RadheKrishna

In this world everybody tries to live as if their lives are alone significant. Everybody tries to 
cross all limits to make selfish progress in their lives. Tirumangai Azhwar tries to cross all 
boundaries defined by shastras for the sake of Lord Renganatha. To do service for the Lord is 
considered very special and Tirumangai Azhwar is to be revered. He comes to know of the secret 
behind the Buddha statue of Nagapatinam. Azhwar along with his consorts decides to move out of 
the island and proceed to Nagapatinam in a ship. 

The owner of the ship evaluated the Azhwar and decided to drop him in Nagapatinam. The Azhwar happily boards the ship. As soon as he boarded, the Azhwar breaks a full betelnut into two and asses on one of the halves to the ship's owner. The owner of the ship asks the reason behind this and the Azhwar says that it is his practice to do so and return the betel nut safely on arrival. The Azhwar then says to give it in writing that 'Kappalil Paathi Paaku' (which in one way means half of the betel nut in the ship) belongs to me. The ships owner is very puzzled as the Azhwar starts to do such things only after it enters into deep sea. Then he wonders that the Azhwar could be a simpleton and gives in writing what the Azhwar had asked for. Azhwar keeps the letter safely and begins to meditate on the Lord as the ship proceeded towards Nagapatinam. 

The Azhwar does not lose his focus and till the ship reaches Nagapatinam, he continues his namajapam. We often do namajapam with an expectation in mind. It will be good if we can do namajapam for the sake of enjoying namajapam. If we do that alone we can realise the full power of namajapam. If we want to realise God, we should do namajapam for the sake of Him. If we decide to dedicate five minutes of our time without any thoughts or expectations and do namajapam then we can realise a big difference. Let us not do namajapam for this difference also but as time progress we can attain a state where our mind does not expect anything. If we do namajapam with some expectations then we fail to realize the full potential of it. 

The ship reached the shores of Nagapatinam and while departing the Azhwar goes to the owner and 
requests him to split the wealth in the ship between them. The owner suggested that there is no 
need to split as he has rightfully earned it. The owner said instead the Azhwar has to pay for the 
ship travel and he does not owe anything. the Azhwar shows the written letter to him and says 
'Paadhi Paaku' belongs to me. The owner searches for the betel nut portion and returns to the 
Azhwar and recommends that he leave the ship. The Azhwars says that the owner is cheating as 
'Paadhi Paaku' also means half the share. 

The owner starts fighting and the Azhwar says that they can go to the dispute court held by the merchants and resolve the case. The case is taken up and the Azhwar produces the written letter. The case is resolved in Azhwar's favour after seeing the written commitment. The owner treats this as effects of past karma and shares the wealth of the ship with him. The Azhwar takes everything for doing service for Lord Renganatha. Will not the Azhwar suffer the effects of bad karma as a result of his deed? 

The answer is no as  alwar does not intend to use the wealth for his ownself. It is difficult to understand but that is the truth. Nobody can or should do such acts because unless we have that ultra pure bhakthi in our hearts, we can't commit such things. Even if we attain that state, to commit such acts is entirely impossible. The alwar sells off everything he got and collects money for building temple walls for Lord Renganatha. The alwar undergoes so much hardship for the sake of the Lord and no other alwar comes closer to matching this feat. Truly there has never been a devotee before or after Tirumangai alwar who comes close to his level of bhakthi. That night he collects all his accomplices and enters the buddha temple. They make a hole from the top and they drop alwar's cousin Parakalan. He gets down, stops the chakras by the stem of a banana tree, cuts the chain off from the buddha statue and hands it over to the alwar above. The alwar is very delighted by the statue as he thinks that  he can now meet the expenses for the Lord. Alwar gives up the signal to Prakalan to come up as dawn was approaching. Prakalan decides to get out of the drilled hole.

Radhekrishna!!

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Poojyashree Shree Ammavin Thiruvadigale Saranam Saranam Saranam.

