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January 1, 2002 - New Year Puja Kalpataru Day
January 5, 2002 - Holy Mother's Birthday Celebration
January 2002 Youth Day Celebration
March 9, 2002 - Shivaratri Celebration
March 16, 2002 - Sri Ramakrishna Birthday Celebration
March 30, 2002 - Chaitanyadeva's Birthday Celebration
April 20, 2002 - Ramanavami Celebration
April 20 & 21, 2002 - Vidyapith Library Inaugaration
May 4, 2002 - Twenty Sixth Annual Function 2002
June 1, 2002 - Lord Buddha's Birthday
June 15 and 16, 2002 - Graduation
June 15th and 16th, 2002 - Sangeet Saurabh 2002
June 22, 2002 - Family Picnic
The Master sang
Durgashtami Celebration - October 12, 2002
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January 1, 2002 - New Year Puja Kalpataru Day
On January 1, 2002 Dashopcahara Puja was performed. All devotees offered flowers to Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananada.
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January 5, 2002 - Holy Mother's Birthday Celebration
On January 5th Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi's birthday was celebrated. Prayers, and bhajans were sung and the meaning of the hymn Sarva Mangala Mangalye was discussed. Teachings of Holy Mother were read and discussed. Students presented inspiring incidents from Holy Mother's biography and her teachings.
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January 2002 Youth Day Celebration
This year Swami Vivekananda's birthday - Youth Day - was celebrated in 4 parts on January 12,13,19 & 20th. Speech competions, coloring and Painting competions On January 12 & 13 were held at the vidyapith for Grades KG to 6th Grade.
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March 9, 2002 - Shivaratri Celebration
On March 9th Shivaratri was celebrated with Shiva Manas Puja, recitation of Shiva Mahimna Strotram, bhajans and dhoons and offerings of flowers. Students and alumni presentated their thoughts elaborating the various virtues of Shiva. The meaning of selected verses of Shiava Mahimna Strotam were discussed and Swami Vivekananda's teachings related to Shiva were read. On March 12th, the Shivaratri Day, prayers and flowers were offered to Shiva.
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March 16, 2002 - Sri Ramakrishna Birthday Celebration
On March 16, Sri Ramakrishnadev's birthday was celebrated with offerings of prayers, flowers, Dhoons and Bhajans. Students presented incidents from Sri Ramakrishna's life. Selected passages from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna on ways to develop love for God were read and discussed.
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March 30, 2002 - Chaitanyadeva's Birthday Celebration
On March 30 Chaitnyadev's birthday was celebrated. Prayers and flowers were offered and incidents from the life of Sri Chaitanya were presented by students.Worship of God without form and with form were discussed based upon the teachings of Sri Shankaracharya and Sri Chaitanya.
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April 20, 2002 - Ramanavami Celebration
On April 20 Ramanavami was celebrated with Sri Ramanam Sankirtanam, recitation of verses from Sri Ramacharitmanas of Tulsidas depicting the birth of Sri Rama, and offering of prayers and flowers. Dhoons and bhajans in praise of Sri Rama were sung and various incidents from the Ramayana were presented by students. The high ideals portrayed by the inspiring characters of Ramayana and the need of such ideals were discussed.
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April 20 & 21, 2002 - Vidyapith Library Inaugaration
The Vidyapith's new library was inaugarated on Ramanavami. The opening of the library was marked by ribon-cutting ceremony. Siddarth Parikh and Ketul Shah cut the ribons on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The libray carries inspiring books on the life of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda, as also scriptures, biographies of great personalities, Stories and Parables for young children, and a large collection of books helpful for spiritual development.
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May 4, 2002 - Twenty Sixth Annual Function 2002
On May 4, 2002 Vidyapith's Twenty Sixth Annual Function was held at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Ridgewood, New Jersey. The function began with Shanti Mantra recited by the Vidyapith Students, followed by Recitations of inspiring passages, Folk Dance - Garba, Bhajans, Musical Cricket, qnd two plays- "Dhruva Charitra" and "When Bapu was a Little Boy".
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June 1, 2002 - Lord Buddha's Birthday
On June 1, 2002 Lord Buddha's birthday was celebrated. Prayers, and bhajans were sung and teachings of Lord Buddha from "The Dhammapada" were read and discussed. Students presented inspiring passages from Lord Buddha's biography and his teachings.
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June 15 and 16, 2002 - Graduation
There were 13 twelfth graders graduating this year from the Vidyapith. On June 15 and 16, graduation ceremonies were held for Saturday and Sunday students respectively. The graduating seniors offered flowers as well as lighted lamps to Thakur, Sri Ma and Swamiji, accompnied by the recitation of the mantras from the Taittiriya Upanishad. After the offerings, each one received a diploma and books as a gift. A reception followed each ceremony. It was a happy -sad moment. The joy of graduation mingled with the feeling of sadness that the graduates were going away to colleges and would not be attending Vidyapith regularly as many of them had done since their childhood.
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June 15th and 16th, 2002 - Sangeet Saurabh 2002
Every Saturday, students at the Vidyapith’s afterschool performing arts program come to study Hindustani Classical vocal music, and tabla. On June 15th and 16th, 2002, these students showcased what they had learned throughout this year.
Nearly seventy students belonging to a wide range of ages attend these classes,
and receive a solid exposure to the rich and varied musical heritage of India.
