lion”<br />
“To be good and to do good, that is the whole of religion”<br />
--Swami Vivekananda<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 7
Our Prerana<br />
Matrutwa<br />
By Alka tai Inamdar<br />
Matrutwa- Motherhood - the word itself<br />
gives a feeling of affection and security.<br />
In our sanskriti all that is beautiful,<br />
auspicious and nourishes the mankind, is looked upon<br />
as a mother. We have the concept of Mother Earth,<br />
Mother Nature, Mother River and so on. We never<br />
think of the Ganga as a river, but we say Gangamaiyya<br />
or Gangamata. This is true for all the rivers of<br />
Bharat. People call the rivers as Lokamata- Mother of<br />
people. Early morning we pray for Mother Earth and<br />
request her to forgive us for stepping on her and hurting<br />
her the whole day.<br />
Naturally in Bharat every woman is looked<br />
upon as a mother out of respect. The word mother is<br />
not used biologically. But it is used emotionally. It is<br />
the way of giving respect. The Subhashit (a Sanskrit<br />
verse) goes like this-<br />
‘ Matruvat par Dareshu, Pardravyeshu Loshtavat ’<br />
It which means ‘treat every woman as mother and<br />
think of other’s wealth as soil’<br />
Even Swami Vivekanand said that if the womanhood<br />
of every woman is transformed into motherhood<br />
then the whole society would be uplifted. Thus is the<br />
power of Matrutwa. Another Sanskrit verse says-<br />
‘Kuputro jayate kinchit, Kumata kadapi na Jayate’<br />
-which means ‘there may be a bad son but being a bad<br />
mother is simply impossible’. This is the respect given<br />
to Matrutwa. And why not? Woman is the creator,<br />
she is the mentor. She nourishes a child; she cares<br />
for the health of the child. She inculcates the noble<br />
qualities in the tender mind of a child. She imparts<br />
good Sanskaras to the developing mind of a child. She<br />
wants the child to become a good person. She sacrifices<br />
everything for the welfare of her children.<br />
But to be a good mother, it is not enough to<br />
nourish or adore the child; sometimes she should be<br />
strict and even punish the child. It is her duty to see<br />
that the child is developing in right way.<br />
This reminds me of the story of a mother and her<br />
son. The woman has lost her husband and her son was<br />
whole and soul for her. She loved him too much. Their<br />
8 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
financial condition<br />
was also not<br />
good. But somehow<br />
she managed<br />
to send him to<br />
school. One day<br />
the boy brought a<br />
pencil while coming<br />
back from school. She saw it and asked him from<br />
where he got it. The boy replied that he got it under<br />
the bench. Mother kept quiet. Few days later he got a<br />
book, mother ignored it. Gradually the boy formed the<br />
habit of stealing. He grew up as a thief and committed<br />
crimes. One day he was caught and was punished<br />
for life imprisonment. The judge asked him whether<br />
he wanted to say something. The thief said that he<br />
wanted to meet his mother. She was informed and the<br />
meeting was arranged. The thief slapped the mother<br />
and said, “If you had slapped me the first day, when I<br />
brought the pencil from the school, I would not have<br />
formed the habit of stealing. You are the reason of my<br />
bad habits.”<br />
Here is one more story of a dutiful mother. It<br />
is from Puranas. There was a warrior called ‘Sanjay’.<br />
His mother’s name was Vidula. He looked after<br />
a fort. Once, the fort was attacked by enemy. Vidula<br />
sent Sanjay to war, making the ‘Tilak’, according to<br />
the tradition. After looking at the large numbers of<br />
soldiers of enemy, Sanjay fled back towards the fort.<br />
But Vidula had already ordered to close the doors of<br />
the fort and sent the message that she would not allow<br />
the doors to be opened for a timid person. She<br />
said that she had the confidence that her son would<br />
not flee from the battlefield showing his back to the<br />
enemy. He would prefer to die. She would open the<br />
gates for her victorious son or for the dead body of the<br />
great warrior. She said that it was worth to burn for<br />
only few seconds than only creating smoke for long.<br />
(Muhurtam Jwalitam Shreyam, Na Tu Dhumayitam<br />
Chiram).<br />
Thus motherhood is all about affection and dutifulness.<br />
She is the future maker of the society.<br />
Some great women have extended their Matrutwa<br />
beyond their own children. They bestowed their<br />
motherhood upon the whole society. We, in Samiti
(Rashtra Sevika Samiti) have such personalities, as<br />
the ideals of motherhood. We believe that the divine<br />
quality of Matrutwa must be not only for our own<br />
children but for the society. We believe in imparting<br />
qualities like patriotism, sincerity, dutifulness, faithfulness<br />
and social awareness. Who can be the best example<br />
for Ideal Motherhood other than Jijamata?<br />
When Jijamata was married to Shahaji, a great<br />
warrior and powerful knight in the court of Adilshaha,<br />
the whole country was ruled by Muslim dynasty. The<br />
<strong>Hindu</strong>s were treated as<br />
slaves in their own country.<br />
They had to pay the<br />
heavy Ziziya Tax or get<br />
converted to Muslim religion<br />
or had to be ready to<br />
get killed. Jijabai was only<br />
10 years old at the time of<br />
her marriage. She wanted<br />
to make her people free<br />
from the cruel clutches<br />
of Muslims.<br />
She had to<br />
go to Bengaluru<br />
with her husband. She<br />
thought that she could convince<br />
Shahaji to fight against<br />
Muslim rulers and return the<br />
freedom of her people. But<br />
Shahaji told her that it was not possible for him as the<br />
society was divided and there is no unity among the<br />
knights. It was very difficult task. But Jijabai was determined<br />
and she decided that if Godess Durga could<br />
bless her with a son then she would bring her dream in<br />
to reality through her son. Through her devotion and<br />
strong dedication, she was blessed with a son. When<br />
she came to know about the pregnancy she decided to<br />
go to Shivaneri which is located in the ranges of Sahyadri.<br />
It was their own territory and was not ruled by<br />
Muslims. She wanted her child to take birth in a free<br />
environment. Shahaji was also a patriot. He knew that<br />
Jijabai’s thinking was right. He cooperated with her<br />
and made all the arrangements for her and sent some<br />
able and faithful people with her. Thus Jijabai gave<br />
birth to Shivaji at Shivaneri.<br />
She brought up her son with a mission. She<br />
trained him in all aspects. She imparted good Sanskaras<br />
to make him an able King. She taught him to<br />
love his subjects and care for them. She herself also<br />
loved the subjects as her own children. She wanted<br />
her son to build the <strong>Hindu</strong> empire where the people<br />
can lead a secure and content life.<br />
Considering the limitation of the article, I have<br />
to conclude the discussion. But I could not resist<br />
mentioning two incidents from the life of Jijabai and<br />
Shivaji.<br />
Shivaji was just four years old. Jijabai wanted<br />
that he should be aware of the agony of people. She<br />
called a group of dance-drama to perform a play. The<br />
play depicted the story of Rani Padmini. They narrated<br />
how thousands of ladies from Rajasthan sacrificed<br />
their lives in the fire to protect themselves from<br />
getting molested at the hands of Muslim invaders. The<br />
little boy could not bear the agony and tears started to<br />
roll down from his eyes. He wanted to stop the play.<br />
Jijabai told him that he was going to become an emperor,<br />
and an emperor should not weep but to try to<br />
save his people. He should remember that he had to<br />
free his country from the foreign invaders. It should<br />
be his life mission.<br />
When Shivaji was very young, she used to take<br />
him with her to the court. She made him to sit beside<br />
her when she listened to people’s problems and tried<br />
to solve them. She trained him rigorously in martial<br />
arts as well as state -affairs. She wanted him to become<br />
a noble human being also. When there was a<br />
famine in Pune Province for two years, she not only<br />
gave a concession to farmers from the tax but distributed<br />
her personal wealth among the poor and needy.<br />
This made a great impact on Shivaji and he came to<br />
know how a ruler should respond to people’s distress.<br />
Thus Jijabai was the inspiration of Shivaji.<br />
People started calling her ‘Aaee Saheb’, which means<br />
mother. She was a mother to all. History recognized<br />
her as Jijamata. Is she not an appropriate example for<br />
Matrutwa? Giving birth to a child is not enough but<br />
bringing it up with a vision is ideal Matrutwa. And<br />
broadening the quality of matrutwa to our neighbor-<br />
hood is ‘Vishal Matrutwa’.<br />
Lovingly known as Alka Tai, Alka Inamdar is the Sah<br />
Karyavahika (joint secretary) of Rashtra Sevika Sam<br />
ti. She is from Bharat. She has done her B.SC with<br />
Physics and Mathematics as her majors and was a Kho<br />
Kho player in her University team. She is a multitalented<br />
person with amazing energy.<br />
Image attribution:legends2k (www.flick.com)<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 9
Swami Vivekananda<br />
Personality Development<br />
By Dhanashree Paranjpe<br />
Swami Vivekananda described<br />
his mission of life<br />
as “to help everyone realize<br />
that there is divinity within every<br />
living being, and how to express<br />
that divinity in their everyday life<br />
and actions.” He worked relentlessly<br />
to fulfill that mission. He believed<br />
10 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
that character building or personality<br />
development was essential for<br />
everyone to realize divinity within<br />
them and had practical advice for<br />
everyone on how to develop one’s<br />
personality.<br />
What is personality?<br />
Digests<br />
Crossword<br />
Answers on page 15<br />
Across<br />
1. Another name of Kamadhenu<br />
4. Bheeshma’s mother<br />
8. Ganesha’s mother<br />
9. Hanuman’s mother<br />
11. Lord Krishna’s mother<br />
12. Lord Rama;s mother<br />
13. Abhimanyu’s mother<br />
Down<br />
2. Parashrama’s mother<br />
3. Swami Vivekananda’s<br />
mother<br />
5. Gautam Buddha’s mother<br />
6. Krishna’s foster mother<br />
7.Bharata’s mother (Hint: not<br />
from Ramayana)<br />
10. Shivaji’s mother<br />
Swami Vivekananda was an influential personality—he was not only one of the greatest spiritual leaders of<br />
his times but also was a role model, common people like you and I could follow. Even though he had renounced<br />
the material world to seek the spiritual path he was well aware of struggles of common people.<br />
Cambridge Dictionary defines<br />
the word personality as “the type of<br />
person you are, which is shown by<br />
the way you behave, feel and think”<br />
How a person feels, thinks<br />
and behaves, how he/she reacts in
a situation<br />
broadly depends<br />
on the<br />
state of mind.<br />
Outward appearance,<br />
language or<br />
manners are<br />
only windows<br />
through<br />
which we can<br />
gauge one’s<br />
personality. These outward indicators<br />
may not reflect complete personality.<br />
Swami Vivekanada referred<br />
to development of inherent qualities,<br />
not the outward features, of a person<br />
when he talked about “personality or<br />
character development”.<br />
How did he envision an effective<br />
personality?<br />
In Swamiji’s words—<br />
“ We need a human being who has<br />
developed all aspects of the character.<br />
A person should have compassionate<br />
heart, great intellect, and<br />
noble actions. We need a human being<br />
who feels the pain of others…<br />
but without being overcome by emotions<br />
tries to realize the root cause<br />
of misery. We need a human being<br />
who does not stop at feeling the pain<br />
and realizing the cause of grief, but<br />
also acts on those thoughts to remedy<br />
the situation. Such harmony of<br />
emotions, thoughts and actions make<br />
a complete human being”<br />
Why is personality development<br />
important?<br />
We see all around us everyone<br />
trying to make an impression on<br />
others. With or without our realization<br />
our appearance, inherent qualities,<br />
thoughts, and actions make an<br />
impression on people around us and<br />
other people influence us in turn.<br />
We know about many great influential<br />
leaders, heroes, artists, thinkers,<br />
and writers who left their impression<br />
on the world. Swamiji once<br />
asked “If we evaluate the literature,<br />
thoughts left behind by these great<br />
social reformers and personalities,<br />
how many of them had really novel<br />
and revolutionary ideas? Probably<br />
very few—so few that we can count<br />
them on finger tips. But no one disputes<br />
that they were very influential<br />
people of their times. What made<br />
them great? <strong>No</strong>t their thoughts, not<br />
their literature, not their impressive<br />
discourses, but something that we<br />
cannot see now, something that passage<br />
of time took away…..and that<br />
is their personality. The influence of<br />
one’s mere words or intellect is only<br />
one third while two thirds of the effect<br />
is due to one’s personality, character<br />
and actions.” He believed that<br />
through character building everyone<br />
will be able to achieve the upliftment<br />
of oneself as well as masses.<br />
How to develop character?<br />
Swami Vivekanada thought<br />
that a human being with strong character<br />
can potentially achieve anything<br />
and can influence others effectively.<br />
Hence, the main objective of<br />
education should be to develop character.<br />
He was dismayed to see people<br />
focusing on polishing their outward<br />
appearance without building their<br />
character and enhancing inherent<br />
qualities. He advised thus on building<br />
one’s character—<br />
• We should always<br />
watch our thoughts. What character<br />
we have now is the direct or indirect<br />
result of our thoughts. Every movement,<br />
thought and action leaves a<br />
mark on our mind. Even if we are not<br />
aware of these impressions, even if<br />
they do not appear in our conscious<br />
thought, they have a power to work<br />
in our unconscious thoughts and influence<br />
our being. If a person often<br />
hears bad words, thinks negatively,<br />
acts impudently the mind will have<br />
negative impressions and this will<br />
lead to bad character. On the other<br />
hand if a person hears good things,<br />
thinks positively, acts virtuously that<br />
leaves positive impressions and will<br />
lead to good character eventually.<br />
• We have to put in<br />
great efforts consistently to achieve<br />
big goals. Similarly, we should make<br />
conscious effort to direct our mind<br />
to positive thoughts, actions and not<br />
be deterred by occasional failures.<br />
When positive, virtuous thoughts<br />
become a “habit of mind” we will<br />
move closer to divinity.<br />
• To direct our mind in<br />
a particular direction is not an easy<br />
task! The first step to control and direct<br />
mind is to do “Pranayaam”. The<br />
controlled, regular breathing facilitates<br />
body relaxation and makes it<br />
easier to access mind.<br />
• Most importantly,<br />
have confidence and faith in divinity<br />
within you. If you do not believe<br />
in yourself how will you believe<br />
in God? If you think yourself to be<br />
weak, weak you shall be, if you believe<br />
yourself to be strong, pure, divine<br />
so shall you be!<br />
Swami Vivekananda thought that<br />
character building could be achieved<br />
through selfless service too. Through<br />
selfless service we could reach our<br />
ultimate personal goal of realizing<br />
Brahman as well as the upliftment<br />
of masses.<br />
Let’s try to<br />
make our<br />
own little<br />
contribution<br />
to fulfill<br />
Swamiji’s<br />
vision.<br />
Dhanashree<br />
Paranjape<br />
is a sevika<br />
from San Jose shakha, California.<br />
Her interests include reading, hiking,<br />
poetry and music.<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 11
12 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
I Want to share<br />
Art and craft Project: Lippan Kala<br />
By Purvi Makwana<br />
This is a very ancient mural art form practiced by the women of the Kutch region(Gujarat). They used to decorate<br />
the walls and entrances of their houses with these Lippan arts. It is done using mud and pieces of mirrors.<br />
The literal meaning of Lippan is ‘application’.<br />
Materials required:<br />
• Vinyl tile or Ceramic<br />
Tile (can also<br />
be done on wood<br />
pieces or directly<br />
on the wall )<br />
• Quick dry glue<br />
• Mirrors (different<br />
shapes and sizes)<br />
• Air dry clay.<br />
• Paint (will suggest oil paint )/ brush (optional)<br />
Step 1:<br />
Cut the tile to your required size ( Vinyl tile cuts<br />
easily with utility<br />
knife)<br />
Step 3 :<br />
Roll a little piece of<br />
clay into elongated<br />
tube shapes (like you<br />
roll pretzel dough)<br />
Step 2 :<br />
Trace or draw a motif<br />
or design of your<br />
choice.<br />
Step 4 :<br />
Arrange the clay tube<br />
on the design and<br />
shape it as per your<br />
design requirements<br />
and press out the tubes<br />
just a little so the bottom<br />
part is a little flat. This makes it easier to stick<br />
when the clay dries hard.<br />
Step 5 :<br />
Allow the clay to dry completely. It takes 6 to 10 hrs<br />
depending on the thickness of your rolled elongated<br />
tubes. It dries to an off white color ( Cream)<br />
Step 6 :<br />
Paint the dry clay pieces<br />
first if you choose<br />
to use the color on<br />
the clay and let it dry<br />
some more.<br />
Step 7 :<br />
Apply glue to the bottom<br />
part of the dried<br />
clay (shaped according<br />
to the design) and stick<br />
it to the design. Stick<br />
mirrors accordingly.<br />
Purvi Makwana is a sevika from Cupertino, California.<br />
She is interested in arts and crafts, baking, cooking and<br />
hiking.
Digests<br />
Story:Smell and Sound<br />
One evening a poor farm worker was on his way home. A very pleasant smell came from a sweet shop on the<br />
road. His mouth watered. He went to the shop and stood there for some time. Then he turned to go because<br />
he could not afford to buy the sweets. Just then he heard the shopkeeper’s commanding voice, “Stop. You<br />
can’t go without making payment.”<br />
“Payment? For what?” asked the man.<br />
“For the sweets” said the shopkeeper.<br />
“But I haven’t eaten any” said the man.<br />
“But you did enjoy it’s smell, didn’t you?” asked the shopkeeper. “Smelling<br />
is as good as eating.”<br />
The poor man looked very much worried. A wise man standing by saw<br />
everything that happened. He took the man aside and whispered a word<br />
of advice into his ears. The man’s face lit up. He went up to the shopkeeper<br />
and jingled a few coins in his pocket. The shopkeeper seemed<br />
pleased. He said, “Come on, pay the money.”<br />
The man said, “I have paid it.”<br />
The shopkeeper said, “<strong>No</strong>, you haven’t.”<br />
The man said, “Didn’t you hear the jingle of the coins? If smelling is as<br />
good as eating, hearing is as good as receiving.” Saying thus he walked away.<br />
Moral : Tit for tat.<br />
Taken from the series of Vikas Stories (Navneet Publications India Ltd.)<br />
Image attribution: Shooz (www.flick.com)<br />
Healthy body is the key to a<br />
happy and prosperous life, it<br />
is the biggest treasure. It is<br />
said<br />
“sharIra mAdhyam khalu dharma sAdhanam”<br />
(Body is a vehicle for carrying out<br />
the four purusharthas and staying on<br />
the path of righteousness.)<br />
Food plays a very important role in<br />
attaining such a healthy body. We all<br />
know how important nutritious food<br />
is to keep our body fueled, fit and<br />
free from diseases. While most of<br />
us today follow nutritional science,<br />
the field itself is relatively nascent in<br />
comparison to our traditional knowl-<br />
edge of food science.<br />
Modern nutritionists talk of<br />
the precise amounts of macro and<br />
micro nutrients needed for the body.<br />
Differences in the source of these<br />
nutrients, whether they come from<br />
an organic apple or a test tube, and<br />
their long term effects on the body<br />
have been studied little. Traditional<br />
Indian food science on other hand<br />
is well, traditional. And traditional<br />
often translates to old and dated,<br />
making most of us wonder if there<br />
is anything useful we can get out of<br />
following it. But Indian food science<br />
is based on several scientific prin-<br />
Lifestyle<br />
Indian Food Science<br />
By Sevika Prakashan<br />
ciples. These principles though old,<br />
still hold true to this day. There have<br />
been several hundred generations<br />
before us who have followed these<br />
principles and have lived a healthy<br />
and happy life. Recent increase in<br />
several ailments such as cancer and<br />
Alzheimer’s in India, can, to a certain<br />
extent be traced to severe disturbances<br />
in the balace of the doshas<br />
caused by unhealthy food habits. In<br />
days where we are all surrounded by<br />
a gazillion fast food choices wrapped<br />
in plastics all around, ready to be<br />
snacked upon at any time , is when<br />
we need our Traditional knowledge<br />
of food and the science behind it.<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 13
It is in this field that we need to do<br />
most research, as it is beneficial not<br />
only to us but to the entire world.<br />
What is Indian Food Science?<br />
Indian food science is based<br />
on Ayurveda. It studies the tridoshas<br />
(vaata, kapha and pitta) of the body<br />
and also of the foods which alleviate<br />
or aggravate them. It studies which<br />
combinations of food are useful to<br />
the body and also certain harmful<br />
combinations which cause imbalances<br />
to the doshas in the body. These<br />
imbalances lead to diseases later on.<br />
Indian food science also talks about<br />
where the food has to be cooked,<br />
who has to cook it, how it has to be<br />
cooked and when such food should<br />
be consumed. Changes in the time of<br />
the day or season also determine the<br />
kind of cooking processes and the<br />
foods consumed.<br />
Rasoi ‘ghar’ or Bhojan ‘alay’<br />
Kitchen (rasoi ghar or bhojanalay)<br />
should be clean and in a<br />
pure environment. The intensions<br />
of people making food play a very<br />
big role. Person cooking food should<br />
do so with pleasant thoughts, good<br />
intensions and love. We might have<br />
observed our grandmothers often<br />
singing bhajans or stotras while<br />
cooking. A mother who cooks food<br />
for her child always does so with a<br />
lot of love. She genuinely wants her<br />
child to eat well and grow strong.<br />
This was the reason that only those<br />
14 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
close to us were encouraged to cook.<br />
We also have the habit of<br />
chanting bhojan mantra for this reason.<br />
All the bhojan mantras have<br />
profound meaning and purify food<br />
with a lot of good intensions. Reciting<br />
bhojan mantra, especially when<br />
eating outside, or at a restaurant is all<br />
the more important, as the intensions<br />
of competitive cooks are not those of<br />
love. Love also improves taste of the<br />
food. Have you ever wondered how<br />
we can never get the taste of “mother’s”<br />
food although we use the exact<br />
same recipe?<br />
Place of ‘Bhojan’<br />
The place of bhojan should<br />
be clean, neat, pleasant looking and<br />
smelling good. We should always be<br />
seated at a height on a ‘asan’( a stool<br />
kind of seat, typically around 5-7<br />
inches high). The bhojan thali (plate<br />
where food is served) should be at<br />
the same height too. It is advised to<br />
sit cross legged while having food.<br />
The movement at the abdomen while<br />
bending forward to have food (while<br />
sitting cross legged) helps in regulating<br />
digestion and proper bowel<br />
movements later. It also promotes<br />
in high blood circulation and circulation<br />
especially to the brain, thus<br />
carrying all the important nutrients.<br />
It is advised not to sit with legs facing<br />
down (as on a high chair), as the<br />
blood flows downward towards the<br />
legs.<br />
It is also important to wash<br />
hands, feet and mouth before having<br />
Bhojan. Bhojan<br />
should be<br />
thought of as a<br />
yajna. It is general<br />
courtesy to<br />
make sure that<br />
mother, father,<br />
gods, guests,<br />
small children,<br />
maids, etc., have had their bhojan<br />
before having ours. It is also a habit<br />
to feed little food to ants and birds<br />
before having one’s own food.<br />
Utensils Used for Cooking<br />
• Utensils made of Gold- removes<br />
doshas from food, good for sight<br />
• Utensils made of silver- removes<br />
doshas , good for sight<br />
• Utensil made of Bronze- improves<br />
memory and taste. Does<br />
not cause dosha imbalance<br />
• Utensils made of Iron or Glass-<br />
good for cooking, improves<br />
quality of food and preserves nutrients.<br />
• Utensils made of wood – lend<br />
taste and increase kapha dosha<br />
• Utensils made of aluminium and<br />
other such surfaces - removes<br />
food nutrients and quality. Leads<br />
to several symptoms of memory<br />
related diseases.<br />
• Utensils made of Plastic – leach<br />
harmful chemicals into food and<br />
water. Lead to several reproductive<br />
system related malfunctions.<br />
Destroy quality of food.<br />
In India, there was the habit of<br />
cooking curries and dal in iron, copper,<br />
bronze and other such beneficial<br />
metals. Spoons used for cooking<br />
were also made of the same material.<br />
Black iron (Krishnaayas) containers<br />
were generally used for storing
ghee. It was also common to use leaves<br />
of banana, vata and palash to serve<br />
food. These leaves increase the taste<br />
of food. They also are beneficial in increasing<br />
the digestive power and eliminating<br />
certain poisonous properties of<br />
food. Water from a copper pot eliminates<br />
bacteria and germs. Hence water<br />
is stored in a copper pot for around 8<br />
hours and then consumed.<br />
Digests<br />
(To be continued)<br />
This article is translated from a book<br />
titled “ Bharateeya Ahar Shastra” by<br />
Sevika Prakashan, Nagpur (omswasti_<br />
ngp@sancharnet.in)<br />
Image attribution : George Augustine, mynameis-<br />
harsha, ralky (flickr.com),<br />
Story: The Fisherman and the Minister<br />
A<br />
king was very fond of eating fresh fish. One day there was a storm in the sea. Fishermen could not go to<br />
the sea to catch fish. So there was no fresh fish for the king. The king announced a big reward for the person<br />
who brought him a fresh fish on that day.<br />
One poor fisherman ventured to bring a fish from the stormy sea. He took the fish and went to the palace. The palace<br />
guards stopped him at the gate. They took him to the king’s minister.<br />
The minister said to the fisherman, “I shall allow you to go to the king, but you shall give me half of the reward<br />
that you get from him.” The fisherman did not like this proposal, but still accepted it.<br />
The guards took the fisherman to the king. The fisherman gave the fish to the king. The king was very much<br />
pleased with the fisherman and said, “Tell me what reward you want and you shall have it.” The fisherman said,<br />
“Your Majesty, I want fifty whip lashes on my back. This is the only reward I expect.” The strange demand of the<br />
fisherman surprised everybody. However, the king ordered one of his servants to give fifty whip lashes on the fisherman’s<br />
back. When the servant had given twenty-five lashes, the fisherman said, “Stop. Please give the remaining<br />
twenty-five whip lashes to my partner.”<br />
The king asked the fisherman, “Who is your partner?”<br />
The fisherman said,”Your Majesty, your minister is my partner.”<br />
The fisherman’s reply made the king red with anger. He sent his men to bring the minister<br />
before him.<br />
When the minister came, the king ordered, “Give him twenty-five whip lashes. Make<br />
sure they fall hard on his back.”<br />
Then the king sent the dishonest minister to jail, and gave the fisherman a handsome<br />
reward.<br />
Moral: You get what you deserve.<br />
Taken from the series of Vikas Stories (Navneet Publications India Ltd.)<br />
Image attribution: letsgoeverywhere (www.flick.com)<br />
Answers to the Crossword Puzzle<br />
from Page 10<br />
ACROSS<br />
1. SURABHI<br />
4. GANGA<br />
8. PARVATI<br />
9. ANJANA<br />
11. DEVAKI<br />
12. KA<strong>USA</strong>LYA<br />
13. SUBHADRA<br />
DOWN<br />
2. RENUKA<br />
3. BHUVANESWARI<br />
5. MAYADEVI<br />
6. YASHODA<br />
7. SHAKUNTALA<br />
10. JIJABAI<br />
Prerana Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> 15
Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate<br />
Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||<br />
16 Vijaya Dashami <strong>2012</strong> Prerana<br />
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||<br />
Digests<br />
In Memory of: Pujaneeya K Sudarshan ji<br />
<strong>Hindu</strong> <strong>Swayamsevak</strong> <strong>Sangh</strong> <strong>USA</strong> Inc. (“HSS”) pays<br />
homage to the memory of Pujaneeya Kuppalli Sitaramayya<br />
Sudarshan ji (K. S. Sudarshan ji), the<br />
fifth Sar-<strong>Sangh</strong>achalak of Rashtriya <strong>Swayamsevak</strong> <strong>Sangh</strong><br />
(“RSS”), who died on Saturday, September 15, <strong>2012</strong>, in<br />
Raipur, India, of heart attack. He was 81 years old.<br />
Pujaneeya Sudarshan ji was born on June 18, 1931,<br />
and became an RSS swayamsevak at the age of 9. After<br />
completing his studies in engineering at Sagar University,<br />
he became an RSS pracharak, or lifelong volunteer worker,<br />
in 1955. He served in various regional and national capacities<br />
in RSS, including Sar-Karyavah, or national Executive<br />
Director, from 1990 to 2000, and Sar-<strong>Sangh</strong>achalak, or national<br />
President, from 2000 to 2009.<br />
Pujaneeya Sudarshan ji visited the United States<br />
several times and provided guidance to HSS volunteers<br />
about <strong>Hindu</strong>ism, <strong>Sangh</strong> and <strong>Sangh</strong> activities in many places<br />
around the country, including <strong>Hindu</strong> Sangam events on<br />
the West Coast and Southwest.<br />
We offer our Shraddhanjali and pray for Sadgati to the departed<br />
soul.