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4. The Divine Songs - Dhivyaprabhandham

Naalaayira Dhivyaprabandham

piRaiyER sadaiyAnum * piramanum inthiranum
*muRaiyAya peru vELvik * kuRai mudippAn maRaiyAnAn **
veRiyAr thaN sO laith * thiruvEngkada malai mEl *
neRiyAyk kidakkum * nilai udaiyEn AvEnE

(PerumaaL Thirumozhi - 684/1000/4000}

Explanation

Kulasekhara Azhwar had made up his mind that the best thing is to associate himself with the Tirumala hills in one form or the other. Nobody can proclaim that this way or that thing is 
bhakthi. Bhakthi is something that is experienced by oneself. Bhakti can't be heard or spoken 
about like thirst, hunger and sleep it has to be felt by individuals. Can everyone experience 
bhakti? The answer is yes. Are not all the people experiencing love, hatred, anger, longing 
and sorrow, hunger, thirst, heat, cold and sleep? Similarly all of us can experience bhakti. 

Language is not a barrier for bhakti and mind alone is necessary. Kulasekara Azhwar glorifies the 
Lord and the seven sacred hills that behold Him. If Tirupathi hills are so sacred then just 
imagine the amount of sanctity that Lord Srinivasa must possess. All of the needs of Lord Shiva who has adorned the moon on his head, creator of the universe Brahma, Lokabalakas i.e gods like Indra who are one level below Brahma and Shiva, are being granted by the Lord of seven hills. The fact is 
that the Lord in Tirupathi is in vedic form. Vedas declare "Janmadi Yasya athaha.". This means a 
specific entity permeates everything and without that entity nothing exists. Also the entity 
stands "Maam ekam Sharanam Vraja". 

If we observe closely the Lord of seven hills, the left hand inwardly points towards Him. The right hand will always point towards His holy foot. The left hand proclaims Maamekam i.e Trust Me alone and attain my Holy feet is what the Lord is indicating by his posture. 

Nobody other than the Lord can take care of us any day anytime. The same Lord says not to worry 
too much and just surrender to Him. There are 33 crore devas and foremost among them are Shiva, 
Brahma and Indra. The needs of such devas are granted by none other than Lord Srinivasa of Tirumala. The Lord who satisfies everyone's needs is being held by the seven hills and so the 
hills are considered very sacred. This hills also satisfy the needs of the Lord and though the 
Lord has nothing in the form of need. The hills are full of fragrant flowers and trees. Depending 
on the season, a variety of flowers blossom and contribute to the varied fragrance that is ever 
present in the hills. Hence the Lord is residing daily in those sacred hills. This is indeed a 
blessing for the hills.

 Rama was born in Ayodhya but had to travel. Not to mention about Krishna who was born in Mathura, came overnight to Gokulam, went to Brindavan, then went to Mathura and came back to Dwaraka. These holy places don't offer so much stability and hence Lord had to travel. Unlike these places the Tirumala hills are close the heart of the Lord and they provide such an ambience that the Lord is forced to stay there forever. NammAzhwar says "Sendru ser Tiruvenkada Maamalai" and proclaims that the Lord out of his own will climbed the hills to reside there. 

Kulasekara Azhwar declares that if he becomes a small one way passage in the hills that can be 
frequented by devotees then that is more than sufficient. The Azhwar thinks that if he becomes a 
stream then it could dry up and lose all the connections with the bhaktas who will visit Tirumala. But a passage is such that it will always see devotees using it all the time. This is very sacred and even if we don't understand bhakthi, karma, jnana, yogam maargam, if the feet of the bhaktas who travel reciting the god's names, are pointed at us will be more than sufficient. 

Kulasekara Azhwar says in Mukunda Mala that it is more than enough if a devotee who is in the 
lowest rung of bhakthi can bless him. If all the bhaktas can use the passage (that Kulasekara 
Azhwar desires to be) and proclaim that this can lead them quicker then it is much more than 
sufficient. Even today you can notice that there are lots of one way small passages in Tirupathi. 
Even today many devotees use those passages to go and worship the Lord and come back to meditate on Him. If we could become a one way passage that would have been used by Swami Ramanujar, Periya Tirumalai Nambi, Nigamanda Desikar, Alavandaar and Annamacharya then it is more than sufficient. 

