HTGS News Letter
Anna Datha Program ($5 Lunch)
Temple serves “Maha Prashad” to the community on every Saturday from Noon to 2pm. Primarily, this “Maha Prashad” is prepared and served by volunteers of the Temple community. There are total of 5 groups that take turns each week to provide Maha Prashad. Four groups are from Springfield area and one group is from Decatur area. If you are interested in volunteering in this program, please contact your group coordinator. Your gracious donations from this program are used for Temple’s religious activities and temple’s operational expenses. Menu items for each week are posted on the website 2 days prior to each event. Please come and support your temple. Thank you.
Annadatha Program Main coordinators
Vasantha Mushunuri 401-349-0478
Bharati Pastapur 217-241-1281
Food Volunteer Group Name(s) and Group Coordinator(s)
“Andhra Bhavan’ – represents Springfield area Telugu community
Sita Reddy (P)217-391-6617
Lakshmi Brahmamdam 217-793-6734
“Udipi“– represents Springfield area Tamil/Karnataka/Kerala community
Kasthuri Puvalai (P) 217-546-8734
Rama Raghuraman217-726-6028
“Rajbhog” – represents Springfield area Gujarati:
Group 1: Anita Patel (P)
Group 2: Reshma Patel217-793-8076
Group 3: Kalpana Patel
Laxmi
“India Cuisine” – represents Springfield area N. Indiancommunity & Others (other than Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Karnatka and Kerala) community:
Manjula Mehta (P)217-
Nancy Khardori
“Decatur Woodlands” – represents Decatur area ALL Indian community
Subhadra Kola217-483-4830
Lakshman Rao (P)217-
Ramanathan Santhangopalan
P: Primary Contact
Hello Youth – “DO YOU KNOW THIS?” article submitted by Raghu and Rama Raghuraman
- Have you ever wondered why we ring the bell at the temple, Why do we sip the water? Why do murthis have so many arms/hands? Come to the temple and find these answers. Hear pujas and mantras reverberate thru the walls. Begin to learn the slokas and recite during aarati. Learn the Hindu mantras and feel the power of loud chanting resonating God's presence amongst us. The temple is a place where God may be approached and where divine knowledge can be discovered. Here are some things to think about before your next visit to the temple:
- A temple is not just a building. It is the home of the Lord. It's a place which focuses our mind on the true meaning of life. A temple's strength is not in its bricks, but in the dedication of its members. A temple is not held together by plaster and mud, but its glue is the devotion of the community. A temple is not simply a place we visit, but the axis around which our lives revolve. I can hear you guys ask, "but if God is everywhere, if every living being is a manifestation of Brahma, then why do we need to go to temple?"
Here are some reasons:
- The most important reason is that a temple is not only the home of God, but is a concentration of divine energy. During the installation of the deities (Prana Pratishtha ceremony), the murtis become powerful manifestations of God. The priests chant special vedic mantras and perform special sacred rituals which endow these deities with divine attributes and powers. Therefore, praying before a deity in a temple may give us a greater sense of being in the presence of God, than praying in our own homes.
- You all know the difference between doing your homework in your school library and at home, don't you? The books and material are the same, right? But, in the library, everywhere you look you'll see other students deep in their work. This environment will provide you not only with quiet in which to study, but also the inspiration from others around you.
- Similarly we go to temple for sacred environment, for holy energy in the building itself, for the divine presence of deities, as well as for inspiration of others who are focused on God.
- So, have we explained to you all, the need to go to the temple? Will we start seeing you at the temple more often, at least once a week?
- And the next time you come, can you find the answer to the question “Why do we do Aarti at the end of the ceremonies?” Write your answer on a piece of paper and give it to the person at the front desk (Dead line December 15, 2008 8 pm). A surprise awaits the lucky winner!
Agarwal / Sandeep & / Regular / Eannamuneni / Vijay / Regular-Single
Ajay / Varma / Regular / Gadhiraju / Surya & Vasudha / Regular
Ajoy / Kumar / Regular / Ganapathiraju / Raju & / Regular
Alluri / Vinod & Divya / Regular / Ganga / Ganesh & Karuna / Regular
Amin / Chintan & Tiru / Regular / Genge / Ramesh & Saroj / Regular
Anavartha / Regular / Ghanta / Koteswara Rao & Bhavani / Regular
Anyarambhatla / Gopal / Regular / Gollapudi / Venkata & Prathima / Regular
Arasada / Saikiran and Padmalaya / Regular / Gomatham / Sreekumar & Sririsha / Regular
Arshanapally / Suresh & Usha / Regular / Gorantla / Sekhar & Durga / Regular
Assori / Ramasamy / Regular / Gottumukkala / Srinivas Raju & Suneetha / Regular
Atluri / Ramesh & Hima / Regular / Govindaiah / Raj & Renu / Regular
Bharadwaj / Anjala & / Regular / Gunda / Shravan & Shailaja / Regular
Bhatt / Harish & Swati / Regular / Guntupalli / Siva & Anuradha / Regular
Bittalli / Pandu / Regular / Gupta / Vinod & Saritha / Regular
Boddu / Lavanya / Regular / Gurugubelli / Sekhar & Lakshmi / Regular
Bogula / Lakshman & / Regular / Halasyamani / Paramasiva & Prema / Regular
Brahma / Subhir & Purnima / Regular / Iyer / Viswanathan & Chithra / Regular
Brahmamdam / Amarnadh & Annapurna / Regular / Jadala / Madhur & Sowmya / Regular
Brahmamdam / J. Rao & Anuradha / Patron / Jhaveri / Suketu & Bharathi / Regular
Brahmamdam / Krishna & Lakshmi / Benefactor / Jitta / Sripathi & Swapna / Regular
Brahmamdam / Ranga Sai & Jyosthna / Patron / Jonnalagadda / Bala Sankar / Regular
Brahmandam / SrinivasaRao & Aruna / Regular / Jyothinagaram / Madhu / Regular
Chadalavada / Venkateswarlu / Regular / Kalivarathan / Vengadassal / Regular
Chanana / Rakesh & Shiwani / Regular / Kandula / Praveen & Swetha / Regular
Chandra / Yashwant & Aarti / Life / Karri / Ranjan & Vasanta / Regular
Chandupatla / Prabhakar & Aruna / Grand Patron / Keshavan / Arun / Regular
Chapa / Vittal & Saraswathi / Life / Khanna / Narinder & Sharon / Patron
Chaudhary / Subhash & Rambha / Life / Khardori / Romesh & Nancy / Benefactor
Cheruku / Surender & Sailaja / Life / Kola / Manohar & Subhadra / Life
Chigurupati / Satya & Padma / Regular / Kolavennu / Krishnaiah & Vidyavati / Regular
Chimata / Murthy & Kamala / Patron / Kolluri / Raghu & Srilatha / Regular
Damodaran / Madan & Kalpana / Regular / Korrapati / Krishnaiah & Lavanya / Korrapati
Das / Nagendra P & / Regular / Kosuri / Srinivas & Vasanthi / Kosuri
Desai / Kiran & Kalpana / Regular / Kulkarni / PS & J / Kulkarni
Desai / Suresh / Regular -Single / Lad / Prakash & Nilima / Lad
Dwarakanath / Jaya / Regular-Single / Lowder / Michael & Neelima / Lowder
Mandhani / Dinesh & Priyanka / Regular / Patel / Vinita & Mukesh / Regular
Mathur / Ravi & Aruna / Regular / Patel / Vinod & Sheila / Regular
Mehra / Muktesh & Norma / Patron / Patel-O'Connor / Anjana & Tim / Regular
Mehta / Pradeep & Manju / Patron / Pebbili / Kranthi / Regular
Mhaskar / Yashnad & Neha / Regular / Prabhu / Jay / Regular
Mirani / Bishir / Regular-Single / Prasad / Babu / Benefactor
Monippallil / Matthew & Shantha / Regular / Puthanpurayil / Satheesh & Suchitra / Regular
Nagendra / Sanjai & Deepa / Grand Patron / Puvalai / Kripakaran & Kasturi / Patron
Nagrecha / Ankur / Regular / Radhakrishnan / Suresh & Prathibha / Patron
Nair / Sreedharan & Devi / Life / Raghu Raman / Raghu & Rama / Regular
Nallamothu / Nasar and Kanna / Regular / Rajan / Sreedhar & Vidhya / Regular
Nandi / Proshanta & Chandana / Regular / Rajaram / Raj & Smitha / Regular
Nekkanty / V & Amita Rajput / Regular / Ramaswamy / Raja & Ratha / Regular
Nimavat / Dharmendra & Bindu / Grand Patron / Rao / Kondal & / Regular
Padala / Venkat / Regular / Rao / Krishna & Vijayalakshmi / Grand Patron
Paidela / Mastan & Sumitra / Regular / Raut / Jagdish & Arti / Grand Patron
Paidipalla / Vamsi / Regular / Reddy / Gopal & Tulasi / Grand Patron
Pastapur / Eshwar & Bharati / Regular / Reddy / Jolene / Regular
Patel / Asmin & Vaishali / Regular / Reddy / Obul & Sita / Benefactor
Patel / Chhagan & Savitri / Regular / Reddy / Ranga & KrishnaVeni / Regular
Patel / Chirag / Regular-Single / Renganathan / Ramanujam / Regular
Patel / Gayatri Kirti / Regular / Sangwan / Savita & Gaurav / Regular
Patel / Hasmikh & Vasanthi / Regular / Santhanagopalan / Ramanathan & Aparna / Regular
Patel / Jayesh & Nituben / Regular / Santhanam / Balaji & Vandana Shankar / Regular
Patel / Jigneshbahai / Regular / Sembu / Kanthilal & Amutha / Regular
Patel / Kalpana / Regular / Shah / Keyur / Regular-Single
Patel / Kanchan & Kailash / Regular / Shah / Sashikanth & Umadevi / Regular
Patel / Khushalbhai & Laxmi / Regular / Shah / Shanthilal & Manju / Regular
Patel / Kirit & Nita / Regular / Sharma / Nikhil / Regular-Single
Patel / Kokila / Regular / Singh / Amita / Regular-Single
Patel / Kunj & Neha / Regular / Somani / Indira / Regular-Single
Patel / Mangu & Ruxmani / Regular / Somani / Shipra / Benefactor
Patel / Manish & Anita / Patron / Somarouthu / Ravi & Shilpa / Regular
Patel / Navin & / Regular / Subramanian / Rajan / Regular
Patel / Rajesh & Manisha / Regular / Sumant / Manish / Regular
Patel / Rakesh & Jigna / Regular / Swaminadhan / Giridharan & Latha / Regular
Patel / Samir & Reshma / Grand Patron / Swaminathan / Subhash & Geetha / Regular
Talakola / Narayana Reddy & Madhavi / Regular
Talluri / RamPrasad & Rajani / Regular
TK / Venkatesh & SriDevi / Regular
Trivedi / Alkesh & Leela / Regular
Tulsania / Mihir & Munali Soni / Regular
Vakharia / Haridas & Shobhana / Regular
Vallala / Madhuudhan & Suvarna / Life
Vani / Aparna / Regular-Single
Varma / JP & Saritha / Regular
Vasireddy / ChandraSekhar & RajyaLakshmi / Regular
Vatsal / Pathak / Regular
Veeramachineni / Seshu & Sudha / Regular
Vellagapudi / Jaya Krishna / Regular-Single
Vellody / Shobhana / Regular-Single
Venigalla / Ravi & Pramila / Regular
Venkat / Koushik & / Regular
Venkatachalam / Ajoy & / Regular
Vihva / Krupa / Regular
Total Count of HTGS Members: 164
Note: Please help us correcting our records. If we inadvertently posted any incorrect information, please bring it to our attention immediately. After November 15th, we will post the updated list on the website. We intend to use that list at our General Body meeting. Email: or call Krishna Brahmamdam at 217-553-7772. Thank you
Membership Types:
R - Regular Member
$51 per Family (per calendar year)
$26 per Single (per calendar year)
$11 per Student (per calendar year)
Life Member: $3,000 - $4,999 (within a year)
Patron Member: $5,000 - $9,999 (within 2 consecutive years)
Grand Patron: $10,000 - $24,999 (within 3 consecutive years)
Benefactor: $25,000 - $49,999 (within 4 consecutive years)
Grand Benefactor: $50,000 or above (within 5 consecutive years)
The HinduTemple of Greater Springfield (HTGS)
NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SPRINGFIELD IL
PERMIT NO 387
P. O. Box 1325
Springfield, IL62705-1325
Education / Religious Classes
VedicSchool – learning Shlokas and Mantras (example: Purusha suktam,
Narayana Suktam, Mantra pushpam, Hanuman Chalisa, Sandhya Vandanam, etc.)
Simple Puja Concepts: how to do daily puja
Singing Bhajans
Geetha / Ramayan / Maha Bharat pathan and Discourses
At this point we are assessing the community’s interest in these areas. If you have interest in any of them, please let us know. As soon as we finalize the logistics, we will inform you date and timings. Most likely we will begin some of these programs from January 2009.
Priest:
Occasionally, priest is not at the temple since he attends private pujasat
Devotee’s residence. If you are planning to visit the temple to have a special puja done at the temple, pleasecall the temple in advance to find his availability. We appreciate your understanding in this matter. Thank you.