Archive for January, 2010

The Ramakrishna Ashrama Celebrated Pongal Festival with its children. Pongal is a highly sacred festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu to mark the harvesting season..It is celebrated as ‘Makara Sankaranthi’ in different regions across India and this usually falls in the mid of January…Pongal is celebrated by offering prayers to the Sun God.. The houses are cleaned and well decorated before Pongal’

Meaning of Pongal

Pongal literally means “Boiling over” and it signifies the arrival of prosperity and is associated with the harvest by thanking the sun god, rain and the farm animals that have helped in the harvest. In villages, people owning cows find this festival important.

‘Pongal’ or ‘Thai Pongal’ is also called ‘Makara Sankaranthi’, since it is celebrated on the first day of Thai when the Sun enters the Makara Rasi (Capricornus). This signals the end of winter and the onset of spring throughout the northern hemisphere

Usually, the festival takes place January 12 -15 (on the Gregorian calendar). The festival is celebrated four days from the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi (December-January) to the third day of Thai (January-February).

Pongal is normally celebrated over a period of four days.. Pongal festival spans over four days period. Each of these days hold a significance of its own.

source: http://india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1321788

Please click here for vimeo musical slide show

Event photographer: Ramadas Sinnasamy
Bg music: A. Sivamani
Slide shows: K.Asirvatham

The Ramakrishna Ashrama (Orphanage) Penang invites everyone for Swami Vivekananda’s Birthday Celebration on January 12, 2010.

Born in Calcutta on January 12, 1863, Swami Vivekananda was the chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He was a marvellous blend of all excellences. Eager to know if God is true and perceptible, he was guided to Sri Ramakrishna who assured him from personal realization that God is the only Reality and can be communed with. Questioning the Master at every step and accepting nothing without rigorous proof, he was able to be in tune with the Infinite. After the Master’s passing away he took upon himself the great mission of propagating the truth of Oneness, the universality of being, the harmony of religions, and the glory of the Atman. He put India on the spiritual map of the world by his famous addresses at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. He made Vedanta popular in the West, and in India he established the twin organizations, the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, to train those who had renounced the world in search of God and to integrate the activities of individuals who chose to serve fellow men and women unselfishly. His brilliant speeches and writings onstitute a rich legacy for all who care for the higher values of life.
source:http://www.hinduyuva.org/swami_vivekananda_jayanti