Such passages never disappear and hence can experience the feet of devotees all the time.
The footprints of devotees also will ensure that false ego and pride get automatically killed. As 
humans, we get attracted by the senses, develop some attachments, experience the effects of 
karmas and hence like an elephant which soils itself after bath, we also get drenched in dirt and 
make no progress in life. Hence the Azhwar feels if he can become a passage then he need not 
relocate and suffer the above effects experienced by humans, also delivers no attachments. This is 
because those who travel via the passage will start and reach the final destination and will not 
get attached to the passage. Hence there is no expectations and disappointments in being a 
passage in Tirupathi. 

The truth is that it is just sufficient being a passage in Tirupathi. Even when Rama was travelling people guide Him through small passages to reach his destination. Likewise the footprints of Krisha are seen even today on the passages where he had travelled to graze the cows. Hence the Azhwar proclaims that instead of being a king with lots of worldly responsibilities, the burden that it brings along with the ego, being a passage in Tirupathi is the best alternative and he firmly believes in that. Hence let us try to be like the passage and experience it. Bhakti is living as per the will of the Lord. 

Years are passing and we should all do bhakthi in one form or the other. Days are passing with the thought of resolving one problem after the other. Let us first try to resolve the problem of human birth and bhakthi is the only way to solving that puzzle.

RadheKrishna.

Poojyashree Shree Ammavin Thiruvadigale Saranam Saranam Saranam.

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5. Spring Of Spiritual Showers - Experiences Of Bhaktas, Disciples Of Poojyashree Shree Amma, Our Gurujiamma

An experience of a disciple in his / her own words

SRI GURUBHYONNAMAHA 

Radhekrishna !!

With great happiness and gratitude for the kindness of Guruji Amma, I am writing my most 
recent experiences over the past two months. There are many others that I have marveled about 
each day but I am sure I have forgotten them. I only remember the feeling of comfort that I have 
always been experiencing when I let go of my “so called” problems.

Each time, I call Guruji Amma, I get great strength and at the same time, I am realizing how much 
happiness there is in letting go my hold on my own problems and submitting them to HER. 

I reached Chennai and India on 13th Jan 2007, as an ex-NRI and having decided to settle down in 
India. I had no clue as to what I was going to do further as my profession and which direction I 
would be taking. I had taken one decision that I would return to India. But what next? I am 
asking this question now, but when I took the decision to come back to India, I knew and thought 
of only one thing, I want to be ‘back home’.

I did not want employment in India. I preferred to be a consultant so that I could use my time 
well and do the kind of things that I like.

When I came back, I found the rented flat my family was staying in at Anna-Nagar was not 
sufficient for the family which now included me as an extra member. It was clear that I had to 
move in to a bigger house/flat, but I had no clue how to find one. 

Without much difficulty and just two weeks after landing in India, I managed to get a consultancy 
assignment, just as I wanted, which I am enjoying. I got it in an organization which I did not 
even know existed.

With very little effort we just read the (Hindu newspaper) “property plus” issues of the past two 
weeks. I called one contact number which actually happened to be a broker’s. With his help, we 
saw a house in Mylapore, which we liked. What is interesting, the owners (lessors) of the flat, 
who were perfect strangers, also were very keen to let the house to us. 

I had seen the house and intimated to the flat owners that my wife would finalize other 
arrangements since I had to go out of station on official work for a few days. But believe it or 
not, at the place where I went on official work, I did not get accommodation, and I had to return 
to Chennai next morning, exactly 36 hours after I left Chennai. That was so good. Without having 
to bother my wife (who would in any case prefer that such important matters could be finalized 
with me around), I could do the finalization of my new rented flat, could pay the advance, obtain 
the keys, arrange shifting of a few heavy items. The flat is just a three minute ride to my 
daughter’s college, which is what I had hoped for.hmm

On the morning after paying the advance for the new flat, I just sat down to finalize a day for 
house warming at the new flat. Something forced me at around 8:30 am to sit down and finalize a 
suitable day. It so happened that that very day was the only day available before “Panguni 
Maasam”. On the same day, we got everything in place including our near and dear to conclude the 
house warming formality very, very easily. 

Jai Shree Poojyashree Shree Amma

So many things just falling in place. I wonder if my scanty Namajapam can make me so relaxed, 
what can I not achieve with it? Once again, I place my entire self at the lotus feet of Guruji 
Amma and ask that I be guided in all my thoughts and deeds. I think I am seeing how things are 
working without me thinking about them and this makes me realize that I am actually not expected 
to “achieve” anything. Now and then I get confused, but then I ask myself, “who am I to be 
confused?”.

