On new year’s day the temple was busy throughout the day. In the morning there was Thirumanjam to Andal and Abhishekam to Shiva. Devotees did archana’s to their Istadevatha’s. Other festivals that took place as of this writing include Ayyappa Padi Puja, Hanumath Jayanthi, Bhogi /Andal Kalyanam, Sankranthi, Thai Poosam, Ratha Saptami, Bhishma Ekadasi, Shivarathri, Ekambaranatha Brahmotsavam and Phanguni Uttiram
May the new year usher in peace, prosperity and happiness. We are happy to report that in the fourth quarter of last year the temple held many festivals. Suffice it to say that all of them were celebrated in a grand manner. Our
priests conducted them with utmost dedication and as per respective agamas. As you may be aware, Priest Sri. Vedanthaachaarya has returned to his home in India to be with his family. We bid him farewell and wished him well. Priest Sri.Sanathkumara Acharya will be joining the temple in mid-January. Please join me in welcoming our new priest Sri. Sanathkumara Acharya
At Shiva Vishnu Temple we are off to a good start. Preparations are underway for dismantling the old front hall
and paving the way for construction of a new Multipurpose Building. Prior to the demolition of the old building Vighneshwara and Vishwaksena Poojas were performed for an auspicious beginning. It was a bittersweet moment for many longtime devotees. The temple has been receiving contributions from the devotees towards the construction of the new building.
The second quarter of the calendar year began with the auspicious Subhakritu nama Ugadi and Vasantha Navarathri. Sri Rama Navami festival culminated in Seetha Kalyanam and Rama Pattabhishekam. It was befitting to conclude the celebrations with Thyagaraja Aradhana. Pancharatna Kritis and Utsava Sampradaya Keerthanas extolling the virtues of Rama were sung by local artists.
New Year’s Day at the temple was celebrated with Abhishekam and Archana to Lord Ganesha. Devotees thronged the temple to seek blessings from the obstacle remover. The next day, on Vaikuna Ekadasi, large crowds came and patiently waited to pass through the Vaikunta Dwaram. Theertha Prasadam had to be distributed outside the temple as the queue extended all the way to the pavement. Other festivals including Arudra Darsanam, Bhogi, Andal Kalyanam, Makara Sankranthi, Ayappa padi pooja, Thai poosam, Sani peyarchi, Rathasapthami, Bheeshma Ekadasi were also well attended.
Our temple conducted the general body meeting and the election of officers and board of trustees for 2023-2024. It is my pleasure and honor to hand over the administration of the temple to the newly elected executive committee and the board of trustees. The new President of the Executive Committee Dr. Mohan Thirumala and the Chairwoman of Board of Trustees Dr. Palghat Alamelu are long-standing members of our temple family. Dr. Thirumala and Dr. Alamelu have served the temple in various capacities, and in their leadership the temple will continue to provide great service to the community.
Major highlights of the third quarter were Poojas and Celebrations related to Guru Pournami, Kamakshi Kalyanam, Thiruvadi Pooram, Varalakshmi Pooja, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Sri Jayanthi, Sudharshana Homam, Ganesha Chaturthi and Ganapathi Homam. Priests did a fabulous job of deity alankarams and conducting all events very meticulously.
They fully deserve additional compliments for special alankarams to Lord Krishna on Sri Jayanthi Day and Lord Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi day. It is fulfilling to see the growing participation of our devotees in various programs of our temple, including homams in the front hall ever since we resumed the normal temple hours to the public
On the religious front, we had many events including, Chandramana Ugadi, Tamil New Year’s Day / Vishu celebrations, Sri Rama Navami Festival, Samoohika Saraswathi Pooja and Navagraha Homam. All these events were well attended and
went very well with the dedicated services of our priests. These events are not possible without committed Shilpis, and a core group of volunteers and our heartfelt thanks go to all who were involved
On the religious front, we had quite a few major events in the first quarter including Ayyappa Padi Pooja, Vaikunta Ekadasi, Bhogi/ Andal Kalyanam,Makara Sankaranthi, Thai Poosam, Ratha Saptami, Bheeshma Ekadasi, MahaShivarathri, Mrutyunjaya Homam, Ekambharanata Brahmotsavam, Panguni Uthiram and Sri Suktha Homam. All the events went very well. We were able to offer live stream of the major events, to bring the auspiciousness to our homes
October month began with Navarathri Celebrations, followed by Chandi homam, Annabhishekam to Shiva and ended with Lalitha Sahasranama Lakshacrchana. November month began with Deepavali celebrations, followed by Skanda Shashti Celebrations culminating with Kalyanotsavam..
