HOUSTON: Arsha Vidya Satsanga (AVS) celebrated their fourth annual Bhagavad Gita Jayanti on Saturday, December 14 at Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir. Gita Jayanti is the birthday of Bhagavad-Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus. It is believed the immortal “Bhagavad Gita” was revealed to Arjuna (the Pandava prince) by Sri Krishna himself in the battlefield of Kurukshetra (in present day Haryana, India) a little over 5000 years ago. The text was written in third person, narrated by Sanjaya to the blind King Dhritarashtra as it transpired in the battlefield between Sri Krishna and Arjuna. Sanjaya was blessed by his Guru, Veda Vyasa, with the clairvoyance to view the events taking place on the battlefield.
Each year, during Gita Jayanti, along with several other activities, several chapters are recited as a group. The program started off with a Puja to Lord Sri Krishna, Vyasa and invocations to Pujya Swami Dayananada Saraswati. Few devotees further sanctified the atmosphere with melodious Bhajans. Over 30 devotees recited six chapters of Bhagavad Gita including the 10 yr. old Surabhi Kartick. Surabhi has already memorized all the 18 chapters of the Gita. The highlight of the celebration was the giving away of the first AVS Award. Dr. Bharath Srinivasan became the recipient of the Arsha Vidya choodaamaNiH award of 2013. This award was instituted by Arsha Vidya Satsanga to recognize individuals of exceptional accomplishments in scholarship and leadership to Sanatana Dharma.
Dr. Bharath ji has mastery over a major portion of the Yajurveda including karma kanda. He spearheads projects such as reestablishment of Ayurvedic scriptures, and translation of Rajiv Malhotra’s books to Kannada. He is actively involved in serving the community through spiritual lectures, weekly Sanskrit classes, and writings to uplift and sustain Hindu dharma and Indian value system.
The program ended with an excellent presentation from the Houston based Bharatanatyam exponent, Aparna Subramaniam.Aparna talked about basic concepts and historical perspectives of Naatya Shaastra. She demonstrated how bhakti can be invoked in dance form through Bharatanatyam.
Arsha Vidya Satsanga is a nonprofit organization inspired by Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Visit http://www.avshouston.org/ for further details on activities and upcoming events.