My pranams to Gurujiamma and Guruji

 

6. Samarpanam

parithraanaaya sadhoonaam vinasaya cha dhushkrutham

dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge

Bhagawan takes avatar in each and every yuga mainly to safeguard the bhaktas and then to destroy the rakshasaas who trouble his bhaktas. So Bhagawan comes to this bhoomi from paramapadham just for the sake of his bhaktas. Hence we come to know that bhaktas are very important to the Lord. Whenever Bhagawan comes to rescue his bhaktas, the other fellow people also reap the benefits.........Our guruji amma gives high respect to all the bhaktas. Hence our Vedhanaadham's every issue will be dedicated to one bhakta. This issue we are dedicating to the one of the greatest sadacharyas ' Mahaprabhu Sri Vallabhacharya'.

Mahaprabhu Sri Vallabhacharya

Sri Vallabhacharya The great Saint (1479 - 1531) who was born in Champaran to Lakshmana Bhatta and Ilamma near Raipur in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. His sons and their descendants are known as "Goswami Maharajas". The great devotional philosopher, who founded the Pushti sect in India, and the philosophy of Shuddha advaita (Pure Non-dualism).  The great Acharya, who produced several commentaries on the Bhagavata Purana, which describes the many lilas (pastimes) of the avatar, Krishna and won the sensational debate conducted at Vijayanagara between the Vaishnavaites of Madhva and Shankarites over the philosophical question  whether God is Dualistic or non-dualistic.  The great saint, who gave discourses on Bhaagavata at 84 places and explained the subtle meanings of the Puranic text. Even during present day these 84 places are visited by thousands of Hindu pilgrims and are referred to as "Chaurasi Bethak".  The fourth ‘Acharyaji’ of Indian culture after Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. (Acharya, is one who has written his personal views and comments on the ‘Brahmasutra’, ‘Bhagavad Gita’ and ‘Upanishads’) The great devotee, who entered Gokul with his mind was revolving on the important question of restoring people to the right path of devotion. He closed his eyes and meditated on Krishna who appeared to him in a vision in the form of Shrinathji indicating him clearly the BrahmaSambandha, mantra. The great philosopher, who strictly adhered to three rules : not wearing stitched clothes, always performed pilgrimages bare footed and always resided at the outskirts of the village.  The great saint, who was commanded by Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur to marry and live the life of householder. He married Mahakanya and had two sons: Gopinatha and Vitthalanatha (also known as Shri Gusainji). The great soul who spent his last days in contemplation of Vishnu and wrote in the form of three verses and a half on sand by way of counsel. Krishna manifested visually on the spot and wrote in the form of a verse and a half. It is known as ‘ShikshaSloki’.  The great devotee who composed Vyasa Sutra Bhashya, Jaimini Sutra Bhasya, Bhagavata Tika Subodhini, Pushti Pravala Maryada and Siddhanta Rahasya, all in Sanskrit and also many books in Brij Bhasha.

 

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7. Sacred Living Sanctity - New Pictures Of Poojyashree Shree Amma, Our Gurujiamma

The ultimate liberator bestowed by Lord Sri Krishna!


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8. Sathsangam News - Information About The Sathsang Activities Like Forthcoming Pravachans And Programmes

Sathsangam Programmes held at various places last month

 

Sri Padmanabha’s grace brought for the citizens of Ananthapuri, the great Sadguru Gopalavallidasar from Chennai, on 5th Feb., 11-45 am by the train heading from Chennai named after His ‘puram’ ie., Ananthapuri express.

Many of His disciples had gathered at the railway station to receive their respected Guruji that day. Guruji had come for a series of discourses on Sri Krishna Kshetrangal organised by the Asthika Samajam of Puthentheru Thiruvananthapuram starting from 5th to 19th feb 07. The time was fixed at 6-30 to 8-30 p.m. 

Guruji had plans to start Thirukkolur Penpillai Rahasyam which was a continuation of His last trip here. The time was fixed as usual from 7 to 8-30 am everyday for the convenience of office goers and the venue too was the same as last times’ – Brindavan, Srivaraham. However on devotee’s request Guruji consented to postpone the programme for a day as they all wished to take Guruji to Thripparappu water falls and Thiruvattar, a divya desam of Adi Kesava Perumal from where the rulers of Travancore migrated and surrendered the state to Lord Padmanabha in Thiruvananthapuram, who is more or less a replica of the former. (The basic difference being that Padmanabha reclines on His right shoulders while Adi Kesava Perumal reclines on His left shoulders as if facing each other. Moreover Padmanabha has Brahma in His nabhi kamalam while that is absent in Adi Kesava Perumal.)

So next day Guruji had His usual darshan at Padmanabhaswamy temple at 6-30 am and then only the party consisting of 10 people left Thiruvananthapuram. Guruji enjoyed the bath at the water falls very much followed by darshan at the Siva temple.

Reached Thiruvattar by the darshan time itself and before entering the sanctum on the Pradakshina prakara Guruji gave a brief description about Nammazhvar’s paasuram on Adi Kesava and the Sthala Purana which says ‘Kesava is there after Kesi vadham.’ Guruji spent about an hour frantically trying to swollow Adi Kesava as such in His usual way and the poojari was forced to stay inside the Sri Kovil, as he can come out to give prasadams. Only once the mandapam is vacated by the devotees as per custom. He was seeing deeper into the Archamoorthy unlike us and had many things to say which we have not seen. He was very much interested in the mural paintings and wood carvings around the temple and was pointing out many things we would have missed otherwise. Incidentally, there was a group from Tamilnadu chanting Nammazhvar’s pasurams on Adi Kesava in front of the dwaja sthambha which Guruji had referred to. 

The devotees along with Guruji left the temple around 12 and reached Karamanai suburb of TVM, by 1-30. As Puliyanchadam and Thayirsadam had been prepared and left at a devotee’s house there they all alighted and had lunch then left for home. As the trip was decided all of a sudden and only 10 of us were able to go, others who were denied of the chance were really feeling sorry for themselves.

On 5th feb. evening Guruji started His series with Udipi Sri Krishna temple. It was really enthralling to hear how Rukmini worshipped her Lord in a cute toddler’s form, how the vigraha got immersed in the sea, how it was transhipped by the merchants embedded in Gopi chandan, and how Madhvachaarya rescued the ship from a storm and got his Krishna in return and how we got the present Udupi temple etc. The devotees were inspired to hear how bhakthas like Kanaka dasa were immersed in Krishna bhakthi.

The second day it was about Puri jagannaatha. The story of Chaithanya mahaprabhu and his sishyaas, Jayadeva, Padmavathi and his Geetha Govindam, created an atmosphere of devotion there. Moreover each day Guruji would start His discourse with a Pasuram of Nammazhvar on ‘Padmanabha and Syaanandapura’. As a matter of fact we Trivandramites were seeing Padmanabha in a new perception felt never before.

Next day came the “Unnikkuttan” Guruvayurappan. Talking about Guruvayurappan will be incomplete without mentioning His bhakthas like Vilvamangalam, Kurooramma, Poonthaanam, Naryana Bhattathiri, Manjula and others.

Then it was the turn of Sakshi Gopal naath who is a concrete proof of adamant faith.

For the first time the Trivandrum devotees had the chance of hearing about Lokanathan, the deity worshipped by Vasishta the Rama bhaktha. How Vasishta made a Krishna vigraha in butter immersed in Krishna bhakthi and how the ’naughty Krishna’ swallowed it was all new to them. ( they could understand that more since they are witnessing daily Guruji trying to swallow the 18ft Padmanabha wholly).

The next two days were taken over by the great Dwarakanaath. No need to say Meera was mentioned.

On 12th the hero of Pandarpur danced His entry with His devotees into the Trivandrum devotee’s hearts.

Lord Sri Naathji captured their attention for the next 2 days with special mention to Sri Vallabhacharya and his Pushti marg.

15th was dedicated for Triplicane Parthasarathy – the Great Venkata Krishna who has Thiruppathi Perumaal, and Ranganatha with Him there.

Little Kheer Chor Gopinaath stole their hearts too and He managed to steal some time of Pandavar duthan also next day which had to be condensed to an extent due to shortage of time.

Bhakthi can be extended to any extreme was proved by Radha Madan Mohan’s story. It is really wonderful that a mother considers Krishna as one of her sons and at the same time the son considers Him as his own brother. It is something unimaginable. We have to surrender ourselves at the feet of such great bhakthas.

