Prajna Youth Club Registration

Jai Srimannarayana!

JETUSA Bay Area is starting a club for all the youth members of Prajna and JET families living in Bay Area. All the students who are in their middle and high school grades can join the youth club.

Prajna Youth Club is a forum for the youth to keep alive their cultural connection and contacts with our rich tradition. Youth members can promote our values, heritage and culture through various culturual, spiritual, educational and community service activities. Activities can take place every month or at the will of the members.

Sri Swamiji and His representatives will be guiding the Youth club members from time to time in their activities.

The Youth Club will meet and function on its own with minimum support and help from the parents and adult members of JETUSA. A very small number of parent/adult volunteers from JETUSA will oversee the meetings and activities conducted by Youth club. The club officers and members can decide on a particular activity and propose it to the parent representatives. Once it is recommended by the parent reps, the proposal will be examined and approved by the JET
USA Bay Area committee. All necessary support in terms of logistics, finances etc will be provided by JET or by the parent volunteers, depending on the merits of each activity.

Some of the activities that can be taken up include - serving lunch for the homeless, collecting holiday gifts for the under-privileged, helping at old-age homes, volunteering in cultural programs of local organizations, conducting educational programs for kids and teaching them the importance of Prajna and keeping our cultural connection, helping in awareness events about environment, health and other current issues, maitaining blogs for JET events, preparing newsletters etc.

Please inform all those who would be interested to join the club's inaugural body.
Click here for the online Registration link. or cut and paste the entire url givenbelow into your browser address bar.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p86Y4W9FF4Jg2ndJpi2b1cg&hl=en

Once the inaugural student body is formed, an initial meeting will be convened to decide on the terms and rules of the club, officers of the club and the activities etc. Tentatively the club inaguration will be during the Dasara timeframe and will be updated to all members shortly.

For all questions and information please send email to jetcalifornia@gmail.com

Jai Srimannarayana!
Murali Krishna Ramanuja Dasa.

Vighna Nivarana Chathurthhi

Best wishes to all for a happy Vighna Nivarana Chathurthhi. Let us pray on that day to Lord Vishvaksena to remove all our obstacles in our service. Sriman Surendracharya Swami explained to us on Telebridge about the importance of Vighna Nivarana Chathurthi and gave us the story of Lord Krishna - Syamanthaka Upakhyanam from Bhagavatham. The pravachanam was in Telugu.

HH Sri Swamiji's message | Lord Vishvaksena puja procedure | Syamanthaka upakhyanam to be read on the day

Bhagavad Gita Karma Yoga Spiritual Camp

HH conducted Bhagavad Gita camp on Chapter 3 - Karma Yoga. Below please find 35 tracks, each about 30 minutes that make it easy for you to listen to and learn the divine message by our acharya. Click on the links to download and listen to the tracks.

Track 1 (Day 1, Session 1, Part 1)

Track 2 (Day 1, Session 1, Part 2)

Track 3 (Day 1, Session 1, Part 3)

Track 4 (Day 1, Session 1, Part 4)

Track 5 (Day 1, Session 2, Part 1)

Track 6 (Day 1, Session 2, Part 2)

Track 7 (Day 1, Session 2, Part 3)

Track 8 (Day 1, Session 3, Part 1)

Track 9 (Day 1, Session 3, Part 2)

Track 10 (Day 1, Session 3, Part 3)

Track 11 (Day 1, Session 3, Part 4)

Track 12 (Day 2, Session 1, Part 1)

Track 13 (Day 2, Session 1, Part 2)

Track 14 (Day 2, Session 1, Part 3)

Track 15 (Day 2, Session 1, Part 4)

Track 16 (Day 2, Session 2, Part 1)

Track 17 (Day 2, Session 2, Part 2)

Track 18 (Day 2, Session 3, Part 1)

Track 19 (Day 2, Session 3, Part 2)

Track 20 (Day 2, Session 3, Part 3)

Track 21 (Day 2, Session 3, Part 4)

Track 22 (Day 2, Session 3, Part 5)

Track 23 (Day 3, Session 1, Part 1)

Track 24 (Day 3, Session 1, Part 2)

Track 25 (Day 3, Session 1, Part 3)

Track 26 (Day 3, Session 1, Part 4)

Track 27 (Day 3, Session 1, Part 5)

Track 28 (Day 3, Session 1, Part 6)

Track 29 (Day 3, Session 2, Part 1)

Track 30 (Day 3, Session 2, Part 2)

Track 31 (Day 3, Session 2, Part 3)

Track 32 (Day 3, Session 3, Part 1)

Track 33 (Day 3, Session 3, Part 2)

Track 33 (Day 3, Session 3, Part 3)

Track 34 (Day 3, QA)

Earth Day: It's time we realize and respond

JET California's first public Earth Day event took place on April 12th 2008 in Cupertino, as part of the green, local & organic vendor fair organized by Whole Foods Market. There were around 20 stalls belonging to several food companies and a few organizations were presenting environmental ideas related to Solar Energy, Tree plantation, Compost making etc. , More than 100 visitors attended the JetCalifornia stall with "Every Day Earth day "theme and around 60 of them enthusiastically participated in the Earth day quiz. Winners walked away with a plant or an energy efficient light bulb. People liked the Earth day cartoons, PG&E book-lets, the information related to the environment and of course, the nuts and dry fruits. We also prepared a simple presentation to highlight the problems Man has inflicted on the environment and several ways of containing the damage already done. The crowd was very enthusiastic to learn more about the Earth and the Environment. A good number of volunteers made sure that the event went well without any trouble. In Cupertino and Fremont on April 18th 2008 kids participated in planting several potted flowers. On April 27th 2008 Prajna kids in San Jose participated in planting flowers.

