Bharatiya Temple of
Lansing, Inc.
955 Haslett Road,
Haslett, MI 48840
http://lansingtemple.org
Tax Exempt ID
No.: 38-2399465
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Phone:
(517) 339-6337
May
27, 2003
Thanks to each one of you – whether you are a life member, an annual
member, a donor, a devotee, or a volunteer, and of course, our two priests,
Sharmaji and Shastriji – thanks to all, our temple is vibrant, doing well and
getting better every day. Financially
we are stable; operationally we are improving; spiritually we are growing; our
programs, events, priest services, and attendance are increasing; volunteers
are coming forward to help; your board is working well together; and our temple
community is united.
The four major programs this year, Mahashivratri, Ramnavmi, group
Satyanarayan puja and our participation in the India Week celebrations were
very successful, and for the first time this year, we will jointly celebrate
our Hindu and Jain Pratistha anniversaries.
An Indian vocal classical music concert by Veena Sahasrabuddhe will kick
off the celebration on June 7th and then our Hindu and Jain devotees
will participate in the celebrations the weekend of June 13-15. The other symbol of our unity is our two
priests. The relationship between our
two priests and their families is very good.
Friends, overall, one could say that the stars are smiling on this temple
and this community. This is a good omen
and an ideal time for us to plan the future of our temple, both in terms of our
physical facilities as well as in terms of the programs and services that we
offer. Over the last few months, we
have tried to articulate our needs for Navagrahas, Yagyashala, kitchen/dining
area, main level bathroom, elevator, and last but foremost, priest housing. It is now time for us to move on all of
these fronts. The planning phase has
begun. Over the next few weeks, we will
continue our dialogue to give you the pertinent details to enlist your support
for these needs. There are many in our
community who are willing to work hard to make this happen but we need your
energy and enthusiasm as well as your moral and financial support to move to
the next phase and proceed forward.
Repeatedly, this community has demonstrated that working together we can
build and maintain a great place of worship and a facility that is adequate for
our needs. Let us build on that tradition and support continued growth to
fulfill our increasing needs.
With your wholehearted support, we can ensure continued success of our
community’s only combined physical identity and a place many call their second home. We firmly believe that our
community has all the necessary means to embark on these projects. Our
challenge is to do what is necessary to bring them about.
Thank you and God bless our temple and our community.
Sharmaji Gets Green Card
After almost three years efforts,
our priest Sharmaji and his family have obtained green cards. Congratulations to Sharmaji’s family, and
thanks to N. Anantaraman, who worked diligently on this project from start to
finish.
Unsung Heroes
From time to time, we have needed
legal help and guidance in the conduct of temple’s business. Over the last few years, we have sought help
and advise for Sharmaji’s immigration, Shastriji’s and his family’s visas,
insurance matters, etc. Amarnath Gowda, Preeti Kapoor Tolani, and John
Niccolucci have assisted us whenever we have called upon them. We deeply appreciate their services, and on
behalf of our temple community thank each one of them for their volunteer work
for the temple.
Student Volunteers
We appreciate voluntary time and effort put in by Anuroop
and Varun Avula, Dhaval Bhansali and Sahil Attawala.
Temple Membership
According to the temple
constitution, anyone wishing to become a member must pay $250.00
donation and $150.00 membership for the first year (January 1st
to December 31st). In the
following years, annual membership is only $150.00/year,
(donations are voluntary) until your total donations and/or membership fees add
up to $10,000.00. At that point, you
and your family become life members.
The concept of building the temple
came about in early eighties. We built
the temple in middle nineties – 15 ± year period. Many people donated monies (and time and efforts) to establish
the temple. Constitution drafters felt
that to put new members and the founding members on the same
footing, a minimal donation of $250.00 from new members is appropriate.
We recommend everyone to become
members, to take interest in temple’s affairs, and to take leadership role(s)
to steer the temple in the right direction in the future. Many of you, perhaps come to temple to do
puja, enjoy prasad, meet and/or make friends, etc. and experience spiritual and
social uplift. Behind the scene, there
are many issues (priests’ benefits, salary, housing, cleaning the temple,
maintenance, improvements, addition, planning functions, pujas, etc.), which
require decisions and efforts.