Last in this series was the turn of Banke Bihari the centre point of Vraja bhoomi. 
The series never ends. It goes on and on. It is only for the time being that a small full stop is put.

From 7th of Feb. Guruji started His Thirukkollur Penpillai Rahasyam as scheduled earlier and postponed for a day. The recap He presented was totally different from what was said last time. The perception was entirely new though the matter was the same. For two days Guruji was lingering more on the recap itself. The devotees were all enjoying thoroughly. Through His ‘rahasyams’ Guruji was successful in making us assess ourselves as to where we stand in the bhakthi marga. Penpillai rahasyam went on for 7 days.

From 10th to 12th Guruji did a series of discourses on Guru Mahima at the residence of a devotee. Guruji has an unending resource of “mahimas” with Him in every sense. Every time it is something new! One thing is sure. We are indebted to our Gurujiamma for many births to come, for presenting us with such a “Gopala Rathnam” –our Guruji.

Then venue was shifted to Karamanai for 5 consecutive days to receive Tukaram. A notable group of audience was present there, many of whom had tears filled eyes living with Tukaram. Guruji could not complete the theme as expected and will continue during His next visit to Thiruvananthapuram.

In between the fixed discourses at 10-30 and 3-30 slots Guruji spoke on different topics at different devotees’ houses. The power of His words are so much that nobody would like to miss any one of the satsangams. Each person got the message he was intended to get from His discourses. In short the rain cloud called Guruji was showering the rain of dense bhakthi in which the Thiruvananthapuram bhakthaas were getting drenched. Radhekrishna! 

It is a known secret that Guruji is head over heels in love with the Bhuvanasundara, Lord Padmanabha. Padmanabha also seems to be in love with our Guruji for He was seen sending His different prasadams including His ‘uduththi kalaintha peethakavaadai’ for His pet. One should have seen how His face glowed with happiness on receiving the gift of His vasthra.

On the last night Guruji was seen visibly moved to tears on getting seperated from His Lord Padmanabha though for a temporary phase only. Is it that Padmanabha has stole our Guruji’s heart or is it the other way round?

Guruji also went for long ride on two wheeler upto Varkala with the boys. It was an only kuttans trip. The boys took turns for sitting behind Guruji. Guruji took some devotees’ scooter. Other boys also took their bike. The boys said it was fantastic. To quote one of them " Mami enga janma saaphalyam aachchu. Athanaikku anubhavichchom". He played in the sea with them. They did namasankeerthan in the sea waters. They were indeed blessed. Radhekrishna!!

On 19th evening after sathsang Guruji left for Guruvayur instead of 20th as He had planned earlier. The Puthentheru people were all very much impressed by Guruji’s words and are after Him for futher visits. Guruji was well honoured by the Asthika Samajam people. Now a days one cannot pass on the road without meeting somebody who has the same question to ask –“ unga Guruji inime eppo varuvaar?”{when is your Guruji going to come back?}

Nagara Saankeerthanam was conducted by Aasthika Samajam on 18th February Sunday.

May Lord Padmanabha answer everyone’s prayer and bring back soon His pet child Guruji for the yearning devotees . Radhekrishna! Radhekrishna!

 

 

Forthcoming Pravachanams by Poojyashree Shree Ammas Sishyar - Mahan Brahmashree Gopalavallidasan

 Feb 22nd 07 - March 2nd 07 :  Chennai - Thirukoloor Pen Pillei Rahasyam in Rajarajeswari Kovil, Selaiyur

Mar 4th 07 - Mar 17th 07 :  Mumbai - Bhaagwata Sapthagam and other discourses, also a short Pandarpur trip in between. 

Mar 18th 07 - Mar 27th 07 : Tuticorin - Discourses on various topics.

  
Weekly bhajans are held in Chennai, Podanur, Mumbai, USA and East Africa with Guruji Amma's abundant blessings.

 Weekly bhajans and Nagara sankeerthanam are also being held regularly.

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 9. Calendar For The Month 

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RadheKrishna Krishnaradhe RadheKrishna Krishnaradhe RadheKrishna Krishnaradhe RadheKrishna Krishnaradhe



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