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Showing posts from August 28, 2009


Hindu Temple Choir – Hindus Innovate In United States with New Form of Praying

A temple choir which is a rarity in Hinduism is being practiced in United States by Hindus. “ Om ! Ganesha Sharanam!” the choristers sang from the corner of New York Ganesha Temple in Flushing, Queens , on Ganesh Chaturthi and it marked the beginning of Hindu Temple Choir. Religious Choir is a disciplined group of people that sings as part of a religious ceremony and is mostly associated with Christian prayers in Churches. Choirs are not performed in Hindu Temples. Hindus do sing bhajans in group in temples but it is not choir as it is sung without any proper practice and is sung more out of devotion. Temple Choir is not performed in Hindu religion because Hinduism gives importance to individual worship and an individual can come and visit a temple whenever he/she feels. Hindu Bhajans are mostly solo performances. The auspicious beginning of Hindu Temple Choir was made by about 50 singers at the New York Ganesha Temple in Flushing, Queens , during the Ganesh Chatu

Sri Narayana Guru Jayanti

The 19th century sage and social reformer, Sri Narayana Guru, a member of the Ezhava community in Kerala, was revered for his deep spiritual attainment, humanistic philosophy and commitment to social reform and equality. In 2024, the date of Sri Narayana Guru Jayanti is on August 20. He taught the ideal of ‘One caste, one religion and one  God for mankind’ and stressed social self-upliftment by the lower castes to fight the caste system. Sri Narayana Guru Jayanthi is observed on the Chathayam Nakshatram day in the Malayalam month of Chingam. (August – September) Sri Narayana Guru (1854-1928) brought about revolutionary change in Kerala by organizing the lower caste people. His motto was one caste, one religion, one god – echoing the teachings of the Upanishads. Special programs and pujas are held on the day in Kerala, other parts of India and around the world by Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP). You may also like to read Sri Narayana Guru T