The temple Board has been regularly monitoring the COVID 19 situation and making necessary adjustments to normal routines. On the religious front, there were many events including Guru Pournami, Kamakshi Kalyanam, Thiruvadi Pooram, Varalakshmi Pooja, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Sri Jayanthi, Sudharshana Homam, Ganesha Chaturthi and Ganapathi Homam. All the events went very well. After a summer break, virtual Vidya Mandir classes resumed .Prasad Mandir has been very busy.
Jul-Sep 2021
The temple Board has been regularly monitoring the COVID 19 situation and making necessary adjustments to the routine activity. On the religious front, we had many events including Sri Suktha Homam, Chandramana Ugadi, Tamil New Year’s Day / Vishu, Sri Rama Navami Festival, Saraswathi Pooja and Navagraha Homam. All these events went very well with the dedicated services of our priests. On the education front, virtual Vidya Mandir classes went off well. Our Prasad Mandir has been very busy.
With grace of God’s, the New Year’s Day started with devotees visiting the temple in good number in-spite of the global pandemic. This trend continued for rest of the quarter. The temple Board has been regularly monitoring the COVID 19 situation and making necessary adjustments to normal routines. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers for staying on top of CDC guidelines, security and traffic related details to keep the temple safe and serene.
Our priests had swiftly adapted to the new environment while maintaining the temple rituals intact. Shilpi’s guarded the temple premise with diligence ensuring safety and cleanliness. As always, the temple volunteers—religious,building, food, financial, cultural, education, food, traffic, communication, and livestreaming—worked tirelessly to ensure the temple continued to provide limited yet basic religious, educational, and cultural services. Many of you in the community donated extra financial support when we needed the most. With the grace of God and the commitment of temple staff and volunteers, we are back on our feet. We remain resilient as an institution.
As much as we would like to return to normal activities at the temple at the earliest, we are not completely out of the woods. The temple management has been regularly monitoring the COVID situation. Until further notice, we continue to require restricted hours of visitation, social distancing and other CDC recommended health guidelines while people visit the temple.
Jul-Sep 2020
During this difficult time, the Temple Board had to take extraordinary measure of closing its doors to the public in the interest of our devotees and temple staff. However, priests have been performing daily temple services without any lapse. They conducted special japam, shanthi homam, and various weekly abhishekam and thirumanjanam. Fortunately, we were able to livestream some of those services. I take this opportunity to thank our priests who kept the religious sanctity of the temple intact.
Happy New Year. The last quarter of 2019 was very busy at the temple.
Our priests and volunteers stayed active celebrating major festivals including Navaratri,Deepavali, Skanda Sasthi, Venkateshwara Bramotsavam, Varshikotsavam,and Hanumad Jayanthi among others. Every event had an overwhelming response
Major highlights of the last quarter were Kamakshi Kalyanotsavam, Thiruvadi Pooram (special Pooja to Andal), Varamahalakshmi Puja (with 60 women performing samoohika puja), Janmastami, and Ganesha Chaturthi. As we move into the last quarter of the calendar year, the Temple will observe one of the busiest seasons of the year. Multiple events will take place throughout the quarter, including the three-day celebration of the Venkateshwara Bramotsavam from November 22nd to 24th.