We encourage all of you to become
members, (and please do so before June 30th so that you can be a voting
member of the Temple) familiarize with the issues, contribute
innovative ideas and serve as a trustee for a bright future of the temple.
Thank you, Pardeep
Kumar
We want to express our appreciation
to our board trustee, Pardeep Kumar who takes keen interest in youth activities
of the temple. Pardeep is an employee
of GM, and became aware of GM funded engineering camp at University of
Michigan. Pardeep shared the
information with the community, and as a result, Kyle Shah applied and was
successful in securing a place in the camp.
We
encourage all community members to share knowledge of such opportunities for
youth with the community, and we wish Kyle Shah good luck at the summer camp.
Upcoming
events
Board of Trustees meeting: 1st Monday of the month at 7:30 PM.
Sunday Puja at 11:30 AM: June 1, July 6, August 3, September 7, 2003,
October 5 and November 2, 2003
Soup Kitchen from 2:30 – 5:30 PM: Please contact Minesh Mody or Sundri Rajan
for dates.
Havan at 11:00 AM: June 15, July 20,
August 17, Sept. 21, October 19, November 16 and December 21, 2003
Jain Puja at
11:00 AM: June 22, July 27, August 24, Sept. 28, October 26, November 23 and
Dec. 28, 2003
Satyanarayan Puja: Please contact Shashikant Joshi.
Computers for
Disadvantaged Children
Groups of volunteers from East Lansing
have collected 200 Pentium computers and are in the process of preparing them
for shipment to India for distribution to high schools. The Kadapa (Cuddapah) district of Andhra
Pradesh, a relatively disadvantaged area, was selected as the first
project. In partnership with the local
district authorities, 10 computers will be provided to 20 selected high
schools. The goal is to provide high
school students much needed exposure to computers and help increase their computer
literacy.
Clothes Drive
In conjunction with the above, used clothes in
good condition are also being collected to send to the Rotary Club of Cuddapah
for distribution to the needy people there.
The clothes donated will be
shipped along with the computers to save extra shipping charges. Your clothes donation will greatly help the
needy, in an area suffering from severe drought for the third consecutive
year. Your help is much appreciated in
making both these drives a success. For
both projects you can contact Sashi Reddy via e-mail at reddys@msu.edu or by phone at 332-7836. The clothes can also be dropped off at the
Temple in a designated box. Thank you
Balvihar
Classes for kids under 12 years of age are conducted at the
Temple every Sunday from 11 am to noon.
Parents of kids under 5 are required to stay at the Temple. All kids
must be picked up at noon sharp. Amrita
Karve conducts classes, under the guidance of Dr. Raju, Mrs. Shashi Karve and a
few other parents. Currently 20 kids
attend these classes on a regular basis.
DVD SETS OF
MAHABHARAT AND CHANAKYA: Are
available for rent at $5/dvd.
Additional donation to the temple to offset the cost of purchase of the
DVDs will be most welcome. DVDs can be
kept for a maximum of 14 days.
WEBSITE:
Please visit the site at http://lansingtemple.org and send your
comments and suggestions for improvement to our Webmaster, Raman Anantaraman at
anantaraman@nscl.msu.edu. Now you can read the most recent minutes of
the board meeting and the newsletter on your website.
As part of
our cost controlling measure, we will not mail the newsletter to your home
unless you request in writing to Prakash Kapoor at the temple address.
We are accepting
Advertisement for Temple newsletter to defray the cost. If you wish to advertise your business,
please send your Ad (camera ready) to Smruti Shah with check payable to
Bharatiya Temple Of Lansing. Rates:
Full Page $200, Half Page $100 and quarter page $50.
Bharatiya
Temple of Lansing
955
Haslett Road, Haslett, Michigan 48840
(Telephone:
517-339-6337)
presents
Indian Classical
Vocal Music Concert
featuring
Smt.
Veena Sahasrabuddhe
(one of
the foremost vocalists of Hindustani classical music)
Time
& Date: 2 PM, Saturday, June 7, 2003.
Venue:
Kellogg Center Auditorium, East Lansing, MI.
Tickets:
General admission: $100, $50, and $25
Students
& senior citizens (over 65): $15
Please make checks payable to Bharatiya Temple of
Lansing. To purchase your tickets, contact
one of the following:
Shanta
Anantaraman :: (517) 349-5947 :: e-mail: anantaraman@nscl.msu.edu;
Geeta
Iyer :: (248) 214-1000; Shashikant Joshi :: (517) ;
Prakash
Kapoor :: (517) 349-5958; Veena Mandrekar :: (517) 332-3784.
Free
parking in the Kellogg Center parking lot.
Directions
to Kellogg: See http://www.hfs.msu.edu/kellogg/areamap.html
Wanted
Nominations for
Unsung hero (Contact Dhiraj Shah)
332-0327
Computer
professional to volunteer time to develop Temple Data base (Contact Smruti
Shah) 347-1209
Articles for future
newsletters (Contact CC Khiroya)
332-7275
Temple mailing
helpers (Contact Prakash Kapoor)
349-5958
Parents to help with
Sunday school (Contact Rajiv Das or Amrita Karve) 349-0668 or 347-1892
Volunteers for temple work (Contact Madan Lalwani 337-2866)
Food Bank, Soup Kitchen, Meals on
Wheels
Minesh Mody and Dr. Sundri Rajan
are coordinators for once a month “Soup Kitchen” assignments. To sponsor, please contact them. A sponsor prepares a vegetarian meal (or
buys pizza) for approximately 50 people, and serves them on a Saturday at a
church in downtown Lansing.
If you wish to become a volunteer
to deliver prepared and pre-packaged meals to senior and/or handicapped
citizens, please contact CC Khiroya. It
takes approximately 1 hour per month between 11:30 PM and 1:00 PM. A volunteer picks up meals at a central
kitchen and delivers them to given addresses.
All of us are blessed with good
fortunes, and we encourage all to share a small portion through donations and
volunteerism. We encourage all charity
work to be done under the auspices of the temple, because the temple may
qualify for grants under “Faith Based Initiatives.”
Contacts
To sponsor Sunday Puja (first Sunday): Ramma Gossain 349-2886
To sponsor Havan (third Sunday): Jai & Raj Jaglan 337-8085
Youth Class (second and fourth Sunday): Rajiv Das 349-0668
Jain
Puja (fourth Sunday) Sharmila Jain 347-4168
Bal Vihar Classes Amrita
Karve 347-1892
Priest Services booking Sudhakar
Kulkarni 485-1060
Temple Rental Sudhakar
Kulkarni 485-1060
To sponsor Soup Kitchen (second Saturday) Minesh Mody 347-4244
To sponsor Satyanarayan Puja Shashi K. Joshi 349-6225
Temple’s Kitchen
Suggested Rules
1.
Empty all water jugs and put them upside down on the shelf.
2.
Empty all drinking water containers and place them upside
down.
3.
Take all excess (leftover) food home (or distribute to others
to take home.) Do not leave food in the
refrigerator hoping someone can use it in future.
4.
Clean all pots, pans, dishes, etc. and dry them upside
down. Do not leave behind to soak. All cleaning supplies are usually available.
5.
Wash the sink with Ajax.
Wipe counters and tables. If
required, clean the fridge.
6.
Empty trash. (Take it
to the dumpster outside.)
PRATHISTHA ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The temple is planning a
combined function for the Prathistha anniversary celebration. Our priests and several active community
members have met and formulated the following program. We invite everyone to come and participate.
June 13,
2003 (Friday)
7.00 PM Bhawana –Devotional songs by Narendra
Bhai Nandu from India.
8.00 PM Discourse by Narendra Bhai Nandu.
8.30 PM Prasad.
9.30 PM Dandia and Garba Rass.
June 14,
2003 (Saturday)
9.00 AM JAIN SNATRA POOJA of LORD MAHAVIR
Conducted by
Narendra Bhai Nandu.
12.35 PM Dhwaja Ceremony.
1.00 PM Prasad by the Jain Families of Greater
Lansing.
6.00 PM SARVA DEVATA POOJA by Sharmaji and
Shastriji.
7.00 PM Discourse/Devotional Songs By Narendra
Bhai Nandu.