The classes are taught by two accomplished musicians, Dr. Mohan Deshpande and
Shri Arun Bhowmick. Dr. Deshpande teaches vocal music while Mr. Bhowmick teaches
tabla. Both the tabla and vocal classes consist of three groups- beginners,
intermediates, and advanced students.
The novice vocal students began the program with alankaars performed by the whole group. This was followed by several individual performances in various raags such as Durga, Kafi, and Hansadhawani.
The second half of Sangeet Saurabh comprised of the more advanced vocalists and all of the tabla players. The boys' and girls' groups separately presented two raagamalikas, or selections combining numerous different raags. Each student also did a rehearsed individual rendering of a composition in a pre-selected raag.
The tabla students performed several taals and kaidas, or variations in a set number of beats per cycle. Arun Uncle, as he is known to his students, led his students by reciting the vocal representations of each stroke on the tabla. The beginners replicated these sounds and demonstrated the basic strokes of the tabla to the audience. Next, the intermediate students played teen taal and bhajani, two taals that often accompany vocal and instrumental music. Finally, the advanced students ended the tabla selections by performing multiple kaidas in Teen, Rupak, and Dadra taals. Each one exhibited his/her skill by playing complicated rhythm patterns to the beat of the accompanying veena, violin, and flute.
The program culminated in the performances of the advanced vocal students. These students have received voice lessons for several years and are able to sing compositions as well as timed alaaps. Many students presented difficult variations and extempore aalaps within their compositions. Overall, the skill of all the performers made the 4 hour program a most delightful experience for all.
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June 22, 2002 - Family Picnic
It was a sunny day. A few clouds spotted the sky, and with every passing hour, the air temperature was rising dramatically. It was hot. But apparently, this did not stop anyone from attending the Vivekananda Vidyapith’s annual Family Picnic at the Turtleback Park in West Orange, NJ. Of course, the shade and breez were cooling down people, and provisions such as frequent water breaks and time to rest in the shade were enforced to protect everyone from dehydration and exhaustion. Little children ran around the field, occasionally kicking soccer ball, catching tennis ball, or throwing around a football. A couple of teachers arranged fun-filled competitions for younger children, such as "Spoon-lemon race," "Joined leg-tied race," "Keeping the tennis balls on the cloth race," "Khadi Kho" and others. The older kids could be seen running back and forth, across the grounds, chasing down a Frisbee, completely disregarding any feelings of fatigue or heat. Some of the adults created teams and started a game of cricket on the baseball field, and appeared to be having an enjoyable time. Simply put, there was not one person that day who could be seen without a smile on his/her face.
Around 12:15 p.m., all gathered under the shade for a delicious lunch. Each family had brought a dish, and everyone shared all the food. Blankets and sheets covered an entire section of the park, as children and adults sat together, conversing and eating heartily. For me, lunch at family picnic is the highlight of the day, as it consists of a large variety of dishes that taste so good and completely satisfy my appetite! Over the years, I have attended every single family picnic and come home tired, but very happy after a fun time with all friends and family. This year’s family picnic, my last one as a Vidyapith student, was no exception. Overall, the 2002 Picnic was surely one of the best times this year for the Vidyapith family.
The reading from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: “They (worldly minded people) are like-worm. They can come out of the cocoon of their worldly life if they wish. But they cannot bear to; for they themselves have built the cocoon with great love and care. So they die there. Or, they are like the fish in a trap. They can come out of it by the way they entered, but they sport inside the trap with other fish and hear the sweet sound of other murmuring water and forget everything else….”
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The Master sang:
When such delusion veils the world, through Mahamaya’s spell,
That Brahma is bereft of sense,
And Vishnu loses consciousness,
What hope is left for men?
The narrow channel first is made, and there the trap is set;
But open though the passage lies,
The fish, once safely through the gate,
Do not come our again.
The silk-worm patiently prepares its closely spun cocoon;
Yet even though a way leads forth,
Encased within its own cocoon,
The worm remains to die.
The Master continued: “Man may be likened to grain. He has fallen between the millstones and is about to be crushed. Only the few grains that stay near the peg escape. Therefore men should take refuge at the peg, that is to say, in God. Call on Him. Sing His name. Then you will be free. Otherwise you will be crushed by the King of Death.”
The Master sang again:
Mother! Mother! My boat is sinking, here in the ocean of this world;
Fiercely the hurricane of delusion rages on every side!
Clumsy is my helmsman, the mind; stubborn my six oarsmen, the passions;
Into a pitiless wind
I sailed my boat, and now it is sinking!
Split is the rudder of devotion; tattered is the sail of faith;
Into my boat the waters are pouring! Tell me, what shall I do?
For with my failing eyes, alas! Nothing but darkness do I see.
Here in the waves I will swim,
O Mother, and cling to the raft of Thy name!”.
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Durgashtami Celebration - October 12, 2002:
On Saturday, October 12, 2002, The Vivekananda Vidyapith celebrated Durgashtami as students, parents, and friends gathered to sing bhajans and dhuns in praise of Mother Durga. The Vidyapith prayer hall was filled with the harmonious sounds and uplifting thoughts of such bhajans like Durgati Nashini, Premarupini, and Shyamam Ma. Mahendra Uncle read from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The reading* focused on the bhajans of the Mother quoted in the Gospel. In the presentations, the students shared their knowledge about the story of Durgashtami and the meaning of the slaying of Mahishasura. We concluded the auspicious evening with Aarati and Prasad
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