Jul-Sep 2019
During the last quarter, devotees at the temple witnessed several festivals including Ugadi, Sri Rama Navami,Tamil New Year Day/Vishu, and Navagraha Homan, with elaborate Vedic rituals, beautiful decorations, chanting and bhajans.
The main mission of our temple is to promote religious, spiritual, educational and cultural values rooted in the Hindu philosophy, wisdom and traditions. Since its founding, the temple has strived to conduct daily and periodic religious services according to standards and norms enshrined in the agamic texts. Our priests do a fabulous job day in and day out, of upholding these norms while serving the Lord and devotees.
We had many religious function this quarter. They all went off very well
and were all well attended. We also had one wonderful, well attended concert in this quarter. The second one got cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control. The cultural program during Varshikothsavam, day was a great success with more than sixty participants.
The education committee has also been very busy with the Vidhya Mandir classes. The education committee arranged an enjoyable Garba Raas and Dandiya event during Navarathri. The Prasad Mandir is functioning very well and is busy as usual
On the religious front, we had Kamakshi Kalyanam for the first time this year. It was well attended. We also had Thiruvadi Pooram, Varamahalakshmi Vratham, Onam, Yajur upakarma, Sri Jayanthi, Sudharsana Homam, Vinayaka Chathurthi, and Ganapathi Homam in the past three months. All the events were well attended and went off well. On the education front, The Vidya Mandir is back in session for the 2018-19 academic year with nearly 340 students enrolled
On the religious front, we had many events including Lakshmi Lakshaarchana,Srisuktha homam, Tamil New Year’s day/Vishu, Samoohiha Saraswathi Pooja and Navagraha homam. All the events were well attended and went off very well. The cultural committee had a slew of concerts. On the education front, the children and our volunteer teachers have been very busy. The annual Gita chanting and storytelling contests were held.
It has been a very, very busy first quarter. All the various functions that come over a four-month period came over three months this year. I am pleased to report that all the temple activities during the quarter went off very well. On the education front, the Vidhya Mandhir classes are going on well as the Prasad Mandir.
Jan-March 2018
It has been a very busy fourth quarter of the year 2017 on all aspects of the temple. I am pleased to report that most of the temple activities during the quarter went off very well. We are slowly but surely fixing the various damages that were caused by the hurricane. All the utility issues have been fixed. Unfortunately, it will take a few years to get the lush green look to the temple grounds. I want to thank the building committee for all their help in getting this done.
It has been a very an interesting and eventful third quarter. I am pleased to report that most of the temple activities during the quarter went off very well. I cannot say the same about the hurricane with regards to the temple grounds and facilities. The hurricane also affected some religious, educational and cultural activities.We also had some issues with electrical, telephone and internet in some of the buildings. They are being slowly restored to normal.
Jul-Sep 2017
On the religious front, we had many events including Ramanavami, Sita Rama Kalyanam,Panguni Uttaram, Tamil New Year’s day/Vishu, Lakshmi Lakshaarchana,Srisuktha homam, Saraswathi Pooja and Navagraha homam. This year was the 1000th birth anniversary of Bhagavad Ramanuja. This was celebrated in a grand manner with a large number of devotees taking part in it. All the events were well attended.With summer upon us, many of our devotees, including our priests and shilpis have been taking their well-earned vacation. We wish all the children a very happy and wonderful summer.
Apr-Jun 2017
On the religious front, we had many events including Vaikunta Ekadasi, Shivarathri and Ekambharanatha Brahmotsavam.
The Education committee hosted the annual Bala Mela which was very well attended. The cultural committee celebrated Radha Kalyanam during December 2016 and January 2017. This was done for the first time and it was feast to our ears. The building addition at the front of the Prasad Mandir was completed in February. We are in the process of getting new furniture which will provide more space for all our devotees who use the Prasad Mandir.
