SRI GNANANANDA NIKETAN

Tuesday, 18 April 2023

Shradhanjali of His Holiness Pujyasri Nityananda Giri Swamigal

Hari OM

His Holiness Pujyasri Nityananda Giri Swamigal attained the lotus feet of Sadguru Gnanananda Giri Swamigal (Videha Mukti) at 3.25 PM on 15-April-2023. His Kananam (brindavana pravesham) was held at 7.30 PM on 15-April-2023.

Shradhanjali of His Holiness Pujyasri Nityananda Giri Swamigal was held at Sri Gnanananda Niketan, Thapovanam on 16th April 2023.

Sunday, 4 October 2020

Discourse and Rendering of Songs of Avudai Akkal

There was a discourse by Sri Nochur Swami on the "The great woman saint - Avudai Akkal (Tamil)"

There was also Songs of Avudai Akkal rendered by Vid.Gayathri Venkataraghavan.

Monday, 21 January 2019

VISIT OF SWAMI ATMANANDA UDASIN AND FRENCH GROUP

Sri Swami Atmananda Udasin from Ajatananda Ashram visited Sri Gnanananda Niketan with a French group for Satsang.

Swamiji interacted with the French group. Some pictures from the event is below:

Thursday, 7 June 2018

VAIKASI VISAKAM ANNADANAM

Devotees from Canada sponsored Annadanam on the auspicious day of Vaikasi Visakam at Sri Gnanananda Niketan.

Vaikasi Visakam is celebrated as birthday of Lord Murugan. It is celebrated during Visakam Nakshatra in Tamil month Vaikasi.

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

SANKARA JAYANTHI MAHOTSAV 2018

Sri Sankara Jayanti Mahotsava commenced at Sri Gnanananda Niketan as usual on the sacred day of Akshaya Tritiya on Wednesday, the 18^th April 2018. It was celebrated with Narayana Seva (annadana). More than 250 people from the neighboring two villages were served with food on the auspicious occasion.

Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akti or Akha Teej, is annual spring time festival of the Hindus and Jains. In Sanskrit, the word "Akshayya" (अक्षय्य) means "imperishable, eternal, the never diminishing" in the sense of "prosperity, hope, joy, success", while Tritiya means "third". It is named after the "third lunar day" of the spring month of Vaisakha in the Hindu calendar, the day it is observed. It is celebrated regionally by Hindus and Jains in India and Nepal, as signifying the "third day of unending prosperity". Akshaya Tritiya is very popular festival which carries good luck and triumph in terms of new schemes, weddings, big investments such as buying property or gold and any new beginning. In Jainism, it commemorates the first Tirthankara's (Rishabhdev) ending his one-year asceticism by consuming sugarcane juice poured into his cupped hands. Some Jains refer to the festival as Varshi Tapa. Fasting and ascetic austerities are marked by Jains, particularly at pilgrimage sites such as Palitana (Gujarat). Akshaya Tritiya is believed in Hinduism to be the day of incarnation of Sri Parasurama who is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. On this auspicious day Veda Vysasa began dictating the epic Mahabharata to his scribe, Lord Ganesa. Gates of the temple of Badrinarayana open on this day after winter. Construction of the chariots for Jagannath Rath Yatra at Puri commences on this day.

Sri Sankara Jayanti was celebrated on Friday, the 20^th April 2018. Elaborate poojas were performed at Satsang Mandap. Ashtottarasata Namavali Archanas were offered to Sri Dakshinamurti, Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavatpadacharya and Sadguru Sri Gnanananda.

Parayana of the Bhashyam or commentary of Sri Sankara on Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Upanishad and Brahma Sutra was also performed.

Swamini Prabhavananda Saraswati quoted a few lines from Adhyasa Bhashya in Brahma Sutra Bhasya after the chant of passages from four Vedas.

Swami Nityananda Giri explained that in Sankara’s Adhyasa Bhashya, he lucidly explains the Upanishadic method of superimposition and negation by which the nature of the Ultimate Reality is very well unfolded as the Changeless, Timeless Substratum of the appearances of all changing and time-bound phenomena. This brings out clearly the difference between the appearance and Reality and how the Reality supports the appearance which has no separate existence of its own. The Reality and its appearance have two separate statuses of Reality. It is immanent when it is the Substratum of the changing phenomena. It is also the Transcendent, the Eternal Subject, as the Witness, the Relationless Absolute, which alone EXISTS. All the others are only appearance.

It was Sankara who highlighted the importance of Prasthanatraya – Upanishads for spiritual insight, Gita for discipline and Brahmasutra for logic. He establishes through them that the Trans-causal Brahman is the Ultimate Reality as per the Upanishads. The later Acharyas have also used the same criteria for proving the validity of their spiritual insights of the Causal Brahman, God. In this manner, Veda Mata in the Upanishads is able to take care of all aspirants of different spiritual attitude and disposition. Thus, the Upanishads present a broad spectrum of God-experience.

As in the past few years Krishna Yajur Veda parayana of Samhita and Sakha was commenced with ghatasthapana on the day of Sri Sankara Jayanti. It concluded on 24^th April 2018.

Paramapujya Swami Vidyananda Giri was given initiation into Sannyasa by Sadguru Gnanananda on Sri Sankara Jayanti day. His Aradhana also followed Sankara Jayanti and was celebrated on 24^th April 2018 at the main ashram.

Sannyasins and devotees from Niketan attended the special puja at the Adhishtana (Samadhi shrine) of Swami Vidyananda Giri in the morning of 24^th May 2018. Sri Swami Sadasiva Giri attended the traditional aradhana, which was performed in the main ashram. A samaradhana was organized at Niketan and a special bhiksha was offered to Sannyasins and other devotees. Bhiksha for sadhus was also arranged at Yogi Ramsuratkumar ashram, Tiruvannamalai on the day of aradhana of Swami Vidyananda Giri.

Thursday, 26 April 2018

KRISHNA YAJUR VEDA PARAYANA AT SRI GNANANANDA NIKETAN

The Sankara Jayanthi Mahotsav at Sri Gnanananda Niketan commenced on Akshaya Tritiya day which was celebrated on 18th April 2018 with Annadana.

Annadana was organized for the people of the nearby villages on the auspicious day and is done as Narayana seva or service to God to help increase our wealth of spiritual values.

Sri Sankara Jayanti was celebrated on Friday, the 20th April 2018. It was He who revived the Vedic culture laying the foundation for Hindu religion as we see it today.

On the morning of 20th April 2018, Krishna Yajur Veda (Taittriya Sakha) Parayana (Samhita and Sakha) was commenced with the Ghata Sthapana on 20th April morning. It was concluded on 24th April. Six Vedic pundits participated in the parayana as in the previous years.

Some pictures from Veda Parayana is attached below: