Dear Patrons,
We are into the month of Margazhi, which is one of immense spiritual significance, the greatness of Margazhi can be gauged from the fact that Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, describes the month of Margazhi as a manifestation of himself thus,
'Maasaanaam maargasheershoham' - 'among the months I am Margazhi'
Margazhi is considered auspicious for putting efforts into one’s own spiritual growth - be it sadhana, vratam, bhajans or poojai. This is a month where one can see a confluence of spirituality and culture in everyday activities like singing Thiruppavai, Thiruvemppavai, Thiruppalliyezhuchi, and other bhajans, visiting temples in the early morning, drawing elaborate kolams, etc. The two most important temple festivals for Shiva and Vishnu take place this month - Vaikunta Ekadashi in Srirangam and Aarudra Darshanam in Chidambaram.
Vaikunta Ekadashi – Dec 25, 2020
At Ranganathaswamy temple, in Srirangam, Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations last 21 days divided into two parts with chanting of thiruvaimozhi - pagal pathu (morning part) and ira pathu (night part). Thiruvaimozhi consists of 4000 verses and extols the glory of Lord Narayana, the first 1000 verses of Thiruvaimozhi are rendered during the 10 days prior to Vaikunta Ekadashi and this period is known as ‘pagal pathu.’ The ten days after Vaikunta Ekadasi is known as ‘ira pathu’ during which the next 3000 verses of Thiruvaimozhi are recited. On Vaikunta Ekadashi, Lord Ranganatha is adorned by an armour of diamonds (rathnaangi) and brought to the thousand-pillared hall from the sanctum sanctorum through the northern gate known as paramapada vasal, the gate to Vaikuntha. This gate is opened once in a year, only on the Vaikuntha Ekadashi day and remains open the entire day for the devotees.
Aarudra darshanam – Dec 30, 2020
The combination of Aarudra star and the full moon takes place once a year, in the month of Margazhi. On this day, early in the morning Lord Shiva, in his manifestation as dancing Lord Nataraja gives his darshan – known as Aarudra darshanam, most famously in Chidambaram and in other Shiva temples as well. Maha Abhishekam for Lord Nataraja and goddess Sivakama Sundari takes place early in the morning at the raja sabha (thousand pillar mandapam) followed by raja alangaram and procession.
2020 has been one of the most challenging and difficult years for the world with the unprecedented pandemic. At the same time, it is a testimony to human resilience, adaptability and community spirit. We have seen immeasurable acts of kindness and charity with communities coming together for support and people coming together with the help of technology. The year ends with a note of hope, especially with the discovery of vaccine.
As we prepare to leave this year and usher in the new year, let’s pray that 2021 brings in good health and happiness to everyone in the world.
We wish our patrons a very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
SIS January Satsang
Time: Sat, Jan 9 at 03:00 PM
Zoom meeting details: Please join the Satsang
by clicking https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86495294332
or,
by using Zoom meeting id: 864 9529 4332
In keeping with the continuing tradition of monthly Satsangs, January 2021 Satsang will be conducted online.
The Satsang will include reciting
- Vishnu Sahasranaman and Mahalakshmi Ashtakam
- Lalitha Sahasranaman
- Bhajans
- Hanuman Chalisa
- Short spiritual talk
Please attend with your family and importantly involve the next generation.
SIS WhatsApp group
In addition to continuing with our email communication, we have started a WhatsApp group as a broadcast only group to communicate information regarding SIS events and updates. If you would like to join, please open this email on your phone and click on SIS WhatsApp group invitation link. Alternatively, you may email sisnambalava@gmail.com with your mobile number and we will add you to the group.
The Website
We trust that the articles that we are publishing on the website
are interesting and useful. We are encouraged by the number of
hits that have gone up multi-fold. Please visit www.sisnambalava.org.uk,
read the articles and let us know your views. We are very keen
to receive your feedbacks and views and will be uploading more
interesting articles. We welcome articles written by our members
that are relevant to the objectives of SIS, ie., South Indian
arts, culture and vedic religion and these will be uploaded
after review by the editorial panel. Please feel free to ask for
detailed guidelines.
Your
Participation
South Indian Society as an organisation has come to shape with
lots of hard work and contribution from several veterans of our
community in this country over the years. We sincerely thank
each and every one who has contributed towards the growth of
this organisation. This organisation runs for YOU and without
YOUR involvement, contribution and participation it cannot
succeed.
SIS Trustees