October of 2016 began with the Navarathri celebrations, followed by Lalitha Sahasranama kumkumarchana and Chandi homam. The month ended with Deepavali celebrations and the start of the grand Skanda Sashti festivities. The temple was filled with devotees for the popular Soora Samharam and
Kalyanothsavam to Muruga. Then came the 15th Varshikothsavam, Annabhishekam, and Samoohika Satyanarayana pooja. This was followed by the
joyous Vishnu Brahmotsavam and Rathothsavam.
The festivities in this quarter included Guru Pournami and special Adi Pooja in July, Thiru Adi Pooram, Samoohika Varalakshmi Pooja, Yajur Upakarma, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Sri Jayanthi, and Sudharshana Homam in August, Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations, and Ganapathi Homam in September.
After a summer break, Vidya Mandir classes have resumed on August 28th. Clas-ses are filled to capacity and we can see the usual bustle of students on Sunday mornings.
The second quarter started with a grand three-day Shiva Brahmotsavam festival. This was followed by Chandramana Ugadi, Sri Suktha Homam, Tamil New Year, and an exhilarating Sri Rama Navami week.
Other than the usual festivities, we had a very successful banquet, which was a fundraiser aimed at raising donations for priest quarters renovation, educational scholarships and endowment.
The festivities in 2016 started on New Years Day with a steady stream of devotees visiting the temple throughout the day, while our priests were busy continually performing archana. Ayyappa Padi pooja on January 10th saw a much larger turnout than in the past, and the chenda melam added to the excitement. Bhogi, Andal Kalyanam, Bheeshma Ekadasi, and Thai Poosam, all held on week days, also had unusually high attendance. On Maha Shivarathri, the temple was brimming through the night. Thanks to Anand Sreenivasan, Srikanth Mavanur, and all parking volunteers for ably handling their overwhelming task. Mrutyunjaya Homam was also extremely well-attended.
The festivities in the last quarter began with the three-day Sri Ven-kateshwara Brahmothsavam in October during Navarathri. The joyful and fun-filled Rathothsavam and Kalyanothsavam, as always, were very well-attended. Saraswathi pooja, Vijayadashami, Lalitha Sahasranama kumku-marchana, and Chandi homam were the other major festivals in October. Then came Deepavali and the grand Skanda Sashti celebrations culminating with the popular Soora Samharam and Kalyanothsavam to Muruga. Then followed the Varshikothsavam and Samoohika Satyanarayana pooja. De-cember highlights include Dhanur masa pooja and Vaikuntha Ekadasi. Once again, our sincere thanks to all the pooja sponsors and annadanam sponsors for the festivals.
After Guru Pournami in July, we had a number of special festivals in the months of August and September: Special Adi pooja, Thiru Adi Pooram, Samoohika Varalakshmi Pooja, Yajur Upakarma, Sri Krish-na Janmashtami, Sri Jayanthi, Sudharshana Homam, Ganesha Cha-turthi celebrations, and Ganapathi Homam. We are very pleased to see devotees coming and participating in large numbers. Our priests have been doing an outstanding job in conducting these festivals in a grand and spectacular manner. Other than the above festivals, the monthly Satyanarayana Pooja and Hanuman Chalisa on Tuesday evenings have also had good attendance.
We had a busy second quarter. The religious festivals included Panguni Uthiram and Samoohika Lakshmi Sahasranama archana during the first weekend of April. The next weekend saw the grand Ekambaranatha Brahmothsavam and Rathothsavam festival. Then came Tamil New Year and Sri Suktha Homam. It is nice to see devotees participate in large numbers in all the festivities.
April – June 2015
What an exciting first quarter we have had this year! To start the religious festivities, New Years day saw throngs of devotees in the temple despite the rains. Ayyappa Padi pooja, Vaikunta Ekadasi, Bhogi, Andal Kalyanam, Bheeshma Ekadasi, and Thai Poosam went extremely well too. The temple was packed with devotees on Maha Shivathri, with a significant number staying through the night. Mrutyunjaya Homam was also well attended. We still look forward to Ugadi and Rama Navami celebrations in this quarter.