शान्ताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशं

विश्वाधारम् गगनसदृशं मेघवर्णं शुभाङ्गम् |

लक्ष्मीकान्तं कमलनयनं योगिभिर्ध्यानगम्यं

वन्दे विष्णुं भवभयहरं सर्वलोकैकनाथम् ||
shaantaakaaram bhujagashayanam padmanaabham suresham

vishwaadhaaram gagana sadrusham meghavarnam shubhaangam |

lakshmikaantam kamalanayanam yogibhirdyanagamyam

vandevishnum bhavabhayaharam sarvalokaikanaatham ||

(A verse visualizing Lord Vishnu that is recited before chanting Sri Vishnu Sahasranama)

SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY

The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire marked the completion of 7 years of service by observing a 24-hour Akhanda Parayana (uninterrupted and repeated recitation) of the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram. Chanting of the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram is one instance of the practice of Nama Smarana, a spiritual device prescribed in Hindu traditions to keep the mind focused on the divine, and to attain peace and happiness in life. Sri Kanchi Paramacharya explains the significance of Sahasranama Stotras in a 15 minute discourse in Tamil available at the following link: http://bit.ly/1ybMzyP.

This chanting marathon, in which various names of the Almighty were chanted almost a hundred thousand times was kept going all through the 24 hours by a core team of dedicated volunteers, augmented by a floating stream of devotees and patrons. The concluding Pooja was conducted by Sri Venkatramani from Chennai, India. Sri Venkatramani  who received his training in the Vedas during his early days in Kumbakonam, India, also conducts Hari Sampradaya Bhajans. His creative benedictions in Sanskrit (aasheervada mantras) filled with benevolence and good wishes are particularly appreciated by devotees of the Temple.

EVOLUTION OF THE TEMPLE

The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire, which has been serving the cultural and religious needs of the Hindu community in the Nashua and Greater Boston area, started its operations 7 years ago in a small rented space in a commercial plaza off the busy Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, NH, and then expanded to a larger, relatively more sequestered rented space located at 1 Progress Avenue in Nashua, NH. The current premises were purchased by the Temple about 2 years ago to accommodate the growth of its devotee population and the increased scope of its service activities.

During these 7 years of operation, the Temple has been visited, graced and blessed by many well-known spiritual leaders and scholars including the founder of the Art of Living movement Sri Sri Ravishankar, the prolific and popular Vaishnavite scholar and exponent Vellukudi Sri Krishnan Swamy, the Dasa Sahitya expert Dr. Aralumallige Parthasarathy, who has been spreading awareness about Srimad Bhagavatham and Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam all over the world, Prof. Subrahmonia Iyer, former Dean of Academic Affairs, IIT Bombay, Shri Shenkottai Hari, the well known Bhagavathar and expert in Divya Nama Sankeertana and Sampradaya Bhajans, and Smt. Poornimaji, a senior disciple of Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji, an advocate of Nama Sankeertana.

In addition to the religious and spiritual activities that form its core, the Temple has also been involved in various service activities to benefit the community, in conjunction with Bharati Vidyashram, the cultural arm of the Temple. Bharati Vidyashram focuses on cultural and spiritual education for K-12 children, with a specific emphasis on Indian traditions. The curriculum of studies offered by Bharati Vidyashram includes Indian languages (Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi), Carnatic music, yoga and youth leadership programs. The Temple in conjunction with Bharati Vidyashram has brought and hosted music and dance concerts, both by renowned artists such as Vidwan Sri Vittal Ramamurthy, as well as by upcoming talented youth in the area. Carnatic Music albums have been produced under the auspices of the Temple as part of the Dwell on Dharma initiative, and the most recent album by Smt. Aparna Balaji was kindly released by Sangeeta Choodamani Vidwan Sri O.S. Thiagarajan. The Temple has also been involved in broader community outreach. Some of the mandapams that house shrines in the Temple were constructed by Boy Scouts as part of their community service project requirements. The Temple’s “Team Maruti”  participated in the Honor Ride New Hampshire 2015 bicycle rally as part of the Bike for Dharma initiative, to raise funds for veterans of the armed forces of the United States. A team from the Temple also participated in Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger to help raise funds for the poor.

SHRINE FOR SRI KANCHI PARAMACHARYA

The deities presently enshrined in the Temple include Lord Shiva in the form of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswara along with his divine consort Sri Meenakshi, Lord Vishnu in the form of Sri Srinivasa (Balaji) along with his divine consorts Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhoodevi, Sri Ram Parivar, Sri Krishna, Sri Ganesha, Sri Subrahmanya with his divine consorts Sri Valli and Sri Devasena, Sri Ayyappa and Sri Hanumanji. Sri Ram Parivar was a recent addition and the arrival of this divine family of deities was celebrated with a Sita Kalyanam in March 2015. With the blessings of Paramacharya and the Jagadgurus, the grace of the Almighty, and the support and patronage of devotees and donors, the Temple embarked on an expansion project this year to add sannidhis for Sri Medha Dakshinamoorthi, the Navagraha Devatas, and to provision for performing Homam/Havan.

The expansion project has been making steady progress. The Homa Kunda has been installed with the required civic approvals, and granite pedestals have been installed for the new deities, and the Temple is now awaiting the completion of the ongoing work in India to sculpt the vigrahas. The Temple is also happy to announce that the scope of the project has been expanded to include a shrine for the revered saint Kanchi Paramacharya Pujya Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Mahaswamiji, who is revered as the very incarnation of divinity by devotees. Sri Veeramani notes that Sri Kanchi Paramacharya is the guiding Guru and the source of divine inspiration for the establishment and operation of the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire, and recalls how he felt inner inspirational guidance to install a sannidhi for this great Acharya during the current phase of expansion itself. He says once the decision was made to install the shrine, the quick pace with which unplanned events that supported this decision occurred, served to provide assurance of providential concurrence. The unplanned events included a short trip to Kanchipuram during which Sri Veeramani met the senior and junior Shankaracharyas of Kanchi, Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamiji and Jagadguru Sri Vijayendra Saraswati Swamiji, who provided their concurrence and blessings for the establishment of the sannidhi, and  offered their advice and guidance to model the vigraha of Sri Paramacharya after the vigraha at the Sri Mahaperiyava Adhishtanam in Kanchipuram. Sri Radhakrishna Sthapati, the award-winning sculptor and master craftsman from Tamil Nadu who sculpted the Sri Ram Parivar vigrahas at the Temple, has been entrusted with sculpting the vigraha of Sri Kanchi Paramacharya. When completed the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire will probably be the first Temple in North America to house a sannidhi for Sri Kanchi Paramacharya.

APPEAL FOR SUPPORT

The expansion project involves a significant cost to the Temple. Such a major undertaking can be realized only through the generous support and contributions of the devotees. The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire appeals to its devotees, patrons and well-wishers to help us support this cause through generous donations to support of the expansion project. You can show your support in a number of ways. You can make a direct donation to the Temple of any amount. You can sponsor part of the expansion project through the Temple’s “Donate a Brick” scheme - you can sponsor any number of bricks by making a tax-deductible donation of $101 per brick by clicking here. You can sponsor Temple events or  sponsor a Chant for Dharma at your home. The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire is 501c(3) certified, and all donations to the Temple are tax-deductible. The Temple gratefully appreciates your support.

"If we practice Dharma without expecting any reward in the belief that Isvara gives us what he wills, and in a spirit of dedication, the impurities tainting our being will be removed and we will obtain the bliss that is exalted" - Sri Kanchi Paramacharya

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