Ideas for future events:

1. For an outdoor event, Quiz seems to be the best vehicle to get the points across. So, we may want to enhance the content of the Quiz with more information along with more useful answer sheets and also train our volunteers on the answers.
2. If we organize any indoor events on the subject of Earth day, we should definitely complete the power point presentation by adding narration and making it into a Video.
3. It was hard to get people to register. This is to be expected as no one wants to get more junk mail. Logbook is probably not that useful for a public program like this. Its definitely a good tool when we are dealing with internal groups such as Prajna students or VT members so that we can follow up.
4. One person was so impressed that she wanted us to come to their earth day program on May 20th to present the information at their school.

For the presentation click here.

Photos:

Cancer Prevention Walkathon

On the eve of World Cancer Day, JETUSA California chapter conducted the first annual Cancer awareness and prevention walkathon on Sunday February, 3rd 2008. It was a 4 KM walk held in downtown San Jose, CA. Approximately 250 enthusiastic walkers participated in the event. Inspite of the rainy and windy weather, walkers participated with a spirited walk without caring about the soaking showers and wind chill. Some of them did multiple laps.

Dr Sandhya Srinivas, MD, Oncologist and Associate Professor at Stanford University, gave an inaugural speech and flagged off the walkathon after a brief prayer by Kum Prapanna Vaisaradiji. About 80 High School students participated as volunteers and walkers. Walkers displayed colorful placards with cancer slogans such as "Nip it in the bud", "Arrest Cancer before it kills you", "Early detection is the best prevention", "A minute of smoking brings years of suffering." etc., It was very encouraging to see the group of students, children and walkers distributing the awareness literature to the pedestrians. They have also raised money for the cause during the walkathon.

Many of the participants were strongly motivated and took resolutions towards improving their lifestyle and health. Everyone was happy that a noble cause was being served and they were able to participate in it. A cancer patient came to the program and was moved at the JETUSA efforts in spreading cancer awareness. Flyers, flowers, table cloths, volunteer badges, registration forms etc were all set in lavender color, as it is the color for cancer in general. T-shirts, walkathon kits, discount coupons from sponsors were given to participants free of cost. When walkers came back they were served with fresh fruits and water. Special gifts were announced for those who raised $100 or more. Overall, it was a wonderful program, and JET California Team is very enthusiastic by the response. We are committed to do more such programs to support the community.

Deepavali Newsletter

Houston: His Holiness Sri Swamiji arrived in Houston on October 19th and inagurated JET Vedic Learning Center. About 400 devotees participated in Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Puja. A unique opportunity for devotees to witness 'SAMI' puja – puja to 'SAMI' tree on Dasara day also took place and Sri Swamiji explained significance of Dasara and SAMI puja. Visit JETHOUSTON for details and pictures.

Dallas: His Holiness visited Dallas and blessed devotees with a training camp for Vikasatarangini and guided them in worshipping Lord Sri Lakshmi Narayana in a puja.

Chennai: The grand function of HH Sri Swamiji's 52nd Birthday was celebrated by the devotees at Chennai, on Deepavali, the Festival of Lights. Every year HH Sri Swamiji presents Jeeyar award to an eminent scholar who rendered many services in Vedic Tradition. This year a Vedic Scholar Chaturvedi, Srowtha Bhaskara, Brahma Sri Dendukuri Agnihothra Ghanapaatiji was chosen for this award. HH Sri Swamiji presented the award to Agnihothra Ghanapaatiji along with citation and cash of Rs.50,000/-. Sahasra kalasa abhishekam (Divine bath) was performed to Sri Swamiji's perumal Lord Rama. Visit Sri Swamiji's website for more details.

Australia:His Holiness is currently visiting Australia and New Zealand from November 15th to December 3rd. Discourses, Kalyanams, Pujas, Homams are planned with a busy schedule in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Auckland. More details at JETAUSTRALIA

Bay Area: On November 9th, 2007, families from different areas in the Bay Area congregated to celebrate Deepavali, as well as our Acharya's tirunakshatram. Devotees prayed to Swamiji, and Lakshmi Devi. On November 10th, Prajna families participated in in a get together at Lake Elizabeth Park, Fremont. Kids played several games, and gave presentations about Swamiji: when HH was born, what the Tridandam means, etc. Some kids also gave presentations on their experiences with Swamiji. Afterwards, parents were asked questions about Swamiji's various activies. The children of the parents who answered the question correctly received candy, for their parents' efforts. Everyone enjoyed the get together as a good Karthi:ka Vana Bhojanam. Pictures are on http://www.jetcalifornia.org/ .

Warangal: Free Cancer Detection, awareness and health care
programs in rural areas: His Holiness Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji launched the project on the 15th of October. Vikasa Tarangini volunteers started the campaign and free testing from a village Bhattupalli, utilizing a medical van donated by NRI Hospitals along with technicians. It has been equipped with a mammogram, ultrasound and other hi-tech equipment that will help diagnose cancer in patients. Volunteers will take the information door to door, educating the rural population about the dangers of cancer and how to take preventive measures. People are also being tested for various types of cancers. Patients diagnosed as positive are referred to the NRI hospital in Guntur and two Government Hospitals, that have accepted to provide free treatment to the best possible extent. Full details at this link

Upcoming Events:
Venkateswara Saranagathi Diksha
Dhanurmasa Vratham From Dec 16th to Jan 14th
Classes for Bhagavad Gita Spiritual Summer Camp Participants

Please watch for announcements. If you have a news item to post or a
question/suggesstion, please contact jetcalifornia@gmail.com

Jai Srimannarayana!
Devaki Kalvapudi.