8.00 PM Prasad.
June 15,
2003 (Sunday)
11.30 AM HAVAN by Arya Samaj, and their program.
12.45 PM Closing Remarks by Dr. Raju.
1.00 PM Prasad by Havan Sponsor(s).
Your Address update: This newsletter is
periodically sent out to over 700 families in mid Michigan. Please help us keep
our mailing list updated with your address changes. If you know families who
are new to this area, share this newsletter with them and they can also request
to have their name added to our mailing list. Also, in between the newsletters,
many program announcements are made through e-mail. If you are not on the current e-mail list and wish to be on
distribution list, please send us your e-mail address at Karve@msu.edu
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Please complete this
form and return it with your payment before June 30, 2002 to become a voting
member. Please note that there is a pre
requisite of $250 minimum donation to become a voting member.
Name: (Last and first
name)____________________Spouse_____________________
Address:__________________________
State:___________Zip________
Dues: Circle
one Family
$150 Individual $75
Phone: Home__________________ E-Mail________________________
Checks Payable to “Bharatiya
Temple of Greater Lansing”
and mail to: 955 Haslett Road, Haslett MI 48840
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The Board of Trustees has taken the decision to use the e-mail medium to
send Newsletter to devotees, so as to save on the mailing costs. The current
issue has been sent by e-mail to the devotees whose e-mail addresses are known
to us. If you are not on our e-mail
list, please send us the following information:
Your
name: ______________________________________________________
Your
mailing address: ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Your e-mail address:
_______________________________________________
You
may send this by e-mail to anantaraman@nscl.msu.edu
This
is the first issue we are sending by this means. This Newsletter has also been
posted on the website, at http://lansingtemple.org/newsltr03_05.html
Thank you for responding to this request.
Anantaraman
JEEVAN-JYOTI
: The senior Citizen Group
A
healthy heart program organized by Meena Sharma with presentations by Dr.
Supriya Chakravarty, Dr. Aajay Shah, Dr. Divyakant Gandhi, Dr. Madhuri Yagalla
was a great success. Among the topics covered were heart related diseases and
preventive measures to avoid these diseases, higher risk factors for Indian
population, and healthy food & diet habits. About 150 individual attended
the program. On behalf of the Board Mr. Madan Lalwani was the coordinator for
this event. The program was sponsored by Glaxo Smith Kline and Solvay
Pharmaceuticals. The Board of Trustees would like to convey their deep
appreciation and thank each speaker and the organizers.
Group Shri Satyanarayana
Puja
The first Samudiak Satyanarayana Puja that was held on April
13th was a great success. About 65 couples or families participated
in the Puja. The Board of Trustees would like to thank each individual and
family for their participation. Thanks also to Shashikant Joshi, Gajanan Joshi
and both our Pujaris, Sharmaji and Shastriji for their participation.
Directions
a. From Detroit & Ann
Arbor: d. From Jackson:
I-96 West to Okemos Rd. (exit 110) 127 North to Saginaw
exit (do not take
Turn right (North) at STOP sign, go
5 496 downtown exit) turn
right (East) onto
miles. Turn right (East) at Haslett
Rd., Saginaw. Go past
Harrison and Abbott.
go 2.5 miles (1 mile past the rail
road Stay in
right lane, take Haslett Road forks to
the track) till Haslett Rd. forks & See
note. right. Go past Okemos Rd. and Marsh Rd.
Cross
rail road tracks. Go about 1 mile past
b. From Flint the
railroad tracks till Haslett Rd. forks &
I-69 West to East Lansing (exit 94) See
note.
At the second stop light, turn left
(South) onto Marsh Rd. and go 2
miles. e.
From Mt. Pleasant, Alma, & Midland
Turn left (East) at Haslett Rd. Go
1.3 27 South
to exit 87, I-69 East (to Flint). Take
miles till Haslett Road forks. See note. exit
94. Follow directions as in b.
c. From Grand Rapids: f. From Kalamazoo & Battle Creek
I-96 East to I-69 East (going to
Flint) I-94
East to I-69 North to I-96 East. Take
Take exit 94 and follow direction
as in b. exit
110 to Okemos Rd. Turn left at STOP
sign
and follow directions as in a.
See note: When Haslett Road forks stay in the right
lane. Temple is the 1st
building on the right.
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Bharatiya
Temple of Lansing
955
Haslett Road
Haslett,
MI 48840
Phone:
517-339-6337
http://lansingtemple.org
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Non Profit Org
US Postage Paid
Permit No. 94
Lansing, MI
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